Secondary exposure to dioxins through exposure to PCP and its derivatives.

This study discusses the potential exposure of occupational workers and general consumers in the European Union (EU) to polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) caused by exposure to pentachlorophenol (PCP) and its derivatives. A synthesis of reported exposure data relating exposure to PCP and its derivatives in an occupational setting has indicated that the PCDD/F intake for exposure in the 1990s averaged over a lifetime is likely to be in the order of 0.02-1 pg I-TEQ kg-1 bw day-1 with actual exposures more likely to occur at the lower end of the range, around the median of 0.16 pg I-TEQ kg-1 bw day-1. Workers who have experienced past exposure to PCP and its derivatives especially in the early to mid 1980s, will have been subjected to higher exposures to PCDD/Fs due to the generally higher concentrations of PCDD/Fs in PCP products at that time. Exposure to PCP and its derivatives via the food chain is judged to be the most significant intake route of PCDD/Fs into consumers. The ingestion of milk and dairy products obtained from cows grazed on pasture dressed with sewage sludge has the potential to raise the average daily intake of PCDD/Fs via the diet by about 40% if all foods consumed derived from sludge amended soil. To the extent quantifiable, exposure to PCP in an occupational setting contributed approximately 16% as a median to the overall background exposure to PCDD/Fs, while for consumers this contribution ranged from 2 to 60% depending on the exposure to sludge amended foods.