Interspecies Comparison of Chlorinated Contaminant Concentrations and Profiles in Wild Terrestrial Mammals from Northwest Poland

The aim of this study was to determine residual polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides in the adipose tissue of wild terrestrial mammals coming from the same area in northwest Poland and to compare the organochlorine content and profile between species. The study was performed on five mammalian species, including omnivores (badger, wild boar, raccoon dog) and herbivores (roe deer, red deer). The obtained results show that the levels of residues of most of the analyzed compounds were greater in omnivorous mammals than herbivorous mammals. We found differences in the pattern of accumulation of organochlorines. In the raccoon dog organochlorines accumulated in the following descending order: DDTs > PCBs > HCHs > endrin > dieldrin; in the badger, wild boar, and roe deer, the order was as follows: DDTs > HCHs > PCBs > endrin > dieldrin; and in red deer, the order was as follows: HCHs > DDTs > PCBs > endrin > dieldrin. PCB 153 was dominant in herbivores and in the wild boar, whereas in the raccoon dog it was lower than PCB 138 and in badger lower than PCB 180. These differences in the tested species may reflect differences in metabolic capacity and/or feeding habits and an uneven distribution of organochlorines in the area where the animals lived. Maximum residue levels (MRLs) were exceeded in single samples from animals whose meat and fat can be consumed by humans. The greatest number of cases where MRLs were exceeded was observed in the adipose tissue of the badger (HCHs, DDTs, endrin, non-dioxin-like PCBs) and the fewest in the adipose tissue of roe deer (only lindane).