Occurrence and congener profiles of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in green mussels (Perna viridis) collected from northern South China Sea and the associated potential health risk.

Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) contamination has become a major concern over the effects on human health. In the present study, we collected widely consumed green mussels (Perna viridis) samples from the northern South China Sea (NSCS) to investigate the occurrence, spatial distribution, congener profiles as well as potential risk of 18 PBDEs. All the target PBDEs were detected in green mussel samples, indicating their ubiquitous distribution. The concentrations of the total 18 PBDES (SigmaPBDEs) in all samples varied from 6.96 to 55.6ng/g lipid weight (lw), with BDE-47 and BDE-209 being the predominant PBDE congeners. Overall, the SigmaPBDEs pollution in green mussels from NSCS was at a moderate to high level in comparison with the PBDEs pollution worldwide. The dietary exposure of the local population in South China to PBDEs via consuming green mussels was estimated to be 0.30-0.80ng/kg body weight (bw)/day. Evaluation of the exposure risk for BDE-47, 99, 153 and 209 indicated that health risks due to green mussel consumption are substantially lower than the U.S. EPA minimum concern level.