Egg sampling for by-product POPs.
This report tracks the collection of samples of free-range chicken eggs from near a dumpsite in Peshawar. As part of a larger "Global Egg Study," eggs were tested for POPs at this POPs hotspot and dioxin levels were found to have levels close to the EU limit and above the newly proposed EU action level, with dioxin levels in Peshawar chicken eggs almost three times higher than background levels of these compounds in chicken eggs. Levels of DDT found in the samples were also more than four times higher than the EU limit DDT for eggs. Pakistan's egg study suggested that the cause of the high DDT and dioxin contamination in the eggs was the sampling site's proximity to the dump site, where mixed wastes, including ashes from medical waste incineration, and open burning, were found to be the most obvious contributors to the contamination. This study constitutes the first data about unintentionally formed POPs (U-POPs) in any food item from Pakistan.
Outputs:
First-of-a-kind study/analysis of POPs, dioxin and DDT in chicken eggs in Pakistan