Ricerc@Sapienza

This study investigates the inorganic elements and the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) accumulated in liver of a sexually mature Hexanchus griseus living in the Mediterranean Sea. The casual finding of a specimen in the Strait of Messina (April 2018) allowed us to carefully analyse its liver which can be considered a very important biological indicator. The determination of inorganic elements was carried out by ICP-MS technique. Quantitative determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and poly-chloro-biphenyl compounds (PCB), distinguished in dioxinelike (DL) and not-dioxine-like (NDL) derivates, has been carried out by HRGC/MS and HRGC-MS/MS respectively. Worrying levels of PCB-DL (TEQ ¼ R(PCB-DL)TEF ¼ 5.96 ng g1), PCB-NDL (R(PCBNDL) ¼ 1390.4 ng g1) together with the presence of pesticides and plasticizers were found in the shark liver oil. The levels of heavy metals were below the legal limits.