title: Concentrations and patterns of organochlorines (OCs) in various fish species from the Indus River, Pakistan: A human health risk assessment.
abstract: The present study was conducted to reveal the concentrations and patterns of organochlorines [i.e., organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)] in freshwater fish species collected from four ecologically important sites of the Indus River i.e., Taunsa (TAU), Rahim Yar Khan (RYK), Guddu (GUD) and Sukkur (SUK). In the fish muscle tissues, concentrations of 15 OCPs (∑15OCPs) and 29 PCBs (∑29PCBs) varied between 1.93-61.9 and 0.81-44.2 ng/g wet weight (ww), respectively. Overall, the rank order of OCs was DDTs>PCBs>hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs)>chlordanes (CHLs). The patterns of PCBs showed maximum contribution of tri-CBs (59%). Ratios of individual HCH and DDT analytes contributing to the summed values indicated both recent and past use of these chemicals in the region, depending upon fish species. To assess the associated health risks, carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks were calculated through hazard ratios (HRs). For carcinogenic risk, HR was >1 at both 50th and 95th percentile concentrations, suggesting that the daily exposure to OCPs and PCBs yields a lifetime cancer risk of 1 in a million. HR for non-cancerous risk was <1 at both the percentiles, signifying no adverse effect by OCs exposure in native population.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biology and Ecotoxicology Laboratory, Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Timmer
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biology and Ecotoxicology Laboratory, Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Usman
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad 45550, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Adeel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mahmood
authors.affiliation: WWF-Pakistan, Ferozpur Road, PO Box 5180, Lahore 54600, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad Jamshed Iqbal
authors.initials: MJI
authors.lastname: Chaudhry
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
authors.forename: Gan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Centre for Chemicals Management, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK.
authors.forename: Kevin C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biology and Ecotoxicology Laboratory, Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan. Electronic address: r_n_malik2000@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Riffat Naseem
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Malik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000378:metabolism*; D010154:Pakistan; D010575:Pesticides / Q000378:metabolism; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000378:metabolism; D018570:Risk Assessment; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D010575:Pesticides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Fish; Indus River; Organochlorine pesticides; Organochlorines; Pakistan; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Risk assessment