Human milk as a bioindicator for body burden of PCDDs, PCDFs, organochlorine pesticides, and PCBs.

Abstract

In the State Laboratory of North Rhine-Westphalia for Food, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Chemistry (Chemisches Landesuntersuchungsamt), more than 600 individual human milk samples have been analyzed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and more than 1400 individual milk samples have been analyzed for organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) since 1984. All samples were collected on a voluntary basis from nursing mothers mostly living in North Rhine Westphalia, a federal state in Germany. The samples analyzed so far show a typical pattern of PCDDs and PCDFs. Out of the 210 possible congeners, only those with 2,3,7,8-chlorine substitution were found. While OCDD normally shows the highest concentration, the levels of the other dioxin congeners decrease with decreasing number of chlorine atoms. A different pattern was found for PCDFs. Within this group 2,3,4,7,8-P5CDF is the most abundant congener, followed by the hexachlorodibenzofurans. The mean level of tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD) was found to be of 3.2 pg/g on a fat basis and for total PCDDs and PCDFs, calculated as I-TEq (NATO/CMMS), 29.3 pg/g on a fat basis. The investigations of the past 2 years have revealed somewhat lower levels compared to former years. This might be an indication that the efforts undertaken to minimize dioxin emissions and to shut down known sources have already had an effect on the body burden of humans. Although mostly banned for a considerable period of time now, some lipophilic persistent pesticides such as DDT, dieldrin, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCH) can still be found in human milk.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Human Breast Milk and Xenoestrogen Exposure: A Possible Impact on Human Health

“…For example, Norén and Meironyte 31 in Sweden and Fü rst et al 32 in Germany reported that the milk levels of PCDDs, PCDFs and PCBs decreased dramatically from the early 1970s to the late 1990s. In contrast, Norén and Meironyte 31 reported a dramatic increase in milk levels of selected PBDE congeners over this period.…”

Effect of PCB-126 on Intracellular Accumulation and Transepithelial Transport of Vinblastine in LLC-PK1 and Its Transformant Cells Expressing Human P-Glycoprotein

“…Both PCB-126 and the other CoPCBs are highly lipophilic and accumulated in animal and human organs [1,3,12,22]. Therefore, Co-PCBs may inhibit the function of the drug extrusion systems in many organs, as shown in this experiment.…”

“…Due to the food chain and bioaccumulation, these chemicals might have become highly accumulated in humans and animals [1,3,6,12,22]. It was considered that almost the toxic effects of Co-PCBs were initiated by binding with the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) [18,24], and these chemicals induced estrogenic and antiestrogenic responses via the crosstalk between AhR and estrogen receptor [8,31].…”

Assessing exposure of young children to common endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the home environment: a review and commentary of the questionnaire-based approach

“…In infants, their diet is even more restricted, often to a singular source. Numerous EDCs have been detected in both breast milk and infant formula samples; thus, dietary sources of exposure would be expected to be an important exposure pathway (8,(79)(80)(81)(82)(83). If the primary dietary source is contaminated, this may result in increased exposure in infants.…”