Analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls in shellfish collected from a market

Abstract

We collected seven species of shellfish; all originating from the southern coastal areas of Korea, from a market every three months from Dec. 2001 to Sept. 2002, and determined the total polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels by the sum of 26 individual congener levels. A GC-ECD system was applied for identification and quantification of these PCB congeners. Mussel showed the highest level in Sept. 2002 at 34.5 ng/g dry weight (d.w.). All species except mussel showed the lowest total PCB level in Dec. 2001 and their levels in tissue ranged from 0.6 to 5.5 ng/g d.w. The total PCB levels ranged from 0.8 to 17.3 ng/g in Mar. 2002, 2.2 to 9.5 ng/g in June 2002, and 1.8 to 34.5 ng/g d.w. in Sept. 2002. The principal congener group was penta-CBs, which accounted for 32% of the total PCBs, followed by hexa-CBs at 23%, and tetra-CBs at 21%.