Chemical and in vitro bioanalytical assessment of drinking water quality in Manhiça, Mozambique.

Background: The chemical quality of drinking water is widely unknown in low-income countries.

Objective: We conducted an exploratory study in Manhiça district (Mozambique) to evaluate drinking water quality using chemical analyses and cell-based assays.

Methods: We measured nitrate, fluoride, metals, pesticides, disinfection by-products, and industrial organochlorinated chemicals, and conducted the bioassays Ames test for mutagenicity, micronuclei assay (MN-FACS), ER-CALUX, and antiAR-CALUX in 20 water samples from protected and unprotected sources.

[Organochlorine pesticides in the general adult population of Biscay (Spain)].

Objective: To identify and analyze levels of seven organochlorine pesticides [hexachlorobenzene (HCB), beta-hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH), gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH), heptachlor epoxide, beta-endosulfan, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p'-DDT)] in the serum of adults of four areas of Biscay (Spain) not exposed to known sources of pesticides.

Method: We analyzed 283 individual samples from volunteers recruited from the census. The volunteers were interviewed using a questionnaire with items on demographic variables and consumption.

Serum levels of organochlorine pesticides in healthy adults from five regions of Spain.

The aim of this study was to measure of serum levels of p,p'-dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (p,p'-DDT), p,p'-dichlorodiphenyl dichlorethylene (p,p'-DDE), beta-hexachlorocyclohexane (beta-HCH), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in healthy adults in Spain. Furthermore, we also analyzed these levels according to dietary, other lifestyle factors and anthropometric characteristics. We measured the concentrations of such organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in serum samples collected during 1992-1996 from 953 subjects aged 35-64 years, they were residents of five Spanish regions, they were randomly selected from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

Method for the determination of selected organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in human serum based on a gel permeation chromatographic clean-up.

A gel permeation chromatographic (GPC) clean-up based method was developed for determination of selected organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in human serum. The method permits automation of the sample extract clean-up stage and is designed to work with small amounts of sample. Different working variables were studied in its development, including injection volume, flow rate, and fat amount as the most representative coextract.

Polychlorinated biphenyls in Spanish adults: determinants of serum concentrations.

Background: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent compounds that may pose an environmental hazard to humans, food being the main source of exposure for the general population.

Objective: To measure the serum concentrations of the main PCBs in subjects from the general population in Spain, and to assess potential determinants of such concentrations.

Methods: Serum was obtained from blood samples of 953 subjects aged 35-64 years, residents in five Spanish regions (three from the North and two from the South), randomly selected from the EPIC-Spain cohort.

High throughput method for the determination of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in human serum.

An improved method for the determination of selected organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in human serum was developed. The method requires low volume of serum (500 microl) and 48-96 samples per day can be prepared by one analyst without special automatic equipment. Initial extraction was performed using 96-well solid-phase extraction disk plates and was followed by a clean-up with silica gel/sulfuric acid.