Dechlorane Plus in paired hair and serum samples from e-waste workers: Correlation and differences

Dechlorane Plus (DP) and a dechlorinated product of DP were measured in 34 matched human hair and serum samples (19 males and 15 females) collected from e-waste recycling workers in South China. The DP (sum of syn- and anti-DP) concentrations in hair and serum samples ranged from 6.3 to 1100 ng g−1 dry weight and from 22 to 1400 ng g−1 lipid weight (lw). The levels of anti-Cl11-DP ranged from 0.02 to 1.8 ng g−1 in hair and from not detected to 7.9 ng g−1 lw in serum. Significant positive correlations for both DP and anti-Cl11-DP concentrations between hair and serum samples were found (p < 0.05), indicating hair to be a suitable matrix for human DP exposure. However, a significant difference was found in the DP isomer composition between hair and serum, suggesting stereoselective bioaccumulation during the absorption of DP into hair. A sharp gender difference was found in the levels of DP in hair. Moreover, syn-DP, anti-DP and anti-Cl11-DP in hair significantly correlated with those in serum for male samples, but not for female samples. The observed gender differences in the present study may be, in part, ascribed to the much longer hair exposure time for females than males due to the difference in sampling distance from the scalp.