Evaluation of potential genotoxicity of five food dyes using the somatic mutation and recombination test

In this study, different concentrations of five food dyes (amaranth, patent blue, carminic acid, indigotine and erythrosine) have been evaluated for genotoxicity in the Somatic Mutation and Recombination Test (SMART) of Drosophila melanogaster. Standard cross was used in the experiment. Larvae including two linked recessive wing hair mutations were chronically fed at different concentrations of the test compounds in standard Drosophila Instant Medium. Feeding ended with pupation of the surviving larvae. Wings of the emerging adult flies were scored for the presence of spots of mutant cells which can result from either somatic mutation or somatic recombination. For the evaluation of genotoxic effects, the frequencies of spots per wing in the treated series were compared to the control group, which was distilled water. The present study shows that carminic acid and indigotine demonstrated negative results while erythrosine demonstrated inconclusive results. In addition 25 mg mL⁻¹ concentration of patent blue and 12.5, 25 and 50 mg mL⁻¹ concentrations of amaranth demonstrated positive results in the SMART.     

溪洛渡水电站叠梁门取水方式减缓下泄低温水的优化调度

大型水库常采用叠梁门取水方式作为改善春季下泄低温水的有效手段,但现有的叠梁门调度方式基本为全年使用,可能加剧水库冬季下泄高温水现象,且影响到春季的水温改善效果。提出根据下游鱼类对水温的需求时段来确定叠梁门的启用时段,对金沙江下游的溪洛渡电站水库水温进行了研究,结果表明,分时段采用叠梁门取水可有限程度地提高春季的下泄水温并避免冬季下泄水高温现象的进一步加剧。同时,也研究了河流梯级开发对叠梁门应用的影响,发现水库调节性能、梯级开发、人工调度等带来的下游入库水温平坦化,以及溪洛渡水库的过渡型水温结构,使叠梁门对水温的影响显著减弱.     

Risk assessment of boron in glass wool insulation

Background, aim and scope  Glass wools are man-made vitreous fibres, which consist principally of sodium, calcium and magnesium silicates, but may contain smaller amounts of other elements, including boron. The boron contents originate from the use of borates in the glass melting process as a glass former and a flux agent. During the production and application of glass wool insulation products, workers may legally be exposed to glass fibre up to the occupational limit value, commonly of 1 fibre/cm³. However, in practice, the fibre exposure will be at least ten times lower. Boron is a non-metallic element widely distributed in nature, where it occurs as boric acid, borates and borosilicates. Humans are mainly exposed to boron via vegetarian food and drinking water, mineral supplements and various consumer products. Boron is an essential element for plant growth, but the essentiality for humans is not proven, although intakes of trace amounts of the element seem to be useful for bone health and proper brain function; higher concentrations of boron, however, may be toxic. In relation to the European Union legislation on dangerous substances, an EU Expert Group has recommended classifying boric acid and borates with risk phrases for reproductive toxicity. The aim of this paper is to assess whether the new EU hazard classification of boron compounds should imply that glass wool products used for building insulation in the future should be labelled, “may impair fertility and cause harm to the unborn child”, because of the low boron content. Materials and methods  Boron intakes are estimated in a worst-case occupational situation with human exposure to glass wool fibres at the occupational limit of 1 fibre/cm³ by calculation of the mass of the amount of fibres inhaled during an 8-h work day. Fibres are supposed to be cylinders of glass with a length of 30 μm, an average diameter of 1.5–2 μm and containing either 1.5% or 3.5% boron. As a worst-case scenario, the density of the fibres is set to 2,700 kg/m³. The inhalation rate of the individuals at moderate work load was set to 2 m³/h. A worst-case scenario also corresponds to 100% retention and to 100% solubility of the retained fibres in the lungs. Results  With the normal boron content of 1.5% in glass wool fibres for building insulation, the extra daily occupational boron intake/uptake will be 0.03–0.06 mg B for 5 days a week. For more uncommon glass wool with maximum boron content of 3.5%, the worst-case daily boron intake/uptake will be 0.08–0.16 mg B. The main boron exposure in the general population is from vegetarian food, and the average daily dietary intake with food is estimated to 1.2–1.5 mg B/day. In addition, significant intakes may come with drinking water, especially from mineral water. In some instances, exposure from mineral supplements, cosmetics and other consumer products may be significant. For example, individuals taking mineral supplements, e.g. for bodybuilding, may have an additional intake to that of 1–10 mg/day. During the years, various organisations have recommended safe intake values for boron. Recently, the Scientific Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has established the ‘Tolerable Upper Intake Level’ (UL) for the intake of boron (boric acid and borates) at 0.16 mg B/kg body weight per day or about 10 mg B/day for an adult. Discussion  The calculated, worst-case exposure scenario during an 8-h work day will result in an extra daily boron intake that only corresponds to about 10% of the average daily adult boron intakes through food and drinks of about 1.5 mg. The inter-individual variations in boron intakes from foods, water and supplements will be much greater than an eventual, very worst-case, additional intake of boron from inhalation of glass wool fibres. In addition, the combined intakes are far lower than the ‘Tolerable Upper Intake Level’ of 10 mg B/day for a person weighing 60 kg, as recommended by the European Food Safety Agency. The potential boron intake from inhalation of glass wool fibres is also much lower than boron intakes by workers in the boron industry, who at the present occupational limit value will be exposed to 50 mg of boron 5 days a week, or 100 times more than the worst case for glass wool fibres. Furthermore, in practice, exposure levels will mostly be ten to 100 times lower than the occupational limit used here as a worst case. Conclusions  The estimated boron intake from inhalation of glass wool fibres in occupational settings will be insignificant and without any health risks, even in the case of non-compliance with the occupational limit value. Any proposal requiring hazard labels on commercial glass wool products for building insulation, because of the boron content, is not supported by the present scientific knowledge. Recommendations and perspectives  The European Commission should ensure that the new EU hazard classification of boron compounds is not applied to commercial glass wool products for building insulation having a low content of boron.     

