Dietary intake if dioxin-like chemicals in Korea

In the last decades South Korea has rapidly developed its industrial production and has become one of the leading economies in Asia. Dioxin-like chemicals include polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), chemicals that are mainly emitted from combustion processes including municipal solid waste incinerators, steel mills and/or selected manufacturing and chemical processes including kraft mills that use elemental chlorine. Dioxin-like PCBs (dl-PCBs) are components in PCB mixtures that have been widely used for example as dielectrical fluid and non-flammable oil and plasticizers. The uptake of these chemicals into humans can occur directly through intake/accumulation from exposure to abiotic phases (air, water, soil, dust) but typically the more important uptake pathway is via accumulation of these chemicals in the human food chain and ultimately intake of contaminated food. This study was initiated to estimate the exposure of potentially endocrine disrupting chemicals including dioxin-like chemicals in the Korean population. The study is based on systematic monitoring programs that estimate dioxin-like chemicals in environmental media conducted nationally (Ministry of Environment) and through the local governmental (Gyeonggi province) since 1999. In addition the Korea Food and Drug Agency (KFDA) carried out work to measure the level of dioxin-like chemicals in various key food items. Here we collate these data to provide an estimate of the daily intake of dioxin-like chemicals in the Korean population in the period from 1999 – 2005 and compare these with the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI)