Abstract |
The U.S. EPA's Office of Toxic Substances (OTS) maintains a unique capability for monitoring human exposure to potentially toxic substances through the National Human Adipose Tissue Survey (NHATS). The primary focus for NHATS has been to document trends in human exposure to environmentally persistent contaminants, specifically organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs). EPA/OTS has recognized a need to expand the use of the NHATs program to provide a more comprehensive assessment of toxic substances that are accumulated in adipose tissue. The report deals specifically with the measurement of volatile organic chemicals in composited adipose tissue specimens from the FY82 NHATS repository. Quantitative data are reported for 17 specific volatile compounds that are classified as aromatic, chlorinated aromatic, or halogenated aliphatic. The frequency of detection of each compound based on age group (0-14, 15-44, 45 plus years) are detailed in the report. The analytical procedures and QA/QC efforts are also described. |