Polychlorinated dibenzo- p-dioxins/furans and polychlorinated biphenyls in human adipose tissue from Zhejiang Province, China

Abstract

This is the first report on polychlorinated dibenzo- p-dioxin/furan (PCDD/F) and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of human adipose tissue from China. A total of 24 human adipose tissue samples from a general population in Zhejiang Province were analyzed for PCDD/F and PCB by high-resolution gas chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry. Total PCDD/F concentrations in human adipose tissue ranged from 33.9 to 504 pg g −1 lipid (mean 108 pg g −1 lipid). Corresponding values for dioxin-like PCBs ranged from 4.1 to 125 ng g −1 lipid (mean 32.8 ng g −1 lipid). Mean total WHO toxicity equivalent (TEQ) values for PCDD/Fs and PCBs in human adipose tissue were 9.22 and 16.2 pg g −1 lipid, respectively. OCDD was the dominant PCDD/F congener, and 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF and 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDD accounted for more than 70% of the WHO PCDD/F TEQ. In all samples, PCB-118, PCB-156 and PCB-105 were the main PCB congeners. PCB-153 concentrations were the highest of all indicator PCBs (mean 52.5 ng g −1 lipid). The contamination levels and profiles are compared with those reported for European and Asian countries.