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 considered as carcinogenic in Russia (List of chemical compounds, products, industrial processes, natural and domestic factors which are carcinogenic for humans, 1998). As with most other organochlorines, food is a major source of dioxins and furans for the general population. The tolerable daily intake (TDI) estimated by WHO is 10 pg TEQ/kg body weight for lifetime exposure (ATSDR, www.atcdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles) . The Nordic Council of Ministers has recommended the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) of 35 TEQ pg/kg body weight/week (Ahlborg et al. 1988). According to this recommendation the consumption of fish from all studied areas are safe. The European Union (Commission Regulation (EC) No 466/2001) established Maximum levels of PCDD/PCDF in fish oil intended for human consumption at 2 pg WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/g fat. However, in 2006 the Commission reviewed the provisions on dioxins in the light of new data on the presence of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs, in particular with a view to the inclusion of dioxin-like PCBs in the levels to be set. New Maximum levels for Sum of dioxins, furans and dioxin-like PCBs (WHO-PCDD/F-PCB-TEQ) are 10.0 pg/g fat for marine fish body oil, fish liver oil. No EU requirements are available for freshwater fish. Maximum permissible levels of PCDD/PCDF in Russia are presented by the Ministry of public health requirements and they are for fish and fish products: 11.0 ng/kg ww or 88.0 ng/kg lw. (Ministry of Public Health of RF, 1991). Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) Different mixtures of PBDEs are used as additive flame retardants in plastics and textiles. In contrast to reactive flame retardants, the additive ones are not covalently incorporated into polymeric materials but mixed with the polymer, and thus can diffuse more easily out of material (Bergman, 1989). Mixtures of different PBDEs are used under the names of their main PBDe components (e.g. “PentaPDE”). PBDE were detected in all whitefish- and pike-samples analysed. Levels and distribution of PBDEs in fish within the study area are presented in Tables 3.9 and 3.10 (Appendix 3) and Figure 9. The dominant congener group in fish from all studied areas was tetraBDE, with the highest levels in liver. This is in a good agreement with experimental studies on tissue distribution of tetraBDe#47 in pike. Dietary exposure with BDE47 has shown that this compound is absorbed from the food and transported to, and stored in the most lipid rich tissues for considerable time (Burreau et a l, 2000). The congener pattern was similar in all fish samples from the Paz watercourse, as well as in the reference lake. It was dominated by BDE47, followed by BDE99 and BDE100. The same congener pattern has been found in other studies with whitefish, for example in Swiss lakes (Zenneg et a l, 2003). However, levels in whitefish from the Pasvik area were low compared to those from the Swiss lakes and other studies, where fish was collected near known or suspected point sources (Andersen and Blomkvist, 1981; Dodder et al., 2002). PBDE congeners of all studied bromination degrees (except heptaBDEs) were detected in pike liver from Stuorajavri and Kuetsjarvi lakes. HeptaBDE was not detected in any of the whitefish samples. The levels of TetraBDE in whitefish from Lake Stuorajavri was relatively high compared levels measured in whitefish from other Norwegian sampling sites. However, the levels in fish from Stuorajavri were lower than those from the Lake Kuetsjarvi. Congeners BDE153 and BDE154 were found in comparable concentrations in Stuorajavri fish, in levels just below the levels of BDE100. BDE183 was only detected in liver of pike from Lake Stuorajavri. This pattern is similar to the congener pattern in a typical PePBE product, such as Akvaplan-niva report APN 514-3365.02 18