New study: German children near

["Center for Health, Environment and Justice" <cchw@essential.org>]

Gesundheitswesen 1998 Feb;60(2):107-12

[Thyroid hormone level in children in the area of a toxic waste
incinerator in South Essen].
[Article in German]

Osius N, Karmaus W
NORDIG Institut fur Gesundheitsforschung und Pravention.
 
As part of an environmental epidemiological study on potential exposure
to a toxic waste incineration we investigated whether children in an
area with a toxic waste incinerator (TWI) have different levels of
thyroid hormones than children in two comparative regions. The TWI
region is situated in the Rhine valley (about 30 km across) with low
mountains on both sides. Other industries such as a chemical plant are
nearby, and several municipalities are located in the environment of
these. One comparative area 20 km north is also industrially and
agriculturally used, but has no incinerator (Rhine Valley comparison
group, RVC group). South- East of the incinerator region in an area of
low mountains (about 400 m high) we investigated the second comparison
group (Odenwald comparison group, OWC group).  Altogether 671 children
from 18 municipalities participated in 1994/95 (participation 61.5%).
Blood samples were taken from 341 children, aged 7 to 10 years, living
in non-smoking households or in households with only light smokers.
Serum levels of thyrotropin stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine
(FT4), and free triiodothyronine ( FT3) were analysed. In a
self-administered questionnaire for the parents, which was checked
during the medical examination, we gathered information on age, gender,
passive smoking, consumption of fish, as well as use of wood
preservatives and pesticides at home. By means of adjusted regression
analysis the first step was to check whether the TWI group had means of
TSH, FT4 and FT3 that differed from the OWC group and the RVC group. If
differences were at least marginally significant, the second step was to
analyse whether children from different municipalities had statistically
different mean values and if the pattern of these municipalities fitted
into the three regions. For
the latter, children from a town in the Odenwald served as comparison
group. The TWI group had statistically significantly (p < or = 0.05)
reduced FT3 and FT4 values with a higher prevalence of FT3 values below
clinical references (TWI group: 7.7%, RVC group: 3.2%, OWC group: 1.2%).
Children from four out of nine TWI municipalities showed statistically
significantly lower FT3 means than children from the reference town, and
one of the seven municipalities from the comparative areas. The mean
FT4 was significantly lower in four municipalities of the TWI area and
in one of the two other areas. The mean TSH was only marginally
different, mainly influenced by gender differences with boys having
higher TSH levels. Comparison of the municipalities did not reveal a
consistent pattern.  Industrial pollution might influence the regulatory
system of the pituitary thyroid axis. Reduced peripheral thyroid
hormones associated with exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls ( PCB)
and dioxins/furans (PCDD/F) were found in previous studies. Our results
suggest that children exposed to toxic waste incineration in their
environment have lower thyroxine and triiodothyronine levels.

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Pat Costner
Greenpeace
P.O. Box 548
or 512 County Road 2663
Eureka Springs, Arkansas 72632
ph: 1 501 253 8440
fx: 1 501 253 5540
em: pat.costner@dialb.greenpeace.org
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