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Dioxin-Like TEQ of women from the Seveso, Italy area by ID-HRGC/HRMS and CALUX

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 15, pages 310–318 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are widespread environmental contaminants that exist as complex mixtures and are frequently detected at part-per-trillion (ppt) levels in humans. Using isotope dilution high-resolution gas chromatography/ high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS), we measure the PCDDs, PCDFs, and PCBs in serum of a population of 78 women residing in an area near Seveso, Italy where a TCDD explosion occurred in 1976 and where furniture is manufactured. The average total dioxin-like toxic equivalents (TEQ) of these women was 25.3 ppt, lipid-adjusted, comparable to other parts of Europe. TCDD levels, however, were higher among the few women who resided in the exposed area in 1976. We examined the possibility of using the CALUX (chemical-activated luciferase gene expression) bioassay to estimate total TEQ in a small volume of plasma from this population. A total of 32 archived plasma specimens were selected for CALUX bioassay, based on the distribution of Total TEQ by HRGC/HRMS. The CALUX bioassay was performed blind to HRGC/HRMS results with 2 ml plasma per replicate analysis. Of 32 samples, 10 were below detection limits in the CALUX bioassay. For the 32 samples, the CALUX-TEQ averaged 25.4 ppt, lipid-adjusted (range: 0–127.6) and was not significantly different from the HRGC/HRMS Total TEQ average of 31.2 ppt, lipid-adjusted (range: 12.7–88.3) (t=0.88, P=0.38), however, the two measures were not significantly correlated (Rs=0.04, P=0.82). More validation of the CALUX bioassay with larger sample volume is needed before application as an exposure measure in large-scale epidemiologic studies of health effects of dioxin-like compounds.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge Stefania Casalini, PhD for coordinating data collection at Hospital of Desio. We would especially like to thank the women who participated in this study. This study was supported by Grant Numbers R01 ES07171 and F06 TW02075-01 from the National Institutes of Health, R82471 from the US Environmental Protection Agency, EA-M1977 from the Endometriosis Association, 2P30-ESO01896-17 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and #2896 from Regione Lombardia and Fondazione Lombardia Ambiente, Milan, Italy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Marcella Warner & Brenda Eskenazi

  2. Division of Environmental Health Laboratory Science, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Donald G Patterson JR. & Wayman E Turner

  3. Xenobiotic Detection Systems, Inc., Durham, NC, USA

    George Clark

  4. Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Milano-Biococca, School of Medicine, Hospital of Desio, Desio-Milano, Italy

    Luigi Bonsignore, Paolo Mocarelli & Pier Mario Gerthoux

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  1. Marcella Warner
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Correspondence to Marcella Warner.

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Warner, M., Eskenazi, B., Patterson, D. et al. Dioxin-Like TEQ of women from the Seveso, Italy area by ID-HRGC/HRMS and CALUX. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 15, 310–318 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jea.7500407

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