title: Human dietary exposure to polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans in Taiwan.
abstract: Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) levels in a total of 25 food items in Taiwan were surveyed. It was observed that shellfish and saltwater fish possessed the highest PCDD/Fs levels, 9.82 and 3.60 pg WHO-TEQ/g, respectively, on the lipid basis. The dietary intakes of humans at the ages of 12-18, 19-64, and over 65 were determined. The estimated intake were between 21.8 pg (female teenagers) and 37.6 pg (male seniors) WHO-TEQ/day; the levels varied with the dietary habits. The PCDD/F intakes for all human groups are far below the tolerable limit of 70 pg WHO-TEQ/kg b.w./month. In addition, the daily PCDD/F intake levels for duck-farmers consuming average and large amounts of PCDD/F contaminated duck eggs were examined. The result shows that consuming more than one duck egg with level higher than 10 pg WHO-TEQ/g lipid of PCDD/Fs per day could lead to a PCDD/F intake level higher than the tolerable limit. However, for normal population, there is a little risk to ingest intolerable amount of PCDD/Fs because of consuming contaminated duck eggs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: I-Ching
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yee-Lin
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Long-Full
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Guo-Ping
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Chang-Chien
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000032:analysis*; D002648:Child; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D004147:Dioxins / Q000032:analysis*; D004372:Ducks; D004531:Eggs; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012758:Shellfish; D013624:Taiwan; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001572:Benzofurans; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D004147:Dioxins; C020887:dibenzo(1,4)dioxin