title: Persistent organic pollutants in the Antarctic coastal environment and their bioaccumulation in penguins.
abstract: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PBDD/Fs), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), have been identified in penguins, lichens, soils, and ornithogenic soils in the Antarctic coastal environment in this study. To the best of our knowledge, no previous study has reported PBDD/F and PBB data from Antarctica. The POP mass contents in penguins were in the following order: PCBs >> PBDEs >> PCDD/Fs; PCBs were the dominant pollutants (6310-144,000 pg/g-lipid), with World Health Organization toxic equivalency values being 2-14 times higher than those of PCDD/Fs. Long-range atmospheric transport is the most primary route by which POPs travel to Antarctica; however, local sources, such as research activities and penguin colonies, also influence POP distribution in the local Antarctic environment. In penguins, the biomagnification factor (BMF) of PCBs was 61.3-3760, considerably higher than that for other POPs. According to BMF data in Adélie penguins, hydrophobic PBDE congeners were more biomagnified at log Kow > 6, and levels decreased at log Kow > 7.5 because larger molecular sizes inhibited transfer across cell membranes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan.
authors.forename: John Kennedy
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Mwangi
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan. Electronic address: wjlee@mail.ncku.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Wen-Jhy
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering and Geomatics, Cheng Shiu University, No. 840, Chengching Road, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan. Electronic address: lcwang@csu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Lin-Chi
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung 944, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ping-Jyun
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: Department of Leisure and Sport Management, Cheng Shiu University, No. 840, Chengching Road, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Lee-Shing
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yen-Yi
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Cosmetic and Fashion Styling, Cheng Shiu University, No. 840, Chengching Road, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Guo-Ping
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Chang-Chien
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000864:Antarctic Regions; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D006801:Humans; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D046429:Spheniscidae / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D012987:Soil; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Biomagnification; PBDD/Fs; PBDEs; POPs; Penguin