Transport and dynamics of toxic pollutants in the natural environment and their effect on human health: research gaps and challenge

The source–pathway–receptor (SPR) approach to human exposure and risk assessment contains considerable uncertainty when using the refined modelling approaches to pollutant transport and dispersal, not least in how compounds of concern might be prioritised, proxy or indicator substances identified and the basic environmental and toxicological data collected. The impact of external environmental variables, urban systems and lifestyle is still poorly understood. This determines exposure of individuals and there are a number of methods being developed to provide more reliable spatial assessments. Within the human body, the dynamics of pollutants and effects on target organs from diffuse, transient sources of exposure sets ambitious challenges for traditional risk assessment approaches. Considerable potential exists in the application of, e.g. physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models. The reduction in uncertainties associated with the effects of contaminants on humans, transport and dynamics influencing exposure, implications of adult versus child exposure and lifestyle and the development of realistic toxicological and exposure data are all highlighted as urgent research needs. The potential to integrate environmental with toxicological models provides the next phase of research opportunity and should be used to drive empirical and model assessments.     

Strategies for improving human health in contaminated situations: a review of past,present and possible future approaches

Strategies for improving human health in contaminated situations have traditionally been based on restricting emissions, remedial reduction of exposure and, where appropriate and possible, medical reconnaissance of efficacy. We review these and the broader aspects of general public health approaches, including necessary understanding of epidemiology and the wider social context, before considering a specific local case study involving health issues associated with chromium-contaminated land and its remediation in an area of urban regeneration. The impact of remediation upon the common good, in its broadest environmental, health and socio-economic sense, including enhanced opportunities for members of the community to take personal responsibility for health-improving activities, should be taken into account in addition to conventional theoretical assessments and practical measurements of relief from environmental risk. Rapidly emerging toxicogenomic technologies may have a role to play in informing future risk assessment and remediation approaches in contaminated situations, although the ethical challenges of using personal genetic information could well be considerable.     

Interdisciplinarity and participatory approaches to environmental health

This paper reviews a workshop discussion postulated on the notion that social, economic and behavioural factors are responsible for the creation of environmental hazards and benefits that, in turn, can affect human health, with concomitant effects on future social well-being. The workshop case study centred on environmental health investigations, public engagement and partnership work undertaken following the death of two neighbouring children in Cheshire. Discussion included questions of causality and generalisability. It revealed how the attribution of responsibility for environmental damage to health is fraught with difficulties. It may often militate against an informed and open debate among interested parties, with concomitant implications for reducing the danger from environmental hazards. To improve communication, vocabulary needs to be free from jargon and acronyms, and differences in conceptual approach between different disciplines need to be better understood. The definition of the ‘community’ is itself far from clear-cut, yet questions of how to involve this community in intervention processes are important ones. The workshop identified a clear need for better, more considered forms of communication with communities and the public if fears are to be allayed, but recognised the additional costs that this would incur.     

Medical geochemistry research in Spišsko-Gemerské rudohorie Mts., Slovakia

This study presents an assessment of the potential impact of geological contamination of the environment on the health of the population in Spišsko-Gemerské rudohorie Mts. (SGR Mts.). The concentration levels of potentially toxic elements (mainly As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, Sb, and Zn) were determined in soils, groundwater, surface water, and stream sediments as well as in the food chain (locally grown vegetables). A medical study included some 30 health indicators for all 98 municipalities of the study area. The As and Sb contents in human fluids and tissues were analyzed in one municipality identified to be at the highest risk. Based on element content, environmental and health risks were calculated for respective municipalities. Out of 98 municipalities 14 were characterized with extremely high environmental risk and 10 were characterized with very high carcinogenic risk from arsenic (groundwater). Extensive statistical analysis of geochemical data (element contents in soils, groundwater, surface water, and stream sediments) and health indicators was performed. Significant correlations between element contents in the geological environment and health indicators, mainly cancer and cardiovascular diseases, were identified. Biological monitoring has confirmed the transfer of elements from the geological environment to human fluids and tissues as well as to the local food chain.     

