Uptake and transfer of PCDD/Fs by cattle fed naturally contaminated feedstuffs and feed contaminated as a result of sewage sludge application. 2. Nonlactating cows.

The dietary absorption and tissue distribution of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) was investigated in 4 nonlactating Simmental cows. During Phase 1 the dietary uptake and fecal excretion of these chemicals were measured over 10 days using feed containing background levels of PCDD/Fs that were primarily of atmospheric origin. Following this, two of the animals were sacrificed and samples of different fat, muscle, and organ tissues were collected. In Phase 2 the remaining two animals were fed grass silage from a field which had a history of repeated sewage sludge applications. During the last 10 days of the 27-day feeding period, the dietary uptake and fecal excretion of PCDD/Fs were again quantified, after which these two animals were also sacrificed and sampled. The dietary absorption of the PCDD/Fs in the nonlactating cows agreed well with values reported in Part I of this series for lactating cows. In the two animals sacrificed at the end of Phase 1 that were close to a contaminant steady state, the lipid-normalized concentrations were similar in almost all tissues. The exceptions were the liver, and to a lesser extent the lungs and the spleen, which had higher levels; and the degree of elevation increased with the degree of chlorination of the PCDD/Fs. During Phase 2, the animals' body burden of several of the PCDD/F congeners increased markedly. The tissue analyses indicated that the chemicals were initially sequestered primarily in the liver, from where they were redistributed to the other tissues and organs. The rate of redistribution was related to the perfusion of the organ/tissue and decreased in the order lung>spleen>kidney>muscle>fat tissue. The rate of redistribution also decreased with increasing degree of chlorination of the PCDD/F congeners. Whereas virtually all of the 1,2,3,7,8-Cl(5)DD taken up during Phase 2 had been deposited in fat tissue by the end of the 27-day feeding period, three-quarters of the Cl(8)DD was still in the liver.