Polychlorinated biphenyls in umbilical cord serum of newborns from Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil

Changes of organochlorine compound concentrations in maternal serum during pregnancy and comparison to serum cord blood composition

“…The remaining DDT metabolites were not found above limits of detection. The 4,4′-DDE and 4,4′-DDT concentrations found in the present study were much lower than those reported in venous maternal blood or cord blood serum of Shanghai and Huaihe River Basin (China; Zhang et al, 2018;Luo et al, 2016;Cao et al, 2011), Crete (Vafeiadi et al, 2014), Michalovce and Svidnik (Slovakia; Park et al, 2008), Algarve (Lopes et al, 2014), Rio Grande do Sul (Mohr et al, 2015), Menorca (Carrizo et al, 2006), Granada (Mariscal-Arcas et al, 2010), Valencia (Vizcaíno et al, 2010), Ribera d'Ebre (Sala et al, 2001) and Antwerp (Covaci et al, 2002). In contrast, they were higher than those from cohorts in Ushuaia (Bravo et al, (Bergonzi et al, 2009), the average European Union (Govarts et al, 2012) and Canadian Northwest Territories and Nunavut areas (Butler Walker et al, 2003) (Table 3).…”

“…The PCB concentrations found in this Tarragona cohort are lower than those described in most previous studies such as cord blood serum from Rio Grande do Sul (Mohr et al, 2015), Algarve (Lopes et al, 2014), Crete (Vafeiadi et al, 2014), Menorca (Carrizo et al, 2006), European Union average (Govarts et al, 2012), Shanghai (Cao et al, 2011), Valencia (Vizcaíno et al, 2010), Michalovce and Svidnik (Slovakia; Park et al, 2008), Canadian Northwest Territories and Nunavut areas (Butler Walker et al, 2003), Antwerp (Covaci et al, 2002) and Ribera d'Ebre (Sala et al, 2001) and venous maternal blood serum from Algarve (Lopes et al, 2014), Canadian Northwest Territories and Nunavut areas (Butler Walker et al, 2003), Antwerp (Covaci et al, 2002) and Ribera d'Ebre (Sala et al, 2001) (Table 3). Conversely, the maternal serum concentrations from Tarragona are similar to those found in Crete (Vafeiadi et al, 2014) and higher than those in Ushuaia (Bravo et al, 2017).…”

Persistent Organic Pollutant Levels in Maternal and Cord Blood Plasma and Breast Milk: Results from the Rio Birth Cohort Pilot Study of Environmental Exposure and Childhood Development (PIPA Study)

“…In general, the concentrations of PCBs observed in the umbilical cord samples were similar to those observed in previous studies conducted in Rio de Janeiro; however, they were lower than those observed in a study conducted in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria [38]. PCB 138, 153, and 170 quantified in blood cord samples are congeners containing chlorine substitution at 2,2 positions, an important chemical property that decreases the enzymatic metabolism rate once compared with non-2,2 substituted PCB [38]. This characteristic also results in a higher trophic magnification observed in various studies worldwide.…”

Concentrations of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Organochlorine Pesticides in Umbilical Cord Blood Serum of Newborns in Kingston, Jamaica

“…However, our results from Jamaica for the same “dioxin-like” PCB congeners were 100% below the LODs of 0.25, 0.06, 0.06, 0.06, 0.06, 0.25, 0.03, 0.06, 0.6 and 0.03 ng/mL, respectively, indicating that concentrations of these PCBs are much lower in Jamaican newborns than those reported by the study from southern Italy [29]. Based on 148 Brazilian newborns, Mohr et al (2015) reported mean umbilical cord serum concentrations of 3.83 and 1.55 ng/mL for PCB congeners 138 and 153, respectively [11]. These levels were much higher than those we observed in Jamaican newborns.…”

“…Govarts et al reported that median cord blood serum PCB-153 and p,p′-DDE concentrations in the 15 populations studied in a multi-country European project ranged from 20–484 ng/L (0.02–0.484 ng/mL) and from 50–1208 ng/L (0.05–1.208 ng/mL), respectively [10]. A more recent study, from Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, which examined the levels of five PCB congeners (28, 52, 138, 153 and 180) in umbilical cord serum samples from 148 newborns reported that the sum of these PCBs ranged from 0.35–55.17 ng/mL and that PCB 138 was the most prevalent congener [11]. …”