Total hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and synthetic organic compounds in the Hard shell clam, Mercenaria mercenaria, purchased at commercial seafood stores
Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
1-1-1984
Abstract
An analytical method for the determination of polycyclic aromatic h hydrocarbons (PAHs) and substituted benzotriazoles in clams was developed using a combination of silica gel and Sephadex chromatography to isolate these compounds from large concentrations of polyolefinic hydrocarbons. The concentrations of total hydrocarbons, PAHs and substituted benzotriazoles were measured in hard shell clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) purchased from Rhode Island seafood stores. The levels of total hydrocarbons, PAHs and substituted benzotriazoles in these clams were generally higher than the concentrations found in clams collected from a lower Narragansett Bay control location. The significance of these findings on the health of consumers is unknown at this time because human health standards or alert levels for these compounds in seafoods have not been established. However, this study illustrates that contaminants entering Narragansett Bay from a variety of sources may eventually make their way to commercial outlets. © 1984.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Marine Environmental Research
Volume
11
Issue
3
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Pruell, Richard J., Eva J. Hoffman, and James G. Quinn. "Total hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and synthetic organic compounds in the Hard shell clam, Mercenaria mercenaria, purchased at commercial seafood stores." Marine Environmental Research 11, 3 (1984). doi: 10.1016/0141-1136(84)90044-8.