SUMMARY REPORT: CONSULTATION ON TOLERABLE DAILY INTAKE FROM FOOD OF PCDDs AND PCDFs, Bilthoven 4-7 December 1990

During the past several years, the WHO Regional Office for Europe has been dealing extensively with health risks emanating from exposure to PCDDs and PCDFs. Thus, it initiated a project that included activities to assess exposure levels and possible health risks in infants associated with contamination of breast-milk, and the development of guidelines to prevent accidental and environmental exposure to those chemicals. Within this project, numerous expert consultations and working groups have been organized by the Regional Office in collaboration with other international organizations and national institutions. An attempt to assess the health risks in infants, based on an evaluation of available research data on exposure levels and on health effects of those chemicals, was made by a working group held in Abano Terme, Italy, in February 1987. While recommending further activities to produce information and collect data in infants, the meeting concluded that a safety margin still exists and recommended promotion and continuation of breastfeeding. Since that time, considerable new research data on exposure levels, health effects and toxicity of these chemicals have been published, and several national and international attempts have been made to develop a quantitative risk assessment. The present Consultation was organized by the Regional Office in response to a recent request from the Ministry of Welfare, Health and Cultural Affairs of the Netherlands for assistance in setting a tolerable daily intake (TDI) of dioxins from food. The purpose of the Consultation was to review the scientific evidence and, based on a comprehensive toxicological evaluation, to develop guidelines for tolerable daily intake of PCDDs and PCDFs. Its purpose was also to develop guidelines for risk management, with emphasis on the main sources of food contamination.

The Consultation was attended by 20 experts from 11 countries, one representative of the Netherlands Government, three observers and five staff from the Regional Office and WHO headquarters. Professor U. Ahlborg was elected Chairman, Professor A. Somogyi Vice-Chairman and Dr R. Kimbrough Rapporteur.