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Concentrations, bioaccumulation, and human health risk assessment of organochlorine pesticides and heavy metals in edible fish from Wuhan, China

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine concentration and bioaccumulation of organochlorine pesticides and heavy metals in edible fish from Wuhan, China, in order to assess health risk to the human via fish consumption. Two edible fish species (Aristichthys nobilis and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) were collected and analyzed for 11 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and eight heavy metals (HMs). Concentrations of ∑HCHs, ∑DDTs, and ∑OCPs in fish samples were in the range of 0.37–111.20, not detected (nd)–123.61, and 2.04–189.04 ng g−1 (wet weight), respectively. Bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) of OCPs in bighead carp (A. nobilis) were higher than those in silver carp (H. molitrix). Concentrations of ∑HMs in bighead carp and silver carp were 352.48 and 345.20 mg kg−1 (dw), respectively. Daily exposure of OCPs and HMs for consumers was estimated by comparing estimated daily intake (EDI) with different criteria. The results revealed that the EDIs in our study were all lower than those criteria. Target hazard quotient (THQ) and risk ratio (R) were used to evaluate non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks, respectively. As regard to non-carcinogenic effects of the contaminants, hazard quotients (THQ) of OCPs and HMs were both lower than 1.0, implying negligible non-carcinogenic risk via fish consumption in study area. Nevertheless, in view of carcinogenic effects of the contaminants, the total value of risk ratio (R) of OCPs was lower than the threshold of tolerable risk while the total value of risk ratio (R) of HMs was higher than the threshold of tolerable risk due to the high carcinogenic risk ratios of As and Cr, indicating high carcinogenic risks via fish consumption. The results demonstrated that HMs in edible fish from Wuhan, China, especially As and Cr required more attention than OCPs.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by Natural Science Key Foundation of Hubei Province of China (NO. 2014CFA114) and the Hundred Talents Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Y329671K01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Lili Cui, Jing Ge, Yindi Zhu, Yuyi Yang & Jun Wang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Lili Cui & Yindi Zhu

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  1. Lili Cui
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  2. Jing Ge
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  3. Yindi Zhu
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Correspondence to Jun Wang.

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Table S1

Representative examples of OCPs in fish muscle samples (ng/g ww) from different lakes (DOC 66 kb)

Table S2

Representative examples of heavy metals in fish muscle samples (mg/kg) from different lakes (DOC 78 kb)

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Cui, L., Ge, J., Zhu, Y. et al. Concentrations, bioaccumulation, and human health risk assessment of organochlorine pesticides and heavy metals in edible fish from Wuhan, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 15866–15879 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4752-8

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