Chlorinated pesticides, PCBs and PBDES in commercial species (fish and bivalve) from the Santa Catarina Coast, Brazil

This study investigates persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in commercially important fish and bivalve species from the coast of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. We quantified 48 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 7 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and 17 chlorinated pesticides (OCPs) in 32 pools of 18 fish species (n = 3 individuals per species of similar size) and 9 pools of 3 bivalve species (n = 12 individuals per species, in total 108 individuals). Approximately 1 g of dry tissue was extracted with n-hexane:dichloromethane using an ultrasonic bath and purified with sulfuric acid. Identification and quantification were performed via injection of 1 μL of extract into a gas chromatograph (Agilent Technologies 7890B) coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (Agilent Technologies 7010B) in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode.