Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers and chiral signatures of alpha-HCH in the Arctic marine food web of the Northwater Polynya.

Concentrations of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers (alpha, beta, and gamma) and enantiomer fractions (EFs) of alpha-HCH were determined in the Northwater Polynya Arctic marine food web. Relative food web structure was established using trophic level models based on organic delta 15N values. Concentrations of HCH in the samples collected, including water, sediment, benthic invertebrates (four species), pelagic zooplankton (six species), Arctic cod, seabirds (seven species), and ringed seal, were in the range previously reported for the Canadian Arctic. The relative proportion of the HCH isomers varied across the food web and appeared to be related to the biotransformation capacity of each species. For invertebrates and fish the biomagnification factors (BMFs) of the three isomers were > 1 and the proportion of each isomer and the EFs of alpha-HCH were similar to water, suggesting minimal biotransformation. Seabirds appear to readily metabolize gamma- and alpha-HCH based on low BMFs for these isomers, high proportions of beta-HCH (62-96%), and high EFs (0.65-0.97) for alpha-HCH. The alpha- and beta-HCH isomers appear to be recalcitrant in ringed seals based on BMFs > 1 and near racemic EFs for alpha-HCH. The beta isomer appears to be recalcitrant in all species examined and had an overall food web magnification factor of 3.9. EFs of alpha-HCH and the proportion of beta-HCH in sigma-HCH in the food web were highly correlated (r2 = 0.92) suggesting that EFs were a good indicator of a species capability to biotransform alpha-HCH.