INTERNAL EXPOSURE TO HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES OF PERSONS FROM VARIOUS CONTINENTS - INVESTIGATIONS ON EXPOSURE TO DIFFERENT ORGANOCHLORINE COMPOUNDS

The aim of the study was to investigate the concentration of organochl orine compounds of environmental-medical relevance in biological mater ials from refugees with regard to their countries of origin and to com pare these concentrations with the internal exposure of the German gen eral population. Methods: During medical examination after entry to Ge rmany specimens could be taken from the refugees to determine the foll owing parameters of biological monitoring: 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(-chlor ophenyl)-ethylene (DDE-P), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB-P), pentachl orophenol (PCP-P) and the beta- and gamma-hexachlorocyclohexanes (beta -HCH-P, gamma-HCH-P) in plasma and the excretion of chlorophenols (4-M CP-U, 2,4-DCP-U, 2,5-DCP-U, 2,4,5-TCP-U, 2,4,6-TCP-U, 2,3,4,5-TeCP-U, 2,3,5,6-TeCP-U) in urine. One hundred and three men (13 from former Yu goslavia, 29 from the former USSR, 33 Africans and 28 Asians) ranging from 16 to 53 years of age (median 27 years) were investigated. Thirty four male Germans without occupational exposure to these substances a nd a similar age structure (age 25-36 years; median 26 years) served a s a control group. Results: A much higher level of internal exposure w as found for the DDT metabolite, DDE, for those persons from Asia, the former USSR and Africa compared with the German controls (medians: 16 .9 mu g/l, 11.9 mu g/l, 10.9 mu g/l and 1.1 mu g/l). The levels of PCB in plasma were below the detection limit in the majority of refugees. In the control group, however, the PCB levels were higher (Sigma PCB: median: 2.1 mu g/l, maximum: 13.3 mu g/l). The highest P-HCH concentr ations, up to a maximum of 15.5 mu g/l, were detected in the persons f rom the former USSR and Asia. The five groups do not differ with regar d to internal exposure to PCP and gamma-HCH. Renal excretion of 4-MCP, 2,4-DCP and TeCP did not differ between the five groups. The concentr ations of 2,5-DCP in urine, however, were significantly lower in the G ermans than the refugees from the four regions investigated. The media n for the Germans was 3.0 mu g/l and for the refugees between 10.8 and 14.7 mu g/l. Also the levels of 2,4,5-TCP and 2,4,6-TCP in urine were lower in the German controls than in the men from the former USSR, Af rica and Asia. Conclusions: Organochlorine compounds exist worldwide d ue to their extensive use. There are, however, regional differences fo r the various substance groups, which during biological monitoring are seen in the different background exposures of the general population. Particularly characteristic are markedly higher levels of DDE in plas ma from the refugees compared with the German population.