Organochlorines (OCs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine
pesticides (OCPs), were measured in 26 species of seafood commonly consumed by the
Korean population. PCBs and DDTs were the predominant contaminants with concentrations
from 0.2 to 41 ng/g wet wt and from<0.04 to 37 ng/g wet wt, while CHLs (<0.01-1.9
ng/g wet wt), HCB (<0.004-1.0 ng/g wet wt), and HCHs (<0.02-0.4 ng/g wet wt) were
1-2 orders of magnitude lower than the concentrations of PCBs and DDTs. The dominant
PCBs and OCPs were PCB 153, 187, 138, and 118 and p,p'-DDE, HCB, p,p'-DDT, and p,p'-DDD,
respectively. Dietary intakes of OCs for the general population, males, and females
were estimated as 69, 78, and 60 ng/kg body weight/week, respectively. Mackerel, tuna,
and hairtail were the main contributors to the dietary intakes of OCs. Among the eight
age groups investigated, infants <2 years had the highest dietary exposure to OCs.
Hazard ratios of non-cancer risk of all of the OCs were less than one, while the lifetime
cancer risks of PCBs and DDTs were all greater than unity for Korean populations.