Japan - Dioxin in milk downplayed

[John Visher <visherjc@crisscross.com>]

http://www.asahi.com/english/enews/enews.html#enews_23867

August 3, 1999

Dioxin in milk downplayed
Asahi Shimbun

Dioxin concentration in breast milk was found to be more than 26 times
higher than established national guidelines, according to a Ministry of
Health and Welfare survey released Monday.

But the ministry claims that the toxin level would have no ill effects
on the health and growth of infants because breast milk is ingested for
only up to one year after birth.

The survey was conducted with the cooperation of 415 mothers in 21
regions across the nation who gave birth during fiscal 1998.

The survey found an average of 22.2 picograms of dioxin per gram of fat
in breast milk, taken from mothers who had given birth 30 days before
the poll was taken. A picogram is one-trillionth of a gram.

Earlier this year, the ministry revised its safety guideline of
tolerable daily intake of dioxins to 4 picograms per kilogram of weight.
An average infant consumes about 120 grams of breast milk per kilogram
of weight. That means a baby could take about 103.6 picograms of dioxin
daily, the survey said.

Health inspections were conducted on 55 1-year-olds who were breast-fed
and on 32 1-year-olds who drank powdered milk, the ministry officials
said. Blood tests were conducted to check their immune and thyroid
systems, and existence of allergies, but found no apparent health impact
on both groups, the officials said.

The survey found differences in dioxin contamination in breast milk in
different area of the nation. Shimane Prefecture had the highest density
of dioxins, with 29.5 picograms per gram of fat. Fujisawa, Kanagawa
Prefecture followed with 25.6 picograms, Osaka Prefecture with 25.3
picograms and Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture with 24.7 picograms.

Okinawa Prefecture had the lowest concentration, with 13.4 picograms,
followed by Ishikawa Prefecture with 15.3 picograms and Iwate Prefecture
with 17.6 picograms.

Aside from Shimane Prefecture, the dioxin concentration tended to be
higher in urban areas compared with rural regions, the survey said.

Ministry officials said breast milk is only taken for a short period of
time, usually between 6 and 12 months. In addition, mothers' milk has an
advantage in improving the babies' immune system and enhances a stronger
mother-child relationship. Thus, breast feeding should not be abandoned
despite the possible negative effect of dioxins, the officials said.

However, Junya Nagasawa, assistant professor of environmental health at
the Kyushu University School of Health Science said dioxins could damage
immune and thyroid systems in a fetus. Although mothers should not
become too sensitive about breast feeding, further studies should be
conducted about dioxins' health effects on a fetus, Nagasawa said.

When the ministry released a similar survey result in April 1998, the
average amount of dioxin believed to be consumed by breast-fed infants
was seven times higher than tolerable daily intake levels. The officials
explained the difference between the figures came because the tolerable
daily intake at that time was 10 picograms per gram of fat.

In addition, the officials said, Co-PCB, a type of PCB (polychlorinated
biphenyl) believed to be the most toxic of the PCBs, was included in the
amount of dioxins detected in the milk during the new survey.



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