The occurrence and dynamics of polychlorinated hydrocarbons in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in South-western Slovakia

Abstract

Abstract The goal of this study was to determined polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides in the depot fat of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) coming from south-western Slovakia. The mutual correlations of the organic pollutants were analyzed. The study included dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), hexachlorobenzen (HCB), alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane and beta-hexachlorocyclohexane (α\u2009+\u2009β-HCH), gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB-delor). The gas chromatograph with an electron capture detector ECD was used for analysis. The accumulations of organic pollutant in depot fat of roe deer were in following order: DDT\u2009>\u2009PCB-delor\u2009>\u2009α\u2009+\u2009β-HCH\u2009>\u2009HCB\u2009>\u2009γ-HCH. Among all pollutants, DDT was accumulated significantly in the highest level in the samples. The significantly higher content of DDT, HCB, α\u2009+\u2009β-HCH, and γ-HCH was detected in the adult animals when compared to the juveniles. Some strong positive correlations among pollutants, between HCB and DDT, α\u2009+\u2009β-HCH and HCB, α\u2009+\u2009β-HCH and HCB, between γ-HCH and other pollutants, and between PCB-delor and γ-HCH were found. Game animals are a part of human food chain and monitoring of the environment pollution by PCBs and other organic pollutants are worthy to study.