Climate change poses new challenges for environmental protection and food safety. With reported consequences including warmer temperatures, melting of Alpine glaciers, higher sea levels, droughts, extreme rainfall events and increased surface UV radiation, concerns about the impact on food contaminants have been raised. While the effects of climate change on POPs were initially expected to have the biggest impact in the arctic region, given the intensity, frequency and spread of extreme weather events, global influence on environmental pollution and food safety is currently anticipated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe blood levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been thoroughly investigated in Greek children from the Rhea birth cohort study. This investigation aimed to assess exposure levels, explore their possible relationship with children's age and sex, and indicate potential sources of exposure. Exposure patterns and common sources of PCBs and OCPs were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate statistics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFConcentration levels of 26 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and 20 trace elements were measured in dietary samples, in order to estimate the dietary intake and the potential exposure risk of the Greek population. Dietary samples were collected with the help of 30 volunteers inhabitants of Athens, Greece, according to the duplicate portion study (DPS) method where the determination of the compounds is conducted in the final consumed meal. DPS was selected as an alternative to a total diet study for its feasibility, low cost and realistic image that it provides.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new sensitive and selective gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) method was developed for the analysis of 26 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), including 16 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and 15 + 1 European Union (EU) PAHs, in mussel samples from aquaculture farms in Thermaikos and Strymonian Gulf, Central Macedonia Region, in three sampling periods. Concentrations were found at moderate to low values at all sampling sites, without exceeding maximum levels set by EU. Low molecular weight PAHs were predominant in all samples.
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