Maricar Prudente1, Govindan Malarvannan2, Shin Takahashi2 and Shinsuke Tanabe2

1Science Education Department, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue 1004 Manila, Philippines2Center for Marine Environmental Studies (CMES), Ehime University, Bunkyo-cho 2-5, Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan

Maricar Prudente1, Govindan Malarvannan2, Shin Takahashi2 and Shinsuke Tanabe2

1Science Education Department, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue 1004 Manila, Philippines2Center for Marine Environmental Studies (CMES), Ehime University, Bunkyo-cho 2-5, Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan 1

Organohalogen Compounds in Human Breast Milk from the

Philippines

Background of the Study• Breastfeeding is one of the main pathways of eliminating toxic compounds

• Hazards associated with POPs have been known for years and its harmful implications have been increasingly recognized

• Similar to POPs, other halogenated chemical also exist in the environment as these chemicals are used for industrial purposes

• In the Philippines, information on POPs is rather limited, and so far, no study on BFRs has ever been conducted

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Payatas(dump site)n = 21

Malate(reference site)n = 12

Sampling Locations

Sample N Age Lipid (%) DDTs PCBs CHLs PBDEs* HCHs HCB TCPMe HBCDs

Primipara 6 22 2.4 640 110 29 6.3 13 4.1 6.1 0.76

(17-28) (1.1-3.9) (60-2100) (40-260) (13-55) (4.2-8.5) (5.9-20) (1.0-6.9) (0.61-28) (0.22-1.6)

Multipara 27 31 2.1 60 60 7.8 7.4 3.9 2.0 1.2 0.86

(23-41) (1.0-3.9) (10-210) (10-280) (1.8-15) (1.5-52) (1.1-7.3) (0.76-5.0) (0.04-8.7) (0.088-3.2)

Dumping 21 29 2.1 167 74 11 9.2 5.2 2.6 2.4 0.87

site (17-41) (1.1-3.9) (10-2100) (20-280) (1.8-55) (1.7-52) (1.1-20) (1.0-6.9) (0.36-8.7) (0.13-2.0)

Reference 12 30 23 176 53 15 3.5 6.0 2.0 1.6 0.78

site (18-40) (1.4-3.8) (15-970) (10-110) (7.7-40) (1.6-8.6) (2.6-18) (0.76-4.9) (0.33-5.2) (0.088-3.2)

All donors 33 27 2.3 170 70 12 7.5 5.5 2.5 2.2 0.86

Table 1. Concentrations of organohalogen compounds (ng/g lipid wt.) in breastmilk from the Philippines.Table 1. Concentrations of organohalogen compounds (ng/g lipid wt.) in breastmilk from the Philippines.

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Country Year n PCBs DDTs CHLs HCHs HCB Reference

Mexico 1998 60 ND 4100 ND 60 30Waliszewski et al., 2001

India 2000 8.0 30 420 0.9 650 1.0 Kunisue et al., 2002 Hongkong, China 1999 132 42 2870 ND 950 ND Wong et al., 2002 Guangzhou, China 2000 54 33 3550 ND 1110 ND Wong et al., 2002

Cambodia 2000 49 25 1500 1.6 5.2 1.7 Kunisue et al., 2002

North Vietnam2000-2001 48 76 2200 4.5 36 3.2 Minh et al., 2004

IndonesiaJakarta 2001 16 33 630 2.0 14 2.2 Sudaryanto et al., 2006

Purwakarta 2002 19 24 1300 7.7 30 1.8 Sudaryanto et al., 2006Bogor 2003 15 21 1200 1.8 11 1.8 Sudaryanto et al., 2006

Lampung 2003 6 27 1000 3.5 7.0 2.3 Sudaryanto et al., 2006

Philippines

Payatas 2000 10 72 190 15 4.7 ND Kunisue et al., 2002 Malate 2004 12 53 176 15 6.0 2.0 This study

Payatas 2004 21 74 167 11 5.2 2.6 This study

Table 2. Mean concentrations of OCs (ng/g lipid wt.) in human milk from various developing countries.

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15

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Table 2. Mean concentrations of 2,3,7,8-substituted PCDD/Fs and non-, mono- ortho coplanar PCBs, and those TEQs in human breast milk collected from residents around dumping sites of municipal wastes in India, Cambodia, and Philippines

Concentration (pg/g on fat wt.)    India Cambodia Philippines

PCDDs 270 74 190PCDFs 42 39 20PCDDs-TEQs 8.0 5.2 2.8PCDFs-TEQs 5.8 2.5 2.9           

Non-ortho PCBs 190 45 80Mono-ortho PCBs 23000 3600 7800Non-ortho PCBs-TEQs 7.2 1.9 2.4Mono-ortho PCBs-TEQs 3.4 0.57 1.3

         

Total TEQs 25 10 9.4           

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Philippines

Cambodia

India

China

Brazil

Spain

South Africa

USA

Japan

France

Russia

Canada

Germany

Finland

Netherlands

0 10 20 30 40 50

(pg TEQs/g on fat wt.)

Comparisons of TEQs in human breast milk found in this study (India,Cambodia, and Philippines) with those reported from various countries.

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Philippines

Cambodia

India

China

Brazil

Spain

South Africa

USA

Japan

France

Russia

Canada

Germany

Finland

Netherlands

0 10 20 30 40 50

(pg TEQs/g on fat wt.)

Comparisons of TEQs in human breast milk found in this study (India,Cambodia, and Philippines) with those reported from various countries.

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50

100

150

pg TEQs/kg/day440

0 APhilippines Cambodia India

A : TDI (4pg/kg/day ; WHO, 1998)

Daily intake of TEQs to infants estimated from their human breast milk.

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10

100

1000

Indiareference site

Cambodiadumping site

Cambodiareference site

Vietnamdumping site

Vietnamreference site

Philippinesdumping site

Indiadumping site

Daily Intake(pg TEQs/kg/day)

TDI set by WHOat 1-4 TEQs/kg/day

Estimated daily intakes of TEQs from human breast milk based on the assumption that an infant ingests 700 ml milk per day and that the weight of an infant is 5 kg (Hooper et al., 1997).

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Conclusions

• Organohalogen compounds were detected in all the human breast milk samples analysed, suggestive of widespread contamination.

• DDTs and PCBs were predominantly identified contaminants, while PBDEs levels were found to be higher than those previously reported in other developing countries in Asia

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Recommendation

Continuous monitoring of organohalogen compounds seem imperative in order to avoid possible negative implications on human health in the near future.

• Collaborative projects with the Global Center of Excellence (GCOE) program through the Ehime University Center for Marine Environmental Studies (CMES) focusing on issues of human and natural sources of pollutants and risks to humans, animals and whole ecosystems, with articular focus on the following:

1. Monitoring OCs, BFRs and Dioxins in Human breast milk in the Coastal Areas of the Philippines

2. Assessing Manila Bay ecosystem in terms of sources and sinks of pollutants to the bay, and their potential risks to humans and wildlife

The broad scope of these research studies require an integrated approach involving ecology, geology, hydrology and environmental chemistry

• Collaborative project with Dr. Arai of ORI on OCs accumulation in freshwater eel (Anguilla spp.)

Research Activities

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