Body burdens of mercury in lower Hudson River area anglers

The Hudson River has been a federally designated Superfund site for over 20 years. Discharges of industrial waste and of treated and untreated sewage and atmospheric deposition have introduced mercury and other persistent pollutants to the Hudson River ecosystem. Despite New York and New Jersey health advisories, many local anglers and their family members continue to consume fish caught from the river. To evaluate associations between body burden of mercury and local fish consumption, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 191 anglers recruited from piers and fishing clubs. Participants were administered a questionnaire to obtain information on local fish consumption, and 65% (124 individuals) provided a blood sample used to determine mercury levels. Mercury levels ranged from below the limit of detection (0.75 ng/mL) to 24.0 ng/mL. Participants who reported eating locally caught fish had significantly higher levels of mercury (mean (M)=2.4 ng/mL, standard error (SE)=1.2) than anglers who never ate locally caught fish (M=1.3 ng/mL, SE=1.1). A positive dose-response pattern was also observed, where participants who reported eating locally caught fish more than once a week had higher mercury levels (M=2.6 ng/mL, SE=1.1) than anglers eating fish less frequently (M=2.0 ng/mL, SE=1.2) or never at all (M=1.3 ng/mL, SE=1.1). These findings indicate that consumption of fish caught from the lower Hudson River area is a route of human exposure to mercury for the angling community.     

Temporal changes in PCB and DDE levels among a cohort of frequent and infrequent consumers of Great Lakes sportfish

A variety of environmentally persistent contaminants of the Great Lakes Basin are able to bioaccumulate in the aquatic food chain and pose a threat to the health and reproductive success of people and wildlife that depend on locally caught fish as a source of dietary protein. Exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 1,1-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-2,2-dichloroethene (DDE) has been linked to higher rates of cancer, reproductive problems, and endocrine disorders. To investigate the effects of exposure to persistent contaminants of the Great Lakes Basin, the health departments of five Great Lakes states formed a health-assessment consortium. Between 1988 and 1994, the consortium collected demographic and fish consumption information from 2548 licensed charter boat captains, 182 anglers, and 1667 referents. Between 1994 and 1995, a subset of 619 participants in this study provided additional fish consumption information and donated blood samples that were analyzed for PCBs and DDE. Follow-up studies conducted between 2001 and 2005 re-assessed fish consumption rates and blood levels of PCBs and DDE in 293 of these individuals. While there was a trend for increasing overall fish consumption among most participant groups, sportfish and Great Lakes sportfish consumption decreased significantly in the captains over the study period. Serum DDE concentrations, which were highest in men in the captain and angler groups, declined in 90% of study participants. Mean DDE levels fell from 5.6 to 3.2 μg/L. Total PCB levels declined in 80% of participants with the mean concentration falling from 4.2 to 2.8 μg/L. Annual declines in serum DDE and PCB concentrations averaged 4.6% and 3.5%, respectively.     

Sport fish consumption and body burden levels of chlorinated hydrocarbons: a study of Wisconsin anglers

Sport-caught fish consumption is the major source of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) exposure for the general population. To assess this and 2,2'-bis-(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichloroethylene (DDE) exposure, we surveyed 801 Wisconsin anglers for fishing and consumption habits and comprehension of and compliance with the Wisconsin fish consumption health advisory. The mean annual number of sport-caught fish meals was 18. Seventy-two percent of anglers were familiar with the health advisory and 57% had changed their fishing or fish consumption habits as a result of the advisory. The mean PCB serum congener sum level for 192 anglers was 2.2 micrograms/l (range = nondetectable to 27.1 micrograms/l); mean DDE was 6.3 micrograms/l (range = nondetectable to 40.0 micrograms/l). Statistically significant positive Spearman correlations were observed between sport-caught fish meals and PCB and DDE sera levels (R = .21 and .14, respectively) and between kilograms of fish caught and PCB sera levels (R = .25). These results demonstrate that anglers may provide a population for assessment of PCBs and DDE associated morbidity and mortality.     

