Comparison between two methods of subsampling blubber of northern fur seals for total DDT plus PCB's

Samples of 100 g blubber were collected from each of twelve 8- to 13-year-old fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) taken off the coast of Washington State in March 1972. Two methods of subsampling the blubber were compared. The mean level of total DDT (DDE, DDD, and DDT) plus polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) from a 5-g chunk of blubber taken from a 100-g sample was significantly less than the mean level from a 5-g subsample taken from the remainder of the blubber sample after it had been thoroughly ground. Total DDT plus PCB residues ranged from 5.66 to 72.17 ppm, with a mean of 23.69 ppm in the chunks, and from 5.33 to 95.70 ppm, with a mean of 28.64 ppm in the homogenized blubber.