title: Polychlorinated biphenyls in human hair at an e-waste site in China: composition profiles and chiral signatures in comparison to dust.
abstract: We analyzed the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in human hair collected from an electronic waste (e-waste) recycling area in southern China and compared their composition profiles and chiral signatures to those of workplace and domestic dust. The PCB concentrations showed significant age dependence in dismantling workers' hair but not in residents' hair. Among residents, PCB concentrations decreased in the following order: elderly people>students>pre-school children>adults. The PCB homologue and congener profiles of the workers' hair were similar to those of the workplace dust. However, the PCB homologue profile of the residents' hair was clearly different from that of the domestic dust. The chiral congener CB95 generally exhibited a racemic or near-racemic composition in both hair and dust, with enantiomer fractions (EFs) ranging from 0.485 to 0.525 in hair and from 0.479 to 0.504 in dust. The EFs of CB132 in dust (0.477-0.513) were closer to a racemic chiral signature than those in hair (0.378-0.521), but this difference was not significant. Our results suggest that the chiral signature of PCBs may be a better tool than the PCB composition profile for identifying the external and internal sources of organic contaminants in human hair. Further measurements of chiral PCB signatures in hair and blood from the same individuals are needed to identify the external and internal sources of PCBs in human hair.
authors: Center for Environmental Health Research, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Guangzhou 510655, China.
authors: Jing
authors: J
authors: Zheng
authors: Xiao
authors: X
authors: Yan
authors: She-Jun
authors: SJ
authors: Chen
authors: Xiao-Wu
authors: XW
authors: Peng
authors: Guo-Cheng
authors: GC
authors: Hu
authors: Ke-Hui
authors: KH
authors: Chen
authors: Xiao-Jun
authors: XJ
authors: Luo
authors: Bi-Xian
authors: BX
authors: Mai
authors: Zhong-Yi
authors: ZY
authors: Yang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D059029:Electronic Waste / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls