Second AMAP International Symposium on Environmental Pollution of the Arctic
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Second AMAP International Symposium on Environmental Pollution of the Arctic. Rovaniemi, 1-4 October 2002 The AMAP Human Health Program for Greenland 1999- 2001: Organic pollutants, lifestyle, dietary composition and blood lipids Bente Deutch,* Henning Sloth Pedersen***, Eva Bonefeld-Jørgensen**, and Jens Hansen* *Centre of Arctic Environmental Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark **Institute of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark ***Primary Health Care Clinic, DIH, Nuuk, Greenland Introduction The Programme for the year 1999-2000 was planned as a follow up programme of the geographical pilot study carried out 1997-1998 by which very high concentrations of POP´s were found in East Greenland. It was furthermore a continuation of the completed Phase I program for Human Health. The main objectives of the program was: 1. Monitoring and assessment of exposure to heavy metals and POP´s and to describe and analyse time- and spatial trends. 2. Risk assessment based upon questionnaire-answers with emphasis on lifestyle parameters such as diet, smoking, and drinking habits. 3. Analyses of body-fat acid profiles, and selenium as dietary markers and cotinin as a marker of smoking 4. Monitoring of defined effect markers/biomarkers. Materials and methods Sample Collection The target areas were the two East Greenland districts Scoresbysund (Ittoqqqortoormiit) and Angmassalik (Tassiilaq). In each districts blood samples from 50 men and 50 women were collected and for each person a questionnaire was filled out. These results were supplemented with data from 48 men from Uummanaq, West greenland 1999. From 1999 the collection procedure was changed to improve the earlier problems concerning representability and compliance. Names and addresses of 20-50 year old men and/or women (pregnant or non-pregnant), were randomly drawn from the public registries and they were personally contacted by a district medical officer, DMO, who took the blood samples and surveyed the answering of questionnaires. All the sampling took place within a short time period of 1-2 weeks, during which the DMO visited the target location, the compliance to participate was over 90%, blood samples were obtained from 100% of the actual participants and the compliance in answering questionnaire was also very high, close to 100%. Sample analysis Blood samples were prepared for determination of plasma organochlorines ( microgram per litre and microgram per kg lipid), cholesterol, triglycerides, phopholipids ( g/l and mmol/l), and total fatty acid profiles ( distribution in % of total lipids). According to protocol conditions agreed upon by the AMAP Human Health Expert group as previously the plasma samples were analyzed at Le Centre de Toxichologie, Sainte Foy, Quebec, Canada (8) for 11 pesticides, 14 PCB-congeners (28, 52, 99, 101, 105, 118, 128, 138, 153, 156, 170, 180, 183, 187) and four toxaphenes. P – H02 Second AMAP International Symposium on Environmental Pollution of the Arctic. Rovaniemi, 1-4 October 2002 Furthermore Selenium and heavy metals ( microgram /l) were determined as additional indicators of marine food product consumption and cotinine ( ng/l) was determined as an indicator of nicotine breakdown products and current smoking status or exposure. Selenium and heavy metals were analyzed at the National Environmental Research Institute, Dept. of Arctic Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark. The fatty acid profiles were determined in plasma phospholipids ( at the Biology Dept. University of Guelph, Canada). Plasma cotinine, a biomarker of metabolic nicotine breakdown, was determined using a semi quantitative Cotinine Serum Micro plate assay (STC technologies) according to the instructions by the company. The standard AMAP questionnaire was used to collect information on demography, anthropometric parameters and lifestyle questions such as smoking and frequency of traditional food intake. In addition a more detailed dietary questionnaire was applied. All the data were analyzed using SPSS-statistics program version 9.0 and 10.0. Arithmetic and geometric means, medians and ranges of contaminants were calculated and compared. In the final linear regression analyses logaritmized concentrations of POP were used to approach normal distributions. Multiple linear regression analyses for predictors of high contaminant exposure were performed for a number of plausible models, and model control was performed for the best models. Results The results of the contaminant analysis are