Persistant organic pollutants (POPs) in Jordanian human milk

To reveal the concentrations of environmental chemicals in mothers' milk residing in the vicinity of Marka old municipal landfill site with open combustion, 132 individual mother milk samples were analyzed for selected polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD) and dibenzo furans (PCDFs) were determined for 10 pooled mother milk samples, and twelve milk samples were collected from nursing mothers in Amman for comparison purposes. All samples were extracted, cleaned-up, and analyzed with a gas chromatograph equipped with electron capture detector (Ni-63) for PCBs and OCPs, and GC/MS for PCDD/Fs. The results show the absence of PCDD/Fs, 9.1% of the positive samples contained PCBs with an average concentration of 71 mu g total PCBs per kg fat. PCB levels of almost all of the positive samples were higher than acceptable daily intake (ADI). All samples were found to contain total OCPs with an average concentration of 730 mu g/kg fat. On the other hand, the nursing mothers living, in Amman had 33.3% positive samples, with an average concentration of total PCBs of 61 mu g/kg fat. No significant correlation between PCDD/Fs, PCBs, and OCPs contamination and the existing old municipal landfill site with open combustion at Marka on the residence could be found. This is reasonable, because the main route of exposure to environmental chemicals in the human body is not through the respiratory system, but through the digestive system.