Pergamon PII: S0025-326X(97)00084-2 Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 34, No. 12, pp. 1058 1071, 1997 © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain 0025-326X/97 $17.00 + 0.00 Organochlorines and Other Environmental Contaminants in Muscle Tissues of Sportfish Collected from San Francisco Bay RUSSELL FAIREY*I[, KAREN TABERSKIt, STEWART LAMERDIN*, ERIC JOHNSON*, ROSS P. CLARK*, JAMES W. DOWNING*, JOHN NEWMAN:[: and MYRTO PETREAS§ *Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Moss Landing, CA 95039, USA %San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, Oakland, CA 94612, USA J;Institute of Marine Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA §Hazardous Materials Laboratory, California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA Edible fish species were collected from 13 locations throughout San Francisco Bay, during the spring of 1994, for determination of contaminant levels in muscle tissue. Species collected included white croaker, surf- perch, leopard and brown smoothhound sharks, striped bass, white sturgeon and halibut. 66 composite tissue samples were analysed for the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphe- nyis (PCBs), pesticides, trace elements and dioxin/furans. The US EPA approach to assessing chemical contami- nant data for fish tissue consumption was used for identifying the primary chemicals of concern. Six chemicals or chemical groups were found to exceed screening values (SVs) established using the US EPA approach. PCBs (as total Arociors) exceeded the screen- ing level of 3 ng g- 1 in all 66 muscle tissue samples, with the greatest concentrations (638 ng g-1) found near San Francisco's industrial areas. Mercury was elevated (>0.14 ttg g-l) in 40 of 66 samples with the greatest concentrations (1.26 lag g-i) occurring in shark muscle tissues. Concentrations of the organochlorine pesticides dieldrin, total chlordane and total dichlorodiphenyltri- chloroethane (DDT) exceeded screening levels in a number of samples. Dioxin/furans (as toxic equivalent concentrations (TEQ's)) were elevated (> 0.15 pg g-l) in 16 of the 19 samples analysed. Fish with high lipid content (croaker and surfperch) in their muscle tissue generally exhibited higher organic contaminant levels while fish with low lipid levels (halibut and shark) exhibited lower organic contaminant levels. Tissue samples taken from North Bay stations most often exhibited high levels of chemical contamination. The California Office of Health Hazard Assessment is currently evaluating the results of ]lCorresponding author e-mail: fairey@mlml,calstate.edu this study and has issued an interim Health Advisory concerning the human consumption of fish tissue from San Francisco Bay. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Keywords: fish tissue; PCBs; mercury; pesticides; dioxin. Increased inputs of anthropogenic contaminants to San Francisco Bay, California (USA) began soon after the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada during 1848 (Nichols et al., 1986). Trace metal contamination has steadily increased from river loading, urbanization and industrialization, and today persists extensively throughout the system. Beginning in the 1940s, use of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and soil additives became widespread in California's agricultural central valley, and began influencing Bay waters through the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers and their tributaries. These synthetic organic chemicals have been produced in increasing numbers and are prevalent in Bay waters (Gunther et al., 1987). An excellent review of the distribution of trace elements and industrial contaminants in sediments of San Francisco Bay can be found in Luoma and Phillips (1988). Aquatic organisms may bioaccumulate and biocon- centrate environmental contaminants to more than 1 000000 times the concentrations detected in the water column (US EPA, 1992a,b). Fish and shellfish tissue monitoring serves as important indicators of contaminated sediments and water, and many states routinely conduct tissue analyses as a component of their comprehensive environmental monitoring pro- grammes (Cunningham and Whitaker, 1989). Health advisories for mercury have been issued on 1058