Chlorinated hydrocarbon (HCB, DDTs and PCBs) levels in cetaceans stranded along the Italian coasts: An overview

Concentrations of HCB, DDTs and PCBs in the tissues and organs of cetaceans (Stenella coeruleoalba, Tursiops truncatus, Balaenoptera physalus, Steno bredanensis, Grampus griseus and Globicephala melaena) stranded along the Italian coasts in the period 1987-1993 are reported. The values are compared between species and between specimens of the same species. Chlorinated hydrocarbon (CH) levels were found to increase in relation to the quantity and type of lipids in each tissue and organ. Differences in accumulation encountered in the different species are principally due to different feeding habitats. Remarkable differences found between males and females of each species confirm that during gestation and lactation, females undergo disintoxication by passing much of their total burden of CHs to their young.