[The contamination of human milk with chlororganic pesticides (author's transl)]

A survey on the situation concerning the residues on pesticides in human milk in West Germany is given, based on own investigations. Nearly the whole pattern of chlororganic pesticides - DDT with its metabolites DDE and DDD, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), the different isomeres (alpha-, beta-, gamma-) of benzenehexachloride (BHC) as well as dieldrin and heptachloroepoxid - together with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) coming from the environment - were found in all samples of human milk, though in different concentrations. PCB, HCB and beta-BHC had been discovered in human milk only about ten years ago. The residues have decreased in the past years. The concentrations are still so high that the amounts consumed by the suckling exceed the ADI values for the contaminants in question. But in the opinion of the experts the advantages connected with the alimentation with human milk weigh more than the eventual risk by the contamination.

DDT and BHC residues in some body tissues of goats, buffalo, and chickens, Lucknow, India

Muscle, liver, brain, and abdominal body fat samples of goats, buffalo, and chickens, all common meat sources in India, were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) for residues of DDT and benzene hexachloride (BHC). A few samples of goat and buffalo bone marrow were also included. Relatively high residue levels were found in body fat and bone marrow compared with other tissues. DDT and BHC residue levels were highest in chicken body fat, averaging 4.157 ppm sigma DDT and 3.879 ppm BHC. DDT content was much higher in goat and buffalo bone marrow than in the corresponding body fat. DDT levels in brain samples were highest (0.138 ppm) in buffalo. p,p'-TDE levels were higher than p,p'-DDE levels in buffalo; overall DDT levels were lowest in goats. BHC residues were generally low in buffalo; alpha-BHC accounted for most BHC residues in brain tissues. Greater accumulations of DDT and BHC were found in leg muscles than in breast muscles of chickens.

[Contamination of adipose tissue of slaughter animals with chlorinated insecticides and hexachlorobenzene in the Central Bohemian Region]

Residues of some chlorinated pesticides (hexachlorobenzene, lindane, DDE, DDT) were detected in adipose tissues of commercially important animals in Central Bohemia; the method of gas chromatography and an electronic detector were used. Residues of chlorinated hydrocarbons were detected in all examined samples, the hexachlorobenzene concentration was explicitly higher than the concentrations of DDT and lindane. The hexachlorobenzene residues occurred locally. The hexachlorobenzene concentrating detected in the adipose tissues of cattle and pigs were higher than in some European countries; the DDT and lindane concentrations were at the same level.

[Use of the bioelectric activity of the olfactory bulb of the trout Salmo gairdneri in the detection of pesticides]

The olfactory bulb responses induced by nasal infusion of three pesticides (Atrazine, Lindane, Ethyl Parathion) were studied in the rainbow Trout, Salmo gairdneri. Amplitude and frequency changes were characteristic for each solution tested at concentrations ranging between 10 ng/l and 1 mg/l.

Simplified method for estimation of DDT and hexachlorocyclohexane residues in milk

A procedure that combines acetone-hexane extraction and cleanup by treatment with concentrated sulfuric acid is described for determining DDT and 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) residues in milk. Recoveries from samples fortified with 0.004-0.008 ppm of different HCH isomers and 0.01-0.02 ppm DDT and its metabolites ranged from 83.4 to 99.8%. The proposed method is simple and rapid, and does not require the use of costly adsorbents.

WHO collaborative breast feeding study. I. Organochlorine contaminants in individual samples of Swedish human milk, 1978--1979

