Dioxins in adipose tissue of women in Southern Spain

Seventeen polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) were quantified in adipose tissue samples of non-occupationally exposed women living in Southern Spain. Geometric mean levels of sum of congeners and WHOPCDD/F-TEQ2005 were 410 and 17.9 pg g−1 fat, respectively. Among PCDDs, octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (OCDD) showed the highest concentration with a mean value of 265 pg g−1 fat, followed by 1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDD (49.3 pg g−1 fat) and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD (45.2 pg g−1 fat). These three congeners were responsible for around 90% of the sum of all PCDD/F congeners in adipose tissue. The geometric mean 2,3,7,8-TCDD value was 1.87 pg g−1 fat. 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF (8.43 pg g−1 fat) showed the highest concentration among the PCDFs, followed by 1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDF (4.17 pg g−1 fat) and 1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDF (3.28 pg g−1 fat), and these three congeners were responsible for 4% of the sum of all studied PCDD/F congeners in adipose tissue and 76% of the sum of ten PCDFs. 1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDF was the only congener not quantified in any sample, while 1,2,3,4,7,8,9-HpCDF, 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDF, OCDF and 2,3,7,8-TCDF were found in 5, 16, 16 and 19 samples, respectively. All other congeners were quantifiable in all 20 samples. Congeners contributing most to the WHOPCDD/F-TEQ2005 were 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDD (31.6%), 1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDD (28.3%) and 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF (14.6%). The body burden of log-transformed WHOPCDD/F-TEQ2005 levels increased with age (B = 0.02; 95% CI = 0.01, 0.03; p = 0.02). Although these adipose tissue PCDD/F levels are similar to previously published findings in Spain and other European countries, further research is needed to determine trends in the exposure of women to these chemical residues.