ARCTIC INDIGENOUS WOMEN CONSUME GREATER-THAN ACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF ORGANOCHLORINES

Exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides th rough traditional food resources was examined for Arctic Indigenous wo men living in two cultural and environmental areas of the Canadian Arc tic-one community representing Baffin Island Inuit in eastern Arctic a nd two communities representing Sahtu Dene/Metis in western Arctic. Po lychlorinated biphenyls, toxaphene, chlorobenzenes, hexachlorocyclohex anes, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, chlordane-related compounds and dieldrin were determined in local food resources as normally prepared and eaten. Quantified dietary recalls taken seasonally reflected norm al consumption patterns of these food resources by women in three age groups: 20-40 y, 41-60 y and greater than or equal to 61 y. There was wide variation of intake of all organochlorine contaminants in both ar eas and among age groups for the Sahtu. Fifty percent of the intake re calls collected from the Baffin Inuit exceeded the acceptable daily in take for chlordane-related compounds and toxaphene, and a substantial percentage of the intake records for dieldrin and polychlorinated biph enyls exceeded the acceptable or tolerable daily intake levels. Primar y contributing foods to organochlorine contaminants intake for the Baf fin Inuit were meat and blubber of ringed seal, blubber of walrus and mattak and blubber of narwhal. Important foods contributing organochlo rine contaminant to the Sahtu Dene/Metis were caribou, whitefish, inco nnu, trout and duck. The superior nutritional benefits and potential h ealth risks of traditional food items are reviewed, as are implication s for monitoring organochlorine contaminant contents of food, clinical symptoms and food use.