Congener profile, occurrence and estimated dietary intake of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in foods marketed in the Region of Valencia (Spain)

During 2006-2008, a monitoring program was conducted on 29 target compounds, including PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs, comprising 150 randomly collected individual food samples marketed in the Region of Valencia, Spain, grouped into 8 categories (vegetables, cereals, fats and oils, eggs, milk and dairy products, fish products, meat and meat products and fish oil). For PCDD/Fs, the highest frequency of detection corresponds to 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD, OCDD, 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF; and PCBs 118, 105 and 156 were the more frequent dl-PCBs. The food groups presenting higher contamination, expressed as toxic equivalents (WHO-TEQs), were fish oil (6.38 pg WHO-TEQ g⁻¹ fat), fish (1.21 pg WHO-TEQ g⁻¹ w.w.) and milk and dairy products (0.90 pg WHO-TEQ g⁻¹ fat). Of all analysed samples, only two fish oils presented levels higher than the EU limits for total WHO-TEQ. The average PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs intakes were estimated as 2.86 pg WHO-TEQ kg⁻¹ b.w. d⁻¹ and 4.58 pg WHO-TEQ kg⁻¹ b.w. d⁻¹, for adults and children, respectively, using the deterministic method for chronic exposure. The main contributors to total intake for adults were fish (59%), milk and dairy products (19%), and fat and oils (9%). The average daily intake for adults (2.86 pg WHO-TEQ kg⁻¹ b.w. d⁻¹) is within range of TDI recommended by the WHO (1-4 pg WHO-TEQ kg⁻¹ b.w. d⁻¹), and slightly above the TWI and PTMI adopted by SCF and JECFA respectively.     

典型汞污染地区食物汞含量及人体汞暴露健康风险

系统采集典型汞污染地区(铅锌冶炼、金矿冶炼和燃煤电厂)食物样品(大米、蔬菜和鱼肉) 409个,测定其总汞含量以评估当地居民食物摄入汞暴露的健康风险。结果显示:铅锌冶炼地区大米总汞含量的几何均值为5.99μg·kg~(-1)(3.02～30.7μg·kg~(-1)),仅有1个样品总汞含量超过我国大米汞限量标准(20μg·kg~(-1)),蔬菜和鱼肉总汞含量分别为0.646～5.44μg·kg~(-1)和1.80～26.4μg·kg~(-1),均未超过我国食品汞限量标准;金矿冶炼地区大米总汞含量的几何均值为4.46μg·kg~(-1)(3.13～8.67μg·kg~(-1)),蔬菜和鱼肉总汞含量分别为0.760～7.83μg·kg~(-1)和1.59～21.9μg·kg~(-1),所有食物均未超过我国食品汞限量标准;燃煤电厂地区大米总汞含量的几何均值为3.63μg·kg~(-1)(1.05～11.4μg·kg~(-1)),蔬菜和鱼肉总汞含量分别为1.12～3.78μg·kg~(-1)和2.24～12.3μg·kg~(-1),所有食物均未超过我国食品汞限量标准。铅锌冶炼、金矿冶炼和燃煤电厂3个地区居民通过食用食物(大米、鱼肉和蔬菜途径)总汞摄入量的均值分别为0.068、0.038和0.031μg·d~(-1)·kg~(-1),均未超出联合国粮农组织和世界卫生组织食品添加剂联合专家委员会(JECFA)推荐的人体安全总汞摄入量0.71μg·d~(-1)·kg~(-1);表明3个研究地区居民汞暴露的风险较低。大米汞摄入量占3个地区居民食物总汞摄入量的比例分别为77.2%、70.8%和71.4%,食用大米是当地居民汞暴露的主要途径。     

Estimating health damage cost from secondary sulfate particles--a case study of Hunan Province, China

IntroductionChina’senergyusepattern ,characterizedbyadominatingrelianceoncoal,hasledtosevereSO2pollutionandresultinghealthdamage .Withconsumptionsoffossilfuelsstilltogrow ,totalhealthdamageisanticipatedtoincrease ,whichwillbeagreatchallengetoChina.Thischallengerequirescomprehensivehealthimpactassessmenttoguideenvironmentalpolicyandreorientpublicopinioninfavorofeffectivepreventiveaction .Generally,the“ImpactPathwayApproach”(Krewit,1 999;Thanh ,2 0 0 0 ) ,whichlinkstheemissiontoconcentrat…     

