title: Public health assessment of dioxin-contaminated fish at former US airbase, Bien Hoa, Vietnam.
abstract: Ponds at the former US airbase at Ben Hoa, Vietnam are contaminated with Agent Orange. The ponds had been used for aquaculture, and in all likelihood, fish from those ponds have been sold to the public. We assessed human exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-dibenzo-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) in fish samples from the ponds. For on-base tilapia, muscle concentrations 2,3,7,8-TCDD ranged from 1.4 to 32.7 pg/g. Fat concentrations ranged from 73.3 to 3990 pg/g. Estimated human exposure doses exceed international guidelines and exceed 2,3,7,8-TCDD's lowest adverse effect levels. The Bien Hoa fishponds are a completed human pathway for TCDD exposure.
authors.affiliation: a Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry , Division of Community Health Investigations , Atlanta , GA , USA.
authors.forename: James T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Durant
authors.forename: Thomas G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Boivin
authors.forename: Hana R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Pohl
authors.forename: Thomas H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Sinks
mesh_terms: D015085:2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid / Q000633:toxicity; D015084:2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid / Q000633:toxicity; D000075182:Agent Orange; D000818:Animals; D017756:Aquaculture; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D005396:Fish Products / Q000032:analysis; D005399:Fishes; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D058749:Military Facilities; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity; D011634:Public Health; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D017210:Tilapia; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014744:Vietnam
chemical_list: D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D015084:2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid; D000075182:Agent Orange; D015085:2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid
keywords: 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-dibenzo-p-dioxin contamination; Agent Orange; dioxin contamination; fish; international issues; risk assessment