Contamination levels and congener distribution of PCDDs, PCDFs and dioxin-like PCBs in buffalo’s milk from Caserta province (Italy)

An extraordinary plan of official control was carried out in 2008 in Campania (Italy) with the aim to monitor polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) levels in buffalo milk and to detect the contaminated farms, most of which are located in Caserta province. For these companies has been ordered seizure and execution of additional analyses has been requested in farms falling in the nearness, within a distance of 3 km, for a total of 304 farms examined. Moreover, all non-compliant farms were subjected to a periodic sampling in order to monitor trends in the levels of contamination.

In this paper the distribution and the concentrations of 17 PCDD/Fs and 12 dioxin-like PCBs in 460 samples of buffalo milk collected in the province of Caserta (Italy) are presented. The range of WHO-TEQ values for the PCDD/Fs in milk was 0.17 pg TEQ g1 fat and 87.0 pg TEQ g1 fat with a mean value 3.63 pg TEQ g1 fat and medium value 2.25 pg TEQ g1 fat. The concentrations of dioxin-like PCBs in the analysed samples ranged from 0.21 pg TEQ g1 fat to 15.9 pg TEQ g1 fat and the WHO-TEQ values of sum of PCDDs, PCDFs and dl-PCBs ranged from 0.45 pg TEQ g1 fat to 103.0 pg TEQ g1 fat. The geo-referencing analysis allowed to individuate a restricted area of the region object of the present study where is located the majority of the non-compliant farms. The study of the congeners distribution has finally suggested that the likely cause of contamination is to be attributed to the illegal burning of waste.

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