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Blood levels of polychlorinated biphenlys and organochlorinated pesticides in women from Istanbul, Turkey

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Abstract

The human body is not a chemically uncontaminated system. Every simple action that humans undertake, such as drinking water, eating, nursing, and even breathing air, puts the system under environmental xenobiotic exposure stress. Environmental chemicals have been shown to produce unwanted effects on health and remove the right to healthy living, starting from the first encounter in utero to geriatrics, throughout the lifespan. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels, important members of the persistent organic pollutants (POPs), have been detected before in human breast milk and also in the adipose tissue of women from different regions of Turkey; however, there was no information about the blood levels of these chemicals. This study generated the first information that evaluates OCP and PCB contamination levels in the blood of the women living in Turkey. The current study measured the blood concentrations of OCPs and PCBs in 58 healthy women (age 20–41 years; mean age 28 years) who were living in Istanbul, Turkey, in the years 2010–2012. Samples were analyzed for 29 OCPs and 18 PCB congeners using high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). PCB 153 was the predominant congener (643.2 pg/g lipid), followed by PCB 138 and PCB 180. 4,4′-DDE (24872.8 pg/g lipid) was the most common organochlorinated pesticide contaminant in studied blood samples. Results for analyzed chlorinated compounds were as follows: ∑PCB 2682 ± 3300 pg/g lipid; ∑DDT 25,938 ± 28,644 pg/g lipid; and ∑HCH 2930 ± 2222 pg/g lipid, respectively. The mean concentration of ∑WHOPCB-TEQ was 0.037 pg/g on a lipid basis. This information will be important base data during the assessment of the general health concerns of women, as well as for studies about how endocrine disruptors affect humans for forthcoming studies.

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Acknowledgment

This project is a part of and granted by the TUBİTAK-Helmholtz Research Institute joint research project.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Toxicology, Gazi University, Faculty of Pharmacy, 06330, Hipodrom, Ankara, Turkey

    Onur Kenan Ulutaş & Ismet Çok

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey

    Feyza Darendeliler, Banu Aydin & Asuman Çoban

  3. Molecular Exposomics, Helmholtz Zentrum München–Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany

    Bernhard Henkelmann & Karl-Werner Schramm

  4. Department für Biowissenschaften, Technische Universität München, Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan für Ernährung, Landnutzung und Umwelt, Weihenstephaner Steig 23, 85350, Freising, Germany

    Karl-Werner Schramm

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  1. Onur Kenan Ulutaş
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  2. Ismet Çok
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Ulutaş, O.K., Çok, I., Darendeliler, F. et al. Blood levels of polychlorinated biphenlys and organochlorinated pesticides in women from Istanbul, Turkey. Environ Monit Assess 187, 132 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4358-0

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