An investigation of homes with high concentrations of PCDDs, PCDFs, and/or dioxin-like PCBs in house dust.
As part of the University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study, the 29 congeners of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls that have World Health Organization consensus toxic equivalency factors were measured in house dust from 764 homes using a population-based sampling design over selected regions in five Michigan counties. Twenty homes had a total toxic equivalency in house dust that was more than 2.5 standard deviations above the mean (i.e., defined to be outliers). This follow-up investigation describes the outlier house dust measurements and corresponding soil measurements and explores possible sources of these toxins in house dust. The congener distributions in the house dust outliers varied and were dominated (i.e., >50% of the total toxic equivalency) by either polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (n = 9), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (n = 1), or dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (n = 9). Likely sources of contamination of house dust were identified in only three cases. In two cases, dust contamination appeared to be related to contaminated soil adjacent to the home; in one case, contamination was related to a source within the home (a carpet pad). In most cases, the source(s) of contamination of house dust could not be identified but appeared likely to be related to uncharacterized sources within the homes.
Franzblau
Alfred
A
Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2029, USA. afranz@umich.edu
Zwica
Lynn
L
Knutson
Kristine
K
Chen
Qixuan
Q
Lee
Shih-Yuan
SY
Hong
Biling
B
Adriaems
Peter
P
Demond
Avery
A
Garabrant
David
D
Gillespie
Brenda
B
Lepkowski
James
J
Luksemburg
William
W
Maier
Martha
M
Towey
Tim
T
D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D004147:Dioxins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood
D001572:Benzofurans; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D004147:Dioxins; D004391:Dust; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls