| Title: |
Steady state and episodic PCB congeners in human breast milk samples from the Czech Republic
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| Resource Type: |
document --> technical publication --> proceedings / conference paper(s)
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| Country: |
EU Projects
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| Year of publication: |
2003 |
| Availability: |
Koštálová, L. et al. (2003) Steady state and episodic PCB congeners in human breast milk samples from the Czech Republic. Persistent Toxic Substances Contamination of the European Region as a reflection of results of the GEF/UNEP Regional Based Assessment of Persistent Toxic Substances (RBA PTS) in Europe, the implementation of the Stockholm Convention and 'Community Strategy for Dioxins, Furans and PCBs
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| Author 1/Producer: |
Koštálová, L.
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| Other Authors/Producers: |
Ciganek, M., Èerná, M., Hansen, L., Machala, M.
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| Author / Producer Type: |
EC Project
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| Format (e.g. PDF): |
PDF
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EUGRIS Keyword(s): |
Diffuse pollution-->Diffuse pollution overview
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| Short description: |
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) occur in very complex mixtures and elicit multiple toxic modes of action. However, despite these facts, only seven individual PCB congeners are routinely monitored and risk assessment is currently based only on a single mechanism of toxicity - relative potencies of PCBs to induce aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) which is associated with particular set of toxic effects called dioxin-like activity (van den Berg et al., 1998). The major tasks in the study of impact of PCBs on human health and wildlife include: 1) chemical analysis for chemical data on concentrations of a broader number of PCB congeners in various environmental, food and human samples, and 2) definition of alternative non-dioxin-like mechanisms of action. In this pilot study, a GC/ECD and GC/MS analysis of more than thirty PCBs was used for determination of PCB concentrations in human breast milk samples collected in an industrial Czech region. Besides mono-ortho-chlorinated and coplanar PCBs, which belong to AhR inducers, and prevalent di-ortho-chlorinated (non-coplanar) PCBs, a series of episodic congeners was included in the study. Episodic PCBs are those congeners which occur in significant levels but at lower frequences in human samples due to specific sources of acute exposure (Rose et al., 2002). The term „episodic“ indicates that their brief appearance can be associated with an episode of exposure. Similarly to a large number of non-coplanar PCBs, which neurotoxic, endocrine-disrupting and other adverse effects are entirely underestimated in the process of currently used risk assessment, the episodic PCBs may have important implications for epidemiology and risk assessment and can help to identify sources of human exposure (Rose et al., 2002).
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Submitted By:
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Dr Stefan Gödeke WhoDoesWhat?
Last update: 14/02/2006
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