Document B56r1KLvrME4Ey1XOGqYydvZw

'""'Pp I l J p/e ^iA->/ I .7^) fj ~&?s /?7l The problem of leau poisoning in Lebanon has not received the attention that it had in many other countries of the world. It may seem that the problem is even worse than it would appear because the largest amount of fishing is at the points of highest lead <'<>rcentration. The point of highest lead concentration is the west end of Ras Beirut, point 13 in Figure 1, which is heavily fished. The dock area which is a centre of net fishing in Beirut, also has a high concentration of lead. We wish to thank Dr S. Decb (American University of Beirut, Lebanon) for his helpful suggestions and his review of this paper. John G. Shiber* American Community School, Bryan Ramsay| Beirut, Lebanon. * Present address: Purdue University, I afayette, Indiana UiA t Present address: University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame Indiana, USA. * Brown, B. & Ahsunaliali. M.jfl97l). Effect of heavy metals on mortality and growth. Mar. Poll. Bull. 2 (12): 182-186. Chisolm, J. (1971). Lead poisoning. Sci. Amer., 224 (2): 15-231 Chow, T. J. (1971). Reported in Lead in the sea. Mar. Poll. Bull 2 0): 8- " Craig. S. (1967). Toxic Ions in bivalves. J. Amer. Osteop. Assn *6 (9): 1,000-1,002. Dorfman, D. A Whitworth, W. (1969). Effect of lead in brook trout. J. Fis. Res. Bull. Can., 26 (9): 2,493-2,501. Gafford, R. D. (1970). "Automation of monitoring equipment for marine pollution studies," FAO Technical Conference on Marine Pollution and Its Effects on Living Resources and Fishing, Rome, Italy, December 1970, E-15. Porlmann, I. E. (1970). Possible dangers of marine pollution as a ttr 't-of mining operation for metal ores, FAO Technical Conference on Marine Pollution and Its Effects or. Living Resources and Fishing, Rome, Italy, December 1970, E-32. Polychlorinated Biphenyls in North Atlantic Seabirds Polychlorinated biphenyls are usually thought to be discharged fn industrial effluents and therefore to be commonest in inshore waters close to centres of industry. K now appears that high concentrations are found in pelagic-feeding seabirds from the North Atlantic, far from possible industrial sources of these compounds. Organochlorines have been known to be present in British seabird eggs for a decade (Moore & Tatton, f 1965), and substantial amounts in a pelagic seabird frequenting one of the remotest North Atlantic breeding r sites, the Bermuda petrel Plerodroma cahow, and traces in Antarctic species, for half that time (Wurster & Win- gete, 1968; Sladen et al., 1966). At first these were identified as pesticides and their metabolites, but more recently polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) used in in dustry have been detected as well, at first as a source of interference in other estimations and then as addi tional contaminants (Jensen, 1966; 1972) in a number of highly polluted areas in Europe and North America such as the Baltic (Jensen et al., 1969), Dutch Wad- denzee (ICoeman et al.. 1969) and coasi of California (Risebrough et al., 1968). Their presence was noticed in British seabirds such as the guillemot and kittiwake in the first report of their occurrence in British wildlife (Holmes et a!., 1967) but, while a few quantitative estimations are given ir. one review of their occurrence in British birds (Prestt et al., 1970), and considerable concentrations were found ir the livers of some of the large a.c washed up Starving around the Irish Sea in the autumn of 1969 (Holdgate, 1971), there is still comparatively little pub lished information available on their occurrence in the more pelagic species in the North Atlantic. We are therefore placing on record the results of a preliminary examination of a number of birds collected in re course of other work in areas