Assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in commercial clams: Implications for environmental and human health

wet weight, with high-molecular-weight PAHs accounting for ≈ 96% of the total burden, indicating dominant combustion-derived inputs. Elevated toxicity equivalents and cumulative risk quotients revealed chronic ecological risk at all sites, particularly in North Sea samples. In contrast, estimated dietary exposure remained below established safety thresholds, and carcinogenic risk values fell within the accepted tolerable range. These findings highlight a contrast between ecological risk and comparatively low human health risk, reinforcing the role of edible bivalves as early-warning bioindicators of coastal PAH contamination and supporting their use in integrated environmental monitoring programmes.