Consumption of fish from a contaminated lake strongly affects the concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and hexabromocyclododecane in serum.
Very high concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) have been reported in fish from Lake Mjøsa in Norway. This study was performed to examine the serum concentrations of PBDE and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) in consumers of fish from this lake and to investigate possible relationships between serum concentrations, self-reported fish intake and calculated total dietary PBDE exposure. Serum concentrations of the sum of the seven PBDE (BDE-28, 47, 99, 100, 153, 154 and 183) were significantly higher than those of a reference group of Norwegians eating only food with background levels of contamination (medians: 18 ng/g lipids men, 8.4 ng/g lipids women). The median dietary intake of Sum 7 PBDE was 2549 ng/day (30 ng/kg body weight/day), the highest dietary intake of PBDE reported. The contribution from fish caught from the contaminated lake comprised 98.7% of the total dietary exposure. For men, serum levels of PBDE were strongly correlated with the calculated dietary exposure, except for BDE-209. This suggests that sources other than the diet are important for human BDE-209 exposure. The median serum HBCD concentration was 4.1 and 2.6 ng/g lipids for men and women, respectively, and was also found to be associated with consumption of fish from Lake Mjøsa.
Thomsen
Cathrine
C
Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway. cathrine.thomsen@fhi.no
Knutsen
Helle K
HK
Liane
Veronica H
VH
Frøshaug
May
M
Kvalem
Helen E
HE
Haugen
Margaretha
M
Meltzer
Helle M
HM
Alexander
Jan
J
Becher
Georg
G
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000032:analysis; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis; D005618:Fresh Water; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D006801:Humans; D006842:Hydrocarbons, Brominated / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood*; D013045:Species Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis
D005411:Flame Retardants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D006842:Hydrocarbons, Brominated; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls; D014873:Water Pollutants; C517828:hexabrominated diphenyl ether 153; C517827:pentabrominated diphenyl ether 100; C511295:2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether; C089796:hexabromocyclododecane