Environmental impact assessment for aquatic ecosystems of industrial effluents†

A system of environmental impact assessment of industrial effluents is presented and discussed. Environmental assessment consists of three phases, hazard assessment, risk determination, and societary evaluation. It is regarded an integrated study of natural sciences, i.e. ecochemicology (chemical fate), ecotoxicology (toxical effects), and ecoepidemiology (biological damages); and social sciences, e.g. geography, sociology, and economy. And the outcome should be the basis of political decision making. Hazard assessment may be divided into a subphase of hazard identification from a base set of scientific information on the industrial effluent, and a second subphase of hazard analysis at a more elevated level of scientific information akin to the procedures suggested elsewhere for single chemicals. Methods of hazard assessment are laboratory experiments, e.g. chemical analysis, degradation and bioaccumulation studies, acute and chronic toxicity assessments, physical modelling, etc. Risk determination may then be conducted by extrapolation of the obtained results from laboratory to field, i.e. by risk estimation to the receiving waters, using methods of hydraulic modelling, biological surveillance, etc. Risk‐benefit evaluation is conducted in the society evaluation phase by balancing environmental consequences against the society value of the production. The outcome is determined by the interaction between hazard‐makers (industry), risk‐takers (administrators), guardians (regulators), and assessors (scientists) in risk management, the crank of environmental assessment.     

防污漆中活性物质海洋环境风险评估关键技术探讨

防污漆中的活性物质对海洋生态环境和人类健康造成的潜在风险受到日益广泛的关注,一些发达国家已建立了针对活性物质海洋环境风险评估的技术体系,但我国相关研究目前尚属空白。综述了防污漆活性物质海洋环境风险评估的研究背景、相关法规、技术标准和发展现状,针对环境风险评估的2个重要组成部分(危害性评估和暴露评估)中的关键技术进行了探讨。在危害性评估中,重点分析和比较了受试生物物种的选择原则、生态毒理数据的要求以及预测无效应浓度的推导方法和应用范围;在暴露评估中,系统阐述了活性物质在水环境中释放速率的计算及修正方法、环境浓度的预测模型、现有的暴露场景及其局限性等。本文以期为我国开展防污漆活性物质海洋环境风险评估提供研究基础和科学依据,并提出了今后的研究重点和方向。     

Altruism and environmental risks to health of parents and their children

This paper tests an equilibrium condition from a model that incorporates: (1) altruism of parents toward their young children, and (2) household production of latent health risks. The model demonstrates that an altruistic parent's marginal rate of substitution between an environmental health risk to herself and to her child is equal to the ratio of marginal risk reduction costs. Econometric estimates support this prediction based on data from a stated preference survey involving 488 parents of children aged 3–12 years. This outcome implies that parents reallocate family resources to at least partly offset the effectiveness of public programs that aim to reduce their children's environmental risks.     

健康风险评估方法在中国重金属污染中的应用及暴露评估模型的研究进展

经济的快速发展导致中国环境质量日趋恶化.随着健康意识的增强,人们越来越重视污染物暴露人群的健康风险评估.与其他污染物相比,重金属污染区域广,重金属暴露人群多且集中.为了研究重金属暴露条件下人群的健康风险,USEPA 模型、统计模型、地理信息系统、可给性研究的方法已被中国不同学者应用.暴露评估模型作为污染物暴露人群健康风险评估的主要环节,国外的研究已经比较成熟,但相关研究在中国还处于空白阶段.对中国近年来在城市表层土壤（灰尘）、矿区土壤、膳食、地下水和饮用水、大气颗粒物进行重金属风险评估中应用的健康风险评估方法,进行了归纳和评述,并对欧美常用暴露评估模型：环境暴露评估模型、膳食暴露评估模型进行了介绍.中国健康风险评估工作起步晚,在评估的各环节均存在很大缺陷.随着新技术的发展以及人群对环境健康风险认识的深化,健康风险评估将成为中国热门研究领域之一.污染的环境行为、剂量一效应关系、模型、风险信息等方面,将是未来中国健康风险评估研究的重点.     

