Organochlorine pesticide concentrations in pooled serum of people in different age groups from five Chinese cities.

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were determined in human serum samples pooled by donor age (≥60, 50-59, 40-49, 30-39, and 20-29y). The pooled samples were supplied by hospitals in five Chinese cities, Yitong (Jilin Province), Weifang (Shandong Province), Ganzi (Sichuan Province), Huaihua (Hunan Province), and Lingshui (Hainan Province). p,p'-Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), β-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), and endosulfan I were the dominant OCPs in the serum samples. The total OCP concentrations and individual concentrations of p,p'-DDE, HCB, and β-HCH were relatively high compared with concentrations that have been found in other parts of the world. The total OCP, p,p'-DDE, and β-HCH concentrations decreased as age decreased but the HCB and endosulfan I concentrations were slightly higher in the samples from younger donors than in samples from older donors. HCB must be currently used and have new sources to people to cause this. Chinese government policies and the characteristics of the OCPs have led to OCP concentrations in serum decreasing with decreasing age. Different OCP usage patterns in different Chinese cities have led to the inhabitants of different cities having different OCP distributions in their serum.