Phthalate contamination in marine mammals off the Norwegian coast

Clare Andvik; Pierre Bories; Mikael Harju; Katrine Borgå; Eve Jourdain; Richard Karoliussen; Audun Rikardsen; Heli Routti; Pierre Blévin

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115936

Phthalate contamination in marine mammals off the Norwegian coast

Mar Pollut Bull. 2024 Feb:199:115936. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115936. Epub 2023 Dec 27.

Authors

Clare Andvik¹, Pierre Bories², Mikael Harju³, Katrine Borgå⁴, Eve Jourdain⁵, Richard Karoliussen⁶, Audun Rikardsen⁷, Heli Routti⁸, Pierre Blévin⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: clarem@uio.no.
² INRS, Eau Terre Environnement center, Quebec City, Canada.
³ The Climate and Environmental Research Institute NILU, Fram Centre, Tromsø, Norway.
⁴ Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Norway.
⁵ Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Norway; Norwegian Orca Survey, Andenes, Norway.
⁶ Norwegian Orca Survey, Andenes, Norway.
⁷ Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT -The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
⁸ Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Tromsø, Norway.
⁹ Akvaplan-niva AS, Fram Centre, Tromsø, Norway.

PMID: 38154171
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115936

Abstract

Phthalates are used in plastics, found throughout the marine environment and have the potential to cause adverse health effects. In the present study, we quantified blubber concentrations of 11 phthalates in 16 samples from stranded and/or free-living marine mammals from the Norwegian coast: the killer whale (Orcinus orca), sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas), white-beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris), harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), and harbour seal (Phoca vitulina). Five compounds were detected across all samples: benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP; in 50 % of samples), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP; 33 %), diisononyl phthalate (DiNP; 33 %), diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP; 19 %), and dioctyl phthalate (DOP; 13 %). Overall, the most contaminated individual was the white-beaked dolphin, whilst the lowest concentrations were measured in the killer whale, sperm whale and long-finned pilot whale. We found no phthalates in the neonate killer whale. The present study is important for future monitoring and management of these toxic compounds.

Keywords: Arctic; Emerging contaminants; Maternal transfer; Plasticizer; Toothed whales.

MeSH terms

Animals
Caniformia*
Phoca*
Phocoena*
Phthalic Acids*
Sperm Whale
Whale, Killer*
Whales, Pilot*

Substances

phthalic acid
Phthalic Acids