CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS, PHARMACOKINETICS, AND THE LACTATING MOTHER

We review the commonly occurring persistent pesticides and industrial chemicals in breast milk. These chemicals are dichlorodiphenyl trichlo roethane as dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethene dieldrin, chlordane as oxy chlordane. heptachlor. polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibe nzofurans, and polychlorinated dibenzodioxins. We present a worked exa mple of the kinds of pharmacokinetic assumptions and calculations nece ssary for setting regulatory limits of contaminants in the food supply , calculating dose of chemical contaminants to the nursed infant, conv erting risks from lifetime exposure in laboratory animals to risks for short-term exposure in humans, and estimating the excess cancer risk to the nursed infant.