Matti Perttilä

Heavy metals and organochlorine compounds in seals in the Gulf of Finland

Abstract The concentrations of Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Se, Hg, DDT, DDD, DDE, the PCBs and the chlordane components have been determined in the muscle, liver, kidney and blubber of the grey seal, Halichoerus grypus and the Baltic ringed seal Phoca hispida botnica of different ages caught in the Gulf of Finland. The results are related to the age and, for the organochlorine compounds, to the lipid content, of the specimens. Se and Hg were found to be correlated strongly with age. The heavy metal concentrations were highest in the liver, except for Cd, which was highest in the kidney. The mean concentrations of PCB and DDT compounds in blubber were varied and those for yearling seals were considerably lower thun those for older seals, but, even so, the levels were high from the biological point of view. Some comparisons with the results of earlier studies on seals in the Gulf of Finland and the Bothnian Bay are made and a short account of research into the seal uterus in relation to the high levels of PCB is given.

Levels and trends of organochlorines in cod and herring in the northern Baltic

Abstract Cod and herring have been collected and analysed for monitoring purposes since 1979 in the Finnish sea areas in the Baltic Sea. During the period 1979–1986, both the DDT and the PCB concentrations have decreased in all the studied areas. sDDT-values in herring muscle have decreased from 0.7–2.2 mg kg −1 in 1979 to 0.3–1.0 mg kg −1 in 1986 (in extractable fat). Corresponding sPCB-levels have decreased from 2.7–3.7 mg kg −1 to 0.3–1.1 mg kg −1 . The present lindane concentrations in herring vary from 0.010–0.017 mg kg −1 , and the HCB concentrations from 0.013–0.019 mg kg −1 (extractable fat).

Heavy metals in Baltic herring and cod

Abstract The monitoring programme of harmful substances in selected species in the Baltic Sea was started in 1979. In the present study, three-year averages of Zn, Cu, Cd and Pb in cod liver (Hg in cod muscle) and herring muscle are reported. The concentrations of heavy metals in cod show areal differences roughly in accordance with the concentrations of heavy metals in sea water. No significant differences between heavy metal concentrations in North Atlantic and Baltic Sea species were found, except for mercury, for which values in the Baltic Sea species are lower than in those from the North Atlantic.

Organochlorine compounds in the liver of cod (Gadus morhua) in the Northern Baltic

Abstract The livers of 53 female cod weighing about 2 kg, caught at three different sites off the Finnish coast, were analyzed for chlorinated hydrocarbons. The average concentrations of PCB-, DDT- and chlordane compounds varied from 2.3 to 5.3, 0.3 to 1.0 and 0.02 to 0.05 mg/kg, respectively.

Trace elements in the Weddell Sea water and sediments in the continental shelf area

Abstract During the Finnish Antarctic cruise FINNARP89, a relatively rapid sedimentation area was found at the edge of the continental shelf, in the vicinity of the ice edge. The average rate of sedimentation in the topmost sediment surface, measured by means of 210 Pb technique, was 0.2 mm/y, an order of magnitude higher than in the open Weddell Sea area.

Distribution of total and ASV-labile cadmium, lead, and copper in sea water in the northern parts of the Baltic Sea in 1985–1986

Abstract The concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Cu have been determined in the northern Baltic Sea during the years 1985–1986. The electrochemical determinations have been carried out both before and after u.v. destruction of the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the filtered sea water samples, in order to provide an operational value for the total and the bioavailable fraction of the elements. In the case of copper, the relation between the total and ASV-labile concentrations was relatively high (40–50%) and constant throughout the study areas.