Body burden of organohalogenated pollutants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Romanian population: Influence of age, gender, body mass index, and habitat

Persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs) are highly lipophilic and resistant to degradation, hence these substances are commonly found in the environment even decades after their prohibition. The aim of the present study was to determine human serum concentrations of POPs and polycyclic aromatic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Science of the total environment 2019-03, Vol.656, p.709-716
Main Authors: Luzardo, Octavio P., Badea, Mihaela, Zumbado, Manuel, Rogozea, Liliana, Floroian, Laura, Ilea, Anca, Moga, Marius, Sechel, Gabriela, Boada, Luis D., Henríquez-Hernández, Luis Alberto
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Human serum
Organochlorine pesticides
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers
Polychlorinated biphenyls
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Romania
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs) are highly lipophilic and resistant to degradation, hence these substances are commonly found in the environment even decades after their prohibition. The aim of the present study was to determine human serum concentrations of POPs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Romanian population, investigating the role of demographic variables on the body burden of such chemicals. A cross-sectional study including a total of 121 subjects from Brasov (Transylvania region) was designed. The concentration of 62 chemicals, including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs) and PAHs, was measured by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) in the serum of the participants. p,p′-DDE and β-HCH were detected in 100% and 62% of the series (median values = 2.1 and 0.5 μg/L); PCB-153 was detected in 77.7% of the subjects and PCB-28 showed the highest median concentration (0.5 μg/L); BDE-47 was detected at a low concentration in 11.6% of the individuals; phenanthrene and naphthalene were present in 98.3% and 38.8% of the serum samples (median values = 0.9 and 6.5 μg/L, respectively). Age was the main determinant of the total body burden of OCPs and PCBs. A positive correlation was observed between p,p′-DDE and age (Spearman Rho = 0.312, P 
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.404