Organochlorine pesticides, octachlorostyrene, and mercury in the blood of Elb River residents, Germany.

Blood samples of 135 residents living near the estuary of the Elb River (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany) were analyzed for organochlorines (e.g., beta-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) (less than 0.5-22.9 ng/ml), benzene hexachloride (HCB) (0.8-55.2 ng/ml), DDE (less than 0.5-29.2 ng/ml) and for mercury (Hg, n = 44) (1.1-79.2 ng/ml). It was the first time that octachlorostyrene (OCS) (n.d.-9.2 ng/ml) could be detected in Germans. The pollutants were determined by means of capillary gas chromatography and atomic absorption spectroscopy, respectively. Covariance analysis and log-linear models revealed correlation between increasing age and blood concentrations of HCB, beta-HCH, DDE and OCS, between relative body weight and HCB or DDE, between locality and all pollutants analyzed, and, finally, between fish consumption and OCS and Hg. Regarding the influence of locality on the body burden of pollutants it may be assumed that additional routes of uptake, e.g., via drinking water or air, might be important.