21 
Arctic char (200-2500 ng/g lw, mean 1005 ng/g lw) from the remote region Bear Island 
had comparable levels as cod from the North and Baltic Sea. Similar concentrations 
were also reported for PCB, DDT-compounds and toxaphenes. Main reasons for such an 
exposure are long range transport, condensation effects and a high precipitation rate 
around the sampling site Lake Ellasjpen and the breeding sites of thousands of sea birds 
close by. Birds from Bear Island had also a considerable s+mPCA burden, which was in 
the same range as for DDT-compounds, PCB and toxaphenes. 
The mPCA concentrations were higher than those for sPCA in many samples from the 
Baltic Sea and in birds. No clear relation between s- and mPCAs was observed for the 
North Sea and northern North Atlantic. C14 chains were dominant (mean 69 %, range 
59-100 %) in the mPCA-pattem of all samples. This is also typical for technical 
mixtures. 
The situation was more complex for sPCA-pattems. Cll and C12 congeners were most 
abundant in the biota from the Baltic and North Sea. The distribution resembled those in 
technical sPCA, but showed a larger variability. However, cod livers from the northern 
North Atlantic showed a difference. Here, CIO and C12 congeners were most common. 
The CIO fraction and C10/C12 ratio increased to 28.4% and 0.76, respectively, in cod 
liver from the northern North Atlantic compared to 13.6% and 0.43 in technical 
mixtures or 16.8% and 0.53 in cod liver from the Baltic Sea. The change of CIO 
congeners from a minor to a major fraction of sPCA was also observed in marine 
mammals from the Northern North Atlantic such as beluga, walrus and seals. It 
indicates a fractionation and enrichment of the more volatile CIO congeners during long 
range transport to this remote region. 
2.1.7 PCAs in sediments from the Baltic and North Sea and additional 
sites in Europe 
Sediments were collected during monitoring expeditions in August/September 2001, 
August/September 2002, May/June 2003 and spring 2004 (13 sediments from 7 sites in 
the Baltic sea and 20 sediments from 16 sites in the North Sea). Moreover, 8 river and 
sea sediments and suspended particulate matter (11 samples) were obtained from