Firth Deborah Caitlin, Strydom Philip E, Auerswald Lutz, Hoffman Louwrens Christiaan
Department of Animal Science, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town 7600, South Africa.
Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, Cape Town 8012, South Africa.
Foods. 2025 Jun 24;14(13):2226. doi: 10.3390/foods14132226.
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are contaminants that pose potential harm to environments and human consumers. Wild mussels (, , and ) were collected from the coastline of the Western Cape Province of South Africa and analysed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) via gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The results showed eleven PAHs at concentrations ranging from NF to 50.3 ng g d.w., five PCBs at concentrations between 4.1 and 18.6 ng g d.w., and two OCPs, namely β-hexachlorocyclohexane (NF-7.9 ng g d.w.) and chlordane (7.2-14.5 µg g d.w.). A Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) determined PAH concentrations to pose little health risk to adults and children consuming < 1000 g and 500 g per month (g m) wild mussel meat, respectively. The HHRA of PCBs found adults and children would experience negative health effects at a consumption rate of 250 g m. HHRAs determined chlordane concentrations to pose unacceptable health risks for adults and children at all consumption rates (similar results for lindane). To avoid unnecessary POP-related health risks over a lifetime, it is recommended that adults consume < 250 g m of wild mussels from the Western Cape Province, and children should avoid consuming mussels. This research demonstrates the legacy of POP contamination along the coastline of the Western Cape Province; more monitoring of these contaminants is imperative to protect marine ecosystems and food chains.
持久性有机污染物（POPs）是对环境和人类消费者构成潜在危害的污染物。从南非西开普省海岸线采集野生贻贝（、和），并通过气相色谱串联质谱法分析其中的多氯联苯（PCBs）、有机氯农药（OCPs）和多环芳烃（PAHs）。结果显示，11种多环芳烃的浓度范围为未检出至50.3纳克/克干重，5种多氯联苯的浓度在4.1至18.6纳克/克干重之间，两种有机氯农药，即β-六氯环己烷（未检出至7.9纳克/克干重）和氯丹（7.2至14.5微克/克干重）。人类健康风险评估（HHRA）确定，对于每月食用野生贻贝肉分别少于1000克和500克（克/月）的成年人和儿童，多环芳烃浓度对其健康风险较小。多氯联苯的人类健康风险评估发现，成年人和儿童以250克/月的食用率会受到负面健康影响。人类健康风险评估确定，氯丹浓度在所有食用率下对成年人和儿童均构成不可接受的健康风险（林丹的结果类似）。为避免一生中不必要的与持久性有机污染物相关的健康风险，建议成年人每月食用西开普省的野生贻贝少于250克，儿童应避免食用贻贝。这项研究证明了西开普省海岸线上持久性有机污染物污染的遗留问题；必须对这些污染物进行更多监测，以保护海洋生态系统和食物链。