Persistence and distribution of pesticide residues in fresh agricultural food consumed in the province of Bologna

The presence of pesticide residues in fresh vegetables and fruit have been qualitatively and quantitatively determined at the laboratories of the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection (ARPA), Division of the Province of Bologna. More than 1,700 samples have been tested by routine analyses. The possible risks for consumers have been evaluated by various parameters. The most important ones were: the amount of each residue; the respective ADI (Acceptable Daily Intake) limit; the contemporary presence of different residues; an estimation of the daily intake, based on the amount of fruit and vegetables consumed per person. It has been possible to evaluate that the daily intake of pesticide residues in the province of Bologna during the period 2003–06 resulted lower than the ADI limits concerning the vegetables. According to the information on fruit consumption the daily intake of omethoate (O,O-dimethyl S-methylcarbamoylmethyl phosphorothioate) resulted higher than its ADI limit, of dicofol (2,2,2-trichloro-1,1-bis(trichloromethyl)benzenemethanol) very close to the admitted limit, under the respective limits for all the other residues.     

柴油预喷参数对进气预喷甲醇柴油机燃烧和排放的影响

在一台满足国Ⅵ排放的柴油机基础上,采用进气预喷甲醇的方式替代原机的尿素辅助的选择性还原技术（SCR）,探究不同柴油预喷油量和预喷时刻对发动机燃烧、性能和排放的影响.结果表明：在最大扭矩转速1690 r·min^-1和280 N·m （1.25 MPa BMEP）工况下,当甲醇在整个燃料的能量占比（占总燃料能量的63%~65%）和柴油预喷时刻不变时,柴油预喷油量从1.5 mg·cyc^-1（占循环喷油量8%）增加到7.5 mg·cyc^-1（占循环喷油量48%）可以有效改善甲醇混合气的活性,此时达到50%燃料燃烧放热量（CA50）会提前,燃烧速率增大,气缸内燃烧爆压（P_max）和最高压力升高率（R_max）提高,同时有效热效率（Brake Thermal Efficiency,BTE）增加6%,PM、CO和THC比排放分别降低50%、61%和29%.但预喷油量超过6 mg·cyc^-1时,NO_x排放显著增加.相比之下,柴油预喷时刻的变化对发动机燃烧的影响较小.适当提前预喷可以在降低P_max和R_max的同时减少NO_x、CO和PM比排放.因此,采用优化的柴油预喷参数可以获得更高的有效热效率和极低的排放.     

浙江温岭人群暴露参数

以浙江温岭市人群为研究对象,在借鉴美国国家环境保护局(US EPA)暴露参数方法学的基础上,以问卷调查方式进行不同途径下人群呼吸、皮肤、经口等暴露参数的研究.结果表明:研究地区男性、女性的呼吸速率分别为13.95和10.88 m3/d,分别比美国低34.81%和7.80%;男性、女性的体表面积分别为1.89和1.65 m2,分别比美国低3.57%和2.37%.研究地区成人饮水量为3 355.9 mL/d,饮食量为1 288.6 g/d,主要食用米、面及其制品和蔬菜,分别占41.63%和29.50%.如在同等条件下参考美国暴露参数,将会造成呼吸暴露剂量和经口暴露剂量偏小,而皮肤暴露剂量偏高的现象,在对浙江地区人群进行暴露评价和健康风险评价研究时,将会造成2.03%～80.59%的误差.      

环境中氡辐射水平及控制措施分析

近年来,随着社会经济的发展,居民生活不断提高,对居室进行美化装修既成一种时尚。然而由安装（选用劣质材料）而引发的居室辐射水平超标,特别是氡辐射超标问题,已越来越受到人们的关注。为使人们对辐射环境有一基本认识和了解,作者根据多年从事辐射环境监测的经验,对环境空气中氡的性质、来源、辐射水平、危害及室内氡浓度控制措施作一简单分析介绍。     

我国北方某地区居民饮水暴露参数研究

饮水率是决定人体对水中污染物暴露和健康风险评估准确性的关键暴露参数之一,但我国至今没有其公开的调查结果,更未发布过与其相关的参数手册.采用问卷调查和实际测量的方法,对我国北方某地区城、乡2 500名居民的夏、秋季节直接饮水和食物间接饮水的特征进行了研究,并与国外情况进行了对比分析.结果表明:该地区男性、女性和全体被调查者饮水率平均值分别为2 852.8,2 586.4和2 720.5 mL/d,各年龄段居民的食物间接饮水率都明显大于直接饮水率,在总饮水率中间接饮水率所占比例平均值达到62.4%;全体被调查者直接饮水率比美国和日本分别高36.0%和54.0%.开展饮水健康风险评价时,应考虑城、乡人群的差异,且不可忽略间接饮用水的影响,采用国外的饮水率将可能增加风险的不确定性.      

人的二噁一日最大可摄取量(TDI)(日本)

介绍了日本 1999年度环境厅中央环境审议会环境保健分会 ,厚生省生活环境审议会 ,食品卫生调查会等发表的有关二的TDI的研究、计算、实验等方面内容