Intake of chemical contaminants through fish and seafood consumption by children of Catalonia, Spain: Health risks Roser Martı ´-Cid a , Ana Bocio a , Juan M. Llobet b , Jose ´ L. Domingo a, * a Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, ‘‘Rovira i Virgili’’ University, San Lorenzo 21, 43201 Reus, Spain b Toxicology Unit, School of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Avda. Joan XXX, s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain Abstract The intake of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/ Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated diphenylethers (PCDEs), hexachlorobenzene, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons through fish and seafood consumption by children of Catalonia, Spain, was assessed. In 2005, samples of the 14 most consumed marine species in Catalonia were randomly acquired in various cities of the country. Analysis of the above chemical contaminants were determined according to the appropriate analytical tech- niques and the daily intakes were estimated. For most pollutants, intake was higher in boys than in girls. Average exposure of children to contaminants through fish and seafood consumption did not exceed the respective tolerable daily intake of those pollutants for which it has been already established (metals, PCDD/Fs plus dioxin-like PCBs, HCB, and PAHs). In relation to body weight, intake by children of most contaminants was higher than that found for other age groups of the general population of Catalonia. Keywords: Chemical contaminants; Edible marine species; Daily intake; Children; Health risks 1. Introduction Human health is largely determined by the diet. A rec- ommendable diet should be able of providing sufficient nutrients containing low levels of pathogenic microorgan- isms, as well as chemical contaminants. Among these, potentially toxic elements such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) (Storelli and Marcotrigi- ano, 2001; Storelli et al., 2005a,b, 2006), and persistent organic pollutants (POPs: dioxins and furans, PCBs, etc.) are widely distributed into the environment (Dougherty et al., 2000; Odland et al., 2003; Charnley and Doull, 2005; Domingo et al., 2006; Falco ´ et al., 2006; Llobet et al., 2007; Bocio et al., 2007). For most non-occupation- ally exposed individuals, the main exposure to heavy met- als and POPs occurs via the diet. In recent years, concern on dietary intake of POPs and other environmental pollu- tants has notably increased (Eljarrat et al., 2002; Fattore et al., 2002; Odland et al., 2003; Eljarrat and Barcelo ´, 2003; Bayen et al., 2005; Rubio et al., 2005). Recently (2000–2002), we conducted a survey in which the concentrations of various chemical contaminants were determined in 11 groups of foodstuffs acquired in Catalo- nia (Spain): As, Cd, Hg, Pb, polychlorinated dibenzo-p- dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (PCDEs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The dietary intake of these pollutants was also estimated for five population groups (Domingo et al., 2003; Llobet et al., 2003a,b,c; Bocio et al., 2003, 2004; Falco ´ et al., 2003, 2004). The highest concentrations of most inorganic and organic pollutants were, in general terms, detected in fish