First nationwide exposure profile of major persistent organic pollutants among Korean adults and their determinants: Korean National Environmental Health Survey Cycle 3 (2015–2017)

Since 2009, Korea has measured the exposure levels of major environmental chemicals and heavy metals among representative adult populations through the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS). However, exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has never been assessed. This study reports the serum concentrations of twenty-four POPs and their influencing factors for Korean adults (n = 1295) who participated in the KoNEHS Cycle 3 (2015–2017). The POPs included seven organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), eleven polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and six polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Among them, three OCPs (i.e., hexachlorobenzene (HCB), p,p′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p′-DDT), and p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE)) and five PCBs (i.e., PCB52, PCB118, PCB138, PCB153, and PCB180) were detected in over 60% of the samples. PBDEs were not detected at a detection frequency of 60% or above. The most frequently detected POPs were p,p′-DDE (99.8%, geometric mean of 128.47 ng/g lipid), followed by PCB180 (98.8%, 8.49 ng/g lipid), PCB153 (98.8%, 13.14 ng/g lipid), HCB (96.2%, 67.08 ng/g lipid), PCB138 (95.2%, 8.84 ng/g lipid), PCB118 (89.6%, 2.66 ng/g lipid), p,p′-DDT (80.5%, 6.68 ng/g lipid), and PCB52 (71.2%, 1.57 ng/g lipid). The concentrations of most POPs were lower than or similar to concentrations reported in national-scale biomonitoring surveys. The only exception was HCB, whose concentration was up to seven-fold higher than the concentration reported by the Canadian Health Measures Survey. Excluding HCB and PCB52, most POPs showed increasing serum levels among older adults, adults with higher body mass index, adults living in coastal areas, and more frequent fish consumption. Relatively higher POP concentrations were observed in menopausal women. This study provides the first data on POP exposure levels among the representative adult population in Korea, and the results highlight the need to integrate POPs in the national biomonitoring program.