OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was quantify organochlorine compounds in women seeking for infertility treatment (n = 15) and in spontaneously pregnant ones (n = 21). MATERIALS AND METHODS A questionnaire was applied regarding lifestyle, occupational and reproductive history. Blood samples were collected from both groups. RESULTS From the pesticides studied, pp'DDE was detected in 100% of in...

All chemicals that are not normal constituents of human milk should be considered undesirable contaminants. In the present review, the following substances detected in human milk are considered: persistent organochlorine pesticides; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB); polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDD) and dibenzofurans (PCDF); polybrominated compounds; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH); t...

Prevalence of asthma increases with increasing dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) levels. However, the effect of early-life exposure, the fundamental window of exposure, is unknown. We assessed the association between prenatal DDE and other organochlorine compounds, and atopy and asthma during infancy. All women presenting for antenatal care in Menorca (Spain) over 12 months starting in mid...

Methods are described for obtaining quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) for the estimation of quantities of environmental interest. Toxicities of alkylamines and of alkyl alkanoates are well correlated by the alkyl bioactivity branching equation (ABB). Narcotic activities of 1,1-disubstituted ethylenes are correlated by the intermolecular forces bioactivity (IMF) equation. When...

Organochlorine and mercury (Hg) pollution has been one possible reason for a decline in the size of the population of the Saimaa ringed seal (Phoca hispida saimensis) in Lake Haukivesi, Finland. In this study, we analyzed changes in the concentrations of organochlorine compounds (OCls) and extractable organic halogen (EOX) in the blubber of Saimaa ringed seals that died from 1981 to 2000. In ad...

The objective of this study was to evaluate cancer mortality in pulp and paper industry workers exposed to chlorinated organic compounds. We assembled a multinational cohort of workers employed between 1920 and 1996 in 11 countries. Exposure to both volatile and nonvolatile organochlorine compounds was estimated at the department level using an exposure matrix. We conducted a standardized morta...

Heavy metal and organochlorine (OC) concentrations, including organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (PCBs), were determined in arctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryi) from three sites in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska in 1991– 93. Heavy metals were present in most squirrel livers collected, with concentrations of trace elements (As, Cd, Hg, Ni, and Pb) aver...

Concentrations of the principal organochlorine insecticides were determined in eggs and freshly dead chicks of the Squacco heron (Ardeola ralloides), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), as well as in frogs (Rana sp.), the main heron prey. Material was collected from the wetlands of the Thermaikos Gulf (Macedonia, northern Greece) in 1992 and 1993. Residues o...

BACKGROUND Diabetes is a major threat to public health in the United States and worldwide. Understanding the role of environmental chemicals in the development or progression of diabetes is an emerging issue in environmental health. OBJECTIVE We assessed the epidemiologic literature for evidence of associations between persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and type 2 diabetes. METHODS Using ...

INTRODUCTION Prenatal exposure to some pesticides can adversely affect male reproductive health in animals. We investigated a possible human association between maternal exposure to 27 organochlorine compounds used as pesticides and cryptorchidism among male children. DESIGN Within a prospective birth cohort, we performed a case-control study; 62 milk samples from mothers of cryptorchid boys ...