Issue 2, 2011
From the journal:

Journal of Environmental Monitoring

Assessment of prenatal exposure to persistent organohalogen compounds from cord blood serum analysis in two Mediterranean populations (Valencia and Menorca)

Esther Vizcaino,a   Joan O. Grimalt,*a   Daniel Carrizo,a   Maria-José Lopez-Espinosa,bc   Sabrina Llop,bc   Marisa Rebagliato,bc   Ferran Ballester,bc   Maties Torrentcd  and  Jordi Sunyerce  

* Corresponding authors

a Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDÆA-CSIC), Jordi Girona, 18, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
E-mail: joan.grimalt@idaea.csic.es
Fax: +34 932045904
Tel: +34 934006100

b Center for Public Health Research (CSISP), Conselleria de Sanitat, Generalitat Valenciana, Avda Catalunya 21, Valencia, Spain

c Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Spain

d Area de Salut de Menorca, IB-SALUT, Menorca, Spain

e Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Doctor Aiguader 88, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Abstract

Prenatal levels of organohalogen compounds (OHCs), including polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorocyclohexanes and DDTs, have been investigated in two different cohorts from the Spanish Mediterranean area, Valencia and Menorca, by analysis of cord blood serum. Comparison of the observed median concentrations to other cohorts shows low PBDE levels (2.8–6.5 ng g−1lipid) but high values of HCB (0.68 ng ml−1, 260 ng g−1lipid) and PCBs (0.65 ng ml−1, 240 ng g−1lipid) in the cohort of Menorca indicating that Mediterranean areas, and not only high latitude regions, may contain population groups highly exposed to some of these pollutants. Significant differences in the concentrations of these compounds have been found between the two cohorts. Differences in maternal population such as age or body mass index cannot explain this variation. One possible cause of variability is the seven year time period elapsed between the two cohort recruitments but the strong differences observed do not allow exclusion of local diet differences. Thus, the different average PCB congener distributions between the two cohorts suggest an influence from materials containing diverse PCB mixtures. The congener mixtures found in Menorca could reflect a diet contribution from some western Mediterranean fish species. These results provide baseline information on prenatal OHC background levels in the Mediterranean area.

Graphical abstract: Assessment of prenatal exposure to persistent organohalogen compounds from cord blood serum analysis in two Mediterranean populations (Valencia and Menorca)

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/C0EM00483A
Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 Sep 2010
Accepted
11 Nov 2010
First published
13 Dec 2010

J. Environ. Monit., 2011,13, 422-432

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Assessment of prenatal exposure to persistent organohalogen compounds from cord blood serum analysis in two Mediterranean populations (Valencia and Menorca)

E. Vizcaino, J. O. Grimalt, D. Carrizo, M. Lopez-Espinosa, S. Llop, M. Rebagliato, F. Ballester, M. Torrent and J. Sunyer, J. Environ. Monit., 2011, 13, 422 DOI: 10.1039/C0EM00483A

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