Exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers associated with consumption of marine and freshwater fish in Hong Kong

Abstract

Concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in market fish have not previously been reported in Hong Kong. Axial and ventral muscles from 10 each common species of freshwater and marine fish purchased from markets in Hong Kong were analyzed for 22 PBDEs. Among the 10 freshwater fish species, spotted snakehead ( Channa maculate) contained the highest level of PBDEs in ventral muscle (130 ng g −1 wet wt.). For marine fish, bigeye ( Priacanthus macracanthus) showed significantly higher levels of PBDEs (60.7 ng g −1 wet wt. in ventral tissue) than all other marine species. The levels of PBDEs in fish samples ranged from 0.53 to 130 ng g −1 wet wt. The tetrabrominated congener BDE-47 and pentabrominated BDE-99 were the predominant congeners, which accounted for 27% and 30%, respectively, of the total PBDEs. Daily PBDE intake was calculated according to the different fish consumption rate for Hong Kong consumers, and the results ranged from 222 to 1198 ng day −1 for marine fish and 403–2170 ng day −1 for freshwater fish. The daily PBDE intake from fish reported here were higher than those reported from the United States (8.94–15.7 ng day −1) and Europe (14–23.1 ng day −1).