Occurrence of Pharmaceuticals and Other Anthropogenic Compounds in the Wastewater Effluent of Arctic Expedition Cruise Ships.

Cruise ship traffic in polar regions is increasing, but we lack a good understanding of the emissions from these ships to sensitive marine environments. Wastewater discharges may result in the release of contaminants of emerging concern into such environments. Treated wastewater from three expedition cruise ships was collected and analyzed with a focus on pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and industrial chemicals.

Characterizing the distribution of aromatic amines between polyester, cotton, and wool textiles and air.

Textiles play an important role in the accumulation of harmful chemicals and can serve as a secondary source of chemical pollutants in indoor environments, releasing these chemicals back into indoor air, as well as a vector from which indoor pollution can be released by laundering to wastewater systems. Among harmful indoor pollutants, aromatic amines (AAs) are particularly concerning due to their mutagenic and carcinogenic properties, but have received limited attention in non-occupational indoor environments. We have characterized the distribution of 19 AAs between cotton, wool, and polyester textiles and air.

High levels of flame retardants in vehicle dust indicate ongoing use of brominated and organophosphate flame retardants in vehicle interiors.

Vehicles are unique indoor environments, with interiors dominated by plastic/synthetic materials and exposure to extremes of temperature and radiation, leading to substantial potential for emissions of plastic additives from vehicle materials and subsequent exposure to drivers and passengers. Flame retardants (FRs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were measured in 30 dust samples collected from dashboards, seats, and trunks of cars of the same make and model (year of manufacture 1996-2021) to evaluate levels in dust and time patterns in additive use across cars of different ages. PFAS were detected in all dust samples at low levels, while FRs were detected in all samples, with some compounds consistently exceeding µg/g levels, especially tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP) and decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209), substantially higher than in other indoor environments.

Toward Product Safety and Circularity: Understanding the Information Structure of Global Databases on Chemicals in Products and Articles.

Access to information about chemicals in products and articles is critical for supporting enforcement of chemical regulations, assessing risks from chemicals, allowing informed consumer choices, and enabling product circularity. In this work, we identified and evaluated available databases (DBs) on chemicals in products and articles from the literature using a defined protocol and from European national market surveillance authorities, nongovernmental agencies, and industrial sector groups using questionnaires. This is the first comprehensive review of DBs that provide information about chemicals in products and articles.

Identification of compounds contributing to glucocorticoid activity in indoor dust supported by orthogonal fractionation.

Indoor dust contains various endocrine-disrupting contaminants, yet the effect drivers of observed glucocorticoid activity are completely unknown. This study conducted an effect-directed analysis using orthogonal fractionation to identify effect drivers of glucocorticoid activity in indoor dust. After the detection of bioactivity using a human cell line stably transfected with a reporter gene, the sample underwent parallel HPLC fractionations with octadecyl, pentafluorophenyl, and aminopropyl columns to obtain orthogonal fractions.

Development of a supramolecular solvent-based extraction method for application to quantitative analyses of a wide range of organic contaminants in indoor dust.

This study investigates the efficacy of supramolecular solvent (SUPRAS) in extracting a diverse spectrum of organic contaminants from indoor dust. Initially, seven distinct SUPRAS were assessed across nine categories of contaminants to identify the most effective one. A SUPRAS comprising Milli-Q water, tetrahydrofuran, and hexanol in a 70:20:10 ratio, respectively, demonstrated the best extraction performance and was employed for testing a wider array of organic contaminants.

Tracking Aromatic Amines from Sources to Surface Waters.

This review examines the environmental occurrence and fate of aromatic amines (AAs), a group of environmental contaminants with possible carcinogenic and mutagenic effects. AAs are known to be partially responsible for the genotoxic traits of industrial wastewater (WW), and AA antioxidants are acutely toxic to some aquatic organisms. Still, there are gaps in the available data on sources, occurrence, transport, and fate in domestic WW and indoor environments, which complicate the prevention of adverse effects in aquatic ecosystems.

Investigation of occurrence of aromatic amines in municipal wastewaters using passive sampling.

Aromatic amines (AAs) are human-made compounds known for their mutagenic properties, entering surface waters from various sources, often originating as transformation products of dyes or pesticides. Despite their low concentrations in surface waters, AAs can exhibit mutagenicity. Our study focused on evaluating three passive samplers (PSs) for enriching these compounds from influent and effluent of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Brno, Czech Republic.

Endocrine disrupting potential of total and bioaccessible extracts of dust from seven different types of indoor environment.

Information on the indoor environment as a source of exposure with potential adverse health effects is mostly limited to a few pollutant groups and indoor types. This study provides a comprehensive toxicological profile of chemical mixtures associated with dust from various types of indoor environments, namely cars, houses, prefabricated apartments, kindergartens, offices, public spaces, and schools. Organic extracts of two different polarities and bioaccessible extracts mimicking the gastrointestinal conditions were prepared from two different particle size fractions of dust.

Widespread Pesticide Distribution in the European Atmosphere Questions their Degradability in Air.