Contaminant profiles in Southeast Asian immigrants consuming fish from polluted waters in northeastern Wisconsin

Recent immigrants to the USA from Southeast Asia may be at higher risk of exposure to fish-borne contaminants including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), p, p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethene (DDE) and methylmercury (MeHg) because of their propensity to engage in subsistence fishing.Exposure to contaminants was assessed in men and women of Hmong descent living in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where the Fox River and lower Green Bay are contaminated with PCBs, and to a lesser extent with mercury. Serum samples from 142 people were analyzed for PCBs and p,p′-DDE by capillary column gas chromatography with electron capture detection (ECD). Whole blood was analyzed for total mercury by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry and atomic fluorescence spectroscopy. Lipid-adjusted total PCB concentrations ranged from 8.7 to 3,091 ng/g (full range of the data), with a geometric mean of 183.6 ng/g (estimated after eliminating one outlier). DDE ranged from 0.3 to 7,083 (full range of the data) with a geometric mean of 449.8 ng/g (estimated after eliminating two outliers). Men had higher PCB and DDE concentrations than women. Serum PCB concentrations were significantly correlated with fish consumption (r=0.43, p<0.0001), whereas DDE concentrations were not (r=0.09,p=0.29). Instead, serum DDE was strongly associated with the number of years spent in a Thai refugee camp before immigrating to the USA (r=0.60;p<0.0001). PCB congeners 138, 153, 118 and 180 accounted for a smaller percentage of the total PCBs than has been reported in other fish-eating populations, and several lightly chlorinated congeners were present in relatively large amounts. Mercury exposure was low in this population. In conclusion, Hmong immigrants in northeastern Wisconsin are at risk of elevated PCB exposure from consumption of locally caught fish. The pattern of exposure is somewhat different than patterns in other fish-eating populations, possibly due to use of Aroclor 1242 by the paper industry in this region.     

Associations of organochlorines with endogenous hormones in male Great Lakes fish consumers and nonconsumers

This study investigated the relationships of steroid and thyroid hormones with total noncoplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), total toxic equivalents (TEQs) from dioxins-like organochlorines, and dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethene (DDE) in 56 male frequent and infrequent Great Lakes sport caught fish consumers. Significant negative associations were found for triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG)-bound testosterone with PCBs, for TSH with total TEQs, and for estrone sulfate with DDE, adjusting for age, body mass index, and medication use. Follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, free testosterone, and SHBG were not significantly associated with organochlorines. Models that accounted for exposure to both PCBs and TEQs predicted T4, estrone sulfate, and SHBG-bound testosterone better than models that included either PCBs or TEQs alone, with the lowest hormone levels occurring in the participants with both higher PCB levels and lower TEQ levels. These data suggest that exposure to PCBs, dioxin-like organochlorines, and DDE, alone and potentially in combination, may be associated with effects on the endocrine system in adult males. Further studies should help delineate specific exposure effects and effects of exposures to other common environmental contaminants alone and in combination with PCBs.     

Catfish consumption as a contributor to elevated PCB levels in a non-Hispanic black subpopulation

The human body burden of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) sharply declined after production was banned in the US in 1979. For the 10% of the US population that remains most exposed to PCBs, fish consumption is the primary source. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data indicates that the highest remaining PCB levels exist in a non-Hispanic black subpopulation. Our review suggests that catfish consumption may be a significant PCB source for the one million non-Hispanic black anglers who fish for catfish. In comparison to non-Hispanic white anglers, non-Hispanic black anglers consume more catfish, are more likely to eat the whole fish rather than just the fillets that contain less PCBs, and are more likely to fish in watersheds with high PCB contamination.Efforts to diminish potential racial disparities in PCB exposure are challenged by geographic, economic, cultural, and educational barriers. In response, we propose that a fish consumption survey be performed that identifies the extent of subsistence fishing by non-Hispanic black anglers for catfish in watersheds with PCB contamination, the type and quantity of catfish subsistence fishing provides, and what actions would help moderate PCB exposure due to subsistence fishing for catfish in such areas. Understanding the contamination and consumption factors that contribute to higher PCB body burdens will help identify and offer solutions to racial disparities in exposure to PCBs due to subsistence fishing while providing a model to prevent similar disparities in exposure to toxics ranging from mercury to polybrominated diphenyl ethers.     

