Please cite this article in press as: Fromme, H., et al., Occurrence of chlorinated and brominated dioxins/furans, PCBs, and brominated flame retardants in blood of German adults. Int. J. Hyg. Environ. Health (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2016.03.003 ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model IJHEH-12912; No. of Pages 9 International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health xxx (2016) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijheh Occurrence of chlorinated and brominated dioxins/furans, PCBs, and brominated flame retardants in blood of German adults. Hermann Fromme a,d,∗ , Bettina Hilger a , Michael Albrecht b , Wolfgang Gries c , Gabriele Leng c , Wolfgang Völkel a a Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Department of Chemical Safety and Toxicology, Pfarrstrasse 3, D-80538 Munich, Germany b Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Department of Pesticides, Contaminants, Nitrosamines, Radioactivity, Dioxins, Irradiation; Veterinaerstrasse 2, D-85764 Oberschleissheim, Germany c Currenta, CUR-SI-GS-Biomonitoring; D-51368 Leverkusen, Germany d Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Ziemssenstrasse 1, D-80336 Munich, Germany a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 7 December 2015 Received in revised form 15 March 2016 Accepted 21 March 2016 Keywords: PBDE PCDD PBDD PCB HBCD Blood a b s t r a c t Persistent organic pollutants are widespread in the environment, and are associated with a particular health and ecological concern. The human body burden of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and diben- zofurans (PCDDs/Fs), polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PBDDs/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenylether (PBDEs), and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) was determined. Blood samples were collected in Germany, originating from 42 randomly selected subjects between 20 and 68 years old. The median (95th percentile) concentrations, expressed as WHO 2005 -TEQ for PCDD/PCDFs and dioxin- like PCBs, were 6.2 (19.1) pg/g l.w. and 4.1 (8.8) pg/g l.w., respectively. PBDDs/Fs were found with a median of 2.8 pgTEQ/g l.w. and a 95th percentile of 8.7 pgTEQ/g l.w. (using similar interim TEF values as for PCDDs/Fs) On a median basis, the contribution of PCDD/Fs, dioxin-like PCBs, and PBDDs/Fs to total TEQ were 47%, 31%, and 21%, respectively. The sum of the 6 non-dioxin-like PCBs exhibited a median of 267 ng/g l.w. and a 95th percentile of 834 ng/g l.w. The median value for the sum of six tetra- to hepta-PBDE congeners was 1.7 ng/g l.w. (95th percentile: 4.9 ng/g l.w.). BDE 209 was the most abundant congener with a median of 1.8 ng/g l.w. HBCDs were only found in some samples, and concentrations ranged between the limit of detection (5 ng/g l.w.) and the limit of quantification (16 ng/g l.w.). Results for PBDEs and HBCDs are comparable to other European studies. Our study demonstrated that the body burden of PCDD/Fs and PCBs declined continously since the last three decades, but exposure may exceed precautionary guideline levels. © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are widely distributed throughout the environment and accumulate in fatty tissues and transfer through the food web. POPs are toxic to humans and wildlife. The Stockholm Convention listed initially (2001) twelve POPs that cause adverse effects in humans and the ecosystem, including the unintentional occuring polychlorinated dibenzo-p- dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDDs/PCDFs), and ∗ Corresponding author at: Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Depart- ment of Chemical Safety and Toxicology, Pfarrstrasse 3, Munich D-80538, Germany. E-mail address: hermann.fromme@lgl.bayern.de (H. Fromme). polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The Stockholm Convention demands that measures should be instituted to eliminate the production and use of substances listed in annex A as hexabro- mocyclododecanes (HBCDs) and tetra- to hepta-brominated diphenylethers (PBDE). Given their persistence, a continuous mon- itoring of POP levels in environmental compartments is reasonable Biomonitoring of POPs in human blood is a valid approach to deter- mine exposure to the time of sampling, identify time trends, and control taken measures (Porta et al., 2012). PCDD/Fs are not produced for industrial use, but they are ubiqui- tously distributed as unwanted and often unavoidable byproducts of numerous anthropogenic activities, such as incomplete combus- tion processes (EPA, 2003). In contrast, PCBs were produced for http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2016.03.003 1438-4639/© 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.