Recent data on levels of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyiethylene (DOE) in plasma samples of the general population in Germany

摘要

Background: Within the Stockholm convention in 2001, persistent organic pollutants like hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and the insecticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) have been banned worldwide. Their high persistence led to an ubiquituous distribution and an age-dependent background burden in blood of the general population that is still detectable today, more than 30 years after the cessation of their use in Germany. Aims: More recent data on the plasma levels of HCB and the persistent metabolite of DDT (p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene, DDE) in the German general population have not been collected since the last German Environmental Survey (GerES) for adults in 1997-1999.Therefore, we have examined plasma samples of a large group of the general population on the concentrations of both HCB and DDE within current projects of our institute. Methods: Plasma samples of 2585 persons (1477 m, 1108 f) aged between 20 - 69 years living in Northrhine-Westfalia were collected between June 2010 and December 2012 and investigated for POPs using GC/MS. Results: HCB and DDE were quantifiable in 99.8 % and 99.9 % of all samples (LOQ 0.01 μg/L plasma). The 95th percentiles for HCB and DDE in plasma of different age groups were as follows: age 20 - 29 years (n=481) 0.16 and 1.13 μg/L plasma, respectively; age 30 - 39 years (n=589) 0.18 and 1.65 μg/L plasma; age 40-49 years (n=659) 0.28 and 2.63 μg/L plasma; age 50 - 59 years (n=654) 0.53 and 4.49 μg/L plasma and age 60 - 69 years (n=216) 0.93 and 7.78 μg/L plasma. Conclusions: Compared to the 95th-percentile of the data of the last GerES in 1997-1999, we observed a 90%-reduction in the background burden to HCB and a 70%-reduction in the background burden to DDE (as compared to Western Germany). Our present data may serve as a more recent basis for the evaluation of individual blood levels for both substances within biological monitoring.