Environmental and occupational exposures and serum PCB concentrations and patterns among Mohawk men at Akwesasne

A study was conducted to address the question of how fish consumption, occupation, and outdoor air affected serum PCB concentrations and congener patterns among 139 Native American men living near three hazardous waste sites. They were interviewed about their residential, occupational, and dietary histories, and donated 20 ml of venous blood for congener-specific PCB analysis. The similarity in the congener pattern between that found in the serum and that detected in local environmental samples was measured by calculating the Euclidean distance between them. The results indicated that serum PCB concentrations were positively associated with cumulative lifetime exposures to PCBs from local fish consumption and occupation. However, participants who lived in the last 10 years at Raquette Point, which is the area of the Reserve closest to the hazardous waste sites and the only location where elevated levels of PCBs were found in outdoor air, did not have higher serum PCB concentrations than participants who lived elsewhere at Akwesasne. Regarding pattern matching, Mohawk men with the greatest cumulative lifetime exposure to PCBs from local fish consumption had a serum PCB congener pattern that more closely resembled that in fish caught off-shore from one of the hazardous waste sites than did men who ate less local fish. Similarly, Mohawk men who were occupationally exposed to PCBs were more likely than those without occupational exposure to have a serum PCB congener pattern that was similar to that of Aroclor 1248, the commercial PCB mixture used locally. The serum PCB congener pattern of Raquette Point residents more closely resembled the pattern in outdoor air only if the men ate relatively few local fish. The study is among the first to demonstrate that outdoor air may affect serum PCB congener patterns, at least in the absence of heavy fish consumption.     

Model Estimates Bioaccumulation of Total PCBs,Dioxin–Furan TEQs,and Total Mercury in Mink Liver Based on Concentrations in Lake Ontario Water

We used stable isotope analysis and a bioaccumulation model to estimate concentrations of total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxin–furan toxic equivalents (TEQs), and total mercury (Hg) in mink and to compare predicted ranges with their chemical concentrations in mink liver (PCB, TEQ) and brain (Hg). Actual concentrations were within predicted bounds for total PCB, dioxin–furan TEQ, and Hg except in two cases (lowest PCB and highest Hg) which were very close to predicted bounds. Based on ¹⁵N analysis, the trophic level of mink ranged from 3.4 to 3.9. Animals at the upper end of the range were exposed to Lake Ontario water and its food web, whereas those at the lower end were captured at inland locations. Because of the complexity of wetland (an important habitat for mink in this study) food webs with pelagic, littoral, and terrestrial carbon sources and overlapping ¹³C signatures, whether the origins of mink diets were aquatic or terrestrial could not be determined. We have established a nondestructive biomonitoring tool to reasonably estimate concentrations of total PCBs, TEQs and total Hg in mink tissues as concentrations of these chemicals change in their water supply.     

Relationship of serum levels of individual PCB, dioxin, and furan congeners and DDE with Great Lakes sport-caught fish consumption

Great Lakes (GL) sport fish consumption is a potential route of exposure for environmentally persistent organochlorine contaminants, which may have human health effects. In this report, relationships are explored among individual congeners in a large cohort of frequent and infrequent GL sport fish consumers. Blood samples were obtained in 1993-1995 and analyzed for 1,1-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-2,2-dichloroethene (DDE) and for 62 noncoplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 4 coplanar PCBs, 8 polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (dioxin), and10 dibenzofuran (furan) congeners. All GL fish eaters and referents had detectable levels of DDE, total noncoplanar PCBs, total coplanar PCBs, total dioxins, and total furans. Noncoplanar PCBs were higher in GL sport fish consumers than in a referent population from the same geographic area, were associated with GL sport-caught fish (GLSCF) consumption, and varied significantly by Great Lake. DDE, lower chlorinated dioxin and furan toxic equivalents (TEQs), and coplanar PCB TEQs were positively associated with noncoplanar PCBs but were not associated with GL sport fish consumption independent of PCB level. Highly chlorinated dioxin and furan congener TEQs were not significantly associated with noncoplanar PCBs or GL sport fish consumption, suggesting that participants were acquiring some of these TEQs from a source other than GLSCF. In epidemiologic studies, it may be important to include populations with higher organochlorine exposures as well as background exposures and to consider the effects of individual congeners or mixtures of congeners on health outcomes.     

