To collect regional information on internal levels of pollutants in humans in Flanders, 1196 mother–child pairs were systematically recruited in 2002–2003 via 25 maternities across Flanders. Cd, Pb, PCB congeners 118, 170, 138, 153 and 180, p,p′-DDE — a key metabolite of DDT- and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) were measured in cord blood or plasma. Cd was detected in 64% of the samples (geometric mean 0.21 µg/L cord blood). p,p′-DDE (110 ng/g plasma lipids) and Pb (14.7 µg/L blood), were measurable in nearly all samples. The individual PCB congeners could be detected in 40 to 81% of the newborns (138 + 153 + 180 = 64.4 ng/g plasma lipids). HCB (18.9 ng/g plasma lipids) and dioxin-like compounds measured by DR-CALUX® (23 pg CALUX-TEQ/g lipids) were above detection limit in more than 75% of the samples. Age and smoking habits of the mothers, did not influence the cord blood Pb and Cd levels. The organochlorines increased 4 to 9% per year of the mother's age (partial R2 = 0.05 to 0.22). Mothers had 2.6% less PCBs in cord blood (partial R2 = 0.02) for each unit increase in pre-pregnancy BMI. Season of delivery, breastfeeding previous children or consumption of local dairy products, were minor determinants. Up to 20% of the variability in organochlorine concentrations was explained by residence area. It was concluded that the place of birth in Flanders is an important determinant of the load of pollutants measured at the start of life. This underlines the validity of human biomonitoring on (relatively) small geographical scale. 相似文献
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and naturally-produced organobrominated compounds, such as methoxylated PBDEs (MeO-PBDEs), have been scarcely studied in the Southern Hemisphere. Yet, sources of the latter group of compounds were found in Southern regions, specifically in Australia. The environmental distribution and biomagnification potential of organobrominated compounds were therefore investigated in a representative aquatic food chain (invertebrates and fish) from the Sydney Harbour, Australia. Mean PBDE concentrations ranged from 6.4 ng/g lipid weight (lw) in squid to 115 ng/g lw in flounder. BDE 47 was the dominant congener, followed by BDE 100. Mean levels of MeO-PBDEs (sum of congeners 2’-MeO-BDE 68 and 6-MeO-BDE 47) were as high as 110 ng/g lw in tailor, with a slight dominance of 2’-MeO-BDE 68. Polybrominated hexahydroxanthene derivates (PBHDs), another class of naturally-produced compounds, were found at variable concentrations and ranged from 4.7 ng/g lw in fanbelly and 146 ng/g lw in tailor. The tribrominated PBHD isomer dominated in the samples, except for luderick and squid. The lower levels of PBDEs found in luderick from the harbour compared to those obtained from the upper Parramatta River indicated a terrestrial (anthropogenic) origin of PBDEs, while the higher levels of MeO-PBDEs and PBHDs in the samples from the harbour confirmed the marine (natural) origin of these compounds. The highest trophic magnification factor (TMF) was found for sum PBDEs (3.9), while TMFs for sum MeO-PBDEs and sum PBHDs were 2.9 and 3.4, respectively. This suggests that biomagnification occurs in the studied aquatic food chain for anthropogenic brominated compounds, but also for the naturally-produced organobromines. 相似文献
Background, aim, and scope The enzyme-linked receptor assay (ELRA) detects estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects at the molecular level of receptor
binding and is a useful tool for the integrative assessment of ecotoxicological potentials caused by hormonally active agents
(HAA) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC). The main advantage of the ELRA is its high sample throughput and its robustness
against cytotoxicity and microbial contamination. After a methodological adaptation to salinity of the ELRA, according to
the first part of this study, which increased its salinity tolerance and sensitivity for 17-β-estradiol, the optimised ELRA
was used to investigate 13 native sediments characterised by different levels of salinity and chemical contamination. The
applicability of the ELRA for routine analysis in environmental assessment was evaluated. Salinity is often a critical factor
for bioassays in ecotoxicological sediment assessment. Therefore, salinity of the samples was additionally adjusted to different
levels to characterise its influence on elution and binding processes of receptor-binding substances.
