Journal of Hazardous Materials A121 (2005) 1–10 Levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in primipara breast milk from Taiwan: estimation of dioxins and furans intake for breastfed infants 夽 How-Ran Chao a, b , Shu-Li Wang a, c, ∗ , Pen-Hua Su d, f , Hui-Yen Yu a , Sheng-Tsung Yu a , Olaf P ¨ apke e a Division of Environmental Health and Occupational Medicine, National Health Research Institute, 100 Shih-Chuan 1st Road, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan b Department of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Chung Hwa College of Medical Technology, Rende, Tainan County, Taiwan c Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan d Department of Pediatrics, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan e ERGO Research Laboratory, Hamburg, Germany f Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan Received 20 April 2004; received in revised form 22 September 2004; accepted 29 September 2004 Available online 26 February 2005 Abstract Postnatal exposure to dioxins in breastfed infants occurs mainly during breast-feeding. The exposure to a substantial amount of endocrine disruptors in the early days of life may cause long-term health effects. Test subjects were healthy and primiparous mothers with a mean age of 28 (S.D. = 3.8) in 2001. The PCDD/F congeners were analyzed in the breast milk using gas chromatograph/high resolution mass spectrometry. The mean level of PCDD/Fs was 7.4 pg-WHO-TEQ/g lipid, which is significantly lower than the level found in individuals from other countries. The total PCDD WHO-TEQ levels in breast milk had a significant positive association with maternal age and a slightly negative association with perinatal BMI (body mass index of the period before and after the delivery). The estimated daily intake of 10.5 pg-WHO-TEQ/kg/day from individual breast milk was predicted for a breastfed infant at 6 months of age with proper assumption of 8 kg body weight, 854 g milk per day of consumption, 95% of dioxin absorption rate, and linear decline of dioxin during lactation. Based on the lower WHO-TEQ levels in the breast milk, breast-feeding should still be encouraged and continued in Taiwan. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins; Polychlorinated dibenzofurans; Breast milk; Breast-feeding; Infant exposure 1. Introduction Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and diben- zofurans (PCDFs) are lipophilic endocrine disruptors [1] with high persistence to biodegradation in the environment [2]. 夽 The Scientific content of this manuscript has been reviewed and approved for publication by the Division of Environmental Health and Occupational Medicine of the National Health Research Institutes. Approval for publi- cation does not necessarily signify that the content reflects the view and policies of the DEHOM/NHRI, or condemnation or endorsement and rec- ommendation for use on this issue presented. ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 7 312 6772x4015/4014; fax: +886 7 322 1912/3595. E-mail address: slwang@nhri.org.tw (S.-L. Wang). PCDD/Fs are undesirable by-products and are inadvertently released into the environment during a variety of industrial and thermal processes, such as emission of waste incinera- tion, smelting of metals, production of organochlorine pes- ticides, and bleaching of pulp [3]. These dioxin compounds persist in the environment, enter the food chain, and even- tually accumulate in the fatty tissues of animals including humans. The major source of PCDD/Fs is food. Postnatal expo- sure to dioxin compounds in breastfed infants has occurred mainly through breast-feeding [4–6]. Although it was demon- strated that the obviously lower levels of WHO-TEQs in cord blood compared to maternal blood at birth, the levels in in- fants’ blood were found to be 1.5–3.6 times higher than those 0304-3894/$ – see front matter © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2004.09.021