between Britain and the Arctic. ' Methods The specimens examined were selected to include a representative range of the more marine sj jci-s and types of body available for analysis. All tiss-.e simples were subjected to Soxhk-t extraction overnight vith hexane: acetone. After evaporation of the 'ob'ent, the residue was made up with hexane. Muscle and liver samples were cleaned up on florisil columns di ectly, while fat and oil samples were subjected to dimcthylformamide liquid-liquid partition, (De Faul -it Maunder et al., 1954) before florisil PCBs along wit,. DDT com pounds were separated from DDD and ^pT>D r on silica columns (Holden & Marsden, 1 '69) or more com monly by saponification with alcoholiv KOil. PCBs were identified by the peak pattern obtained on three gas chromatography columns, SE-30, CEXE-60 SE30-OC1 comparcu th a peak pattern obtained usi./ a d mixture Aroclor 1254 (Monsanto). The identity of the peaks was confirmed by mass speci.u- pe-;Bs were quantified using a memod similar to that of Risebroogh et ah (1968). This method gave ex cellent results using Aroclor 1254. but the relative peak heights in the seabird sample are different from those with Aroclor 1254, introducing some a.'.--cum'cies. How ever, the relative peak heights in all the seab'rc's were similar and direct comparisons between tlvm can be made with greater accuracy. While DDE, wl. h wa: the commonest of the other organochlorines present, can not be separated satisfactorily from a PCB with a similar retention time, in the majority of the samples where the PCB/DDE ratio is low the Interference by PCBs in the Determination of D^fc.is imriy small. Where the ratio is 1 'ger than ten, the interference is substantial. In the results given in Table 1 the DDE value T calculated from the total height of ihe peak with a retention time equal to that of DDE. Tkus wl.` -- the PCB/DDE ->' o is large, it should probably be c-'en greater thar that recorded. Results The results are interring in a number of respe^,: Ir. -be first place, the relation found betwee \ PCBs *nG 171 osw 031219 STLCOPCB4015181 TARLE I Polychlorinated biphenyls in seabirds. Species Origin Date Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis 60*08*N 04*00*W 60*3114 04`52'W 60*22 N 04*3I*W 60*26'N 04*39^ 39*5474 03*45^ 60*2174 00*29^ 37*0074 00*31*W Bear Island Davis Strait Fife 5.71 5.71 5.71 5.71 5.71 7.71 7.71 7.72 8.72 11.71 Great sbearwatei Puffins gravis Trinidad Trinidad 6.72 6.72 Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus Rhum, Inverness Rhum, Inverness 3.71 3.71 British storm-petrel Uydrobates pelagtcus Shetlrnd Shetland Shetland Aberdeenshire 6.72 6.72 6.72 9.71 Gannct Sula bassana Fife Stornoway Shetland 3.72 5.72 5.71 Shag Phalacrocorax arlstotelis Loch Riddoa, Argyll 9.70 Gieat skua Catharacta skua 59*5474 03*45*W 61*15'N 00*1513. 59*5874 04*03*W Foula, Shetland Foula, Shetland Foula, Shetland 5.71 7.71 5.71 7.72 7.72 7.72 Arctic skua Stcrcorarlus parasiticus 58*48'N 00'16'E 7.71 Glaucous gull Larus hyperboreus Bear Island Bear Island r Bear Island Bear Island Bear Island Bear Island 7.72 7.72 7.72 7.72 7.72 7.72 Great black-backed gull Lotus marInus North Rona North Rona 6.72 6.72 Lesser black-backed gull Lotus fuscus Faroes Faroes Faroes 62*0074 06* 12'W 7.71 7.71 7.71 5.71 Herring gull Lotus argentatus Faroes Aberdeenshire Isle of May, Fife Iale of May, Fife Isle of May, Fife 7.71 5.71 5.72 5.72 Kittiwake Rissa trldactyla 60*2074 04*25^ 60'08'N 04'00'W 60*2274 04*3I'W 58*1274 00*13^ 57*2074 00'20'E 57*0074 00*31*E Bear Island Davis Stait 58*0371 02*20*W 60*2271 04*31'W 5^ff>.7111 5.71 5.71 7.71 7.71 7.71 7.72 8.72 2.71 5.71 Arctic tern Sterna paradisea S^lJ.tnd Shetland 6.72 6.72 Black guillemot Cepphur grylle Stornoway Hebrides 1.72 Common guillemot Urfa aalge DSW 031220 Faroes Faroes Faoes Faroes Faroes 58*0074 02*22^ 58*0074 02*22*W 58*4874 00`16'E Bear Island 57*3374 01*4313 57*3371 01 *43'E Loch Riddon, Ar^vll Abedeenshire Shetland Aberdeenshire Prestwick, Ayr 7.71 7.71 7.71 7.71 7.71 7.71 7.71 "71 7.72 7.71 771 9.70 8.71 6.71 3.72 9.70 Weight 850g 880g 890g 965g 630g 850g 750g 700g - 38 5g 447g _ ~ - -- 20+g 3500g 2700g * - 1400g - - w - ?50g 1300g 1500g 1590g 1550g 1850g 1900g - - COOg 760g -- 1073s -- -- - 420g 380* 445g 320g 400g 300g 300g 450g 325g -- 395g _ - - 854g 840g 867.