These fat-soluble toxicants accumulate in the food chain, especially in meat, fish, and dairy products.
Mothers pass PCBs and dioxins to their children through the umbilical cord and breast milk.
Using data gathered under the leadership of Pieter J. J. Sauer, now chairman of pediatrics at the University of Groningen, they report for the first time that perinatal exposure to PCBs and dioxins affects the occurrence of infectious diseases and allergic disorders in preschool-age children. Pregnant women were recruited by midwives in Rotterdam and the surrounding area between 1990 and 1992. The women did not know whether they were exposed to high or low amounts of PCBs and dioxins. For 207 healthy newborn infants, perinatal exposure to the pollutants was estimated by measuring PCBs in their mothers' blood and umbilical cord blood, and by measuring PCBs and dioxins in their mothers' breast milk. Blood samples were taken from the children at 42 months of age.