Long-term trends of polychlorinated biphenyls and chlorinated pesticides in franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei) from Southern Brazil

Selected POPs were analyzed in blubber samples of Pontoporia blainvillei from Southern Brazil to appraise temporal trend over a 10 year period (1994–2004). Overall, levels of POPs were relatively low, especially when compared to Northern Hemisphere concentrations. Apart from Mirex and PCBs, which showed stable concentrations, DDTs, HCB, CHLs, Dieldrin levels presented a slight decrease over the studied period. In addition, the increase in the PCBs/DDTs ratio supports the idea that inputs of DDTs are decaying faster than PCBs.