Individual samples of human milk collected in Uppsala at 3 months post-partum (18 samples) or 6 months post-partum (23 samples) were analysed for chlorinated insecticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by gas chromatography. The mean levels of the organochlorine compounds in the 3- and 6-month groups were similar. The mean content of DDE, the major metabolite of DDT, in all the samples was 54 micrograms/kg fresh weight (1.3 mg/kg on a fat basis) with a range of 8.4--220 micrograms/kg (0.49--3.0 mg/kg fat). The results confirm that the decline since 1967 in the levels of DDT and its metabolites in Swedish human milk reported by other authors is continuing. The levels of dieldrin and beta-hexachlorocyclohexane found are lower than those reported earlier in Sweden, whereas the levels of hexachlorobenzene are about the same. On the other hand, the levels of PCBs (mean 64 micrograms/kg, range 15--150 micrograms/kg, fresh weight, equivalent to 1.6 mg/kg, range 0.84--2.9 mg/kg, on a fat basis) are higher than those reported earlier in Swedish human milk. Although the calculated intake of the DDT complex (DDT + DDE + DDD) by some of the suckling infants exceeds the acceptable daily intake proposed by a FAO/WHO expert group, it does not constitute a reason for recommending any restrictions on breast feeding--for nutritional, immunological and other reasons it should be encouraged.

[Ecotoxicological study of chlorinated pesticides]

The authors describe a model for the ecotoxicological investigation of pesticide residues guided by the analysis of various links of the food chain and of human materials. It is pointed to the possibility of studying the dynamics of the exposure to human beings by analyzing gynaecological material (prenatal stage) and samples obtained at necropsy from human beings of varying age (different durations of exposure). The observations of the relative accumulation of hexachlorobenzene, beta-BHC and DDT in butter, human milk and human fat in a region with intensive cultivation revealed a considerble accumulation of hexachlorobenzene which reaches the level of DDT. The conclusion drawn from ecotoxicological studies indicates that a reduction of the tolerances of pesticide residues in raw materials for baby foods is imperative. The analyses of gynaecological material (202 samples of the available content of the uterus and 24 placental and embryonic specimens) permitted to evidence a significant difference between two regions and a specific relationship of the observed substances and their metabolites to the fat-dissolving power of the analyzed materials.

Contamination of bovine milk with DDT and HCH residues in relation to their usage in malaria control programme

The contribution of spraying DDT and HCH for malaria control towards the contamination of bovine milk was investigated by analysing milk samples collected from preselected localities sprayed with either DDT or HCH in the Punjab. A direct correlation was found between the amounts of residues of these insecticides in milk and their typical usage pattern for the mosquito control programme. It is considered that these results may have significant bearing on the regulatory control of DDT and HCH residues in milk.

[Pesticide residues in poppy seed (author's transl)]

131 samples of poppy seed imported in 1977, 1978, and 1979 were analyzed for organochlorine pesticides. The average and maximum residue levels were 0.05 and 0.42 ppm for BHC-isomers without lindane, 0.07 and 0.40 ppm for lindane, 0.016 and 0.14 ppm for total DDDT (DDT, DDD, and DDE). Other pesticides could not be detected. The residue level was much higher in the first half year of our examination. Poppy seed from Eastern Europe and Turkey showed appreciably higher contamination than imports from Western European countries.

Chlorinated pesticide residues in chicken egg

Two hundred and twenty-one representative samples of chicken eggs of native and commercial strains of Gallus domesticus were collected during January 1975 to August 1977 throughout the Tehran area and the Northern province of Mazandarane. The samples were analyzed for chlorinated pesticide residues by gas-liquid chromatography. The insecticides [1,1,1-Trichloro-2,2-bis (P-Chlorophenyl)ethanel] (DDT), [1,1-Dichloro-2,2-bis (P-Chlorophenyl) ethane] (TDE), [1,1-Dichloro-2,2-bis (P-Chlorophenyl)ethylene] (DDE), isomers of benzene hexachloride (BHC), Aldrin/Dieldrin, Heptachlor/Heptachlor epoxide, Dieldrin, and endrin were detected in varying concentration in the eggs. The eggs of native bred chickens, mainly as a result of their food sources, showed greater concentration of all pesticides except BHC isomers than those of commercial types. Though concentration of DDT compounds in 22% of native bred and 5% of commercial eggs exceeded WHO tolerance limit, the mean concentrations of pesticides residues were not exceeding these limits. There was no correlation between concentrations of pesticides and egg shell thinning.

