Changes in productivity and contaminants in bald eagles nesting along the lower Columbia River, USA

Previous studies documented poor productivity of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in the lower Columbia River (LCR), USA, and elevated p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, and furans in eagle eggs. From 1994 to 1995, we collected partially incubated eggs at 19 of 43 occupied territories along the LCR and compared productivity and egg contaminants to values obtained in the mid-1980s. We found higher productivity at new nesting sites along the river, yet productivity at 23 older breeding territories remained low and was not different (p = 0.713) between studies. Eggshell thickness at older territories had not improved (p = 0.404), and eggshells averaged 11% thinner than shells measured before dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane use. Decreases in DDE (p = 0.022) and total PCBs (p = 0.0004) in eggs from older breeding areas occurred between study periods. Productivity was not correlated to contaminants, but DDE, PCBs, and dioxin-like chemicals exceeded estimated no-effect values. Some dioxin-like contaminants in eggs were correlated to nest location, with highest concentrations occurring toward the river's mouth where productivity was lowest. Although total productivity increased due to the success of new nesting pairs in the region, egg contaminants remain high enough to impair reproduction at older territories and, over time, may alter productivity of new pairs nesting near the river's mouth.     

Congener-specific analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls in white-tailed sea eagles Haliaeetus albicilla collected in Poland

The concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) congeners including highly toxic non-, mono-, and di-ortho coplanar members as well as their pattern were determined in breast muscles of white-tailed sea eagles collected dead between 1982 and 1990 in Poland. There was a wide variation in total PCB residue concentrations among eagles from various breeding sites, with the Baltic Sea coast registering the highest concentrations. The pattern of PCB residues differed between the eagles examined. Hexa-, hepta-, and pentachlorobiphenyls contributed between 45 and 56%, 18-and 37%, and 9 and 22% in total PCBs, respectively. Toxic equivalents (TEQs) of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) for non-, mono-, and di-ortho coplanar PCBs were very high (8.0–72 g/g wet wt) in white-tailed sea eagles from breeding sites of the coastal area of the southwestern Baltic Sea, and were relatively lower (0.69–4.0 g/g wet wt) in other birds, including two specimens from breeding sites of inland Poland, which died because of acute lead poisoning. PCB IUPAC Nos. 118, 105, 126, and 156 were the highest contributors to the TCDD TEQ of coplanar members, occupying between 39.1 and 57.0%, 9.8 and 17.5%, 7.4 and 22.3%, and 7.0 and 14.2%, respectively. The concentrations of coplanar PCBs in adult white-tailed sea eagles were the highest ever reported in wildlife, but that of total PCBs were similar to those reported in dead eagles from the breeding sites of the coastal area of the northern Baltic in Sweden and Finland in the 1960s and 1970s.     

Residues in two bald eagles suspected of pesticide poisoning

Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology -     

Plasma to egg conversion factor for evaluating polychlorinated biphenyl and DDT exposures in great horned owls and bald eagles

The benefits of nondestructive sampling techniques, such as plasma sampling, to directly measure contaminant exposure levels in at-risk or protected raptor populations are many. However, such assays are generally inconsistent with the most certain source of toxicity reference values, which are based on feeding studies and quantified as dietary or "in ovo" (egg-based) concentrations. An accurate conversion factor to translate nondestructive plasma-based contaminant concentrations to comparable egg-based concentrations will prove valuable to risk assessors investigating the potential effects of chemical exposures to raptors. We used databases describing the concentrations of total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in great horned owls (GHO; Bubo virginianus) and total PCBs and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) in bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) from the Great Lakes region (Michigan, Wisconsin, USA) to develop a relationship to predict concentrations of PCBs and DDE in eggs. To develop a robust predictive relationship, all of the source data included concentrations of both total PCBs and/or DDE for nestling blood plasma and egg samples collected from within discrete active nesting territories and, in most instances, the same nest. The key characteristics (slope and elevation) of each relationship were tested for differences related to species and geographic region. Predicted variability of relationships were examined and compared to variability associated with natural systems. The results of statistical testing indicate that applying the conversion factors between species (GHO to bald eagle) and among geographic regions yields predicted egg concentrations that are not statistically dissimilar and are within the natural variability observed for residue concentrations among eggs of raptors within species and region.     

Occupational exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls in electrical workers. I. Environmental and blood polychlorinated biphenyls concentrations.

