Polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated dibenzofurans in the tissues of patients with Yusho or Yu-Chen: total toxicity
There is increasing concern over the potentially adverse health effects associated with human exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCCDs), in view of the high toxicity associated with certain of their congeners and isomers. The most serious incident of PCB and PCDF poisoning in humans, referred to as Yusho, occurred in Western Japan in 1968 and involved the ingestion of rice oil contaminated with these compounds. A second similar mass food poisoning, Yu-Chen, took place in central Taiwan in 1979. High resolution capillary gas chromatographic (GC) analysis has provided an accurate quantitative assessment of the individual toxic congeners and isomers. However, it is presently impossible to assess, directly from the GC data, the total toxicity resulting from a mixture of these toxic substances in a particular tissue. It is the objective of this study to provide a method for determining the relative toxicity of each of these congeners and isomers in terms of an equivalent toxic concentration of TCDD so that the overall toxicity of the mixture may be evaluated. The applicability of this approach will then be demonstrated by the direct conversion of available Yusho and Yu-Cehn GC data to total equivalent toxicities of TCDD.
- Research Organization:
- Xenobiotics Corp., Albany, NY (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6877922
- Journal Information:
- Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.; (United States), Vol. 41:1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
BENZOFURANS
TOXICITY
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
ENZYME ACTIVITY
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
HYDROXYLASES
ISOMERS
JAPAN
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
PATIENTS
RISK ASSESSMENT
STEREOCHEMISTRY
AROMATICS
ASIA
CHROMATOGRAPHY
ENZYMES
FURANS
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDOREDUCTASES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SPECTROSCOPY
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology