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Michele Lynberg,¹ J.R. Nuckols,² Peter Langlois,³ David Ashley,¹ Philip Singer,⁴ Pauline Mendola,⁵ Charles Wilkes,⁶ Heidi Krapfl,² Eileen Miles,¹ Vanessa Speight,⁴ Bruce Lin,¹ Leanne Small,² Amy Miles,⁴ Michael Bonin,¹ Perri Zeitz,¹ Altaf Tadkod,¹ Judy Henry,³ and Mathias B. Forrester³

¹Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Environmental Health-Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, and Division of Environmental Health Laboratory, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
²Department of Environmental Health Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
³Texas Department of Health, Austin, Texas, USA
⁴University of North Carolina Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
⁵U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
⁶Wilkes Technologies, Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Abstract

We conducted a field study in Corpus Christi, Texas, and Cobb County, Georgia, to evaluate exposure measures for disinfection by-products, with special emphasis on trihalomethanes (THMs) . Participants were mothers living in either geographic area who had given birth to healthy infants from June 1998 through May 1999. We assessed exposure by sampling blood and water and obtaining information about water use habits and tap water characteristics. Two 10-mL whole blood samples were collected from each participant before and immediately after her shower. Levels of individual THM species (chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane, and bromoform) were measured in whole blood [parts per trillion (pptr) ] and in water samples (parts per billion) . In the Corpus Christi water samples, brominated compounds accounted for 71% of the total THM concentration by weight ; in Cobb County, chloroform accounted for 88%. Significant differences in blood THM levels were observed between study locations. For example, the median baseline blood level of bromoform was 0.3 pptr and 3.5 pptr for participants in Cobb County and Corpus Christi, respectively (p = 0.0001) . Differences were most striking in blood obtained after showering. For bromoform, the median blood levels were 0.5 pptr and 17 pptr for participants in Cobb County and Corpus Christi, respectively (p = 0.0001) . These results suggest that blood levels of THM species vary substantially across populations, depending on both water quality characteristics and water use activities. Such variation has important implications for epidemiologic studies of the potential health effects of disinfection by-products. Key words: biomarkers, disinfection by-products, epidemiology, exposure assessment, exposure modeling, tap water, trihalomethanes. Environ Health Perspect 109:597-604 (2001) . [Online 8 June 2001]

http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2001/109p597-604lynberg/ abstract.html

Address correspondence to M.C. Lynberg, CDC/NCEH/EHHE/HSB, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS E-23, Atlanta, GA 30333 USA. Express Mail address: 6 Executive Park Drive, Room 1031, Atlanta, GA 30329 USA. Telephone: (404) 639-2587. Fax: (404) 639-2565. E-mail: mcl2@cdc.gov

We appreciate the support and assistance of those individuals who made this study possible: the staff at the Cobb County Marietta Water Authority and the City of Corpus Christi Water Department. In addition, we thank S. Kieszak for her statistical support.

This study was funded in part by the American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AWWARF) and the Texas Birth Defects Research Center (TBDRC) at the Texas Department of Health. AWWARF is funded primarily through annual subscription payments from over 1,000 utilities, consulting firms, and manufacturers in North America and abroad. The TBDRC is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Birth Defects Research and Prevention Cooperative Agreement #U50/CCU613232.

Received 24 June 2000 ; accepted 18 December 2000.