Industrial exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and internal dose were investigated in 80 worker exposed for many years to PCB mixtures with a 42% chlorine content (Pyralene 3010 and Apirolio). PCBs were determined by liquid gas chromatography on samples taken from workroom air, workroom surfaces and tools, the palms of the hand, and the blood of the workers. In the workroom air samples, PCB concentrations ranged from 48 to 275 micrograms/m3. All tested surfaces and tools were heavily contaminated, with a range from 0.2 to 159 micrograms PCBs per cm2 of surface. Considerable amounts of PCBs were detected on the palms of the hands of the workers (2-28 microgram/cm2 of skin surface). In blood, total PCB concentrations from 88 to 1319 micrograms/kg were observed: comparing the blood concentrations of low and high chlorine content biphenyls, a significant difference was found for the low-chlorinated biphenyl concentrations between workers currently exposed and workers exposed only in the past. In groups of workers who were homogeneous as regards work area and job, the PCB concentrations in the blood were closely correlated with the length of actual occupational exposure to these compounds. These findings led to the conclusion that absorption of PCBs in these workers had occurred mainly through the skin, therefore industrial preventive surveillance must take this route of exposure into account. Since blood PCB concentrations appear to be correlated with the length of exposure, PCB determination on whole blood may be used to monitor industrial and environmental exposure to PCBs.     

Effect of postnatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls on adult male reproductive function

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been found widely distributed in the ecosystem, including human milk, yet there is limited information concerning the effect that PCB exposure during the postnatal period might have on subsequent reproductive capacity of adult male offspring. In this study, fertility and condition of reproductive organs were examined in male offspring of rats that received Aroclor 1254 orally (8, 32, or 64 mg/kg) on Days 1-3, 5, 7, and 9 of lactation. It was found that the experimental male offspring as adults were less successful in mating and reproducing when compared with control offspring. Virgin females mated with males exposed through suckling to the two higher doses of PCBs had a significantly lower proportion of ovulated eggs that implanted, a significantly lower number of live fetuses, and a significantly higher rate of resorption. At autopsy, although body weights were not significantly different, ventral prostate weights were significantly less in all treated male offspring; there were fewer alveoli and flattened epithelial cells in these glands as compared to controls. Seminal vesicle weights were significantly less in males exposed to the two higher doses of PCBs, while the testes were significantly larger. PCB-derived material remained in adipose tissue and liver at the time of autopsy. These data support the hypothesis that exposure of male offspring to PCBs during early postnatal development results in an hypoandrogenic condition that is detrimental to normal reproductive functioning in the adult.     

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.     

Partitioning of polychlorinated biphenyls between Arctic seawater and size-fractionated zooplankton

Concentrations of hydrophobic organic contaminants in zooplankton have been hypothesized to be governed by either near-equilibrium partitioning with surrounding water, growth dilution, or biomagnification. Concentrations of 17 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in size-fractionated zooplankton, in phytoplankton (> 0.7 microm), and in the dissolved water phase (< 0.7 microm) in the surface water of the northern Barents Sea marginal ice zone east and north of Spitsbergen (Norway) and in the central Arctic Ocean at 89 degrees N. The linear partition model was used to indirectly assess if PCBs were equilibrated between water and the extractable organic matter (EOM) of zooplankton. As an independent test, the relation between the EOM-normalized partition coefficient (log K(EOM)) and trophic level (TL) of the zooplankton (based on delta 15N) was investigated. All log K-log K(OW) regressions were significant (n=18, p < 0.05, r2 = 0.65-0.95), being consistent with near-equilibrium partitioning and indirectly suggesting the absence of biomagnification. No correlation was found between log K(EOM) and TL, further supporting the apparent absence of biomagnification in zooplankton. One implication of these results is a reduced uncertainty in modeling of food web uptake, in which kinetic parameterizations of biodilution or biomagnification in zooplankton may be replaced by a simpler parameterization based on equilibrium partitioning.     

Effect of polychlorinated biphenyls on several endocrine reproductive parameters in the female rhesus monkey

Female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatto) ingested gelatin capsules containing daily doses of 0 (control), 5, 20, 40, or 80 g of Aroclor® 1254/kg/day (PCB) which was dissolved in corn oil plus glycerol. After approximately two years of dosing and when the monkeys were near an adipose tissue PCBs equilibrium, each dose group of 16 animals was randomly divided into two test groups. Daily blood samples from both groups were acquired for estrogen and progesterone analysis during one menstrual cycle. Test group 1 was sampled during February-March and test group 2 during August–September. Serum estrogen and progesterone concentrations in monkeys dosed with PCBs were equivalent to control values with the exception of the luteal phase progesterone levels in the 20 and 80 g/kg/day dosed monkeys in test group 1. There was no difference in menstrual cycle length between control and treated monkeys for the month sampled, however, menses duration was marginally longer in the 80 g/kg/day dose group. There were no apparent treatment related differences in the incidence of anovulatory cycles nor on the temporal relationship between the estrogen peak and menses onset, menses end or the progesterone peak.     