* 864g 968c 1000 { - POOg 950g llOOg 700g 50g llOOg -- -- - Liver 3.2 5.0 12 1.5 2.1 5.5 5.9 1.6 4.2 17.8 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.2 <i 3.2 7.0 2.2 2.2 3.0 44.5 0.2 18.3 6.2 5.9 4.1 4.2 0.05 3.6 311.0 13.0 40.0 6.0 34.0 28.0 6.8 0.2 9.4 6.4 i. ' 12.7 12.6 0.2 0.2 17 0.6 3m*>.5nv 2.1 20.6 4.5 3.4 4.6 1.6 3.2 0.3 4.8 0.7 0.# 02 Muscle 3.1 9.4 1.7 2.3 2.8 3.9 4.1 2.6 3.7 5.2 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.2 3.6 3.3 6.4 18.7 2.1 3.2 12.9 0.3 32.0 18.0 15.5 11.0 10.2 1.5 88.0 36.0 11.0 8.0 20.0 11.0 -- - 3.9 3.4 7.8 10.2 13.4 0.2 0.5 1.2 1.0 ta j.Z 0.5 5.6 3.8 4.2 4.5 3.7 1.9 0.4 3.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.4 i.l 0.7 0.8 0.4 0.6 07 0.6 0.4 0.9 0.5 7.6 4.6 0.5 0.2 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.3 0.04 0.03 - 0.1 0.1 0.1 6.0 1.2 0.6 0.3 0.2 02 Fat 57 103 32 42 40 55 12.9 - - 74 - r.s - - -- -- -- 535 -- 15.6 8.8 34.1 8.6 24 lo -- 18 3.6 - - 4.7 11.8 - Ratio 7 10 6 5 6 5 6 5 2 4 0.6 1 2 2< 8 5 8 51 7 6 5 5 d 8 6 4 4 3 4 3 Vr 3 t 3 / 0.-! 5 5 4 6 4 l \ 8 7 12 60 15 40 .u <d :.o 25 6 30 7 6 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 V \ A 4 5 5 3 3 6 7 a.SiS 6 o : 8 8 3 i 3 3 i ^ C 8 8 08 2.a.g 3 8 8 3 8 8 f 8 r 8 8 8C 888*2 Eg* 8 8 8 8 2 8 8 HtarSTS 8 S'? 8 8 8 8 <r<rg 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 3' Notes STLCOPCB4015182 Species Origin Date Weight Liver Muscle Fat ratio Notes Brunnich'i guillemot Uria lomvia .... Razorbill Alca torda Puffin Fratercula arctlca Little auk Alle alle Bear Island Bear Island Davis Strait Davis Strait Faroes Faroes 58*04'N 02'22'W Aberdeenshire Stornoway Aberdeenshire Faroes Faroes Faroes Faroes Faroes 00M6-E 58'48'N OO'ie-E 58*48'N 00`16'E Spitzbergen Spitzbergen Davis Strait Davis Strait Bear Island Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire Sutherland 7.72 7.72 8.72 8.72 7.71 7.71 7.71 8.71 1.72 2.72 7.71 7.71 7.71 7.71 7.71 7.71 7m.7m1| 7.71 7.72 8.72 8.72 7.72 1.71 2.72 2.72 975g llOOg -- - 660g 670g 700g 800g 4J0g - 424g 320g 418g 391g 383g 450g 450g 400g -- -- Soui S50g - -- 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.03 1.2 0.3 0.4 2.7 2.7 40.7 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.2 0.02 0.03 0.7 11.4 3.4 6.0 0.2 3.1 2 0.1 3.1 2 0.1 1.7 2 0.05 0.5 2 0.6 - 3 0.3 . -- 8 0.3 2.0 -- -- 5 IJ 1.6 -- 6 3.3 8 0.1 - 5 0.2 0.1 - 5 7 0.3 - 4 0.2 -- 4 0.4 -- 6 0.1 - 6 03 - 6 0.2 5.2 5 0.1 24 3 0.02 0.25 2 0.05 0.5 2 0.2 2.1 - 3 7 13 - 5 1.2 - 4 ca ca car ci cs cs cs car 8 ci ca Ca ca cs ca cs ca ca cs ca ca cs cs ca b b Od N#tes: c = caught or abot; b = found dead; o = oiled; i *= immature (under one year); t = tubadult (over one yeir, not yet breeding); a = fully adult; r *= in wing moult. 1. Stomach oil contained 1.3 ppm PCBs. 2. An unusually (mail bird with advanced aspergillosis. 3. Ringed as an adult on Auskerry, Orkney, on 18.8.71. 4. Individuals from among some dozens of adult Gannets found dead without obvious cause along first the north-east and then west coast of Britain in the spring of 1972, possibly suffering from a virus disease? 5. Both ringed as chicks on Foula, the on 14.7.66, the second at about that time (details not yet available), probably not yet breeding. 6. Bird captured in convulsions above seabird colony. 