Seventeen toxic congeners of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) were determined in breast milks using the high resolution gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS) method. Twenty seven breast milk samples were collected from primiparae who have lived over 5 years in wards namely Chinh Gian, An Khe, Khue Trung, and Hoa Thuan Tay which are located near the Da Nang Agent Orange hot spot (the AO/Dioxin hot spot). The samples were then analyzed for PCDD/F residues in order to assess the human exposure to dioxins from the AO/Dioxin hot spot, especially health risk to the breast-fed infants. The average TEQ levels in the four studied cohorts ranged from 8.1 to 26 pg/g lipid, with the highest level up to 51 pg TEQ/g lipid found in the An Khe ward. The TEQ level was correlated with geographical position and ranking in the order of Khue Trung, Hoa Thuan Tay, Chinh Gian and An Khe. The mean estimated PCDD/Fs infant's daily intake in the cohort of Khue Trung, Hoa Thuan Tay, Chinh Gian and An Khe was about 41, 122, 124, and 134 pg TEQ/kg bw/day, respectively, which are much higher than the tolerable daily intake proposed by the World Health Organization (4 pg TEQ/kg bw/day).
Keywords: Agent Orange; Breast milk; Da Nang; Dioxins; Exposure.
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