Organochlorine contaminants in Swedish human milk from the Stockholm region.

The levels of fat-soluble organochlorine contaminants in human milk in the Stockholm region are decreasing. For p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE, and dieldrin a reduction has taken place during the last decade, but the levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) started declining only from about 1977. Generally, the pooled samples from the Mothers' Milk Centre in Stockholm in 1980 contained lower levels of organochlorine contaminants than the current Swedish maximum acceptable limits for milk. In 2% of the samples the total DDT levels slightly exceeded the limit of 0.05 mg DDT + DDD + DDE/kg. Milk from three mothers was analysed during the nursing of two or three consecutive infants. In each case, the levels of organochlorine contaminants declined.