title: Human exposure to brominated flame retardants through the consumption of fish and shellfish in Tarragona County (Catalonia, Spain).
abstract: The concentrations of 19 brominated flame retardants (BFRs) (8 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), 8 methoxylated PBDEs (MeO-PBDEs) and 3 emerging flame retardants) were determined in 10 species of fish and shellfish widely consumed in Tarragona County (Catalonia, Spain), by pressurized liquid extraction followed by gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. A higher occurrence of PBDEs was found in all the analyzed samples, while MeO-PBDEs were only detected in a few ones and the levels of emerging pollutants were relatively low. In contrast, hexabromobenzene was found in almost all samples at concentrations ranging between non detected and 0.2 ng g-1wet weight (w.w.). Salmon, sole, hake, cod and tuna showed the highest concentrations of ΣPBDEs (>0.8 ng g-1w.w.), while mussel was the species with the highest level of MeO-PBDEs (1.5 ng g-1w.w.). The dietary exposure of BFRs through consumption of these 10 species of fish and shellfish by the population of Tarragona County was estimated for different subpopulations, classified according to age and gender. Furthermore, calculations were performed in upper-, middle- and lower-bound risk scenarios. According to our data, the current concentrations of BFRs in fish and shellfish suggest no significant health risks for the consumers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Trabalón
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, IISPV, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Lolita
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vilavert
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, IISPV, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: José L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Domingo
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. Electronic address: eva.pocurull@urv.cat.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pocurull
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Francesc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Borrull
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, IISPV, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Martí
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nadal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D006842:Hydrocarbons, Brominated / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008875:Middle Aged; D017747:Seafood / Q000032:analysis* / Q000191:economics; D012758:Shellfish / Q000032:analysis / Q000191:economics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005411:Flame Retardants; D006842:Hydrocarbons, Brominated
keywords: Brominated flame retardants; Dietary intake; Fish and shellfish; GC-MS; PLE