| In the Laurentian Great Lakes, numerous currently-used organohalogen flame retardants (FR) were identified for the first time in herring gull eggs as a result from accumulation in parent birds and subsequent in ovo transfer during seasonal reproduction. Using eggs as biomonitors, temporal and spatial trends of FR contaminants in annually collected eggs were reflective of chemical production and environmental release. Heavily used FRs (i.e. polybrominated diphenyl ethers) were first apparent in eggs collected in the 1980s and followed exponential increases until 2006. Some FRs (i.e. Dechlorane Plus) fluctuated over time, while others persisted more recently. Currently, brominated FRs are receiving considerable attention because of increasing usage and potential environmental availability and toxicity; thus it is prudent to monitor these substances in wildlife and key biomonitoring species such as Great Lakes herring gulls. Furthermore, increasing levels and/or changing patterns illustrate the increasing complexity of environmental contaminants that would classify (in a regulatory sense) persistent, bioaccumulative and inherently toxicity. |
