PH11 Bioaccumulation and Biotransformation of POPs
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Thursday, 13 November 2003
(PH102) Mercury and Organochlorines in Fish from High-Elevation Lakes of Washington's National Parks.
Moran, P1, Black, R1, 1 US Geological Survey, Tacoma, WA, USA
ABSTRACT- Recent studies have demonstrated a trend of increasing concentrations of some contaminants with increasing elevation at remote locations. The consistent cold temperatures high precipitation in the Olympic and Cascade ranges of Washington State are locations where atmospheric deposition of some contaminants is expected to occur. Total mercury and 28 organochlorine compounds were measured in composite, whole fish samples collected from 14 remote lakes in the Olympic, Mt. Rainer, and North Cascades National Parks. Elevation of the lakes ranged from 1443-2120 m. Mercury was detected in fish from all lakes sampled and ranged in concentration from 17 to 262 (ug/kg) wet weight. Two organochlorines, total PCBs and DDE, were detected at concentrations <25 (ug/kg ww), other organochlorines were not detected. Multivariate and multiple regression techniques were used to evaluate relationships between environmental factors and the concentrations observed. This evaluation suggests that local urban areas are the source of the observed contaminant patterns.
Key words: tissue, fish, mercury, organochlorines