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Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFASs) in traditional seafood items from western Greenland

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Abstract

In this study, contamination levels were determined for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFASs) in traditional Greenland seafood items, such as raw and smoked fish fillet (salmon and halibut), whale and seal meat and narwhal mattak (skin and blubber). The daily intake of PCBs, PBDEs and PFASs through traditional seafood items in Greenland was assessed. Based on the presented levels of contaminants, in combination with earlier food intake studies, suggests that the daily exposure was below the tolerable daily intake threshold for all compounds. BDE-47 was the only PBDE-congener detected in all food items, except in smoked halibut. The levels of BDE-47 varied from < LOD in smoked halibut up to 18 ng/g lw in narwhal mattak and 21 ng/g lw in whale beef. ∑PCB were lowest in smoked halibut (37 ng/g lw) and highest in narwhal mattak with 1,146 ng/g lw. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was the most common of the PFASs. However, ΣPFASs were below detection limits in most fish fillet samples, and varied from 2.9 ng/g ww in whale beef to 13.5 ng/g ww in seal beef. The present study shows that the exclusion from the diet of local food items such as intestines and blubber have a strong positive effect for the reduction of POPs levels in food, without a reducing the health benefits of traditional food intake considerably.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the EU framework 7 project ArcRisk (Grant agreement no 226534) for funding and the Norwegian Institute for Air Research in Tromsø for analyses. We are also grateful to Ane-Marie Beck for labwork, Sarah Lovibond for helpful comments on the manuscript and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources for support during sampling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Centre in Svalbard, P.O. Box 156, 9171, Longyearbyen, Norway

    Pernilla Carlsson & Roland Kallenborn

  2. University of Tromsø, Hansine Hansens veg 14, 9007, Tromsø, Norway

    Pernilla Carlsson

  3. FRAM – High North Research Centre on Climate and the Environment, Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), Hjalmar Johansens gate 14, 9296, Tromsø, Norway

    Dorte Herzke

  4. Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, Christian M. Falsen veg 1, 1432, Ås, Norway

    Roland Kallenborn

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  1. Pernilla Carlsson
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Correspondence to Roland Kallenborn.

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Carlsson, P., Herzke, D. & Kallenborn, R. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFASs) in traditional seafood items from western Greenland. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 4741–4750 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-2435-x

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