EU-wide survey of polar organic persistent pollutants in European river waters

This study provides the first EU-wide reconnaissance of the occurrence of polar organic persistent pollutants in European river waters. More than 100 individual water samples from over 100 European rivers from 27 European Countries were analysed for 35 selected compounds, comprising pharmaceuticals, pesticides, PFOS, PFOA, benzotriazoles, hormones, and endocrine disrupters. Around 40 laboratories participated in this sampling exercise. The most frequently and at the highest concentration levels detected compounds were benzotriazole, caffeine, carbamazepine, tolyltriazole, and nonylphenoxy acetic acid (NPE₁C). Only about 10% of the river water samples analysed could be classified as “very clean” in terms of chemical pollution. The rivers responsible for the major aqueous emissions of PFOS and PFOA from the European Continent could be identified. For the target compounds chosen, we are proposing “indicative warning levels” in surface waters, which are (for most compounds) close to the 90th percentile of all water samples analysed.     

Prenatal diagnosis of thalassemia major by fetal blood analysis: Experience with 1000 cases

In this report we have summarized our experience with the prenatal diagnosis of β-thalassemia in 1000 pregnancies followed at least until 12 months after birth. In the majority of these cases, the thalassemia lesion was the nonsense mutation at the codon corresponding to amino acid 39, which produces the hematological phenotype of β-thalassemia. Fetal blood sampling was carried out by placental aspiration, by which a sufficient amount of fetal blood for analysis was obtained in the majority of cases (99 per cent). The fetal mortality associated with fetal blood sampling was 6·3 per cent. Those placental samples contaminated by maternal cells were successfully purified by Ørskov lysis. Fetal blood was analysed by globin chain synthesis on CM–52 columns, which gave reliable results. Two misdiagnoses (0·2 per cent) have been made of which one was due to a non-globin protein co-migrating with the β-chains while the other resulted from a misclassification of the type of thalassemia segregating in the family.     

Transabdominal chorionic villus sampling: Fetal loss rate in relation to maternal and gestational age

In this paper we report the fetal loss rate in relation to both maternal and gestational age in 1764 pregnant women who underwent transabdominal chorionic villus sampling (TA-CVS) between January 1986 and August 1990. The fetal loss rate, considered as a proportion of continuing pregnancies, decreased with advancing gestational age at sampling from 4.3 per cent before 9 weeks to 0.4 per cent at or after 13 weeks, the difference being statistically significant (p <0.025). The fetal loss rate increased from 1.6 per cent in women under 30 to 2.4 per cent in women of 40 years or over, but the difference was not statistically significant. Considering that the total fetal loss rate before 28 weeks' gestation was on average 1.91 percent (1.3 per cent under 35 years and 2.8 per cent in women of 35 or over), we believe that TA-CVS is a safe and effective technique for prenatal diagnosis of genetic diseases.     

Comparison of current Federal Reference Methods for ambient lead measurements adjacent to a secondary lead smelter

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reduced their National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for lead (Pb) an order of magnitude to a concentration level of 0.15 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³) when the new rule was promulgated in 2008. At that time, the possibility of revising the Pb sampling method from total suspended particulate (TSP) to particulate matter less than or equal to 10 µm in diameter (PM₁₀) was considered due to potential measurement bias of the Pb-TSP monitoring technique. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has been operating source-orientated colocated TSP and PM₁₀ monitors documenting ambient air lead (Pb) concentrations since 2011 at a site adjacent to a secondary Pb smelter in Wallkill, New York. The colocated Wallkill data show a very strong correlation between the readings recorded by these two sampling techniques. After the range of the variability in the individual Pb-PM₁₀/Pb-TSP ratios was reduced by using a 0.005 µg/m³ concentration cut point, because of the concerns about the measurements at low concentrations, an adjustment factor (AF) of 1.49 was calculated using the remaining data set. This AF can be used to estimate Pb-TSP concentrations from Pb-PM₁₀ readings at this Wallkill source-orientated location. It was stated by the EPA that there is only a limited data set in situations where Pb-TSP and Pb-PM₁₀ are colocated, especially for those sites considered to be source-oriented, so the analyses performed and summarized herein for the Wallkill colocated airborne Pb concentration data add to that limited data set.

