Remote coastal populations that rely on seafood for subsistence often receive unusually high doses of organochlorines and methyl mercury. Immunosuppression resulting from prenatal exposure to organochlorines has been reported in wildlife species and humans. In this study, we assessed lymphocyte activation and associated cytokine secretion in 47 newborns from a remote maritime population living ...

Mixtures of organochlorine compounds have the potential for additive or interactive toxicity to organisms exposed in the stream. This study uses a variety of methods to identify mixtures and a modified concentration-addition approach to estimate their potential toxicity at 845 stream sites across the United States sampled between 1992 and 2001 for organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated b...

The Columbia River receives numerous contaminants from permitted municipal and industrial discharges, nonpoint pollution, accidental spills, and hazardous waste sites. Studies by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others have documented bioaccumulation of organochlorine contaminants in fish and wildlife in or along the river, and these compounds have been associated with poor reproductive s...

We used data from a breast cancer pilot study carried out in Kerala, India in 1997, for which organochlorine levels were measured in three biological media, blood serum, breast adipose tissue, and gluteal adipose tissue, of 37 fasting breast cancer cases (pretreatment). Our objective was to investigate the relationships between organochlorine concentrations in different biological media. Gas-li...

To investigate the influence of eutrophication on organochlorine dynamics in lotic systems, we related polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in brown trout (Salmo trutta) to the periphyton density and total phosphorus concentrations (Tot-P) in 10 Swedish rivers. Tot-P concentrations in the water ranged from 37 6 4 to 156 6 51 mg L21. Periphyton density in the rivers during the experimen...

Organochlorines are persistent lipophilic compounds that accumulate in Inuit people living in circumpolar countries. Organochlorines accumulate as a result of the Inuits' large consumption of sea mammal fat; however, available data are limited to blood lipids, milk fat, and adipose tissue. We report results of organochlorine determination in liver, brain, omental fat, and subcutaneous abdominal...

Persistent organochlorines such as DDT and its metabolites (DDTs), hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), chlordane compounds (CHLs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in whole-body homogenates of resident and migratory birds collected from South India. Organochlorine contamination pattern in birds varied depending on their migratory behaviour. Residen...

BACKGROUND Thyroid hormones are important regulators of brain development. During critical periods of development, even transient disorders in thyroid hormone availability may lead to profound neurologic impairment. Animal experiments have shown that certain environmental pollutants, including heavy metals and organochlorine compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins, can in...

BACKGROUND Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) is caused by hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in several species of laboratory mammals, but the human evidence is contradictory. In a study among adults of a population highly exposed to HCB (Flix, Catalonia, Spain), the prevalence of PCT was not increased. We aimed at analysing the association of individual urinary porphyrins with the serum concentrations of HCB...

Exposure to certain environmental toxicants may be associated with increased risk of developing diabetes. The authors' aim was to investigate the relation between lifetime exposure to specific agricultural pesticides and diabetes incidence among pesticide applicators. The study included 33,457 licensed applicators, predominantly non-Hispanic White males, enrolled in the Agricultural Health Stud...