Organochlorine and heavy metals in newborns: Results from the Flemish Environment and Health Survey (FLEHS 2002–2006)

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.     

Persistent organochlorine pollutants in human serum of 50-65 years old women in the Flanders Environmental and Health Study (FLEHS). Part 2: Correlations among PCBs,PCDD/PCDFs and the use of predictive markers

In 1999, the FLEHS was set by the Flemish Ministry of Health, Belgium to assess pollutant concentrations and related health effect biomarkers in humans living in Flanders. Concentrations of selected organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) and furans (PCDF) were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and Chemical-Activated LUciferase gene eXpression (CALUX) bioassay in 47 serum pools of 200 women between 50 and 65 years living in two areas of Flanders. Correlation between TEQ values of different groups of compounds were computed in these pool results and it was found that total toxic equivalencies (TEQs) correlated well with the values of the groups of contributing compounds: mono-ortho PCBs (r = 0.77), non-ortho PCBs (r = 0.65) and PCDD/Fs (r = 0.88). The total TEQ was lower correlated to the CALUX-TEQ (r = 0.57). When calculating associations between those classes of compounds in the two studied regions separately, they were all higher correlated in the urban area compared to the more rural region. High correlation coefficients (r > 0.80) were also calculated between individual compounds and groups of compounds. It was suggested that in this studied background-exposed population, some compounds could be good predictors for a group: e.g. PCB 153 for indicator and total PCBs, PCB 118 for total PCB TEQ, PCB 156 for mono-ortho PCB-TEQs and total TEQ, 2,3,4,7,8-P5CDF for PCDD/F TEQs and total TEQs. This means that in pooled serum samples correlations between persistent organochlorine compounds are as strong as for individual POP measurements observed in earlier studies.     

Internal exposure to pollutants measured in blood and urine of Flemish adolescents in function of area of residence

The Centre for Environment and Health in Flanders, the Northern part of Belgium, started a biomonitoring program on adolescents in 2003. 1679 adolescents residing in nine areas with different patterns of pollution participated in the study. Possible confounding effects of lifestyle and personal characteristics were taken into account. The geometric mean levels of cadmium and lead in whole blood amounted to 0.36 and 21.7 microg l(-1), those of PCBs, DDE and HCB in serum to 68, 94 and 20.9 ng g(-1) fat, and those of 1-hydroxypyrene and t,t'-muconic acid in urine to 88 ng g(-1) creatinine and 72 microg g(-1) creatinine. Significant regional differences in internal lead, cadmium, PCBs, DDE and HCB exposure were observed in function of area of residence, even after adjustment for age, sex, smoking (and body mass index for the chlorinated compounds). Compared to a reference mean, internal exposure was significantly higher in one or more of the areas: Cd and Pb in the Antwerp agglomeration, Cd in the Antwerp harbour, PCBs in the Ghent agglomeration, PCBs, DDE and HCB in the Ghent harbour, Cd, PCBs, DDE and HCB in the rural area, DDE in Olen and in the Albert canal areas. Adolescents living in an area with intensive fruit cultivation (showing overall the lowest values) and, surprisingly, in areas around household waste incinerators (average of six areas), had no significantly increased internal exposures. Subjects from separate areas around waste incinerators showed significant differences in body load of various environmental contaminants.     

Fourth WHO-coordinated survey of human milk for persistent organic pollutants (POPs): Belgian results

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are chemicals that accumulate in the food chain and are toxic to humans and wildlife. The fourth World Health Organization (WHO) survey on POP levels in human milk (2006-2009) aims to provide baseline and trend information on human exposure to POPs. So far Belgium participated in all three previous rounds (1988, 1992, 2001). Whereas the first three rounds focused on determination of dioxins and PCBs in pooled (mixed) samples, the fourth survey comprised the analyses of individual milk samples for nine "basic POPs" (chlorinated pesticides and indicator PCBs) and of pooled milk samples for "basic POPs", "advanced POPs" (dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs) and "optional POPs" (polybrominated diphenylethers [PBDEs], polybrominated dioxins and dibenzofurans [PBrDD/F], mixed halogenated dioxins and dibenzofurans [PXDD/F] and hexabromocyclododecane [HBCD]). For the Belgian participation human milk samples were collected during the summer of 2006 from 197 women between 18 and 30 years old distributed over all Belgian provinces. The individual samples were analyzed in a Belgian Laboratory for "basic" POPs. A pooled sample was made from 178 individual samples and analyzed by the WHO Reference Laboratory for the "basic, advanced and optional" POPs. The results indicate that most organochlorinated pesticides banned 25-30 years ago were below or around detection limits in Belgian human milk samples although DDE was still found at low levels in all samples. Over the last five years the levels of marker PCBs and PCDD/Fs in Belgian human milk decreased, respectively, by 58% and 39%. For some of the other emerging or older compounds recent international data are needed to allow comparison. This shows the importance of international studies as run by WHO.     

