title: Blood levels of polychlorinated biphenlys and organochlorinated pesticides in women from Istanbul, Turkey.
abstract: The human body is not a chemically uncontaminated system. Every simple action that humans undertake, such as drinking water, eating, nursing, and even breathing air, puts the system under environmental xenobiotic exposure stress. Environmental chemicals have been shown to produce unwanted effects on health and remove the right to healthy living, starting from the first encounter in utero to geriatrics, throughout the lifespan. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels, important members of the persistent organic pollutants (POPs), have been detected before in human breast milk and also in the adipose tissue of women from different regions of Turkey; however, there was no information about the blood levels of these chemicals. This study generated the first information that evaluates OCP and PCB contamination levels in the blood of the women living in Turkey. The current study measured the blood concentrations of OCPs and PCBs in 58 healthy women (age 20-41 years; mean age 28 years) who were living in Istanbul, Turkey, in the years 2010-2012. Samples were analyzed for 29 OCPs and 18 PCB congeners using high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). PCB 153 was the predominant congener (643.2 pg/g lipid), followed by PCB 138 and PCB 180. 4,4'-DDE (24872.8 pg/g lipid) was the most common organochlorinated pesticide contaminant in studied blood samples. Results for analyzed chlorinated compounds were as follows: ∑PCB 2682 ± 3300 pg/g lipid; ∑DDT 25,938 ± 28,644 pg/g lipid; and ∑HCH 2930 ± 2222 pg/g lipid, respectively. The mean concentration of ∑WHOPCB-TEQ was 0.037 pg/g on a lipid basis. This information will be important base data during the assessment of the general health concerns of women, as well as for studies about how endocrine disruptors affect humans for forthcoming studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, Gazi University, Faculty of Pharmacy, 06330, Hipodrom, Ankara, Turkey, onurkenan@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Onur Kenan
authors.initials: OK
authors.lastname: Ulutaş
authors.forename: Ismet
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Çok
authors.forename: Feyza
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Darendeliler
authors.forename: Banu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aydin
authors.forename: Asuman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Çoban
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Henkelmann
authors.forename: Karl-Werner
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Schramm
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000328:Adult; D000388:Air / Q000032:analysis; D001942:Breast Feeding; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D054879:Halogenation; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood*; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood*; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D008055:Lipids; D010575:Pesticides; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls