Measurement of organochlorine pesticides level in milk agricultural women workers (Mazandaran-Iran)

Abstract

Main purpose of this study levels of some organochlorine pesticides were determined in milk samples of mothers living in two agricultural cities of Iran (Sari and Babol in Mazandaran province) in order to assess the trends of woman workers exposure to persistent pollutants. The milk samples gathered from breastfeeding women routine determination of OCPs was performed with GC/ECD. The result showed the highest amounts were found for p,p'-DDE, which was 0.056 μg g-1 in fat in Sari and 0.045 μg g-1 fat in Babol, followed by β-HCH, which was 0.037 μg g-1 fat and 0.024 μg g-1 fat, respectively. The low level of OCPs in human milk as found in the present study support the Iranian policy of encouraging breast-feeding. The fact that the mother breast-feeds her child and that she originally comes from a region where DDT is still in use as a vector control agent, as well as the former use of organochlorine pesticides OCPs in agriculture, seems to be the main factors for high DDT and other OCP residues in the mothers' milk. © 2006 Asian Network for Scientific Information.