n the interview below, Prof. Dr. Martin van den Berg talks about his highly cited paper, “Toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) for PCBs, PCDDs, PCDFs for humans and wildlife,”
(Environ. Health Perspect. 106[12]: 775-792, December 1998). This paper has been cited 753 times to date, ranking at #2 among highly cited papers in the field of Environment & Ecology. Prof. Dr. van den Berg’s work in
Essential Science Indicators
can be found in the fields of Environment & Ecology and Pharmacology & Toxicology.
Read more about Prof. Dr. Martin van den
Berg's background.
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Why, in
your view, is your paper highly cited?
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“Scientists and risk managers have become more aware of the fact that there are distinct differences in relative toxicities of these compounds between humans and other mammalian species on the one side and fish and birds on the other.”
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The paper was the result of a joint international effort,
initiated and coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO), to
standardize the toxic equivalencies (TEQs) of dioxin-like compounds
and PCBs. As humans and wildlife are both exposed to complex
mixtures of these compounds it is essential to express a possible
total effect as one number, the amount of TEQs which is calculated
from the toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) and concentrations present
in a sample, e.g., food, breast milk, or blood.
Would you give us a brief summary of your paper and describe its
significance for the field?
Obtaining consensus values is of high importance to globally
standardize the risk assessment process for dioxin-like compounds
and PCBs. It should be noted that the paper was a result of a WHO
meeting of experts that was held in Stockholm in 1997 and was
attended by the best international experts in the field, all of whom
had years of experience in dioxin and PCB research. Having such a
distinguished panel of scientific experts absolutely contributed to
the acceptance and high citation of the paper on an international
level.
In addition, our paper was the first that clearly indicated that
the TEF values to be used are clearly different for humans and
different taxa; that is why different TEF values were proposed for
humans/mammals, and birds/fish. This is very significant as it will
influence the outcome of the risk assessment process, e.g., for
human or ecological purposes. The recommendations had international
impact since they were made by WHO.
What are the circumstances which led you to your work?
I acted as a coordinator for this WHO project and
organized/chaired the meeting. In addition, my research group at the
Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences from the Utrecht University
worked on TEFs for dioxin-like compounds during the last decade,
both in mammalian species as well as other wildlife species.
Where has this research gone since the publication of your paper?
More dioxin and PCB research in the field of mixture toxicity has
been done since the publication of this paper. This research again
confirmed the value of the toxic equivalency concept for these types
of compounds in general. Scientists and risk managers have become
more aware of the fact that there are distinct differences in
relative toxicities of these compounds between humans and other
mammalian species on the one side and fish and birds on the other.
Are you still involved with this research? Where do you see it going
10 years from now?
Yes, my institute is also a WHO Collaborating Centre and in June
of this year I provided the overall scientific support for WHO to
organize and coordinate another meeting for the re-evaluation of the
TEF values for dioxin-like compounds. At this meeting the panel of
international experts reviewed the 1998 values and adjusted where
necessary, based on scientific results that were published in
peer-reviewed journals since 1997-8. I foresee that the need to
update the human TEF values will be less in the next decade as we
might have sufficient information to establish a solid scientific
database to be used for these values. I foresee that more research
and models will be developed for fish and bird species to improve
the ecotoxicological risk assessment. Some very good initiatives
have been taken in this respect, especially within the US EPA.
Another matter is that the present TEFs are meant for uptake
situations and do not cover the risk assessment based on body
concentration, e.g., measured in blood. More attention will be given
in the coming years and it might lead to another set of TEFs that
can be used for measurements of these highly toxic environmental
contaminants in blood and adipose tissue in humans.
Prof. Dr. Martin van den Berg
Institute of Risk Assessment Sciences
Utrecht University
Utrecht, the Netherlands
| About
Prof. Dr. Martin van den Berg: |
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Prof. Dr. van den Berg is Professor in Veterinary Environmental Sciences and Toxicology at the Institute of Risk Assessment Sciences (formerly RITOX) of
Utrecht University, The Netherlands, and deputy director of this institute. He is also an honorary professor in environmental toxicology at the University of Queensland (Brisbane) and an adjunct professor at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok. His current areas of research include: toxicokinetics, metabolism, and reproductive and interactive effects of halogenated polyaromatics; interactions of xenobiotics on steroid hormone synthesis, metabolism, and their relation with hormone-dependent tumors; and development of in vitro assays to detect endocrine disruptors. The results of his research have been published in more than 180 scientific articles and papers.
Presently he is associate editor of Toxicological Sciences and the only European member of the program committee of the Society of Toxicology. He is connected to several national and international organizations which are involved with the (eco)toxicological risk assessment of dioxins, PCBs, and other persistent organohalogen compounds. He is also head of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research on Environmental Health Risk Assessment, which is based at
Utrecht University. In this function he is presently the project leader responsible for the re-evaluation of
dioxin-like toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) for WHO-IPCS. For his research on dioxin and related compounds he was very recently awarded with an honorary doctorate at the University of Umea (Sweden).
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