Concentrations and human health risk of organochlorines in farmed freshwater aquatic products: fish ponds around the Changsha, China

Abstract

The present study was conducted to reveal the concentrations and patterns of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in seven species of freshwater aquatic products ( procambarus clarkii, ctenopharyngodon idellus, parabramis pekinensis, hypophthalmichthys molitrix, cyprinus carpioio, aristichthys nobilis, carassius auratus ) collected from freshwater aquaculture farms around Changsha, China. And the OCPs and PCBs in the muscle tissue of the aquatic products were analyzed to assess the dietary intake risk. The mean concentrations of OCPs and PCBs varied between 6.38 - 15.90 and 3.18 - 5.12 ng g -1 wet weight, respectively. Heptachlor and δ-HCH are the main contaminants of OCPs in the tested aquatic products, which account for over 74% of the total OCPs. The PCB52 is the main contaminant of PCBs, which account for over 88% of the total PCBs. The bioaccumulation levels of OCPs and PCBs in the aquatic products depend upon the species of aquatic products. The ctenopharyngodon idellus has the highest contamination levels of OCPs while the hypophthalmichthys molitrix has the highest contamination levels of PCBs. The mean lipid content in the freshwater aquatic products varies from 6.08% to 19.8% (dry weight) and presents a significant correlation with the contents of OCPs and PCBs. The health risk of the freshwater aquatic products is assessed by the hazard ratios and hazard quotient, a carcinogenic risk is found for the consumption of freshwater aquatic products.