| Organochlorines in Breast Milk from Two Cities in Ukraine Beth C. Gladen,1 Susan C. Monaghan,2,* Elena M. Lukyanova,3 Olesya P. Hulchiy,4 Zoreslava A. Shkyryak-Nyzhnyk,3 José L. Sericano,5 and Ruth E. Little1 1National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
2School of Public Health, University
of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USA
3Institute of Pediatrics, Obstetrics, and Gynecology, Kyiv, Ukraine
4National Medical University, Kyiv, Ukraine
5Geochemical and Environmental Research Group, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA Abstract
Reports of environmental problems in the former Soviet Union, including excess use of pesticides, have led to concerns about high levels of contamination in humans, but little information is available to assess whether these concerns are warranted. Samples of breast milk from 197 women from two cities in Ukraine were analyzed for p,p´-DDT, p,p´-DDE, endrin, dieldrin, heptachlor epoxide, trans-nonachlor, oxychlordane, hexachlorobenzene, ß-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) , and 18 polychlorinated biphenyl congeners, and results were compared to previous reports from Europe. The median ß-HCH concentration was 731 ng/g milk fat, which is higher than other reports from Europe but lower than reports from other parts of the world. The median DDE concentration was 2,457 ng/g milk fat, which is higher than most but not all other reports from Europe. Concentrations of other chemicals were comparable to or lower than other reports from Europe. Concentrations from the city of Kyiv were generally lower than those from Dniprodzerzhinsk, but the magnitudes of these differences were modest. Key words: DDE, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor epoxide, hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorocyclohexane, milk, oxychlordane, polychlorinated biphenyls, trans-nonachlor. Environ Health Perspect 107:459-462 (1999) . [Online 26 April 1999] http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1999/107p459-462gladen/ abstract.html Address correspondence to B.C. Gladen, Biostatistics Branch, Mail Drop A3-03, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, PO Box 12233, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 USA. Telephone: (919) 541-3461. Fax: (919) 541-4311. E-mail: gladen@niehs.nih.gov *Susan C. Monaghan is currently at the U.S. Agency for International Development, Bucharest, Romania. Collection and analysis of samples were supported by funding under contracts with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Samples were collected in conjunction with the ongoing European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood, initiated by the World Health Organization, coordinated through the University of Bristol in England, and conducted in Ukraine by the Ukrainian Institute of Pediatrics, Obstetrics, and Gynecology, in cooperation with the University of Illinois School of Public Health. Samples were analyzed by the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group, Texas A&M University. Received 6 July 1998 ; accepted 2 October 1998.
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