Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in sediments and fish species from the Murchison Bay of Lake Victoria, Uganda
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Date
2014
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Science of the total environment
Abstract
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 (WHO2005-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 lowcompared to the data for fresh water fish reported in literature andwithin a permissible
level of 3.5 pg g−1wwrecommended 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.
Description
Keywords
PCDD/Fs, PBDEs, Sediments, Fish, Lake Victoria
Citation
Ssebugere, P., Sillanpää, M., Wang, P., Li, Y., Kiremire, B. T., Kasozi, G. N., ... & Jiang, G. (2014). Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in sediments and fish species from the Murchison Bay of Lake Victoria, Uganda. Science of the total environment, 500, 1-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.08.076