Country-specific chemical signatures of persistent environmental compounds in breast milk.

Recent reports have confirmed a worldwide increasing trend of testicular cancer incidence, and a conspicuously high prevalence of this disease and other male reproductive disorders, including cryptorchidism and hypospadias, in Denmark. In contrast, Finland, a similarly industrialized Nordic country, exhibits much lower incidences of these disorders. The reasons behind the observed trends are unexplained, but environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that affect foetal testis development are probably involved.

Optimization of a novel procedure for determination of VOCs in water and human urine samples based on SBSE coupled with TD-GC-HRMS.

In this study, stir-bar sorptive extraction and thermal desorption followed by gas chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry was applied for determination of halo-organic compounds (bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane, bromoform, and tetrachloroethylene) in water and human urine samples. Time of extraction and stirring speed were optimized. The results show that the optimum extraction time is 30 min with 600 rpm of stirring speed with Twister of 20 mm in length and 1.

Partitioning of fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOH) to semipermeable membrane devices (SPMD).

Background, Aim, And Scope: Fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOH) are widely used substances that were detected even in remote regions of the world. For the determination of FTOH in the atmosphere, appropriate sampling techniques are needed. In this study, triolein-filled low-density polyethylene tubes were used as semipermeable membrane devices (SPMD) and tested for their suitability as passive air samplers for FTOH.

Characterization and hazard evaluation of bottom ash produced from incinerated hospital waste.

The uncontrolled disposal of bottom ash from incineration units of hazardous and infected wastes in many countries causes significant scale damage, since it contaminates the soil as well as surface and underground waters, putting both the environment and the public health at risk. In view of the above, a study of bottom ash produced at a hospital medical waste incinerator (HMWI) in Greece was conducted, in order to detect the presence of heavy metals and therefore assess its toxicity; this led to conclusions on the possible contamination of the soil as well as surface and underground waters as a result of its disposal in landfills. The study was conducted at a typical general hospital with 500-bed capacity.

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans and polychlorinated biphenyls levels in human breast milk from different regions of Turkey.

Human breast milk offers the optimal nutrition for all infants and have been widely used in biomonitoring programs to assess human exposure to lipophylic environmental contaminants such as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB). There are no previous reports from Turkey on chemically determined levels of PCDDs, PCDFs, and PCBs in human breast milk expressed as World Health Organization (WHO) toxic equivalents (TEQ). To get an overview of the levels of these contaminants in Turkish human milk, samples from 51 Turkish women living in the Ankara, Istanbul, Antalya, Kahramanmaraş, and Afyon provinces were analyzed by high resolution gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS) throughout 2007.

Vertical distribution of organochlorine pesticides in humus along Alpine altitudinal profiles in relation to ambiental parameters.

In forest soils along vertical profiles located in different parts of the Alps, concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), namely organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) like dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCH), heptachlor, aldrin, dieldrin and mirex, were measured. Though local characteristics of the sites are influenced by numerous factors like orographic and meteorological parameters, forest stand characteristics and humus parameters, we ascertained a marked vertical increase of concentrations of some organochlorine compounds in the soil. On the basis of climatological values of each site, we found that the contamination increase with altitude can be ascribed to a certain 'cold condensation effect'.

Novel sampling methods for atmospheric semi-volatile organic compounds (SOCs) in a high altitude alpine environment.

High- and low-volume active air samplers as well as bulk deposition samplers were developed to sample atmospheric SOCs under the adverse conditions of a mountain environment. Active sampling employed separate filters for different European source regions. Filters were switched depending on daily trajectory forecasts, whose accuracy was evaluated post hoc.

PCDD/F and PCB in spruce forests of the Alps.

PCDD/F and PCB concentrations in remote mountainous spruce stands of the Central European Alps show strong geographic variation. Independent of the matrix (0.5 year old needles, humus or mineral soil), the highest pollutant levels were always found at the lateral zones of the mountain range.

Long-term air monitoring of organochlorine pesticides using Semi Permeable Membrane Devices (SPMDs) in the Alps.

