This study is one of the very few investigating the dioxin body burden of a group of child-bearing-aged women at an electronic waste (e-waste) recycling site (Taizhou, Zhejiang Province) (24 ( 2.83 years of age, 40% were primiparae) and a reference site (Lin'an city, Zhejiang Province, about 245 km away from Taizhou) (24 ( 2.35 years of age, 100% were primiparae) in China. Five sets of samples (each set consisted of human milk, placenta, and hair) were collected from each site. Body burdens of people from the e-waste processing site (human milk, 21.02 ( 13.81 pg WHO-TEQ 1998 /g fat (World Health Organization toxic equivalency 1998); placenta, 31.15 ( 15.67 pg WHO-TEQ 1998 /g fat; hair, 33.82 ( 17.74 pg WHO-TEQ 1998 /g dry wt) showed significantly higher levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/ Fs) than those from the reference site (human milk, 9.35 ( 7.39 pg WHO-TEQ 1998 /g fat; placenta, 11.91 ( 7.05 pg WHO-TEQ 1998 /g fat; hair, 5.59 ( 4.36 pg WHO-TEQ 1998 /g dry wt) and were comparatively higher than other studies. The difference between the two sites was due to e-waste recycling operations, for example, open burning, which led to high background levels. Moreover, mothers from the e-waste recycling site consumed more foods of animal origin. The estimated daily intake of PCDD/Fs within 6 months by breastfed infants from the e-waste processing site was 2 times higher than that from the reference site. Both values exceeded the WHO tolerable daily intake for adults by at least 25 and 11 times, respectively. Our results implicated that e-waste recycling operations cause prominent PCDD/F levels in the environment and in humans. The elevated body burden may have health implications for the next generation.
Background, aim and scope This study is the first to investigate PBDE body burden with regard to the concurrent analyses of multiple human matrices, namely milk, placenta, and hair, collected from a group of childbearingaged women at an electronic waste (e-waste) recycling site to determine the partitioning of PBDEs in these different human matrices and the possible health risks imposed to infants at the e-waste recycling site. Methods and methods Five sets of milk, placenta, and hair samples were collected from an e-waste site (Taizhou, Zhejiang Province) and a reference site (Lin'an city, Zhejiang Province; 245 km away from Taizhou) in China. The concentrations of total PBDEs in different human tissues were analyzed according to US EPA standard methods. Results PBDE body burdens of women from the e-waste site (milk 117±191, 8.89-457 ng/g fat, placenta 19.5±29.9, 1.28-72.1 ng/g fat, hair 110±210, 8.47-486 ng/g dry wt.) showed significantly higher levels than those from the reference site (milk 2.06±0.94, 1.0-3.56 ng/g fat, placenta 1.02±0.36, 0.59-1.42 ng/g fat, hair 3.57±2.03, 1.56-5.61 ng/g dry wt.) and were higher than those reported in other studies, due to e-waste recycling operations, especially open burning. On a dry-weight basis, the following trend was found for PBDE among the samples from Taizhou: hair≫milk>placenta. Among the donors, the body burden of an e-waste worker ranked second. Higher brominated BDEs (hepta-BDEs) contributed a significantly greater proportion to total PBDEs in hair of the Taizhou women (20%) than that in milk (2.9%) and in placenta (2.6%). The estimated intake of PBDEs of 6-month-old breastfed infants living at the e-waste site was 572±839 ng/kg body wt/day, which was 57 times higher than that of infants from the reference site (10.1±4.60 ng/kg body wt/day). Moreover, the maximum calculated value (2,240 ng/kg body wt/day) exceeded the chronic oral reference dose for penta-BDE (2,000 ng/kg/day) of US EPA. Discussion BDE-47 was the dominant congener accounting for 20-30% in all the individual samples, while higherbrominated congeners, for example, contributed between 2% and 20%. The presence of hepta-BDE congeners in hair of the women in Taizhou suggest that thermal degradation of Deca-BDE from the open burning of e-waste may have been their source because these congeners are not found in either Penta-BDE or Octa-BDE technical products. Of the three types of samples analyzed, it was also suspected that hair may be more favorable to higher-brominated compounds which might explain why the hair samples contained the highest total PBDE concentrations and the highest proportion of higherbrominated BDEs (hepta-BDEs).
Background, aim, and scope Persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals can cause diseases in women, however, the relationships of these pollutants and uterine leiomyomas (UL), which are non-cancerous tumors of the uterus, are unclear. This study focused on the quantification of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and heavy metals in subcutaneous and visceral fat obtained from patients with UL and in subcutaneous fat of a control group of women without UL to determine if there were any correlations between concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals and the incidence of UL. Materials and methods Samples were collected from ethnic Chinese residents from six hospitals and six cosmetic surgery clinics in Hong Kong. Patients with UL provided both subcutaneous and visceral fat, while women without UL (control group) provided subcutaneous fat through liposuction. Analyses of POPs and heavy metals were conducted using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry, respectively. Total mercury (Hg) content was measured using an atomic fluorescence spectrometer. Results Significantly higher (p<0.01 or 0.05) concentrations of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDTs), hexachlorocyclohexane (HCHs), PCBs, PAHs, PBDEs, arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and Hg were detected in the subcutaneous fat of patients when compared with those of the control group. Significant correlations were found between pollutant concentrations of subcutaneous and visceral fat in the patient group, with visceral fat containing significantly higher (p<0.01 or 0.05) concentrations of As (subcutaneous fat: 0.59 μg/kg fat; visceral fat: 0.73), Cd (0.38; 0.47), Pb (5.24; 5.98), and Hg (9.12; 13.3). Discussion Since UL has a close relationship with estrogen levels in women, and OCPs, PCBs, PAHs, and PBDEs have an estrogen-like effect, these chemicals may correlate with UL. This study showed higher levels of DDT and its metabolites, HCHs, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo(a)pyrene, PCBs, and BDE-99 in patients with UL than those in the control group. Furthermore, higher concentrations of Cd, Pb, As, and Hg were found in the patient group than those in the control group suggesting that these chemicals may correlate with UL. Conclusion Our studies demonstrated that these persistent organic pollutants and some heavy metals may have correlations with UL, and their accumulation in the body is positively correlated with seafood diet habit, body mass index, and age. In the patient group, higher levels of Responsible editor: Markus Hecker Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (
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