A comparative study on polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and polychlorinated quaterphenyls (PCQ) concentrations in subcutaneous fat tissue, blood and hair of patients with yusho and normal control in Nagasaki prefecture

The relationship between PCB and PCQ concentrations in the blood, subcutaneous fat tissue and hair was investigated in this study. PCB and PCQ concentrations in twenty four patients with PCB poisoning (yusho) and 59 normal controls were analyzed. The alkaline decomposition method described in the official standard analytical methods for the isolation of PCB and PCQ fractions was used. The mean value of PCB concentrations was 2.43 ppb, CB% ratio was 0.69 and the PCQ concentration in the blood of the control group was too low to be detected by our analysis. On the other hand, the PCB concentration and CB% ratio in the yusho group were two times higher than those in the control group. The mean value of PCQ concentration was 1.34 ppb in the yusho group although it was below the level of detection in the control group. The mean PCB concentration in the hair of patients with yusho was 28.92 ppb, and 8.06 ppb in the control group. CB% ratio in the hair of patients with yusho was two times higher than that in the control group. The mean value of PCQ concentration in the hair of patients with yusho was 0.55 ppb although it was not detected in the control group. The PCB and PCQ concentrations in the hair were not greatly elevated when compared with those in the subcutaneous fat tissue. However, the hair is an excellent sample for the detection of these chemicals because it can be collected simply without operation.