Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in sediments and fish species from the Murchison Bay of Lake Victoria, Uganda

Abstract

• High concentrations of PCDD/Fs and PBDEs were found at wastewater discharge points.• PCDD/F and PBDE concentrations were low to moderate compared to data in literature.• The concentration difference between fish species was attributed to feeding habits.• The fish were fit for human consumption with regard to PCDD/Fs and PBDEs. a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were analyzed in sediments and fish from the Murchison Bay of Lake Victoria by high resolution gas chromatography/ high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). Average concentrations of total (Σ) PCDD/Fs and ΣPBDEs in sediments ranged from 68.8 to 479 pg g −1 dry weight (dw) and 60.8 to 179 pg g −1 dw, respectively. Contamination levels of sedimentary PCDD/Fs and PBDEs were low to moderate compared to other urbanized regions worldwide. The concentrations in different fish species (Nile perch; Lates niloticus and Nile tilapia; Oreochromis niloticus) were 5.32 to 49.0 pg g −1 wet weight (ww) for PCDD/Fs and 59.3 to 495 pg g −1 ww for PBDEs. Higher concentrations of the pollutants were found in L. niloticus than O. niloticus, which could be attributed to species differences in feeding habits and lifestyles. World Health Organization-toxic equivalents (WHO 2005 -TEQs) for PCDD/Fs ranged from 0.08 to 0.33 pg TEQ g −1 dw and 0.001-0.14 pg TEQ g −1 ww in sediments and fish, respectively. The TEQ values were low compared to the data for fresh water fish reported in literature and within a permissible level of 3.5 pg g −1 ww recommended by the European Commission. Based on the Commission set value and minimum risk level criteria formulated by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the fish from the Murchison Bay was fit for human consumption.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and metabolites – An analytical review on seafood occurrence

“…It seems that, regardless of matrix fat content, a single SPE step is enough to yield adequate recovery rates [46,56,57,66,67], although more exhaustive cleanup (up to three sequential SPE) can also be employed, even for low fat samples [58,68]. Additionally, different eluents can be sequentially added for fractionation, thus separating PBDEs from MeO-PBDEs and OH-PBDEs, in order to improve chromatographic resolution [69].…”

Particle size distributions and gas–particle partitioning of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in ambient air during haze days and normal days

“…The Shapiro-Wilk test was used for verifying the normality of data. Since concentration values were not normally distributed, the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparing two data sets (Ssebugere et al, 2014a;Ssebugere et al, 2014b). The comparisons of particle and PCDD/F concentrations during normal days and haze days were tested using this method.…”

“…PCDD/Fs are ubiquitous in the environment and tend to be environmentally persistent, bioaccumulate in lipids in biota, and undergo long-range transport (Ssebugere et al, 2014b). Long-term exposure to PCDD/Fs can severely affect the human immune and reproductive systems, and increase adverse attention-related behaviors (Neugebauer et al, 2015;Schecter et al, 2006).…”

Occurrence and levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in wild and farmed tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) from Lake Kariba, Zambia: possible impact on fish health

“…Despite all benefits, increasing of fish farming may have negative impact on the environment due to release of organic effluents, chemicals and antibiotics in the waterbodies and by acting as a source of diseases or genetic contamination of wild species (Berg et al 1992;Jarić et al 2011;Kishimba et al 2004;Li et al 2011;Mwakalapa. et al 2018;Nonga et al 2011;Polder et al 2014;Ssebugere et al 2014;Subasinghe 2005).…”