Risk assessment of pesticide impacts on remote ecosystems makes use of model-estimated degradation in air. Recent studies suggest these degradation rates to be overestimated, questioning current pesticide regulation. Here, we investigated the concentrations of 76 pesticides in Europe at 29 rural, coastal, mountain, and polar sites during the agricultural application season.

Has Regulatory Action Reduced Human Exposure to Flame Retardants?

Flame retardant (FR) exposure has been linked to several environmental and human health effects. Because of this, the production and use of several FRs are regulated globally. We reviewed the available records of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDDs) in human breast milk from literature to evaluate the efficacy of regulation to reduce the exposure of FRs to humans.

Harmonized human biomonitoring in European children, teenagers and adults: EU-wide exposure data of 11 chemical substance groups from the HBM4EU Aligned Studies (2014-2021).

As one of the core elements of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) a human biomonitoring (HBM) survey was conducted in 23 countries to generate EU-wide comparable HBM data. This survey has built on existing HBM capacity in Europe by aligning national or regional HBM studies, referred to as the HBM4EU Aligned Studies. The HBM4EU Aligned Studies included a total of 10,795 participants of three age groups: (i) 3,576 children aged 6-12 years, (ii) 3,117 teenagers aged 12-18 years and (iii) 4,102 young adults aged 20-39 years.

Accessibility investigation of semi-volatile organic compounds in indoor dust estimated by multi-ratio equilibrium passive sampling.

Many semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) accumulate in indoor dust, which serves as a repository for those compounds. The presence of SVOCs in indoor environments is of concern because many of them are suspected to have toxic effects. Total SVOC concentrations in the dust are generally used for exposure assessment to indoor contaminants, assuming that 100% of the SVOCs is accessible for human uptake.

Exposure to flame retardants in European children - Results from the HBM4EU aligned studies.

Many legacy and emerging flame retardants (FRs) have adverse human and environmental health effects. This study reports legacy and emerging FRs in children from nine European countries from the HBM4EU aligned studies. Studies from Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Norway conducted between 2014 and 2021 provided data on FRs in blood and urine from 2136 children.

Human Exposure to Pesticides in Dust from Two Agricultural Sites in South Africa.

Over the last decades, concern has arisen worldwide about the negative impacts of pesticides on the environment and human health. Exposure via dust ingestion is important for many chemicals but poorly characterized for pesticides, particularly in Africa. We investigated the spatial and temporal variations of 30 pesticides in dust and estimated the human exposure via dust ingestion, which was compared to inhalation and soil ingestion.

Personal care product use and lifestyle affect phthalate and DINCH metabolite levels in teenagers and young adults.

Humans are widely exposed to phthalates and their novel substitutes, and considering the negative health effects associated with some phthalates, it is crucial to understand population levels and exposure determinants. This study is focused on 300 urine samples from teenagers (aged 12-17) and 300 from young adults (aged 18-37) living in Czechia collected in 2019 and 2020 to assess 17 plasticizer metabolites as biomarkers of exposure. We identified widespread phthalate exposure in the study population.

Persistent Problem: Global Challenges to Managing PCBs.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), "famous" as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), have been managed nationally since the 1970s and globally under the Stockholm Convention on POPs since 2004, requiring environmentally sound management (ESM) of PCBs by 2028. At most, 30% of countries are on track to achieve ESM by 2028. Globally over 10 million tonnes of PCB-containing materials remain, mostly in countries lacking the ability to manage PCB waste.

Application of a pharmacokinetic model in characterizing sources of polychlorinated biphenyl exposure and determining threshold daily intakes for adverse health effects in infants and toddlers.

Characterization of PCB exposure sources for vulnerable population groups is essential to minimize the health effects of PCB exposure. At the same time, it is important to consolidate the knowledge on threshold intakes of PCBs for infants and toddlers to prevent health effects. We estimated total PCB concentrations from birth to 2 years of age in children from Slovak and Czech populations, which continue to have high PCB concentrations in breast milk.

The Association between ADHD and Environmental Chemicals-A Scoping Review.

The role of environmental chemicals in the etiology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been of interest in recent research. This scoping review aims to summarize known or possible associations between ADHD and environmental exposures to substances selected as priority chemicals of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU). Literature searches were performed in PubMed to identify relevant publications.

Parabens and antimicrobial compounds in conventional and "green" personal care products.

The personal care product (PCP) industry is a worldwide multi-billion-dollar industry. Several synthetic compounds like parabens and antimicrobial agents triclosan (TCS) and triclocarban (TCC) are ingredients in many PCPs. Due to growing public awareness of potential risks associated with parabens and other synthetic compounds, more PCPs are being marketed as "green," "alternative," or "natural.

Global intercomparison of polyurethane foam passive air samplers evaluating sources of variability in SVOC measurements.

Polyurethane foam passive air samplers (PUF-PAS) are the most common type of passive air sampler used for a range of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), including regulated persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and emerging contaminants (e.g., novel flame retardants, phthalates, current-use pesticides).