Regional ecotoxicological hazards associated with anthropogenic enrichment of heavy metals

Regional geochemical data of heavy metals are commonly used for environmental risk assessment and management. Often these data are based on so-called total concentrations, whereas the exposure to the mobile or reactive fraction of these elements finally determines whether the exposed ecosystem is at risk and to which extent. The objective of our research was to develop a wider applicable method for quantitative hazard assessment of soil metal contamination attributable to the activity of man, based on and illustrated with data from the Netherlands. Since chemical availability (0.43 M HNO3 extractable concentrations) of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn appeared strongly related to the estimated anthropogenic enrichment, we used these concentrations to assess the hazard of human-induced enrichment of these metals. We expressed the enrichment hazard using the toxic pressure concept, which estimates the fraction of biological species (varying between 0 and 1) potentially affected due to the level of exposure to single metals or their local mixtures. This is done using logistic (enrichment) concentration/response models parameterized with ecotoxicological effect data from toxicity tests and mixture models. Hazards varied from very low toxic pressures (lower than 0.01) to (most often) toxic pressure less than 0.05, whereby the latter relates to the so-called 95%-protection criterion used in some soil protection legislations. In rare cases, the toxic pressure exceeded the value of 0.05, to an upper limit of 0.054 for Cd. The rank order of metal enrichment hazards suggests that Cd enrichment induces the largest hazard increase. There are limited (rank order) differences in enrichment hazards between soil types. Comparing the judgement of soils based on soil screening levels and based on toxic pressure of anthropogenic Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn enrichments, the soil screening values appear to more conservative. This exemplifies the use of soil screening values as a method to note regulatory concern, but not always indicating an actual hazard or risk. When screening values are exceeded, refined hazard insights can be obtained, as illustrated in this paper. This provides a more refined insight in the ecotoxic implications of human-induced metal enrichments in soils, as refined basis for risk management decisions.     

Bayes methods for combining disease and exposure data in assessing environmental justice

Environmental justice reflects the equitable distribution of the burden of environmental hazards across various sociodemographic groups. The issue is important in environmental regulation, siting of hazardous waste repositories and prioritizing remediation of existing sources of exposure. We propose a statistical framework for assessing environmental justice. The framework includes a quantitative assessment of environmental equity based on the cumulative distribution of exposure within population subgroups linked to disease incidence through a dose-response function. This approach avoids arbitrary binary classifications of individuals solely as 'exposed' or 'unexposed'. We present a Bayesian inferential approach, implemented using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, that accounts for uncertainty in both exposure and response. We illustrate our method using data on leukaemia deaths and exposure to toxic chemical releases in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.     

Health risk assessment maps for arsenic groundwater content: application of national geochemical databases

This investigation assesses the feasibility of calculating and visualizing health risk estimates from exposure to groundwater contaminated with arsenic (As) using data from national geochemical databases. The potential health risk associated with As-contaminated groundwater was assessed based on an elaboration of existing geochemical data in accordance with accepted methodological procedures established for human health risk assessment (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency methodology). A screening analysis approach was used for estimating the contribution of As to the total chronic health risk from exposure to groundwater contaminated with potentially toxic elements, including As, Ba, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, Sb, Se and Zn, and the results indicate that As contributes significantly (>50%) to this total health chronic risk in about 10% of Slovak territory. Based on the calculation of the potential risk level by exposure modelling, increased chronic as well as carcinogenic risk levels (medium to high) were documented in approximately 0.2 and 11% of the total Slovak area, respectively. The areas characterized by high health risk levels are mainly those geogenically contaminated. High and very high carcinogenic risk was determined in 34 of 79 districts and in 528 of 2924 municipalities.     

The prevalence of heavy metals in Cladophora glomerata L. from Farahabad Region of Caspian Sea – Iran

The presence of toxic heavy metals in the environment is considered as a risk factor for adverse human and environmental health effects. Farahabad Region is a tourist center in the southern coast of Caspian Sea in Mazandaran Province of Iran. Environmental monitoring of this site is important for public health for individuals visiting and residing in this region. Although numerous biomonitoring data are available globally, very few if any apparent investigations have been conducted in this region. In this study, concentration of three heavy metals chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) was determined for one year in Cladophora glomerata, the predominant macroalga species present in this region. Detection of heavy metals was performed with atomic absorption spectrophotometer using standard methods. Results showed that the range of Cr metal in various algal samples was 29–55 ppm/g dry weight. The levels of Pb in algal samples (Cladophora) ranged from 2 to 8 ppm/g dry weight. The Cd concentrations in C. glomerata biomass ranged from 1.5 to 8.2 ppm/g dry biomass. In view of potential threats of such high metal concentrations in coastal waters and in algal tissues, it is necessary to adopt conservation measures to ensure public health safety.     

