Abstract
Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are ubiquitous contaminants with high bioaccumulation and persistence in the environment; they can have adverse effects in humans and animals. This study examined residual concentrations in water, sediments, and fishes as well as the association between the health risks of OCPs and fish consumption in the Taiwanese population. Various water and sediment samples from Taiwanese aquaculture and fish samples from different sources were collected and analyzed through gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to determine the concentrations of 20 OCPs, namely, aldrin; cis-chlordane; trans-chlordane; dieldrin; endrin; alpha-endosulfan; beta-endosulfan; heptachlor; hexachlorobenzene; alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane; beta-hexachlorocyclohexane; lindane; mirex; pentachlorobenzene; o,p′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT); p,p′-DDT; and DDT metabolites (o,p’-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane [DDD]; p,p’-DDD; o,p’-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene [DDE]; and p,p’-DDE). None of the analyzed samples was positive for OCP contamination, suggesting no new input pollution from the land through washing into Taiwanese aquaculture environments. However, OCP residues were detected in fishes caught along the coast, namely, skipjack tuna and bigeye barracuda, and in imported fishes, such as codfish and salmon. DDT was the predominant pesticide. The contamination pattern of persistent organic pollutants was as follows: dieldrin > cis-chlordane > hexachlorobenzene, with average concentrations ranging from 0.09 to 2.74 ng/g. The risk was assessed in terms of the estimated daily intake (EDI) for potential adverse indices; the EDI of OCP residues was lower than 1% of the acceptable daily intake established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Health Organization. The assessed risk was negligible and considered to be at a safe level, suggesting no association between fish consumption and risks to human health in Taiwan. However, a continuous monitoring program for OCP residues in fishes is necessary to further assess the possible effects on human health.
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Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to Ms. Li-Ju Lee and Feng-Yi Lin for sample collection and extraction. This manuscript was edited by Wallace Academic Editing.
Funding
This work was supported by grants (103AS-11.3.2-PI-P1 and 103AS-11.3.2-PI-P1) from the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, Taiwan.
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Supplementary Fig. 1
Location of sampling sites in Taiwan. The import samples were purchased from supermarkets in four areas (S1, S3, and S37–38). Three sampling sites at fishing ports were included for the caught-fish samples from the offshore zone along the Taiwanese coast (S2, S15, and S29). The aquafarm fish, surface water, and sediment samples were collected from the same Taiwanese aquafarms (S4, S7, S9, S11–13, S18–21, S25, S28, and S33–35). The other aquafarm fish samples were obtained from areas S5–6, S8, S10, S14, S16–17, S22–S24, S26–27, S30–32, and S36. (JPEG 1714 kb)
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Chang, GR. Persistent organochlorine pesticides in aquatic environments and fishes in Taiwan and their risk assessment. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 7699–7708 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-1110-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-1110-z