Contaminants in human milk

There is a paucity of information regarding excretion of contaminants in human milk, due to experimental difficulties and until recently a general lack of interest. Because of the high fat content of milk and as its acidity is higher than that of plasma, nearly all liposoluble and basic agents consumed by the mother will be excreted in the milk. Distinction must be made between, on the one hand drugs and social toxicants such as smoking and alcohol, whose intake can be stopped or limited during pregnancy and lactation, and ecological toxicants present in a polluted environment to which the mother is exposed. Cases have occurred of heavy prenatal and postnatal intoxication of infants with hexachlorobenzene in Turkey and methylmercury in Iraq due to consumption of fungicide-treated seed wheat by pregnant and lactating mothers. Recent attention has been concentrated on contamination of milk with organochlorine compounds such as DDT and PCB's, that are found in many parts of the world. The heaviest contamination with DDT has been found in Guatemala, resulting in suckling infants consuming many times the Acceptable Daily Intake of this compound proposed by WHO, with unknown future effects.

Organochlorine residues in aquatic environments in Iran, 1974

Organochlorine pesticide residues in various organisms from different aquatic ecosystems in Iran were investigated in spring 1974. DDT levels were high in fish taken from two rivers in southern Iran, whereas low levels were detected in samples obtained from a freshwater lake in the same area. Fish from two of the reservoirs supplying Tehran with potable water contained moderate levels of DDT. The low residue level in pike collected in the Bandar-Pahlavi Mordab in northwest Iran indicates that only a small amount of organochlorine pesticides used in this area enters the pelagic food chain. Sturgeon collected at different places in the Caspian Sea showed similar accumulations of DDT in the muscles and in the eggs. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were detected only in samples of sediment from the drainage systems in Tehran.

Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide residues in Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) from Tasmania, Australia--1973

Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas Thunberg) from 19 sites in Tasmania were surveyed for pesticide residues. All samples were analyzed for dieldrin and DDT, and five samples were analyzed for hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and lindane. Only DDT was found in all samples. Dieldrin levels were high in oysters from the Tamar River, but were highest (0.39 mg/kg wet weight) in samples from Ruffin's Bay. In contrast, other residue levels were low. Distribution of pesticides in Tamar River samples differed: dieldrin could be correlated with industrial uses upstream and DDT could be correlated with low-level widespread agricultural use.

Sources of potential residue problems in dairy herds

Drugs and chemicals provide economic benefit to animal and crop production; to derive this benefit they must be used appropriately. Data from the United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Quality Service residue monitoring program indicates certain drugs and chemicals are not being used appropriately by the dairy industry, and residues are occurring in cow carcasses at slaughter. Residues of antibiotics and certain pesticides which are administered intentionally are being found. Dairy cows are also particularly susceptible to inadvertant exposure to chemicals because of certain management practices and physiologic characteristics of dairy cows. Contamination of Michigan dairy cows with polybrominated biphenyls is an example. Methods of controlling both intentional and unintentional exposure of cows to drugs and chemicals will require considerable involvement of producers.

Effects of feeding lindane to dogs for periods of up to 2 years

Lindane was administered to male and female Beagle dogs at dietary levels of 25, 50 and 100 ppm for 104 weeks, and of 200 ppm for 32 weeks. One death at 25 ppm and one at 200 ppm were not considered to be related to the test compound. At 100 and 200 ppm, SAP levels were raised and the livers were dark, friable and slightly enlarged but without any detected histopathological change. HVSA changes, possibly indicative of non-specific neuronal irritation, were recorded in the EEG tracings at 200 but not at 100 ppm. There were no other indications of an adverse effect of lindane. The negative findings at 50 ppm are consistent with a 'no-effect level' for this species of 1.25 mg/kg body weight, comparable with for the rat, and with proposed human ADI of 0.0125 mg/kg body weight.

