Indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in seafood from Xiamen (China): levels, distributions, and risk assessment

Indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were determined in 289 seafood samples including fishes, crustaceans, and shellfish collected from six administrative regions in Xiamen of China. The residual levels of PCBs, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) ranged Siming, while no significant differences were observed in DDT concentrations. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that PCB and OCP pollutions came from similar sources in Xiamen. But the pollution sources of Xiangan were diverse. The predominance of PCBs might be attributed to the past usage of domestically produced commercial PCB mixtures, and the profiles of OCPs might indicate their current use in agriculture. Results of carcinogenic risk assessment based on the 50th or 95th percentile exposure levels exceeded the threshold, suggesting that the PCBs should be of concern. On the other hand, the hazard quotients (HQs) of noncancer risks were all far below than 1.