Reevaluation of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Concentrations in Milk and Body Fat of Lactating Cows

¹ The Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster 44691
² USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD 20705

Polychlorinated biphenyls occur as mixtures of congeners, each of which may be absorbed, excreted, or metabolized differently. Quantification of polychlorinated biphenyls by packed-column GLC has been difficult. Many quantification techniques, generally based on quantification of a selected group of the congeners present, have been used by researchers. Results of these studies have not provided a consistent basis to determine the relationship between the amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls consumed and residual polychlorinated biphenyls in milk and animal tissues. In the present study, we hypothesized that if a standardized quantification procedure was applied, consistent dose:residue predictions could be made. Weighted percentage of each peak in the polychlorinated biphenyl mixture procedures was used as a standard method to quantify polychlorinated biphenyls in milk fat from published and unpublished studies where lactating cows were fed between 3.5 and 1000 mg/d (Aroclor 1254) for 15 d. When steady state occurred by 60 d of dosing, the relationship between concentration in milk fat (µg/g) and daily dose as mg and as mgkg BW were described by the equations: [polychlorinated biphenyls, µg/g]_{milk fat} = .28(daily dose, mg)^.82, and [polychlorinated biphenyls, µg/g]_{milk fat} = 50.2(daily dose, m a g BW)^.81 Similar equations described the relationships between daily dose and concentrations in adipose tissue and blood plasma. Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls residues in milk fat of 79 animals that were dosed with known quantities of polychlorinated biphenyls for 15 to 107 d confirmed that the equations could be valuable in predicting exposure over a wide range of exposure durations and concentrations.

Key Words: polychlorinated biphenyls • residues • dairy cows

Submitted on November 17, 1989
Accepted on February 26, 1990