[Body burden of polychlorinated biphenyl compounds in whole blood of 7-10-year-old children in the area of a hazardous waste incineration facility].

Within the framework of a human biomonitoring project the distribution of foreign substances in the blood of children living in regions which were industrially polluted to differing extents was investigated. The results from children who lived in the neighbourhood of a hazardous waste incinerator plant (SVA) were compared with children from a control region with similar industrial pollution (Rhine Valley Control Region = RKR) and from a second control area with lower industrial pollution (Odenwald Control Region = OKR). PCB118, 138, 153, 170, 180, 183 and 187 were analysed in the blood of 348 children between 7 and 10 years of age. Indicators of exposure in the regression models, adjusted for age, sex and for other confounders, are the regions or places of residence (18 neigbourhoods). Children from the SVA area have for PCB170 (p = 0.02) and PCB180 (p = 0.007) higher average values (or for PCb with a low prevalence of detection) a greater relative chance of detection (PCB183: OR 2.00; 95%CI 1.08-3.69; PCB187: OR 1.99; 95%CI 0.97-4.09) than children in the OKR. Apart from gender of the child and sequential order of birth, behavioural characteristics, such as breast feeding, passive smoking and body-mass index, will contribute to explaining the variance of PCb. The results can presently be viewed only as a regional comparison of the three investigated groups. The effects seen here are small but statistically significant and indicate a regionally plausible pattern.