The University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study: Estimating residential soil and house dust exposures to young children

The University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study provides extensive data on elevated residential soil and house dust concentrations of polychlorinated dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and adult body burdens among residents near a chemical manufacturing plant in Midland, Michigan. Recent reports found no significant contribution of residential soil/dust concentrations to serum lipid PCDD/Fs in adults. Although child body burdens were not studied by the University of Michigan, internal dose modeling that incorporates recent findings on demonstrated shorter elimination half life of PCDD/Fs in children (1–2 year half life in children vs. ∼7 years in older adults) can be applied to assess this important issue. The model examines children (ages 0–7 years) with background dietary intake and exposure to residential soils at selected concentrations (10, 100 and 1000 pg/g 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin toxic equivalents, TEQ) using the congener patterns observed in Midland. Model predictions assuming 50th percentile TEQ uptake from soil/dust-related dermal and ingestion exposures indicate no measurable changes in serum lipid TEQ concentrations up to 1000 pg/g in soil/dust. Assuming 95th percentile uptake, the model shows no measurable serum lipid TEQ change up to 100 pg/g in soil/dust, but serum lipid TEQ levels rose ∼2 pg/g at 1000 pg/g in soil/dust. Since the vast majority of soil/dust data were below 100 pg/g, Michigan children exposed to such soil/dust TEQ concentrations are not reasonably expected to exhibit measurable changes in serum lipid TEQ concentrations when compared to typical background dietary exposures. With adequate data, this approach can be applied to evaluate child dose and risk for other persistent chemicals.

► We estimate serum dioxin TEQ from diet and soil/dust for children (age 0–7) in Midland, Michigan, USA.
► The approach accounts for shorter half life for dioxin TEQ in children from published kinetics data.
► Soil TEQ up to 1000 pg/g will not measurably increase serum dioxins at 50th percentile child uptake.
► As in Midland adults, child intake of dioxin TEQ is dominated by dietary intake: dairy, meat and fish.