engleski

Analysis of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners in human milk collected in Zagreb, Croatia

The method previously used for the analysis of organochlorine pesticides and total PCBs was tested to analyse the following twenty PCB congeners in human milk: PCB-28, PCB-52, PCB-60, PCB-74, PCB-77, PCB-101, PCB-105, PCB-114, PCB-118, PCB-123, PCB-126, PCB-138, PCB-153, PCB-156, PCB-157, PCB-167, PCB-169, PCB-170, PCB-180 and PCB-189.The congeners were extracted with a mixture of chloroform and methanol. The extracts were cleaned up with sulphuric acid and congeners determined by gas chromatography with electron capture detection (^63Ni). The best recoveries were obtained for PCB-153 (109%), PCB-138 (102%), PCB-180 (93%) and PCB-77 (85%). The recovery rates for PCB-28, PCB-52, PCB-60 and PCB-101 were 56-58%, and for the other congeners 60-80%. This method was considered as suitable and applied for the analysis of 28 human milk samples collected during 1998/99 from the general population in Zagreb 1.5-38 weeks after childbirth. All samples contained PCB-74, PCB-138, PCB-153 and PCB-180. The concentrations of PCB-28, PCB-52, PCB-101, PCB138, PCB-153 and PCB-180 ranged from zero to 346 microgram/kg milk fat and those of the dioxin-like congeners, PCB-77, PCB-126 and PCB-169, from 0 to 35 microgram/kg milk fat. All the other congeners were found from 0 to 82 microgram/kg milk fat.

Human milk; human exposure; PCB congeners

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