The identification of readily bioavailable pollutants in lake shkodra/skadar using semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs), bioassays and chemical analysis

GOAL, SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: Lake Shkodra/Skadar is the largest lake in the Balkans region and located on the border between Albania to the south and Montenegro to the north. Because of the wide range of endemic, rare or endangered plant and animal species it supports, Lake Shkodra/Skadar and its extensive associated wetlands are internationally recognised as a site of significance and importance (Ramsar site). In recent years, social and economic changes in both Albania and Montenegro have lead to unprecedented levels of urban and industrial effluent entering the lake. Of particular concern is the increasing input of toxic hydrophobic organic pollutants (HOPs) into the lake and the degree to which these compounds are available for uptake by aquatic biota. Semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) have been shown to sample the readily bioavailable fraction (dissolved phase) of waterborne HOPs and in doing so provide relevant data for exposure assessment. The aim of the current study was to use SPMD-based sampling in conjunction with appropriate bioassays and chemical analysis to identify readily bioavailable HOPs in the lake. METHODS: SPMDs were constructed and deployed at three sites in the Albanian sector and three sites in the Montenegrin sector of Lake Skadar/Shkodra for 21 days. Following the dialytic recovery of target analytes and size exclusion chromatographic clean-up, aliquots of SPMD samples were subjected to GC-MS scan analysis for major components, GC-MS SIM analysis for 16 priority pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PP-PAHs) and assayed for EROD-inducing, estrogenic and mutagenic potential using rainbow trout liver cells (RTL-W1), the yeast estrogen screen (YES) and the Ames Test, respectively. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: A total of 39 compounds were tentatively identified in SPMD samples from the six sampling sites. Alkylated PAHs were the most abundant and ubiquitous compounds present along with various sterols and sterol derivatives. Numerous other compounds remain unidentified. 15 of the 16 targeted PP-PAHs were present in samples from one or more of the sampling sites indicating these compounds are both readily bioavailable and widely distributed in Lake Shkodra/Skadar. Total PP-PAH concentrations ranged between 3991 ng/SPMD and 10695 ng/SPMD. Bioassays carried out on SPMD samples revealed significant EROD-inducing and estrogenic potential at five of the six sampling sites indicating toxicologically relevant compounds are readily available for uptake by resident aquatic biota. EROD-inducing potential was positively correlated with targeted PP-PAH concentration (r2 = 0.74). However, comparison of bioassay- and analytically-derived toxicity equivalents revealed targeted PP-PAHs were responsible for less than 0.06% of the total EROD-inducing potential. CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK: The combination of SPMD-based sampling with appropriate bioassays and chemical analysis provided an effective tool for the identification of environmentally relevant waterborne pollutants in Lake Shkodra/Skadar. Our results show that toxicologically relevant HOPs including EROD-inducing and potentially estrogenic compounds are widely distributed in the lake and readily available for uptake by aquatic biota. Our results also suggest that alkylated PAHs rather than parent compounds may be of greater toxicological relevance in the lake. As anthropogenic influences continue to increase, SPMD-based sampling is expected to play a central role in future research concerned with the identification, monitoring and assessment of the risk posed by HOPs to Lake Shkodra/Skadar's aquatic biota.     

Untersuchungen zum ?kotoxikologischen Sch?digungspotenzial und Erosionsrisiko von kontaminierten Sedimenten in staugeregelten Flüssen

