Toxaphene in Great Lakes Fish:  A Temporal, Spatial, and Trophic Study

Abstract

We report here on the concentrations of toxaphene, a complex mixture of hexa- to decachlorinated norbornanes and norbornenes, in Great Lakes' lake trout and smelt sampled in 1982 and 1992. Lake trout from Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron had higher lipid-normalized toxaphene concentrations than the smelt, while in Lakes Ontario and Erie both trophic levels had about the same concentrations. Concentrations in both species declined between 1982 and 1992, with the exception of Lake Superior, where there was no significant difference. Except for the Lake Superior samples, these trends were expected because toxaphene was banned in the United States in 1982. The fact that the Lake Superior samples did not show lower concentrations over time suggests that there may be some lake-specific source that is continuing to load toxaphene into Lake Superior or that toxaphene is not being removed from Lake Superior as quickly as the other Great Lakes.

Concentrations and Hazard Assessment of Organochlorine Contaminants and Mercury in Smallmouth Bass from a Remote Lake in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

“…The mean concentration of toxaphene in Fumee Lake bass was approximately five-to tenfold less than that reported for trout from Lake Superior, but similar to or slightly less than that reported for trout from Lake Michigan (Glassmeyer et al 1997). Elevated concentrations of toxaphene in fish from Lake Superior have been reported to be due to the presence of point sources (Glassmeyer et al 1997). Concentrations of chlordanes and dieldrin in smallmouth bass were comparable to those reported for lake trout from Lake Superior, but less than those reported for Lake Michigan (De Vault et al 1996).…”

“…The mean DDT concentration of 339 ng/g wet wt, was twofold greater than that reported for lake trout from Lake Superior and two-to fourfold less than those reported for the other Great Lakes (De Vault et al 1996). The mean concentration of toxaphene in Fumee Lake bass was approximately five-to tenfold less than that reported for trout from Lake Superior, but similar to or slightly less than that reported for trout from Lake Michigan (Glassmeyer et al 1997). Elevated concentrations of toxaphene in fish from Lake Superior have been reported to be due to the presence of point sources (Glassmeyer et al 1997).…”

Contaminants in fish tissue from US lakes and reservoirs: a national probabilistic study

“…Many investigations have used fish as a time-integrating indicator of persistent pollutant contamination (Larsson et al 1993). Most studies have been spatially focused on a particular waterbody (Sloan et al 1985;Cope et al 1990;Lange et al 1993;Stow and Carpenter 1994;Madenjan et al 1999) or analytically focused on a specific chemical or group of chemicals (Isensee and Jones 1975;USEPA 1987USEPA , 1999aGardner and White 1990;Glassmeyer et al 1997;Stafford and Haines 1997). Earlier studies involving a larger spatial scale include surveys of elemental fish tissue contamination in northeastern US lakes (Yeardley et al 1998) and mercury contamination in streams and rivers of the western US (Peterson et al 2007).…”

Effect of Toxaphene on Isolated Hepatocytes of the Yellowtail Flounder, Pleuronectes ferrugineus Storer

“…More than 30 years later Toxaphene concentrations in surface sediment cores and in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from Peanut Lake were analyzed at 110 g/g and 3.3 g/kg wet weight, respectively, and from Chatwin Lake at 52 g/g and 42.6 g/kg wet weight, respectively (Donald et al, 1998). Surface concentrations of Toxaphene in sediment cores (15$4}33 $12 ng/g) from the Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, and Ontario) and concentrations of Toxaphene in lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush; 0.54}6.7 g/g wet weight) from these lakes have been reported (Pearson et al, 1997;Glassmeyer et al, 1997). Fish from remote lakes with no record of Toxaphene usage have demonstrated rather high concentrations of Toxaphene, e.g., 303.0 g/kg wet weight lake trout (S. namaycush) and 1723 ng/g lipid weight burbot (¸ota lota), because of the length of time of exposure, long-range transport of Toxaphene, and ecological or limnological factors (Donald et al, 1998;Muir et al, 1990).…”

“…It bioaccumulates readily in cellular lipids of aquatic species (i.e., "sh; De Boer and Wester, 1993; Donald et al, 1998), their predators (i.e., raptorial birds and seals, pilot whales, whitebeaked dolphins (Muir et al, 1988;Denker et al, 1994;Norstrom and Muir, 1994;Vetter et al, 1997;Maruya and Lee, 1998), and humans (Mohammed et al, 1990;De Boer and Wester, 1993;Gill et al, 1996;Kang et al, 1996). Despite its ban in North America, Toxaphene is still in use in some countries (e.g., Mexico and the former Soviet Union) and has been detected in marine and freshwater "sh throughout the world, mainly due to its potential for atmospheric transport (Van der Valk and Wester, 1991;Glassmeyer et al, 1997;Pearson et al, 1997;Donald et al, 1998;Datta et al, 1999, and references therein). This atmospheric transport of toxic pollutants from heavily pollutant areas to the pristine environment is of great concern to environmental toxicologists.…”