Implications: These data analyses add to the limited data set in situations where Pb-TSP and Pb-PM₁₀ are colocated to help refine the derivation of a site-specific adjustment factor for estimating TSP Pb concentrations from measured PM₁₀ Pb concentrations. This could assist the EPA in transitioning away from the use of the Pb-TSP monitoring technique, with its indicated measurement bias, for the Pb NAAQS to the use of Pb-PM₁₀ instead. An adjustment factor of 1.49 was calculated that could be used to estimate Pb-TSP concentrations from Pb-PM₁₀ values collected around this source-orientated location.     

Organic mercury levels among the Yanomama of the Brazilian Amazon Basin

The Catrimani River basin in northern Brazil is the home of the Yanomama and has been the site of renegade gold mining since 1980. Gold-mining operations release inorganic mercury (Hg) into the environment where it is organified and biomagnified in aquatic ecosystems. Ingestion of mercury-contaminated fish poses a potential hazard to fish-eating populations such as the Yanomama. We surveyed Hg levels in Yanomama villagers living near mined and unmined rivers in 1994 and 1995, and analyzed Hg levels in piranha caught by villagers. In 1994, 90 Yanomama Indians from 5 villages and in 1995, 62 Yanomama Indians from 3 villages participated in the studies. Four villages surveyed in 1994 were located directly on the Catrimani River, approximately 140-160 km downstream from past gold-mining activities. The other village surveyed in 1994 was situated on the unmined Ajaraní River. In 1995, 2 of the Catrimani River villages were revisited, and a third Yanomama village, on the unmined Pacu River, was surveyed. Blood organic mercury levels among all villagers surveyed ranged from 0 to 62.6 microg L(-1) (mean levels in each village between 21.2 microg L(-1) and 43.1 microg L(-1)). Mercury levels in piranha from the mined Catrimani River ranged from 235 to 1084 parts per billion (ppb). Nine of 13 piranhas, measuring 30 cm or longer had total mercury levels which exceeded mercury consumption limits (500 ppb) set by both the World Health Organization and the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Unexpectedly, high mercury levels were also observed in fish and villagers along the unmined Ajaraní and Pacu Rivers suggesting that indirect sources may contribute to environmental mercury contamination in the Amazon basin.     

A 25-year record of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soils amended with sewage sludges

We studied polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in crop soils amended with 1000 tonnes dry weight of sewage sludges per 10,000 m² from 1974 to 1992, then after sludges addition from 1993 to 1999. The absence of variations of total PAHs levels of control soils, averaging at 123 μg/Kg, shows the absence of horizontal contamination. During sludges addition, the total PAHs levels in amended soils increased from 232 to 402 μg/Kg. Seven years after sludges addition, it decreased to 275 μg/Kg, which is still more than twice –the levels of control soils. This finding shows that sludges PAHs are preserved in crop soils for long periods of time, on a human scale.     

Accumulation and Depuration Kinetics of Rotavirus in Mussels Experimentally Contaminated

Bivalve mollusks as filter-feeders concentrate in their digestive tissue microorganisms likely present in the harvesting water, thus becoming risky food especially if consumed raw or poorly cooked. To eliminate bacteria and viruses eventually accumulated, they must undergo a depuration process which efficacy on viruses is on debate. To better clarify the worth of the depuration process on virus elimination from mussels, in this study we investigated rotavirus kinetics of accumulation and depuration in Mytilus galloprovincialis experimentally contaminated. Depuration process was monitored for 9 days and virus residual presence and infectivity were evaluated by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, cell culture and electron microscopy at days 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 of depuration. Variables like presence of ozone and of microalgae feeding were also analyzed as possible depuration enhancers. Results showed a two-phase virus removal kinetic with a high decrease in the first 24 h of depuration and 5 days necessary to completely remove rotavirus.