GM crops and the rat digestive tract: A critical review

The aim of this review is to examine the relationship between genetically modified (GM) crops and health, based on histopathological investigations of the digestive tract in rats. We reviewed published long-term feeding studies of crops containing one or more of three specific traits: herbicide tolerance via the EPSPS gene and insect resistance via cry1Ab or cry3Bb1 genes. These genes are commonly found in commercialised GM crops. Our search found 21 studies for nine (19%) out of the 47 crops approved for human and/or animal consumption. We could find no studies on the other 38 (81%) approved crops. Fourteen out of the 21 studies (67%) were general health assessments of the GM crop on rat health. Most of these studies (76%) were performed after the crop had been approved for human and/or animal consumption, with half of these being published at least nine years after approval. Our review also discovered an inconsistency in methodology and a lack of defined criteria for outcomes that would be considered toxicologically or pathologically significant. In addition, there was a lack of transparency in the methods and results, which made comparisons between the studies difficult. The evidence reviewed here demonstrates an incomplete picture regarding the toxicity (and safety) of GM products consumed by humans and animals. Therefore, each GM product should be assessed on merit, with appropriate studies performed to indicate the level of safety associated with them. Detailed guidelines should be developed which will allow for the generation of comparable and reproducible studies. This will establish a foundation for evidence-based guidelines, to better determine if GM food is safe for human and animal consumption.     

An approach to comparative assessments of potential health risks from exposure to radionuclides and hazardous chemicals

The need to compare potential health risks to the public associated with different activities that can result in releases of hazardous substances to the environment is becoming increasingly important in decision-making. In making such comparisons, it is desirable to use equivalent indicators of potential health risks for radionuclides, chemical carcinogens, and noncarcinogenic hazardous chemicals. Current approaches to risk assessment that were developed for purposes of protecting human health do not provide equivalent indicators of potential risks from exposure to radionuclides and hazardous chemicals. Comparisons of environmental concentrations or calculated exposures or risks with standards for protection of public health also do not provide equivalent indicators of potential risks. We propose a simple approach to comparative risk assessments in which calculated exposures to any hazardous substances are expressed relative to no-observed-effect levels (NOELs) or, preferably, lower confidence limits of benchmark doses (BMDLs) in humans. This approach provides an equivalent, science-based indicator of the relative risks posed by different exposures to any hazardous substances.     

A statistical evaluation of the geogenic controls on indoor radon concentrations and radon risk

ANOVA is used to show that approximately 25% of the total variation of indoor radon concentrations in England and Wales can be explained by the mapped bedrock and superficial geology. The proportion of the total variation explained by geology is higher (up to 37%) in areas where there is strong contrast between the radon potential of sedimentary geological units and lower (14%) where the influence of confounding geological controls, such as uranium mineralisation, cut across mapped geological boundaries. When indoor radon measurements are grouped by geology and 1-km squares of the national grid, the cumulative percentage of the variation between and within mapped geological units is shown to be 34-40%. The proportion of the variation that can be attributed to mapped geological units increases with the level of detail of the digital geological data. This study confirms the importance of radon maps that show the variation of indoor radon concentrations both between and within mapped geological boundaries.     

A spatial risk assessment methodology to support the remediation of contaminated land

When soil and groundwater contaminations occur over large areas, remediation measures should be spatially prioritized on the basis of the risk posed to human health and in compliance with technological and budget constraints. Within this scope, the application of human health risk assessment algorithms in a spatially resolved environment raises a number of methodological and technical complexities. In this paper, a methodology is proposed and applied in a case study to support the entire formulation process of remediation plans, encompassing hazard assessment, exposure assessment, risk characterisation, uncertainty assessment and allocation of risk reduction measures. In the hazard assessment, it supports the selection of Contaminants of Concern (CoC) with regard to both their average concentrations and peak concentrations, i.e. hot spots. In the exposure assessment, it provides a zoning of the site based on the geostatistical mapping of contaminant. In the risk characterisation, it generates vector maps of Risk Factors on the basis of the risk posed by multiple substances and allows the interrogation of most relevant CoC and exposure pathways for each zone of the site. It also supports the Monte Carlo based probabilistic estimation of the Risk Factors and generates maps of the associated uncertainty. In the risk reduction phase, it supports the formulation of remediation plans based on the stepwise spatial allocation of remediation interventions and the on-time simulation of risk reduction performances. The application of this methodology is fully supported by an easy-to-use and customized Geographical Information System and does not require high expertise for interpretation. The proposed methodology is the core module of a Decision Support System (DSS) that was implemented in the DESYRE software aimed at supporting the risk-based remediation of megasites.     