An effective dietary survey framework for the assessment of total dietary arsenic intake in Bangladesh: Part-A—FFQ design

Groundwater contaminated with arsenic (As), when extensively used for irrigation, causes potentially long term detrimental effects to the landscape. Such contamination can also directly affect human health when irrigated crops are primarily used for human consumption. Therefore, a large number of humans are potentially at risk worldwide due to daily As exposure. Numerous previous studies have been severely limited by small sample sizes which are not reliably extrapolated to large populations or landscapes. Human As exposure and risk assessment are no longer simple assessments limited to a few food samples from a small area. The focus of more recent studies has been to perform risk assessment at the landscape level involving the use of biomarkers to identify and quantify appropriate health problems and large surveys of human dietary patterns, supported by analytical testing of food, to quantify exposure. This approach generates large amounts of data from a wide variety of sources and geographic information system (GIS) techniques have been used widely to integrate the various spatial, demographic, social, field, and laboratory measured datasets. With the current worldwide shift in emphasis from qualitative to quantitative risk assessment, it is likely that future research efforts will be directed towards the integration of GIS, statistics, chemistry, and other dynamic models within a common platform to quantify human health risk at the landscape level. In this paper we review the present and likely future trends of human As exposure and GIS application in risk assessment at the landscape level.     

农田土壤镉生物有效性及暴露评估研究进展

随着工业化和城市化进程的发展,我国在农田土壤污染领域面临较大挑战,其中镉(Cd)为最优先控制元素之一。农田土壤Cd污染风险类型为健康风险,其主要暴露途径为经土壤-植物系统,并经膳食进入人体。在当前的土壤Cd风险评估中,一般不考虑生物有效性问题,这使得风险评价中实际暴露评估的不确定性普遍偏高。所以,近年来欧洲国家有许多研究者提出将生物有效性因素放在土壤污染物风险评价框架内。基于此,本文立足于农田系统,并从土壤、植物、污染物及环境因素等4个方面详细综述了农田土壤Cd生物有效性的影响因素及其作用机理。其次,分别综述了近年来土壤Cd生物有效性预测模型和土壤Cd膳食暴露评估模型研究进展。最后,分析了我国土壤重金属风险评价中存在的不足,并对农田土壤Cd暴露评估发展态势和研究方向进行了初步预测,以期为农田土壤Cd健康风险评估及安全基准研究提供一定参考。     

Human dietary intake and hazard characterization for residues of neonicotinoides and organophosphorus pesticides in Egyptian honey

In two recently published reports, hazards posed by dietary exposure to organophosphate and neonicotinoid plant protection products on the European honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) in Egypt were investigated. Using concentrations reported in those studies, an assessment of hazards posed by these two classes of insecticides to humans due to consumption of Egyptian honey from the Nile Delta during both spring and summer was performed. Twenty-eight compounds including metabolites were assessed for exposure of adult Egyptians based on the best- and worst-case scenarios. Even for the worst-case scenario, exposure to these two classes of pesticides in honey was 15-fold less than hazard index value of 1.0 for adverse effects on humans. Based upon this analysis, people exposed to these insecticides through consumption of honey products would be unlikely to exhibit adverse health outcomes.     

An exploratory study of chemical elements in drinking water and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Nanomaterials are widely used in the field of engineering and in modern society. Although the unique characteristics of nanoparticles also enable them to provide environmental solutions to reduce the formation and emissions of pollutants, adverse effects on human health may occur from the exposure to nanomaterials during the manufacturing processes and when nanomaterials are released and they contaminate the environment. It is essential to understand the factors affecting the accumulation, aggregation, deposition, translocation, and distribution of nanomaterials (natural or engineered) in the ecosystem. This study presents an extensive review of the environmental effects of nanomaterials, including classification, adverse impacts on human health and the environment, transport pathways, monitoring methods, and the current regulations regarding nanomaterials. The review indicates that the diversity of nanoparticles and their properties make the identification and characterization of nanomaterials a difficult task, and an improvement in sensitivity and selectivity of analytical methods for detecting nanoparticles in the environment is required. Besides, few regulations have been established for the management of nanoparticles released into the environment. In order to expedite the environmental management of nanomaterials, this study proposes a risk assessment framework based on the findings in the review as a practice alternative for the environmental assessment and effective management of nanomaterials. Development of practical innovative risk-based management measures may help us to find answers to the concerns such as safety of engineering and applying nanomaterials and effective control of nanoparticle contamination in the environment.     

