Happy news, Brenda, that the mother decided not to take the job!  In
case the topic is still of ongoing interest to those on the list,
here is what Dr. Kim Hooper of the California EPA Hazardous Materials
Lab just emailed me about the issue.  Kim (a man) spends his days
analyzing breast milk for chemical contaminants and has conducted
research among breastfeeding mothers in Khazakistan and all kinds of
far-flung places.

Kim said he didn't know of any studies that look at gasoline or
diesel levels directly in breast milk but says these volatile
organics should behave the way other organic solvents of moderate
molecular weight do.  (e.g hexane, etc..)  Volatiles leave the body
more quickly than semi-volatiles (like PCBs, dioxins etc), and so
when the woman leaves work, her levels would decrease immediately, as
they leave her fat and she exhales them.  How fast this happens is
known for hexane, as occupational studies have followed workers home
and documented decreases in blood hexane levels over time.   Kim
guesses that six hours is required to lower body burden levels
substantially, and two days to return to near background.  He recalls
that workers exhale most solvents over the weekend, and return
somewhat near background on Monday.  Of course, if the mother is
pumping milk at work for feeding the following day, the problem still
remains.  First morning feedings should be lowest in gasoline/diesel,
however.

warmly, Sandra



--
--

Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor
Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors
110 Rice Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY  14853
[log in to unmask]
www.steingraber.com

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