Promoting the use of BaP as a marker for PAH exposure in UK soils

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants that frequently accumulate in soils. There is therefore a requirement to determine their levels in contaminated environments for the purposes of determining impacts on human health. PAHs are a suite of individual chemicals, and there is an ongoing debate as to the most appropriate method for assessing the risk to humans from them. Two methods predominate: the surrogate marker approach and the toxic equivalency factor. The former assumes that all chemicals in a mixture have an equivalent toxicity. The toxic equivalency approach estimates the potency of individual chemicals relative to the usually most toxic Benzo(a)pyrene. The surrogate marker approach is believed to overestimate risk and the toxic equivalency factor to underestimate risk. When analysing the risks from soils, the surrogate marker approach is preferred due to its simplicity, but there are concerns because of the potential diversity of the PAH profile across the range of impacted soils. Using two independent data sets containing soils from 274 sites across a diverse range of locations, statistical analysis was undertaken to determine the differences in the composition of carcinogenic PAH between site locations, for example, rural versus industrial. Following principal components analysis, distinct population differences were not seen between site locations in spite of large differences in the total PAH burden between individual sites. Using all data, highly significant correlations were seen between BaP and other carcinogenic PAH with the majority of r ² values > 0.8. Correlations with the European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) summed groups, that is, EFSA2, EFSA4 and EFSA8 had even higher correlations (r ² > 0.95). We therefore conclude that BaP is a suitable surrogate marker to represent mixtures of PAH in soil during risk assessments.     

A reasoned approach towards administering COVID-19 vaccines to pregnant women

There are over 50 SARS-CoV-2 candidate vaccines undergoing Phase II and III clinical trials. Several vaccines have been approved by regulatory authorities and rolled out for use in different countries. Due to concerns of potential teratogenicity or adverse effect on maternal physiology, pregnancy has been a specific exclusion criterion for most vaccine trials with only two trials not excluding pregnant women. Thus, other than limited animal studies, gradually emerging development and reproductive toxicity data, and observational data from vaccine registries, there is a paucity of reliable information to guide recommendations for the safe vaccination of pregnant women. Pregnancy is a risk factor for severe COVID-19, especially in women with comorbidities, resulting in increased rates of preterm birth and maternal morbidity. We discuss the major SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, their mechanisms of action, efficacy, safety profile and possible benefits to the maternal-fetal dyad to create a rational approach towards maternal vaccination while anticipating and mitigating vaccine-related complications. Pregnant women with high exposure risks or co-morbidities predisposing to severe COVID-19 infection should be prioritised for vaccination. Those with risk factors for adverse effects should be counselled accordingly. It is essential to support patient autonomy by shared decision-making involving a risk-benefit discussion with the pregnant woman.     

A major increase in snake pipefish (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Entelurus aequoreus</Emphasis>) in northern European seas since 2003: potential implications for seabird breeding success

Since the early 2000s routine fish surveys have recorded increasing numbers of snake pipefish, Entelurus aequoreus, in the northeast Atlantic. Fishermen and divers have also commented on this increase and pipefish have started to appear in the diet of seabirds and other marine predators. This paper collates information from these diverse sources and assesses the current status of snake pipefish. We found compelling evidence of a dramatic increase in the abundance of snake pipefish starting around 2003 and continuing up to the present (2006) and a range expansion northwards to Spitzbergen and the Barents Sea. Since 2004 snake pipefish have been increasingly recorded in the diet of many species of seabird breeding in colonies around the coast of the UK, and in Norway, Iceland and the Faeroe Islands. Information on the nutrient value of snake pipefish is currently lacking but their rigid, bony structure makes them difficult for young seabirds to swallow and there are numerous records of chicks choking to death. Thus, in the case of avian predators during the breeding season, it appears unlikely that increased abundance of snake pipefish will provide a useful alternative prey. The reason for the rapid and dramatic increase in numbers of snake pipefish is currently unclear but such events are characteristic of marine ecosystems and will almost certainly have an effect on food web dynamics.