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This study conducted analytical toxicology of inshore-harvested seafood to address public health and coastal community concerns regarding seafood safety in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Over 1,000 fish, shrimp, blue crab and oyster samples were analyzed using GC/MS-SIM. The estimated sum of parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and respective alkyl homologs for all analyses revealed that 74% of samples were below detection limits; 23% were between 0.1-0.9 ppb; and 3% were between 1.0 and 38.0 ppb. Based on PAHs measured in Gulf seafood thus far, contaminant levels are remarkably low based on FDA levels of concern, and indicate that edible portions of inshore-sampled seafood species do not have elevated contaminant body burdens. These data do not reflect hepatic or biliary burdens of contaminants that were not analyzed in this study. An in-person food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed and implemented to analyze household seafood consumption patterns and body weights from Gulf coast communities in Florida and Alabama. Initial FFQ data from over 900 individuals indicate that seafood consumption in Gulf coast communities is higher than national estimates derived from 2003-2010 NHANES studies (from which limits of concern were derived for this oil spill). Upper percentile seafood consumption for Gulf coast survey participants was 231% (adults) and 298% (>21yo) higher for finfish, and 536% (adult) and 984% (>21yo) higher for shellfish (shrimp + crab + oyster), than upper percentile national estimates. Further, seafood consumption patterns varied substantially between communities. Analytical toxicology data, combined with consumption patterns of coastal high-end consumers of Gulf seafood, are being used by our transdisciplinary team to refine risk communication and resiliency programs, and develop probabilistic community-based risk assessments. |