[Hexachlorobenzene content in the whole blood of children (author's transl)]

In the spring of 1975, samples of whole blood of 98 male and 96 female children from Upper Bavaria, of 1-18 years of age, were examined for hexachlorbenzene (HCB) by gas chromatographic methods. All blood samples contained HCB ranging in concentration from 2,6 to 77,9 ppb. The HCB concentration shows a positive, hyperbolic correlation with age, tending toward a limiting value of 22 ppb for boys and 17 ppb for girls. The rate of increase in HCB concentration is inversely proportional to the square of the age. The concentration profile suggests that a substantial amount of HCB apparently starts to show up 9-10 months after birth (environmental effects?). No change in HBC concentration could be found in those children with infectious diseases. Furthermore, regional differences could not be detected, although the impression was that the HCB content was higher in children from rural areas than in children from urban areas.