QUANTIFICATION OF EXPOSURE TO DIOXINS AND FURANS IN A COHORT OF WORKERS OF A HERBICIDE PRODUCING PLANT IN HAMBURG, FRG

To assess the exposure to PCDD/Fs of a cohort of 1583 workers of a herbicide producing plant in Hamburg, FRG, investigated for cancer mortality, measurements of PCDD/Fs in fat tissue (n=48) or blood (n=64) were analyzed according to work histories in a subgroup of n=112 male workers. In a multiple regression analysis the time of work in the production of 2,4,5-T and 2,4,5-TCP, for the latter especially before 1957, correlated well with the levels of 2378-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). For most of the higher chlorinated isomers time of work in the thermic decomposition showed the strongest effect. The results confirm that the developed indicators are good proxis for exposure to PCDD/Fs.