- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/espr2006.01.004
Background, Aim and Scope Environmental contamination by pharmaceuticals is an emerging issue. Until recently, information on medicinal substances
released into the environment was scant, but several studies have now been published. Data are, however, usually scattered
and a systematic approach to this subject is generally lacking. Moreover, because of differences in the prevalence of diseases,
treatment habits and options, or simply for market reasons, the pollution profile can differ significantly in different countries.
The aim of this work is to review the papers dealing with environmental contamination by pharmaceuticals in Italy, with the
aim of providing a comprehensive view on a national scale.
Methods Papers related to environmental contamination by pharmaceuticals in Italy were reviewed, in order to offer a comprehensive
view of this subject. Topics included analysis, occurrence, monitoring, modelling, treatment, control of the emissions, and
ecotoxicological effects of pharmaceuticals in the environment.
Results and Conclusion The literature suggests that pharmaceuticals are widespread contaminants, entering the environment from a myriad of scattered
points. Patients, in case of drugs for human use, or animals for veterinary drugs, are the main sources of contamination.
Pharmaceuticals can be ranked according to environmental loads, predicted by multiplying sales figures by the rate of metabolism
in man or animals. Priority pharmaceuticals, i.e. the molecules of concern for the environment, can be measured in waste and
surface water by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and the loads detected are generally comparable to the predicted
ones. Pharmaceuticals are designed to stimulate a response in humans and animals at low doses, with a very specific target,
so the implications for human health and the environment need to be assessed. In vitro and in vivo studies suggest that pharmaceutical
principles, taken singularly or in combinations, and concentrations close to those detected in the environment, may have ecotoxicological
effects. The sewage system is an important point in the control of contamination, but sewage treatment plants are not able
efficiently to abate a substantial part of water-borne pharmaceuticals. Several variables play a role, however, in the processes
of waste water treatment, and could be specifically adjusted to improve the efficiency of drug abatement, mitigating the potential
environmental hazards.
Recommendation and Perspective Pharmaceuticals in the environment are becoming a subject of global concern, with potential environmental consequences. Further
knowledge of the causes, occurrence and effects of drugs as environmental pollutants is necessary for a better understanding
of this ecological issue, as well as to improve abatement strategies, and to mitigate subtle environmental consequences. 相似文献
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/espr2006.01.018
Background, Aims and Scope
Man-made Endocrine Disruptors (EDs) range across all continents and oceans. Some geographic areas are potentially more threatened
than others: one of these is the Mediterranean Sea. Levels of some xenobiotics are much higher here than in other seas and
oceans. In this paper we review the final results of a project in which the hypothesis that Mediterranean top predator species
(such as large pelagic fish and marine mammals) are potentially at risk due to EDs was investigated.
Methods In a four-year survey on the Mediterranean population of swordfish (Xiphias gladius), the potential toxicological effects
of organochlorine compounds (OCs) on specimens of swordfish and tuna fish (Thunnus thynnus thynnus), caught in the spawning
seasons from 1999 to 2002 in the Straits of Messina, Sicily (Italy), were investigated using vitellogenin (Vtg), Zona radiata
proteins (Zrp), and cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) activities (EROD, BPMO). Tissues (skin and blubber) were obtained from Stenella
coeruleoalba, Tursiops truncatus, Delphinus delphis and Balaenoptera physalus from the western Ligurian Sea, between Corsica
and the French-Italian coast, and Ionic Sea using biopsy darts launched with a crossbow. Benzo(á)pyrene monoxigenase (BPMO)
activity was mesured in biopsies and cholrinated hydrocarbon levels were detected.
Results and Discussion We illustrate the need to develop and apply sensitive methodological tools, such as biomarkers (Vitellogenin, Zona Radiata
proteins and CYP1A activities) for evaluation of toxicological risk in Xiphias gladius and Thunnus thynnus thynnus), and nondestructive
biomarkers (CYP1A activities and fibroblast cell culture in skin biopsy), for the hazard assessment of threatened marine mammals
species (Stenella coeruleoalba, Tursiops truncatus, Delphinus delphis and Balaenoptera physalus) exposed to EDs.
Conclusion The present research shows that: a) Vtg and Zrp can be used as diagnostic tools for fish stocks hazard assessment in the
Mediterranean Sea; b) that CYP1A1 (BPMO) induction in cetaceans skin biopsy may be an early sign of exposure to EDs such as
OCs and a potential alert for transgenerational effects.
