Heavy Metals, Organochlorines and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sperm Whales Stranded in the Southern North Sea During the 1994/1995 Winter

Seven male sperm whales stranded on the southern North Sea coast during the 1994/95 winter were analysed for stable pollutant concentrations in muscle, liver, kidney and blubber: heavy metals (total and organic Hg, Se, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cd, Fe, Cr, Cu and Ti), organochlorines (PCBs and pesticides) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). High concentrations of Cd (up to 300 μg/g dw in kidney), Hg (up to 130 μg/g dw in liver) and PCBs (up to 5 μg/g dw in blubber) were detected, but not considered as the direct cause of mortality, while their possible indirect influence on the health status and/or behaviour of the North Atlantic sperm whale population is discussed.