POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS (PCBs) IN KOREAN SEAFOOD: AN INDICATOR OF COASTAL POLLUTION AND POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS ON HUMANS

摘要

High resolution gas chromatography-mass spectrome-try (HRGC-HRMS) was used to analyze PCB contamination of 18 fish, 9 invertebrate and 5 processed seafood samples. The sum of 50 PCB congeners in seafood ranged from 51-38,191 pg/g wet weight, in the following order: fish > processed food > invertebrates. However, processed seafood showed the maximum toxic equivalents (pg TEQ/g wet wt.) of 55, followed by invertebrates and fish with 40 and 12. Though fish species showed the lowest TEQ values, they were derived mostly from 'dioxin like' non-ortho chlorine-substituted congeners (the high values in the other items were derived from high mono-ortho chlorine-substituted PCBs). In four fish species, viz. herring, Gizzard shad, Sail-fin sandfish, and Atka mackerel, the levels exceeded the EPA's recommended screening value for human consumption, based on chronic toxiticity test.