External exposure and bioaccumulation of PCBs in humans living in a contaminated urban environment.

ABSTRACT: Humans are exposed to different mixtures of PCBs depending on the route of exposure. In this study we investigated the potential contribution of inhalation to the overall human exposure to PCBs in an urban area. For this purpose, the mechanistically based, non-steady state bioaccumulation model ACC-HUMAN was applied to predict the PCB body burden in an adult living in the Midwestern United States who eats a typical North American diet and inhales air contaminated with PCBs. Dietary exposure was estimated using measured data for eighteen PCB congeners in different food groups (fish, meat and egg, dairy products). Two scenarios for inhalation exposure were evaluated: one using air concentrations measured in Chicago, and a second using air measurements in a remote area on Lake Michigan, Sleep

SUBMITTER: Norstrom K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2891214 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature