Isomer specific determination of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) in small cetaceans from the South China Sea – Levels and temporal variation

A diastereoisomer (α, β, and γ) specific analytical method for measuring hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) was developed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS–MS). The method developed was applied to analyze blubber of small cetaceans to divulge the distribution and temporal variation of HBCDs in the Asian marine environment. HBCDs were detected in all the blubber samples of finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides) and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) collected from the South China Sea during 1990–2001. Concentrations of HBCDs were higher in humpback dolphins (31–380 ng/g lipid) than in finless porpoises (4.7–55 ng/g lipid), which can be attributed to habitat differences. Average concentrations of α-HBCD in finless porpoises increased from 9.5 ng/g lipid in 1990 to 35 ng/g lipid in 2000/01. α-HBCD was predominant among the three isomers with some exceptions in finless porpoises collected in 1990. This is the first report on HBCDs contamination in marine mammals from Southeast Asia.