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Title: Parts-per-trillion levels of polychlorinated dibenzofurans found in the edible portion of selected fish

Conference · · Preprints of Papers Presented at National Meeting, Division of Water, Air and Waste Chemistry, American Chemical Society; (USA)
OSTI ID:7266236
;  [1]
  1. Food and Drug Administration, Washington, DC (USA)

Polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) are a class of man-made chemicals consisting of 135 possible congeners. Trace concentrations of some PCDFs are environmental pollutants, originating from the incineration of chlorinated aromatic wastes or from impurities in other pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or chlorinated phenols and their esters. Toxicity reports indicate that biological activity is congener dependent. Because of the toxicity and potential for widespread environmental contamination the PCDFs must be regarded as significantly hazards. PCDFs have been reported previously as contaminants in several fish species found in either salt water or most often in estuaries, lakes and rivers. Reported levels for individual PCDF congeners ranged from 0.7 to 145 ppt but rarely exceeded 100 ppt. The PCDFs in fish have been attributed to contamination of water and sediment with PCBs, chlorinated phenols or incinerator fly ash. Most reports on PCDFs in fish either show analyses of other fish parts in combination with the fillet, or do not specifically identify all PCDF humans; i.e., the fillet. Fish were selected for their known or suspected PCB content or because they were caught at sites of known PCDF contamination. In this work they examine the levels of tri- through octa-CDFs in the skinless fillet of fish, using methodology which effectively isolates and quantitates the PCDFs at ppt. The method was modified for more rapid extraction. Average recoveries of six PCDFs fortified in fish at the 100 ppt level ranged from 93% to 117%. Thirty-five fish from nine species in eight localities in the US were analyzed.

OSTI ID:
7266236
Report Number(s):
CONF-8809264-; CODEN: ACWCA
Journal Information:
Preprints of Papers Presented at National Meeting, Division of Water, Air and Waste Chemistry, American Chemical Society; (USA), Vol. 28:2; Conference: American Chemical Society Division of Environmental Chemistry, Los Angeles, CA (USA), 25-30 Sep 1988; ISSN 0099-7293
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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