Distribution of PCBs, Their Hydroxylated Metabolites, and Other Phenolic Contaminants in Human Serum from Two European Countries

Abstract

Human exposure to mixtures of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may result in the formation of different profiles of hydroxylated PCBs (HO-PCBs), as a consequence of different exposures or dissimilar metabolism of parent compounds. Therefore, we investigated the levels and profiles of PCBs and HO-PCBs in human serum samples collected from two European countries with different degrees of pollution. There was no significant difference between the levels of sum PCBs measured in each set of samples, with a median concentration of 3100 pg/mL for Romanian samples (n = 53) and 3380 pg/mL for Belgian samples (n = 22). However, the median concentrations recorded for sum HO-PCBs were almost double in Belgian (310 pg/mL) compared to Romanian (175 pg/mL) samples. The detection frequency recorded for HO-PCBs in Belgian samples was also significantly higher compared to Romanian samples. The main contributors to the sum HO-PCBs in the Belgian samples were 4HO-CB107 > 4HO-CB146 > 4HO-CB187 (76% from the sum HO-PCBs) and 4HO-CB187 > 4HO-CB146 > 3'HO-CB138 (66% from the sum of HO-PCBs) in the Romanian samples. The HO-PCB profile showed that the higher chlorinated HO-PCBs had a higher contribution in the Romanian samples compared to the Belgian ones. This suggests that differences in the PCB profiles between populations can lead to the formation of different HO-PCB metabolite profiles presenting thus different risks for populations. No clear preferential mechanism of HO-PCB metabolite formation (HO-direct insertion vs. 1,2-shift of a chlorine atom) could be highlighted for investigated samples. The main chlorinated phenolic compound found in the Belgian samples was pentachlorophenol (PCP) which accounted for up to 85% of the total quantified phenolics, whereas in the Romanian samples, PCP accounted for only 35%.

Hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls in human sera from adolescents and their mothers living in two U.S. Midwestern communities

“…Our OH-PCBs levels are comparable to other studies that have measured OH-PCBs in serum including pregnant Japanese women, breast cancer patients in Belgium and Romania, and 1950–60s California mothers (Park et al, 2009; Dirtu et al, 2010; Nomiyama et al, 2010; Hisada et al, 2013). The levels of OH-PCBs in this study are about an order of magnitude lower than populations with high seafood diets in contaminated areas such as the Faroe Islands and Eastern Slovakia (Fangstrom et al, 2002; Hovander et al, 2006).…”

Residue profiles of organohalogen compounds in human serum from e-waste recycling sites in North Vietnam: Association with thyroid hormone levels

“…Total PCB levels were significantly higher (p o0.05) in donors from the e-waste recycling site (420 pg g À 1 ) than from the reference site (290 pg g À 1 ) ( Table 2). Concentrations of PCBs and OH-PCBs in the present study were lower than those reported in Japan (PCBs: 2900 pg g À 1 , OH-PCBs: 630 pg g À 1 ; Nomiyama et al, 2010), Romania (PCBs: 3100 pg g À 1 , OH-PCBs: 175 pg g À 1 ; Dirtu et al 2010), Belgium (PCBs: 3380 pg g À 1 , OH-PCBs: 310 pg g À 1 ; Dirtu et al 2010), and Sweden (PCBs: 3560 pg g À 1 , OH-PCBs 2670 pg g À 1 ; Sjodin et al, 2000) but higher than those reported in India (PCBs: 110 pg g À 1 , OH-PCBs: 54 pg g À 1 ; Eguchi et al, 2012).…”

“…Several studies have reported that 4OH-CB107 was the dominant congener in human serum (Dirtu et al, 2010;Eguchi et al, 2012;Fangstrom et al, 2002;Nomiyama et al, 2010;Sandau et al, 2000;Sjodin et al, 2000); however, in Swedish and Slovakian populations, 4OH-CB187 was the dominant metabolite (Bergman et al, 1994;Park et al, 2009a). This metabolite is probably formed via the metabolism of CB183 and/or CB187, which represent 2% and 5% of the Aroclor 1254 mixture.…”

Serum levels of hydroxylated PCBs, PCBs and thyroid hormone measures of Japanese pregnant women

“…The reason for this difference may be due to the higher age of subjects (51.1 ± 9.8 years) in that study than that in the present study (33.8 ± 5.0 years). The serum concentrations of OH-PCBs in this study were generally lower than those reported in other countries [15,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. For example, median concentration of 4-OH-CB146 in the serum of Faroe Islanders (790 pg/g wet wt.)…”