Chlorinated pesticide residues in milk of Iranian nursing mothers

One-hundred-thirty-one samples of human milk were collected during October, 1974, to January, 1976, throughout the Tehran area. Sources included four maternity hospitals as well as individual nursing mothers outside of hospitals. The samples were collected 1 to 8 days after child birth from women 14 to 42 yr old and from all social strata. The samples were analyzed for chlorinated pesticide residues by gas-liquid chromatography. Insecticides 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) (with its metabolites), isomer of benzene hexachloride (gamma BHC), and dieldrin were detected in varying concentration in 101, 108, and 47 samples, respectively. The means and ranges were .024 (.001 to .333) ppm, .008 (.001 to .046) ppm, and (.001 to .028) ppm. These concentrations in human milk represented insecticidal ingestion by infants. The mean dieldrin exceeded the World Health Organization limit and may pose a health hazard. There was no significant relationship between economic status of donors and pesticide in the milk; however, milk from the older nursing mothers contained more DDT than that from young mothers.

[To the determination of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide residues with capillary chromatography (author's transl)]

A procedure for determinting chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide residues by gaschromatography with capillary columns in feeds is described. With the capillary column (OV 61) used a good resolution of all tested 15 pesticides was possible. Recovery and reproducibility were checked, detection limits are given.

Insecticides in human breast milk

Fifty samples of human breast milk were analysed by gas chromatography and thin layer chromatography for DDT (dichlordiphenyltrichloraethan), hexachlorobenzol, benezene-hexachlorides, dieldrin, aldrin and heptachlorepoxide. The three first substances were found in all samples in amounts varying from quite small up to eleven times the WHO recommended maximum for cow milk. The other substances were found in fewer milk samples, however, in some of these samples they were found in relatively high amounts. In Norway, only DDT has been investigated earlier (4), and compared to that study, there has been no significant change in the mean concentration of DDT in human breast milk during the last five years. The insecticide content was highest in colostrum and decreased with increasing duration of lactation. Considerable fluctuations in the content of insecticides were recorded in repeated milk samples collected from the same woman a few days apart. The percentage of samples with insecticide content higher than that permitted for cow's milk was greater in May/June (79%) than in early April (54%). The significance of these findings is discussed.

Electrochemical reduction and anaerobic degradation of lindane

Thirty-seven patients with thoracic and lumbar spine fractures were treated with Harrington rod instrumentation (HRI), and the progress and results of that surgery were monitored with intraoperative spinal sonography (IOSS). Adequate neural tissue decompression and spinal column alignment was achieved in less than one-half (14/31, 45%) of the patients in whom HRI was performed as the first step of the surgical procedure. As a result of these findings, further surgical maneuvers were performed which, in most cases, resulted in adequate spinal realignment and neural tissue decompression. In six patients, direct surgical reduction of displaced bone fragments was performed before HRI. Since total decompression of neural tissue may be important in patients with spinal cord or cauda equina injuries, it is recommended that IOSS be used in all cases of HRI for thoracic and lumbar spine fractures. The need to perform additional surgical maneuvers to accomplish neural tissue decompression may be obviated if intraoperative sonography shows adequate decompression with HRI alone.

[Residues of chlororganic and phosphorganic phitodrugs in samples of honey produced in Emilia-Romagna (author's transl)]

Forty-five samples of honey produced in Emilia-Romagna between June and September 1974 have been subjected to gaschromatography to check for the presence of residues of chlororganic and phosphorganic phytodrugs. Residues of chlororganic phytodrugs in appreciable amounts have been found to be present in 11 samples only, more precisely lindane has been reported in 6 samples, aldrin in 4 samples, DDT in 4 samples, DDD and dieldrin respectively in one sample only. The higher concentration for DDT has been 0,04 ppm. No residues of phosphorganic phytodrugs have been found to be present in any of the samples examined. As the presence of residue has been observed only in a small number of samples and low concentration have been found, we belive that the problem of honey pollution by phytodrug residues is a minor one, even when related to the situation of foods in general.

