MONITORING OF POLYCHLORINATED-BIPHENYLS IN HUMAN BLOOD-PLASMA - METHODOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS AND INFLUENCE OF AGE, LACTATION, AND FISH CONSUMPTION

Human plasma samples from 50 wives of fishermen have been analyzed wit h respect to PCBs. The non-orthosubstituted PCB congeners CB-126 and C B-169 were determined by mass spectrometry in negative ion chemical io nization mode, which demonstrated a limit of detection of 30 fg. The r ecoveries of the internal standards used for determination of ortho-su bstituted CBs were approximately 95%. Two methods, one gravimetric and the other based on enzymatic determinations of triglycerides, cholest erol and phospholipids, were compared for the determination of total a mount of lipids in the plasma samples; the correlation coefficient was 0.82 and the slope 0.98. For practical reasons, enzymatic determinati ons are recommended for further use. The total, lipid-adjusted concent rations of PCBs in plasma were influenced by age, total lactation time and consumption of fatty fish from the Baltic Sea.