Geographic and Ethnic Variations in Serum Concentrations of Legacy Persistent Organic Pollutants among Men in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Arctic Russia.

Yulia Varakina,Natalia Belova,Dmitry Lakhmanov,Andrej M Grjibovski,Yngvar Thomassen,Andrey Aksenov,Dmitry Kotsur,Valery Chashchin,Rimma Korobitsyna,Ludmila Popova,Jon Øyvind Odland,Tatiana Sorokina,Anna Trofimova

doi:10.3390/ijerph19031379

Abstract

The overwhelming majority of Arctic biomonitoring studies in humans include either pregnant or non-pregnant women of reproductive age while little attention is paid to toxic compounds concentrations in men. This study contributes with information of the present amounts of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in men living in Arctic Russia. We studied the serum concentrations of 11 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners and 17 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and some of their metabolites in samples collected from 92 adult men (mean age 43 years) from seven different settlements in Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO). The median concentrations of individual PCB congeners increased in the order PCB 183, PCB 180, PCB 118, PCB 138, PCB 153. The concentrations of o, p′-DDD, p, p′-DDD, aldrin, mirex and 1,2,3,5-TCB were in most cases below the quantification limit. The observed concentrations of PCBs and chlorinated pesticides were in the same range as those found in similar groups of women of these territories, but lower than of men in other Arctic countries. However, significant geographic differences between the settlements were observed with exceptionally high concentrations of PCBs in the Islands group. The highest serum ∑PCBs and β-HCH levels were observed in adult males aged 60–78 years. We found significant variations in serum concentrations of POPs across settlements and ethnic groups with exceptionally high concentrations of PCBs among the residents of the Arctic islands. At the same time, our findings suggest a considerable decrease in serum concentration of POPs over the last decade.

Highlights

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are hazardous toxic substances with a high affinity for lipids and long half-lives [1]
High levels of serum persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as p, p0 -DDE and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) 118, 153,138,180 and 183 have been reported in men in [10], the corresponding levels of serum POPs reported from the areas have been shown to be considerably lower than in, for example, northern Italy or southern Sweden [13,14]
The aim of this paper was to present geographic and ethnic variations in serum concentrations of POPs among men permanently living in Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO), European Arctic Russia

Summary

Introduction

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are hazardous toxic substances with a high affinity for lipids and long half-lives [1]. Some of these compounds, for example HCB or HCH, preferentially condense at temperatures about −30 ◦ C [2]. POPs enter the Arctic ecosystem through atmospheric circulation, oceanic currents, river flow and biological pathways with the risk for negative consequences for human health and the environment [3]. High levels of serum POPs such as p, p0 -DDE and PCBs 118, 153,138,180 and 183 have been reported in men in [10], the corresponding levels of serum POPs reported from the areas have been shown to be considerably lower than in, for example, northern Italy or southern Sweden [13,14]. A sufficient amount of evidence has been collected on deleterious effects of POPs on men’s health [2,9,13,15]

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