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Persistent Organochlorine Compounds in Human Breast Milk from Mothers Living in Penang and Kedah, Malaysia

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Abstract

This study determined the concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine (OC) pesticides, and tris(4-chlorophenyl) methane (TCPMe) in human breast milk samples collected in 2003 from primipara mothers living in Penang, Malaysia. OCs were detected in all the samples analyzed with DDTs, hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), and PCBs as the major contaminants followed by chlordane compounds (CHLs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and TCPMe. The residue levels of DDTs, HCHs, and CHLs were comparable to or higher than those in general populations of other countries, whereas PCBs and HCB were relatively low. In addition, dioxins and related compounds were also detected with a range of dioxin equivalent concentrations from 3.4 to 24 pg-TEQs/g lipid wt. Levels of toxic equivalents (TEQs) were slightly higher than those in other developing countries but still much lower than those of industrialized nations. One donor mother contained a high TEQs level, equal to the mean value in human breast milk from Japan, implying that some of the residents in Malaysia may be exposed to specific pollution sources of dioxins and related compounds. No association was observed between OCs concentrations and maternal characteristics, which might be related to a limited number of samples, narrow range of age of the donor mothers, and/or other external factors. The recently identified endocrine disrupter, TCPMe, was also detected in all human breast milk samples of this study. A significant positive correlation was observed between TCPMe and DDTs, suggesting that technical DDT might be a source of TCPMe in Malaysia. The present study provides a useful baseline for future studies on the accumulations of OCs in the general population of Malaysia.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the staff of Consumers’ Association of Penang, and Adventist Hospital Nursery, Malaysia for their assistance in sample collections. This study was supported by grants from the Japan Fund for Global Environment and “21st Century COE Program” from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University, Bunkyo-cho 2-5, Matsuyama, 790-8577, Japan

    Agus Sudaryanto, Tatsuya Kunisue & Shinsuke Tanabe

  2. Japan Offspring Fund, 2-5-2 Koji-machi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, 102-0083, Japan

    Mami Niida

  3. Consumers’ Association of Penang, Jalan Masjid Negeri 10, Pulau Pinang, 11600, Malaysia

    Hatijah Hashim

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  1. Agus Sudaryanto
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  2. Tatsuya Kunisue
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  4. Mami Niida
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  5. Hatijah Hashim
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Correspondence to Shinsuke Tanabe.

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Sudaryanto, A., Kunisue, T., Tanabe, S. et al. Persistent Organochlorine Compounds in Human Breast Milk from Mothers Living in Penang and Kedah, Malaysia. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 49, 429–437 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-004-0208-8

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