PARENT SESSION
SP8 - Environmental Contaminants in Marine Mammals
Chair: Krahn, Margaret1, 1 2725 Montlake Boulevard East, Seattle, WA, USA
Co-chair: Kucklick, John2, 2 219 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC, USA
2:10 PM to 5:30 PM - Sunday, 17 November 2002
Room Ballroom C
(151) Assessment of exposure to persistent organic pollutants in 5 Aleutian and Pribilof villages.
Middaugh, John1, Verbrugge, Lori*,1, Haars, Mike1, Schloss, Mindy1, Yett, Gerri1, Needham, Larry2, Patterson, Donald2, Turner, Wayman2, Sampson, Eric2, 1 State of Alaska Dept. of Health and Social Services, Anchorage, AK, USA2 National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA, USA
ABSTRACT- Reports of the presence of persistent organic polluntants (POPs) in Alaskan marine species have generated concerns regarding the safety of Alaska Native subsistence foods. To assess exposure of Alaska Natives to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), we drew blood from 168 adult volunteers from 5 Aleutian and Pribilof Island villages who were lifetime consumers of marine mammals and fish. All analyses for PCBs, chlorinated pesticides, dioxins and furans were performed by the environmental laboratory, National Center for Environmental Health, CDC. Of 166 bloods tested, the median PCB level (sum of 36 congeners) was 4.8 ppb (range 0-53.7 ppb). Of 40 women 15-44 years old, the median PCB level was 2.0 ppb (range 0-14.9 ppb). The mean level of overall dioxin equivalents was 17.1 ppt, lipid-adjusted. Median serum levels (ppb) were b-HCCH = 0.194, oxychlordane = 0.367, t-nonachlor = 0.825, pp-DDE = 7.54. Pesticide and PCB levels were strongly associated with age. The POPs levels observed in this assessment were similar to the limited national reference range data available, and to comparison populations from the contiguous United States and from other Arctic countries. Levels observed are not a cause for changes or restrictions in consumption of traditional subsistence foods, which are nutritious and provide many health and cultural benefits.
Key words: human health, exposure assessment, persistent organic pollutants, Alaska