Dioxin exposure in a residential community

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) conducted biol ogical testing to assess dioxin exposure in residents of a community who li ved in an area with heavy chemical industry. Dioxin concentrations were mea sured in blood scrum samples from 28 adult residents of the community Fourt een of those tested had blood dioxin concentrations that exceeded the 95th percentile prediction level of an age-matched comparison population. Specif ic congener analyses indicated that the elevated dioxin concentrations were primarily due to high concentrations of 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p- diox in (TCDD), 1,2,3,7,8 pentachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (PeCDD), and hexachlorodib enzo-p-dioxins (HxCDs). Principal components analysis (PCA) indicated that the profiles of dioxin congeners were different in people with elevated blo od dioxin concentrations compared to those with background concentrations, Elevated blood dioxin concentrations were detected only in older members of the population, which suggests that dioxin exposures were higher in the pa st. The sources of the dioxin exposure have not been identified.