Home LiteratureArticle Details
PMID: 8549474 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Review

Chemical contaminants in human milk: an overview.

Environmental health perspectives ·Vol. 103 Suppl 6 ·1995-09-00 ·Pages 197-205

Sonawane BR

Abstract

This review contains a succinct overview of the nature and extent of the problem of contamination of human milk with environmental and occupational chemicals, excluding drugs. Factors influencing the levels of contaminants in breast milk are discussed. Also, data on major chemicals of concern with potential health risk(s) to the general population and risk-benefit considerations are dealt with briefly. Based on the available data on the subject, research needs have been identified and policy recommendations are suggested.

MeSH Terms
Environmental Pollutants/analysis Female Food Contamination Humans Infant Infant, Newborn Milk, Human/chemistry Pesticide Residues/analysis
Chemicals
Environmental Pollutants Pesticide Residues
Authors & Affiliations
1 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Sonawane B R
Office of Health and Environmental Assessment, Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460, USA.
References (48)
48 references, click to expand
  1. House treatment with organochlorine pesticides and their levels in human milk--Perth, Western Australia.
    Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1985 Aug;35(2):202-8 PMID: 4027424
  2. Porphyria turcica due to hexachlorobenzene: a 20 to 30 year follow-up study on 204 patients.
    Br J Dermatol. 1984 Oct;111(4):413-22 PMID: 6487543
  3. Pesticide concentrations in Arkansas breast milk.
    J Ark Med Soc. 1992 Apr;88(11):553-7 PMID: 1644709
  4. WHO collaborative breast feeding study. II. Levels of lead and cadmium in Swedish human milk, 1978-1979.
    Acta Paediatr Scand. 1981;70(3):281-4 PMID: 7246122
  5. Malathion not detected in breast milk of women living in aerial spraying areas.
    N Engl J Med. 1982 Aug 12;307(7):439 PMID: 7088119
  6. Influence of diet and other factors on the levels of organochlorine compounds in human adipose tissue in Finland.
    J Toxicol Environ Health. 1984;13(4-6):689-704 PMID: 6436503
  7. Survey of human milk for volatile N-nitrosamines and the influence of diet on their formation.
    Food Chem Toxicol. 1984 Sep;22(9):721-4 PMID: 6541625
  8. Mercury in women exposed to methylmercury through fish consumption, and in their newborn babies and breast milk.
    Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1988 Oct;41(4):475-82 PMID: 3224165
  9. Mirex in human milk in upstate New York.
    Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 1983 Nov;12(6):739-46 PMID: 6651347
  10. Pesticide residues in human milk, Alberta, Canada--1966-70, 1977-78.
    Pestic Monit J. 1979 Sep;13(2):52-5 PMID: 514794
  11. Presence of polychlorinated biphenyl and organochlorine pesticide residues and the absence of polychlorinated terphenyls in Canadian human milk samples.
    Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1979 Feb;21(3):381-7 PMID: 109148
  12. Pesticide residues in human milk.
    Food Cosmet Toxicol. 1981 Aug;19(4):437-42 PMID: 6792018
  13. Isolation and characterization of palmitoylpentachlorophenol from human fat.
    Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1985 May;34(5):661-7 PMID: 4005445
  14. Cohort study of Michigan residents exposed to polybrominated biphenyls: epidemiologic and immunologic findings.
    Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1979 May 31;320:284-94 PMID: 222186
  15. Polychlorbiphenyls (PCB) induced fetopathy. I. Clinical observation.
    Kurume Med J. 1972;19(1):43-51 PMID: 4481651
  16. Should the presence of carcinogens in breast milk discourage breast feeding?
    Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 1991 Jun;13(3):228-40 PMID: 1947235
  17. Polychlorinated terphenyls in the environment.
    Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1973 Aug;10(2):108-11 PMID: 4201380
  18. [Determination of chlorine pesticides in human milk].
    Pediatr Pol. 1971 Feb;46(2):183-8 PMID: 5553863
  19. Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in maternal adipose tissue, blood, milk, and cord blood from mothers and their infants living in Norway.
    Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 1988 Jan;17(1):55-63 PMID: 3122671
  20. Congenital poisoning by polychlorinated biphenyls and their contaminants in Taiwan.
    Science. 1988 Jul 15;241(4863):334-6 PMID: 3133768
  21. Human exposure to polychorinated biphenyls and polybrominated biphenyls.
    Environ Health Perspect. 1978 Jun;24:157-72 PMID: 17539143
  22. Chlorohydrocarbon pesticide residues in human milk in Greater St. Louis, Missouri 1977.
    Am J Clin Nutr. 1977 Jul;30(7):1106-9 PMID: 69397
  23. Breast-milk monitoring to measure Michigan's contamination with polybrominated biphenyls.
    Lancet. 1978 Sep 23;2(8091):643-6 PMID: 80575