7. Adult and chick found in company together. - 8. Collected together while Sightless in wing moult 9. Oiled bird from local breeding colony. Brain contained 2 ppm PCBs. , .10. Representative examples of immatures found dead in numb*rs winter, except that it had a localised fe'.*her defect of one wing of the sort discussed in British Birds <3: 34-36; 64; 229-230; 64: 236; 65: 85-o": ana divine Pollution Bulletin 3 (10): 149-152. ' 11. From the site of maximum mortality of 1969 birdkill. orgaoochlorinc pesticides in the North Pacific, where pesticides always occur in greater quantities than PCBs though the ratio varies locally (Risebrough el al, !968) is reversed in the north-east Atlantic, where PCBs ire the dominant compounds detected. Secondly, al though many of the largei auks were found to be carry ing oonsinernble !ods of PCBs and other toxic chemicals ouring the birdkill in the Irish Sea during the autumn of 1969 (Holdgate, 1971). it was not they, nor other offshore-feeding fish-eaters such as the shag and shear waters which were found to be carrying the largest loads of organochlorine at sea to the north, but a variety of more pelagic species which probably feed largely on plankton, including the fulmar, British stormpetrel and Uttiwake, and especially the skuas and gulls frequenting isolated seabird breeding colonies. It was notable also that the gulls carried more organochlorine here than aiong the mainland coast, and indeed the highest value recorded was found in a glaucous gull caught in con vulsions above the bird-cliffs of Bear Island in the Arctic, where judging by their pellets these birds we^ feeding entirely on seabirds* eggs (Bogan & Bourne, 1972). A number of incidental findings are also of interest. The kittiwake rather consistently had higher PCB/DDE ratios than the other species examined. It is not clear why this should be, since many other birds share a rather similar distribution, diet and way of life, but it may be a reflection of obscure differences in these facto" or their metabolism. Altboiwh their range is similar to that of the fulmar, for example, tney may prefer warmer surface waters, r* ler^, in the ws^r" North Atlantic (Brown. 1968). The lowest PCB/DDE ratio was found in p single adult greater black-backed gull from North Ilona off the Hebrides, but it may hi.: picked up ar.'ir,e:c.*"ed amount of i!.v DDE in winter quarters inland, and it is notable that the ratio was higher in a chick bred locally. After this the next lowest ratio was found in the two species of shearwater in birds which had just returned from winter quarters in the South Atlantic, where PCB' may still be relatively scarce compounds. It i: 'lao notable that the total organochlorine load was low in both species, so that fat-levelx "'oning into hundreds of parts per million reported iu great shearwa*ers and Wilson's storm-petrels Oceanius oceanicus off Stv England (Risebrough, 1971) murt presumably be due to local polli'ticn, and indeed intoxication may expl'.in why these birds were :> easy to catch (Gill et al., i970). ft is temping to speculate that this area of high pol'ution off the cast coast of North America may be one major source of contamination of water reaching Europe and the Arctic in the North Atlantic Drift, since tk: organochlorine levels were remarkably uniform ir Cvxi;p?.r?bie birds that we examined from Scotland, l> Faroes, the Barents Sea, and around 65N 54,,W in the Davis Strait, which suggests dissemination from some distant source away from Europe. The level* were a 173 <M <N f-4 o Q STLCOPCB4015183 little lower in the Arctic auks, and they also had lower PCB/DDE ratios, but the difference was not marked except in puffins from the Davis Strait. . It seems fortunate that while the fulmars had 13 to 103 ppm PCBs in their fat and at least 1.2 ppm in other tissues, there