ORIGINAL PAPER Site-specific bioaccumulation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p- dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDFs) in mothers and their infants living in vicinity of Bien Hoa airbase, Southern Vietnam Nguyen Thi Minh Hue . Nguyen Van Thuong . Pham Thi Ngoc Mai . Nguyen Hung Minh Received: 30 December 2017 / Accepted: 4 May 2018 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract Bien Hoa airbase is located in Dong Nai Province (Southern Vietnam). Several sites within the airbase are highly contaminated by Agent Orange/ Dioxin, and thus, they are also commonly named as an Agent Orange/Dioxin hotpot. In the present study, 36 maternal milk samples were collected from primiparas who have lived at least 5 years in four wards, Buu Long, Quang Vinh, Trung Dung and Tan Phong, which are closed to Bien Hoa airbase in order to investigate the level and distribution of Agent Orange/ Dioxin exposure in different local communities. The mean concentrations of PCDD/PCDFs in four inves- tigated wards range from 6.4 to 13.6 pgTEQ/g lipid. The highest mean TEQ of PCDD/PCDFs was observed in Buu Long ward (13.6 pgTEQ/g lipid), followed by Tan Phong ward (12.3 pgTEQ/g lipid), and the lowest value was observed in Trung Dung ward (6.4 pgTEQ/g lipid). The mean concentration of 2,3,7,8-TCDD in Buu Long (7.6 pg/g lipid) was approximately 2–6 times higher than those in Tan Phong (3.9 pg/g lipid), Quang Vinh (2.3 pg/g lipid), or Trung Dung (1.2 pg/g lipid). These results imply site- specific exposure to PCDD/PCDFs in different local communities living around Bien Hoa airbase. The mean values of daily intake of dioxin estimated for the breast fed infants living in Buu Long, Quang Vinh, Trung Dung and Tan Phong were about 80, 37.5, 31.7 and 58 pg TEQ/kg bw/day, respectively. Keywords Agent Orange Á Dioxin Á PCDD/PCDFs Á Vietnam Á Maternal milk Á Daily intake Introduction Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) belong to the group of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) which are listed in the Stockholm Convention. PCDD/ PCDFs are very toxic and can pose adverse risks to the environment, the ecosystems and the human health (Colborn et al. 1993; Van den Berg et al. 2006). Acute exposure of the humans to elevated levels of PCDD/ PCDFs, although in short time, may result in skin lesions, such as chloracne and patchy darkening of the skin, and altered liver function. Chronic exposure to extremely low dose of PCDD/PCDFs is linked to impairment of the immune system, the developing nervous system, the endocrine system and reproduc- tive functions (Schecter et al. 1998; US EPA 2000). Bien Hoa airbase is known as AO/Dioxin hotspot which is located in Dong Nai Province (Southern N. T. M. Hue Á N. Van Thuong Á N. H. Minh (&) Dioxin Laboratory, Center for Environmental Monitoring (CEM), Vietnam Environment Administration, Nr 556 Nguyen Van Cu Street, Long Bien, Hanoi, Vietnam e-mail: Lab.dioxin@gmail.com P. T. N. Mai Faculty of Chemistry, Hanoi University of Science, Nr. 19 Le Thanh Tong Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Vietnam 123 Environ Geochem Health https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-018-0118-8