1,6,7,8,9,14,15,16,17,17,18,18-dodecachloropentacyclo[12.2.1.16,9.02,13.05,10]octadeca-7,15-diene

Endpoint summary

Description of key information

In three publications Dechlorane Plus concentration were reported being found in humans. Whereas concentrations found in serum and breast milk in e-waste recycling sites in China (reported as having poor industrial hygiene conditions) were in the range of up to 80 ng/g in serum and breast milk, concentrations found in Europe, near to a municipal waste incineration site, were significantly lower in the range of not detected to 7.04 ng/g lipid weight (mean of 1.20 ng/g lw).

Additional information

In a study published by Ren et al. (2009) threefold higher DP concentrations in blood serum of workers in electronic-waste dismantling industry (in Guiyu) were found compared to a cohort, living and working 50 km away in a fishery dominated area (Haojiang). Total DP levels (syn and anti) of 22.5 and 7.5 ng/g were found as mean values in Guiyu and Haojiang, respectively. F anti values (ratio of anti-DP concentration compared to total DP concentration) were found being significantly lower in Guiyu compared to Haojiang but the reason for this remains unclear, as e-waste is dismantled by incineration at temperatures exceeding the decomposition temperature of DP. F anti values in Haojiang are similar to f anti values as DP produced. Eighty percent of the families in Guiyu town were engaged in recycling work using primitive methods (including chipping and melting plastics without proper ventilation, burning coated wire to recover copper, removing electronic components from printed circuit boards, and burning unsalvageable materials in the open air). The second cohort consisted of 20 residents of Haojiang district, Shantou City, Guangdong Province, about 50 km east of Guiyu, where fishing was the predominant industry.

In a publication by Ben et al. (2013) it was shown that Sum of DP levels in women, living in an e-waste recycling area, increased with exposure time in serum and breast milk. Mean values of 37.7 and 2.67 ng/g serum lipid were found, and 71.5 and 4.84 ng/g breast milk lipid, respectively. Thus, women living 20 years and more in the area of exposure showed significantly higher Sum of DP concentrations compared to women living in the same area for 3 years and less, which is indicative of bioaccumulation. Concentration in breast milk via blood serum however was not observed. The study extends the knowledge that DP can bio-accumulate in maternal blood and may postnatally expose the breastfed infant via breast milk. A relatively consistent and stable partitioning relationship between milk and serum concentrations of syn-DP or anti-DP, on a lipid-adjusted basis, was found. This similar anti-DP fractional abundance in milk and serum appeared to indicate no occurrence of stereoselective DP bio-accumulation during the DP transport from blood to breast milk in human. Exposure from e-waste recycling activity was a dominant factor affecting DP levels in the study population.

Brasseur et al. (2014) reported on 48 serum samples taken in France in 2003 - 2005 in an area near Besancon, close to a municipal waste incineration site, and levels of DP were found in the range of not detected to 7.04 ng/g lipid weight (mean of 1.20 ng/g lw). Typical f anti values were not significantly different from commercial product f anti values. Despite the fact that no production sources have been identified in Europe to date, DP and related Dechloranes were detected, presumably due to exposure to DP resulting from waste incineration. The study indicates that at least part of the European population might be exposed to Dechloranes such as DP.