Postmortem health and pollution investigation on harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) of the Islands Helgoland and Sylt

Helgoland and Sylt are important centers of tourism in the North Sea. Harbor and grey seals are one reason for the attraction of these islands. However, little is known about these local seal groups. The present post mortem health and pollution study describes a multiparameter investigation of \ufb01ve ill harbor seals which were shot for animal welfare reasons. Firstly, results of pathology and blood investigations support the bad prognosis of survival made in the \ufb01eld. Signs of in\ufb02ammation in organs, malnutrition, a high-stress level, and reduced thyroid activity were found. Secondly, metal and organic contaminants were investigated. Metal pollutants in blood, liver, muscle, and kidney tissue were not elevated. Lead and mercury concentrations showed a decreased level compared to former studies. Additionally, interesting insights were found for several organic contaminants in comparison with other studies. The Helgoland seals may be in\ufb02uenced by the contaminants of the Elbe plume

Comparative study of different digestion procedures using supplementary analytical methods for multielement-screening of more than 50 elements in sediments of the river Elbe

The suitability of four different digestion procedures, i.e. (i) an aqua regia digestion according to DIN 38 414-S7, (ii) a pressure digestion using HNO_3/HF in PTFE-vessels, (iii) a HNO_3/HF=HCl-pressure digestion in PTFE-vessels and (iv) a HNO_3/HF+HCl-pressure digestion using microwave induction, has been evaluated with regard to the quantitative determination of about 50 elements in environmental samples. Three sediments of the river Elbe and two standard reference materials (MESS-1 and NIST 1645) have been employed. The analytical results from the dissolved samples, obtained using inductively coupled plasma mass- and optical emission spectrometry as well as total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, have been compared with those obtained by instrumental neutron activation analysis. Only digestion procedures using HNO_3/HF with a subsequent evaporation to dryness and dissolution in HCl have led to appropriate results for a wide range of elements (more than 50 elements in total). Because of its low contamination risk and its time saving, the microwave digestion is preferred. For this digestion procedure the accordance among the different instrumental methods used is high (better than 15% deviation) in general. A few elements (16) could be determined quantitatively only by a single method. (orig.)Also published in Fresenius' Journal of Analytical Chemistry (1995) v. 353, p. 3-11Available from TIB Hannover: RA 3251(95/E/36) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Erfassung und Beurteilung der Belastung der Elbe mit Schadstoffen. Teilprojekt 2: Schwermetalle - Schwermetallspezies. Bd. 3/3 Geogene Hintergrundwerte und zeitliche Belastungsentwicklung. Abschlussbericht

Available from TIB Hannover: F98B1380 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman

Erfassung und Beurteilung der Belastung der Elbe mit Schadstoffen. Teilprojekt 2: Schwermetalle - Schwermetallspezies. Bd. 1/3 Zusammenfassende Aus- und Bewertung der Laengsprofiluntersuchungen in der Elbe. Abschlussbericht

Available from TIB Hannover: F99B331 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman