Abstract

This report describes the results of the analysis of dioxins in meat, organs and fat tissue of one cow, one sheep and four bulls from farms in the Lickebaert area in the vicinity of the waste incinerator Rijnmond (AVR) near Rotterdam and of three sheep which lived within 500m of a metal reclamation plant near Culemborg, the Netherlands. Dioxin levels in the fat of all animals were found to be increased when compared to the Dutch background level in milk fat. Levels ranged from 6.1+-0.3 in a bull to 18.0+-0.9 pg 2,3,7,8-TCDD equivalents g-1 of fat in one sheep. Levels of dioxins on fat basis were very close in different fat compartments and were also in good agreement with the level in milk fat. Fat levels in animals slaughtered in winter were not significantly different when compared to the summer period for animals which had been fed with hay or other grass products grown on the land of the same dairy farm or obtained from other fields in that area. In general, levels found in sheep were higher than in cows.