Occurrence of Organochlorines Contaminants in Coastal Fish from Sepetiba Bay: Levels and Human Health Repercussions

Abstract

The aim of this study was to survey levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinateddibenzofurans (PCDFs), and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) in white mullet (Mugil curema),common snook (Centropomus undecimalis), and acoupa weakfish (Cynoscion acoupa), collected at Sepetibabay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March-August 2013. PCBs and PCDD/Fs were determined by High Resolution GasChromatography/High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS) as stated by the US EPA 1613B, 1668B,and 8290A methods. The concentration of total PCBs ranged from 0.589688 ~ 0.6981629 pg-WHO-TEQ/g wwand PCDDs/PCDFs ranged from 0.134037 ~ 0.242573 pg-WHO-TEQ/g ww. The concentrations of thesecontaminants on fish species currently appear to fall below critical values, and the dietary consumption of thesespecies did not represent a risk for human health. However, seeking to avoid future problems, systematicmonitoring can prevent complications to the environment, marine wildlife and public health impacts.