Residues of polychlorinated biphenyls and DDT in water and sediment of the St. Lucie Estuary, Florida, 1977.

sigma DDT residues in the St. Lucie River bottom sediments increased after Lake Okeechobee water was discharged through the St. Lucie Canal into the area. sigma DDT levels were highest in sediment samples from the Palm City area, ranging from 1.8 ppb to 6.15 ppb. Sediment samples from the A1A Highway Bridge area contained 1.6-6.8 ppb Aroclor 1254. Levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and sigma DDT in sediment samples from the junction of the St. Lucie and Indian Rivers were not detectable. Surface water samples from the estuary did not show any detectable DDT or PCB residues.     

Organochlorine residues in young herons from the upper Mississippi River-1976.

Chicks of great blue herons (Ardea herodias) from four heronaries located near South St. Paul, Royalton, and Wabasha, Minnesota, and La Crosse, Wisconsin, were analyzed for organochlorines, Highest mean wet-weight concentrations, 6.43 ppm PCBs. 1.31 ppm DDE, and 1.90 ppm sigma DDT, were found in the South St. Paul chicks. Among chicks from the other three heronries, most levels were similar, but were significantly lower than levels in South St. Paul chicks. Lowest mean organochlorine levels, 0.37 ppm DDE, 0.38 ppm sigma DDT, and 0.22 ppm PCBs, were found in chicks from Royalton. All birds from South St. Paul and La Crosse contained residues of DDT and TDE whereas only one of the 10 birds from Royalton contained DDT and one contained TDE residues. Five of the 12 birds from Wabasha contained DDT; eight contained TDE. Except for PCB residues in La Crosse heron chicks, the rate of organochlorine residue accumulation in the birds was generally less than the rate of dilution caused by growth.     

Polychlorinated biphenyl contamination of areas surrounding two transformer salvage companies, Colman, South Dakota--September 1977

Soil, corn plants, and foliage from areas surrounding two electrical salvage companies involved in reconditioning old transformers had unusually high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Levels decreased as distance from the factories increased. PCBs were dispersed into the air through incineration of waste oils; water and soil contamination was caused by runoff from the factories. PCBs found in the contaminated areas closely resembled Aroclor 1260 as did the PCBs in the waste oil, whereas PCBs in other areas were more similar to Aroclor 1254. PCBs on surface soils taken from an unplowed pasture near the factories also resembled Aroclor 1260, whereas samples taken from depths of 2-4 inches showed degradation of some PCB isomers. PCB concentrations in corn cobs and kernels were < 0.05 ppm, whereas leaves contained PCB levels of up to 2.2 ppm. PCB levels in earthworms and small rodents collected near the factories were considerably higher than levels in the same types of animals collected from other areas.     

Organochlorine residues in harp seal (Phagophilus groenlandicus) tissues, Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1971, 1973.

Levels of p,p'-DDT, p,p'-TDE, p,p'-DDE, dieldrin, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and HCB were determined in certain tissues of 31 harp seals (P hagophilus groenlandicus) taken from the Gulf of St. Lawrence during 1971 and 1973. The seals ranged in age from less than two weeks to 18 years. Mean concentrations of PCBs and sigma DDT in the various tissues were about the same sigma DDT levels were 1.64--9.88 ppm in adult seal blubber and 1.08--3.73 ppm in seal pup blubber. Organochlorine levels in harp seal samples taken in 1973 were similar to those reported by other workers for samples collected in the Gulf of St. Lawrence during 1967-71.     

DDT in northern pike (Esox lucius) from the Richelieu River, Québec, Canada, 1974-75

Concentrations of DDT, TDE, DDE, and sigma DDT were determined in homogenized whole fish samples of 129 northern pike (Esox lucius). These fish were netted between June 1974 and June 1975 in the first 10 km of the Richelieu River flowing in Canadian territory. Two years after the banning of DDT, sigma DDT levels ranged from 0.2 ppm fresh body weight in two-year-old specimens to 1.5 ppm in a six-year-old pike. Residues increased greatly with age, and significant seasonal variations in the sigma DDT levels were found in five- and six-year-old pike.     

Residues of polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT, and DDT metabolites in Pennsylvania streams, community water supplies, and reservoirs, 1974--76.

