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Investigating intergenerational differences in human PCB exposure due to variable emissions and reproductive
Cristina L Quinn1, Frank Wania, Gertje Czub
1Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.
Environmental Health Perspectives
|December 16, 2010
Summary
Mothers' reproductive behaviors significantly impact children's polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure, influencing prenatal and postnatal levels more than the mother's lifetime exposure. Birth order and feeding type are key factors.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Toxicology
- Reproductive Epidemiology
Background:
- Reproductive behaviors like age of childbearing and breastfeeding have shifted concurrently with polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) emissions.
- These shifts may create intergenerational variations in human PCB exposure levels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate prenatal, postnatal, and lifetime PCB exposures for women based on birth year.
- To assess how reproductive characteristics influence intergenerational PCB exposure differences.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the CoZMoMAN mechanistic model for human PCB bioaccumulation calculations.
- Simulated both constant and time-variant PCB emission scenarios.
Main Results:
- Individual PCB exposure is primarily dictated by birth year relative to PCB emission history.
- Maternal reproductive history significantly affects children's prenatal and postnatal PCB exposures.
- Birth order influences prenatal exposure, while infant feeding type (breast milk vs. formula) impacts postnatal exposure.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal PCB exposure is often delayed, especially for those born post-PCB production phaseout.
- Health effects from environmental PCBs are likely to persist for decades, even after production bans.
