Organic contaminants in West Indian manatees from Florida and Mexico: a pilot study.

Abstract

This report describes a pilot study, was designed to assess whether polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) levels in Florida manatees residing in southwestern Florida were affected by exposures to spilled oil in Charlotte Harbor following Hurricane Charley; assess polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), PAHs, and organochlorine pesticides in manatees captured for study in waters of Chetumal Bay, Mexico, and determine whether CYP 1A1 assays could provide indications of exposures of manatees to contaminants. A fourth objective that was developed was to use the contaminants data as the basis for a formal health risk assessment. Efforts were integrated and a comparative approach was used to study manatees in both Florida and Mexico to determine PAHs, PCBs, and pesticide levels from tissue samples. This report is bound with MTR 1263b.