PMID- 33421660
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20210210
LR  - 20210210
IS  - 1873-6424 (Electronic)
IS  - 0269-7491 (Linking)
VI  - 272
DP  - 2021 Mar 1
TI  - Persistent pollutants exceed toxic thresholds in a freshwater top predator 
      decades after legislative control.
PG  - 116415
LID - S0269-7491(20)37104-9 [pii]
LID - 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116415 [doi]
AB  - Declining emissions of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), subject to 
      international control under the Stockholm convention, are not consistently 
      reflected in biotic samples. To assess spatial and temporal variation in 
      organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in UK freshwaters, we analysed tissues of a 
      sentinel predator, the Eurasian otter, Lutra lutra between 1992 and 2009. Past 
      declines in otter populations have been linked to POPs and it is unclear whether 
      otter recovery is hampered in any areas by their persistence. PCBs, DDT (and 
      derivatives), dieldrin and HCB were detected in over 80% of 755 otter livers 
      sampled. Concentrations of  summation operatorPCB,  summation operatorDDT and dieldrin in otter livers declined 
      across the UK, but there was no significant time trend for  summation operatorPCB-TEQ (WHO toxic 
      equivalency, Van den Berg et al., 2006) or HCB. In general, higher concentrations 
      were found in the midlands and eastern regions, and lowest concentrations in 
      western regions. Concentrations of PCBs and HCB in otters increased near the 
      coast, potentially reflecting higher pollutant levels in estuarine systems. 
      Decades after legislative controls, concentrations of these legacy pollutants 
      still pose a risk to otters and other freshwater predators, with spatially 
      widespread exceedance of thresholds above which reproduction or survival has been 
      reduced in related species.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
FAU - Kean, E F
AU  - Kean EF
AD  - Cardiff University, Biomedical Science Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 
      3AX, UK.
FAU - Shore, R F
AU  - Shore RF
AD  - Deceased, formerly at UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, UK.
FAU - Scholey, G
AU  - Scholey G
AD  - Environment Agency, Red Kite House, Howbery Park, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 
      8BD, UK.
FAU - Strachan, R
AU  - Strachan R
AD  - Deceased, formerly at Natural Resources Wales, UK.
FAU - Chadwick, E A
AU  - Chadwick EA
AD  - Cardiff University, Biomedical Science Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 
      3AX, UK. Electronic address: ChadwickEA@cardiff.ac.uk.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20210102
PL  - England
TA  - Environ Pollut
JT  - Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)
JID - 8804476
RN  - 0 (Environmental Pollutants)
RN  - 0 (Pesticides)
RN  - 0 (Water Pollutants, Chemical)
RN  - DFC2HB4I0K (Polychlorinated Biphenyls)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - *Environmental Pollutants/analysis
MH  - Fresh Water
MH  - *Otters
MH  - *Pesticides/analysis
MH  - *Polychlorinated Biphenyls/analysis
MH  - *Water Pollutants, Chemical
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Contaminant
OT  - Freshwater ecosystem
OT  - Otter
OT  - PCBs
OT  - Persistent organic pollutants
COIS- Declaration of competing interest No conflict of interest in this article.
EDAT- 2021/01/10 06:00
MHDA- 2021/02/11 06:00
CRDT- 2021/01/09 20:08
PHST- 2020/09/28 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2020/12/16 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2020/12/29 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2021/01/10 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2021/02/11 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2021/01/09 20:08 [entrez]
AID - S0269-7491(20)37104-9 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116415 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Environ Pollut. 2021 Mar 1;272:116415. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116415. Epub 
      2021 Jan 2.