PMID- 15931427
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20051019
LR  - 20161124
IS  - 1464-0325 (Print)
IS  - 1464-0325 (Linking)
VI  - 7
IP  - 6
DP  - 2005 Jun
TI  - Gull eggs--food of high organic pollutant content?
PG  - 635-9
AB  - A wide range and occasionally high levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) 
      are reported in Arctic regions, especially among top predators. Polar bears 
      (Ursus maritimus), arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) and some gull species (Larus 
      spp.) often have high levels of these fat-soluble pollutants. Gulls deposit 
      significant levels of these contaminants in their eggs. In northern regions, gull 
      eggs are part of the traditional human diet. In the present study we have 
      investigated the levels of POPs in gull eggs in order to determine the tolerable 
      weekly intake (TWI) for humans. Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls 
      (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated 
      dibenzofurans (PCDFs) were measured in 214 gull eggs collected in the spring of 
      2001-02. The eggs were collected from four gull species (herring gulls (Larus 
      argentatus), great black-backed gulls (L. marinus), lesser black-backed gulls (L. 
      fuscus) and glaucous gulls (L. hyperboreus)) at 12 different locations in 
      Northern Norway, on the Faroe Islands and on Svalbard. The pollutant levels in 
      gull eggs were found to be 65.5 +/- 26.9 pg toxic equivalent (TE) for dioxin and 
      PCB g(-1) wet weight. Based on these findings and the TWI-value determined by the 
      EU Scientific Committee on Food it is advised that children, young women and 
      pregnant and nursing women should not eat gull eggs. Other people should limit 
      their intake of eggs to an absolute minimum, considering the health risks 
      associated with gull egg intake.
FAU - Pusch, Kerstin
AU  - Pusch K
AD  - Norwegian Polar Institute, The Polar Environmental Centre, Hjalmar Johansens gate 
      14, Tromso, Norway. kerstin@npolar.no
FAU - Schlabach, Martin
AU  - Schlabach M
FAU - Prinzinger, Roland
AU  - Prinzinger R
FAU - Wing Gabrielsen, Geir
AU  - Wing Gabrielsen G
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20050503
PL  - England
TA  - J Environ Monit
JT  - Journal of environmental monitoring : JEM
JID - 100968688
RN  - 0 (Benzofurans)
RN  - 0 (Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated)
RN  - 0 (Environmental Pollutants)
RN  - 0 (Organic Chemicals)
RN  - 0 (Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins)
RN  - DFC2HB4I0K (Polychlorinated Biphenyls)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Benzofurans/analysis/toxicity
MH  - Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated
MH  - Eagles
MH  - Eggs/*analysis
MH  - Environmental Pollutants/analysis/*toxicity
MH  - *Food Chain
MH  - Humans
MH  - Organic Chemicals/analysis/*toxicity
MH  - Polychlorinated Biphenyls/analysis/toxicity
MH  - Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins/analogs & derivatives/analysis/toxicity
MH  - Population Dynamics
MH  - Risk Assessment
MH  - Species Specificity
MH  - Tissue Distribution
EDAT- 2005/06/03 09:00
MHDA- 2005/10/20 09:00
CRDT- 2005/06/03 09:00
PHST- 2005/06/03 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2005/10/20 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2005/06/03 09:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1039/b501879j [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Environ Monit. 2005 Jun;7(6):635-9. doi: 10.1039/b501879j. Epub 2005 May 3.