Elevated dioxin blood levels in Russian chemical workers and their children following maternal exposure.

Elevated dioxin levels in children of female workers with elevated dioxin body burden following workplace exposure has not been previously reported. We previously reported elevation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, particularly 2,3,7,8-TCDD, in Russia male and female chemical production workers' blood. Exposure is thought to have occurred in the early 1960s and blood was drawn in 1991. Among those with elevated dioxin levels were women with grown children. Since dioxins can be transferred transplacentally and by nursing, it was decided to see if a relationship existed between blood dioxin levels in mothers and their children. Individual samples were obtained from factory office workers, production workers and their now adult offspring. A pooled blood sample (n = 100) from adult Ufa residents was obtained for comparison. Samples were analyzed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (CoPCBs). Office workers, production workers and workers' children 2,3,7,8-TCDD (TCDD) blood levels ranged from 11 to 273 parts per trillion (ppt) on a lipid basis, while the pooled blood sample (n = 100) from adult Ufa residents had a TCDD level of 12 ppt. Elevated TCDD was detected in all adult children of female production workers tested while two adult children of a male production worker had dioxin levels similar to the general population of Ufa. All children of workers had been nursed by their mothers for the first year of life and none have worked at a chemical plant. The data suggest that relatively large amounts of TCDD were transferred from mother to child approximately 18 to 28 years prior to blood collection. A sample of 2,4,-D amine salt produced at this factory was also analyzed to determine if its dioxin congeners might be contributing to dioxin contamination. 2,3,7,8-TCDD was not detected in the 2,4-D (detection limit of 0.02 ppb), although other dioxins were present, including some with 2,3,7,8- chlorine substitution.