Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in commonly consumed seafood from the coastal area of Bangladesh: occurrence, distribution, and human health implications

Dietary intake is the most important route of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) exposure and seafood is the major dietary component for the coastal populations. It is, therefore, an urgent need to assess the levels of PCBs in seafood. A comprehensive congener-specific evaluation of PCBs was carried out for the first time in Bangladesh. All 209 congeners of PCBs in 48 seafood samples (5 finfish and 2 shellfish species) collected in winter and summer of 2015 were measured by GC-MS/MS. Regardless of season and site, the ∑PCBs (ng/g wet weight) in finfish and shellfish were in the range of 6.4–86.2 and 3.8–37.7, respectively. The results were comparable to or higher than those observed in other studies worldwide, particularly from Spain, China, Korea, Thailand, and Hong Kong. No significant seasonal variation was observed in the levels of ∑PCBs in the examined seafood ( p > 0.05); however, interspecies differences were significant ( p