summarized in the table below. They confirm the results from the geographical pilot study collected in1997-98 with almost identical contaminant levels. They show that the POP levels, especially PCB, were extremely high in Ittoqqortoormiit , the highest in Greenland and among the highest in the Arctic This is in accordance with very high PCB guideline exceedances. (100%) (Canadian levels of concern). Also the US-EPA guideline for mercury was exceeded by >90 % in both Tassiilaq and Ittoqqortoormiit . The mercury level was higher in Tassiilaq. The dietary survey showed that the local , traditional food made up about 28% of the total intake in Ittoqqortoormiit and 25 % in Tassiilaq. The relative composition , however was different with higher consumption of seal and fish in Tassilaq, and higher comsumption of polar bear and muskox in Ittoqqortoormiit. Also the relative composition of the imported food differed and was more varied in Tassiilaq. The plasma fatty acid content was characteristic of the dietary composition.of the n-3/n-6 ratio is an indicator of the cotent of traditional food ( Uummanaq 0.70, Ittoqqortoormiit 0.35 and Tasiilaq 0.41). All the blood n-3 fatty acids were significantly correlated with the organic pollutants ( betaHCH, chlordanes, Ddt, hexaclorobenzene PCB and toxaphenes) the strongest correlations between POPs and fatty acids were found with FA: 22.5.3 which is a strong indicator of seal and polar bear fat intake, thus indicating seal and polarbear blubber as the main contributors of POPs. The plasma cotinine levels confirmed the self-reported smoking status but indicated that the smoking level was underreported. More than 75 % were present smokers with a reported average of 9 cigarettes a day. Multiple linear regression analyses of results from Disko Bay 1994-97, the geographical survey 1997 , Uummanaq 1999, and these latest results from the East Coast 2000 showed the main predictors of high blood levels of persistent organic pollutants to be age, smoking (cotinine), and high n-3/n-6 ratio indicating high intake of traditional seafood, also district was a major determinant. Whereas gender itself was not a predictor , lifestyles, particularly smoking, but also traditional food intake varied between the two sexes and therefor exposure was sometimes higher among men than among women In Ummanaq the mean blood level of mercury increased significantly between 1979 and 1999, whereas the mean blood levels of Pb had dropped significantly among men in Uummanaq since1979 and among men and women in Tasiilaq since 1981. P – H02 Second AMAP International Symposium on Environmental Pollution of the Arctic. Rovaniemi, 1-4 October 2002 Previous measurements of organic pollutants were not available and the time period within the AMAP study was too short and the material insufficient to detect any possible time related changes in organic pollutant levels. Table 1. Contaminants in wet weight, microgram/L plasma. Geometric means, minimum and maximum determined from pregnant women, men, and non-pregnant women on the East Coast of Greenland. Ittoqqortoormiit Ittoqqortoormiit Ittoqqortoormiit Tasiilaq Tasiilaq Tasiilaq 99-2000 99-2000 99-2000 2000 2000 2000 total n 8 pregnant 52 men 42 women 8 pregnant 40 men 40 women Hg 10.5: 14.2: 18.2: 19.7: 26.0: 24.7: (3.9-27.3) (2-73) (4-48) (6.5-60) (4-82) (7-155) Pb 30.8: 70.7: 57.8: 23.8: 51: 37.9: (23-47) (38-148) (28-156) (16-33) (22-123) (18-140) Cd 0.95: 1.65: 1.38: 0.66: 1.22: 1.23: (0.6-1.54) (0.1-7) (0.1-5) (0.25-2) (0.3-3 (0.3-3) aldrin nd 0.01 0.01 nd 0.01 0.01 beta HCH 0.24: 0.49: 0.56: 0.20: 0.16: 0.16: (0.12-0.61) (0.07-2.6) (0.07-2.0) (0.1-0.4) (0.01-0.7) (0.03-0.7) sum of 3.5: 5.91: 6.6: 4.9: 3.4: 3.28: chlordanes (1.4-10.6) (0.9-27) (0.6-24) (2.1-9.1) (0.15-19) (0.63-23) DDE+DDT 5.94: 8.68: 12.3: 11.4: 6.7: 7.82: (2.9-19.4) (2-40) (1.7-46) (6-21) (0.4-36) (1.5-30.5) hexachloro- 0.78: 1.18: 1.6: 1.05: 0.83: 0.80: benzene (0.37-1.97) (0.17-4.3) (0.3-4.9) (0.4-1.9) (0.13-2.45) (0.22-2.8) mirex 0.18: 0.39: 0.35: 0.30: 0.24: 0.23: (0.05-0.88) (0.04-2.2) 0.02-1.33) (0.1-0.7) (0.01-1.33) (0.02-1.2) PCB, 14 14.5: 29.1: 30.8: 14.7: 10.54: 10.52: congeners (5.1-49) (3.4-180) (2.5-106) (8-25.6) (0.7-49) (2.2-39) Arochlor 1260 36.0: 78.9: 85.1: 37.6: 26.1: 26.6: (13.6-125) (9.6-404) (7.3-263) (22-60) (1.7-119) (5.1-90) Toxaphenes, 4 0.60: 1.24: 1.26: 1.35: 0.89: 0.88: congeners (0.37-1.22) (0.03-4.1) (0.14-7.3) (0.4-2.9) (0.05-6) (0.18-3.8) PCB Guideline 100% 100% 100% 97% 98% 100% Exceedance (a) (a) PCB Aroclor 1260, Canadian level of concern for pregnant / fertile women, 5microgram/litre P – H02 Second AMAP International Symposium on Environmental Pollution of the Arctic.