Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Zhejiang foods (2006-2015): Market basket and polluted areas

In this study, we measured the levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in 620 foods collected during 2006-2015 from Zhejiang market, a municipal waste incinerator (MWI) and E-waste disassembling areas. For market retail foods, the levels of PCDD/F TEQs, PCDD/F plus dioxin-like PCB (DL-PCB) TEQs, and the concentrations of six indicator PCBs were generally below the EU ML The average TEQvalues for the 13 food groups were 42% of EU ML for PCDD/Fs and 32% for PCDD/Fs + DL-PCBs. Some foods of animal origin were close to the corresponding EU ML: pork (PCDD/F TEQ 79% of ML; PCDD/F + DL-PO TEQ 84% of ML); infant formula (90% of PCDD/F ML) and beef (96% of PCDD/F ML; PCDD/F + DL-PCB TEQ 78% of ML). The estimated dietary intake for the general population was 22.0 pgTEQ(kg body weight (bw))(-1) month(-1), which was below the standard of 70 pgTEQ(kg bw)(-1) month(-1) set by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). For the MWI and E-waste disassembling sites, high concentrations of PCDD/Fs and PCBs were measured in all foods tested. The corresponding TEQ in (1) freshwater fish, (2) chicken egg, (3) chicken meat and (4) chicken liver was (1) 1.4-fold (MWI, PCDD/F TEQ), (2) 11.2-fold (MWI,) and 1.6-fold (E-waste disassembling sites), (3) 20.7-fold and (4) 3.3-fold greater than EU ML, respectively. Considering the worst situation (highly polluted foods were consumed), the estimated dietary intake for local residents were 244 (MWI) and 240 pg TEQ (kg bw)(-1) month(-1) (E-waste disassembling sites), approximately 3.5-fold greater compared to the standard 70 pg TEQ (kg bw)(-1) month(-1) set by JECFA, indicating high risk could have been imposed on the health of local residents. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.