Anuschka Polder’s doctoral research at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science has charted the levels of environmental toxins, or pollutants, in the breast milk of Norwegian and Russian women respectively. Her study also charts pollutants in foodstuffs from Russia.
In some places in Northwest Russia, she discovered that the pollutants HCB, DDT and HCH occurred in breast milk to a much greater degree than in Norway. Due to their diet and their place of residence near areas of heavy industry, the population in Northwest Russia is more exposed to pollutants than the population of Norway.
The cold climate in Arctic regions leads to a general high intake of fat and thereby an increased intake of POPs via food. This connection was confirmed by Polder’s doctoral research. The supply of foodstuffs or animal fodder from southern regions of Russia to Northern Russia is probably the cause of an increased level of DDT in the population.
DDT is a substance that according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) is still permitted in malaria-infested areas, but which has been prohibited for use as a pesticide in the West since the 1980s. Polder has studied the level of pollutants in Russian foodstuffs and discovered that the consumption of fish, dairy products, eggs and meat products was the greatest cause of a high level of POPs in Russian women.