Atmospheric sampling of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) was conducted using Semi Permeable Membrane Devices (SPMDs) deployed in the Alps at different altitudinal transects for two consecutive exposure periods of half a year and a third simultaneous year-long period. Along all the altitude profiles, the sequestered amounts of OCPs increased in general with altitude. SPMDs were still working as kinetic samplers after half a year for the majority of the OCPs.

Altitude profiles of total chlorinated paraffins in humus and spruce needles from the Alps (MONARPOP).

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are toxic, bioaccumulative, persistent, and ubiquitously present in the environment. CPs were analyzed in humus and needle samples, which were taken within the Monitoring Network in the Alpine Region for Persistent and other Organic Pollutants (MONARPOP) at sampling sites of 7 different altitude profiles in the Alps. Gas chromatography combined with electron ionization tandem mass spectrometry (EI-MS/MS) was used for the determination of total CPs (sum of short, medium and long chain CPs).

A comparison of Alpine emissions to forest soil and spruce needle loads for persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

The project MONARPOP analysed the concentrations of semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in two important sink compartments, needles of Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) and forest soil from 40 remote Alpine forest sites in Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland.

Altitudinal and chiral signature of persistent organochlorine pesticides in air, soil, and spruce needles (Picea abies) of the Alps.

The present study investigated the distribution, transportation, and biodegradation of the selected chiral persistent organochlorine pesticides (OCP) in the Alps. In the complex environment, we found the movement and fate of OCP could be defined by many factors. Taking HCE as an example, below the timberline its accumulation from air into SPMD increased with altitude and seasonally changed, but the trends reversed above the timberline.

PCB and PCDD/F in sediments and mussels of the Istanbul strait (Turkey).

Sediment and mussel samples collected along the coasts of the Istanbul strait and an island in Marmara Sea (Turkey) were analyzed for six indicator polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), 12 dioxin-like PCB (dl-PCB) and 17 polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin/furan (PCDD/F) congeners. Samples contained different concentrations of PCBs and among these, congeners 153, 75, 105 and 118 in sediments and congeners 153, 138 and 118 in mussels were most abundant. The concentration levels of total PCBs and PCDD/Fs in sediments ranged from 17.

Impact of fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOH) on the molecular and macroscopic phenotype of Tetrahymena thermophila.

Background, Aim, And Scope: As possible precursors of PFOA, fluorotelomer alcohols are a class of highly fluorinated and volatile compounds. Although they are widespread in the environment, little toxicity data is available. The present study focused on testing the population growth impairment potential of FTOH.

Inter-laboratory comparison of a yeast bioassay for the determination of estrogenic activity in biological samples.

An inter-laboratory exercise was performed with a yeast estrogen bioassay, based on the expression of yeast enhanced green fluorescent protein (yEGFP), for the determination of estrogenic activity in extracts of calf urine samples. Urine samples were spiked with 1 and 5 ngmL(-1) 17beta-estradiol and 17alpha-ethynylestradiol, 10 and 50 ngmL(-1) mestranol, and 100 ngmL(-1) testosterone and progesterone. Sample extracts of blank and spiked urine samples were prepared at our laboratory and sent to seven laboratories together with a reagent blank, a DMSO blank, and eight 17beta-estradiol stock solutions in DMSO ranging in concentration from 0 to 545 ngmL(-1).

Applicability of non-invasively collected matrices for human biomonitoring.

With its inclusion under Action 3 in the Environment and Health Action Plan 2004-2010 of the European Commission, human biomonitoring is currently receiving an increasing amount of attention from the scientific community as a tool to better quantify human exposure to, and health effects of, environmental stressors. Despite the policy support, however, there are still several issues that restrict the routine application of human biomonitoring data in environmental health impact assessment. One of the main issues is the obvious need to routinely collect human samples for large-scale surveys.

A review on the practical application of human biomonitoring in integrated environmental health impact assessment.

Environmental health sciences focus on the link between the presence of contaminants in the environment and their relation with possible adverse health effects. Within this context, human biomonitoring (HBM) data have proven to be a valuable addition to, or have even surpassed, estimates of exposure based on environmental measures. Probably the main achievement of HBM data is that it provides an integrated overview of the pollutant dose any constituent is exposed to and incorporates bioaccumulation, excretion, half-life, and other potentially critical toxicokinetic parameters.

