Lead, zinc, cadmium, mercury, selenium and copper in Greenland caribou and reindeer Rangifer tarandus/

Samples of caribou and reindeer muscle 127 samples. and liver 126 samples. were collected from four locations during two seasons plus 3 years in Greenland. The levels of lead, zinc, cadmium, mercury, selenium, and copper were determined, and analyzed in relation to location, two seasons, age and year of sampling. The lead concentrations geometric mean. ranged from below the detection limit to 0.007 mgrg wet weight wet wt.. in muscle and from 0.027 to 0.926 mgrg wet wt. in liver. Zinc geometric mean concentrations ranged from 17.5 to 39.6 mgrg wet wt. in muscle and from 23.2 to 31.7 mgrg wet wt. in liver. For cadmium, the geometric mean concentrations were at, or below the detection limit in muscle, while concentrations in liver ranged from 0.121 to 0.695 mgrg wet wt. Mercury levels ranged from 0.003 to 0.043 mgrg wet wt. in muscle and from 0.040 to 0.618 mgrg wet wt. in liver. Selenium concentration levels in muscle ranged from 0.030 to 0.252 mgrg wet wt., and from 0.085 to 0.984 mgrg wet wt. in liver. Copper levels in muscle ranged from 2.09 to 3.60 mgrg wet wt., and from 21.8 to 71.0 mgrg wet wt. in liver. Mercury concentrations were higher than those found at lower latitudes in Norway and Canada, especially in Isortoq in southern Greenland. Selenium levels were also high compared to other Arctic regions. Concentrations of lead, zinc, cadmium and copper are similar to those reported in caribou from Canada and Norway. Concentrations of elements generally decreased in the following order: Isortoq)Akia)Itinnera)Kangerlussuaq, and there was only found minor variation in the annual levels during 3 years in Itinnera. Late winter levels were generally significantly higher than early winter levels especially in the lichen-rich localities, and it is suggested that the availability of lichens as winter forage is the key factor determining the level of elements. Accordingly, when using caribou and reindeer as monitoring organism, knowledge of winter forage is very important for interpretation of results.