ELEVATED DIOXIN BLOOD-LEVELS IN RUSSIAN CHEMICAL WORKERS AND THEIR CHILDREN FOLLOWING MATERNAL EXPOSURE

Elevated dioxin levels in children of female workers with elevated dio xin body burden following workplace exposure has not been previously r eported. We previously reported elevation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p -dioxins, particularly 2,3,7,8-TCDD, in Russian male and female chemic al production workers' blood. Exposure is thought to have occurred in the early 1960s and blood was drawn in 1991.((1)) Among those with ele vated dioxin levels were women with grown children. Since dioxins can be transferred transplacentally((2)) and by nursing,((3,4)) it was dec ided to see if a relationship existed between blood dioxin levels in m others and their children. Individual samples were obtained from facto ry office workers, production workers and their now adult offspring. A pooled blood sample (n=100) from adult Ufa residents was obtained for comparison. Samples were analyzed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxi ns (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and coplanar polychl orinated biphenyls (CoPCBs). Office workers, production workers and wo rkers' children 2,3,7,8-TCDD (TCDD) blood levels ranged from 11 to 273 parts per trillion (ppt) on a lipid basis, while the pooled blood sam ple (n=100) from adult Ufa residents had a TCDD level of 12 ppt. Eleva ted TCDD was detected in all adult children of female production worke rs tested while two adult children of a male production worker had dio xin levels similar to the general population of Ufa. All children of w orkers had been nursed by their mothers for the first year of life and none have worked at a chemical plant. The data suggest that relativel y large amounts of TCDD were transferred from mother to child approxim ately 18 to 28 years prior to blood collection. A sample of 2,4,-D ami ne salt produced at this factory was also analyzed to determine if its dioxin congeners might be contributing to dioxin contamination. 2,3,7 ,8-TCDD was not detected in the 2,4-D (detection limit of 0.02 ppb), a lthough other dioxins were present, including some with 2,3,7,8- chlor ine substitution.