Intake of uranium and radium-226 due to food crops consumption in the phosphate region of Pernambuco--Brazil

The phosphate region located in the Northeast of Brazil covers an area of approximately 150 km long with an average width of 4 km, along the coast of the states of Pernambuco and Paraíba. The inhabitants of this area are exposed to natural radioactivity levels higher than the background values recorded in the literature, mainly due to the presence of uranium and its decay products in the phosphatic sediments. The main aim of this study was to determine the activity concentration of uranium and (226)Ra in foodstuffs cultivated in this area, where the phosphate mineral has been extracted. The activity concentrations found for uranium and (226)Ra in the foodstuffs analyzed varied from 13 to 186 mBq kg(-1) (wet weight), with a mean value of 46 mBq kg(-1) and from 43 to 2209 mBq kg(-1) (wet weight), with a mean value of 358 mBq kg(-1), respectively. The annual intake of these radionuclides, for rural residents, was 7.45 Bq for uranium and 69.3 Bq for (226)Ra.     

Applying the GM(1,1) model to simulate and predict the ecological footprint values of Suzhou city,China

The ecological footprint value (abbreviated as EF) is the quantitative indicator on evaluating the sustainable development status of a region. How to simulate the EF’s trend with a long-time data series has been heatedly discussed. The economic development of Suzhou, one of the most developed cities in Yangtze Delta, China, has been accelerated in the past 20 years, and it is necessary to evaluate the influence of the socioeconomic growth on local natural resources. The EF values of Suzhou from 1999 to 2018 were calculated and simulated using both the ARIMA model and the GM(1,1) model. The ARIMA model has been used in the prediction of EF values in several cases. However, the EF data series of the city consisted of white noise and could not be fitted by the ARIMA model. The GM(1,1) model, an approach forecasting nonlinear data series, was not found in the studies of the EF simulation. Through the model precision test, the GM(1,1) model introduced fit the EF data series well and was considered to be appropriate to simulate the EF values for Suzhou. The fitting performance was accurate, and the EF values of the city could be forecasted by the model in short term. With the proposed model, the ecological sustainability status of the city was analyzed.

     

A comparative assessment of human exposure to tetrabromobisphenol A and eight bisphenols including bisphenol A via indoor dust ingestion in twelve countries

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and eight bisphenol analogues (BPs) including bisphenol A (BPA) were determined in 388 indoor (including homes and microenvironments) dust samples collected from 12 countries (China, Colombia, Greece, India, Japan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, U.S., and Vietnam). The concentrations of TBBPA and sum of eight bisphenols (ƩBPs) in dust samples ranged from < 1 to 3600 and from 13 to 110,000 ng/g, respectively. The highest TBBPA concentrations in house dust were found in samples from Japan (median: 140 ng/g), followed by South Korea (84 ng/g) and China (23 ng/g). The highest ∑ BPs concentrations were found in Greece (median: 3900 ng/g), Japan (2600 ng/g) and the U.S. (2200 ng/g). Significant variations in BPA concentrations were found in dust samples collected from various microenvironments in offices and homes. Concentrations of TBBPA in house dust were significantly correlated with BPA and ∑ BPs. Among the nine target chemicals analyzed, BPA was the predominant compound in dust from all countries. The proportion of TBBPA in sum concentrations of nine phenolic compounds analyzed in this study was the highest in dust samples from China (27%) and the lowest in Greece (0.41%). The median estimated daily intake (EDI) of ∑ BPs through dust ingestion was the highest in Greece (1.6–17 ng/kg bw/day), Japan (1.3–16) and the U.S. (0.89–9.6) for various age groups. Nevertheless, in comparison with the reported BPA exposure doses through diet, dust ingestion accounted for less than 10% of the total exposure doses in China and the U.S. For TBBPA, the EDI for infants and toddlers ranged from 0.01 to 3.4 ng/kg bw/day, and dust ingestion is an important pathway for exposure accounting for 3.8–35% (median) of exposure doses in China.     

