Evaluation of daily dietary intake of dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and benzene hexachloride (BHC) in India

Duplicate samples of the diet of vegetarian adults were analyzed to estimate the residues of dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and benzene hexachloride (BHC). The total food consumed by an adult per day was collected and categorized as fatty food, non-fatty food, water, and beverages. Fatty food was the main source of these chlorinated insecticides, and it contributed almost 50% of the total dietary intake. The average total DDT and BHC consumed by an adult were 19.24 micrograms/d and 77.15 micrograms/d, respectively. Blood DDT and BHC levels reflected intake (r = 0.685 for DDT; r = 0.515 for BHC).