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Organochlorine Pesticides in Muscle of Rainbow Trout from a Remote Japanese Lake and Their Potential Risk on Human Health

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Abstract

We determined the concentrations and residue patterns of 20 persistent organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), including hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), chlordane-related compounds (CHLs), mirex, dieldrin, endrin, and aldrin, in muscle of rainbow trout from Lake Mashu, Japan. Total concentrations of OCPs varied from 1.0 to 132 ng g−1 lipid weight. α-HCH was the most prevalent OCP contaminant in the fish muscle. Using the daily fish consumption in Japan (95.2 g), the mean weight of a Japanese adult (50.0 kg), and residual pesticide concentrations, we calculated the estimated daily intakes of γ-HCH, DDTs, CHLs, and dieldrin for humans to be 0.39, 0.48, 0.68, and 0.08 ng kg−1 day−1, respectively. Judging from acceptable daily intakes established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, we believe that these OCP levels would not adversely affect human health.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Center for Global Environmental Research (CGER) in National Institute for Environmental Studies. Fish samples collected in the Global Environment Monitoring System/Water Program were provided by the courtesy of CGER.

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  1. Environmental Chemistry Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan

    Yoshikatsu Takazawa, Atsushi Tanaka & Yasuyuki Shibata

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  1. Yoshikatsu Takazawa
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  2. Atsushi Tanaka
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Correspondence to Yoshikatsu Takazawa.

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Takazawa, Y., Tanaka, A. & Shibata, Y. Organochlorine Pesticides in Muscle of Rainbow Trout from a Remote Japanese Lake and Their Potential Risk on Human Health. Water Air Soil Pollut 187, 31–40 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-007-9494-x

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