Species & Ecosystem Science

Marine Toxic Contaminants

Contaminants Monitored

Fish and Wildlife monitors the levels of poly-chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)¹, some chlorinated pesticides, mercury, and lead in the edible muscle tissue, liver, or whole bodies of fish and crabs. For fish, we assess exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)² by monitoring the levels of PAH metabolites³ in the fishes' bile. Insufficient funding is available to monitor dioxins, alkyl phenols and organotins.  The following table lists the  chemicals currently monitored and the detection methods used.  Historically, we monitored for the presence of over 100 compounds but have discontinued monitoring for compounds not usually detected in the biota or detectable compounds that may not reflect environmental conditions (e.g., arsenic and copper). 

Contaminants Currently Monitored