Associations of exposure to dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls with diabetes: based on epidemiological findings

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a group of chemical substances that have the common properties of resistance to biodegradation, wide-range transportation, high lipophilicity, bioaccumulation in fat, and biomagnification in the food chain. POPs are persistent in the environment worldwide and have potential adverse impacts on human health and the environment. Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are well known chemicals that are considered as POPs. The association between high-level exposure to dioxins and type 2 diabetes among U.S. Air Force veterans who had been exposed to Agent Orange contaminated with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) during the Vietnam War was reported in the late 1990s. This association has been supported by similar epidemiologic studies, whose subjects were exposed to high doses of dioxins in their places of work involving phenoxyacid herbicide production and spraying, and in the industrial accident in Seveso, Italy. Recently, low-level exposure to dioxins and PCBs has been reported to be linked to type 2 diabetes. Cross-sectional studies in the U.S. general population and Japanese general population showed that body burden levels of some dioxins and PCBs were strongly associated with the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Very recently, following these cross-sectional studies, several prospective studies have suggested that low-level exposure to some PCBs predicted the future risk of type 2 diabetes in the general population. Environmental exposure to some dioxins and PCBs, which mainly accumulate in adipose tissue, may play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes.     

Associations between prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and neonatal thyroid-stimulating hormone levels in a Mexican-American population, Salinas Valley, California

BACKGROUND: Studies have reported that prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may alter neurodevelopment in both humans and animals. Furthermore, prenatal exposure to some PCB congeners and commercial mixtures has been shown to decrease free and total thyroxine (T(4)) blood levels in animals. Because thyroid hormones (TH) are essential for normal neurologic development, it has been suggested that the deleterious neurodevelopmental effect of PCBs may occur through TH disruption. PCBs may in turn affect TH levels by inducing the microsomal enzyme uridinediphosphate glucuronosyltransferase (UDP-GT), which is involved in TH elimination. OBJECTIVES: Our goals were to group PCB congeners based on their potential to induce microsomal enzymes in animals, and to examine the relationship between neonatal TSH levels and prenatal exposure to PCB congeners grouped according to their structure and potential mechanisms of action. METHODS: We measured the concentration of 34 PCB congeners in serum samples collected from 285 pregnant women and the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in their children's blood collected shortly after birth. RESULTS: We found no association between the sum of PCB congeners, the toxic equivalents, or structure-based groupings (mono- or di-ortho substituted congeners), and TSH blood concentration. However, we found a positive association between the sum of congeners suspected to be UDP-GT inducers (more specifically cytochrome P450 2B inducers) in animals and neonatal TSH levels. In individual congener analyses, PCBs 99, 138, 153, 180, 183, 187, 194, and 199 were positively associated with neonatal TSH levels after adjustment for covariates. PCBs 194 and 199 remained significant after adjustment for multiple hypothesis testing. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support grouping PCB congeners based on their potential mechanism of action of enzyme induction when investigating associations with TH. Findings also suggest that PCBs affect TH homeostasis even at the low background level of exposure found in the CHAMA-COS (Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas) population.     

深圳市市售食品中二恶英、多氯联苯污染现状研究

目的了解深圳市市售食品中二恶英、多氯联苯本底水平和污染情况,为开展食品中二恶英类化合物污染状况的风险评估和预警监测提供科学依据。方法于2004年10月至2008年10月期间,采集深圳市市售鱼、猪肉、牛肉、羊肉、鸡肉、鸭肉、禽蛋、奶粉、植物油、豆制品、米面、蔬菜12种食品共123份样品,参照美国国家环保局EPA1613、1668A方法,采用索式抽提装置和FMS自动纯化系统分别对样品进行提取和净化,采用同位素稀释技术,用已建立的高分辨气相色谱/高分辨双聚焦磁式质谱联用(HRGC/HRMS)超痕量有机分析技术平台,对样品中的7个多氯二苯并-对-二恶英(PCDD s)、10个多氯二苯并-对-呋喃(PCDFs)、4个共平面的多氯联苯(PCBs)化合物、8个单邻位取代的PCBs化合物以及6个指示性的PCBs化合物共计35个单体进行定量分析检测和毒性当量浓度汇总分析和评价。结果共检测123份市售食品样品,总二恶英(包括PCDD/Fs和PCBs)污染毒性当量浓度水平,动物性食品由大至小依次是:鱼类>禽蛋>牛肉>奶粉>羊肉>鸡肉>鸭肉>猪肉,植物性食品以植物油>豆制品>粮谷类>蔬菜依次降低。其中动物性食品以鱼类二恶英含量最高,...     