A holistic approach to Concentration Assessment of hazards in the risk assessment of landfill leachate

Risk assessment is a new research area. The risk assessment research area deals with a wide range of issues other than landfills. Examples of these issues are Radiation, Food Industry, Ecology, Epidemiology, etc. The authors have found that there are generic elements in risk assessment and these elements are independent of the subject areas mentioned above. An important example of these generic elements is the Concentration Assessment of hazards and is equally important from the perspective of landfill risk assessment. Furthermore, in the literature review of landfill risk assessment approaches, no evidence has been discovered of a holistic risk assessment methodology for landfill gas, leachate, or degraded landfill waste. A range of knowledge deficiencies has been found in the literature reviewed to date. One of these deficiencies in knowledge is the lack of a holistic procedure for carrying out Concentration Assessment. From the perspective of landfill leachate, this paper discusses the extent to which the Concentration Assessment of hazards is absent in landfill risk assessment approaches described in the literature reviewed to date, and the elements that should be added to the procedure of the Concentration Assessment in order to enhance the process of risk assessment. The paper also briefly outlines a holistic procedure for the Concentration Assessment and a corresponding computer model for the risk assessment of landfill leachate.     

内外资对中国碳排放影响的比较

国内外学者大多忽略内资而单独研究外资对碳排放的影响,本文基于碳排放核算公式和柯布—道格拉斯生产函数,从资本、劳动异质性角度将资本投入、劳动投入、技术进步按内外资企业分类构建了理论模型,然后基于2002—2014年中国30个省级行政区的相关数据采用经典的Moran’s I指数、局域LISA集群示意图进行了全局和局域空间相关性检验;最后构建空间面板模型比较分析了内外资企业资本投入、劳动投入、技术进步对中国碳排放的影响。结果表明:1中国各省区碳排放存在不可忽视的正向空间自相关性;2内外资企业的资本投入、劳动投入、技术水平的提高均会增加碳排放,其中技术进步因可能的回弹效应而对中国各省区碳排放带来正向影响;3与外资相比,同等幅度的资本投入和技术进步下内资企业带来的碳排放更多,而等量劳动投入下内资企业带来的碳排放更少;4内外资企业资本投入对碳排放的影响程度及其差异均为最大,而劳动投入和技术进步则相对较小。从"两害取其轻"这一相对意义上来看:与外资企业相比,内资企业才是2002—2014年中国碳排放增长的更大推手。由此认为:首先,中国各省级行政区应当以"联防联控"的治理思维来抑制碳排放增长,而不是"各自为政"的思维;其次,制定节能减排政策时应该更加重视回弹效应;最后,制定节能减排政策时应该以"共同而有区别的责任"态度来对待内外资企业,避免"一刀切"。     

A new hazard index of complex mixtures integrates bioconcentration and toxicity to refine the environmental risk assessment of effluents

A new methodology to evaluate the overall environmental hazard of unknown mixtures, based on bioconcentration potential and toxicity, was developed using a combination of two methodologies: 1) the estimation of the octanol-water partition coefficient (K(ow)) using reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and 2) the toxicity identification evaluation (TIE). Forty seven compounds with known K(ow) and different molecular structures where used for the calibration of the log K(ow) in relation to the retention time in reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). A linear regression with an R(2)=0.81 and an sd=0.69 was established between log K(ow) and RP-HPLC retention time. This K(ow) estimation method was furthermore validated using seven additional compounds, showing acceptable estimations of the log K(ow) of unknown substances. Two different mixtures were tested, one containing 3,4 Dichloroaniline, Diazinon and 4-Nonylphenol and another one containing a mixture of 16 pesticides. Both mixtures were first tested as a whole effluent and then fractionated and tested, using a miniaturized Daphnia magna test. An equation is presented, that combines both methodologies and establishes a relative hazard index RHI, ranging from 1 to 10 for any particular mixture of chemicals. The results show how the method presented can refine the security factors that could be included in the environmental risk assessment of effluents in the future.     

