Determination of Individual Chlorobiphenyls (CBs), Including Non-Ortho, and Mono-Ortho Chloro Substituted CBs in Marine Mammals from Scottish Waters

Abstract

Twenty individual chlorobiphenyls (CBs) have been determined in marine mammals. The more toxic non-ortho and mono-ortho CBs have been separated from di and tri-ortho CBs using a pyrenyl silica HPLC column prior to the final determination by capillary GC. The comparative metabolism of the biologically active CBs in whale, porpoise, dolphin and seal tissue is described. An estimate of the TCDD toxic equivalence concentration (TEC) for the non ortho and mono ortho CBs is made.