Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and dioxin concentrations in residential dust of pregnant women

Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins are well known for their persistence in the environment. PCBs can be found in the residential environment long after the use of these chemicals in domestic products and industrial processes has ceased. Dioxins have been assessed in Australia as being of very low concentrations. Despite concerns about residential dust as a source of human exposure to persistent chemicals, there has been limited testing of PCBs and dioxins in dust in Australia. As part of an assessment of maternal exposure to a variety of persistent toxic substances, we analysed 30 residential dust samples from a variety of geographical settings for their dioxin and PCB concentrations. PCBs were found in most samples, the median and range concentrations (pg g(-1)) of dominant congeners of PCB were as follows: PCB118 (315; <35.0-29 000), PCB105 (130; 14.0-16 000) and PCB156 (440; <5.00-2800). Dioxin concentrations were generally low with median concentrations for the total sum of dioxin-like polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) of 3.75 pg g(-1) each. There was a very high percentage of non-detects. Concentrations of both PCBs and dioxins were low compared with most studies reporting residential dust concentrations internationally. Age of dwelling was the only factor observed to influence both PCB congener concentrations and dioxin isomers in multivariate regression analyses. No other housing or sociodemographic variables, including proximity to industry, were important predictors in multivariate linear regression models.

Brominated, chlorinated and phosphate organic contaminants in house dust from Portugal

“…Dioxin-like PCBs showed median concentrations below the limit of detection (LOD) for all the congeners. In contrast, Hinwood et al (2014) measured the levels of dioxin-like PCBs in house dust samples from Australia and all congeners showed median concentrations over the LOD with the exception of PCB 169. PCB 118 showed the highest concentration, followed by PCB 156 and PCB 105 (Hinwood et al, 2014).…”

“…Hinwood et al (2014), for example, reported that dust concentrations of PCBs increased with the increased age of the houses. However, this trend was not noticeable in our survey, probably because most of the houses (82%) were built after the introduction of PCBs legislation.…”

Comparison of industrial emissions and carpet dust concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans in a multi-center U.S. study

“…A cross-sectional analysis of 30 homes in Australia observed a non-significant, positive relationship between self-reported proximity to industries and dust concentrations of PCDD/F in homes (Hinwood et al 2014). However, it was not possible to compare their results with our findings, because the specific types of industry queried and emission levels were not provided in their publication.…”

“…Further, older homes may have uncharacterized indoor sources of PCDD/F emissions (e.g., fireplaces) contributing to house dust contamination over time (Franzblau et al 2009). Studies have observed home age to be associated with increased dust concentrations of other persistent pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls in U.S. homes (Colt et al 2005; Whitehead et al 2014) and PCDD/F in Australian homes (Hinwood et al 2014). Single family homes consistently had higher PCDD/F concentrations compared to other home types, perhaps because they are impacted more by secondary transport of ground-level dust compared to other home types.…”

Quantum Chemical Investigation of Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins, Dibenzofurans and Biphenyls: Relative Stability and Planarity Analysis

“…For this analysis, energy values were used to evaluate the distribution of isomers using the Boltzmann distribution at 300, 600, and 900 K [40]. The results were compared to available data on the abundance of these compounds in nature [37,[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56]. A brief review of these data in the literature is shown in Supplementary Table S7.…”