Mussel Watch in Canada: Organic Contaminants in Mussels at Three Sites Nationwide

Samples of the edible mussel Mytilus edulis were collected four to six times over a period of sixteen months from three locations in Canada: a West Coast site near North Vancouver, an East Coast site in the entrance to the Halifax Harbour and a site in St. Lawrence Estuary in a pristine area of Quebec removed from any major urban areas. The mussel samples were analyzed for organic chemical contaminants including alkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlor inated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT and other chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides. Physiological parameters of the mussels (moisture, lipid and glycogen content were also measured.