Sandimirov S. Screening studies of POP levels in fish from selected lakes in the Paz watercourse / In State of the environment in the Norwegian, Finnish and Russian border area. The Finnish Environment. Finland, Jyvaskyla: Kopijyva Oy. 2007, №6.

Screening studies o f POPs in fish from the Paz watercourse 150 Figure 6 Distribution o f IPCB hepatic levels infish from the study area Exposure and effects: Chronic low-level PCB exposures can cause liver damage, reproductive abnormalities, immune suppression, neurological and endocrine system disorders, retarded infant development, and stunted intellectual function. The International Agency for Research on Cancer ranks PCBs as a probable human carcinogen. In Russia PCBs listed as carcinogenic (List t of chemical compounds, products, industrial processes, natural and domestic factors which are carcinogenic for humans, 1998). Currently used MPC of PCB in fish is 2 mg/kg lipid weight (Sanitary-hygienic norms, 1996). 5.2 New environmental contaminants Toxaphene Toxaphene is a mixture of chlorobornanes, and it is a ubiquitous contaminant in freshwater ecosystems (Glassmeyer et al., 1997).Toxaphene was one of the world’s most widely used pesticides in the 1970s. In 1990, the EPA banned all uses of toxaphene in the United States because of scientific evidence that it harms humans and animals. Toxaphene has never been used in Norway. In Russia toxaphene was banned in 1991. According to national statistics, toxaphene has not been used in the OSPAR region I - Barents Sea (OSPAR, 2000). The total toxaphene usage within the former Soviet Union was less than 100 000 tonnes (Voldner and Li, 1995) and was mostly applied in Ukraine (Kundiev and Kagan, 1993). However, the pesticide has been used extensively in cotton-producing countries, and is an example of a contaminant that is subject to long-range transport. Akvaplan-niva report APN 514-3365.02 15