Characteristics of nonylphenol and bisphenol A accumulation by fish and implications for ecological and human health

Abstract

Fish populations constitute an important part of aquatic ecosystems. Thus, their accumulation of nonylphenol (NP) and bisphenol A (BPA) may pose risks to ecosystems and human health. This study analyzed the concentrations of NP and BPA in four types of fishes (i.e., wild/farmed freshwater fishes and wild/farmed marine fishes). Wild freshwater fishes contained higher concentrations of NP and BPA than the other three types of fishes. The concentrations of NP in the wild freshwater fishes ranged from 1.01 to 277μg/kg ww, with bioconcentration factors (BCFs) and biota–sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) ranging from 74.0 to 2.60×104L/kg and from 0.003 to 18.3, respectively. The wild freshwater fishes contained relatively low amounts of BPA, varying from ND to 25.2μg/kg ww, with the BCFs and BSAFs ranging from 1.00 to 274L/kg and from 0.003 to 3.40, respectively. Five fish species particularly showed high BCFs and BSAFs, indicating that they could be an important source of NP for higher trophic levels, most likely resulting in ecological risks. The demersal fishes showed a greater ability to accumulate NP than the pelagic ones. The fact that the 95th percentile values of the risk quotient (RQ) for NP and BPA were higher than the acceptable threshold indicated that these two compounds would have adverse effects on aquatic organisms in Taiwanese rivers. The consumption of wild marine fishes had the highest 95th percentile values of hazard quotient (HQ) for NP and BPA among the four types of fishes, particularly for the population aged 0–3years. However, the 95th percentile values of HQ for NP and BPA were all less than 1, suggesting that exposure to NP and BPA through fish consumption posed no remarkable risk to human health in Taiwan.