DDT Residues in Human Milk From New Guinea Natives

Chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide residues were found to be present in 60 out of 74 different aliquots of breast milk of New Guinean women. A great variation in the level of contamination of the population is a feature of the pattern of contamination in New Guinea. Individuals living in remote areas in general showed little or no contamination, while those who were domiciled in areas which had been exposed to Western contact for a greater length of time, or had been subject to malaria-control programmes, showed amounts of residues comparable with the degree of contamination reported from Europe and North America. The finding of some breast milk samples which were still “pesticide-free” is unusual.