Cadmium status in Egypt

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＣａｄｍｉｕｍｉｓａｃｏｍｍｏｎｅｌｅｍｅｎｔｉｎｔｈｅｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔ,ｗｈｅｒｅｉｔｏｃｃｕｒｓｉｎｄｉｆｆｅｒｅｎｔｃｈｅｍｉｃａｌｆｏｒｍｓ.ＣａｄｍｉｕｍｉｓｎｏｔｄｅｓｔｒｏｙｅｄｂｙａｎｙｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔａｌｐｒｏｃｅｓｓａｎｄＣｄｄｉｓｃｈａｒｇｅｄｉｎｔｏｔｈｅｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔｗｉｌｌｒｅｍａｉｎｔｈｅｒｅ .Ｉｔｍａｙｍｏｖｅｆｒｏｍｏｎｅｃｏｍｐａｒｔｍｅｎｔｏｆｔｈｅｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔｔｏａｎｏｔｈｅｒ,ｂｕｔｗｉｔｈｖａｒｙｉｎ…     

Feeding over the 24-h cycle: dietary flexibility of cathemeral collared lemurs (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Eulemur collaris</Emphasis>)

Animals show specific morphological, physiological and behavioural adaptations to diurnal or nocturnal activity. Cathemeral species, i.e. animals with activities distributed over the 24-h period, have to compromise between these specific adaptations. The driving evolutionary forces and the proximate costs and benefits of cathemerality are still poorly understood. Our goal was to evaluate the role of predator avoidance, food availability and diet quality in shaping cathemeral activity of arboreal mammals using a lemur species as an example. For this, two groups of collared lemurs, Eulemur collaris, were studied for 14 months in the littoral forest of southeastern Madagascar. Data on feeding behaviour were collected during all-day and all-night follows by direct observation. A phenological transect containing 78 plant species was established and monitored every 2 weeks to evaluate food availability during the study period. Characteristics of food items and animal nutritional intake were determined via biochemical analyses. The ratio of diurnal to nocturnal feeding was used as response variable in the analyses. The effects of abiotic environmental variables were removed statistically before the analyses of the biotic variables. We found that diurnal feeding lasted longer during the hot–wet season (December–February), whereas nocturnal feeding peaked during the hot–dry and cool–wet seasons (March–August). Although the lemurs foraged mostly in lower forest strata during daylight and used emergent trees preferably at night, the variables which measured animal exposure to birds of prey failed to predict the variation of the ratio of diurnal/nocturnal feeding. Ripe fruit availability and fiber intake are the two variables which best predicted the annual variation of the lemur diurnality. The data indicate that feeding over the whole 24-h cycle is advantageous during lean periods when animals have a fibre-rich, low-quality diet.     

Estimation of pyrethroid pesticide intake using regression modeling of food groups based on composite dietary samples

Population-based estimates of pesticide intake are needed to characterize exposure for particular demographic groups based on their dietary behaviors. Regression modeling performed on measurements of selected pesticides in composited duplicate diet samples allowed (1) estimation of pesticide intakes for a defined demographic community, and (2) comparison of dietary pesticide intakes between the composite and individual samples. Extant databases were useful for assigning individual samples to composites, but they could not provide the breadth of information needed to facilitate measurable levels in every composite. Composite sample measurements were found to be good predictors of pyrethroid pesticide levels in their individual sample constituents where sufficient measurements are available above the method detection limit. Statistical inference shows little evidence of differences between individual and composite measurements and suggests that regression modeling of food groups based on composite dietary samples may provide an effective tool for estimating dietary pesticide intake for a defined population.     