Effect of Season and Habitat on PCB Bioaccumulation by Caged Bluegill Sunfish Deployed in a Great Lakes Area of Concern

Bluegill sunfish were caged in the Detroit River, Ontario, Canada, for 64 days to determine bioaccumulation rates of PCBs. Deployments involved placing fish in cages suspended in the water (suspended cages) compared to cages partially buried in sediments. Deployments were performed in the summer and winter months. During summer, fish exhibited significant increases in body weight and lipid content (sediment associated cages only), whereas in winter, body weights did not change. Lipid normalized PCB concentrations and PCB mass in fish increased significantly with time in summer deployments, but not in winter. Fish continued to accumulate PCBs over the 64 days caging duration except for PCBs 33, 49, and 52 in sediment associated cages. There were no significant differences in the bioaccumulation of PCBs between cage types. This study confirms that biomonitoring studies using caged fish should ensure chemical toxicokinetics are consistent when comparing bioaccumulation results among sites and/or time points.     

Storage of serum in plastic and glass containers may alter the serum concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls

Valid exposure assessment and biomonitoring of toxicants rely on standardized specimen collection, handling, storage, and measurement. In a study designed to determine organochlorine concentrations in blood samples, we recruited participants from registered anglers in Michigan. After participants were interviewed, blood was collected from study subjects, either at home by a phlebotomist or in a commercial blood-draw station. The phlebotomists stored their samples in glass containers, but without our knowledge, the commercial laboratory transferred the specimens to plastic containers for freezing in its central facility. Samples were analyzed in the Analytical Chemistry Section Laboratory of the Michigan Department of Community Health. This laboratory also provided information on storage in glass (n = 28) versus plastic containers (n = 113). We conducted linear regression analyses to assess factors that may explain the concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), and polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs). Our results indicate that storage of serum in plastic containers altered the total concentrations of PCBs, in particular, the higher chlorinated PCBs (PCB-180 and PCB-199), but not DDE or PBBs. No other characteristics of the samples could explain the higher PCB values (0.75 micro g/L vs. 0.45 micro g/L; p = 0.025) of those stored in plastic containers. The proportion of PCB detects in both subsamples did not differ. Some preceding studies have provided information on whether specimens were stored in glass or plastic containers; however, a number of studies have not. We suggest the initiation of a new review process to determine whether these earlier reports were based on unbiased PCB determinations. We recommend standardizing specimen collection, handling, storage, and measurement, which is particularly necessary for newly emerging analytes.     

Risk assessment of great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls and DDT along the Kalamazoo River, Michigan, USA

The great horned owl (GHO; Bubo virginianus) was used in a multiple lines of evidence study of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) exposures at the Kalamazoo River Superfund Site (KRSS), Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. The study examined risks from total PCBs, including 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin equivalents (TEQWorld Health Organization [WHO]-Avian Toxicity Equivalency Factor [TEF]), and total DDTs (sum of DDT, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene [DDE], and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane [DDD]; sigmaDDT) by measuring concentrations in eggs and nestling blood plasma in two regions of the KRSS (upper, lower) and an upstream reference area (RA). An ecological risk assessment compared concentrations of the contaminants of concern (COCs) in eggs or plasma to toxicity reference values. Productivity and relative abundance measures for KRSS GHOs were compared with other GHO populations. Egg shell thickness was measured to assess effects of p,p'-DDE. The concentrations of PCBs in eggs were as great as 4.7 x 10(2) and 4.0 x 10(4) ng PCB/g, wet weight at the RA and combined KRSS sites, respectively. Egg TEQ(WHO-Avian) calculated from aryl hydrocarbon receptor-active PCB congeners and WHO TEFs ranged to 8.0 and 1.9 x 10(2) pg TEQ(WHO-Avian)/g, (wet wt) at the RA and combined KRSS, respectively. Egg sigmaDDT concentrations were as great as 4.2 x 10(2) and 5.0 x 10(3) ng sigmaDDT/g (wet wt) at the RA and combined KRSS, respectively. Hazard quotients (HQs) for the upper 95% confidence interval (UCI) (geometric mean) and least observable adverse effect concentration (LOAEC) for COCs in eggs were < or = 1.0 for all sites. Hazard quotient values based on the no observable adverse effect concentration (NOAEC) 95% UCI in eggs were < or = 1.0, except at the LKRSS (PCB HQ = 3.1; TEQ(WHO-Avian) HQ = 1.3). Productivity and relative abundance measures indicated no population level effects in the UKRSS.     

