The spatial distribution of congener-specific human PCB concentrations in a PCB-polluted region (original) (raw)
Related papers
The spatial distribution of human exposure to PCBs around a former production site in Slovakia
Environmental science and pollution research international, 2015
We evaluated concentrations of 15 PCB congeners in blood serum of 2047 adults, 431 8-9-year old children and 1134 mother-child pairs born in 2001-2003. These subjects were long-standing residents living up to 70 km (to the north) and up to 50 km (to the south) of the former Chemko Strážske PCB production facility in the Michalovce district of Slovakia. We plotted serum concentration against distance from the plant both with and without consideration of the direction of their homes from the site. The decrease in exposure with distance could be described by an exponential function which was dependent on direction and climatic parameters. By kriging we created maps depicting predicted isoconcentration contours for sex- and age-adjusted serum concentration of ∑PCBs for the same group of children, adults and mothers. The principle of our risk analysis was to relate serum concentration data, reflecting PCB body burden, using the critical concentrations established by the French Agency for...
Influence of Environmental Contamination with PCBs on Human Health
Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 2001
Statistical data on different sicknesses have been processed to evaluate the dynamics of human health in Serpukhov City (an administrative centre in the Moscow region of Russia) and to estimate the contribution of ecological factors to the total level of morbidity. Chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) appear to be among the most dangerous contaminants of the ecosystem that includes the urban areas
Human Health Risk Assessment Posed by PCB Exposure in Bucharest Area
Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia, 2015
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are a huge group of chemicals that have been linked to various adverse health effects in humans, independent on where they live. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) belong to the group of Persistent Organic Pollutants, being one of the most widespread environmental pollutants. Even exposure to low levels of PCBs conducts to various acute and chronic health effects. Substances like PCBs, which are accumulated at hazardous levels in living organisms, pose environmental and human-health risks. Our objective in this paper is to evaluate the risk for human health using GIUDITTA software. The model was applied to a case-study of 7 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB 28, PCB52, PCB 101, PCB 118, PCB 138, PCB 153, PCB 180) measured in an urban soil located in Bucharest. GIUDITTA is a Windows based software program, developed in Italy by Dames & Moore commissioned by and in cooperation with Milan Province and calculates the risk according to ASTM standard E2081-00 (Standard Guide for Risk-Based Corrective Action). The results of the risk assessment from this case-study could be a useful tool for urban planning and development.
Environmental Science & Technology, 2006
The over-riding aim of the present investigation was to obtain information concerning exposure that can be used as a basis for studies on the health of individuals residing in the Michalovce area of eastern Slovakia which is heavily contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Accordingly, this work focused on determination of serum concentrations of hydroxylated (OH-PCBs) and methylsulfonyl-substituted (MeSO 2 -PCBs) metabolites of PCBs. One hundred and twenty-two men and women, 20-59 years of age, living in the contaminated area and 175 from the control Stropkov/Svidnik district were selected randomly from 2047 sampled individuals. Following a specially designed cleanup, the levels of various congeners of OH-PCBs and MeSO 2 -PCBs in their serum were quantitated by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, with comparison to authentic reference standards. The median concentrations of PCB congeners and their OH-PCB and MeSO 2 -PCB metabolites were 2-3-fold higher in residents of Michalovce than in the control region. The levels of certain OH-PCB metabolites were in the same high range as those of individual PCB congeners, whereas the MeSO 2 -PCB levels were significantly lower. The PCB and their metabolites were present at slightly higher concentrations in men than in women, and the serum levels of PCBs and MeSO 2 -PCBs increased with increasing age. Thus, the environmental contamination resulting from previous industrial production of PCBs has led to elevated concentrations of PCBs and their metabolites in the serum of individuals living in the Michalovce area.
Chemosphere, 2007
In 2003, concentrations of altogether 17 PCDD/Fs congeners and 12 non-ortho and mono-ortho dioxin-like PCBs were measured in the blood of 60 randomly selected adults who lived in three settlements surrounding a chemical plant that had been producing chlorinated herbicides (mainly HCHs, HCB, pentachlorophenole, 2,4,5-T) in the 1960's; subjects consuming home-produced animal foods were chosen. Twenty blood donors with similar characteristics from the locality with about 80 km distance were used as control subjects. The factors that influenced the dioxin levels were investigated on the basis of a questionnaire. The aim of our study was to find out whether the residents living in the surroundings of the chemical plant are at a greater exposure risk than the controls. To calculate TEQ values, WHO-TEFs were used. The concentrations of four PCDD and six PCDF congeners were below the LOD in more than 50% of samples. Significantly higher WHO-TEQ levels (p < 0.05) were found for PCDDs, PCDFs, or PCBs in all three followed up groups compared with controls. The geometric means of the total TEQ values for PCDD/F/PCBs were 43.8, 50.2, and 40.0 pg/g fat compared to 23.2 pg/g fat in the control. The percentages of TEQ due to the measured congeners in exposed groups were 9-10.3% for PCDDs, 20.5-26.9% for PCDFs, 19.2-23.1% for coplanar and 43.6-47.2% for mono-ortho PCBs. In control, the percentage of TEQ was 11.6, 26.7, 24.1, and 37.5%. PCBs, predominantly PCB156, followed by PCB126 contributed 60 to 70% of the total TEQ value. Positive correlation of the PCDD/PCDF/PCB blood levels with age and with consumption of locally produced eggs was found.
