~ ) Pergamon Chemosphere, Vol. 38, No. 5, pp. 1123-1133, 1999 © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved 0045-6535/99/$ - see front matter ell: S0045-6535(98)00363-4 DIOXIN AND DIBENZOFURAN CONCENTRATIONS IN BLOOD OF A GENERAL POPULATION FROM TARRAGONA, SPAIN M. Schuhmacher 1, J.L. Domingo 2, J.M. Llobet 2, G. Lindstr6m 3 and H. Wingfors 3 1Environmental Engineering Laboratory, "Rovira i Virgili" University, 43007 Tarragona, Spain 2Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, "Rovira i Virgili" University, San Lorenzo 21, 43201 Reus, Spain 31nstitd'Jte of Environmental Chemistry, Umea University, 901 87 Umea, Sweden (Received in Germany 24 March 1998; accepted 8 June 1998) ABSTRACT The concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) were determined in plasma samples of 20 nonoccupationally exposed subjects living in the vicinity of a new hazardous waste incinerator (HWI), now under construction in Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain). The mean PCDD/F value was 27.0 pg I-TEQ/g lipid with a range from 14.8 to 48.9 pg I-TEQ/g lipid. All samples showed higher PCDD than PCDF levels. Although PCDD/F concentrations were higher in women (27.7 pg I-TEQ/g lipid) than in men (25.2 pg I-TEQ/g lipid), the difference was not statistically significant. While a significant correlation (r = 0.565, p < 0.01) between the age of the subjects and the levels of PCDD/F in plasma could be observed, no significant differences were found in relation to the specific residential area. The plasma concentrations of PCDD/F obtained in the current study are discussed and compared with the results of similar investigations reported in the last two years. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Key-words: plasma levels of PCDD/F, nonoccupationally exposed subjects, Tarragona (Spain). INTRODUCTION The presence of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in the environment constitutes a serious public health problem. Although 1123