HUMAN FECAL PCDD F-EXCRETION EXCEEDS THE DIETARY-INTAKE/

A mass balance of human dietary PCDD/F-intake and fecal PCDD/F-excreti on was carried out. The participants of the study were seven male and seven female adults between the ages of 24 to 64 years, living in Nort h Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The PCDD/F-intake was measured using the duplicate method. Sampling time of each food duplicate covered three d ays. The fecal PCDD/F-excretion was measured by collecting the feces w hich corresponded to the food duplicates. The mean daily dietary PCDD/ F-intake was 49 pg I-TEq/d (range: 23 - 96 pg I-TEq/d) and therewith l ower than that estimated in the past. The mean daily fecal PCDD/F-excr etion was 98 pg I-TEq/d (40 - 200 pg I-TEq/d). This is twice the amoun t of the PCDD/F-intake. The fecal excretion of OCDD was especially hig her than the dietary intake(mean: 7 fold, range: 1.2 - 21 fold). The d ifferences between PCDD/F-intake and PCDD/F-excretion may be caused by a reduction of the body burden as a consequence of decreasing PCDD/F- intake. Other explanations were additional sources of exposure to PCDD /F or de novo formation of PCDD/F in the human body. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.