Organochlorine chemicals in skin lipids as an index of their accumulation in the human body.

Application of a noninvasive method of analyzing skin lipids was considered as a means of monitoring human exposure to organochlorine pesticides. Skin lipids were collected by wiping the face with cotton and purified by gel permeation chromatography and treatment with H2SO4. Organochlorine chemicals were determined by electron capture gas chromatography with a fused silica capillary column. p,p'-DDE, beta-HCH and chemicals related to chlordane were detected in the skin lipids. Residue levels of p,p'-DDE, beta-HCH and oxychlordane in the skin lipids correlated with those in the adipose tissue; correlation coefficients for p,p'-DDE, beta-HCH and oxychlordane were 0.93, 0.92, and 0.68, respectively. The correlation between skin lipids and adipose tissue for trans-nonachlor was poor (gamma = 0.46). The component pattern of chlordanes in skin lipids was similar to that of technical chlordane. The results suggested that chemicals in the skin lipids reflected both their accumulation in the body burden and dermal exposure. Skin lipids collected during 1986 to 1988 in Japan were determined for p,p'-DDE, beta-HCH and the chlordanes. Residue levels of p,p'-DDE and beta-HCH in the aged were high compared with those in the young (gamma = 0.31-0.45). Chlordanes were detected from inhabitants in the southern area of Japan where chlordane had been used for termite control.