Serum samples from 24 subjects (6 mother-daughter and 6 mother-son dyads) in a rural community (Columbus Junction, Iowa) and 24 subjects (6 mother-daughter and 6 mother-son dyads) in an urban community (East Chicago, Indiana) were analyzed for 74 sulfated metabolites of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). We detected significantly higher mean concentrations of total assessed PCB sulfates in the urban group (110-8900 ng/g fresh weight of serum, mean = 3400 ng/g, standard error = 300) than in the rural cohort (530-6700 ng/g fresh weight of serum, mean = 1800 ng/g, standard error = 500). Eight PCB sulfate congeners (4-PCB 2 sulfate, 4'-PCB 2 sulfate, 2'-PCB 3 sulfate, 4'-PCB 3 sulfate, 4-PCB 11 sulfate, 4'-PCB 18 sulfate, 4'-PCB 25 sulfate, and 4-PCB 52 sulfate) contributed over 90% of the total assessed PCB sulfates in most individuals. The serum samples were enriched in PCB sulfates with fewer than 5 chlorine atoms, and this congener distribution differed from those of PCBs and hydroxylated PCBs in previous studies in the same communities. Regression analysis indicated several significant congener-specific correlations in mother-child dyads, and these relationships differed by location and by mother-daughter or mother-son dyads. This is the first study reporting a broad range of PCB sulfates in populations from urban and rural areas.
Keywords: PCB metabolites; PCB sulfates; PCBs; human serum; organic pollutants.