WHO coordinated intercountry studies on levels of PCDDs and PCDFs in human milk

Levels of PCDDs and PCDFs in Human Milk from Populations in Madrid and Paris

“…The PCDD/Fs levels found in breast milk from both populations are similar to those observed in other industrialized countries, in a WHO/EURO in a world-wide field study on contamination of breast milk with PCDD/Fs (Tarkowski and Yrjänheikki , 1989). The most remarkable differences in the WHO/EURO study were on the 23478-P 5 CDF levels, as was found between French and Spanish breast milk.…”

“…Figure 2 shows the comparison of the I-TEQ found in both Paris and Madrid populations with those found in similar urban surveys from the published literature since 1986 ( Fürst et al, 1992;Startin et al, 1989;Schecter et al, 1990a;Figure 2. Total I-TEQ in breast milk from various countries Tarkowski and Yrjänheikki, 1989 ;Schecter et al, 1990 b). The I-TEQ found in mother milk from people living in Paris and Madrid are similar to that measured in Vietnam Russia, England, Germany, Belgium and Netherlands.…”

Chlorinated organic contaminants in breast milk of New Zealand women.

“…This study was part ofan intercountry study on levels ofPCBs, PCDDs, and PCDFs in breast milk, coordinated by the World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe (5,6), although the protocol was extended to include organochlorine pesticides. An objective ofthis particular study was to seek possible urban-rural differences in the exposures ofNew Zealand women because rural dwellers may have been more heavily exposed to pesticides and their contaminants, and urban populations may have been more exposed to motor vehicle emissions and industrial pollutants.…”

The pitfalls of European risk governance: a question of design or application? Some empirical results from the food safety sector

“…The difference between maximum levels and action levels are that the latter represent recommendations while the former are legal requirements. What speaks in favor of action levels as opposed to maximum levels is that the scientific evidence regarding the negative effects of relatively small dioxin burdens accumulating over time in adult human organisms is contested (Larenbeke et al 2001;NAS 2003;Tarkowski and Yrjänheikki 1989;Leeuwen and Malisch 2002;Fernandes et al 2004). To this must be added that analytical testing is still not commercially established and remains expensive: screening tests using the so-called CALUX approach cost on average 200 to 250 Euro per sample but are not very reliable; confirmatory analytical tests using methods based on high-resolution mass spectroscopy cost between 850 and 950 Euro per sample.…”