Conclusions
Humanity was fortunate to learn valuable lessons
from early results that indicated widespread regional
and global transport of chlorinated pesticides and
PCBs accompanied by environmental and human
health problems. Much knowledge has been gained
about the biogeochemical cycles and about ecological
and biological effects of these chemicals in the
oceans. This knowledge has been used to guide policy
and management actions in many instances. Otherwise, the deplorable situation faced by Inuits might
be much more severe and widespread and natural
resource populations, including oceanic species,
might have been more severely impacted. Despite
policy and management actions in many developed
countries limiting or eliminating production and release of many of these compounds, there are still
concerns about the legacy of past releases to the environment present in coastal ocean surface sediments
in several locations. There are serious coastal environmental and human health concerns associated
with continued uses of several of these chlorinated
hydrocarbons in developing countries.
Further Reading
Dawe CJ and Stegeman JJ (eds.) (1991) Symposium
on Chemically Contaminated Aquatic Food Resources
and Human Cancer Risk. Environmental Health
Perspectives 90: 3–149.
Eganhouse RP and Kaplan IR (1988) Depositional history of
recent sediments from San Pedro Shelf, California:
reconstruction using elemental, isotopic composition,
and molecular markers. Marine Chemistry 24: 163--191.
Erickson MD (1997) Analytical Chemistry of PCBs, 2nd
edn. New York: Lewis Publishers.
Farrington JW (1991) Biogeochemical processes governing
exposure and uptake of organic pollutant compounds in
aquatic organisms. Environmental Health Perspectives
90: 75--84.
Fowler S (1990) Critical review of selected heavy metal and
chlorinated hydrocarbon concentrations in the marine
environment. Marine Environmental Research 29:
1--64.
Giesy J and Kannan K (1998) Dioxin-like and non dioxinlike toxic effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs):
implications for risk assessment. Critical Reviews in
Toxicology 28(6): 511--569.
Goldberg ED (1991) Halogenated hydrocarbons, past,
present and near-future problems. Science of the Total
Environment 100: 17--28.
Gustafsson O, Gschwend PM, and Buesseler KO (1997)
Settling removal rates of PCBs into the northwestern
Atlantic derived from
238
U234
Th disequilibria. Environmental Science and Technology 31: 3544--3550.
Iwata H, Tanabe S, Sakai N, and Tatsukawa R (1993)
Distribution of persistent organochlorines in the
oceanic air and surface seawater and the role of the
ocean on their global transport and fate. Environmental
Science and Technology 27: 1080--1098.
Kannan K, Falandysz J, Yamashita N, Tanabe S, and
Tatsakawa R (1992) Temporal trends of organochlorine
concentrations in cod-liver oil from the southern Baltic
proper, 1971–1989. Marine Pollution Bulletin 24:
358--363.
O’Connor TP (1991) Concentrations of organic
contaminants in mollusks and sediments at NOAA
National Status and Trends sites in the coastal and
estuarine United States. Environmental Health
Perspectives 90: 69--73.
Petrick G, Schulz-Bull DE, Martens V, Scholz K, and
Duinker JC (1996) An in-situ filtration/extraction
system for the recovery of trace organics in solution and
on particles tested in deep ocean water. Marine
Chemistry 54: 97--103.
Schwarzenbach RP, Gschwend PM, and Imboden DM
(1993) Environmental Organic Chemistry. New York:
John Wiley.
Thornton J (2000) Pandora’s Poison. Chlorine, Health and
a New Environmental Strategy. Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press.
Waid JS (ed.) (1986) PCBs and the Environment, vol. 1–3.
Boca Raton: CRC Press.
174 CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS
Humanity was fortunate to learn valuable lessons
from early results that indicated widespread regional
and global transport of chlorinated pesticides and
PCBs accompanied by environmental and human
health problems. Much knowledge has been gained
about the biogeochemical cycles and about ecological
and biological effects of these chemicals in the
oceans. This knowledge has been used to guide policy
and management actions in many instances. Otherwise, the deplorable situation faced by Inuits might
be much more severe and widespread and natural
resource populations, including oceanic species,
might have been more severely impacted. Despite
policy and management actions in many developed
countries limiting or eliminating production and release of many of these compounds, there are still
concerns about the legacy of past releases to the environment present in coastal ocean surface sediments
in several locations. There are serious coastal environmental and human health concerns associated
with continued uses of several of these chlorinated
hydrocarbons in developing countries.
Further Reading
Dawe CJ and Stegeman JJ (eds.) (1991) Symposium
on Chemically Contaminated Aquatic Food Resources
and Human Cancer Risk. Environmental Health
Perspectives 90: 3–149.
Eganhouse RP and Kaplan IR (1988) Depositional history of
recent sediments from San Pedro Shelf, California:
reconstruction using elemental, isotopic composition,
and molecular markers. Marine Chemistry 24: 163--191.
Erickson MD (1997) Analytical Chemistry of PCBs, 2nd
edn. New York: Lewis Publishers.
Farrington JW (1991) Biogeochemical processes governing
exposure and uptake of organic pollutant compounds in
aquatic organisms. Environmental Health Perspectives
90: 75--84.
Fowler S (1990) Critical review of selected heavy metal and
chlorinated hydrocarbon concentrations in the marine
environment. Marine Environmental Research 29:
1--64.
Giesy J and Kannan K (1998) Dioxin-like and non dioxinlike toxic effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs):
implications for risk assessment. Critical Reviews in
Toxicology 28(6): 511--569.
Goldberg ED (1991) Halogenated hydrocarbons, past,
present and near-future problems. Science of the Total
Environment 100: 17--28.
Gustafsson O, Gschwend PM, and Buesseler KO (1997)
Settling removal rates of PCBs into the northwestern
Atlantic derived from
238
U234
Th disequilibria. Environmental Science and Technology 31: 3544--3550.
Iwata H, Tanabe S, Sakai N, and Tatsukawa R (1993)
Distribution of persistent organochlorines in the
oceanic air and surface seawater and the role of the
ocean on their global transport and fate. Environmental
Science and Technology 27: 1080--1098.
Kannan K, Falandysz J, Yamashita N, Tanabe S, and
Tatsakawa R (1992) Temporal trends of organochlorine
concentrations in cod-liver oil from the southern Baltic
proper, 1971–1989. Marine Pollution Bulletin 24:
358--363.
O’Connor TP (1991) Concentrations of organic
contaminants in mollusks and sediments at NOAA
National Status and Trends sites in the coastal and
estuarine United States. Environmental Health
Perspectives 90: 69--73.
Petrick G, Schulz-Bull DE, Martens V, Scholz K, and
Duinker JC (1996) An in-situ filtration/extraction
system for the recovery of trace organics in solution and
on particles tested in deep ocean water. Marine
Chemistry 54: 97--103.
Schwarzenbach RP, Gschwend PM, and Imboden DM
(1993) Environmental Organic Chemistry. New York:
John Wiley.
Thornton J (2000) Pandora’s Poison. Chlorine, Health and
a New Environmental Strategy. Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press.
Waid JS (ed.) (1986) PCBs and the Environment, vol. 1–3.
Boca Raton: CRC Press.
174 CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS