Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls in breast milk from two cities in Ukraine

Substantial environmental pollution has been alleged in Ukraine, but little information is available to allow an assessment of the possible impact on humans. To help remedy this lack of information, it was of interest to investigate whether certain polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), or coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were elevated in people from Ukraine. Samples of breast milk were obtained from 200 women from the cities of Kyiv and Dniprodzerzhinsk; Kyiv is the capital and Dniprodzerzhinsk is a highly industrialized city. The samples were combined into four pools by city and age, and analyzed for 7 PCDDs, 10 PCDFs, and 2 coplanar PCBs (126 and 169). The total of the measured PCDDs, expressed as toxic equivalents, ranged from 5.1 to 7.6 pg/g lipid; for PCDFs from 3.6 to 5.2, and for PCBs from 11 to 18 pg/g lipid. Results from the two cities were similar; older women had slightly higher concentrations than did younger women. Levels of these compounds seen in Ukraine were similar to or lower than those seen in other recent studies from European and Asian countries.