Human dietary exposure to hexachlorobenzene in Catalonia, Spain

The concentrations of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) were measured in samples of foodstuffs widely consumed by the population of Catalonia, Spain. Food samples were randomly acquired in 12 cities of Catalonia between March and June of 2006. HCB levels were determined by high-resolution gas chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry. The dietary intake of HCB was subsequently estimated for the population of Catalonia, and the results were compared with those of a survey performed in 2000. The highest HCB concentrations were found in oils and fats, fish and seafood, and dairy products, with mean levels of 0.481, 0.330, and 0.284 ng/g of fresh weight, respectively. HCB intake was estimated for four population groups: children, adolescents, adults, and seniors (aged >65 years). The highest and lowest HCB intake corresponded to children and seniors, respectively. Similar results were found in our 2000 survey. For a standard male adult of 70-kg body weight, in the 2000 study, total dietary intake of HCB was 166.2 ng/day (2.4 ng/kg of body weight per day), whereas in the current survey the intake was 71.6 ng/day (1.0 ng/kg of body weight per day). On a body-weight basis, it means a decrease of 57%, which was mainly due to the important reductions in the contribution of dairy products (mainly cheese), as well as those of meat and meat products and fish and seafood. All the intakes are considerably lower than the World Health Organization tolerable daily intake, which is 0.17 microg/kg/day for noncancer effects and 0.16 microg/kg/day for neoplastic effects in humans.