was only 1.3 ppm in the sample of the stomach oil fed to the chick examined. This suggests that at least they are not poisoning their offspring by passing on the level found in the fat, as might be feared. A newly-fledged guillemot collected in the centre of the North Sea contained only a tenth as much organochl- orine as its adult escort, and there was not much more in two immature guillemots, one oiled and one shot, collected in the autumn of 1970 in the region of maxi mum mortality for the species the year before (Hold- gate, 1971) on either side of the Glasgow sludge-dump and a drain known to discharge PCBs (Holden, 1970; Waddinglon & Best, 1972). A young greater black- backed gull contained only a thirtieth the amount of organochlcrine in an adult found dead with it, and a young g.,2t skua only a hundredth the amount in an other adult of that species found dead nearby. It would appear that the birds must acquire their organochlorine loads late in lift. Although Antarctic penguins showed raised organc nlorir.c levels when they were starving during the unnual moult (Sladen et al., 1966) and they were often raised in the livers of emaciated moulting auks washed ashore on the north-east coast in spring (Parslow et al., 19/2) and around the Irish Sea in autumn (Holdea^e, 1971) in 1969, a razorbill and common and BrunDich s guillemots collected in full wing-moult but exceptionally fat had normal organ- ochlorirs levels. The organochlorine levels in the livers of many cr the beached birds were raised relative to muscle levels. Clearly the levels found in bird bodies depends on the past history of thr biro, those in fat and muscle of healthy birds provic--.& an indication of the initial Rvel, and that in ui. liver compared with these an indication of the extent to which organochlorine my have been mobilized d iring a period of stress before death. It seems clear from tbecj, results that not only sea birds frequenting enclosed waters but also the North Allm-ti- avifauna in :;,. ?re now accumulating PCBs as well as other toxic chemicals. The most markedly affect-d pelagic species, the great skua, fulmar, and kittiwake, like the gulls which are also known to accumulate large amounts of organocholorine both along the coast and inland before it has much effect (Keith, I "66), have all been increasing for years as the result of a combination of protection at the breeding places combined with the provision of food by man in the fo-m of fi>h offal at sea and garbage ashore. It cents possioh however, th^ thr organochlorine levels now accumulating in partially predatory species such as the glaucous gulls and great skua and its eggs (Prestt et al, 1970) mignt soon o'.gin io affect them adversely if they prove a; susceptible .o them as the Scottish coastal peregrines Fab.o peregrinus which also feed largely on seabi-Js and are showing a sustained decline despite measures to control the use of organochlorine pesticides inland (Ratdxi'e, 1972). Since the total populations oi these b>'* are rot vast, the skua iu particular nesting in R,rce only in the northern hemis phere in a limited area between Scotland and Iceland, while its southern populations are also known to be contaminated (Tatton & Ruzicka, 1967) and we have now shown that gulls may be affected fatally at a very remote site, the consequences could be serious for them. Since it has been estimated by a panel reporting to the US National Academy of Sciences that only a quarter of the organochlorines already present in natural reservoirs have yet reached the sea, and their half-lives may be of the order of decades (Goldberg et al., 1971), and it seems difficult to dispute the general principle involved in this argument whatever the extent to which the details may be disputable, it remains to hr seen how far this progressive accumulation of PCBs in marine wildlife may proceed before the recent ban by one of several manufacturers on their sale for open use takes effect, or what the ultimate consequences may be. The flection of many of the ` .