Of interest?  
Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC

http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2003/6466/abstracts.html


Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 111, Number 14, November 2003 



Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in U.S. Mothers' Milk

Arnold Schecter,1 Marian Pavuk,1 Olaf Päpke,2 John Jake Ryan,3 Linda 
Birnbaum,4 and Robin Rosen5

1University of Texas Health Sciences Center, School of Public Health, Dallas 
Regional Campus, Dallas, Texas, USA; 2ERGO Research, Hamburg, Germany; 3Health 
Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; 4Environmental Toxicology Research 
Laboratories, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North 
Carolina, USA; 5University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Department of 
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dallas, Texas, USA 



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Abstract
No previous reports exist on polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners 
in human milk from individual U.S. mothers. This article on PBDEs is an 
extension of our previous studies on concentrations of dioxins, dibenzofurans, 
polychlorinated biphenyls, and other chlorinated organic compounds in human milk in 
a number of countries. PBDE commercial products are used as flame retardants 
in flexible polyurethane foam (penta-BDE), in acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene 
resins (octa-BDE), and in high-impact polystyrene resins (deca-BDE). Their use 
is permitted in the United States but is banned in some European countries 
because of presumed toxicity, demonstrated persistence, and bioaccumulation. 
Different commercial products can be found in various consumer products such as 
television sets, computers, computer monitors and printers, carpets, and 
upholstery. Analyses of human levels of these compounds suggest low but rising levels 
in European human milk, which may have peaked, at least in Sweden, in the 
late 1990s. Very few data exist on levels of PBDEs in humans in the United 
States, and none from milk from individual nursing mothers. To address this issue, 
we analyzed 47 individual milk samples from nursing mothers, 20-41 years of 
age, from a milk bank in Austin, Texas, and a community women's health clinic in 
Dallas, Texas. Up to 13 PBDE congeners were measured. The concentrations of 
the sum of PBDE congeners varied from 6.2 to 419 ng/g (or parts per billion) 
lipid, with a median of 34 ng/g and a mean of 73.9 ng/g lipid. The PBDE levels in 
breast milk from Texas were similar to levels found in U.S. blood and adipose 
tissue lipid from California and Indiana and are 10-100 times greater than 
human tissue levels in Europe. Their detection in breast milk raises concern for 
potential toxicity to nursing infants, given the persistence and 
bioaccumulative nature of some of the PBDE congeners. These results indicate a need for 
more detailed investigation of the levels of PBDE in people and food, as well as 
determining if animal fat in food is the major route of exposure of the 
general U.S. population. Other routes of intake may also be significant. Key words: 
brominated diphenyl ethers, brominated flame retardants, human milk, nursing 
mothers. Environ Health Perspect 111:1723-1729 (2003). doi:10.1289/ehp.6466 
available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 5 August 2003] 


> Address correspondence to A. Schecter, University of Texas Health Sciences 
> Center, School of Public Health, Dallas Regional Campus, 5323 Harry Hines 
> Blvd., V8.112, Dallas, TX 75390 USA. Telephone: (214) 648-1096. Fax: (214) 
> 648-1081. E-mail: <A HREF="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]</A> We thank the study 
> participants in Dallas and Austin. We also thank our collaborators, S. Heartwell, B. 
> Schwarz, L. Flores, K. Collins, and B. Moses (University of Texas Southwestern 
> Medical Center, Dallas, TX); and G. Flatau, S. Landers, and J. Cote (Austin 
> Mothers' Milk Bank, Austin, TX). 
> 
> This study was supported in part by the CS Fund, Warsh-Mott Legacy, the 
> Kundstadter Family Foundation, and the Samuel Rubin Foundation. 
> 
> This document does not constitute U.S. EPA policy. Mention of trade names or 
> commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for 
> use. 
> 
> The authors declare they have no conflict of interest. 
> 
> Received 16 May 2003; accepted 6 August 2003. 
> 
> 




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