Preliminary toxicological assessment of phthalate esters from drinking water consumed in Portugal

This paper reports, for the first time, the concentrations of selected phthalates in drinking water consumed in Portugal. The use of bottled water in Portugal has increased in recent years. The main material for bottles is polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Its plasticizer components can contaminate water by leaching, and several scientific studies have evidenced potential health risks of phthalates to humans of all ages. With water being one of the most essential elements to human health and because it is consumed by ingestion, the evaluation of drinking water quality, with respect to phthalate contents, is important. This study tested seven commercial brands of bottled water consumed in Portugal, six PET and one glass (the most consumed) bottled water. Furthermore, tap water from Lisbon and three small neighbor cities was analyzed. Phthalates (di-n-butyl phthalate ester (DnBP), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate ester (DEHP), and di-i-butyl phthalate ester (DIBP)) in water samples were quantified (PET and glass) by means of direct immersion solid-phase microextraction and ionic liquid gas chromatography associated with flame ionization detection or mass spectrometry due to their high boiling points and water solubility. The method utilized in this study showed a linear range for target phthalates between 0.02 and 6.5 μg L^?1, good precision and low limits of detection that were between 0.01 and 0.06 μg L^?1, and quantitation between 0.04 and 0.19 μg L^?1. Only three phthalates were detected in Portuguese drinking waters: dibutyl (DnBP), diisobutyl (DIBP), and di(ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). Concentrations ranged between 0.06 and 6.5 μg L^?1 for DnBP, between 0.02 and 0.16 μg L^?1 for DEHP, and between 0.1 and 1.89 μg L^?1 for DIBP. The concentration of DEHP was found to be up to five times higher in PET than in glass bottled water. Surprisingly, all the three phthalates were detected in glass bottled water with the amount of DnBP being higher (6.5 μg L^?1) than in PET bottled water. These concentrations do not represent direct risk to human health. Regarding potable tap water, only DIBP and DEHP were detected. Two of the cities showed concentration of all three phthalates in their water below the limits of detection of the method. All the samples showed phthalate concentrations below 6 μg L^?1, the maximum admissible concentration in water established by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The concentrations measured in Portuguese bottled waters do not represent any risk for adult's health.     

LCA of environmental and socio-economic impacts related to wood energy production in alpine conditions: Valle di Fiemme (Italy)

An extended Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is performed for evaluating the impacts of a woody biomass supply chain for heating plants in the alpine region. Three main aspects of sustainability are assessed: greenhouse gas emissions, represented by global warming potential (GWP) impact category, costs and direct employment potential. We investigate a whole tree system (innovative logging system) where the harvest of logging residues is integrated into the harvest of conventional wood products. The case study is performed in Valle di Fiemme in Trentino region (North Italy) and includes theoretical and practical elements. The system boundary is the alpine forest fuel system, from logging operations at the forest stand to combustion of woody biofuels at the heating plant. The functional unit is 1 m³ solid over bark of woody biomass, delivered to the district heating plant in Cavalese (Trento). The relative sustainability of traditional and innovative systems is compared and energy use is estimated. Results show that the overall GWP and costs are about 13 kg CO_2equivalent and 42 euro per functional unit respectively for the innovative system. Along the product supply chain, chipping contributes the greatest share of GWP and energy use, while extraction by yarder has the highest financial costs. The GWP is reduced by 2.3 ton CO_2equivalent when bioenergy substitutes fuel oil and 1.7 ton CO_2equivalent when it substitutes natural gas. The sensitivity analysis illustrates that variations in fuel consumption and hourly rates of costs have a great influence on chipping operation and extraction by cable yarder concerning GWP and financial analysis, respectively. This is confirmed by sensitivity analysis. Better technologies, the use of biofuels along the product supply chain and more efficient systems might reduce these impacts. Replacing the traditional system with the innovative one reduces emissions and costs. A low energy input ratio is required for harvesting logging residues. The direct employment potential is a conflicting aspect and needs further investigations.     