-ns used in this study occurred in the course of an investigation of the ecology of bird* '.t sea financed by a grant to Professor G. M. Dunnet of Culterty Field Station, Aberdeen University, by the Natural Environment Research Council, and we are grateful to the ataff of the Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen, and the research and patrol vessels of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland for their assistance; Mr T. J. Dixon who collected many of the specimens; Mr Andrias Reinert who supplied those from the Faroes; Professor E. Brun of Tromso University who arranged for the second author to visit Bear Island; Dr E. Tull who collected the birds from the Davis Strait; Mrs C. Gallacher for technical assistance and Messrs B. B. Parrish and Stanley Cramp and Professor Dunnet who commented on a draft or this note. The Seabird Group, Deparltnent of Zoology, Aberdeen, W. R. P. Bourne AB9 2TN, Scotland. University of Glasgow, J. A. Bogan Department of Veterinary Pharmacology, Veterinary Hospital, Bearsden Road, Bearsden, Glasgow, Scotland. Bogan, J. A. & Bourne, W. R. P. (1972). Organochlorine levels in Atlantic Seabirds. Nature ii. , Brown, R. G. B. (1968). Seabirds in Newfoundland and Green land waters, April-May, 1966. Canad. Field Nat. 62: 88-102. De Faubert Maunder, M. J., Egan, J., Gofly, E. W., Hammond, E. W., Robum, J. A Thomson, J. (1964). Clean up of Animal Fats and Dairy Products for the analysis of chlorinated pesticide residues. Analyst 89: 168-174. Gill, D. E., Slacfen, W, J. L. A Huntington, C. E. (1970). A Technique for capturing Petrels and Shearwaters at Sea. Bird Banding 41: 111-113. Goldberg, E. D., Butler, P., Meier, P., Menz.el, D.. Paulik, G., Risebroujgh, R. A Stoclcel, L. F. (1971). Chlorinated hydro carbons in the marine environment, A report prepared by the panel on monitoring persistent pesticides in the marine environment ot the Committee on Oceanography. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC. Holden. A. V. (1970). Source of polychlorinated biphenyl vl.v tamination in the marine environment. Nature 228: 1,220 1.221, Hoiden, A. V. Sc. Marsden, K. (1969). Single-star: clean up of animal tissue extracts for orga'--Cilorinc residue analysis. J. Chromatog. 44: 481-492. Hold^ate, M. W. The seabird wrer'- of 1969 in the Insr .. A report by the Natural Environment ixe earch Cconcil. Holmes, D. C., Simmons, I. H. A Tallo: , I. O'G (1967). Chlorinated hydrocarbons in British wildlife. Nature 216: 227-229. Jensen, S. (1966). Quoted in `Report of a new chrrrical hazard'. New Set. 32: 612. Jensen, S. (1972). The PCB Story. Antbio l. Pi-131 Jensen, S., Johnels, A. G.. Olsson, M S- G. (1969). DDT and PCB in marine animals from Swedish waters. Nature 224 : 247-250. DShi 031222 STLCOPCB4015184 Keith, J. O. (1966). Reproduction In a population of Herring Gulls (Lotus ar'eniotus} contaminated by DDT. /. Appl. Ecol 3 (Suppl.) 57-70. Koeman, J. H,, ten Noever de Brauw, M. C. & de Vos, R. H. (1969). Chlorinated biphenyls in fish, mussels and birds from the River Rhine and the Netherlands coastal area. Nature 221: 1,1-26-1,128. Moore, N. W. Sc Tattoo, J. O'G. (1965). Chlorinated insecticide residues In the eggs of sea birds. Nature 207: 42-43. Parslow, J. L. F., Jefferies, D. J. Sc. French, M. C. (1972). In gested pollutants in Puffins and their eggs. Bird Study 19: 18-33. Prestt, I., Jefferies, D. J. Sc. Moore, N. W. (1970). Polychlorinated biphenyls in wild birds in Britain and their toxicity. Envlronm. Poll. 1: 3-26. Ratcliffe, D, A (1972). Th peregrine population in Great