Equity and productivity assessments in the Olifants River basin, South Africa

Emerging approaches to water resources development and management typically highlight equity and productivity as two main objectives. In the context of integrated water resources management within a river basin, managers and stakeholders often need a comparative assessment of different options for water augmentation and/or allocation. Pitting such options against predefined objectives, such as equity and productivity, requires an assessment of the effects that available options will have on these objectives. Available documentation indicates that not only does the interpretation of such objectives vary widely, but also the available methods for assessing equity and productivity run into significant limitations in the availability of adequate data. This limitation has largely kept decision makers from gaining a comprehensive overview of equity and productivity scenarios, whether within or across sectors, that could facilitate better‐informed decisions. To address this methodological gap, this article scrutinizes different notions associated with equity and water productivity, and limitations in prevalent assessment methods with the view to develop and demonstrate pragmatic methodologies for assessing equity and productivity in data‐scarce contexts. The discussion and findings are based on a review of relevant literature and empirical and consultative research work in the Olifants River basin in South Africa. The demonstrated methodologies for assessing equity and productivity, besides being useful in data‐scarce contexts, are insightful for initiating several policy measures and also for exploring the relationship between equity and water productivity.     

The relation between the estimated dietary intake of PCDD/Fs and levels in blood in a Flemish population (50-65 years)

Dioxin-like activity was measured in the serum of 1425 Flemish men and women via the CALUX assay. The adults, aged between 50 and 65 years, participated in a large biomonitoring program, executed by the Flemish Center of Expertise for Environment and Health between 2002 and 2006. Within the context of this biomonitoring program also dietary intake of dioxin-like contaminants was assessed through a food frequency questionnaire. The relation between the estimated dietary intake and the dioxin-like activity in serum was evaluated using multivariate analyses: a logistic model was performed on the total population, while a linear regression analysis was done on the subsample with quantifiable dioxin activity levels in serum. Region, gender, age, BMI, smoking status, as well as dietary habits were entered in the model, with dioxin level as an outcome estimate. Both the logistic and linear model confirmed the contribution of dietary intake to the dioxin activity measured in serum. Also BMI and region were found to be associated with dioxin activity levels.     

Gender in integrated water management: an analysis of variation

Gender is an important variable in water use, policy, and intervention. This article explores this variation and its policy implications. Concepts are applied in several case studies to draw generic conclusions. Variation is related to the purpose of water use (consumptive or productive) and to the local, culture-specific patterns of the intra-household organization of consumption for family welfare (which includes domestic water provision) and income-generation (for which water is an input, especially in rural areas). For domestic water use, the intra-household sharing of unpaid domestic responsibilities is a key gender issue. Water for productive use, on the other hand, is embedded in the gendered organization of household economic activity, as elaborated for smallholder-irrigated agriculture. In female-managed and dual farming systems, where a high proportion of farm decision-makers are women, irrigation agencies need to better target their support. In male-managed farming systems, however, the majority of women lack their own farm enterprise in which water is an input. Women's access to land, markets and credits besides access to water, is at stake. To conclude, given the strong variation in water use along gender lines, gender analysis is indispensable for any concrete water policy and intervention.     

Washing away poverty: Water, democracy and gendered poverty eradication in South Africa

This article discusses ways in which the South African Government and grassroots organizations envisage and implement democracy achieved since 1994 in the field of water resources management. The focus is on the democratic, political and economic freedom and equality in resource rights for poor black women, who are central to poverty eradication. While the new water policy and law provide an enabling framework for achieving these goals, implementation on the ground encounters both new opportunities and constraints. This is illustrated by several cases of establishing South Africa's new water management institutions: catchment management agencies and water user associations. The important nexus between state‐led democratization of water resources management and bottom‐up grassroots movements is also discussed. The article concludes that the Government's affirmative and targeted intervention is indispensable for redressing gender inequalities and eradicating poverty.     

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in human milk: A biomonitoring study in rural areas of Flanders (Belgium)

To collect information on the concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the rural areas in Flanders (Belgium), 84 breastfeeding mothers were recruited in rural communities in East and West Flanders and Flemish Brabant in 2009-2010. Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, organochlorine pesticides, brominated flame retardants, perfluorinated compounds, polychlorinated dibenzodioxines and dibenzofurans, and dioxin-like PCBs were measured in individual milk samples and in a pooled milk sample, while some additional pollutants were only measured in the pooled sample. For most pollutants, the concentrations in this study were lower or comparable to the concentrations measured in the pooled Belgian sample of the WHO human milk study of 2006, except for the pesticides dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane DDT (+25% for ΣDDT and metabolites) and trans-nonachlor (+94%), and for the brominated flame retardant hexachlorocyclododecane HBCD (+153%). Perfluorinated compounds were for the first time determined in human milk samples from Belgium and the concentrations were comparable to those from other European countries. Also, interesting associations were found between the concentrations of POPs measured in human milk and personal characteristics as well as dietary habits of the study population. PFOS en PFOA concentrations were significantly higher in milk of primiparous participants compared to mothers who gave birth to their second child. Lower brominated PBDE congeners increased with increasing BMI of the mothers (p = 0.01 for BDE 47, p = 0.02 for BDE 99 and p = 0.02 for BDE 100). Participants consuming milk or dairy products daily had significant higher concentrations of ΣDDTs (p = 0.03) and oxychlordane (p = 0.047) in their human milk samples.