Prior Projects

Principal Investigator

Olivier Jolliet

About this Project

A central goal of the University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study was to determine the factors that explain variation in serum dioxin levels of PCDDs, PCDFs, and PCBs in the community around the Dow Chemical Plant (Midland, Michigan, USA). As a complement to the central goal of the study, a combined intake and physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model is being developed that allows for the prediction of serum 2,3,7,8-TCDD values. The intake/PBPK model complements the goals of the UMDES statistical analysis by providing a basis for the comparison of the expected contributions of various exposure types and by providing insights into the contribution of historical intakes to current dioxin levels. To achieve our goal of capturing the determinants of dioxins in blood, we first focused on the most toxic congener, 2,3,7,8-TCDD, and modeling efforts are carried out in three fronts: The reconstruction the historic concentrations of dioxins and furans in the environement The use of the UMDES questionnaire to model individual intake levels over time The implementation of a pharmacokinetic model describing the distribution and elimination of dioxin and dioxin-like compounds in the human body, also parameterized based on individual data from the UMDES questionnaire) Results