Appendix D Food Codes for NHANES - OEHHA

SRP Review Draft Version 2 June, 2012
I.1 Introduction
The algorithm used in the AB-2588 risk assessment to estimate exposure to
contaminants via intake of angler-caught fish contains a chemical-specific variable
known as a bioaccumulation factor (BAF). Fish are exposed to chemicals that are
deposited into their aqueous environment from airborne sources. Only a small subset
of Hot Spots chemicals are wholly or partially in the particulate phase and thus subject
to deposition. These chemicals include semivolatile organic chemicals and toxic metals.
Table I-1 presents the chemical-specific BAF values derived by OEHHA for the Hot
Spots program. This appendix outlines the methods used for estimating BAFs and
summarizes the available literature used for deriving the chemical-specific BAFs
recommended in Table I-1.
Table I-1. Recommended Default Fish BAFs for Edible (Muscle) Tissue a
Organic Chemicals b
Diethylhexylphthalate (DEHP) 40
Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) 80,000
Hexachlorocylcohexanes (HCH) 3000
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) 800
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) 2,000,000
Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/F) 300,000
Inorganic and Organic Metals c
Arsenic 20
Beryllium 40
Cadmium 40
Chromium 20
Lead 20
Mercury
Inorganic mercury
Methylmercury
I-2
80
6,000,000
Nickel 20
Selenium 1000
a All BAFs were rounded to the nearest whole number.
b Lipid-normalized to adult rainbow trout with 4% lipid content in muscle tissue, and based on
the freely dissolved fraction of organic chemical in water under conditions of average POC and
DOC in U.S. lakes and reservoirs.
c Based on wet weight muscle tissue concentration, and on the total water concentration of the
metal or metalloid in water, with the exception of methyl mercury, which assumes a translator of
3.2% for freely dissolved MeHg in water compared to the total Hg water concentration.
Accumulation of a chemical in fish is a physical-chemical process by which chemicals
tend to apportion themselves between the fish and the fish’s contact with its
environment. The environment in this case is defined broadly to include the water, food
that the fish eats, and contact with materials other than water. Accumulation of
chemicals in fish may result in human exposure from fish consumption, which may be
significant relative to other exposure pathways considered in the Hot Spots Program.