Pennsylvania streams, community water supplies, and open water reservoirs were analyzed for PCB mixtures, DDT, and DDT metabolites. Streams were sampled in 1974 and again in 1975. Only 4 of 19 stream locations were contaminated. Maximum concentrations in community supplies of Aroclor 1242 (2 locations), Aroclor 1254 (3 locations), and sigmaDDT (2 locations) were 350, 260, and 620 ng/kg, respectively. Of the 110 community water supplies sampled in 1975 and 1976, only 7 contained residues. Maximum concentrations in community supplies of Aroclor 1242 (4 locations) and sigmaDDT (2 locations) were 460 ng/kg and 75 ng/kg, respectively. The seventh contained 0.7 ng/kg of dieldrin. None of the three open water reservoirs contained detectable residues of the compounds of interest. Essentially no correlation was found between PCB and DDT analogs in streams and those in fish from streams which had been samples at similar locations in a related study in 1976.     

Residues of organochlorine insecticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in fish from Lakes Huron and Superior, Canada--1968-76.

Five species of fish from Lake Superior and 12 species from Lake Huron were analyzed for organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) between 1968 and 1975. Mean residues of sigma DDT peaked at 1.72 ppm and 7.60 ppm in lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) from Lakes Superior and Huron, respectively. By 1975, the mean level of sigma DDT had decreased in lake trout and was highest in bloaters (Coregonus hoi) from both lakes: 1.06 ppm and 1.87 ppm, respectively. Dieldrin levels in fish from Lake Superior changed little over the same period. However, in 1969-70, dieldrin levels in fish from Lake Huron exceeded the 0.3 ppm tolerance level set by Health and Welfare Canada or the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 5 percent of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and 10 percent of bloaters. By 1975, 50 percent of bloaters caught in Georgian Bay and North Channel had dieldrin levels above 0.3 ppm. PCB residues declined in lake trout and lake whitefish caught in Lake Superior between 1971 and 1975, but increased slightly in bloaters and white sucker (Catostomus commersoni). Mean PCB residues in bloaters caught in Lake Huron in 1969-71 and 1975-76, and splake (Salvelinus fontinalis and S. namaycush) and cisco (Coregonus artedii) caught in 1975 exceeded the 2 ppm tolerance level.     

Organochlorine pesticide residues in human milk samples from women living in Northwest and Northeast Mississippi, 1973-75

Organochlorine pesticide analyses were performed on human milk samples obtained from 34 women living in the Mississippi Delta, a high pesticide usage area, and from six women living in Starkville, Mississippi, a low pesticide usage area. Nine women collected samples before and after their babies had nursed so that fat levels and sigma DDT levels could be compared on whole milk and milk fat bases. sigma DDT values were independent of collection time if calculated on a milk fat basis, but not if calculated on a whole milk basis. Thus, the most consistent indicator of DDT residues were values calculated on a milk fat basis. Residue levels for p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDT, and sigma DDT were significantly different (P less than 0.01) in samples from the two areas. Residues of o,p'-DDT, beta-BHC, and oxychlordane in milk samples from women living in the high pesticide usage area also were significantly different (P less than 0.05). A mean value of 19.17 ppm sigma DDT, found in the milk fat of samples from the high pesticide usage area, is the highest ever reported. Samples from the low pesticide usage area contained a mean level of 2.36 ppm sigma DDT.     

Pesticide contamination of water rats in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Areas, New South Wales, Australia, 1970-72.

Organochlorine pesticides were found in all samples of livers, kidneys, mammary glands, and fetuses of eastern water rats (Hydromys chrysogaster) collected in the Murrumbidgee irrigation areas of New South Wales in 1970 and 1972. DDE was the predominant residue. Livers contained 0.01--3.10 ppm sigma DDT air-dried weight; kidneys, less than 0.01--1.12 ppm; mammary glands, 0.14--23.75 ppm; fetal liver, 0.28--0.66 ppm. Variations in residue levels are discussed in relation to the possible effects of environmental and physiological factors.     

Organochlorine pesticide residues in small migratory birds, 1964-73.

Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide burdens, especially those of DDT and its metabolites, have been determined for 19 species of small terrestrial migratory birds killed chiefly at Florida television towers from 1964 to 1973. All 128 samples were sorted into pools by species. All pooled samples except one contained DDE and often DDT and DDD; dieldrin was present in 60 of the samples; but no PCB's were detected. In small subsamples, sigma DDT (p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDD, and p,p'-DDE) residues sometimes differed between males and females, adults and immatures, and northbound and southbound migrants but results of these comparisons were inconclusive. Sigma DDT burdens were highest in adipose tissue and much lower in liver and brain samples. Especially among birds taken since 1970 have the pesticide levels in adipose tissue been at low levels, generally less than 3 ppm sigma DDT. These low quantities are comparable to those quoted in other reports on birds of similar trophic levels. The insectivorous and/or partly granivorous birds feeding on or near the ground tended to have higher sigma DDT levels than did the more arboreal species.     

Dieldrin, DDT, PCBs, and mercury levels in freshwater mullet from the upper Great Lakes, 1975-76.

