Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in cooked fish and shellfish

The following concentrations of some PAHs were investigated; [benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo (b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, benzo(g, h, i)perylene, indeno (1,2,3-c,d)pyrene] in fish(n=168) and shellfish(n=40). The methodology involved saponification and extraction with n-hexane, clean-up on Sep-Pak Florisil Cartridges and determination by HPLC/FLD (High Performance Liquid Chromatograph/Fluorescence Detector). Overall method recoveries for 8 PAHs spiked into these products ranged from 88 to 112%. The mean level of benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k) fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene and indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene in cooked fish was ND, ND, 0.0009, ND, 0.01, ND, ND, ND and in cooked shellfish was 1.84, 3.51, 0.81, 0.38, 0.39, 0.04, 0.20, ND, respectively.