Interim report of the HELCOM CORESET project

differences. If BAC should be developed for fi sh species which prefere more polluted habitats (coast), it
could be helpful to use an species independent BAC for fi sh instead. SGIMC 2010 proposed a joint BAC
for three fi sh species cod dab and haddock. A BAC value applicable for more marine fi sh species would be
helpful regarding inter-species evaluation of monitoring data.
Even if PAH metabolites are only a marker of exposure, high levels of metabolites can be linked to deleterious
effects in fi sh. EACs have been be identifi ed using results from toxicological experiments linking oil
exposure and PAH metabolites in fi sh with DNA adducts and fi tness data (Morton et al. 2010; Skadsheim
et al. 2004; Skadsheim et al. 2009), where the latter serves as the effect quantity for the calculation of the
EAC presented in Table 3.10. EAC are available for some fi sh species only at the moment. More investigations
are needed to calculate proper EAC values for Baltic fi sh species. EACs cannot be easily transferred to
other species because they may differ in sensitivity to PAH effects.
Table 3.10. Background Assessment Criteria (BAC) and Environmental Assessment Criteria (EAC) for
two PAH metabolites, different fi sh species and methods. Data partly taken from WKIMC 2009 and
SGIMC 2010.
Biological Effect Fish species BAC [ng/ml]
HPLC-F
EAC [ng/g] GC/MS
Bile metabolite 1-hydroxypyrene dab 16
cod 21 483
fl ounder 16 4)
Bile metabolite
1-hydroxyphenanthrene
haddock 13
dab, cod, haddock 17
turbot 909
halibut 745
dab 3.7
cod 2.7 518
fl ounder 3.7 4)
haddock 0.8
dab, cod, haddock 2.4
turbot 1832
halibut 262
Biological Effect
Bile metabolites of
pyrene-type
Fish species BAC [μg/ml] Synchronuos
Fluor. 341/383
AC based on 1) halibut, 2) turbot, 3) cod and 4) dab
EAC [μg/ml] Fixed
Fluor. 341/383
dab 0.15 22 1)
cod 1.1 35
fl ounder 1.3 29 2)
haddock 1.9 35 3)
turbot 29
halibut 22
herring/sprat 16
GES boundary for food: Benz(a)Pyrene (fi sh): 2 μg/kg ww; Benz(a)Pyrene (crustaceans): 2 μg/kg ww;
Benz(a)Pyrene (bivalves): 2 μg/kg ww.
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