Freshwater mullet harvested commercially during various seasons of 1975-76 from the upper Great Lakes were analyzed for organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, and mercury. Species analyzed were Catostomus commersoni, C. catostomus, and Moxostoma erythruran. Whole ground fish, mechanically deboned flesh, head, middle, and tail steaks, and various muscles were analyzed for pesticides and PCBs; only edible flesh was analyzed for mercury. Dieldrin ranged from none detected to 0.23 ppm in deboned and whole ground samples, the DDT range was a trace to 0.30 ppm, and PCBs ranged from 0.06 ppm to 0.79 ppm. Levels were also higher in head sections and in high fat-containing medial muscle and belly flap. Mercury levels ranged from 0.03 ppm to 0.28 ppm in the flesh of mullet from Lake Michigan.     

Residues of organochlorine insecticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in fish from Lakes Saint Clair and Erie, Canada--1968-76.

Eighteen species of fish from Lake Saint Clair and 19 species from Lake Erie were analyzed for organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) between 1968 and 1976. Mean residues of sigma DDT peaked at 1.19 ppm in longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus) caught in Lake Saint Clair in 1970-71, but had declined in all species by 1975-76. Dieldrin levels in fish tissues increased over the same period. White bass (Morone chrysops), caught in 1975 in Lake Erie, had the highest mean residue of dieldrin at 0.17 ppm. PCB residues increased in some species and decreased in others. PCB residues exceeding the tolerance level of Health and Welfare Canada were found in the following: from Lake Saint Clair, smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui) in 1975 and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) in 1971; from Lake Erie, coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in 1970, smallmouth bass, alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens), and gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) in 1971, and white bass in 1971 and 1976.     

PCB's in fish from selected waters of New York State.

PCB residues in fish from 41 stations throughout New York State were monitored in 1975. Nearly all fish contained PCB's in detectable amounts although the levels of contamination and specific Aroclor varied. The Hudson River contained the highest known PCB concentrations within the United States; levels often exceeded 100 ppm. Other waters and fish which were significantly contaminated include Lake Ontario salmonids and Cayuga Lake lake trout. Onondaga Lake, previously closed to fishing because of mercury contamination, also appears to have abnormally high levels of PCB's approaching in some instances the action level of the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Samples from marine waters generally have contaminant levels substantially below 5.0 ppm.     

Organochlorine residues and shell thicknesses in eggs of the clapper rail, common gallinule, purple gallinule, and limpkin (class Aves), eastern and southern United States, 1972-74

Organochlorine residues and shell thicknesses were surveyed in eggs of the clapper rail (Rallus longirostris), purple gallinule (Porphyrula martinica), common gallinule (Gallinula chloropas), and limpkin (Aramus guarauna) from the eastern and southern United States. Clapper rail eggs were collected during 1972-73 in New Jersey, Virginia, and South Carolina. During 1973-74, gallinule eggs were collected in Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana, and limpkin eggs were collected in Florida. Egg contents were analyzed for residues of organochlorine pesticides, including DDT, TDE, DDE, dieldrin, mirex, heptachlor epoxide, oxychlordane, cis-chlordane (and/or trans-nonachlor), cis-nonachlor, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), toxaphene, and endrin, and for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Shell thicknesses of recent eggs of these species were compared with archival eggs that had been collected before 1947. With the exception of the limpkin, the majority of eggs analyzed contained residues of p,p'-DDE and PCBs. Geometric means ranged from 0.10 ppm to 1.3 ppm. Small amounts (less than 1.0 ppm) of mirex, dieldrin, cis-chlordane (and/or trans-nonachlor), TDE, and DDT were detected in a few eggs. No evidence of eggshell thinning was found for any of the species studied. DDE residues in clapper rail eggs were higher in New Jersey and Virginia than in South Carolina.     

Organochlorine pesticide residues in soils from six U.S. Air Force bases, 1975--76.

Soil samples collected during 1975 and 1976 from United States Air Force installations in California, Georgia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah were analyzed for organochlorine pesticide residues. Sigma DDT, chlordane, and dieldrin were the pesticides most commonly found. In 1975, sigma DDT residues were significantly higher in samples from residential areas than in samples from golf courses or areas free of pesticide application. Chlordane residues in 1975 were significantly higher in both residential and golf course areas than in areas where pesticides had not been used. No significant differences were found in 1976 in residue levels of any pesticide monitored among various land use areas.     

