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Bioaccumulation of mercury and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in salty water organisms

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Abstract

Mercury and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) accumulate in organisms through food webs and exert potentially toxic effects on aquatic organisms and humans. This study examined the levels of mercury and PCDD/Fs in organisms and sediment samples collected from a saltwater pond at the An-Shun site, a chloralkali factory that shut down in Tainan City, Taiwan. It was also a pentachlorophenol production plant. After the factories were shut down in the 1980s, mercury and PCDD/Fs contamination remained, posing severe health hazards. The correlation between PCDD/Fs congener accumulation patterns in distinct fish organs and the sediment was evaluated. Mercury and PCDD/Fs levels in all the fish samples exceeded food safety limits, and the concentrations of mercury and PCDD/Fs in each species were closely correlated (n = 12, Spearman’s rank correlation [R] = 0.811, p < 0.01). The mercury concentrations were positively but non-significantly correlated with the weight (n = 11, R = 0.741, p < 0.01) and length (n = 11, R = 0.618, p < 0.05) of the species. The fish likely accumulated the contaminants through ingestion of other organisms or the sediment. However, after the pollutants entered a fish, they exhibited distinct accumulation patterns because of their differing chemical properties. Specifically, the mercury concentration was correlated with organism weight and length, whereas the PCDD/Fs concentration was associated with organ lipid content. The study results are valuable for assessing the health risks associated with ingesting mercury- and PCFF/F-contaminated seafood from the study site.

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Acknowledgments

This study was partly supported by China Petrochemical Development Corporation.

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  1. Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Pei-Yu Liao, Chen-Wuing Liu & Wen-Yao Liu

  2. MWH Americas Inc., Taiwan Branch, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Pei-Yu Liao & Wen-Yao Liu

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  1. Pei-Yu Liao
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  2. Chen-Wuing Liu
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Liao, PY., Liu, CW. & Liu, WY. Bioaccumulation of mercury and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in salty water organisms. Environ Monit Assess 188, 12 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-5019-z

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