地方性砷中毒地区环境砷暴露健康风险研究进展

自然因素引起的环境高砷暴露及其健康效应,尤其是饮水型地方性砷中毒是砷污染健康风险评估的基础。总结地方性砷中毒在环境砷暴露的风险识别、暴露途径和暴露与健康效应关系研究中的作用基础上,指出了地方性砷中毒研究中仅强调了饮水污染,关注的暴露途径比较单一,因此,人体多途径联合砷暴露的健康风险评估过程存在较大的不确定性。我国是唯一存在饮水和燃煤2种自然环境高砷暴露的国家,是研究2种类型砷暴露异同的天然场地,然而目前环境高砷的暴露及其健康效应的研究均为独立研究,对燃煤型地方性砷中毒在呼吸链砷暴露风险评估中的作用重视不够。因此,通过开展两种环境砷暴露及其健康效应的综合比较研究,建立呼吸链暴露评估和暴露-健康效应模型,可以为人体多途径联合砷暴露的健康风险研究提供新的依据。     

Implementation of food frequency questionnaire for the assessment of total dietary arsenic intake in Bangladesh: Part B, preliminary findings

Dietary intake of water and food has been identified as one of the major pathways for arsenic (As) exposure in the rural population of Bangladesh. Therefore, realistic assessment and measurement of dietary intake patterns are important for the development of an accurate estimate of As exposure and human health risk assessment. One important consideration is to identify an appropriate tool for measuring dietary intake. In this study an interviewer-administered Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) was implemented to determine age and gender specific dietary intake. The developed FFQ was unique because it developed a synergy between field dietary assessment and As concentration measurements in various environmental media. The resulting integrated database provided an accurate framework for the process of As exposure and human health risk assessment. The preliminary results reported here from the FFQ demonstrated that this technique could be used in rural areas as a tool to assess As exposure and the associated human health risk.     

S -phenylcysteine adduct concentration in serum albumin of countryside residents and factory workers in Estonia

In this communication we present data on S-phenylcysteine (SPC) in human serum albumin in an Estonian cohort. A total of 112 human samples were collected from workers of a benzene processing plant in Kohtla-Järve, Estonia and another 56 samples from nearby countryside residents. Albumin was isolated using a sequential precipitation method designed for low volume plasma samples. The adducted cysteine derivatives were cleaved off from the albumin and subsequently derivatized to phenyl trifluorothioacetate (PTTA) derivatives. Derivatized adducts were subjected to GC/MS analysis utilizing negative chemical ionization and a selected ion monitoring (SIM) technique. The detection limit for the PTTA adduct was 0.2?pmol?g^?1 albumin and the limit of quantification was 2?pmol?g^?1 albumin. The method utilized deuterated SPC as an internal standard. The analysis revealed that adduct levels were also high in the population that was not occupationally exposed to benzene. The reason for this is unknown, but may cause problems if not of environmental origin, when one is attempting to monitor low level occupational or environmental benzene exposure.     

Pharmaceutical compounds in aquatic environment in China: locally screening and environmental risk assessment

An environmental risk assessment was performed for pharmaceutical compounds present in the aquatic environment of China. Predicted environmental concentration (PEC) of the compounds were calculated according to European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) guidelines. Available ecotoxicological data compromised by applying a very conservative assessment factor (AF) were employed to calculate the predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC). The screening principle and the risk assessment were based on risk quotient (RQ), which derived from the PEC and related PNEC values. PEC results indicated that all the compounds except sulfadimethoxine and levocarnitine, should carry out phase II risk assessment in EMEA guideline. RQ values suggested that more than 36 pharmaceuticals may be imposed health threats to the aquatic environment; especially the antibiotic therapeutic class including amoxicillin, sulfasalazine, trimethoprim, oxytetracycline and erythromycin showed high RQ values. These substances with high RQ value (RQ≥1) were regarded as top-priority pharmaceuticals for control in the aquatic environment of China. However, the antibiotic substances which had low risk quotient (RQ <1), should be reassessed by its potentially induced resistance under low concentration in future.