Environmental exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) among older residents of upper Hudson River communities

The upper Hudson River has been heavily contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) due to discharges from former electrical capacitor plants in Hudson Falls and Fort Edward, NY. An epidemiologic study was conducted to assess the impact of dietary and residential exposure on PCB body burden among older, long-term, non-occupationally exposed adults living in the vicinity of these former capacitor plants. The study population consisted of 133 persons 55-74 years of age who had lived in Hudson Falls or Fort Edward for 25 years or more. The comparison group consisted of 120 persons from Glens Falls, which is upriver. Both groups were interviewed, and blood samples were obtained for congener-specific PCB analysis. Persons from the study area reported greater past consumption of Hudson River fish than did the comparison area, but current rates were very low in both areas. The geometric mean serum PCB concentrations for the study and comparison populations did not differ significantly (3.07 ppb wet weight and 3.23 ppb, respectively, for total PCB). Serum PCB concentrations increased with cumulative lifetime exposure to PCBs from Hudson River fish consumption (p<0.10). Persons who lived within 800 m of the river did not have significantly greater serum PCB concentrations than the control population, nor did persons who lived downwind and within 800 m of a PCB-contaminated site. The results indicate no detectable differences in serum PCB levels according to proximity or wind direction relative to local point sources, but lifetime consumption of Hudson River fish was positively associated with serum PCB concentrations.     

Effect of socioeconomic status on exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) among pregnant African-American women

In this study, the authors investigated the associations between socioeconomic status and exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) in a cohort of inner-city African-American pregnant women. Data for this study were derived from the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center subcohort of the National Collaborative Perinatal Project. African-American women from whom venous blood had been collected during their third trimester of pregnancy during the time period between 1960 and 1965 were included in the current study (n = 152). Prenatal samples were assayed for PCB and DDE concentrations. The authors used linear-regression analysis to explore the association between socioeconomic indicators and PCB and DDE concentrations. Mean concentrations of the 4 most abundant congeners (i.e., PCB4) and total DDE were 3.9 microg/l and 37.2 microg/l, respectively. In adjusted analyses, income was associated significantly with an increase in serum concentrations of PCBs, whereas education was not. Neither income nor education was associated with concentrations of DDE. The authors concluded that maternal socioeconomic indicators may influence the effects of exposure to PCBs among African-American pregnant women.     

Exposure assessment and initial intervention regarding fish consumption of tribal members of the Upper Great Lakes Region in the United States

The Ojibwe Health Study (OHS) has concluded 10 years of data collection and exposure assessment. Eight hundred and twenty-two participants from tribes in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota (USA) completed fish consumption and environmental risk perception questionnaires. Many participants provided hair and blood samples for mercury and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) residue analyses as body burden indicators of these persistent environmental pollutants. Fish were collected by the tribal organizations and contaminants were analyzed for numerous tribal reports and professional environmental journal articles, these data were used by the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission to produce tribal-specific geographic information systems maps as part of a public health intervention strategy. These maps are currently available at for six Wisconsin tribes that regularly harvest walleye. To determine the health impacts (if any) of pollutants on cancer, diabetes, and reproduction, it was necessary to know the recent trends in key indicators such as cancer mortality ratios and birth gender ratios. The Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council provided the OHS and each participating tribe in Wisconsin and Michigan with a health profile. Total fish consumption (estimated by recall) for 720 tribal participants was self-reported as 60 g/day, but the highest actual consumption was measured as 11.2 g/day in one of the tribal groups. The highest blood concentrations in tribal participants were 18.6 ppb total serum PCBs and 11.8 ppb total blood mercury. Ninety percent of the participants had less than 3.8 ppb total serum PCBs and 2.6 ppb total blood mercury. Compared to other studies of subsistence fishing populations, these exposures were only moderately elevated and not high enough to warrant widespread restrictions on diets. Furthermore, the benefits of eating a fish diet must be continually emphasized. However, sport fishermen and their families who consume larger and more contaminated fish should abide by their state fish consumption advisories to minimize their health risks.     

