The human body burden of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) in residents’ human milk from Guangdong Province, China

Abstract

Human milk samples were collected from 179 mothers in 2017 and 2018 in six counties of Guangdong province, China. Concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) were determined to evaluate the human body burden of dioxin-like compounds on the general population of South China. Samples were analyzed using high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry in six pools, according to the subjects’ resident county. The mean ∑PCDD/Fs and ∑DL-PCBs concentrations in human milk samples were 323.10 pg g⁻¹ lipid and 2166.58 pg g⁻¹ lipid, respectively, and the corresponding WHO toxicity equivalent (TEQ) values calculated with Toxic Equivalent Factors (TEFs) established by the WHO in 2005 (TEF_{WHO 2005}) were 6.96 and 2.13 pg g⁻¹ lipid. The concentrations of samples collected in Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province, were higher than those taken in the other five investigation regions. The levels of PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs in human milk and the estimated daily intake doses of breast-fed infants were still high when compared with some non-exposure areas in mainland China. TEQ levels of PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs in the present study have been compared to data obtained from a reported national study conducted in 2011. The mean TEQ (calculated with TEF_{WHO 2005}) of ∑(DL-PCBs + PCDD/Fs) (8.4–9.0 pg g⁻¹ lipid in 2011 vs. 9.09 pg g⁻¹ lipid in 2018) seemed to be relatively stable during the period 2011–2018. These findings and continuing the surveillance of PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs in human milk will be helpful in furthering our understanding of human exposure to dioxin-like compounds in the general population.