title: Time trends and congener profiles of PCDD/Fs, PCBs, and PBDEs in Baltic herring off the coast of Finland during 1978-2009.
abstract: In Finland, consumption of Baltic fatty fish may lead to high exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which might have hazardous health effects. Monitoring of POPs in Baltic fish enables the health authorities to keep dietary advice on fish consumption up to date. In this study, which is a compilation of analytical data from earlier studies, time trends and congener profiles of polychlorinated dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) and biphenyls (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in Baltic herring are reported. Altogether 344 samples of Baltic herring from 1978-2009 were collected across the Finnish coast of the Baltic Sea. The chemical analysis was performed in an accredited testing laboratory with high resolution gas chromatography mass spectrometry. During the 31-year period, PCDD/F and PCB concentrations decreased on approximately 80%, from approximately 20 to 5 pg/g fw, expressed as WHO2005 TEQ. The PBDE concentrations experienced a 4-10 fold increase during late 1980s-early 1990s, and declined to 1978s levels of approximately 2 ng/g fw by 2009. The current concentrations of PCDD/Fs, PCBs and PBDEs in Baltic herring are relatively low, and mostly below EU maximum accepted levels, and are expected to continue decreasing. In the future, it may be possible to re-evaluate the consumption restrictions for this specific Baltic fatty fish.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Department of Environmental Health, Kuopio, Finland. Electronic address: riikka.airaksinen@thl.fi.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Airaksinen
authors.affiliation: Finnish Food Safety Authority, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hallikainen
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Department of Environmental Health, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rantakokko
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Department of Environmental Health, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ruokojärvi
authors.affiliation: Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Vuorinen
authors.affiliation: Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Parmanne
authors.affiliation: Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Verta
authors.affiliation: Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mannio
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Department of Environmental Health, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kiviranta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D046091:Charadriiformes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005387:Finland; D005663:Furans / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005663:Furans; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Baltic Sea; Baltic herring; Dioxin; PBDE; PCB; Time trend