Determination of polychlorinated biphenyls in marine fish obtained from tsunami-stricken areas of Japan

We determined the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in 101 marine fish obtained from tsunami-stricken areas following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. In particular, to determine the degree of PCB contamination in the fish, we investigated the concentration of total PCB (Sigma PCB) and the proportions of 209 individual PCB congeners by high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry. The Sigma PCB concentration was 1.7-33 ng/g in fat greenling (n = 29), 0.44-25 ng/g in flounder (n = 36), and 1.6-86 ng/g in mackerel (n = 36), all values being much lower than the provisional regulatory limit in Japan. In the congener analysis, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, and hepta-chlorinated PCB congeners dominated in all samples (comprising over 86% of the Sigma PCB). The proportions of the chlorinated PCB congeners were similar to the contamination patterns derived from Kanechlor in the environment, implying that the marine fish were not contaminated with fresh PCBs.