Persistent organic pollutants in two fish species of Percidae and sediment from the Sulejowski Reservoir in central Poland

Two predatory fish species, pikeperch and perch, and sediment from the Sulejowski Reservoir in Poland were analyzed for several classes of persistent organic pollutants. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), heptachlor, and DDTs were measured in the fish muscles. In addition, the distribution and profile of PCBs in muscles, livers, and gonads was examined. In sediment, PCBs and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and furans (PCDFs) were analyzed. The main contaminant in the muscles of both species was p,p′- DDE reaching an average of 1072 and 694 ng g−1 lipid in pikeperch and perch, respectively. ΣPCBs, with an average concentration of 454 and 261 ng g−1 lipid, respectively, were the second dominant contaminants. The two species differed in their PCB congener profile as a result of differences in feeding habits. Sediment PCDD/F concentrations ranged from 10.8 to 162.7 pg g−1 dry mass, TEQPCDD/Fs from 1.13 to 4.13 pg g−1 dry mass, and the sum of indicator PCBs (ΣPCB7) from 2.8 to 5.2 ng g−1 dry mass. Biota – sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) for ΣPCB7 were generally greater in pikeperch than in perch as a result of greater lipid content in the latter. Based on the contaminant levels in the sediment and fish, the Sulejowski Reservoir compares well with other, freshwater environments relatively uncontaminated with persistent organic pollutants.