Dietary exposure to cadmium and risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundWith tobacco smoking, diet is the main source of cadmium (Cd) exposure in the general population. The carcinogenic and estrogenic activities of Cd make it a contaminant of potential concern for hormone-dependent cancers including breast cancer. Postmenopausal women represent the most appropriate population to investigate the possible impact of exogenous factors with potential estrogenic activity on breast cancer as, after menopause, their estrogenic influence is predominant.ObjectivesWe systematically reviewed available studies on the association between dietary exposure to Cd and breast cancer focusing on postmenopausal women. A meta-analysis combining the risk estimators was performed and potential sources of between studies heterogeneity were traced.MethodsStudies were searched from MEDLINE through 31 January 2015 and from the reference lists of relevant publications. Six eligible studies published between 2012 and 2014 were identified and relative risk estimates were extracted. Meta-rate ratio estimates (mRR) were calculated according to fixed and random-effect models. Meta-analyses were performed on the whole set of data and separate analyses were conducted after stratification for study design, geographic location, use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), tumor estrogen receptor status (ER + or ER −), progesterone receptor status (PGR + or PGR −), body mass index (BMI), smoker status, zinc or iron intake.ResultsNo statistically significant increased risk of breast cancer was observed when all studies were combined (mRR = 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.89–1.19). Several sources of heterogeneity and inconsistency were identified, including smoker status, HRT use, BMI, zinc and iron intake. Inconsistency was also strongly reduced when only considering ER −, PGR −, tumors subgroups from USA and from Japan. The risks were, however, not substantially modified after stratifications. No evidence of publication bias was found.ConclusionThe present study does not provide support for the hypothesis that dietary exposure to Cd increases the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Misclassification in dietary Cd assessment in primary studies could have biased the results towards a finding of no association.     

A cultural practice of drinking realgar wine leading to elevated urinary arsenic and its potential health risk

Toasting friends and family with realgar wines and painting children's foreheads and limbs with the leftover realgar/alcohol slurries is an important customary ritual during the Dragon Boat Festival (DBF); a Chinese national holiday and ancient feast day celebrated throughout Asia. Realgar is an arsenic sulfide mineral, and source of highly toxic inorganic arsenic. Despite the long history of realgar use during the DBF, associated risk to human health by arsenic ingestion or percutaneous adsorption is unknown. To address this urine samples were collected from a cohort of volunteers who were partaking in the DBF festivities. The total concentration of arsenic in the wine consumed was 70 mg L?1 with all the arsenic found to be inorganic. Total arsenic concentrations in adult urine reached a maximum of ca. 550 μg L?1 (mean 220.2 μg L?1) after 16 h post-ingestion of realgar wine, while face painting caused arsenic levels in children's urine to soar to 100 μg L?1 (mean 85.3 μg L?1) 40 h after the initial paint application. The average concentration of inorganic arsenic in the urine of realgar wine drinkers on average doubled 16 h after drinking, although this was not permanent and levels subsided after 28 h. As would be expected in young children, the proportions of organic arsenic in the urine remained high throughout the 88-h monitoring period. However, even when arsenic concentrations in the urine peaked at 40 h after paint application, concentrations in the urine only declined slightly thereafter, suggesting pronounced longer term dermal accumulation and penetration of arsenic. Drinking wines blended with realgar or using realgar based paints on children does result in the significant absorption of arsenic and therefore presents a potentially serious and currently unquantified health risk.     

A new compilation of the atmospheric 85krypton inventories from 1945 to 2000 and its evaluation in a global transport model

This paper gives the yearly (85)Kr emissions of all known reprocessing facilities, which are the main sources of (85)Kr in the atmosphere since 1945, for the years 1945 until 2000. According to this inventory 10,600 PBq (Peta=10(15)) of (85)Kr have been globally emitted from the year 1945 until the end of 2000. The global atmospheric inventory at the end of the year 2000 amounts to 4800 PBq. These emissions have been incorporated into the ECHAM4 atmospheric general circulation model as point sources. Monthly mean model results are compared with measurements made at different locations and times. The influence of each source on the measured concentrations at various locations is studied. The calculated concentrations are found to give reasonably good agreement with the observations, indicating that the emission inventory is realistic. Although, at all northern hemispheric observation sites the model tends to slightly overestimate the concentrations. A possible reason for this overestimation can be found in model features (coarse resolution in time and space). The most prominent discrepancy that is consistently repeated at all northern hemispheric stations occurs in the early 1990s. This could most likely be related to an overestimate of sources. Possibly, the Russian emissions declined earlier than assumed in the current database. Another discrepancy between observations and simulations indicating an incompleteness of the release data is found at some southern hemispheric sites. The variability of their observations could only be explained by regional sources. However, several spikes occur after 1992 when no reprocessing facility is known to be in operation in the southern hemisphere. Production of isotopes for radiopharmaceuticals like technetium-99m from highly enriched uranium is the most likely explanation.     

Hydro-chemical characterization of groundwater and evaluation of health risk assessment for fluoride contamination areas in the eastern blocks of Purulia district,India

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Purulia is a hard rock terrain where water scarcity as well as water quality degradation has been a major threat for the past few decades. The prolong...     

