Background biomonitoring of residue levels of 137 pesticides in the blood plasma of the general population in Beijing

Li, Jiaxin; Wang, Pengsi; Shi, Shangmei; Xue, Jian

doi:10.1007/s10661-018-6694-3

Published: 29 April 2018

Background biomonitoring of residue levels of 137 pesticides in the blood plasma of the general population in Beijing

Jiaxin Li¹,
Pengsi Wang¹,
Shangmei Shi² &
Jian Xue¹

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment volume 190, Article number: 315 (2018) Cite this article

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Abstract

Due to the widespread use of pesticides, human exposure to pesticides is possible and can potentially cause adverse impacts on public health. We measured 137 pesticides including organophosphorus, organochlorine, pyrethroid and carbamate pesticides together with various herbicides in 100 human blood samples collected from the general population in Beijing. The samples were analysed by triple quadrupole tandem gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In total, 24 organochlorine pesticides, 5 pyrethroid pesticides and 6 organophosphorus pesticides were detected. The detection rates of HCB, α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, p,p′-DDE and quintozene were 99, 96, 74, 72, 96 and 95%, respectively. No statistically significant gender difference in the blood concentrations of the pesticides was found. Consistent with the trend of the increasing β-HCH, p,p′-DDE and quintozene concentrations with age, a strong positive correlation between the age and concentrations of β-BHC, p,p′-DDE and quintozene was observed.

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Abbreviations

OCP:: Organochlorine pesticide
OPP:: Organophosphorus pesticide
PP:: Pyrethroid pesticide
GC:: Gas chromatography
MS:: Mass spectroscopy
LOD:: Limit of detection
LOQ:: Limit of quantification

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Wu Wei who works at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital for providing us with the blood samples. Gratitude is also expressed to all the donors who collaborated with the study and provided blood samples.

Funding

This study was funded by the China Food and Drug Administration; the Item Number was ZG2016–2.

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Affiliations

Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Science & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Jiaxin Li, Pengsi Wang & Jian Xue
Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Shangmei Shi

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Jiaxin Li
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Pengsi Wang
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Shangmei Shi
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Jian Xue
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Ethics approval for this study was granted by The Ethics Committee of the Peking Union Medical College (PUMC).

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Li, J., Wang, P., Shi, S. et al. Background biomonitoring of residue levels of 137 pesticides in the blood plasma of the general population in Beijing. Environ Monit Assess 190, 315 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-6694-3

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Received: 30 December 2017
Accepted: 16 April 2018
Published: 29 April 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-6694-3

Keywords

Human blood
Pesticide
General population
GC-MS/MS