1. Widespread occurrence of the pesticide toxaphene in Canadian east coast marine fish.
- Author
-
Musial CJ and Uthe JF
- Subjects
- Animals, Canada, Chromatography, Gas, Liver analysis, Fishes metabolism, Insecticides analysis, Pesticide Residues analysis, Toxaphene analysis
- Abstract
Chromatographic and chemical confirmatory evidence is presented for the presence of residues of toxaphene, a polychlorinated camphene pesticide, in herring (Clupea harengus harengus) and cod (Gadus morhua) from widely-separated areas of the Canadian east coast. Toxaphene residues were not detected in a sample of deep-sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus). Toxaphene was determined by capillary gas chromatography following a combination of chromatography and fuming nitric-concentrated sulfuric acid cleanup, a procedure which greatly simplified the capillary gas chromatograms and eliminated many co-extractives. Concentrations in the fish tissues ranged from 0.4 to 1.1 micrograms/g on a net weight basis and from 2.4 to 12 micrograms/g on a fat weight bais. These data indicate widespread contamination of the marine environment by chlorinated camphenes.
- Published
- 1983
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