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EPA's Vessel General Permit and Small Vessel General

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Contaminants in beluga whales are of concern for both whale health <strong>and</strong> the health of<br />

subsistence users. Tissue samples are regularly collected from subsistence harvested <strong>and</strong><br />

str<strong>and</strong>ed beluga whales <strong>and</strong> archived. Tissues <strong>and</strong> organs commonly collected include blubber,<br />

liver <strong>and</strong> kidneys, as well as muscle, heart, bone, skin <strong>and</strong> brain. Blubber is the most commonly<br />

collected; due to the lipid content it typically contains the most lipophilic substances (Becker<br />

2000). The kidney <strong>and</strong> liver are used to analyze heavy metal compounds. Relatively high levels<br />

of PCBs, chlorinated pesticides <strong>and</strong> mercury are evident in beluga whales, although the more<br />

contaminated belugas are from the St. Lawrence River, Canada (Becker 2000). Concentrations of<br />

chlorinated hydrocarbons in Cook Inlet beluga whales range from 0.1-2.4 µg/g, w.w. DDT, 0.6-<br />

4.7 µg/g, w.w. PCB, 0.1-0.6 µg/g, w.w. chlordane,

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