Different Levels of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and Chlorinated Compounds in Breast Milk from Two U.K. Regions

Abstract

Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners are constituents of flame retardants, and there is growing concern regarding their persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity. We collected breast milk samples between late 2001 and early 2003 from 54 U.K.-resident mothers. Of these, 27 originated from southeast England (London), and the other 27 originated from northwest England (Lancaster). Analysis of milk-fat extracts by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was performed to determine the levels of 15 PBDE congeners, 15 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, and other selected chlorinated compounds. PCB and organochlorine (OC) levels in southeast samples were consistently higher, and significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed. ∑PBDE levels ranged from 0.3 to 69 ng/g lipid (geometric mean, 6.6 ng/g), and PBDE-47 was the most abundant congener. ∑PCB levels ranged from 26 to 530 ng/g lipid (geometric mean, 150 ng/g) and were composed mainly of PCB-153 (26%), PCB-138 (20%), and PCB-180 (13%). OC levels for 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (p,p′-DDT) and its metabolites (∑DDX) ranged from 24 to 2,300 ng/g lipid (geometric mean, 160 ng/g); hexachlorobenzene ranged from nondetectable levels to 180 ng/g lipid (geometric mean, 17 ng/g); and ∑hexachlorocyclohexane levels ranged from 1.2 to 1,500 ng/g lipid (geometric mean, 16 ng/g). Using nuclear magnetic resonance–based metabonomics, samples (n = 7) containing the highest contaminant levels were compared with samples (n = 7) containing the lowest levels. Excellent separation along the first principal component implied that the chemical constituents of the two groups were significantly different. Although reasons for such differences remain obscure, lifestyle factors associated with a more heterogeneous London cohort could be responsible. Identifying primary routes of contaminant exposures and their biologic effects is of great importance.

Levels and congener profiles of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in breast milk from Shanghai: Implication for exposure route of higher brominated BDEs

“…Compared with the general populations in other countries (Table 2), the PBDEs concentrations in milk in this study fell within the same range as those reported in Asian countries such as Japan (Eslami et al, 2006;Inoue et al, 2006), Indonesia (Sudaryanto et al, 2008a), Korea (Haraguchi et al, 2009), and the Philippines (Malarvannan et al, 2009), and from European countries such as Norway (Thomsen et al, 2010), France (Antignac et al, 2009), Spain (Gömara et al, 2007) and Belgium (Colles et al, 2008). The concentrations found in our study were slightly lower than those in the United Kingdom (Kalantzi et al, 2004) and Australia (Toms et al, 2007), and were one order of magnitude lower than those reported in the United States (Schecter et al, 2003). However, BDE-209 in this study exhibited relatively higher concentrations than those observed in the United States (Schecter et al, 2003), Norway (Thomsen et al, 2010), and Japan .…”

“…These results are consistent with those reported in Tianjin (Zhu et al, 2009b) and Nanjing (Sudaryanto et al, 2008b). However, these findings were significantly different with those reported from the United States (JohnsonRestrepo et al, 2007;Schecter et al, 2003;She et al, 2007), France (Antignac et al, 2009), Norway (Thomsen et al, 2010), the UK (Kalantzi et al, 2004) and Japan (Eslami et al, 2006;Inoue et al, 2006). The contribution of BDE-47 to ∑ 3-7 PBDEs in those countries ranged from 32.7% to 63.5%, whereas the contributions of BDE-28 and BDE-153 were lower.…”

Occurrence of 3-MCPD fatty acid esters in human breast milk

“…Heifetz et al 1989, Golding 1997, Hooper and Kalantzi et al 2004), the preliminary information on the occurrence of persistent chlorine-containing processing contaminants, such as 3-MCPD esters, has been mentioned only recently (Velíšek 2006). Based on the assumption of similarity in bioaccumulation potential in human fat tissue and possible transfer of lipophilic 3-MCPD esters into human milk, we attempted to analyse them in the isolated breast milk fat.…”

Lactational Exposure to Pesticides: A Review

“…They found that the median concentration levels of p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE, dieldrin, HCB, β -HCH and γ -HCH were 25, 283, 25, 25, 50 and 25 ng/g milk lipid, respectively. In another study, Kalantzi et al [15] collected milk samples from 54 United Kingdom resident mothers between late 2001 and early 2003. p,p′-DDT and its metabolites were found to be ranged from 24-2,300 ng/g milk lipid; HCB ranged from non-detectable levels to 180 ng/g milk lipid, and ∑HCHs levels ranged from 1.2 to 1,500 ng/g milk lipid. Nagayama et al [16] examined the frequency of sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in cultured lymphocyte obtained from Japanese infants postnatal of around ten months to evaluate the genotoxic or clastogenic potency of lactational exposures to some OCPs.…”