"PCDDs, PCDFs and Dioxin-like PCBs in Humans and Wildlife Samples from India" 

Kurunthachalam Senthil Kumar¹, Kurunthachalam Kannan², Odathurai N. Paramasivan³, Vellakovil P. Shanmuga Sundaram⁴, Shigeki Masunaga¹, Naomasa Iseki¹, John Paul Gies², Junko Nakanishi⁵

¹Yokohama National University
²Michigan State University, USA
³Kovai Medical Center and Hospitals, India
⁴K. G. Hospital and Post Graduate Medical Institute, India
⁵National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

Organohalogen Compounds, Vol.52 pp.305-309 (2001)

---

Abstract

During the twentieth century, production and use of toxic chemicals has increased rapidly thousands of chemicals have been introduced into the environment. Among them, organochlorine pesticides have received considerable attention in the last few decades because of their extreme persistence, bioaccumulation and toxic potential. These compounds are also detected at high concentrations in human tissues1. 

Particularly, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and non- and mono-ortho-substituted polychlorinated biphenyls (dioxin-like PCBs) elicit significant toxic effects such as body weight loss, thymic atropy, chloracne, impairment of immune responses, carcinogenesis and adverse reproductive effects to wildlife as well as laboratory animals2. 

Therefore, these chemicals deserve a special attention in view of public health protection. India is one of the largest producer and consumer of various oragnic pesticides among Asian countries3,4. Despite, the continuing usage, there is no study demonstrated PCDD/DFs pollution in this country. Therefore, this study reports the concentrations of PCDDs/DFs in humans, fish, meat and wildlife samples from India for the first time.

Keywords

Dioxins, Furans, Dioxin-Like PCBs, India