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Science 14 July 1995:
Vol. 269. no. 5221, pp. 240 - 242
DOI: 10.1126/science.269.5221.240
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Articles

High Concentrations of Toxaphene in Fishes from a Subarctic Lake

Karen A. Kidd 1, David W. Schindler 1, Derek C. G. Muir 2, W. Lyle Lockhart 2, and Raymond H. Hesslein 2

1 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada
2 Freshwater Institute, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 1L2, Canada

Concentrations of toxaphene and other organochlorine compounds are high in fishes from subarctic Lake Laberge, Yukon Territory, Canada. Nitrogen isotope analyses of food chains and contaminant analyses of biota, water, and dated lake sediments show that the high concentrations of toxaphene in fishes from Laberge resulted entirely from the biomagnification of atmospheric inputs. A combination of low inputs of toxaphene from the atmosphere and transfer through an exceptionally long food chain has resulted in concentrations of toxaphene in fishes that are considered hazardous to human health.

Submitted on February 3, 1995
Accepted on May 26, 1995


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