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Human health risk assessment of multiple contaminants due to consumption of animal-based foods available in the markets of Shanghai, China

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Abstract

To assess the health risks due to food consumption, the human daily intake and uptake of organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and toxic trace elements (mercury, chromium, cadmium, lead, and arsenic) were estimated based on the animal-based foods collected from markets in Shanghai, China. The estimated daily intake and uptake considering the contaminant bioaccessibility via single food consumption were 9.4–399 and 4.2–282 ng/kg body weight/day for adults, and 10.8–458 and 4.8–323 ng/kg body weight/day for children, respectively. These values were 0.2–104 and 0.05–58.1, and 0.2–119 and 0.06–66.6 ng/kg body weight/day via multiple food consumption for adults and children, respectively. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency risk assessment method, the non-cancer and cancer health risks posed by the contaminants were estimated using the hazard quotient and the lifetime cancer risk method, respectively. The results showed that the combined hazard quotient values for multiple contaminants via single or multiple food consumption were below 1, suggesting that the residents in Shanghai would not experience a significant non-cancer health risk. Among the contaminants investigated, the potential non-cancer risk of methylmercury was highest. However, the combined cancer risk posed by multiple contaminants in most foods exceeded the accepted risk level of 10−6, and inorganic arsenic was the main contributor. The risks caused by polybrominated diphenyl ethers for cancer and non-cancer effects were negligible. The cancer risk of inorganic arsenic is a matter of concern in animal-based foods from Shanghai markets.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the supports of the National Nature Science Foundation of China (No. 21277086) and the Program for Innovative Research Team in University (No. IRT13078). At the same time, we acknowledge technical editing service (International Science Editing) for language editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Nanchen Rd 333, Baoshan District, Shanghai, 200444, People’s Republic of China

    Bingli Lei, Kaiqiong Zhang, Jing An, Xinyu Zhang & Yingxin Yu

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  1. Bingli Lei
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  2. Kaiqiong Zhang
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  3. Jing An
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  4. Xinyu Zhang
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  5. Yingxin Yu
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Correspondence to Yingxin Yu.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Any studies in this paper using animal foods were conducted in accordance with national and institutional guidelines for the protection of human subjects and animal welfare.

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Lei, B., Zhang, K., An, J. et al. Human health risk assessment of multiple contaminants due to consumption of animal-based foods available in the markets of Shanghai, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 4434–4446 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3683-0

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