Abstract
Summary and Conclusions
The pesticide residue levels in the diets, urine, and fecal matter were not affected by supplementation of the diets with amino acids, ammonium citrate, or calcium lactate. Pesticide residues were found in all samples of the diets, urine, and feces. With the exception of the chlorinated cyclodienes, excretion of all residues was greater in the feces, suggesting the feces as the primary route of excretion. Excretion of the PCB's was predominately through the feces with 6.2% of the total excretion appearing in the urine. With the exception of DDT and its metabolites, excretion of residues was 9 to 12%. Maximum excretion of DDT and its metabolites was approximately 32%. PCB's were found in all eight diets analyzed. Four contained traces and four contained 200, 420, 580 and 840 μg/day/subject. The FDA has not yet established tolerance levels for PCB. Albert Kolbye, deputy director for the FDA's Bureau of Foods has, however, recently stated that PCB is regarded as moderately toxic but certainly less toxic than DDT. He suggested that 150-300 μg/day would be within the safe range as far as temporary dietary intake is concerned (15). Eighty-eight percent of the ingested PCB's were not excreted. Presumably these have been retained in the body. The comparable percentage for DDT and its metabolites was 67.5%.
It is difficult to explain the presence of high levels of PCB found in these diets though PCB has been identified in such sources as sediments, river water, sewage outfalls, ink, newsprint, plastic bags, plastic products, poultry and animal tissues (16-23). The plastic containers used for storage may be a possible source of contamination, though this possibility has not been tested. The diets did consist of 20% fat which is considered normal for low income diets of the southeastern United States. Fats in the diets of the subjects before the study were primarily animal, whereas fats in the prepared experimental diets were chiefly vegetable.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the Southern Regional Nutritional Project (S-64) and its Technical Committee; the Department of Human Nutrition and Foods at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA for providing the samples and other technical data; technicians Patricia L. Marshall and Sylvie R. Beatty, who prepared and extracted the samples for analysis; and Dr. R. E. Webb for his suggestions in the preparation of the data for this article.
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