[Organochlorine compounds: blood levels in mothers, newborns, and infants, in maternal milk and formula. Study in the province of Huelva].

We have studied the presence of organochlorine compounds (OCC), DDT, HCB, HCH and isomers alpha, beta and gamma or lindane, hepta-chloro-epoxide (HE) and polychlorobiphenyl compounds (PCB), in 50 mothers and their newborn babies. The samples studied included the umbilical cord blood, blood from the mothers during the delivery, blood from the baby at one and three months of age, and the milk fed to the babies at these periods (breast n = 30; bottle n = 20). The objectives of the study were: 1) To detect the levels of OCC in the different samples. 2) To discover the difference in levels between breast and bottle fed babies. 3) To quantify the variations of the levels in the different samples. 4) To check whether the acceptable daily intake (ADI) established for these OCC is exceeded among these babies. The analyses were done in the National Institute of Toxicology in Seville, by using the following methods, gas chromatography, electron capture detector and mass spectrometry. The statistical analysis was based on the Kruskal-Wallis, Shapiro-Wilks, Levene, Pooled and Separate tests. We have found significant levels of OCC in the samples analyzed. The PCBs are the compounds in our study which have the highest levels, indeed being one of the highest levels documented to date. We verify the decline in OCC of agricultural origin in relation to previous reports in our country, as has also been reflected in the international literature in recent years. The levels of OCC in breast fed babies are significantly higher than those in bottle fed babies.