Previously identified and unidentified polybrominated biphenyl congeners in serum from people living in an electronic waste dismantling area in China

Shijie Wang; Jingxi Jin; Chen Guo; Zhigang Li; Ying Wang; Yongjie Wei; Jun Jin

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130478

Previously identified and unidentified polybrominated biphenyl congeners in serum from people living in an electronic waste dismantling area in China

Chemosphere. 2021 Sep:279:130478. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130478. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Authors

Shijie Wang¹, Jingxi Jin¹, Chen Guo², Zhigang Li³, Ying Wang⁴, Yongjie Wei⁵, Jun Jin⁶

Affiliations

¹ College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China.
² Department of Laboratorial Science and Technology, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China.
⁴ College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China; Engineering Research Center of Food Environment and Public Health, Beijing, 100081, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China; Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, China. Electronic address: weiyj@craes.org.cn.
⁶ College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China; Engineering Research Center of Food Environment and Public Health, Beijing, 100081, China. Electronic address: junjin3799@126.com.

PMID: 33857646
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130478

Abstract

The effects of polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) on human health have previously attracted much attention, but recent studies of PBBs have been focused on BB-153 and a few other congeners. PBB concentrations in serum samples from residents of an area containing an electronic waste dismantling site were determined in this study. The total PBB concentrations (i.e., the sums of the concentrations of the 35 PBB congeners) were 229-1360 ng/g lipid. The BB-153 concentrations were markedly higher in the samples from people living in the electronic waste dismantling area than in samples from people living in a nearby control area. BB-153 was found in all of the samples from the study exposure area but the concentrations were relatively low (0.07-4.70 ng/g lipid). High BB-1 concentrations were found for the first time in serum from people living in both the electronic waste dismantling and control areas. The BB-1 concentrations were 211-1280 ng/g lipid. The retention times of the 35 PBB standards and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) with similar structures were used to predict the retention times of unidentified PBB congeners to allow the PBB distributions in the serum samples to be identified. A total of 26 previously unidentified PBB congeners were identified in the human serum samples. BB-5, BB-35, BB-79, and BB-109 were found in >50% of the samples. The PBB patterns in the serum samples were different from the patterns previously found in serum after a PBB contamination incident in 1973, so the health risks currently posed by PBBs are worth studying.

Keywords: E-waste; Human serum; Polybrominated biphenyls; Unidentified PBB congeners.

MeSH terms

China
Electronic Waste* / analysis
Environmental Pollutants* / analysis
Humans
Polybrominated Biphenyls* / analysis
Polychlorinated Biphenyls* / analysis

Substances

Environmental Pollutants
Polybrominated Biphenyls
Polychlorinated Biphenyls