TOXICANTS IN HUMAN PLACENTAE AND REPRODUCTIVE OUTCOMES IN UKRAINE

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Summary of Work: In the newly independent country of Ukraine, environmental pollution is severe; the contamination is due not only to the Chernobyl accident, but to intensive agricultural practices and outmoded industrial technology. The purpose of this study is to describe the burden of toxicants in placentas and milk of women who deliver infants in such circumstances, and to document their reproductive outcome. To our knowledge, this is the first population-based description of pregnancy outcome in a former Soviet country. To accomplish these aims, we have collaborated with the Ukrainian "ELSPAC" study, one of several European studies initiated by the World Health Organization. We have obtained placenta and milk samples from over 2,200 women who delivered in two study sites. A random sample of 200 of these have been analyzed for metals, halogenated hydrocarbons, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Medical records have been abstracted, and questionnaire data on maternal lifestyle obtained. Data on pregnancy outcome have been obtained for the population from which the samples are drawn. We have finished the description of birth outcome in the population and are working on this topic in the sample itself. The fetal death rate in Ukrainian women is 5 times the US rate. A paper describing organochlorines in breast milk indicates higher than normal, but no extremely elevated values. We are now working on metals and PAH's in placenta.