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Changes in PCB serum concentrations among capacitor manufacturing workers.
M S Wolff1, A Fischbein, I J Selikoff
1Division of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029.
Environmental Research
|October 1, 1992
Summary
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in capacitor manufacturing workers. Lower chlorinated PCBs significantly decreased after elimination of PCB use, while higher chlorinated PCBs showed minimal change.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Toxicology
- Occupational Medicine
Background:
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants with known health risks.
- Capacitor manufacturing historically involved significant PCB usage.
- Assessing PCB elimination in occupationally exposed populations is crucial for understanding human depuration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the elimination kinetics of different Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in human serum.
- To determine the impact of cessation of Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure on serum concentrations in occupationally exposed individuals.
Main Methods:
- Serum samples were collected from 165 capacitor manufacturing workers over a 46-month period (March 1976-December 1979).
- Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations were analyzed using packed column gas chromatography (GC).
- Exposure cessation occurred in 1977, allowing for assessment of post-elimination trends.
Main Results:
- Lower chlorinated PCBs (LPCBs), primarily tri- and tetrachlorobiphenyls, showed significant reductions (25-90%) in serum concentrations.
- Higher chlorinated PCBs did not exhibit significant overall decrease, though some individual congeners declined by 15-25%.
- Observed decreases in Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener concentrations correlated with specific chlorine substitution patterns indicative of metabolic susceptibility.
Conclusions:
- Human elimination of lower chlorinated Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is demonstrable following cessation of exposure.
- Higher chlorinated Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) exhibit greater persistence in humans.
- Metabolic pathways play a significant role in the differential depuration of Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners.