Baseline contamination assessment for a new resource recovery facility in Germany part III: PCDD/Fs, HCB, and PCBs in cowʹs milk

As part of a program to establish the baseline contamination of the environment in the vicinity of a planned waste incineration plant, 16 cowʹs milk samples were analysed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Four farms were sampled on four occasions spread over one year. The measured concentrations were low compared to literature data and far below the German guidelines and legal limits. The concentrations and contaminant profiles were similar at all farms for all samples. The contaminants in the milk originated largely from atmospheric deposition of the compounds to feed.