Alternative strategies for Risk Reduction from Contaminated Seafood: Options for Consumption of Crab Contaminated with PCBs. N. L. Judd, W. C. Griffith, G. M. Ylitalo, and E. M. Faustman, University of Washington, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
Health risks associated with exposure to PCBs and other persistent organic pollutants through consumption of seafood has received increased recognition recently, particularly for pregnant women and children. Given the health and cultural benefits of seafood consumption, alternatives to cessation or reduction of seafood consumption should be considered. In the case of crabs from Puget Sound, part of the crab "butter," the hepatopancreas, may be contaminated with PCBs at levels ten to fifty times greater than those found in the commonly consumed muscle. Hepatopancreas samples of Dungeness crab collected at urban areas exceed FDA’s action level of 2 ppm by an average of four fold. Recent consumption and creel surveys indicate that Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) in the Seattle area are catching local crab and consuming the whole crab, including the highly contaminated hepatopancreas. Consumption by a small child of three to four whole crab over a year, including hepatopancreas, from an urban location may lead to an exceedance of EPA’s oral reference dose for PCBs. An exposure reduction of over 90% could be achieved if this organ were removed and not consumed. In addition, crabs have been shown to concentrate biotoxins, such as domoic acid, in the hepatopancreas. The removal of the hepatopancreas is a significant and underemphasized risk reduction option for exposure to toxic contaminants. While environmental data to support this risk reduction are sufficient, the overall potential public health benefit of behavioral change is less defined since the scope of this practice in the API and other communities is not well known. Community level investigation of this practice and the cultural acceptability of change are needed.
Supported by the the USEPA/NIEHS Center for Child Environmental Health Risks Research (EPA-R826886, NIEHS 1 PO1 ES09601) and the Institute for Risk Analysis and Risk Communication.
Go to . . .
2001 SRA Annual Meeting Table of Contents
2001 SRA Annual Meeting Author Index
Main Abstracts Menu Page
RiskWorld Home Page