Persistence of PCB congeners in capacitor workers and yusho patients

Abstract

The clearance rates of the major lower PCB congeners from the sera of a group of formerly PCB-exposed capacitor workers were estimated from levels measured 7.7 yr. apart, and compared with the corresponding rates reported for a group of yusho disease (chloracne) patients. It was found that the mono-ortho chlorinated congeners were cleared 3–7 times as fast in the yusho patients as in the capacitor workers, while the di-ortho chlorinated congeners were cleared 3–7 times more slowly. These alterations in the yusho patients' PCB metabolism were attributed to a PCDF-induced increase in the level of P-448 cytochromes and a corresponding depression in that of the ordinary (e.g., phenobarbital-induced) type of cytochrome P-450.