Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs): A Primer for Practicing Clinicians

Abstract

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are environmental chemicals that persist in the environment for long periods of time. The UN, under the Stockholm Convention, has regulated many of these POPs. However, because of their long half-lives, human exposure persists for decades even after production has been stopped. The health effects are varied and range from skin rashes to developmental delays to cancer, depending on the level of exposure. This review is meant as a primer for practicing clinicians to help identify acute exposure, to provide guidance to questioning patients, and be well-informed with regards to policy changes. It touches upon human exposure, current regulations, and health effect of the persistent organic pollutants, including: dioxin, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), and the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A (BPA).

Plant–bacteria partnerships for the remediation of persistent organic pollutants

“…The dirty dozen included aldrin, dieldrin, DDT, chlordane, mirex, endrin, heptachlor, toxaphene, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dibenzodioxins, and dibenzofurans. In the following years, 11 more chemicals (Table 1) were added to the list due to their persistence and toxicity (Haffner and Schecter 2014). Although many of the developed countries have banned the production of most of the POPs, their use is still a common practice in most of the developing countries (Sharma et al 2014b).…”

An overview of detection techniques for monitoring dioxin-like compounds: latest technique trends and their applications

“…[14][15][16] Dioxin-like compounds contain 7 of the polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), 10 of the polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and 12 of the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). [14][15][16] Dioxin-like compounds contain 7 of the polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), 10 of the polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and 12 of the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).…”

“…17,18 Several molecular mechanisms are reported by which mixtures of dioxin compounds can cause toxicity in humans and wildlife. 1,15,19,23 This is known as the canonical mechanism to estimate toxicity of DLCs in bioassay methods. 1,15,19,23 This is known as the canonical mechanism to estimate toxicity of DLCs in bioassay methods.…”

“…16,19,22 In the nucleus, the ligand-AhR-Arnt complex connects to sequences of specic DNA and localized in the promoter sequences of various human genes. 9,15 Thus, the TEF values were estimated experimentally for each DLCs congeners to evaluate the total toxicity of DLCs based on a variety of endpoints, responses and uncertainties in the available data ( Table 1). 19,24,25 Finally, a luciferase enzyme will be produced based on luciferin substrate and mRNA translates to catalyze a bioluminescent reaction (Fig.…”

“…19,24,25 Finally, a luciferase enzyme will be produced based on luciferin substrate and mRNA translates to catalyze a bioluminescent reaction (Fig. 15,16 In complex mixtures, the TEQ is estimated based on multiplying the individual concentration of dioxin congeners by their respective TEF. Luciferase data is dened based on the relative light unit (RLU) in the exposed cells as the DLCs function has direct effect on the amount of light with dened proportion.…”