  24. Developmental abilities of children exposed to polybrominated biphenyls (PBB).
    Am J Public Health. 1983 Mar;73(3):281-5 PMID: 6297321
  25. Organochloride pesticide residues in human milk in Hawaii, 1979-80.
    Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1981 Oct;27(4):506-11 PMID: 7306714
  26. Epidemiology of hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria in Turkey: clinical and laboratory follow-up after 25 years.
    Arch Neurol. 1982 Dec;39(12):744-9 PMID: 7138315
  27. Bioavailability of orally administered cadmium and lead to the mother, fetus, and neonate during pregnancy and lactation: an overview.
    Sci Total Environ. 1983 Jun;28:327-42 PMID: 6879155
  28. Human-milk intake measured by administration of deuterium oxide to the mother: a comparison with the test-weighing technique.
    Am J Clin Nutr. 1988 May;47(5):815-21 PMID: 2834941
  29. Insecticide residues in human milk.
    J Pediatr. 1972 Mar;80(3):401-5 PMID: 4110556
  30. Determination of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in human milk at the 0.1-10 parts-per-trillion level: method validation and survey results.
    Anal Chem. 1986 Feb;58(2):463-8 PMID: 3963398
  31. Organochlorine pesticide residue levels in human milk: Western Australia, 1979-1980.
    Arch Environ Health. 1985 Mar-Apr;40(2):102-8 PMID: 4004342
  32. Mercury levels in human maternal and neonatal blood, hair and milk.
    Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1977 Aug;18(2):205-9 PMID: 890156
  33. A study on pesticide residues in umbilical cord blood and maternal milk.
    Taiwan Yi Xue Hui Za Zhi. 1976 Aug;75(8):463-70 PMID: 1068219
  34. Organochlorine pesticide residues in human tissues, Hawaii, 1968-1980.
    Hawaii Med J. 1982 Sep;41(9):250-1 PMID: 7174300
  35. Polybrominated biphenyls in lactating Michigan women: persistence in the population.
    Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1984 Feb;32(2):125-33 PMID: 6322887
  36. Methylmercury poisoning in the Iraqi suckling infant: a longitudinal study over five years.
    J Appl Toxicol. 1981 Aug;1(4):210-4 PMID: 6892222
  37. Polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorodibenzofurans (PCDFs) in human milk, blood and adipose tissue.
    Sci Total Environ. 1987 Jul;64(3):259-93 PMID: 3110947
  38. Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides and related compounds in adipose tissue from people of Japan.
    Nature. 1973 Mar 30;242(5396):338-40 PMID: 4121534
  39. Gas chromatographic determination of nicotine in human breast milk.
    J Clin Hosp Pharm. 1983 Sep;8(3):289-93 PMID: 6630567
  40. [Polychlorinated terphenyls in a human fat and mother's milk (author's transl)].
    Nihon Eiseigaku Zasshi. 1974 Feb;28(6):543-7 PMID: 4471869
  41. The PBB episode in Michigan: an overall appraisal.
    Crit Rev Toxicol. 1985;16(2):105-56 PMID: 3002722
  42. The effect of polybrominated biphenyl on infants and young children.
    J Pediatr. 1981 Jan;98(1):47-51 PMID: 6256513
  43. Lead contamination in milks fed to infants: 1972-1973.
    Pediatrics. 1974 Feb;53(2):137-41 PMID: 4405882
  44. Discovery and epidemiology of PCB poisoning in Taiwan: a four-year followup.
    Environ Health Perspect. 1985 Feb;59:5-10 PMID: 3921364
  45. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethene (DDE) in human milk: effects of maternal factors and previous lactation.
    Am J Public Health. 1986 Feb;76(2):172-7 PMID: 3080910
  46. Parental occupation and birth outcome in an agricultural community.
    Scand J Work Environ Health. 1986 Feb;12(1):51-4 PMID: 3485819
  47. Residues of the synergist S-421 in human milk collected from the Tokyo metropolitan area.
    Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1982 Nov;29(5):566-9 PMID: 7150805
  48. National study of chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide residues in human milk, USA. I. Geographic distribution of dieldrin, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, chlordane, oxychlordane, and mirex.
    Am J Epidemiol. 1981 Apr;113(4):413-22 PMID: 7211826
Article Info
Journal
Environmental health perspectives
Abbr.
Environ Health Perspect
ISSN
0091-6765
DOI
10.1289/ehp.95103s6197
Published
1995-09-00
Pages
197-205
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
0330411
PMCID
PMC1518901
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1289/ehp.95103s6197 PMC Full Text View journal details
Analysis Services
Analysis Services

Contact

No. 2 Wenbo Road, Zhangqiu District, Jinan, Shandong

Qilu Normal University · Genelibs Bioinformatics Lab

750 Shunhua Rd, Jinan

2F, Bldg F, University Science Park

Tel: 0531-88819269

WeChat Official Account

Follow our WeChat subscription account for real-time updates and the latest in medical and biological research.


Business Email

E-mail: [email protected]

Copyright © 2026.Genelibs Jinan Honghui Biotechnology Co., Ltd. 鲁ICP备20007159号-2