Dietary exposure of mink (Mustela vison) to fish from the Housatonic River, berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA: effects on organ weights and histology and hepatic concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-P-dioxin toxic equivalence

The effects of feeding ranch mink (Mustela vison) diets containing polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated fish (88 gold fish [Carassius auratus] weighing a total of 70.3 kg and 16 carp [Cyprinus carpio] weighing a total of 77.3 kg) collected from the Housatonic River (HR; Berkshire County, MA, USA) in October 1999 on organ weights and histology and hepatic concentrations of total PCBs (sigmaPCBs) and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin toxic equivalence (TEQ) were evaluated. Diets contained 0.22 to 3.54% HR fish, which provided 0.34 to 3.7 microg sigmaPCBs/g feed (3.5-69 pg TEQ/g feed). Female mink were fed the diets eight weeks before breeding through weaning of kits at six weeks of age. Offspring were maintained on their respective diets for an additional 180 d. The dietary concentration of PCBs that caused a decrease in kit survival (3.7 microg EPCBs/g feed [69 pg TEQ/g]) resulted in a maternal hepatic concentration of 3.1 microg sigmaPCBs/g wet weight (218 pg TEQ/g). Organ weights were not consistently affected. Mandibular and maxillary squamous cell proliferation was apparent in 31-week-old juveniles exposed to as low as 0.96 microg sigmaPCBs/g feed (9.2 pg TEQ/g). Juveniles in this treatment group had a liver concentration of 1.7 microg sigmaPCBs/g wet weight (40 pg TEQ/g). Because inclusion of PCB-contaminated fish, which comprised approximately 1% of the diet, resulted in mandibular and maxillary squamous cell proliferation, it is possible that consumption of up to 30-fold that quantity of HR fish, as could be expected for wild mink, would result in more severe lesions characterized by loss of teeth, thus impacting survivability.     

Organochlorine in the serum of inhabitants living near an electrochemical factory

OBJECTIVES: To measure the impact of occupational and lifestyle factors on concentrations of organochlorine compounds in a general population sample living near an electrochemical factory with a high airborne concentration of hexachlorobenzene (HCB). METHODS: Serum samples from 608 people (328 selected from a random sample) were collected in 1994. Information on lifestyles, occupation, and medical condition was obtained by questionnaire. RESULTS: HCB and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were detected in all samples (means 36.7 ng/ml and 4.3 ng/ml respectively), followed by dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethane (DDE) and beta-hexachlorocyclohexane (beta-HCH), found in 98.7% and 87.3% of the samples respectively (means 4.6 ng/ml and 2.5 ng/ml, respectively). Concentrations of HCB were the highest ever reported. Occupation in the factory was the main determinant of the variation in concentrations of HCB (regression coefficients 1.52 (SEM 0.14) in 1n (HCB) for workers in the production department, and 2.13 (0.23) for workers in maintenance department) and explained the highest concentrations of HCB found in men of middle age. In retired workers, concentrations of HCB declined with time since retirement. The PCBs, dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT), and beta-HCH were independent of the occupation and concentrations were similar to those found in other populations. Concentrations of beta-HCH and DDE in the whole population, and HCB among non-workers, were higher in women than in men. Concentrations of all measured organochlorine compounds increased with age and body mass index. Consumption of locally caught fish was an independent determinant of HCB and PCB concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: This population incorporated HCB directly through occupation in the electrochemical factory, by airborne pollution, and consumption of locally caught fish. Concentrations of other common organochlorine compounds were not higher than expected. Environmental exposures to these compounds deserve attention due to their persistence and potential health effects.

