The present study compares concentrations and chemical profiles of an
extended range of persistent organic pollutants (dioxins,
polychlorobiphenyls, brominated flame retardants and organochlorine
pesticides) in breast milk samples from French (n = 96), Danish
(n = 438) and Finnish (n = 22) women. Median exposure levels observed in
French women (WHO-TEQ₂₀₀₅ PCDD/F = 6.1 pg/g l.w., WHO-TEQ₂₀₀₅
dl-PCB = 4.3 pg/g l.w., sum of 6 ndl-PCB = 85.2 ng/g l.w., sum of 7
i-PBDE = 1.5 ng/g l.w.) appeared overall lower than in Danish and
Finnish women for all examined POPs, except for α-HBCD (2-fold higher
level at 0.6 ng/g l.w.). Furthermore, the observed exposure levels of
dioxins and PCBs were higher in Danish women (WHO-TEQ₂₀₀₅ PCDD/F = 13.2 pg/g l.w., WHO-TEQ₂₀₀₅ dl-PCB = 6.6 pg/g l.w., sum of 6 ndl-PCB = 162.8 ng/g l.w.) compared to Finnish women (WHO-TEQ₂₀₀₅ PCDD/F = 9.0 pg/g l.w., WHO-TEQ₂₀₀₅
dl-PCB = 4.6 pg/g l.w., sum of 6 ndl-PCB = 104.0 ng/g l.w.), whereas
the concentrations of PBDEs were similar for Danish and Finnish women
(sum of 7 i-PBDE = 4.9 and 5.2 ng/g l.w. respectively). The
organochlorine (OC) pesticide contamination profile, determined in a
subset of French samples, was dominated by p,p’-DDE (56.6%), followed by
β-HCH (14.2%), HCB (9.7%) and dieldrin (5.2%), while other compounds
were only minor contributors (<5%). The three countries appeared to
be discriminated by the observed contamination patterns of the PCDD/F versus PCB, and the 1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDD versus
1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDD ratios, in addition to the relative contributions of
specific congeners to the contamination profile (PCBs #118 and #156,
PBDEs #28, #47, #99 and #153). In conclusion, unique chemical signatures
were observed for each country on the basis of some POP congeners.
Future biomonitoring studies will need to consider the high variability
of individual exposure profiles in relation to multiple exposure sources
but also physiological and metabolic differences.