Materials and methods The ELRA was carried out with the human estrogen receptor α (ER) in a 96-well microplate format using the experimental setup
known from the competitive immunoassay based on ligand–protein interaction. It is an important improvement that a physiologically
relevant receptor was used as a linking protein instead of an antibody. The microplates were coated with a 17-β-estradiol-BSA
conjugate, and dilution series of estradiol and of native sediment samples were added and incubated with the ER. After a washing
step, a biotinylated mouse anti-ER antibody was added to each well. Receptor binding to estradiol, agonistic and antagonistic
receptor binding, were determined by a streptavidin-POD-biotin complex with subsequent measurement of the peroxidase activity
at the wavelength of 450 nm using a commercial ELISA multiplate reader. The sediment elutriates and pore water samples of
sediments were tested in a dilution series to evaluate at which dilution step the receptor-binding potential ends. In the
elution process (see Section 2.1 to 2.2), a method was developed to adjust the salinity to the levels of the reference testings, which offers an appropriate option
to adjust the salinity in both directions. Statistical evaluation was made with a combination of the Mann–Whitney U test and the pT-method.
Results This part of the study characterised the environmental factor ‘salinity’ for prospective applications of the ELRA. Using reference
substances such as 17-β-estradiol, the ELRA showed sigmoid concentration-effect relations over a broad range from 0.05 μg/l
to 100 μg/l under physiological conditions. After methodological optimisation, both sensitivity and tolerance of the assay
against salinity could be significantly raised, and the ELRA became applicable under salinity conditions up to concentrations
of 20.5‰. The mean relative inter-test error (n = 3) was around 11% with reference substances and below 5% for single sediments elutriates in three replicates each. For
sediment testings, the pore water and different salinity-adjusted elutriates of 13 sediments were used. A clear differentiation
of the receptor-binding potential could be reached by application of the pT-method. Thereby, pT-values from one to six could
be assigned to the sediments, and the deviation caused by the different salinity conditions was one pT-value. The mean standard
deviation in the salinity adaptation procedure of the elutriates was below 5%.
Discussion Although the ELRA has already been used for assessments of wastewater, sludge and soil, its applicability for samples to different
salinity levels has not been investigated so far. Even if the ELRA is not as sensitive as the E-screen or the YES-assay, with
regard to reference substances like 17-β-estradiol, it is a very useful tool for pre-screening, because it is able to integrate
both estrogenic as well as anti-estrogenic receptor-binding effects. According to the results of sediment testing, and given
the integrative power to detect different directions of effects, the ELRA shows sufficient sensitivity and salinity tolerance
to discriminate receptor-binding potentials in environmental samples.
Conclusions The optimised ELRA assay is a fast, cost-effective, reliable and highly reproducible tool that can be used for high-throughput
screening in a microplate format in detecting both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects. Additionally, the ELRA is robust
against microbial contaminations, and is not susceptible towards cytotoxic interferences like the common cell-culture methods.
The general applicability and sufficient sensitivity of the ELRA was shown in freshwater environments. Marine and brackish
samples can be measured up to salinity levels of 20.5‰.
