Organochlorine compounds and aliphatic hydrocarbons in Pacific walrus blubber

Blubber samples were collected from 8 male and 19 female Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) taken during a 1991 joint USA/USSR cruise traveling widely through the Bering Sea. Dieldrin was found at a level similar to that reported 10 years earlier; oxychlordane was found at a slightly higher concentration than reported previously (Taylor et al, 1989). Heptachlor epoxide was detected for the first time and found at a low concentration. An initial testing for alpha-, beta- and gamma -HCH detected concentrations similar to those in other Bering Sea pinnipeds. Mean Sigma PCB was 0.45 mug g(-1) wet weight in males and 0.16 mug g(-1) in females; only one sample was > 1 mug g(-1). Traces of aliphatic hydrocarbons were detected in all sampled animals, only pristane ((x) over bar =0.48 mug g(-1)) was found in concentrations > 1 mug g(-1). Small sample sizes, a lack of samples from immature animals, and uniformly low concentrations of contaminants precluded meaningful analysis of age-related effects and regional differences. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.