Proceedings - Teaching and Learning Centre - Simon Fraser ...

Fraser River Action Plan 3rd Research Workshop
resolution GC/MS), organochlorines and coplanar PCBs. Mink collected subsequently have been stored
frozen for later examination and analysis.
The 32 otters were weighed and external measurements (total length, tail length) were taken. The baculum
was excised and measured with an electronic micrometer (length and width) and archived frozen. One
each upper and lower canine were collected for aging. Samples were then dissected as follows: From each
animal, selected organs were excised with a stainless steel knife and forceps (washed with hexane between
dissections), weighed and examined by a veterinary pathologist according to a protocol developed by the
U.S. Biological Survey for a related study in the lower Columbia River. Livers were divided into three
portions and placed in separate hexane-washed, heat-treated jars. One subsample from each liver was
delivered to Zenon Environmental Laboratories (Bumaby, B.C.) for trace organic analysis of composite
samples, and two to the Environment Canada Pacific Environmental Science Centre (PESC) for heavy
metals and trace organics analysis of individual samples. Composite analyses by Zenon were: 12 otter
from the Kootenay system, one from the lower Columbia River, six from the lower Fraser River (these
were further divided into two composites of three otter each), seven from the upper Columbia (these were
further divided into two composites of three and four otter, respectively), and six from the upper Fraser
River.
Quality Contol
One of the six mink liver samples was split and submitted as a blind duplicate (labeled as a separate
sample) to Zenon. Zenon met standard QA/QC requirements of provincial contracts including analysis of
certified reference samples, blanks, a laboratory duplicate and internal standard samples. One reference
sample was supplied by B.C. Environment and one by the National Wildlife Research Centre,
Environment Canada, Ottawa. Two of the kidney samples submitted to the Pacific Environmental Science
Centre were homogenized and split for replicate analyses, and a standard QA blend reference material was
analyzed in triplicate.
For otter livers, three of the PESC samples for metals were homogenized and replicated, and three
standard reference samples (DOLT - 2 liver) were included in the batch. With the batch submitted to
Zenon, QA/QC procedures, as for the mink samples submitted earlier, were followed.
Preliminary Results
Chemical
Chemical analytical results for the six mink (two from the Kootenay River, two from the Slocan River
[tributary to the Kootenay] and two from the lower Fraser River) have been received.
Metals in kidney were higher (about 1 - 6 m dry wt.) in the Kootenay system (including Slocan) than in
the lower Fraser Valley (cl pg/g). Lead and mercury were not significantly different between the two
systems; mercury was about 1 - 6 pg/g in both.
Organic analysis results by Zenon were blank-corrected (not corrected for surrogate recoveries) and
reported as pg/g wet weight except for coplanar PCBs which were reported as ng/g wet weight. Neither
dioxin nor furan were detected (low-res MS). Other chlorinated organics and pesticides were low
(generally lower than O.lug/g) or not detected, although somewhat different patterns were seen in lower
Fraser vs. Kootenay system mink. PCB 18, 28, 33, 44, 118, 153, 105, 138, 182/l 87, 180, 170 and 194
were detected in mink livers from both areas. PCB 70/76, 101, 87, 110 and 149 were detected in the
Kootenay system but not the lower Fraser, while PCB 156 was found in the Lower Fraser Valley mink but
not in those from the Kootenay system. Within the Kootenay system, PCB 28, 33, 22, 183 and 128 were
found in Slocan River mink, while mink from the Kootenay River below the Skookumchuk pulp mill had
PCB 52,70/76, 66/95, 56/60, 101, 87, 110, 149 and 146. Overall levels in total (sum of congener-specific)
PCBs between the lower Fraser Valley and the Kootenay system were not different.