Recommendations and perspectives In view of the proven sensitivity, functionality and the fastness of the ELRA, it is recommendable to standardise the test
method. At the moment, no adequate in vitro test procedure exists which is standardised to DIN or ISO levels. The E-screen
and the yeast estrogen/androgen screens (YES/YAS) sometimes underlie strong cytotoxic effects, as reported in the first part
of this study. Further development of an ELRA assay using human androgen receptors appears to be very promising to gain information
about androgenic and anti-androgenic effects, too. This would offer a possibility to use the ELRA as a fast and reliable pre-screening
tool for the detection of endocrine potentials, thus minimising time and cost-expensive animal experiments. 相似文献
The application of hypochlorite for the removal of soluble COD, phenolic and polyphenolic like compounds, and other organic compounds responsible for the olive mill wastewater (OOWW) colour has been experimentally studied. After the OOWW filtration on a sand column, the effluent was subjected to a fast liming under optimal conditions. Lime application reduced polyphenols, COD and SS contents to half of their initial values but an important blackening of the treated OOWW was observed, especially when adding high concentrations of lime (10% (W/V) and 15% (W/V)).A second stage of treatment was applied using calcium hypochlorite. In this stage, removal of the studied compounds reached as much as 95% at higher concentrations, and particularly the colouring of OOWW which is generally difficult to eliminate was greatly reduced. The OOWW hypochloration acted through coagulation–flocculation and a rapid oxidation of the organic matter proceeded from the first 5 min. The kinetic study of the degradation of the waste polluting compounds from liming showed that Ca(ClO)2 reacts similarly in the elimination of organic compounds, polyphenols, SS and colouration. The analysis of the organochloride compounds generated by the reaction between hypochlorite and the organic compounds showed that DDD, DDT and the heptachlor contents exceeded the values recommended by the International and European drinking water standards. 相似文献
The diurnal variation of atmospheric carbonyls and VOCs in a forest in south China were studied in summer 2004. Twenty kinds
of carbonyls and eight kinds of VOCs were identified and quantified. Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were the two most abundant
carbonyls, while the most abundant VOCs were isoprene, followed by o-xylene. Most C3-C10 carbonyls had higher concentrations from 09:00 to 15:00, and their levels were lower during night-time and often reached
the lowest in early morning. Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, however, showed two high levels in their diurnal patterns partly
due to their different sources and sinks. The VOCs had different diurnal patterns compared to most carbonyls. The highest
concentrations were observed from 03:00 to 06:00 for 1-butene, from 06:00 to 12:00 for isoprene, and from 12:00 to 15:00 for
α-pinene. The highest levels for aromatic hydrocarbons occurred during midnight and the lowest in late afternoon. According
to the study, emissions from vegetation and photo-oxidation of gas-phase hydrocarbons were the main sources for some carbonyls
and VOCs in this region. Other compounds, such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and BTEX, showed anthropogenic sources. 相似文献
The effect of selected organic and inorganic compounds, present in snow and cloudwater was studied. Photolysis of solutions of nitrate to nitrite was carried out in the laboratory using a UVB light source. The photolysis and other reactions were then modelled. It is shown that formate, formaldehyde, methanesulphonate, and chloride to a lesser extent, can increase the initial formation rate of nitrite. The effect, particularly significant for formate and formaldehyde, is unlikely to be caused by scavenging of hydroxyl radicals. The experimental data obtained in this work suggest that possible causes are the reduction of nitrogen dioxide and nitrate by radical species formed on photooxidation of the organic compounds. Hydroxyl scavenging by organic and inorganic compounds would not affect the initial formation rate of nitrite, but would protect it from oxidation, therefore, increasing the concentration values reached at long irradiation times. The described processes can be relevant to cloudwater and the quasi-liquid layer on the surface of ice and snow, considering that in the polar regions irradiated snow layers are important sources of nitrous acid to the atmosphere. Formate and (at a lesser extent) formaldehyde are the compounds that play the major role in the described processes of nitrite/nitrous acid photoformation by initial rate enhancement and hydroxyl scavenging. 相似文献
The present work focuses on the fate of two cancerostatic platinum compounds (CPC), cisplatin and carboplatin, as well as of two inorganic platinum compounds, [PtCl4]2− and [PtCl6]2− in biological wastewater treatment. Laboratory experiments modelling adsorption of these compounds onto activated sludge showed promising specific adsorption coefficients KD and KOC and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. However, the adsorption properties of the investigated substances were differing significantly. Adsorption decreased following the order cisplatin > [PtCl6]2− > [PtCl4]2− > carboplatin. Log KD-values were ranging from 2.5 to 4.3 , log KOC from 3.0 to 4.7.
A pilot membrane bioreactor system (MBR) was installed in a hospital in Vienna and fed with wastewater from the oncologic in-patient treatment ward to investigate CPC-adsorption in a sewage treatment plant. During three monitoring periods Pt-concentrations were measured in the influent (3–250 μg l−1 Pt) and the effluent (2–150 μg l−1 Pt) of the treatment plant using ICP-MS. The monitoring periods (duration 30 d) revealed elimination efficiencies between 51% and 63% based on averaged weekly input–output budgets. The derived log KD-values and log KOC-values ranged from 2.4 to 4.8 and from 2.8 to 5.3, respectively. Species analysis using HPLC-ICP-MS proofed that mainly carboplatin was present as intact drug in the influent and – due to low log KD – in the effluent of the MBR. 相似文献