Placenta and milk as excretory routes of lipophilic pesticides in women.

Age, diet and ethnic-dependent excretion of chlorinated pesticides through placenta and milk was studied in women from the general population around Lucknow in India by using gas-liquid chromatography equipped with an electron-capture detector (3H+). Pesticidal contaminants in both placenta and milk were 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (p,p'-DDT), its metabolites 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (p,p'-DDE) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (p,p'-DDD), alpha, beta, gamma - isomers of benzene hexachloride (BHC) and aldrin. The study revealed higher excretion of pesticides through the placentas of older and non-vegetarian women than younger and vegetarian women. There was higher excretion of total DDT in rural than in urban women while a reverse trend was found in the case of total BHC in two ethnic groups. Similarly, age and dietary habits influenced the excretion of these pesticides in milk. Women undergoing premature delivery and stillbirths were found to excrete more DDT in their milk than those undergoing full-term normal delivery.