Britain in 1971. Bird Study 19: 117-136. Risebrough, R. W. (1971). Chlorinated hydrocarbons. In The impingement of man on the oceans. D. W. Hood (ed) Wiley Interscience. ' Risebrough. R. W., Reiche, P., Peakall, D. B., Herman, S. G. 4c Kirven, M. N. (1968). Polychlorinated biphenyls in the global ecosystem Nature 220: 1,098-1,102. Sladen, W. J. l~, Menzie, C. M., Sc Reichel, W. L. (1966). DDT residues in Adelie penguins and a crabeater seal from Antarctica. Nature 210: 670-673. Tatton, J. O'G. Sc Ruzicka, J. H. A. (1967). Organochlorine pesticides in Antarctica. Nature 215: 346-348. Waddington, J. I. Sc Best, G. A. (1972). PCBs in the Clyde. Scottish Wildlife Trust Newsletter 22: 28-29. Wurstcr, C. F. Sc Wingate, D. B. (1968). DDT residues and declining reproduction in the Bermuda petrel. Science 159: 979-9G1. Dear Sir, Wc read with interest the article by J. W. M. Logan and E. J. Perkins, concerning the toxicity of Essolvcnc (Marine Pollution Bulletin (1972) 3 (10)- 155). Table 1 gave the median tolerance levels for some freshwater invertebrates for Essolvene alone and in com bination with either Kuwait crude oil or diesel oil. The last column of the table gave the toxicity of BP 1100 which is one of the more recently developed dispersants, although now superseded by BP 1100X. The data for BP 1100 were provided to the authors by E. Gribbon in a private communication and con sequently the extent to which the measurements on Essolvene and BP 1100 were directly comparable was not clear. Certainly measurements were not made at the same temperature, BP 1100 being examined at 17.519.5C while Essolvene was tested at 11C (Asellus aquaticus) or 9-11C (Sph'.erium con. tm) In addition it is not known if h* : anisms were collected from the same area, at the same time of year, and so on. Nevertheless, fh-* concept of comparing modern low toxicity dispersants with older products such as Lssolvene or BP 1002 is interesting and Table 1 gives such data for three marine species. The attached determinations were conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Labor atories at Bumham-on-Crouch, using the method devel oped by Portmann and Connor (1968) Logan and Perkins conclude by drawing attention to possiolc hazards associated with the use of toxic dis- pvijants in fresh water, a view with which we certainly conci''. Indeed, we do not even recommend the use of BP ilCDX in fresh water situations since generally speaking: (a) Physical containment and removal may be feasible; (b) The volume of water available for dilution is much more limited than in a marine situation; (c) There may be a risk of contaminating potable wate . Yours faithfully, L. R. Beynon BP Research Centre, T. E. Lester SurCury-cn-Thamez. T/.BLE 1 Toxicity tests, shov.u m *be 48 H LCa value--in ppm v/v OfgarrsmBP 1002 BP 1100 BP1100X* Essolvene Brown Shrimp (Crangon crangon) 6 Cockle (Cardlum ed,,lJ', 81 Armed bullhead (Agomcs cataphractus) - >-3300 >-10,000 1000 3300 >* 10,000 1000-3300 >10,000 10 33-ICO - Re' -ence: Beynon (1971); Beynon (1971); Portmann and Wilson (1971); Portmann and Wilson (1971). y b LCso value. DSW 031223 What goes^on in Estuaries The Estuat.ne Environment edited by R. S. K. Barnes and J. Grec;.. London: Applied science Publishers Ltd. (1972). xii + 133 pp. 3.50. This book of eight review papers comprises the pro ceedings of a symposium fo mark the foundation of the Estuarine a.'d Brackish Water Sciences Association. The papers covei physical, chemical and biological aspects of the subject and, although in no way integrated, they do provide an up to date introduction into recent scientific restarch o'j estuaries, with particular emphasis on those in britaiu. Regretfully the papers are of nuxed qualiiy, bu'. that of K. R. Dyer on sedimentation is comprehensive and particularly