Hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls in human sera from adolescents and their mothers living in two U.S. Midwestern communities

Abstract

Hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs) have been detected in human specimens and some are suspected as being more toxic than their parent compounds. We compared 58 OH-PCB congeners (in 51 chromatographic peaks) in serum samples from participants in the AESOP Study, a longitudinal cohort study of adolescents and their mothers living in urban and rural areas in the United States. We hypothesized that adolescents would have lower levels of OH-PCBs than their mothers and that serum concentration of OH-PCBs would be stable over a 3-year period. We found statistically significant differences in Σ64 OH-PCBs between age groups in East Chicago (p=0.001) and Columbus Junction (p<0.001), with adolescents having lower concentrations than their mothers. We observed that lower-chlorinated OH-PCBs were rarely detected, suggesting that they are not retained in serum and/or rapidly biotransformed into other forms. Twelve OH-PCBs, including several that are rarely reported (4,4′-diOH-PCB 202, 4′-OH-PCB 208, and 4-OH-PCB 163) were detected in over 60% of participants. Lastly, from repeated measures within subject serum for three OH-PCBs, concentrations of 4-OH-PCB 107 and 4-OH-PCB 187 changed significantly over three years of the study.

Serum polychlorinated biphenyls and their hydroxylated metabolites are associated with demographic and behavioral factors in children and mothers

“…33, 35 In brief, PCBs were quantified using a modified version of U.S. EPA method 1668 with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). A total of 174 chromatographic peaks were observed, which represented all 209 PCB congeners as single or co-eluting congeners.…”

“…A total of 64 OH-PCBs were quantified as single or co-eluting MeO-PCBs in 57 chromatographic peaks. 35 Among the 83 households included in the present study, PCBs data were available from 82 households and OH-PCBs data were available in 74 households, respectively.…”

“…Full details of quality control results were presented in our previous studies. 33, 35 Limit of quantification (LOQ) was determined based on the mean plus twice the standard deviation of method blanks. Each congener had its own LOQ value and samples below the LOQ value were assigned a value of zero.…”

“…Concentration and detection frequency of PCBs are available in SI, Table S2 while those for OH-PCBs were previously published. 35 …”

Airborne PCBs and OH-PCBs Inside and Outside Urban and Rural U.S. Schools

“…Aroclor and non-Aroclor PCBs and their hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PCBs) have been measured in people around the world including children. 2, 26–29 Although OH-PCBs are recognized as human 28, 30 and plant 31 metabolites of PCBs, they are also emerging as abiotic environmental contaminants of water, 32 sediment and Aroclors, 33 and outdoor air. 34 Exposure of school-age children to PCBs and OH-PCBs is particularly concerning because these compounds are carcinogenic to humans, 35 target the endocrine system, 36, 37 and are linked to neurodevelopmental disorders.…”