PCDD, PCDF, planar and other PCB levels in human milk in Japan

26 human milk samples in Japan were individually analyzed for PCDDs, PCDFs, planar and other PCB. Mean total concentrations of PCDDs, PCDFs, planar and other PCBs were 8.5 pg/g, 2.3 pg/g, 8.8 pg/g and 5.5 ng/g of whole milk, respectively. TEQs were calculated using International-TEFs(I-TEFs) for PCDDs/Fs and TEFs proposed by the WHO for planar PCBs. Mean total TEQs of PCDDs, PCDFs and planar PCBs were 0.48, 0.63 and 0.39 pg/g of whole milk, respectively. These values were similar to those of other industrialized countries.