Association of drought conditions and heavy rainfalls with the quality of drinking water in Barcelona (2010-2022).

Background: Climate change influences the incidence and scope of climate extreme events that affect communities and the environment around the world. In an urban context such as Barcelona, these climate extremes can have a negative impact on drinking water quality. The worsening of drinking water quality can have important repercussions on human health, leading to the appearance of different diseases.

Blood concentrations of metals, essential trace elements, rare earth elements and other chemicals in the general adult population of Barcelona: Distribution and associated sociodemographic factors.

Background: Very little information is available on the population distribution and on sociodemographic predictors of body concentrations of rare earth elements (REE) and other chemicals used in the manufacturing of high-tech devices.

Objectives: To analyze the distribution and associated sociodemographic factors of blood concentrations of chemical elements (including some metals, essential trace elements, rare earth elements and other minority elements) in a representative sample of the general population of Barcelona (Spain).

Methods: A sample of participants in the Barcelona Health Survey of 2016 (N = 240) were interviewed face-to-face, gave blood, and underwent a physical exam.

Climate Change and Health in Urban Areas with a Mediterranean Climate: A Conceptual Framework with a Social and Climate Justice Approach.

The consequences of climate change are becoming increasingly evident and highlight the important interdependence between the well-being of people and ecosystems. Although climate change is a global phenomenon, its causes and consequences vary dramatically across territories and population groups. Among settings particularly susceptible to health impacts from climate change are cities with a Mediterranean climate.

Estimating ambient air pollution mortality and disease burden and its economic cost in Barcelona.

Background: The new WHO air quality guidelines indicate that the air pollution disease burden is greater than previously reported. We aimed to estimate the air pollution disease burden and its economic cost in Barcelona to inform local action.

Methods: We used a quantitative health impact assessment to estimate the non-accidental mortality and incidence of childhood asthma and lung cancer attributable to long-term air pollution exposure in the city of Barcelona (Spain) in 2018-2019.

Social inequalities in the association between temperature and mortality in a South European context.

Objectives: To analyse social inequalities in the association between ambient temperature and mortality by sex, age and educational level, in the city of Barcelona for the period 1992-2015.

Methods: Mortality data are represented by daily counts for natural mortality. As a measure of socioeconomic position, we used the educational level of the deceased.

Trihalomethane concentrations in tap water as determinant of bottled water use in the city of Barcelona.

Unlabelled: Bottled water consumption is increasing worldwide, despite its huge economic and environmental cost. We aim to describe personal and tap water quality determinants of bottled water use in the city of Barcelona. This cross-sectional study used data from the Health Survey of Barcelona in 2006 (N=5417 adults).

[Drinking water quality and safety].

The purpose of drinking water legislation is to guarantee the quality and safety of water intended for human consumption. In the European Union, Directive 98/83/EC updated the essential and binding quality criteria and standards, incorporated into Spanish national legislation by Royal Decree 140/2003. This article reviews the main characteristics of the aforementioned drinking water legislation and its impact on the improvement of water quality against empirical data from Catalonia.

Screening ecological risk assessment of persistent organic pollutants in Mediterranean sea sediments.

A screening ecological risk assessment (ERA) was conducted for the first time in the Mediterranean basin in order to assess the toxicity posed to the benthic community by PCBs, DDTs and HCB in marine sediments. The characterization of the exposure was conducted by means of an extensive literature survey, generating a database with more than 2000 samples. The effects were assessed by the adoption of guidelines previously developed in the literature, because ecotoxicological information about persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Mediterranean sediments was lacking.

Influence of water filtration on the determination of a wide range of dissolved contaminants at parts-per-trillion levels.

The adsorption of dissolved organic contaminants on glass fibre filters throughout water dissolved/particulate phase decoupling studies was examined. A total of 49 different compounds were considered at low concentration levels (ng L(-1)), including PAHs, PCBs, organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides, triazines, thiocarbamates, pyrethroids, phosphate esters and caffeine. Their adsorption on the filters was positively correlated with their log Kow and solubilities, indicating that filter adsorption increased with hydrophobicity.

Assessment of the Mediterranean sediments contamination by persistent organic pollutants.

A compilation of information about levels of selected persistent organic pollutants, namely polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroetane and its degradation products (DDTs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB), in Mediterranean sediments, including data published from 1971 to 2005, has been conducted in order to assess their main drivers and pressures in the environment. The application of mapping tools (GIS) and statistical instruments enabled the assessment of geographical and temporal trends. Chemical contamination mainly originates from land-based sources, and decreases significantly when moving off-shore.

Transport of organic contaminants through salinity stratified water masses. A microcosm experiment.

A salt-wedge stratified microcosm, spiked with 31 target analytes, including PCBs, organochlorine and organophosphorous pesticides, triazines, organophosphate flame retardants and caffeine (an urban wastewater molecular marker), was setup. Compound behaviour was monitored during a four week period, by sampling at six different levels of the water column, in order to understand the transport and loss processes of the different classes of chemical substances. Compound transport from one water body to the other has been positively correlated with diffusion via their molar volume.

Organic contaminant loads into the Western Mediterranean Sea: estimate of Ebro River inputs.

Annual input estimates for several organic contaminants from the Ebro River into the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea were carried out on the basis of monthly sampling from November 2002 to October 2003. Some organochlorine compounds (DDT and its degradation products, DDD and DDE, PCBs (9 congeners), HCB and gamma-HCH) were selected due to their reported occurrence in the river. Furthermore, some polar pesticides used in the Ebro Delta were also determined (atrazine, simazine, diazinon, fenitrothion and molinate).