You are here:
Comparison of Fish Fillet Sample Preparation Methods for Superfund Human Health Risk Assessments
Citation:
Debofsky, A., S. Kim, D. Getty, M. Greenberg, T. OConnor, AND C. Nace. Comparison of Fish Fillet Sample Preparation Methods for Superfund Human Health Risk Assessments. SETAC North America, Virtual, Virtual, November 14 - 18, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
Bias between the two filleting methods was greatest for PCBs, followed by LPCBs while concentrations of Hg were relatively unaffected by the filleting method. Yhis study provides support for the direct comparison between EPA and NYSDEC fillet concentrations for risk assessment purposes. The data suggest that inter-lab variation may outweigh any differences present from the type of filleting technique, this study’s finding needs to be further explored in more detail and with a larger sample size.
Description:
Measurements of chemical concentrations in fish fillets are often used to evaluate human health risks at contaminated sediment sites Contaminant concentrations in fish tissue are used to estimate the risk and hazards from consuming the fish. Recently, a discrepancy between the way New York State Department of Conservation (NYSDEC) and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fillet fish for analysis was identified. NYSDEC includes the rib cage in the fillet to produce a “standard fillet”, while EPA does not include the rib cage in the fillet. Information on how each fish filleting method affects the measurement of contaminant concentrations is currently limited, thereby adding uncertainty to comparisons of historic and/or current samples collected with different filleting techniques. The overall objectives is to determine the variability in filleting strategies and how how intra- and inter-laboratory variability can influence contaminant concentration results.