Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in Korean human milk: Contamination levels and infant risk assessment

Abstract

The levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were determined in 50 samples of Korean human milk. POPs include organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) [aldrin, chlordanes, dieldrin, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), endrins, heptachlors, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), mirex, and toxaphenes] and marker PCBs (PCB28, PCB52, PCB101, PCB138, PCB153 and PCB180). In all samples, p,p'-DDE were determined as 75.5-1115.3 ng/g fat. The compounds β-HCH and p,p'-DDT were detected at 72% and 60% of the samples, respectively. Chlordanes (nd-84.9 ng/g fat) heptachlors (nd-40.1 ng/g fat), HCB (nd-42.9 ng/g fat) and PCBs (nd-38.3 ng/g fat) were detected in several samples. The ratio of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethylene (DDE)/DDT was 6.8, which explained that exposure of volunteers to DDT did not occur recently. Compared with the previous monitoring data, the level of marker PCBs generally decreased in the milk samples. The levels of OCPs are significantly correlated to the residential periods of the mothers but not with their dietary habits. Considering the daily intake of each OCPs, 18% of infants would ingest the amount of heptachlor exceeding the acceptable daily intake (ADI) proposed by World Health Organization (WHO). There was no sample surpassing the WHO ADI for DDTs, HCB and chlordanes.

Determination of the Average Daily Intake of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) in Breastfed Babies in Vali-Asr Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences

“…PCB concentration was correlated with the duration of living in the region but had no relationship with maternal diet. In this study, ADI was higher than standard in 18% of the babies [29].…”

Review Article. Organochlorine pesticides, their toxic effects on living organisms and their fate in the environment

“…Exposure of infants to chlordanes via breast milk was reported as a potential health risk in Korea (Lee et al ., 2013). Another study from Korea also revealed the presence of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) chlordanes, aldrin, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), dieldrin, heptachlors, endrins, hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), toxaphenes and mirex, in milk (Kim et al ., 2013). Organochlorine pesticides HCB, β-HCH, pp’DDE, pp’DDT, pp’DDT, Σ-DDT were present in breast milk of the population in Guerrero, Mexico, proportionally to exposure (Chávez-Almazán et al ., 2014).…”

Life-Time Environmental Chemical Exposure and Obesity: Review of Epidemiological Studies Using Human Biomonitoring Methods

“…Excessive usage results in environmental contamination. Humans are exposed to these ECs through environmental media by ingestion, inhalation, absorption, and even through transplacental transfer and breast milk (34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42). The human exposure levels of these ECs are generally estimated by biomonitoring of their metabolites or parent compounds in human urine or blood (cord blood or peripheral blood) as exposure biomarkers worldwide (43)(44)(45)(46)(47).…”