Characterization of Dose Distributions of Selected Breast Milk Contaminants to Nursing Infants: DDE and TCDD. J. S. LaKind, LaKind Associates, LLC, Catonsville, MD; C. M. Berlin, The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA; D. Q. Naiman, Department of Mathematical Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; and C. N. Park, Bayshore Blvd, NE, St Petersburg, FL
The requirements of the Food Quality Protection Act have focused attention on children’s health issues, including risks to infants and children from aggregate exposures (i.e., total exposure to contaminants from multiple source contributions). Further, the US Environmental Protection Agency has considered screening breast milk to determine its potential as an endocrine disruptor. However, to date, a clear picture of the range of doses of breast milk contaminants experienced by nursing infants in the United States has yet to be described, resulting in a significant gap in our current understanding of potential health risks to infants from those contaminants. While point estimates (e.g., single values) of dose have appeared in the published literature, these estimates do not account for the wide variability in exposures, and therefore, the large range of potential risks, experienced by nursing infants. Additionally, current methodology has not accounted for the time dependent nature of the dose. Consequently, our research expands on the current state of understanding of risks associated with breast milk contaminant exposure by characterizing distributions, rather than point estimates, of cumulative dose (specifically, cumulative doses of DDE and 2,3,7,8-TCDD). Methodologies for performing such distributional analyses are available, and are modified to reflect the specific requirements of this analysis. Variability in nursing duration, milk consumption, and lipid content, as well as changes in chemical concentrations in breast milk due to depuration, and chemical half life in infants will be considered.
Work supported by the Chlorine Chemistry Council.
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