Concentration and congener pattern of polychlorinated biphenyls in blubber and liver of Hubbs' beaked whale (Mesoplodon carlhubbsi), using a sulfoxide and an Ag-ION solid phase extraction cartridge as a simplified cleanup technique for biological samples

•PCBs were measured in Hubbs' beaked whale in the blubber and liver.•Solid phase extraction cartridges could remove whale oil effectively.•The PCBs in the blubber and liver were 13,000 and 7300 ng/g lipid, respectively.•PCB-153 and Hexa-CBs were the major congener and homologues.•PCBs were metabolized differently according to their specific composition.

We performed the first known study of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) concentrations and patterns in the blubber and liver of a Hubbs' beaked whale. Samples were pretreated with Supelclean™ sulfoxide and Discovery® Ag-ION solid phase extraction cartridges to remove whale oil. PCB concentrations in the blubber and liver were 13,000 and 7300 ng/g lipid, respectively. Highly poisonous congeners such as dioxin-like (DL) PCBs tended to accumulate in the liver. The toxic equivalents (TEQ) of DL-PCBs in the liver (740 pg-TEQ/g lipid) were higher than those in the blubber (74 pg-TEQ/g lipid). The blubber and liver samples showed that hexachlorinated biphenyls were dominant among homologues, and PCB-153 was dominant among congeners. Several congeners accumulated disproportionately in the blubber and the liver (PCB-28, 52, 74, 99, and 118), while others did not persist (PCB-31, 70, and 110). This indicates that PCBs are metabolized differently according to their specific composition.