Indoor Dust Again

Following up on the story about house dust representing a potential source for exposures to persistent chemicals, here is an article care of Environmental Health News that examines the relationship between occurrences of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and organochlorine compounds in house dust. The paper (abstract available free) was published this month in Epidemiology.

The authors observe that the incidence of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma has increased over time (a display of the trend can be found here). A depressed immune system is a risk factor for NHL, and potential effects of PCBs on the immune system is a concern for human health.

The study examined the relationship between excess risk of NHL with indoor exposure to PCBs and DDE in house dust. A trend of increased risk with increased PCBs concentrations was observed, though less so with DDE. The PCB congeners reported in the abstract are judged by EPA to be of “highest concern” because of abundance in the environment, elevated toxicity or inducers of liver function enzymes that activate the toxicity of other xenobiotics.

It’s probably not a strong association, but it is important to keep in mind that these aren’t the only toxic substances, not to mention allergens, with a potential exposure pathway from household dust. More aggressive cleaning is identified as a method to reduce exposure to allergens in dust that trigger asthma attacks. Would it also reduce chemical exposures?