Determination of PAH, PCB, and OCP in water from the Three Gorges Reservoir accumulated by semipermeable membrane devices (SPMD).

Bioavailable water concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and organochlorine pesticides (OCP) were measured in the water column from Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) collected in May 2008 using semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs). The sampling sites spanned the whole reservoir from the upstream Chongqing to the great dam covering more than 600 km long distance with water flow velocities ranging from <0.05 to 1.

Characterisation of porin genes from Mycobacterium fortuitum and their impact on growth.

Background: Highly pathogenic mycobacteria like Mycobacterium tuberculosis are characterised by their slow growth and their ability to reside and multiply in the very hostile phagosomal environment and a correlation between the growth rate of mycobacteria and their pathogenicity has been hypothesised. Here, porin genes from M. fortuitum were cloned and characterised to address their impact on the growth rate of fast-growing and pathogenic mycobacteria.

Correlation of PCDD/F and PCB at combustion experiments using wood and hospital waste. Influence of (NH(4))(2)SO(4) as additive on PCDD/F and PCB emissions.

The objectives of this work were to study the emissions of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/F) and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) during the combustion of wood, wood and hospital waste as well as wood, hospital waste and (NH(4))(2)SO(4) in a pilot plant and to determine the relation of the toxic emissions to the fuel properties. The presence of PVC (experiments b and c) increases PCDD/F and PCB formation compared to burning only eco-farm wood (a). However, analysis and quantification of PCDD/F and PCB showed that the amount of 5% of (NH(4))(2)SO(4) in the fuel mixture significantly impacted the dioxins emissions and suppressed it by approximately 50%.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and effects on marine organisms in the Istanbul Strait.

Surficial sediments and mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from the Istanbul Strait and Marmara Sea were analysed for sixteen parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contents by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) employing isotope dilution technique. Microalgae toxicity testing was applied to sediment elutriates and biological responses in terms of filtration rate and lysosomal stability were measured in mussels. Total PAH concentrations ranged from 2.

Assessment of energy intake of infants exclusively fed with infant formulae available on the European market.

The aim of the present study was to assess the total daily energy intake of infants (aged 0-4 months) exclusively fed with infant formulae available on the European Union market. All of the products were identified from the European market share data of the year 2007 covering 22 countries. The calculated daily energy intake based on the instructions labelled on these products was compared with the energy requirements based on World Health Organization recommendations, considering the standard body weight established by the Food and Agriculture Organization.

ISTA13-catecholamine toxicity and metabolism in the ciliated protozoan, Tetrahymena pyriformis.

A high throughput culture methodology of unicellular eukaryote Tetrahymena pyriformis, strain GL were used for the determination of catecholamines toxicity and their metabolism. Catecholamines exhibited acute toxicity to Tetrahymena cells where dopamine and L-DOPA showed higher toxic potential of EC(10) (0.39 and 0.

Growth inhibition and biodegradation of catecholamines in the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena pyriformis.

A 96-well plate culture methodology for the unicellular eukaryote Tetrahymena pyriformis, strain GL was used for the determination of toxicity and metabolism of catecholamines. Catecholamines exhibited moderate acute toxicity to Tetrahymena cells where dopamine and L-DOPA showed higher toxic potential at EC(10) (0.39 ppm and 0.

Levels of toxic metals in multisectoral samples from Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria.

In this study, the distribution and sources of inputs of trace metals including Cd, Cu, Zn and Pb from various sources as well as Fe which is widely used in the construction industry, into Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria were investigated. The sampling sites were located up streams and down streams of four rivers (Sio, Nyamasaria, Nyando and Sondu-Miriu), in four beaches along the lake (Port Victoria, Kisumu Car Wash, Dunga and Hippo point beaches) and in three estates (Nyamasaria, Migosi and Nyawita) in Kisumu city, covering potential agrochemical and industrial sources and drinking water points, respectively. The concentrations (in microg/L) of trace metals analysed in the lake and river waters ranged from <1.