Persistent Organochlorines and Organophosphorus Compounds and Heavy Elements in Common Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) from the Western Mediterranean Sea F. HERN  ANDEZ*, R. SERRANO, A. F. ROIG-NAVARRO, Y. MARTI Â NEZ-BRAVO and F.J. L  OPEZ Analytical Chemistry, Department of Experimental Sciences, University Jaume I, P.O. Box 224, 12004 Castell  on, Spain On March 1998, a female specimen of common whale (Balaenoptera physalus) appeared dead in the western Mediterranean coast of Valencia (Spain). Analyses of whale tissues (blubber, liver and kidney) were carried out in order to elucidate the contamination pattern present in the whale, as indicator of the contaminants present in its habitat from the Mauretanian coast to Ligurian Sea, sited in the western Mediterranean area. A multiresidue method based on normal-phase LC prior to GC-MS determination of residues of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), orga- nochlorine pesticides and derivatives and lipophylic or- ganophosphorus (OP) pesticides was applied. Moreover, determination of heavy metals by ICP-MS was carried out, selecting for quantitative analysis Cr, As, Cd, Hg and Pb. Results obtained show high concentrations of PCBs and pp 0 DDE, at lgg 1 level, as well as signi®cant con- centrations of As and Hg, which could aected the con- dition of the animal, and as a consequence, its survivor possibilities. Ó 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: organochlorine compounds; organophosphorus pesticides; heavy metals; whale; pollution; western Mediterranean Sea. Introduction Contamination pattern of any marine environment contains a wide variety of compounds, being the most dangerous the non-biodegradable substances. Some heavy elements (including some transition metals) are notable for their high toxicity and bioaccumulation ability as well as organochlorine compounds such as pesticides as dichloro-trichloroetane and its derivatives (DDTs) and PCBs. Metals can occur in the marine environment due to natural processes (volcanic activity, weathering, ero- sion,...) and anthropogenic sources (mining activities). Water provides the medium for weathering of the con- tinents as well as medium for transport (together with the atmosphere) of trace metals along the hydrological cycle. Once the riverine (or atmospheric) trace metals have entered the oceans, they take part in the biogeo- chemical processes (Salomons and Forstner, 1984). In addition to natural emissions of the elements to the atmosphere, there are also emissions resulting from anthropogenic activity. (coal and oil combustion, smelting, metal transformation,...) (Fergusson, 1991). The Mediterranean is subject to heavy discharges of pollutants from numerous industrial processes. Among these industries are leather tanning, metallic transfor- mation, oil re®neries and petroleum terminals, and organic and inorganic chemicals (UNEP, 1984). Earlier studies can be found about total heavy metal concentration in some marine organisms. Regarding the western Mediterranean area, our studies show that bioavailability of heavy metals as Cd and Pb had in- creased during the 1980s (Serrano et al., 1994). On the other hand, the concentrations of these contaminants accumulated in marine organisms are dierent depend- ing on species, tissues and several factors such as ex- posure time, concentration in the water and physiological conditions (Mance, 1987; Hern andez et al., 1990, 1992; Pastor et al., 1994). Persistent organochlorines (OC) such as polychlori- nated biphenyls (PCBs) and diphenyl-dichloro-trichlo- roetane (DDT) and its derivatives (DDTs) are one of the most dangerous pollutants because of their toxicity and stability, long biological half-life and high liposolubility, consequence of which is the high degree of bioaccumu- lation and biomagni®cation along the food chain Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol. 40, No. 5, pp. 426±433, 2000 Ó 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Printed in Great Britain 0025-326X/00 $ - see front matter PII: S0025-326X(99)00238-6 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +34-964-728100; fax: +34-964- 728066. E-mail address: hernandf@mail.uji.es 426