Persistent organic pollutant concentrations in blubber of 16 species of cetaceans stranded in the Pacific Islands from 1997 through 2011

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are toxic man-made chemicals that bioaccumulate and biomagnify in food webs, making them a ubiquitous threat to the marine environment. Although many studies have determined concentrations of POPs in top predators, no studies have quantified POPs in stranded cetaceans within the last 30years around the Hawaiian Islands. A suite of POPs was measured in the blubber of 16 cetacean species that stranded in the tropical Pacific, including Hawai'i from 1997 to 2011. The sample set includes odontocetes (n=39) and mysticetes (n=3). Median (range) contaminant concentrations in ng/g lipid for the most representative species category (delphinids excluding killer whales [n=27]) are: 9650 (44.4–99,100) for ∑DDTs, 6240 (40.8–50,200) for ∑PCBs, 1380 (6.73–9520) for ∑chlordanes, 1230 (13.4–5510) for ∑toxaphenes, 269 (1.99–10,100) for ∑PBDEs, 280 (2.14–4190) for mirex, 176 (5.43–857) for HCB, 48.1 (