Page 87 - Read Online

Andjelkovic et al. J Environ Expo Assess 2024;3:23 Journal of Environmental
DOI: 10.20517/jeea.2024.22
Exposure Assessment

Research Article Open Access

Persistent organic pollutants in human milk of
Belgian mothers: levels, time trend and exposure

assessment for nursing infants

2
1
1
Mirjana Andjelkovic 1 , Ilse Van Overmeire , Laure Joly , Giulia Poma 2 , Govindan Malarvannan ,
1
1
1,§
Christiane Vleminckx , Svetlana V. Malysheva , Martine Vanhouche , Joris Van Loco , An Van
1,§
1,3
Nieuwenhuyse , Adrian Covaci 2
1
Chemical and Physical Health Risks, Sciensano, Brussels 1050, Belgium.
2
Toxicological Centre, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk 2610, Belgium.
3
(Present address: Laboratoire National de Santé, Department of Health Protection, Dudelange L-3555, Luxembourg.)
§
Retired.
Correspondence to: Dr. Mirjana Andjelkovic, Chemical and Physical Health Risks, Sciensano, Juliette Wytsmanstraat 14,
Brussels 1050, Belgium. E-mail: mirjana.andjelkovic@sciensano.be; Dr. Giulia Poma, Toxicological Centre, University of Antwerp,
Universiteitsplein 1, Wilrijk 2610, Belgium. E-mail: giulia.poma@uantwerpen.be
How to cite this article: Andjelkovic M, Van Overmeire I, Joly L, Poma G, Malarvannan G, Vleminckx C, Malysheva SV,
Vanhouche M, Van Loco J, Van Nieuwenhuyse A, Covaci A. Persistent organic pollutants in human milk of Belgian mothers:
levels, time trend and exposure assessment for nursing infants. J Environ Expo Assess 2024;3:23. https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/
jeea.2024.22
Received: 20 Jul 2024 First Decision: 12 Sep 2024 Revised: 6 Nov 2024 Accepted: 8 Nov 2024 Published: 19 Nov 2024
Academic Editors: Per Ola Darnerud, Stuart Harrad Copy Editor: Pei-Yun Wang Production Editor: Pei-Yun Wang

Abstract
Human milk samples (n = 206) collected in 2014 from Belgian primiparous mothers were analyzed for seven
groups of persistent organic pollutants (POPs): dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs),
chlordane compounds (CHLs), hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB),
polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), pentachlorobenzene (PeCB), and hexabromobiphenyl (BB-153). Pooled
samples for the analysis of hexachlorobutadiene, heptachlor, chlordecone, dieldrin, and hexabromocyclododecane
(HBCD) were prepared. DDTs [median: 41 ng/g lipid weight (lw)], HCB (5.5 ng/g lw), and HCHs (2.4 ng/g lw)
were the predominant compounds in all samples. Median levels of PBDEs (0.91 ng/g lw) in Belgian human breast
milk samples were lower compared to other European countries. The major PBDE congeners were BDE-47 and
BDE-153, and total PBDE levels were low (0.30-4.25 ng/g lw). α-HBCD was the only HBCD stereoisomer found in
the pooled milk samples (2.5 ng/g lw). All targeted POPs were determined in a national pooled sample but were
lower than levels of most POPs [organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), PBDEs, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)]

© The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as
long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and
indicate if changes were made.

www.oaepublish.com/jeea