Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the marine environment, particularly in the Mediterranean

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) possess a low water solubility, a high n-octanol/water partition coefficient, and a high persistence, particularly those which are highly chlorinated. Because of these properties they are bioaccumulated in many organisms in the environment. PCBs are still manufactured industrially and used in the Mediterranean countries (e.g., Italy, Spain, and France). Production figures for these countries and for the FRG, the United Kingdom, and the United States between 1973 and 1979 are given. The concentrations of PCBs in marine air, water, sediments, microplankton , algae, mussels, fish, and other marine organisms including seabirds from the Mediterranean area are reviewed and compared with PCB concentrations in marine samples from non-Mediterranean regions. Levels of PCBs in seawater are highest in the western and central Mediterranean. The data for mussels and fish give a clear indication that the PCB levels are higher in the Northwest and the Tyrrhenian Sea than in the eastern Mediterranean. The FDA in June 1979 set 2 mg/kg as the temporary maximum concentration for PCBs in fish and shellfish. The PCB residues in some fish from the northwestern Mediterranean and Tyrrhenian Sea and in some mussels from the Adriatic Sea are higher than this limit. The amount of PCBs ingested via food by the Mediterranean population is unknown.