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Dermal absorption of contaminants from soils at federal contaminated sites in Canada was investigated using one hydrophile, 14C-ethylene glycol (EG), and one lipophile, 14C-nonylphenol (NP). In vitro dermal absorption of EG and NP was examined in dermatomed (0.4-0.5 mm) human skin using Bronaugh Teflon flow-through cells with Hanks HEPES buffered (pH 7.4) receiver solution with 4% bovine serum albumin (BSA). Tests were conducted under occlusive conditions with and without a commercial gardening soil spiked with EG or NP applied to skin at a soil load of 5 mg/cm2. With percent absorption in skin depot included, a total of 9.9 ± 6.28% (n = 6) and 34.8 ± 8.47% (n = 6) absorption of EG with and without soil, respectively, and 20.6 ± 5.56% (n = 7) and 41.1 ± 6.46% (n = 7) of NP, with and without soil, respectively, were obtained. For tests without soil a reverse pattern was observed with significantly lower percent absorption into the receiver than depot with the lipophile NP, but significantly higher percent absorption in receiver versus depot for the hydrophile EG. This pattern was different in tests with soil, and caution needs to be exercised when extrapolating data from in vitro tests conducted without soil in human health risk assessments at contaminated sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dermal absorption of the lipophile and potential carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in soils from contaminated sites was simulated in vitro using human skin exposed to 14C-BaP-spiked soil. This study is the first in a series of tests at Health Canada with several soil contaminants spanning a wide range of lipophilicity conducted with viable human skin. Breast skin was obtained fresh from a local hospital and dermatomed to a thickness of 0.4-0.5 mm. Teflon Bronaugh diffusion cells were perfused with HEPES buffered Hanks saline (pH 7.4) with 4% bovine serum albumin (BSA) and fractions were collected at 6-h intervals for up to 24 h exposure either to 14C-BaP applied in acetone or spiked in a commercial gardening soil. As skin depot 14C levels were still high at 24 h, the study was repeated for up to 42 h to examine skin depot bioavailability. Skin was washed with soapy water at 24 h in both the 24- and 42-h studies. Exposure to 14C-BaP both with and without soil was conducted in triplicate with skin specimens from at least 4 patients. In the 24-h exposure tests including the skin depot there was 15 and 56% absorption with and without soil, respectively. The lower total percent absorption from the spiked soil applied to skin resulted from lower depot absorption of 8% with and 45% without soil. Data for 42-h studies were similar and revealed no significant decrease in skin depot levels. Including the 42-h depots there was 16 and 50% absorption with and without soil, respectively, with respective depots of 7 and 39%. As there was no significant difference between the 24- and 42-h depots both with and without soil, the data suggest the depot for BaP was not bioavailable for at least the additional 18-h post soap wash exposure. The bioavailability of BaP is discussed in relation to previous in vitro and in vivo studies in perspective with dermal exposure to contaminated soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large multi-disciplinary study was conducted to investigate the systemic, neurodevelopmental, neurochemical, endocrine, and molecular pathological effects of a mixture of reconstituted persistent organochlorine pollutants (POP) based on the blood profiles of Canadians residing in the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence region. This report outlines the overall study design and describes the systemic effects in rat offspring perinatally exposed to the POP mixture. Maternal rats were administered orally 0, 0.013, 0.13, 1.3, or 13 mg/kg bw/day of the mixture from gestational day (GD) 1 to postnatal day (PND) 23. Positive and negative controls were given Aroclor 1254 (15 mg/kg bw/day) and corn oil (vehicle), respectively. The rat pups were reared, culled to 8 per litter, and killed on postnatal days 35, 70, and 350, at which time tissues were collected for analysis. Exposure to high doses of the mixture elicited clinical, biochemical, and pathological changes and high mortality rates in rat offspring. Aroclor 1254 produced similar effects but a lower mortality than was seen in POP mixture groups. Biochemical changes consisted of increased liver microsomal activities and elevated serum cholesterol. Hepatomegaly was observed in the highest dose group of the mixture and in the positive control. Liver, thymus, and spleen were the target organs of action. Microscopic changes in the liver consisted of vacuolation and hypertrophy, and those in the thymus were characterized by reduced cortical and medullary volume. The spleen showed a treatment-related reduction in lymphocyte density and lymphoid areas. This study demonstrates that exposure to the POP mixture up to 13 mg/kg/day perinatally produced growth suppression, elevated serum cholesterol, increased liver microsomal enzyme activities, and immunopathological changes in the thymus and spleen, and lethality. Most of the effects were seen at dose levels much higher than expected human exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]