[Chlorinated hydrocarbons in the daily diet]

The gas chromatographic analysis of the daily diets (without beverages) of men consuming at maximum 4000 kcal per day, in spring, summer and autumn 1971, revealed always residues of chlorinated hydrocarbons. With an average food amount of 1635 g per day, each subject (having an average body weight of 65 kg) ingested 105 mug of DDT, 20 mug of DDE, 20 mug of DDD, and 149 mug of total DDT and 10 mug of lindane, respectively. The contamination was inferior to the ADI values recommended by the WHO/FAO. From winter 1971 to autumn 1972, the authors also analysed the daily diets (including beverages) of 1-3-year-old children (having an average body weight of 12 kg) in a week-nursery. The average food amount of 1230 g per day contained 42 mug of DDT, 12 mug of DDE, 8 mug of DDD, and 64 mug of total DDT and 7 mug of lindane, respectively. From these values a total DDT intake of 5.3 mug/kg of body weight was calculated which exceeds the ADI value for adults. The claim for a zero tolerance for victuals and ready-to-use baby foods is corroborated. Consequently the complete replacement of DDT by other insecticides is a measure which is imperative not only from the viewpoint of prophylaxis but also from that of health policy.

Benzene hexachloride poisoning in cattle

Of 174 cattle dipped in an emulsified preparation of benzene hexachloride labeled for plant use, 18 were fatally poisoned. The preparation contained 0.14% active ingredient, gamma isomer of benzene hexachloride (BHC), a normally safe concentration for cattle. Analyses revealed 0.08% gamma BHC in the used dip and 0.5, 7.9, and 198 ppm in liver, kidney, and hairskin specimens, respectively, from a fatally affected cow. Microscopic examination of the freshly prepared dip demonstrated emulsion droplets ranging from 5 to 60 mu in diameter.

Organochlorine content of milks, dairy products and animal feed ingredients: Ireland 1971-1972

Milks (bovine and human) and dairy products (butter, cheese, skim and whey powders, calf-replacer, casein, butter-oil and dietetic food) were collected during 1971/2 throughout Ireland together with a more limited samples of the 10 major animal feed ingredients, and analysed for organochlorine insecticide residues using electron-capture gas chromatography. The different materials contained low or negligible levels of chlorinated insecticides. Apart from some of the animal feed ingredients the DDT residues were generally the predominant contaminants detected together with lower levels of gamma-BHC (lindane), aldrin/dieldrin and heptachlor/heptachlor epoxide. The maximum levels of these insecticides in the bovine milk and dairy products (511, 100, 62 and 21 mug/kg fat respectively) constitute only 50% or less of the Codex Tolerance Limits. The correspondingly low residue levels in the human milk (maxima of 128, 1, 1, and 5 mug/kg fat respectively) which at most represent insecticidal ingestion by infants equivalent to 13, 0-05, 5 and 5% respectively of the WHO/FAO acceptable daily intake for DDE, gamma-BHC, aldrin/dieldrin and heptachlor/heptachlor epoxide again pose no obvious health hazards and are strongly indicative of negligible organochlorine contamination in the general diet. The samples of animal feed ingredients examined also contained trace levels of ogranochlorines (maxima of 0-9, 0-1, 1-6 and 1-0 mug/kg respectively). More extensive monitoring of the residues in animal feed ingredients (the most probable source of milk contamination is advocated, and the desirability of tolerance limits for insecticides in animal feeds discussed.

[Pollution of human milk in France by organochlorine insecticide residues]

The monthly analysis of milk mixtures from ten French human milk banks, over a period of two years, showed that there was marked pollution by organochlorine insecticide residues. The following averages were noted: hexachlorocyclohexane + hexachlorobenzene 2,75 mg/kg of pure fat, DDT and derivatives 3,24 mg/kg fat, heptachlor epoxide 0,28, dieldrin 0,23. The main insecticides were, with average values, beta hexachlorocyclohexane (1,67), hexachlorobenzene (0,98), and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (2,40). All these milks were invariably very polluted throughout the year, but there were however noted some qualitative differences according to the geographic position of the milk banks: South of the Loire river, the main polluting factor was hexachlorocyclohexane, whilst North of the Seine, fairly high values were found for heptachlor epoxide and dieldrin. The special study of human milk from Lille showed a 50% reduction in pollution between 1970 and 1973. The probable routes of contamination are human food and the ill-advised domestic use of pesticides.