Human exposure and health risk of α-, β-, γ- and δ-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCHs) in Tianjin, China

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) 2005-08, Vol.60 (6), p.753-761
• Main Authors: Yang, Y., Tao, S., Wong, P.K., Hu, J.Y., Guo, M., Cao, H.Y., Coveney, R.M., Zuo, Q., Li, B.G., Liu, W.X., Cao, J., Xu, F.L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accumulation; Age Factors; bioaccumulation; Body Weight; Cancer risk; China; Crops, Agricultural; environmental exposure; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Pollutants - analysis; Exposure; Food Contamination; food intake; HCH (pesticide); HCHs; Humans; Insecticides - analysis; Isomerism; Lindane - analysis; longevity; longitudinal studies; Loss of life expectancy (LLE); loss of life expectency; Meat; Models, Theoretical; Monte Carlo Method; neoplasms; pesticide residues; Pesticide Residues - analysis; Risk Assessment; Seafood; toxicity; Uncertainty; Vegetables
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2005.04.024

The dynamic exposures to HCHs of individuals born between the years 1913 and 1993 in Tianjin have been simulated by connecting a fugacity model (IV) with a multimedia exposure model. Ingestion is the most important pathway for human beings to take up HCHs, and concentrations in the human body correlate with body weight changes. Accumulations of HCHs were derived assuming that the degradation in human body behaved linearly. The health risk of exposure to HCHs was measured using cancer risk and loss of life expectancy (LLE), and LLE was modified from its original definition to incorporate a dynamic calculation that takes variances in exposure into account. Monte-Carlo simulations were run to analyze the uncertainties of the model.