Pergamon zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA C he m o sp he re , Vol. 34, Nos 5-7, pp. 1255-1262, 1997 Copyright 0 1997 Elserier Saence Ltd Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved zyxwvutsrqponm PII: SO0456535(97)00423-7 00456535/97 $17.00+0.00 CONCENTRATIONS OF SELECTED PCB CONGENERS IN PIKE (Esox fucius, L.) AND ARCTIC CHAR (Salvelinus alpinus, L.) IN FINLAND M. Korhonen’), J. Mannio’), T. Vartiainen’) and P.Porvari’) ‘Finnish Environment Institute, Impacts Research Division, P.O.Box 140, FIN-00251 Helsinki, Finland 2National Public Health Institute, Division of Environmental Health, P.O.Box 95, FIN-70701 Kuopio, Finland Abstract PCBs were widely used in the 1970s in Finland. PCB usage was regulated the following decade and is presently strongly restricted. The reduction of PCB loading is generally observed as decreasing concentrations in environmental indicator species. The decreasing trend is seen clearly in the 25year-long monitoring of northern pike in large lakes. The level of PCBs was approximately 5 to 15 pg g-’ (lipid weight) in the early 197Os, while present concentrations generally range from 0.5 to 3 pg g-‘(1.w.). In recent years, increasing concern about the pollution of Arctic areas by airborne contaminants has led to an expansion of monitoring of persistent contaminants in northern areas. Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus, L.) has been used as a circumpolar indicator species in the fresh water of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme. The level of PCBs in char was determined in two small subarctic lakes in northern Finland and were 0.1 and 0.5 pg g-‘(1.w.). There are several possible reasons for the variation between lakes: population density; growth conditions; nutrient level, and catching time. The PCB congener pattern is very similar in the fish samples of all large lakes and one small subarctic lake in spite of wide geographical coverage. The dominant congeners in these samples are IUPAC nos., 153, 138, 180, 118, 101. 0 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved 1255