Update of daily intake of PCDDs, PCDFs, and dioxin-like PCBs from food in Japan

Total diet study (TDS) samples of 14 food groups from 16 locations in Japan, collected in 1999 and 2000, were analyzed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dioxin-like PCBs) to estimate the update of daily intake of these contaminants from food. The mean daily intake of toxic equivalency (TEQ) for an adult weighing 50 kg, calculated at non-detected isomer concentrations equal to zero (ND=0), was estimated to be 2.25 pg TEQ/kg b.w./day. When non-detected isomer concentrations are assumed to be equal to half of the limits of detection (ND=1/2 LOD), the mean daily intake was estimated to be 3.22 pg TEQ/kg b.w./day. These values were below the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 4 pg TEQ/kg b.w. for PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs set in Japan. In both the estimates, the mean daily intakes were highest from fish and shellfish (76.9% at ND=0 and 53.9% at ND=1/2 LOD of the total TEQs), followed by those from meat and eggs (15.5% at ND=0 and 11.7% at ND=1/2 LOD of the total TEQs). Congener specific data revealed that these total TEQ levels were dominated by 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDD, 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF and 3,3^′,4,4^′,5-PeCB in each case (71.7% at ND=0 and 63.1% at ND=1/2 LOD of the total TEQs). The dioxin-like PCBs (non-ortho and mono-ortho PCBs) accounted for about 50% of these total TEQs. These data will be very useful in the risk assessment of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs from food in Japan.     

Pesticide residues intake of French adults under increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables – A theoretical study

The increase of fresh vegetable and fruit (FVF) intake could contribute to the prevention of obesity and several major pathologies and thus represents a major public health goal in industrial countries. Nutritional recommendations for increased consumption of FVF could lead to ingestion of unwanted amounts of pesticides. This study was undertaken to evaluate theoretical exposure of French adults to pesticide residues under increasing amounts of FVF intake. Balanced menus with 200 – 400 – 600 – 800 and 1200 g FVF/day were established. Amounts of active substances brought by every FVF vector, at the maximum residue level (MRL) were summed up to determine the intake for each active substance. Values were compared to the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) to point out any potential over exposure. A maximalistic approach was adopted and no reducing factor due to processing was taken into account. It was found that under minimal recommended consumption of fruit and vegetables (400 g/d), no active substance reached the ADI, but 18 vs 144 were over 10% of the ADI. Raising FVF to 600 g/d increased the number of active substances over 10 % of the ADI to 24, but again in no case was the ADI exceeded. Doubling the intake to 800 g/d gives values over the ADI for 2 active substances only (cyhexatin and thirame). It was concluded that the increase in fruit and vegetables up to 800 g per day should not expose adults over the ADIs for a majority of authorized pesticides. In this regard, residues levels of ten active substances in fruit and vegetables should deserve particular attention.     

湖南省大气污染物排放与人体暴露水平研究

基于吸入因子概念,建立了污染物排放造成的人体暴露的计算方法.应用CALPUFF长距离扩散模型和多元回归分析对湖南省17个电厂(24个排放源)的一次细颗粒(PM_2.5)、SO₂和NO_x排放进行了研究.结果表明,在半径500km范围内,PM_2.5、SO₄^2-和NO₃^-的平均吸入因子分别为9.73×10^-6、2.39×10^-6和2.47×10^-6.回归分析表明,PM_2.5的吸入因子与烟囱高度及人口数量有很高的相关性(R²=0.83),SO₄^2--吸入因子与烟囱高度无关,与人口数量有较好的相关性(R²=0.64),而NO₃的吸入因子与烟囱高度、人口数量的相关性较高(R²=0.74).基于回归方程和人口分布地图,对湖南省污染排放的吸入因子进行区划,得到的吸入因子等值图反映了人口分布对吸入因子的影响,可用于对该地区的排放源造成的健康影响进行快速评价.     

应用遥感数据评价蓝藻水华对太湖取水口的影响

为量化蓝藻水华对太湖饮用水取水口的影响,将太湖矢量图进行栅格化,根据权重函数计算像元的权重因子;再将权重因子图与由遥感影像得到的水华分布图进行叠加,对对应像元进行影响因子计算;最后根据像元的影响因子求出归一化影响指数(NII),并以此进行影响评价.通过对2007年5月1~16日太湖MODIS EVI影像进行的实例分析和验证,表明该方法能较好地反映太湖水华对取水口的影响程度,与实际情况符合;在提出的3种权重函数模型中,负指数模型和正态分布模型能较好地反映蓝藻水华对饮用水取水口的影响程度,可以作为影响评价的权重模型.