Concentrations and relationships between classes of persistent halogenated organic compounds in pooled human serum samples and air from Laizhou Bay, China

- Halogenated compounds were analyzed in pooled serum and air samples for the first time.
- Trends of compound concentrations in serum for different age groups were evaluated.
- Correlations between compound concentrations in serum and air were found.

Persistent halogenated organic compounds, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), dechlorane plus (DP), pentabromobenzene (PBBz), and pentabromotoluene (PBT), were analyzed in pooled human serum samples from different age groups and air samples from the south coast of Laizhou Bay, Shandong Province, China. The ∑25OCP and ∑8PBDE congeners were found at higher concentrations than the other compounds, with mean concentrations of 1500 and 240 ng/g lipid in serum and 330 and 140 000 pg/m3 in the air, respectively. PBBz and PBT were detected in every serum and air sample, with mean concentrations of 4.9 and 1.4 ng/g lipid in serum and 100 and 250 pg/m3 in air, respectively. In serum, the mean concentrations of ∑14PCBs and ∑ DP were 7.1 and 3.6 ng/g lipid, respectively, and in air, the mean concentrations of ∑12dioxin-like (DL-) PCBs and ∑ DP were 1.7 and 1.4 pg/m3, respectively. Different relationships were observed between the concentrations of different compounds in serum and the volunteers' ages, and the concentration distributions with age were closely related to the historic production and usage volumes of each chemical in China. The ubiquity of PCBs, OCPs, PBDEs, DP, PBBz, and PBT in serum and air is potentially concerning, and effective measures should be taken to control the concentrations of these chemicals in the environment and humans. Significant correlations were found between the chemical concentrations in serum and air, suggesting that inhalation may be an important exposure route for the residents of Laizhou Bay.