title: Extensive organohalogen contamination in wildlife from a site in the Yangtze River Delta.
abstract: The environmental and human health concerns for organohalogen contaminants (OHCs) extend beyond the 23 persistent organic pollutants (POPs) regulated by the Stockholm Convention. The current, intense industrial production and use of chemicals in China and their bioaccumulation makes Chinese wildlife highly suitable for the assessment of legacy, novel and emerging environmental pollutants. In the present study, six species of amphibians, fish and birds were sampled from paddy fields in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) were screened for OHCs. Some extensive contamination was found, both regarding number and concentrations of the analytes, among the species assessed. High concentrations of chlorinated paraffins were found in the snake, Short-tailed mamushi (range of 200-340 μg g(-)(1)lw), Peregrine falcon (8-59 μg g(-1)lw) and Asiatic toad (97 μg g(-)(1)lw). Novel contaminants and patterns were observed; octaCBs to decaCB made up 20% of the total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) content in the samples and new OHCs, substituted with 5-8 chlorines, were found but are not yet structurally confirmed. In addition, Dechlorane 602 (DDC-DBF) and numerous other OHCs (DDTs, hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexbromocyclododecane (HBCDD), chlordane, heptachlor, endosulfan and Mirex) were found in all species analyzed. These data show extensive chemical contamination of wildlife in the YRD with a suite of OHCs with both known and unknown toxicities, calling for further in-depth studies.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Yihui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lillemor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Asplund
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ge
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Athanassiadis
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ulla
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Wideqvist
authors.affiliation: Contaminant Research Group, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, 104 15 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bignert
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment (Ministry of Education), College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China. Electronic address: ylqiu@tongji.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yanling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Zhiliang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Jianfu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; Swedish Toxicology Sciences Research Center (Swetox), Forskargatan 20, SE-152 57 Södertälje, Sweden.
authors.forename: Åke
authors.initials: Å
authors.lastname: Bergman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000378:metabolism; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane / Q000378:metabolism; D006846:Hydrocarbons, Halogenated / Q000378:metabolism*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D006846:Hydrocarbons, Halogenated; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Chlorinated paraffins (CPs); Emerging contaminants; Persistent organic pollutants (POPs); Wildlife; Yangtze River Delta