Blood samples of 135 residents living near the estuary of the Elb River (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany) were analyzed for organochlorines (e.g.,
beta-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) (less than 0.5-22.9 ng/ml),
benzene hexachloride (
HCB) (0.8-55.2 ng/ml),
DDE (less than 0.5-29.2 ng/ml) and for
mercury (Hg, n = 44) (1.1-79.2 ng/ml). It was the first time that
octachlorostyrene (OCS) (n.d.-9.2 ng/ml) could be detected in Germans. The
pollutants were determined by means of capillary gas chromatography and atomic absorption spectroscopy, respectively. Covariance analysis and log-linear models revealed correlation between increasing age and blood concentrations of
HCB,
beta-HCH,
DDE and OCS, between relative
body weight and
HCB or
DDE, between locality and all
pollutants analyzed, and, finally, between fish consumption and OCS and Hg. Regarding the influence of locality on the body burden of
pollutants it may be assumed that additional routes of uptake, e.g., via
drinking water or air, might be important.