CC.OO. (“Comisiones Obreras”) – ISTAS (Union Institute of Work,Environment and Health) participatory action plan for a healthier work organization: A case study

Spanish workers have been among the most exposed to psychosocial risks across the European Union.CC.OO. and ISTAS decided to establish an action plan to empower workers’ health and safety representatives to have an influence on the psychosocial risk assessment processes leading to negotiations with employers over a more democratic, fair and healthier work organization.Most important outcomes included 3600 companies which have followed a participatory process culminating with the implementation of agreed upon at source preventive measures in 40% of cases.There exists some evidence that preventive actions have increased in Spain since CC.OO.’s workers’ health and safety representatives started systematically pushing for improvements in the psychosocial work environment, however the quality of such actions is less clear.Future priorities include: first, to overcome barriers related to the interaction with external agents, especially with professional and administrative bodies. Second, to increase collaboration with scientific institutions to ensure and improve quality of both risk assessment tools and preventive actions. Third, to evaluate at the source interventions at company level with special interest in looking at the involvement of worker representatives, managers and OH professionals and the impact of their involvement on the undertaking of effective preventive actions. Fourth, increasing interaction between ISTAS and CC.OO. in order to place demands for the improvement of psychosocial working conditions more centrally in collective bargaining. Fifth, trying to increase unity of action of all Spanish workers’ unions on the subject.     

Soils and sediments of the Thua Thien-Hue Province (central Vietnam): recognizing trace element sources and the likely influence of natural events

Trace element concentrations have been measured in soil and sediment samples taken from the Thua Thien Hue (TT-H) Province and the Tam Giang-Cau Hai (TG-CH) Lagoon in 2002 and 2004. Results show that the lagoon is only slightly contaminated by elements such as Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn, whereas As, probably naturally enriched in this Asian region, reaches values above the lowest internationally accepted sediment quality guidelines. Concentrations in soils are ascribable to natural sources and distributions in the TG-CH Lagoon are mainly influenced by river inputs, with Ag and Cd undergoing estuarine desorption processes. However, concentration-depth profiles of most trace elements in sediments show a recent increasing trend that might be linked to the economic development of the area. The comparison of porosity and (210)Pb depth profiles (confirmed also by Cd and As) from repeated samplings of the same core locations in the TG-CH Lagoon seems to account for a loss of 5-10 cm of surficial sediment that took place during the time interval between the two samplings. It is hypothesized that extreme meteorological events (e.g. a major typhoon that hit the area in November 2003) could be responsible for such sediment displacement.     

Chemical and toxicological evaluation along with unprecedented transformation products during photolysis and heterogeneous photocatalysis of chloramphenicol in different aqueous matrices

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - As the presence of antibiotics in environmental waters enhances antimicrobial resistance, photolysis and heterogeneous photocatalysis of...     

Fate and effects of nonylphenol in the presence of the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa

Interactions of nonylphenol (NP), a toxic and oestrogenic degradation product of widely used non-ionic surfactants, with the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa were studied. Batch cultures were incubated for 10 days with NP concentrations between 10 and 570 nM. NP was removed more quickly in the presence of M. aeruginosa (half-life 2.7–5.2 days) than in its absence (half-life 6.7–10.2 days) at all concentrations tested. At the end of the experiment, NP could not be found in the biomass, so the biotic removal is due to uptake and chemical transformation, and not to physical binding on the cells. The observed effective concentrations, EC₅₀ and EC₂₀, were 0.45 and 0.25 μ M, respectively. Therefore, NP is expected to have toxic effects on M. aeruginosa only in very contaminated surface waters. However, for concentrations that go far beyond environmental levels, cyanobacteria are able to cope with NP toxicity by internalising the compound in a less toxic form. Therefore, the presence of cyanobacteria may increase the rate of NP removal from the aquatic environment.     

Analysis of the impact of the Arganda metro line on alternative road route emission levels

The object of the present work was to carry out the environmental assessment of a new metro line in Madrid by means of an emission model using a down – up methodology, calculation parameters of which were taken from the European Union-sponsored programmes CORINAIR 99 and COPERT 2000. The study assesses emissions over different time horizons, taking into account the resulting variations in traffic speed and intensity upon the opening of the new infrastructure. The results obtained show that the construction of the line has led to a significant reduction in the various pollutant emission levels, particularly in the areas closer to the city. The most significant reductions are expected to be even greater in future scenarios.