Persistent organic compounds in women residing in the Russian Arctic.

Within the framework of a joint Russian-Norwegian project on human health assessment under the eight-nation Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, a study of persistent organic compounds was conducted in 42 non-indigenous women who delivered in the hospitals of Norilsk and Salekhard during February and March 1995. Samples of venous blood, breast milk, umbilical cord blood, and placental tissue were collected. The concentration of organochlorines (chlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls) was estimated by high-resolution gas chromatography, and levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector. The results obtained are related to, first, the global transport of organochlorine contaminants not used in Arctic, and second, the level of local food consumption, especially freshwater fish, smoked and dried. A comparison of the results of this study with the data of the Inuit Health Survey was made. This has shown that the discrepancy between Canadian and Russian data may be explained by differing dietary factors.