Birth weight and prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE): a meta-analysis within 12 European Birth Cohorts

Objectives: Exposure to high concentrations of persistent organochlorines may cause fetal toxicity, but the evidence at low exposure levels is limited. Large studies with substantial exposure contrasts and appropriate exposure assessment are warranted. Within the framework of the EU (European Union) ENRIECO (ENvironmental Health RIsks in European Birth Cohorts) and EU OBELIX (OBesogenic Endocrine disrupting chemicals: LInking prenatal eXposure to the development of obesity later in life) projects, we examined the hypothesis that the combination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) adversely affects birth weight.Methods: We used maternal and cord blood and breast milk samples of 7,990 women enrolled in 15 study populations from 12 European birth cohorts from 1990 through 2008. Using identical variable definitions, we performed for each cohort linear regression of birth weight on estimates of cord serum concentration of PCB-153 and p,p´-DDE adjusted for gestational age and a priori selected covariates. We obtained summary estimates by meta-analysis and performed analyses of interactions.Results: The median concentration of cord serum PCB-153 was 140 ng/L (range of cohort medians 20–484 ng/L) and that of p,p´-DDE was 528 ng/L (range of cohort medians 50–1,208 ng/L). Birth weight decreased with increasing cord serum concentration of PCB-153 after adjustment for potential confounders in 12 of 15 study populations. The meta-analysis including all cohorts indicated a birth weight decline of 150 g [95% confidence interval (CI): –250, –50 g] per 1-µg/L increase in PCB-153, an exposure contrast that is close to the range of exposures across the cohorts. A 1-µg/L increase in p,p´-DDE was associated with a 7-g decrease in birth weight (95% CI: –18, 4 g).Conclusions: The findings suggest that low-level exposure to PCB (or correlated exposures) impairs fetal growth, but that exposure to p,p´-DDE does not. The study adds to mounting evidence that low-level exposure to PCBs is inversely associated with fetal growth.     

Effects of polychlorinated biphenyls on liver ultrastructure, hepatic monooxygenases, and reproductive success in the barbel

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organochlorinated micropollutants ubiquitously distributed in the environment. They are known to be strong inducers of hepatic monooxygenases in fish. This can adversely affect reproduction by increasing steroid metabolism. In this work, adult barbels were contaminated with food containing Aroclor 1260, a commercial PCB mixture from Monsanto, at environmentally relevant concentrations. A significant increase in cytochrome P450 was observed, and two particularly sensitive enzymes, ethoxyresorufin o-deethylase (EROD) and ethoxycoumarin o-deethylase (ECOD), were strongly induced. Electron microscopy revealed alterations in liver ultrastructure in contaminated fish, principally an increase in the number of cisternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum, drastic glycogen depletion, dissolution of mitochondrial contents, and appearance of myelin figures. Contamination was also studied in relation to reproductive success in a hatchery. Contaminated males displayed no alteration in milt quality, but PCBs did alter female reproductive parameters. Total mortality of eggs and larvae increased significantly with the level of PCBs in the eggs. The most highly contaminated fish did not even spawn. All the adverse effects recorded here tended to be reversible when the intoxication ended, sometimes after only a 1-year detoxication period.     

Gas chromatographic and mass spectrometric analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls in human placenta and cord blood

Gas chromatographic and mass spectrometric analyses of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in placenta, maternal blood, cord blood, and milk were carried out. Trichlorobiphenyl, tetrachlorobiphenyl, pentachlorobiphenyls, and hexachlorobiphenyls were identified by the mass chromatogram and the mass spectra. Some minor peaks of PCBs were identified by gas chromatography. The relationship between the PCB concentration in placenta and that in milk is different in each PCB congener. The higher the chlorine content of the PCB congener, the more significant the correlation. No significant but a low negative correlation exists between the concentration of some PCB congeners in the placenta and that in cord blood. On the other hand, a significant linear correlation exists between the concentration of hexachlorobenzene in the placenta and that in cord blood. The transplacental transport of each PCB congener varied depending upon its chemical nature. Trichlorobiphenyl and tetrachlorobiphenyl were more transferable than hexachlorobiphenyls. The results show that the placenta and cord blood are useful human samples to analyze the body burden of environmental pollutants and to estimate their transfer from mother to fetus.