Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) concentrations in herring muscle and Guillemot egg

 

	Anders Bignert,  Sara Danielsson, Elisabeth Nyberg Department of Contaminant Research, Swedish Museum of Natural History

  

Key message

The concentration of HBCD in Guillemot egg show a significant increase of about 3% per year. A significant increasing trend can also be seen for HBCD in herring muscle from Landsort in the northern Baltic Proper during the monitored time period, 1999-2006/2007. No significant trend can be found at the other monitored localities.

 

 

Figure 1. Spatial variation in mean concentration (of the annual mean values 2004-2006 in ng/g lipid weight) of HBCD in herring muscle. The highest concentration (around 22 ng/g ) was found in the southern part of Baltic Proper (Utlängan), the lowest (around 4 ng/g) in Skagerrakk (Väderöarna). Data originates from the Swedish national monitoring programme and are analysed at the Department of Applied Environmental Science, University of Stockholm.

Results and assessments

Relevance of the indicator for describing developments in the environment

Analyses of contaminants in biotic samples, in contrast to abiotic matrices, exhibit the bioavaillable part of the contaminants. The lipid content of both herring muscle tissue and guillemot eggs is high, about 2-4% and 11-13% respectively, and thus very appropriate for analysis of fat-soluble contaminants as HBCD. Herring are commonly used for human consumption.

Policy relevance and policy references

At this time a risk assessment of HBCD is performed within the EU’s programme for existing substances. The outcome of the EU’s risk management strategies for HBCD, following the risk assessment will possibly call for future regulation. 

HBCD is only produced at one industrial unit within the EU. The Swedish import of HBCD has decreased from about 120 to 3.5 tonnes per year during the time period 1997-2004.

Assessment

The concentrations of HBCD in Guillemot eggs show a significant increase of about 3% per year whereas only HBCD in herring muscle from Landsort show a significant increasing trend (around 6 % per year) during the monitored time period, 1999-2006. No trend can be seen at the other localities. The map indicates elevated concentrations in the Baltic Proper compared to the Gulf of Bothnia and the Swedish west coast. ). The highest concentration (2004-2006) in herring muscle (around 22 ng/g ) was found in the southern part of Baltic Proper (Utlängan), the lowest (around 4 ng/g) in Skagerrakk (Väderöarna). The between-year variation from the sampling site in the southern Baltic Proper is however large.

 

 

Figure 2. Temporal trends of HBCD concentration (ng/g lipid weight) in herring muscle from four different sampling sites in the Baltic Sea (1999-2006). Harufjärden (Bothnian Bay), Ängskärsklubb (S. Bothnian Sea), Landsort (N. Baltic Proper), Utlängan (S. Baltic Proper). The red line presented in one  the figures is based on  a log-linear regression analyses and shows an increasing trend of about 6% per year and the blue line is a simple 3-point running mean smoother fitted to the annual geometric mean values. The linear dotted line is the mean concentration of the analysed period.

 

Figure 3. Temporal trend of HBCD concentration (ng/g lipid weight) in guillemot egg (1969-2007) from St. Karlsö. The red line shows an increasing trend of about 3 % per year.

References

Bignert, A., Danielsson S., Strandmark A., Nyberg E., Asplund L., Eriksson U., Wilander A. Haglund P. 2008. Comments Concerning the National Swedish Contaminant Monitoring Programme in Marine Biota. Report to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, 2008. 128 pp.

KemI (2006). Hexabromcyklododekan (HBCDD) och tetrabrombisfenol - A (TBBPA). Rapport 3/06.

Data

Trend (in %) assessed from the geometric mean of concentrations of HBCD (ng/g lipid weight) in various matrices and sites during the time period 1999-2006 and the estimated mean concentration for the last year (2006). The numbers presented in brackets are the 95% confidence intervals. The age intervals for fish are also presented together with the total number of analyses and the number of years of the various time-series.

 

Matrix	age	n tot	n yrs	year	overall trend (95% ci)	last year of mean** (95% ci)
Herring muscle
Harufjärden	3-4	95	8	1999-2006		8.0 (47-14)
Ängskärsklubb	3-5	96	8	1999-2006		4.4 (2.6-7.5)
Landsort	3-5	91	8	1999-2006	5.8(-1.3,13)*	16 (12-21)
Utlängan	3-4	89	8	1999-2006		17 (12- 25)
Guillemot egg
St. Karlsö		197	34	1968-2007	3.0 (1.9,4.0)*	170 (140, 210)

* significant trend, p < 0.05.

 

Metadata

Technical information

Data source: The National Swedish Monitoring Program of Contaminants in Biota

Sampling, sample preparation, storage in specimen bank and evaluation of results are carried out by the Department of Contaminant Research at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm. Chemical Analysis is carried out at Institute of Applied Environmental Research at Stockholm University.

Geographical coverage: see data table and map.

Temporal coverage: see data table and figures.

Methodology and frequency of data collection, see Bignert et al, 2008

Methodology of data manipulation. For a detailed description of statistical methods use, see Bignert et al. 2008.

Quality information

The number of years required to detect an annual change of 5% with a power of 80% varied between 12 to 26 years for the herring time-series. The number of years required to detect an annual change of 5% was 18 years for the whole guillemot egg time-series and 11 years for the last ten years.

 

 

For reference purposes, please cite this indicator fact sheet as follows:

[Author’s name(s)], [Year]. [Indicator Fact Sheet title]. HELCOM Indicator Fact Sheets 2008. Online. [Date Viewed], http://www.helcom.fi/environment2/ifs/en_GB/cover/.

 

Last updated: 27 January 2009