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Page 16 of 20 Andjelkovic et al. J Environ Expo Assess 2024;3:23 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/jeea.2024.22

Table 4. Estimated daily exposure and risk characterization for breastfed 1-month-old infants in Belgium to POPs measured in the
national pooled sample for which HBGV is known
Estimated exposure (ng/kg bw/d) Risk characterization
*
Compound Individual samples Pooled sample HBGV (ng/kg bw/d) Ref.
50th percentile 95th percentile
Sum DDTs 419 1,707 823 10,000 (TDI) [61]
HCB 56 94 101 170 (PTDI) [62,63]
γ-HCH 10 10 Nd 5,000 (ADI) [64]
Heptachlor nd nd 33 100 (TDI) [65]
PCB+PCDD/F TEQ nd nd 0.061 0.002 (TWI) [58]
PFOA, PFNA, PFHxS, PFOS nd nd 17 4.4 (TWI) [57]
PFOA nd nd 21
POPs: Persistent organic pollutants; HBGV: health-based guidance value; DDTs: dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites; TDI:
tolerable daily intake; HCB: hexachlorobenzene; PTDI: provisional tolerable daily intake; HCH: hexachlorocyclohexane isomer; nd: not determined;
ADI: acceptable daily intake; PCB: polychlorinated biphenyl; PCDD: polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin; TEQ: total toxic equivalence;TWI: tolerable
weakly intake; PFOA: perfluorooctanoic acid; PFNA: perfluorononanoic acid; PFHxS: perfluorohexanesulfonic acid; PFOS: perfluorooctane
sulfonate.

Table 5. Estimated daily exposure and risk characterization for breastfed 1-month-old infants in Belgium to POPs measured in the
national pooled sample for which MOE was applied
Estimated exposure (ng/kg bw/d) MOE
*
Compound Individual samples Pooled sample Individual samples Pooled sample Ref.
P50 P95 P50 P95
BDE-47 a 1 9 3 172 19 57 [27]
b
BDE-99 0.5 3.5 1 8.4 1.2 4.2 [27]
c
BDE-153 4 12 4 2.4 0.8 2.4 [27]
d
HBCDs nd nd 23 Nd nd 130 [28]
* a
calculated for the scenario (infant of 4.3 kg consuming 260 mL milk/kg bw/d) with P50 or P95 concentration for individual samples. Reference
b
point 232,000 ng/kg bw/d Body Burden at BMDL10 (dr h: 172 ng/kg bw), Reference point 9,000 ng/kg bw/d Body Burden at BMDL10 (dr h:
c d
4.2 ng/kg bw), Reference point 62,000 ng/kg bw/d Body Burden at BMDL10 (dr h: 9.6 ng/kg bw), Reference point 790,000 ng/kg bw/d Body
Burden at BMDL10 (dr h: 3,000 ng/kg bw). The average percentage of fat was 3.9% in individual samples and 3.6% in the pooled sample. POPs:
Persistent organic pollutants; MOE: margin of exposure; BDE: brominated diphenyl ether; HBCD: hexabromocyclododecane; nd: not determined;
BMDL: lower confidence limit of benchmark dose.
CONCLUSIONS
The majority of the analyzed POPs were either detected at very low levels or not detected at all in the
Belgian milk samples from mothers with their first child. HCB, β-HCH, p,p’-DDE, p,p’-DDT, BDE-47, and
BDE-153 were quantifiable in 50% of the individual samples analyzed. Particularly, the concentrations of
BDE-47 and BDE-153 were either lower than or comparable to those observed in samples from other
European countries collected during the same timeframe. Among the regional samples, only α-HBCD was
detected among the examined POPs. The analysis of the national Belgian sample revealed a decrease in the
presence of all POPs listed in the Stockholm Convention, except HBCDs, since the last measurements in
2006. Furthermore, PFOS and PFOA, newly measured in national samples, were found at levels similar to
those reported in other European nations. Overall, a significant conclusion of this study is the observed
declining trend of POPs in Belgian human milk.

The exposure assessment for nursing infants indicated no health risk for most POPs, but a possible health
concern was identified for two PBDE congeners (BDE-99 and BDE-153). This study underscores the
necessity of ongoing measures to control POPs and the importance of international human biomonitoring
initiatives conducted by the WHO. Although the use of many POPs has been prohibited for decades in
Western European countries like Belgium, these substances remain in the environment and food chain,