title: Risk of POP mixtures on the Arctic food chain.
abstract: The exposure of the Arctic ecosystem to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) was assessed through a review of literature data. Concentrations of 19 chemicals or congeneric groups were estimated for the highest levels of the Arctic food chain (Arctic cod, ringed seals, and polar bears). The ecotoxicological risk for seals, bears, and bear cubs was estimated by applying the concentration addition (CA) concept. The risk of POP mixtures was very low in seals. By contrast, the risk was 2 orders of magnitude higher than the risk threshold for adult polar bears and even more (3 orders of magnitude above the threshold) for bear cubs fed with contaminated milk. Based on the temporal trends available for many of the chemicals, the temporal trend of the mixture risk for bear cubs was calculated. Relative to the 1980s, a decrease in risk from the POP mixture is evident, mainly because of international control measures. However, the composition of the mixture substantially changes, and the contribution of new POPs (particularly perfluorooctane sulfonate) increases. These results support the effectiveness of control measures, such as those promulgated in the Stockholm Convention, as well as the urgent need for their implementation for new and emerging POPs. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1181-1192. © 2017 SETAC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano Bicocca, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Villa
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Management, and Statistics, University of Milano Bicocca, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Migliorati
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Management, and Statistics, University of Milano Bicocca, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianna Serafina
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Monti
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment (RECETOX), Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Holoubek
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano Bicocca, Milano, Italy.|Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies in Water (IMDEA Water), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vighi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001110:Arctic Regions; D017753:Ecosystem; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D020387:Food Chain; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012306:Risk; D046048:Seals, Earless / Q000378:metabolism; D001503:Ursidae / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Arctic; Mixture; Penalized regression smoothers; Persistent organic pollutants (POPs); Risk assessment