Work

A probabilistic approach for estimating human exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls via tuna consumption

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Previous studies on estimating human exposure to PCBs often employed daily or hourly fixed intakes, failing to consider the irregularity of PCBs accumulation under a real consumption scenario. Therefore, this study aimed at simulating actual consumer behavior, estimating the specific dates and quantities of PCB-153 intake, and combining this approach with a pharmacokinetic model to estimate the human exposure to PCB-153 through Tuna consumption. A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was used to predict the accumulation of PCB-153 in six tissue compartments of a hypothetical woman for a period of 10 years. The simulated intake amount was 16313 ± 3797 ng/year, resulting in accumulated PCB-153 concentration in whole blood of 460 ± 12.6 ng/L after 10 years, which aligns closely with the human biomonitoring measurement results. This study provides a promising approach to understand and evaluate the exposure and accumulation of food-source pollutants in the human body, as well as to inform public health policy.

Source: The Journal of Toxicological Sciences

Authors: Muhammad Zeeshan Jamil, Jinrui Zhao, Yoshiki Nishi, Oishe Sadia Noon

Institution: Yokohama National University

Language: English

Topic: Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact

Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Awards: Development of a marine environmental risk assessment method using a model representing all processes from contaminant load to bioaccumulation, Numerical model for evaluating the safety of products from the sea towards the realization of a marine environmental risk map