Tissue-specific bioaccumulation and health risks of bisphenols in wild fish from West and North Rivers, South China

Bisphenols (BPs) are endocrine disruptors (EDCs) that produce hormone effects and other toxic effects. Due to their widespread use, BPs enter into the environment, such as rivers, and hence may accumulate in aquatic organisms. In this study, we investigated the tissue-specific bioaccumulation of BPs in different wild fish species in the North and West Rivers of the Pearl River system, South China, and assessed the human health risks via fish consumption. Firstly, the pretreatment method for 15 BPs in different fish tissues (muscle, liver, bile, plasma, intestine, and stomach) was established, and the target BPs were analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The total concentration of BPs in surface water was up to 1,530 ng/L. Bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol F (BPF), and bisphenol F (BPF) were the dominant ingredients. BPs were widely detected in fish tissues. Among them, BPF had the highest detection efficiency and the concentration in fish muscle and liver tissues were 401 and 6,257 ng/g ww, respectively. BPA and BPAF had the highest detection efficiencies, with concentrations of 434 and 357 ng/g ww in intestine, respectively, and of 14 and 26 ng/g ww in stomach, respectively. BPA had the highest detection efficiency and concentration in fish bile up to 17,160 ng/mL. BPAF had the highest detection efficiency and concentration of 8 ng/g ww in fish plasma. Liver and intestine showed log bioaccumulation factors up to 6.93 L/kg, exhibiting high bioaccumulation ability for BPs into biota. The hazard quotients of human exposure risks of BPA via consumption of fish muscle were in the range of 4.97 × 10-4-8.97 × 10-4, indicating a low health risk of BPA through daily fish consumption.