good. Other noteworthy contributions are those of L. C. Beadle on matters physiological. K. L. Jeffreys on the inorganic nutrition of salt-mar^ "lants and P. R. Walne on estuarine fisheries. The estuary, par excellence, is a physically controlled 175 STLCOPCB4015185 The Marine Pollution Bulletin is published monthly and aets out to cover p'l aspects of the fight for the life of lakes, estuaries, seas and oceans. It Includes news, comment, reviews and research reports not only on the threats of noxious substances to marine life but also on the management and productivity of the marine environ ment In general. It publishes accounts of new and proposed research programmes as well as the .. _.,a of those In progress. Contrlbu..,,.;, t,.jy be In the form of short notes not exceeding 650 words or articles of 1500-2000 words and should be submitted to the editor In double-spaced typescript. They should be given a short one-line title and the text should be broken by short sub-headings. All measurements must be given In metric (S.l.) units. Edited by: Professor R. B. Clark, Department of Zoology, The University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, England. Published by: Macmillan Journals Ltd, Little Essex Street, London, WC2. Subscriptions: Macmillan Journals Ltd, Subscriptions Department, Brunei Road, Basingstoke, Hants, England. Advertisement Bates: Whole page. 30.00; Half page, 17.00. Copy date; 1st of previous month. All advertis ing enquiries to Peter R. Kavanagh, Macmillan Journals Ltd., Little Essex Street, London WC2R 3LF {01-836 6633). ' Annual subscription: 6.00. USA and Canada (Air Freight) $15. environment and tiiose species that can tolerate its ex tremes can be considered to be opportunistic species-- which elsewhere may not be able to compete against the biological stress imposed by established steno- physical species. Thus, it is perhaps significant that the list of species from the Ythan estuary, given on the paper by H. Milne and G. M. Dunnet, would not be greatly different from that of the estuary of one of Britain's sewers, the Tyne. That is not to say that the Ythan is completely unpolluted. It would be rewarding K, compare the growth, longevity and reproductive potential of estuaries of markedly different degrees of pollution. The estuaries are rich in nutrients and it would also be rewarding, in more than one sense, if the commercial shellfish which form a large proportion, numerically, divse opportunists (for example Mya, Mytilus) could be used again for human consumption, as they were in the time of the monks of Tynemouth Priory. The present interest in estuaries of which this book and the newly formed Association are manifestations, is both timely in economic terms and in that it brings to gether an array of experts from different disciplines. The book illustrates all too clearly the need for a co-ordin ated multi-disciplinary approach. But 133 pages at 3.50 will not bring many to drink at a fountain, even if it were unpolluted quintessentia. J. A. At.LtN Mr. R. S. Friar of Alcan (UK) Limited has asked us to point out that the title `Gui'lemoU ki'led by Fluoride?' and ti.i abstract of the article in last month's Marine Pollution Bulletin 3 HC). 149-152 suggest that fluorine poisonit* was responsible for the deaths of the birds, although this was not claimed in the body of tbe paper. Annual Subscription: UK and elsewhere (inc'uding post): 6.00; USA and Canada: $15.^0 Published rnonlhly by: Macmillan Journals Ltd., 4 Little Es:lex Street, London \AC2R 3LF Please enter my name for one year's subscription beginning with the issue dated Name................................................................................... .................................................. 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