Human Exposure from Dioxins in Soil

Dioxins are a family of chemical compounds that has received considerable attention, both historically and currently. This article reviews scientific field studies that examine the relationship between living on soil contaminated with dioxins and the level of dioxins in people’s serum, with an empha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2012-02, Vol.46 (3), p.1296-1302
Main Authors: Demond, A, Franzblau, A, Garabrant, D, Jiang, X, Adriaens, P, Chen, Q, Gillespie, B, Hao, W, Hong, B, Jolliet, O, Lepkowski, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Factors
Air. Soil. Water. Waste. Feeding
Biological and medical sciences
Body Burden
Body Mass Index
Breast Feeding
Chemical compounds
Correlation analysis
Dioxins
Dioxins - analysis
Dioxins - blood
Environment. Living conditions
Environmental Exposure - analysis
Environmental Monitoring - statistics & numerical data
Female
Human exposure
Humans
Louisiana
Male
Medical sciences
Michigan
New Zealand
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Sex Factors
Smoking
Soil contamination
Soil Pollutants - analysis
Soil Pollutants - toxicity
Weight Loss
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Summary:Dioxins are a family of chemical compounds that has received considerable attention, both historically and currently. This article reviews scientific field studies that examine the relationship between living on soil contaminated with dioxins and the level of dioxins in people’s serum, with an emphasis on the University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study (UMDES), the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind. These studies conclude that the levels of dioxins in serum are most strongly correlated with age, gender, body mass index, weight loss, breast feeding, and smoking. Levels of dioxins in soil are not significant predictors for dioxin concentrations in serum. The increase in serum dioxin levels that is seen with age results from historic exposure and does not represent ongoing exposure. Based on the scientific field studies conducted to date, it appears that, in the absence of the consumption of contaminated animal products, there is little evidence of ongoing exposure from contaminated soil.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/es2022363