title: Developmental neurotoxicants in human milk: Comparison of levels and intakes in three European countries.
abstract: Developmental neurotoxicants (DNTs), such as methylmercury (MeHg), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and selected organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), have gained increasing interest recently due to their possible relation to developmental disorders in children, which are increasing worldwide. We analyzed levels of 14 developmental neurotoxicants in human milk samples from Slovakia (n=37), the Netherlands (n=120) and Norway (n=388). Positive identification for most target analytes was >95% in all samples. In all three countries MeHg was measured for the first time in mother milk. The highest MeHg levels were observed in Norway (39pgg-1ww) with the highest fish consumption. Levels of indicator PCBs (iPCBs, sum of PCB 28, 52, 101, 138, 153 and 180), HCB and DDE+DDT were 2-4 times higher in Slovakia compared to the Netherlands or Norway. The levels of MeHg and organochlorine compounds were used for calculations of weekly or daily intakes (top-down approach) by means of pharmacokinetic modeling. The intakes ranged from 0.014 to 0.142μgkgbw-1week-1for MeHg and from 0.043 to 17.4ngkgbw-1day-1for organochlorine compounds in all three countries. Intakes of iPCBs exceeded a tolerable daily intake of 10ngkgbw-1day-1in 16% of the Slovak participants. The top-down estimates were compared with bottom-up intakes based on national dietary estimates and the results showed good consistency between both approaches, with the bottom-up intakes exceeding the top-down by a factor of maximum 3.8 for iPCBs in the Netherlands and 3.9 for HCB in Slovakia. This confirms that food consumption in all three countries represents the dominant pathway of exposure to these developmental neurotoxicants.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Eliška
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Čechová
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland. Electronic address: martin.scheringer@chem.ethz.ch.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scheringer
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seifertová
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Ondřej
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mikeš
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Kristýna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kroupová
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kuta
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Lovisenberggata 8, 0403 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Forns
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Lovisenberggata 8, 0403 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Merete
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eggesbø
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije University, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ilona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Quaak
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije University, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marijke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Cock
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije University, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Margot
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van de Bor
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Public Health, Slovak Medical University, Limbová 12, 83303 Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Henrieta
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Patayová
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Public Health, Slovak Medical University, Limbová 12, 83303 Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Ľubica
authors.initials: Ľ
authors.lastname: Palkovičová Murínová
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kočan
mesh_terms: D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006581:Hexachlorobenzene / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D009420:Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects; D009426:Netherlands; D009664:Norway; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls; D018154:Slovakia
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D010575:Pesticides; D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene; D006581:Hexachlorobenzene; C081766:2,4,4'-trichlorobiphenyl; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Daily intakes; Developmental neurotoxicity; Methylmercury; Organochlorine compounds; Pharmacokinetic model