Recommendation and Outlook This research represents a warning signal of the potential reproductive alterations in marine top predators and suggest the
need for continuous monitoring to avoid reductions in population and biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea. 相似文献
During Balkan conflicts in 1994-1995, depleted uranium (DU) ordnance was employed and was left in the battlefield. Health concern is related to the risk arising from contamination of the environment with DU penetrators and dust. In order to evaluate the impact of DU on the environment and population in Bosnia and Herzegovina, radiological survey of DU in biological and water samples were carried out over the period 12-24 October 2002. The uranium isotopic concentrations in biological samples collected in Bosnia and Herzegovina, mainly lichens, mosses and barks, were found to be in the range of 0.27-35.7 Bq kg(-1) for (238)U, 0.24-16.8 Bq kg(-1) for (234)U, and 0.02-1.11 Bq kg(-1) for (235)U, showing uranium levels to be higher than in the samples collected at the control site. Moreover, the (236)U in some of the samples was detectable. The isotopic ratios of (234)U/(238)U showed DU to be detectable in many biological samples at most sites examined, but in very low levels. The presence of DU in the biological samples was as a result of DU contamination in air. The uranium concentrations in water samples collected in Bosnia and Herzegovina were found to be in the range of 0.27-16.2 m Bq l(-1) for (238)U, 0.41-15.6 m Bq l(-1) for (234)U and 0.012-0.695 m Bq l(-1) for (235)U, and two water samples were observed to be DU positive; these values are much lower than those in mineral water found in central Italy and below the WHO guideline for public drinking water. From radiotoxicological point of view, at this moment there is no significant radiological risk related to these investigated sites in terms of possible DU contamination of water and/or plants. 相似文献
The aim of this study is to test a model on the relationships between organizational and group safety climate and safety performance, that highlights the importance of co-workers as a safety climate agent side by side supervisors at group level. The idea is to consider the co-workers’ safety climate as a necessary part of a multilevel model of safety climates’ framework associated to safety performance. Firstly, the assessment of the safety climates’ framework which consider organizational safety climate and at group level supervisor’s and co-workers’ safety climate was performed. Then, the mediating role of co-workers’ safety climate between organizational and supervisor’s safety climate, and worker’s safety behaviours was explored. From the literature, the importance to study safety climate in a multilevel perspective by a theoretical and methodological point of view is known. For these reasons the proposed models were tested with multilevel structural equation modelling. We used a two-level design which considered the individual level and the work-group level. Data collection involved 991 blue-collars, belonging to 91 work groups, from five Italian manufacturing companies. The research highlighted the importance of considering at group level not only climate referred to supervisor, but also climate referred to co-workers. Furthermore, results confirmed the mediating role of co-workers’ safety climate and revealed that co-workers’ safety climate had a stronger influence on safety behaviours, and in particular on safety participation, than supervisor’s safety climate, at individual level as well at group level. 相似文献
In the German Federal Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Ordinance there are no ecotoxicological trigger values for the protection of soil as a habitat for soil organisms. The objective of this study was to derive preliminary trigger values for the habitat function of soils. This was done by collecting data on the impact of priority pollutants on soil organisms and plants followed by the parallel use of the Factorial Application Method (FAME) and Distribution Based Extrapolation (DIBAEX) and a final verification of the plausibility of the calculated trigger values by means of an ecotoxicological test battery.
Methods
Data on the effects of pollutants on soil organisms and plants were recorded in a specific data base (Soil Value). Subsequently, we derived so-called ‘working trigger values’ using the extrapolation methods FAME (factorial application method) and DIBAEX (distribution based extrapolation). In the second phase of the project, we verified experimentally the plausibility of these values by means of an ecotoxicological test battery. Test substrate was a sandy soil with low sorption capacity and organic carbon content which was mixed with fresh pollutants (e.g. heavy metal salts) and polluted soil material from contaminated sites (aged contamination), respectively. Organisms tested were microorganisms, plants, earthworms, springtails and nematodes.
Results and Conclusions
We calculated working trigger values for 12 pollutants based on 900 datasets compiled in he data base. The laboratory investigations showed the freshly added contaminants to be less strongly adsorbed to the soil than those added by the use of contaminated soil material. Nevertheless, aged contaminations displayed often the same inhibitive effects as the freshly added chemicals. The results achieved in the second phase of the project were also recorded in the Soil-Value database. Based on the new data set, final trigger values were derived for the experimentally tested substances.
