Lead, Mercury, and Organochlorine Compound Levels in Cord Blood in Québec, Canada

Abstract

We conducted this study to evaluate blood levels of lead, mercury, and organochlorine compounds in newborns in the Province of Quebec. During 1993 to 1995, we carried out a survey in 10 hospitals located in southern Quebec. During that time, umbilical cord blood samples were obtained from 1109 newborns, and we analyzed each for lead, mercury, 14 polychlorinated biphenyl congeners, and 11 chlorinated pesticides. We used the geometric mean and 95% confidence interval (CI) to describe the results. Mean concentrations of lead and mercury in cord blood were 0.076 micromol/l (95% CI = 0.074, 0.079) and 4.82 nmol/l (95% CI = 4.56, 5.08), respectively. The mean concentrations of total polychlorinated biphenyls (Aroclor 1260) and dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene were 0.514 microg/I (95% CI = .493, 0.536) and 0.412 microg/l (95% CI = 0.390, 0.435), respectively. We observed a statistically significant relationship between maternal age and cord blood concentrations of (a) lead, (b) mercury, (c) polychlorinated biphenyls, and (d) dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene. In addition, maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with cord blood lead levels. The cord blood concentrations of lead, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, and dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene we measured in our study were the lowest levels recently reported in industrialized countries. The results of this study underline the role of public health authorities in the evaluation of biological levels of environmental contaminants among children for the assessment of risk of adverse health effects.

Assessment of Intrauterine Methylmercury Exposure Affecting Child Development: Messages from the Newborn

“…Cord blood: Lead Buchet et al 1978;Lauwerys et al 1978;Tsuchiya et al 1984;Truska et al 1989;Soong et al 1991;Grandjean et al 1992;Ong et al 1993;Klopov 1998;Rhainds et al 1999;Dallaire et al 2003;Lucas et al 2004;Vigeh et al 2006;Walker et al 2006Cadmium Buchet et al 1978Lauwerys et al 1978;Tsuchiya et al 1984;Truska et al 1989;Soong et al 1991;Ong et al 1993;Klopov 1998;Vigeh et al 2006;Walker et al 2006Manganese Tsuchiya et al 1984Vigeh et al 2006Arsenic Soong et al 1991 Antimony and cobalt Vigeh et al 2006 Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) Rhainds et al 1999;Grandjean et al 2001;Dallaire et al 2003;Lucas et al 2004 Pesticides Rhainds et al 1999 Cord tissue: Lead Noda et al 1983;Tsuchiya et al 1984;Sugiyama et al 1996;Shaheen et al 2004Cadmium Noda et al 1983Tsuchiya et al 1984;Sugiyama et al 1996Manganese Noda et al 1983Tsuchiya et al 1984;Shaheen et al 2004…”

Persistent organochlorine compounds in fetal and maternal tissues: Evaluation of their potential influence on several indicators of fetal growth and health

“…Studies on subjects with background exposure levels (assessed by analyses in cord blood serum or plasma or in maternal serum) have shown significant associations between concentrations of OCs and birth weight or birth length, even though with contrasting findings (Patandin et al, 1998;Ribas-Fito et al, 2002;Weisskopf et al, 2005). Often, negative or inconclusive results were reported, supporting the view that the low-level organochlorine exposures may not have a large impact on growth of the developing fetus (Rhainds et al, 1999;Longnecker et al, 2005b;Sagiv et al, 2007).…”

“…Several outcomes have been found, including reducing birth weight (Rylander et al, 2000), preterm birth (Longnecker et al, 2001) growth retardation (Siddiqui et al, 2003), reducing head circumference (Wolff et al, 2007a), fetal loss (Longnecker et al, 2005a), inhibition of mental and motor development (Walkowiak et al, 2001), and effects on cognitive abilities (Patandin et al, 1999). However, negative or weak outcomes have also been published (Rhainds et al, 1999;Jarrell et al, 2005;Longnecker et al, 2005b;Sagiv et al, 2007).…”

Gendered dimensions of environmental health, contaminants and global change in Nunavik, Canada

“…Reproductive effects associated with lead include a disruption of the onset of menstruation, an increased chance of miscarriage, spontaneous abortion or stillbirth, pre-term labour and having newborns with lower birth weight (Denham et al 2005;Substance Sélection Task Force 2003;Takser et al 2005). Prénatal lead exposure is associated with adverse effects on cognitive function during infancy although some studies show that thèse effects generally diminish during childhood Rhainds et al 1999). Low levels of postnatal lead exposure hâve been linked to poor childhood cognitive performance including distractability, attention déficit, memory problems and other disorders (Després et al 2005;Lévesque et al 1999;Muckle et al 2001).…”

“…Data from the Santé Québec Health Survey (reported in Lévesque et al 1999;Schell et al 2003), cord blood studies conducted between 1993(Lévesque et al 2003Rhainds et al 1999) and data from the lead investigation done by Dewailly et al (2001) provide évidence of exposure to lead for the population of Nunavik. As outlined in Table 1, levels of lead concentrations in maternai blood from 1990-2000 were among the highest in circumpolar nations.…”