Breast-fed babies in the heavily industrialized area of Aspropyrgos, on the western outskirts of Athens, are taking in high amounts of poisonous dioxins through their mothers’ milk, according to figures presented yesterday by the Greenpeace environmentalist group.

The head of Greece’s Greenpeace branch, Nikos Haralambidis, told a press conference that milk samples taken from three mothers living in the Thriasio Plain area, home to refineries and heavy industries as well as the towns of Aspropyrgos and Elefsina, were found to have a dioxin count over twice the EU average.

“To break this toxic chain, we must tackle the sources of pollution,” Haralambidis said. “And for that to happen, we need a clear-cut, comprehensive policy on eradicating dioxins, which we now lack.” But he stressed that Greenpeace was not trying to deter mothers from breast-feeding.