 

     

Body burdens of polybrominated diphenyl ethers among urban anglers

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been widely used in the United States and worldwide as flame retardants. Recent PBDE production figures show that worldwide use has increased. To determine whether fish consumption is a source of PBDE exposure for humans, a cross-sectional epidemiologic study of New York and New Jersey urban anglers was conducted during the summers of 2001-2003. Frequency of local fish consumption was assessed by questionnaire, and blood samples for PBDE analysis were collected from 94 anglers fishing from piers on the lower Hudson River and Newark Bay. We analyzed PBDEs by gas chromatography-isotope dilution-high-resolution mass spectrometry. The congeners found in anglers' serum at the highest concentrations were, by International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry numbers, BDE-47, BDE-153, and BDE-99. Anglers reporting consumption of local fish had higher, but nonstatistically significantly different, concentrations of PBDEs than did anglers who did not eat local fish. For some congeners (BDE-100 and BDE-153), we observed moderate dose-response relationships between serum PBDE levels and frequency of reported fish intake. These findings suggest that consumption of locally caught fish is not a major route of human exposure for this study population.     

Estimating dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyl toxic equivalents from total polychlorinated biphenyl measurements in fish

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are 209 related compounds, a dozen of which are known as dioxin-like PCBs (dl-PCBs) and are among the most toxic PCBs. Polychlorinated biphenyls contribute to many adverse effects to human health, including cancer, and are a major cause of fish advisories in North America. It is a common perception that individual PCB compounds, especially dl-PCBs, rather than total PCB need to be quantified to predict the environmental hazard because of differences in their toxicity potential and distribution among various environmental matrices, including aquatic food webs. Because the current analytical methods for quantifying dl-PCBs are complex and four- to fivefold more expensive, limited fish samples are analyzed for dl-PCBs. Using what likely is the largest dl-PCB fish data set (n = 912) with a wide distribution of fish species (n = 22), size (19-112 cm), weight (100-14,300 g), sex (male:female, 51:49), and PCB contamination level (20-7,300 ng/g wet wt), we show that the comparatively less expensive and rapid measurements of total PCB in fish can be utilized to assess dl-PCB-related toxicological hazard, measured as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin toxic equivalents (TEQ). A regression equation of dl-PCB-related TEQ (i.e., TEQdl-PCB) to total PCB in fish is presented (TEQdi-PCB = [2.56 x 10(-5)]CtotalPCB, r = 0.89, p < 0.001). The regression was evaluated by applying it to three independent data sets of substantial sizes (n = 55, 141, and 176). The TEQdl-PCB estimated using the regression and total PCB measurements were within a reasonable factor of two to three of the TEQdl-PCB calculated from the dl-PCB measurements. The successful evaluation indicates versatility of the regression.     

Uterine leiomyomata in a cohort of Great Lakes sport fish consumers

Diet and endocrine disrupting persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been associated with gynecologic conditions including uterine leiomyomata (UL), endometriosis, and ovarian cysts. Great Lakes sport fish consumption is a source of exposure to POPs such as p,p′-diphenyldichloroethene (DDE) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). This study was designed to examine retrospectively the effects Great Lakes sport fish consumption on the incidence of UL and to examine the effects of DDE and PCB serum levels on prevalent UL in women participating in the Great Lakes Fish Consumption Study. We hypothesized that associations of exposures with UL would be modified by breastfeeding status. Years of sport fish consumption, demographic, health, and reproductive data were assessed by survey. In a subgroup, serum was collected and tested for DDE and PCB levels. Effects of years of Great Lakes sport fish and sport fish consumption were modeled using time-dependent Cox proportional hazards regression and effects of POP exposures on UL were modeled using multiple logistic regression. Years of sport fish consumption were associated with UL, with an incidence rate ratio of 1.2 (95% CI 1.0–1.3) for each 10-year increment of fish consumption. Summary measures of POP exposures in the overall group were not associated with UL. In the subgroup of women who never breastfed and in whom PCB measurements were available, however, UL was significantly associated with PCBs and groupings of estrogenic, antiestrogenic, and dioxin-like PCBs. These findings support the possibility that PCB exposures from fish consumption may increase the risk of UL and highlight the importance of additional studies exploring biologic pathways by which they could be acting.