Organochlorine pollutants in small cetaceans from the Pacific and south Atlantic Oceans, November 1968-June 1976

Organochlorine residues were analyzed in blubber, brain, or muscle tissues of 69 individuals representing 10 species of small cetaceans. Collections were made from November 1968 through June 1976 at localities in the Eastern Tropical Pacific and along the coasts of California, Hawaii, Japan, and Uruguay, Relations of residue concentrations between tissues are described for DDE and PCBs in two dolphin species. sigma DDT and PCB residues in blubber of most of the 19 individuals of the five southern California species sampled exceed concentrations that are associated with reproductive impairment in pinnipeds, although the nature of such associations is not well defined. The sigma DDT residue of 2,695 ppm in blubber of one California coastal Tursiops truncatus is one of the highest concentrations reported in tissues of members of any population of wild mammals. Except for one rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis) from Maui, Hawaii, all individuals from all localities surveyed were contaminated with organochlorine compounds. Seventeen different organochlorines were detected; greatest diversity occurred near Japan and California. This is the first report of several of these compounds in tissues of any species of marine mammals. The o,p'-isomers and metabolites of DDT were detected unusually frequently. Ratios of p,p'-DDT to p,p'-DDE in blubber of cetaceans from waters off countries where use of this pesticide has been relatively recent and ongoing were at least an order of magnitude higher than in cetaceans from United States waters.     

DDT and BHC residues in some body tissues of goats, buffalo, and chickens, Lucknow, India

Muscle, liver, brain, and abdominal body fat samples of goats, buffalo, and chickens, all common meat sources in India, were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) for residues of DDT and benzene hexachloride (BHC). A few samples of goat and buffalo bone marrow were also included. Relatively high residue levels were found in body fat and bone marrow compared with other tissues. DDT and BHC residue levels were highest in chicken body fat, averaging 4.157 ppm sigma DDT and 3.879 ppm BHC. DDT content was much higher in goat and buffalo bone marrow than in the corresponding body fat. DDT levels in brain samples were highest (0.138 ppm) in buffalo. p,p'-TDE levels were higher than p,p'-DDE levels in buffalo; overall DDT levels were lowest in goats. BHC residues were generally low in buffalo; alpha-BHC accounted for most BHC residues in brain tissues. Greater accumulations of DDT and BHC were found in leg muscles than in breast muscles of chickens.     

Pesticide residue levels in soils and crops from 37 states, 1972--National Soils Monitoring Program (IV).

Residue data from the 1972 (FY--73) National Soils Monitoring Program are summarized. Composite samples of agricultural soil and mature crops were collected from 1,483 of the 1,533 selected 4-hectare sites in 37 states. Analyses were performed for organochlorine and organophosphorus compounds, trifluralin and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); analysis for atrazine was performed only when pesticide application data indicated current-year use. Organochlorine pesticides were detected in 45 percent of the soil samples. The most frequently detected compound was dieldrin, found in 27 percent of all soil samples. Other compounds detected, in order of frequency, included DDT, aldrin, chlordane, and heptachlor epoxide, found, respectively, in 21, 9, 8, and 7 percent of all soil samples. Crop samples were collected from 727 sites. All were analyzed for organochlorines; analyses were performed for organophosphates and atrazine only when pesticide application data indicated current-year use. For all crops, 40 percent of the samples contained detectable levels of organochlorines and 10 percent contained detectable levels of organophosphates. Atrazine was not detected.     

Pesticide residues in foodstuffs in Great Britain: XIII.—Organochlorine residues in cereals,pulses and nuts

Results are presented for the determination of organochlorine insecticide residues in grain, pulses and nuts sampled on arrival in Britain during the 2½ years up to June 1969. BHC was detected in nearly every sample but the general level was low, most samples containing less than 0·1 ppm. DDT was found less frequently. Very few samples contained more than 1 ppm of either insecticide. DDE in trace amounts was found in about 10% of the samples of grain and nuts and TDE was found in one sample of grain. The only other organochlorine compounds detected were aldrin in one sample of pulses and hexachlorobenzene in 7 samples of wheat.     

Nationwide residues of organochlorine compounds in wings of adult mallards and black ducks, 1979-80

Organochlorine residues in wings of adult mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and black ducks (Anas rubripes) were monitored nationwide from birds harvested during the 1979-80 hunting season. DDE residues were found in all samples. DDT residues had declined from levels reported in 1976 on a flyway basis but the decline was significant (P less than 0.05) only in the Pacific Flyway. Levels of DDT, DDE, TDE, and dieldrin were low on a flyway basis, and all but DDE declined significantly (P less than 0.05) in the percent occurrence. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) levels were lower in mallard wings from all flyways compared with 1976 data, but percent occurrence had significantly (P less than 0.05) increased. Pools from Alabama and New Mexico continued to show higher DDE residues than pools from other areas.