Network analysis to reveal the most commonly detected compounds in predator-prey pairs in freshwater and marine mammals and fish in Europe.

Marine and freshwater mammalian predators and fish samples, retrieved from environmental specimen banks (ESBs), natural history museum (NHMs) and other scientific collections, were analysed by LIFE APEX partners for a wide range of legacy and emerging contaminants (2545 in total). Network analysis was used to visualize the chemical occurrence data and reveal the predominant chemical mixtures for the freshwater and marine environments. For this purpose, a web tool was created to explore these chemical mixtures in predator-prey pairs.

Three years of wastewater surveillance for new psychoactive substances from 16 countries.

The proliferation of new psychoactive substances (NPS) over recent years has made their surveillance complex. The analysis of raw municipal influent wastewater can allow a broader insight into community consumption patterns of NPS. This study examines data from an international wastewater surveillance program that collected and analysed influent wastewater samples from up to 47 sites in 16 countries between 2019 and 2022.

Assessment of contaminants of emerging concern in European apex predators and their prey by LC-QToF MS wide-scope target analysis.

Apex predators are good indicators of environmental pollution since they are relatively long-lived and their high trophic position and spatiotemporal exposure to chemicals provides insights into the persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) properties of chemicals. Although monitoring data from apex predators can considerably support chemicals' management, there is a lack of pan-European studies, and longer-term monitoring of chemicals in organisms from higher trophic levels. The present study investigated the occurrence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in 67 freshwater, marine and terrestrial apex predators and in freshwater and marine prey, gathered from four European countries.

Determination of 56 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in top predators and their prey from Northern Europe by LC-MS/MS.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of emerging substances that have proved to be persistent and highly bioaccumulative. They are broadly used in various applications and are known for their long-distance migration and toxicity. In this study, 65 recent specimens of a terrestrial apex predator (Common buzzard), freshwater and marine apex predators (Eurasian otter, harbour porpoise, grey seal, harbour seal) and their potential prey (bream, roach, herring, eelpout) from northern Europe (United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden) were analyzed for the presence of legacy and emerging PFAS, employing a highly sensitive liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) method.

Part I: temporal and spatial distribution of multiclass pesticide residues in lake waters of Northern Greece: application of an optimized SPE-UPLC-MS/MS pretreatment and analytical method.

The present work describes the application of an analytical procedure, utilizing ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled with mass spectrometry instrumentation, for the determination of 253 multiclass pesticides, classified in six different groups. Solid phase extraction was applied for the isolation and pre-concentration of target compounds in water samples. Surface waters of the lakes located in Northern Greece (Volvi, Doirani, and Kerkini), were collected in two time periods (fall/winter 2010 and spring/summer 2011) and analyzed, applying the developed analytical methods.

Part II: temporal and spatial distribution of multiclass pesticide residues in lake sediments of northern Greece: application of an optimized MAE-LC-MS/MS pretreatment and analytical method.

The development and application of an analytical methodology for the pretreatment and determination of 253 multiclass pesticides, in lake sediment samples, using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) are described in this work. Sediments of lakes Volvi, Doirani, and Kerkini, located in northern Greece, were collected in two-time periods (fall/winter 2010 and spring/summer 2011) and analyzed, applying the developed analytical methodology. Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) was applied to extract the pesticide residues from lake sediment samples.