Mapping of the geogenic radon potential in France to improve radon risk management: methodology and first application to region Bourgogne

In order to improve regulatory tools for radon risk management in France, a harmonised methodology to derive a single map of the geogenic radon potential has been developed. This approach consists of determining the capacity of the geological units to produce radon and to facilitate its transfer to the atmosphere, based on the interpretation of existing geological data. This approach is firstly based on a classification of the geological units according to their uranium (U) content, to create a radon source potential map. This initial map is then improved by taking into account the main additional parameters, such as fault lines, which control the preferential pathways of radon through the ground and which can increase the radon levels in soils. The implementation of this methodology to the whole French territory is currently in progress. We present here the results obtained in one region (Bourgogne, Massif Central) which displays significant variations of the geogenic radon potential. The map obtained leads to a more precise zoning than the scale of the existing map of radon priority areas currently based solely on administrative boundaries.     

禀赋差距还是权利缺失:区域经济发展差距理论与实证研究

对于欠发达地区经济社会发展滞后表现出的区域差距,大量的研究多运用要素禀赋结构差距解释,重要的是如何理解在特定经济体中区域差距的持续扩大。本文从经济权利禀赋出发,提出了一个合理解释地区差距的理论分析框架,运用1990-2005年我国欠发达地区的省级面板数据进行计量分析。研究表明：尽管物质资本存量在我国欠发达地区经济增长中发挥了主要作用,但是,禀赋差异不仅是地区经济发展差距的原因,也是区域差距持续扩大的结果。在市场化进程的制度转型中产生的权利缺失成为我国欠发达地区经济社会发展相对缓慢、地区自生能力相对低落、差距持续扩大不可忽视的重要原因。     

Effect of bisphenol A with or without enzyme treatment on the proliferation and viability of MCF-7 cells

Recently, aqueous solutions polluted by BPA have been bioremediated by us using laccase immobilized on hydrophobic membranes in non-isothermal bioreactors. BPA degradation was checked using analytical methods. To assess in vitro the occurred bioremediation, the proliferation and viability indexes of MCF-7 cells incubated in the presence of aqueous solutions of BPA, or of enzyme-treated BPA solutions, have been measured as a function of the initial BPA concentration. The results demonstrated that: i) at each initial BPA concentration used, both the proliferation and viability indexes are a function of the duration of enzyme treatment; ii) proliferation and viability are uncoupled biological processes with respect to BPA enzyme treatment. Non-isothermal bioreactors are a useful tool for the bioremediation of aqueous solutions polluted by BPA, which is an example of an endocrine disruptor that belongs to the alkyl phenol family.     

Using the WTO/TBT enquiry point to monitor tendencies in the regulation of environment, health, and safety issues affecting the chemical industry

The growing importance of technical regulation affecting the use and sale of chemical products is a topic of interest not only for the chemical industry, but also for governments, nongovernmental organizations, consumers, and interested communities. The results of such regulation on behalf of the environment, health and safety of individuals, as well as its economic effects on industrial activity, are well understood in the United States and recently in the European Union. In less developed countries, however, the general level of public understanding of these issues is still minimal. It is common knowledge that the so-called "regulatory asymmetry" between countries at different levels of development contributes to the establishment of technical barriers to trade. Such asymmetries, however, also have other impacts: the displacement of polluting industrial sectors to countries which have less demanding regulations, the concentration of unsafe and harmful environmental conditions in certain parts of the globe, and the competitive disadvantage for industries located in countries where control is more rigid. This study analyses information on a wide range of technical regulations issued by World Trade Organization (WTO) members, and focuses on those regulations that affect the chemical industry. This information is available through the WTO Enquiry Points, organizations created in each country to administrate the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (TBT). This article consists of an analysis of 4,301 notifications of technical regulations by WTO member states in the 7-year period following the establishment of the WTO in 1995. Starting from this mass of information, 585 notifications that affect the circulation or use of chemical products were isolated. Of this group, 71% refer to only 15 countries. This group of notifications was further classified according to their motivation (the environment, health, safety), by the type of product affected (medications, fuels, hazardous products, etc.), by the type of country where it was established (developed, emerging or developing) and the existing conformity assessment mechanism (prohibition, licenses, certification, labeling, etc.). Beyond identifying tendencies in specific industrial sectors, the notifications studied here reach more than 100 chemical products, substances, preparations and other materials, which are subject to various levels of restrictions in different parts of the globe because of their composition or adverse reactions during their life cycles.