Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in adipose tissue of women from Grand Tunis and their association with demographic factors and dietary habits.

Dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and polychloronated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in 25 woman adipose tissues collected in 2016 from Grand Tunis, Tunisia. p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDT, HCB and β-HCH were the dominant organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in decreasing order in all samples. The total OCP levels varied from 79 to 343 ng g lipid with a median value of 189 ng g lipid and DDTs contributed approximately 88% to sum OCP.

Microplastic-sorbed persistent organic pollutants in coastal Mediterranean Sea areas of Tunisia.

Microplastics (MPs) are emerging pollutants of global concern due to their pervasiveness, high sorption ability for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and direct and indirect toxicity to marine organisms, ecosystems, as well as humans. As one of the major coastal interfaces, beaches are considered among the most affected ecosystems by MPs pollution. The morphological characteristics of MPs (pellets and fragments) collected from four beaches along the Tunisian coast and sorbed POPs, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), were investigated in this study.

Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in raw bovine milk from various dairy farms in Beja, Tunisia: contamination status, dietary intake, and health risk assessment for the consumers.

We determined organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in raw bovine milk taken directly from the milking equipment for different animals and various farms in Béja region, which is one of the largest milk producing areas in Tunisia. All milk samples were contaminated with one or more pesticides and exhibited measurable concentrations of some PCB congeners. The residue levels are generally marked by the predominance of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) (median: 17.

Levels and risk assessment of hydrocarbons and organochlorines in aerosols from a North African coastal city (Bizerte, Tunisia).

The aim of this study was to assess, for the first time, the concentrations, sources, dry deposition and human health risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in total suspended particle (TSP) samples collected in Bizerte city, Tunisia (North Africa), during one year (March 2015-January 2016). Concentrations of PAHs, AHs, PCBs and OCPs ranged 0.5-17.

Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in human adipose tissue from northern Tunisia: Current extent of contamination and contributions of socio-demographic characteristics and dietary habits.

The aims of the present study were to investigate the current exposure levels of persistent organochlorine compounds (OCs) in adipose tissues intraoperatively collected from 40 patients over 20 years undergoing non-cancer-related surgery residing in Northern region of Tunisia (Bizerte), which constitutes an exemplary case, and examined association between levels of contamination and both socio-demographic characteristics and dietary habits. Concentration of hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH and δ-HCH), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane isomers (p,p'-DDT and o,p'-DDT) and metabolites (p,p'-DDE, o,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDD and o,p'-DDD) and 12 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) congeners were measured using capillary gas chromatography with electron capture detector. Overall, residue levels of OCs followed the decreasing order of DDTs > PCBs > HCB > HCHs.

Simultaneous analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in water by headspace solid-phase microextraction with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-ITMS-MS) method has been developed and studied for the simultaneous determination of 15 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and 20 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in aqueous samples. To perform the HS-SPME polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) (7, 30 and 100 microm film thickness) and polydimethylsiloxane-divinylbenzene (PDMS-DVB) fibers were initially compared on the basis of their absorption capacities for the selected compounds, and PDMS 100 microm film thickness was selected to accomplish the rests of essays. The influence of various parameters on OCPs and PCBs extraction efficiency by HS-SPME was thoroughly studied using GC-electron capture detector (ECD).