Polychlorinated hydrocarbons in fishes, blue mussel Mytilus edulis, and bottom sediments of the South-Western Baltic Sea

Polychlorinated hydrocarbons are convenient indicators of environmental pollution. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of p,p′-DDT and its metabolites (p,p′-DDE and p,p′-DDD) and γ-HCH and PCBs in: the dorsal muscles of 3 most important fish species (cod, herring, and flounder), in blue mussel, and in the bottom sediments off the coast of the south-western Baltic Sea. The analyses were carried out using the method of gas chromatography. The presence of all analysed compounds was detected in the samples studied. The highest concentrations of polychlorinated hydrocarbons in the bottom sediments were stated at the coast of Kiel, while the lowest-in the Świnoujście area. In blue mussels no such significant differences in the content levels of the analysed compounds were observed. The muscles of herring demonstrated the highest content of ΣDDT and PCBs. The present results will constitute a contribution to the knowledge on the presence of polychlorinated hydrocarbons in the marine environment of the south-western Baltic Sea.