A template wizard for the cocreation of machine-readable data-reporting to harmonize the evaluation of (nano)materials.

Making research data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) is typically hampered by a lack of skills in technical aspects of data management by data generators and a lack of resources. We developed a Template Wizard for researchers to easily create templates suitable for consistently capturing data and metadata from their experiments. The templates are easy to use and enable the compilation of machine-readable metadata to accompany data generation and align them to existing community standards and databases, such as eNanoMapper, streamlining the adoption of the FAIR principles.

5-year leaching experiments to evaluate a modified bauxite residue: remediation of sulfidic mine tailings.

The ALTEO company produces approximately 300,000 tons per year of bauxite residue after alumina extraction, which is washed and dried in a press filter to produce Bauxaline®. In this study, different ways for recovering and reusing this residue were explored, namely transformation into a vegetated soil, use in acid mine drainage depollution, and application in sulfide-mine tailings remediation. The Bauxaline® was therefore transformed into modified bauxite residue (MBR), resulting in reduced alkalinity, salinity, and sodicity.

Development of a lung-liver in vitro coculture model for inhalation-like toxicity assessment.

Animal models are considered prime study models for inhalation-like toxicity assessment. However, in light of animal experimentation reduction (3Rs), we developed and investigated an alternative in vitro method to study systemic-like responses to inhalation-like exposures. A coculture platform was established to emulate inter-organ crosstalks between a pulmonary barrier, which constitutes the route of entry of inhaled compounds, and the liver, which plays a major role in xenobiotic metabolism.

Human Biomonitoring Guidance Values (HBM-GVs) for Bisphenol S and Assessment of the Risk Due to the Exposure to Bisphenols A and S, in Europe.

Within the European Joint Programme HBM4EU, Human Biomonitoring Guidance Values (HBM-GVs) were derived for several prioritised substances. In this paper, the derivation of HBM-GVs for the general population (HBM-GV) and workers (HBM-GV) referring to bisphenol S (BPS) is presented. For the general population, this resulted in an estimation of the total urinary concentration of BPS of 1.

Nanopharmaceuticals (Au-NPs) after use: Experiences with a complex higher tier test design simulating environmental fate and effect.

The current environmental hazard assessment is based on the testing of the pristine substance. However, it cannot be excluded that (nano)pharmaceuticals are excreted into sewage during the use phase followed by entry into wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Sorption to sewage sludge or release via effluent can result in modified ecotoxicological effects which possibly can only be detected with a modified test approach.

Comparison of uptake and elimination kinetics of metallic oxide nanomaterials on the freshwater microcrustacean .

The widespread use and release of nanomaterials (NMs) in aquatic ecosystems is a concerning issue as well as the fate and behavior of the NMs in relation to the aquatic organisms. In this work, the freshwater microcrustacean was exposed to 12 different and well-known NMs under the same conditions for 24 h and then placed in clean media for 120 h, in order to determine their different uptake and elimination behaviors. The results showed that most of the tested NMs displayed a fast uptake during the first hours arriving to a plateau by the end of the uptake phase.

Cancer risk from chronic exposures to chemicals and radiation: a comparison of the toxicological reference value with the radiation detriment.

This article aims at comparing reference methods for the assessment of cancer risk from exposure to genotoxic carcinogen chemical substances and to ionizing radiation. For chemicals, cancer potency is expressed as a toxicological reference value (TRV) based on the most sensitive type of cancer generally observed in animal experiments of oral or inhalation exposure. A dose-response curve is established by modelling experimental data adjusted to apply to human exposure.

Sprays and diffusers as indoor air fresheners: Exposure and health risk assessment based on measurements under realistic indoor conditions.

Noncombustible air fresheners are indoor air emission sources of concern. The associated health risks should be better understood. Based on 15 products (4 sprays, 6 passive diffusers, and 5 active diffusers), the health risk assessment (HRA) approach was applied to a national use survey in France and to concentrations measured in an experimental house.

Towards FAIR nanosafety data.

Nanotechnology is a key enabling technology with billions of euros in global investment from public funding, which include large collaborative projects that have investigated environmental and health safety aspects of nanomaterials, but the reuse of accumulated data is clearly lagging behind. Here we summarize challenges and provide recommendations for the efficient reuse of nanosafety data, in line with the recently established FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) guiding principles. We describe the FAIR-aligned Nanosafety Data Interface, with an aggregated findability, accessibility and interoperability across physicochemical, bio-nano interaction, human toxicity, omics, ecotoxicological and exposure data.

Exposure of South Korean Population to 5G Mobile Phone Networks (3.4-3.8 GHz).

As industrialized countries race to install and deploy 5G networks, some countries have taken the lead and already have operational 5G networks in place. South Korea is among these. In this study, we measured exposure to electromagnetic fields in South Korea to evaluate the relative contribution of 5G as compared with other frequencies such as 2G, 3G, and 4G.

Plastic additives: challenges in ecotox hazard assessment.

The risk of plastic debris, and specifically micro(nano)plastic particles, to ecosystems remains to be fully characterized. One particular issue that warrants further characterization is the hazards associated with chemical additives within micro(nano)plastic as they are not chemically bound within the polymers and can be persistent and biologically active. Most plastics contain additives and are therefore potential vectors for the introduction of these chemicals into the environment as they leach from plastic, a process that can be accelerated through degradation and weathering processes.

