The Relationship Between Levels of PCBs and Pesticides in Human Hair and Blood: Preliminary Results

Details

• Personal Author:
  Altshul L ; Covaci A ; Hauser R
• Description:
  Human hair as a biologic measure of exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has some advantages over the more commonly used blood and adipose tissue samples. However, one of the primary limitations is the difficulty in distinguishing between exogenous and endogenous contamination. In addition, there are currently no standardized methods for hair sample collection, washing, and chemical analysis. There is also very limited information describing the correlation between levels of organic contaminants in hair and other body compartments. To explore levels of POPs in blood and hair, samples from 10 volunteers were collected and analyzed for select organochlorine pesticides and 57 individual polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners. We demonstrated that the method for analyzing organic contaminants in human hair was reliable and reproducible. Washing hair with shampoo decreased levels of PCBs, pesticides, and lipids by 25-33% on average and up to 62% for low-chlorinated congeners. The percentage of lipids and the levels of organochlorines in hair were higher than in serum. We found strong correlation (r = 0.8) between p,p -DDE (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene) levels in hair and blood and moderate correlations for the more persistent PCB congeners, but no correlations or weak correlations for other organochlorines. The present study provides preliminary evidence on the utility of hair analysis for POPs; however, further larger studies are recommended before hair analysis can be successfully applied in epidemiologic studies on POPs. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Blood Environmental Exposure Hematologic Tests Insecticides Lipids Occupational Health Polychlorinated Biphenyls Safety
• Keywords:
  Adipose Tissue Author Keywords: Exogenous And Endogenous Contaminants Biological Function Blood Samples Exposure Levels Hair Analysis Humans Organic Compounds Organochlorine Compounds Organochlorines PCBs Pesticides Pollutants Polychlorinated Biphenyls Sampling Tissue Culture

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• ISSN:
  0091-6765
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  112
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054235
• Citation:
  Environ Health Perspect 2004 Aug; 112(11):1193-1199
• Contact Point Address:
  L. Altshul, Exposure, Epidemiology and Risk Program, Harvard School of Public Health, Building 1, Room B28, 665 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115
• Email:
  laltshul@hsph.harvard.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard School of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20030731
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Health Perspectives
• End Date:
  20050630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6f5cb32e74da392e1fc0e64cbda81c514b10bcaff06224916047002c0cf1d5ed9c9b33963b806665b52ef6b36809e16f5c7c4dfe9f785ee355cedf333a67791e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216838/cdc_216838_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 114.33 KB ]