Outlook
The procedure described in this contribution exemplarily for copper can be used for the derivation of recommended trigger values for the pathway soil ? soil organisms. Besides copper, preliminary trigger values were derived for zinc, mercury, lead and HCH. 相似文献
A statistical analysis of a series of ambient air concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) and NO2 is presented. Measurements were taken at four sites that belong to an Argentinean steel mill and in another site located in its vicinity. The air pollutants were measured during a three-week exploratory sampling. The monitoring sites were selected on the basis of relevant characteristics of the emission sources and the corresponding climatological statistics of the last decade. Suspended particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 microm (PM10) and NO2 were continuously measured at only one site, while 1-hr samples of NO2 and 24-hr samples of total SPM and SO2 were collected at the other sites. The registered concentrations show that SPM was the pollutant of major concern. A first estimate about the nature of the contribution of the different sources of particles and NO2 present in the area was obtained through the statistical analysis of measured concentration data coupled with prevalent meteorological variables. 相似文献
Levels of some chlorinated hydrocarbons in foliage from the Italian peninsula and other countries of the world are reported. The use of plant leaves in monitoring and for the prediction of potential environmental distribution of persistent hydrophobic pollutants is discussed. 相似文献
Zooid size variation and growth banding in the bryozoan Pentapora fascialis, collected from the South of Great Britain to the South of Italy, were investigated in order to test their relationship with the variation of seawater temperature. Zooid length appeared to be more sensitive than zooid area and width to temperature variation. The longest zooids were budded in localities that typically experience low seasonal variation in temperature (3.2–7.5°C) and low mean annual temperature (about 11°C). Zooid length demonstrated the strongest relationship with the range of seasonal variation in temperature rather than the mean annual temperature. Growth bands produced during colder months were less high than those produced during warmer months. Measurements of these alternating bands were used to calculate growth rate of the laminae, ranging from 20.7 at Plymouth to 29.3 mm year−1 at Tino Island. Significant differences in zooid length were found between the two bands, with longer zooids within the band developed in colder months and shorter zooids in bands produced in the warmer period. We conclude that zooid size can be used as an environmental proxy of the seasonal temperature regimes experienced by the species. 相似文献
Summary. It is well known that feeding by Pieris brassicae caterpillars on cabbage leaves triggers the release of volatiles that attract natural antagonists such as the parasitoid Cotesia glomerata. The temporal dynamics in the emissions of parasitoid attracting volatiles has never been elucidated in this system. In a time course experiment, caterpillar infested leaves attracted the parasitoid within one hour after infestation. At such an early stage of infestation, as much as fifty percent of the parasitoids flew towards the infested plant in a wind tunnel bioassay, while only five percent flew towards the non-infested control plant. Three hours after infestation and later, the response to the volatiles from the infested plant reached its maximum and then continued at a constantly high level for the remaining 14 hours of the experiment. Chemical analyses of volatiles collected from infested leaves at short time intervals during the first 24 hours identified a total of ten compounds, comprising green leaf volatiles, terpenoids, and a nitrile. Significant increase of emission within the first 5 hours following initial herbivory was detected for (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl acetate, cineole and benzylcyanide. Subsequently, a coupled bioassay-chemical analysis procedure was developed allowing for testing and analyzing the same sample for future identification of the bioactive compounds. This was achieved by using stir bar sorptive extraction for the analysis of solvent extracts of caterpillar-damaged leaves. 相似文献
Sterols of different origin were analysed in sediment samples collected in the Venice Lagoon. The purpose of the study was to investigate the degree of sewage contamination within the Lagoon using fecal sterols (coprostanol, epicoprostanol and coprostanone) and to analyse the pattern of the sterols to plot the origin of the organic matter.
Sedimentary coprostanol at Canal Grande within the city of Venice was more than one order of magnitude higher than other stations in the Lagoon and two orders higher than in a sediment sample collected in the open sea. The cholesterol/coprostanol ratio, like the percentage of coprostanol in total sterols at this sample site was very similar to values in sewage sludge. The different pattern of sterols at station 2 which had the largest amount of total sterol indicates a difference in the origin of the organic material. Nevertheless the sterols used as tracer of terrestrial vascular plants did not show any particular trend at this station, receiving fresh water inputs. (3-Sitosterol and cholestanol reached the highest levels at the station within the Chioggia basin. 相似文献