Drexler H, Kerscher G, Liebl B, Angerer J
Institut für Arbeits-, Sozial- und Umweltmedizin der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen.
Gesundheitswesen. 2004 Feb;66 Suppl 1:S47-51. doi: 10.1055/s-2004-812767.
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) were manufactured between 1929 and 1989. Due to their great chemical persistence, these substances have been used for many different purposes. These chemical properties, however, caused PCB to accumulate in the food chain and resulted in background exposure of the general population. PCB has also been used as plasticizer for sealants in prefabricated buildings, thus causing problems to the present date. At the end of the 90-ties in a school in Nuremberg, Germany, elevated PCB concentrations were measured in indoor air. Some of these results were higher than 3,000 ng/m(3) which means decontamination according to the German "PCB directive". Press coverage made these results a matter of public debate, so that teachers, school children and parents were highly worried because of possible health effects. The Bavarian Minister for Health, Nutrition and Consumer Protection asked us to examine school children and teachers with regard to their internal PCB exposure and health complaints. A group of school children from a non-contaminated school served as controls. For the determination of PCB levels the plasma samples were blinded before analysis. Lower chlorinated PCB (PCB 28, 52, 101) were detected more often and in higher concentrations in plasma samples of school children of the contaminated school compared to the controls. The plasma levels of the higher chlorinated PCBs (PCB 138, 153, 180) did not show similar differences between exposed and non-exposed school children. The relative PCB doses additionally taken up in the contaminated school were less then 5 % of the background exposure of the children. That is why it could finally be concluded that no appreciable additional health risk may result from inhalation of PCB contaminated indoor air in this school. Due to the design, performance and interpretation of this study, including representatives of parents and teachers, these results were widely accepted by most of the parents who initially had been very concerned about possible health effects.
多氯联苯（PCB）于1929年至1989年间生产。由于其极强的化学稳定性，这些物质被用于许多不同用途。然而，这些化学特性导致PCB在食物链中积累，并造成普通人群的背景暴露。PCB还被用作预制建筑密封剂的增塑剂，因此至今仍引发问题。20世纪90年代末，在德国纽伦堡的一所学校，室内空气中检测到PCB浓度升高。其中一些结果高于3000纳克/立方米，这意味着要根据德国的“PCB指令”进行去污处理。媒体报道使这些结果成为公众辩论的话题，以至于教师、学童和家长因可能的健康影响而高度担忧。巴伐利亚州卫生、营养和消费者保护部长要求我们检查学童和教师的体内PCB暴露情况以及健康投诉。一组来自未受污染学校的学童作为对照。为了测定PCB水平，血浆样本在分析前进行了盲法处理。与对照组相比，受污染学校学童的血浆样本中，低氯代PCB（PCB 28、52、101）的检出频率更高且浓度更高。高氯代PCB（PCB 138、153、180）的血浆水平在暴露和未暴露的学童之间没有显示出类似差异。在受污染学校额外摄入的相对PCB剂量不到儿童背景暴露量的5%。因此最终可以得出结论，该校吸入受PCB污染的室内空气不会导致明显的额外健康风险。由于这项研究的设计、实施和解读，包括家长和教师代表的参与，这些结果被大多数最初非常担心可能健康影响的家长广泛接受。