Estrogenicity of chemical mixtures revealed by a panel of bioassays.

Estrogenic compounds are widely released to surface waters and may cause adverse effects to sensitive aquatic species. Three hormones, estrone, 17β-estradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol, are of particular concern as they are bioactive at very low concentrations. Current analytical methods are not all sensitive enough for monitoring these substances in water and do not cover mixture effects.

Human biomonitoring initiative (HBM4EU): Human biomonitoring guidance values (HBM-GVs) derived for bisphenol A.

The "European Human Biomonitoring Initiative" (HBM4EU) derives human biomonitoring guidance values (HBM-GVs) for the general population (HBM-GV) and/or for occupationally exposed adults (HBM-GV) for several priority substances and substance groups as identified by policy makers, scientists and stakeholders at EU and national level, including bisphenol A (BPA). Human exposure to BPA is widespread and of particular concern because of its known endocrine-disrupting properties. Unlike the conjugated forms of BPA circulating in the body, free BPA is known to interact with the nuclear estrogen receptors.

Characterization of the nano-bio interaction between metallic oxide nanomaterials and freshwater microalgae using flow cytometry.

Since nanomaterials (NMs) are particulate contaminants, their first contact with organisms is a physical encounter ruled by physic-chemical processes that can determinate the potential NMs accumulation, toxicity, and trophic transfer. Freshwater ecosystems often become a final depository for NMs, so they can get in contact with the biota, especially primary organisms as algae. There are almost none comparative studies of this interaction using various NMs in the same conditions.

Advancing human health risk assessment.

The current/traditional human health risk assessment paradigm is challenged by recent scientific and technical advances, and ethical demands. The current approach is considered too resource intensive, is not always reliable, can raise issues of reproducibility, is mostly animal based and does not necessarily provide an understanding of the underlying mechanisms of toxicity. From an ethical and scientific viewpoint, a paradigm shift is required to deliver testing strategies that enable reliable, animal-free hazard and risk assessments, which are based on a mechanistic understanding of chemical toxicity and make use of exposure science and epidemiological data.

Effects of increasing concentrations of unamended and gypsum modified bauxite residues on soil microbial community functions and structure - A mesocosm study.

Bauxite residues (BR), commonly named red muds, are the saline-sodic waste produced during the extraction of alumina from bauxite. In this study, four kinds of BR were mixed at increasing concentrations with two soils in a mesososm experiment. Unamended BR from Provence (PRO) and Guinea (GUI) bauxite were selected, and Modified Bauxite Residues from PRO and GUI (MBR-PRO and MBR-GUI) were obtained by gypsum application and repeated leaching, in order to reduce their pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP).

Cumulative Risk Assessment in the Lorraine Region: A Framework to Characterize Environmental Health Inequalities.

The study explores spatial data processing methods and the associated impact on the characterization and quantification of a combined health risk indicator at a regional scale and at fine resolution. To illustrate the methodology of combining multiple publicly available data sources, we present a case study of the Lorraine region (France), where regional stakeholders were involved in the global procedures for data collection and organization. Different indicators are developed by combining technical approaches for assessing and characterizing human health exposure to chemical substances (in soil, air and water) and noise risk factors.

Building spatial composite indicators to analyze environmental health inequalities on a regional scale.

Background: Reducing health inequalities involves the identification and characterization of social and exposure factors and the way they accumulate in a given area. The areas of accumulation then allow for prioritization of interventions. The present study aims to build spatial composite indicators based on the aggregation of environmental, social and health indicators and their inter-relationships.

White paper on the promotion of an integrated risk assessment concept in European regulatory frameworks for chemicals.

The vision of a sustainable and safe use of chemicals to protect human health, preserve the environment and maintain the ecosystem requires innovative and more holistic approaches to risk assessment (RA) in order to better inform decision making. Integrated risk assessment (IRA) has been proposed as a solution to current scientific, societal and policy needs. It is defined as the mutual exploitation of environmental risk assessment (ERA) for human health risk assessment (HHRA) and vice versa in order to coherently and more efficiently characterize an overall risk to humans and the environment for better informing the risk analysis process.

Spatial relationship quantification between environmental, socioeconomic and health data at different geographic levels.

Spatial health inequalities have often been analyzed in terms of socioeconomic and environmental factors. The present study aimed to evaluate spatial relationships between spatial data collected at different spatial scales. The approach was illustrated using health outcomes (mortality attributable to cancer) initially aggregated to the county level, district socioeconomic covariates, and exposure data modeled on a regular grid.

Development of a spatial stochastic multimedia exposure model to assess population exposure at a regional scale.

Analyzing the relationship between the environment and health has become a major focus of public health efforts in France, as evidenced by the national action plans for health and the environment. These plans have identified the following two priorities: - identify and manage geographic areas where hotspot exposures are a potential risk to human health; and - reduce exposure inequalities. The aim of this study is to develop a spatial stochastic multimedia exposure model for detecting vulnerable populations and analyzing exposure determinants at a fine resolution and regional scale.