TRACE LEVELS OF TRIS(4-CHLOROPHENYL)-METHANOL AND TRIS(4-CHLOROPHENYL)-METHANE IN HUMAN-MILK

The concentrations of tris(4-chlorophenyl)methanol (TCP methanol) and the structurally similar compound, tris(4-chlorophenyl)methane (TCP methane) are reported for the first time in human milk at the concentration of 2.0 and 1.6 ng/g milk fat, respectively. This is 2-3 orders of magnitude lower than the detected levels of other organochlorine compounds (OCCs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls and do therefore not seem to change previous risk assessments on mother milk. No correlation was found between TCP methanol other OCCs in human milk, which indicates the absence of a common source. For comparison, TCP methanol and TCP methane were analyzed in fish from the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The levels of TCP methanol and TCP methane in fish important for the human diet varied from <1 to 50 ng/g fat and from <1 to 80, respectively, which were 1-2 orders of magnitude lower than the detected levels of polychlorinated biphenyls. Human milk from North Europe was found to have slightly higher levels of TCP methanol and TCP methane than human milk from South Europe (although statistically insignificant). This may be explained by the higher levels of these compounds in fish of the North European diet