Environmental Pollution, 2010
We present estimated emission source strengths of seven polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners for Banja Luka, a city that was affected by the civil war in Bosnia and Hercegovina (former Yugoslavia) in the 1990s. These emission estimates are compared to PCB emission rates estimated for the cities of Zurich, Switzerland, and Chicago, USA using an approach that combines multimedia mass balance modeling and measurement data. Our modeled per-capita emission estimates for Banja Luka are lower by a factor of ten than those for Zurich and Chicago, which are similar. This indicates that the sources of PCB emissions in Banja Luka are likely to be weaker than in the Western European and North American cities which show relatively high PCB emissions. Our emission rates from the three cities agree within a factor of ten with emission estimates from a global PCB emission inventory derived from production and usage estimates and emission factors.
Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, 2014
Studies have shown that the US population continues to be exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), despite their ban more than three decades ago, but the reasons are not fully understood. The objectives of this paper are to characterize patterns of PCBs in blood by age, gender, and ethnicity, and identify major exposure factors. EPA's Stochastic Human Exposure and Dose Simulation (SHEDS)-dietary exposure model was applied, combining fish tissue PCB levels from a NYC Asian Market survey with National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) dietary consumption data, and then linked with blood biomarkers for the same NHANES study subjects. Results reveal that the mean concentration of total PCBs in blood was higher with increasing age; however, for the same age, gender, and ethnicity, the blood PCB concentrations measured in the later NHANES survey were significantly lower than those in the earlier one. The decrease within an age group between the two survey periods lessened with increasing age. Blood PCBs among different ethnicities ranked differently between the older and the younger age groups within each survey. Non-Hispanic Blacks had significantly higher blood PCBs for the 430 year age group. For the 12 to r30 year age group, the ''Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American or multiracial'' group had the highest values, with patterns fairly consistent with fish consumption and modeled PCB exposure patterns. We conclude that for younger people, patterns correspond to reduced environmental contamination over time, and are strongly associated with fish consumption and dietary exposures. Higher PCB concentrations in blood of the older population may partially reflect past exposures to higher environmental PCB concentrations, particularly before the ban.
Half-lives of serum PCB congener concentrations in environmentally exposed early adolescents
Chemosphere, 2011
The aim was to determine half-life of six most abundant PCB congeners in the body of early adolescents. In 304 environmentally exposed children, PCB serum concentration was determined at the age of 8 and 12 years. Half-life was determined for each child assuming exponential decrease or for the whole cohort using multiple regression. Results obtained by both approaches were in agreement. PCB reuptakes corrupting half-life estimates for each child and each congener were evaluated. If one of the serum PCB concentration values fell below the level of detection (LOD) the pair was excluded and if PCB half-life value exceeded the arbitrary value of 30 years. The following median half-lives in years 4. 46, 10.59, 9.7, 4.7, 9.1 and 9.8 were obtained for PCB congeners 118, 138 +163 , 153, 156 +171 , 170 and 180, respectively. The elimination half-life values were not systematically related to PCB serum concentration at any examination age. Between half-life values, percentage of children with significant reuptakes and PCB congener abundance in serum were found significant associations.
Pilot study on the exposure of the German general population to non-dioxin-like and dioxin-like PCBs
International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 2011
In the past, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been widely used and were distributed in the environment. Due to their high persistence and bioaccumulative potential, they can still be detected in the blood of the general population, despite their ban more than 20 years ago. Among the various congeners, the presence of dioxin-like PCBs in blood raises the highest environmental concerns due to their critical toxicological properties. We determined the plasma concentrations of 6 non-dioxin-like and 12 dioxin-like PCBs as well as the organochlorine pesticides HCB and p,p-DDE (p,p-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene) in a group of 105 non-smokers out of the German general population by GC/MS as an estimate of the background burden to these compounds. The organochlorine compounds were extracted from plasma with n-hexane, cleaned up on a silica gel column and finally quantified using GC/MS and 13 C 12-labelled internal standards. The limit of detection for all congeners was determined to be 0.01 g/L plasma. Age had a strong influence on the plasma levels of HCB (hexachlorobenzene), p,p-DDE and all higher chlorinated PCB congeners, while no gender difference was observed. Among the dioxin-like PCBs, PCB 118, PCB 156 and PCB 167 were detectable in 74-98% of all samples. Highly significant correlations between several PCB-congeners were observed. Our results provide for the first time volume-based data on the extent of the age-related background burden to dioxin-like PCBs in Germany.
Atmospheric Pollution Research, 2020
Although polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were banned several years ago, they can still be measured in the environment, especially in indoors, where their concentrations tend to be higher than outdoors in some cases. The current study reports the results of a study conducted to determine concentrations of a total of 40 PCBs congeners in the living rooms and kitchens of eight different houses, and in the outdoor air of three houses during summer and autumn in Bursa in 2014. The province of Bursa, having eighteen of organized industrial zones, indoor air pollution is of great importance. The average concentration of ∑ 40 PCBs in living rooms and the kitchen were 604 ± 210 pg/m 3 and 639 ± 2514 pg/m 3 during summer, respectively; while concentrations in autumn were 362 ± 167 pg/m 3 and 309 ± 93 pg/m 3 , respectively. The average ∑ 40 PCBs outdoor concentrations were 303 ± 183 pg/m 3 and 41 ± 23 pg/m 3 for summer and autumn, respectively. The ∑ 40 PCBs concentrations in summer were almost two times higher than in autumn for indoor environment. The predominant PCB homologs in indoor samples were penta-(40%), tetra-(23%) and tri-CBs (17%) while they were penta-(37%) and tetra-CBs (22%) for outdoor samples. The results of the study indicated the presence of intentionally and unintentionally produced PCBs. The I/O ratios suggested the indoor sites as the most important PCBs source than outdoor sites. Finally, the measured PCB concentrations did not represent a cancer risk for human health for exposure via inhalation in all sampling points.