TABLE 2.
Serum concentrations* of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides, detection frequencies, and ranges of limits of detection among pregnant women, Salinas Valley, California, 1999–2000
| No. of subjects | LOD† range | Detection frequency (%) | Geometric mean concentration | 95% confidence interval | Range of concentrations | |
| Organochlorines (ng/g) | ||||||
| p,p′-DDT† | 334 | 0.06–1.36 | 100.0 | 18.8 | 15.7, 22.5 | 1.6–33,174.0 |
| o,p′-DDT | 333 | 0.06–0.76 | 95.5 | 1.7 | 1.5, 2.0 | <LOD–1,257.3 |
| p,p′-DDE† | 334 | 0.06–1.36 | 100.0 | 1,302.1 | 1,140.2, 1,487.0 | 48.8–159,303.3 |
| Hexachlorobenzene | 334 | 0.02–1.00 | 100.0 | 65.8 | 60.2, 71.9 | 7.5–841.0 |
| PCB† groupings | ||||||
| ΣPCBs (ng/g)‡ | 334 | 0.03–1.09 | 100.0 | 65.3 | 61.9, 69.0 | 18.8–323.7 |
| Enzyme inducers (ng/g)§ | 334 | 0.03–1.09 | 100.0 | 17.6 | 16.7, 18.6 | 4.3–208.3 |
| Mono-ortho PCBs (ng/g)¶ | 334 | 0.05–0.79 | 100.0 | 30.9 | 29.0, 32.9 | 7.1–122.2 |
| Toxic equivalents (pg/g) | 334 | 0.05–0.63 | 100.0 | 1.07 | 1.00, 1.14 | 0.08–6.19 |
| Wolff's method group 3# | 334 | 0.05–0.76 | 100.0 | 8.4 | 7.8, 9.1 | 0.2–140.8 |
| Individual PCB congeners | ||||||
| PCB 18 | 325 | 0.03–0.88 | 100.0 | 6.6 | 6.0, 7.2 | 0.9–27.5 |
| PCB 28 | 334 | 0.03–0.79 | 100.0 | 17.9 | 16.5, 19.5 | 3.1–84.7 |
| PCB 44 | 272 | 0.06–0.84 | 98.9 | 2.5 | 2.2, 2.7 | <LOD–11.4 |
| PCB 49 | 290 | 0.05–0.80 | 99.3 | 1.6 | 1.4, 1.7 | <LOD–6.8 |
| PCB 52 | 304 | 0.05–0.80 | 99.7 | 3.2 | 2.9, 3.5 | <LOD–12.4 |
| PCB 66 | 328 | 0.04–0.63 | 100.0 | 2.9 | 2.7, 3.1 | 0.4–16.0 |
| PCB 74 | 320 | 0.04–0.65 | 100.0 | 4.3 | 4.0, 4.5 | 0.7–26.4 |
| PCB 99 | 305 | 0.06–1.09 | 100.0 | 1.9 | 1.7, 2.0 | 0.5–11.6 |
| PCB 101 | 280 | 0.06–0.87 | 95.7 | 1.0 | 0.9, 1.1 | <LOD–5.8 |
| PCB 118 | 313 | 0.05–0.62 | 99.7 | 3.5 | 3.2, 3.7 | <LOD–19.8 |
| PCB 138 | 308 | 0.03–0.59 | 100.0 | 2.6 | 2.4, 2.8 | 0.2–30.9 |
| PCB 146 | 293 | 0.05–0.60 | 86.7 | 0.45 | 0.40, 0.50 | <LOD–14.7 |
| PCB 153 | 314 | 0.04–0.69 | 100.0 | 5.7 | 5.3, 6.1 | 0.3–95.7 |
| PCB 156 | 322 | 0.06–0.55 | 83.9 | 0.40 | 0.36, 0.45 | <LOD–6.3 |
| PCB 180 | 258 | 0.06–0.59 | 100.0 | 1.5 | 1.4, 1.6 | 0.3–30.0 |
| PCB 183 | 304 | 0.06–0.55 | 77.6 | 0.32 | 0.28, 0.35 | <LOD–8.2 |
| PCB 187 | 266 | 0.04–0.71 | 97.0 | 0.93 | 0.84, 1.04 | <LOD–38.3 |
| PCB 194 | 310 | 0.03–0.50 | 95.2 | 0.52 | 0.48, 0.57 | <LOD–9.5 |
| PCB 199 | 321 | 0.03–0.62 | 86.3 | 0.36 | 0.33, 0.40 | <LOD–29.8 |
All polychlorinated biphenyl and organochlorine concentrations are expressed on a lipid basis (ng/g lipids). Toxic equivalents are expressed in pg/g lipids.
LOD, limit of detection; DDT, dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane; DDE, dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene; PCB, polychlorinated biphenyl.
Sum for the 19 PCB congeners with a detection frequency greater than 75%.
Enzyme inducers include PCBs 99, 101, 118, 153, 156, 157, 167, 180, 183, 187, 194, 189, and 199.
Mono-ortho PCBs include PCBs 28, 66, 74, 118, 156, 157, 167, and 189.
Group 3 includes PCBs 99, 153, 180, 183, and 196.