Concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in human blood plasma from Hong Kong: Markers of exposure and sources from fish

Previous studies revealed that food, particularly fish products, is the major source for human exposure to organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). Our previous studies revealed that contamination of Hong Kong market fish with DDT was 0.74–131 with a mean of 12.2 ng g−1, ww, a result suggested that local people might be exposed to hazardous concentrations of OCPs. Therefore, the present systematic study was conducted to determine concentrations of OCPs in blood plasma of Hong Kong residents, develop marker substances and evaluate sources of 19 individual OCPs from fish. Concentrations of ∑OCPs, ∑DDTs and ∑HCHs ranged from 294 to 9732, 172 to 8842, and 115 to 1616 ng g−1 lipid weight (lw), respectively. These concentrations were greater than those in blood of people from most developed countries but lower than those from most developing countries. The upper age group (>50 years) had significant (p