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Indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in seafood from Xiamen (China): levels, distributions, and risk assessment

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Abstract

Indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were determined in 289 seafood samples including fishes, crustaceans, and shellfish collected from six administrative regions in Xiamen of China. The residual levels of PCBs, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) ranged <LOD–64 (median 1.8) ng g−1 wet weight (ww), 0.03–88 (median 1.4) ng g−1 ww, and <LOD–5.5 (median <LOD) ng g−1 ww, respectively. The most abundant compounds were PCB101, p,p′-DDT, and β-HCH. Significant differences in the amounts of PCBs and DDTs were recorded among the species, whereas no significant differences were observed among the species with regard to HCH concentrations. Within the regions investigated, the concentrations of PCBs were much lower in Haicang than in other regions and HCHs were detected with highest concentration in Siming, while no significant differences were observed in DDT concentrations. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that PCB and OCP pollutions came from similar sources in Xiamen. But the pollution sources of Xiangan were diverse. The predominance of PCBs might be attributed to the past usage of domestically produced commercial PCB mixtures, and the profiles of OCPs might indicate their current use in agriculture. Results of carcinogenic risk assessment based on the 50th or 95th percentile exposure levels exceeded the threshold, suggesting that the PCBs should be of concern. On the other hand, the hazard quotients (HQs) of noncancer risks were all far below than 1.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the financial support of the Ocean Public Welfare Scientific Research Project of State Oceanic Administration of China (Nos. 201305043-4, 201505034-4), Fujian Province Regional Demonstration Project of Marine Economic Innovation and Development (2014FJPT01), Xiamen South Ocean Research Center Project (14PZY017NF17), and the Fujian Provincial Project in Developments of High Technological and New Industries for Marines ([2014] No. 18).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials, Xiamen University, 422 Siming South Road, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Zhuozhen Qian & Xuan Cheng

  2. Fisheries Research Institute of Fujian, 7 Haishan Road, Xiamen, 361013, China

    Zhuozhen Qian, Fangfang Luo & Chengye Wu

  3. Key Laboratory of Cultivation and High-value Utilization of Marine Organisms in Fujian Province, Fisheries Research Institute of Fujian, 7 Haishan Road, Xiamen, 361013, China

    Zhuozhen Qian, Fangfang Luo & Chengye Wu

  4. Fujian Collaborative Innovation Center for Exploitation and Utilization of Marine Biological Resources, 7 Haishan Road, Xiamen, 361013, China

    Zhuozhen Qian, Fangfang Luo & Chengye Wu

  5. School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiangan South Road, Xiamen, 361102, China

    Ran Zhao & Wenfeng Qin

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  1. Zhuozhen Qian
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  2. Fangfang Luo
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Correspondence to Xuan Cheng.

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Qian, Z., Luo, F., Wu, C. et al. Indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in seafood from Xiamen (China): levels, distributions, and risk assessment. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 10443–10453 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8659-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8659-4

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