Relative bioavailability to laying hens of indicator polychlorobiphenyls present in soil

► Transfer of indicator polychlorobiphenyls from soil into hen eggs may occur. ► This transfer depends on the bioavailability of the ingested compounds. ► We assessed the impact of soil on the bioavailability of indicator PCBs in hens. ► Relative bioavailability was determined in egg yolk and in abdominal fat. ► Soil assayed in our study did not significantly modulate indicator PCBs availability in hens. Transfer of indicator polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) from soil into hen eggs may occur in hens reared outdoor, which ingest significant amounts of soil. This transfer depends on the bioavailability of the ingested compounds. The impact of soil on the bioavailability of indicator PCBs was assessed by means by a relative bioavailability (RBA) trial, in which their deposition in egg yolk and in abdominal fat, in response to their ingestion through contaminated-soil and through spiked-oil were compared. A sandy soil (709μg indicator PCBskg−1 dry matter) was collected in the vicinity of a former fire involving treated wood. Twenty-eight laying hens were individually housed and fed one of the seven experimental diets during 14d. The seven experimental diets were an uncontaminated control diet, three diets in which contaminated soil was introduced at levels of 3%, 6% and 9% and three diets in which spiked oil was introduced to achieve similar levels and profile of contaminants. Yolk, abdominal fat and liver were collected at the end of exposure. Indicator PCBs were extracted by ASE (Accelerated Solvent Extraction) and analyzed by GC–HMRS. Within each ingested matrix, the concentration of indicator PCBs in yolk and in abdominal fat linearly increased with the amount of indicator PCB ingested (P0.1). RBA estimates did not differ from 1 for all indicator PCBs except for PCB 28, for which it was 0.58–0.59. Measurements performed on liver confirm these conclusions.