Priority persistent contaminants in people dwelling in critical areas of Campania Region, Italy (SEBIOREC biomonitoring study)

To investigate if protracted living in degraded environments of the Caserta and Naples provinces (Campania Region, Italy) had an impact on exposure of local people, highly toxic persistent contaminants were measured in blood, blood serum, and human milk of a large number of healthy donors. Sampling was carried out from 2008 to 2009. Blood was collected from over 850 20-64-year old donors; by pooling, 84 blood and 84 serum samples were obtained. Milk was donated by 52 mothers: specimens were pooled into six samples. Polychlorodibenzodioxins (PCDDs), polychlorodibenzofurans (PCDFs), and polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs, dioxin-like (DL) and non-dioxin-like (Sigma(6)PCBs)), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) were measured in serum (organic biomarkers) and blood (metals); these chemicals and polybromobiphenyl ethers (Sigma 9PBDEs) were analyzed in milk. PCDD + PCDF, DL-PCB, TEQ(TOT), and Sigma 6PCB concentration ranges (medians) in serum were 6.26-23.1 (12.4), 3.42-31.7 (11.5), 10.0-52.8 (23.9) pgTEQ(97)/g fat, and 55.5-647 (219) ng/g fat, respectively, while in milk concentration ranges were 5.99-8.77, 4.02-6.15, 10.0-14.2 pgTEQ(97)/g fat, and 48.7-74.2 ng/g fat. Likewise, As, Cd, Hg, and Pb findings in blood spanned 2.34-13.4 (5.83), 0.180-0.930 (0.475), 1.09-7.60 (2.60), 10.2-55.9 (28.8) mu g/L, respectively; only Pb could be measured in milk (2.78-5.99 mu g/L). Sigma 9PBDE levels in milk samples were 0.965-6.05 ng/g fat. Biomarkers' concentrations were found to be compatible with their current values in European countries and in Italy, and consistent with an exposure primarily determined by consumption of commercial food from the large distribution system. Based on relatively higher biomarker values within the hematic biomonitoring database, the following municipalities were flagged as possibly deserving attention for health-oriented interventions: Brusciano and Caivano (As), Giugliano (Hg), Pianura (PCDDs + PCDFs), and Qualiano-Villaricca (As, Hg). The analysis of samples' qualitative variability indicated that biomarker composition was sensitive at municipality level, a feature that can potentially drive interventions for future local risk assessment and/or management measures. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.