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Pharmacokinetics of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in Seveso adults and veterans of operation Ranch Hand

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 12, pages 44–53 (2002)Cite this article

A Corrigendum to this article was published on 24 April 2002

Abstract

A combined analysis of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) elimination in Seveso adults and Ranch Hand veterans found a period of fast elimination within the first 0.27 years after exposure in Seveso, followed by a period of slower elimination between 3 and 16.35 years from exposure. The mean TCDD elimination rate within the first 0.27 years after exposure among six adult males in the Seveso cohort was 2.0646 year−1 (half-life=0.34 years). The mean rate from 3 to 16.35 years was 0.1011 year−1 (half-life=6.9 years). The mean Ranch Hand elimination rate, 00924 year−1 (half-life=6.9 years), measured between 9 and 33 years after exposure, was significantly less than the Seveso mean in the first 0.27 years after exposure, but not significantly different from the Seveso mean between 3 and 16.35 years after exposure. The fast elimination within the first 0.27 years followed by a slower rate after 3 years is consistent with the expected pattern in a two-compartment open model, with a distribution phase of rapid elimination followed by a slower elimination phase.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the staff at the Human Systems Center, Brooks Air Force Base, for their support. Professor Mocarelli was partially supported by Grant No. 2896 from Regione Lombardia and by a grant from Fondazione Lombardia Ambiente, Milan, Italy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Air Force Research Laboratory, Brooks Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, USA

    JOEL E MICHALEK

  2. National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    JAMES L PIRKLE, LARRY L NEEDHAM,  DONALD G PATTERSON JR & SAMUEL P CAUDILL

  3. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA

    RAM C TRIPATHI

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

    PAOLO MOCARELLI

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  1. JOEL E MICHALEK
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Correspondence to JOEL E MICHALEK.

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MICHALEK, J., PIRKLE, J., NEEDHAM, L. et al. Pharmacokinetics of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in Seveso adults and veterans of operation Ranch Hand. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 12, 44–53 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jea.7500201

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