Schwebstoffgebundene Schadstoffe werden durch Sedimentation der Wasserphase und damit der Verfügbarkeit für viele aquatischen Organismen entzogen. W?hrend bei durchschnittlichen hydrologischen. Verh?ltnissen die Freisetzung von Schadstoffen aus stabil gelagerten Sedimenten meist weitgehend unterbunden wird, besteht bei Hochwassereignissen die Gefahr einer Remobilisierung von kontaminierten Ablagerungen. In diesem Beitrag wird ein kombiniertes ?kotoxikologisches und hydraulisches Untersuchungssystem zur Untersuchung der ?kotoxikologischen Belastung und des Erosionsrisikos von Sedimenten vorgestellt. Der integrierte Ansatz wurde am staugeregelten Neckar angewendet, um das Sch?digungspotenzial und die Gefahr einer Remobilisierung an Sedimentbohrkernen der Stauhaltung Lauffen sowie an Schwebstoffen zweier extremer Hochwasser zu überprüfen. Für die Bohrkernsegmente unterhalb einer Erosionsdiskordanz konnte eine sprunghafte Zunahme der ?kotoxikologischen Belastung ermittelt werden. Bei Hochwasserereignissen mit einer 5-j?hrlichen Wiederkehrwahrscheinlichkeit (=HQ₅) k?nnen prinzipiell alle Sedimente, auch die st?rker kontaminierten und erosionsresistenteren Altsedimente, remobilisiert werden. W?hrend der Hochwasserereignisse (HQ₁₅ bis HQ₂₀) kam es zu einer deutlichen Erh?hung des cytotoxischen und mutagenen Sch?digungspotenzials der Schwebstoffe im Vergleich zu einem mittleren Hochwasser im Jahre 1995/96 (HQ₁) Dies schien zumindest teilweise auf die Remobilisierung hochkontaminierter Altsedimente zurückzuführen zu sein.     

Zentralnervöse Sphingolipid-Speicherkrankheiten

Lysosomal storage disorders are progredient and often fatal diseases most of which result from a pronounced enzyme deficiency. In the case of sphingolipidoses, usually enzymes of sphingolipid catabolism are missing, or only a few percent of normal activity are detectable. For many sphingolipidoses, damage of the central nervous system is characteristic, but neurological and other symptoms can vary greatly, especially in adult variants. This variability is mainly caused by different allelic mutations of the structural genes, resulting in different levels of residual enzyme activity.     

REACh im praxistest

In October 2003, the EU Commission presented the proposal for a new Chemicals Regulation. In late autumn 2005, Parliament and Council were working on finding their position on the Commission’s proposal. From November 2004 to April 2005, a simulation was carried out at EU level aiming to test the workability of registration under REACh. Based on a strategic partnership, the European Chemical Industry Council together with other industry associations, the EU Commission and a number of Member States had launched this project. 53 manufacturers or users of chemicals and competent authorities of 13 EU Member States took part in the simulation: eight registration cases were dealt with in parallel. The participants had to conduct the registration of a substance (including preparatory work) and the dossier evaluation by the authorities. The simulation was performed in a ’free-flow mode’, which means, that the participants worked without any guidance on how to practically implement the duties and tasks as laid down in the draft regulation. In the final phase of the project, the three strategic parners worked towards a common understanding on potential workability problems and suitable options for solutions. This process resulted in a report including a set of agreed recommendations on 12 identified workability issues The recommendations are mostly related to the co-operation between registrants, the sharing of responsibilities and communication between manufactures and down-stream users as well as technical and scientific aspects of dossier compilation., In addition, the recommendations address the need to develop a common understanding across Europe regarding the role of authorities in evaluating the registration dossiers and developing suitable tools for the evaluation. In addition to the set of practical recommendations, SPORT has demonstrated that useful insights in the workability of a new piece of legislation can be gained from simulating the key processes in practise already during the legislative process. Such pilot trials could be seen as a contribution toBetter Regulation, one of the strategic goals of the EU Commission.     

Extractable organic matter of Standard Reference Material 1649a influences immunological response induced by pathogen-associated molecular patterns

Background, aim, and scope  

Lungs are permanently and simultaneously challenged by airborne microorganisms and airborne pollutants. Temporal increase of airborne particulate matter (APM), a potential carrier for extractable organic matter (EOM), degrades the situation of pulmonary patients. The Ah receptor (AhR) has been described as an important factor influencing the immunological challenge by viral infections. Molecular mechanisms underlying epidemiological observations are not well understood. Cytokine secretion (IL-6, IL-8, and TGF-β) from human bronchial epithelial cells (Beas2B) was determined as an indicator for immune responses upon co-stimulation with an artificial analog of viral dsRNA [polyinosinic/polycytidylic acid, (PIC)] and EOM of Standard Reference Material 1649a (SRM). Since polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are major components of APM usually acting via the AhR, particular focus was on AhR involvement.