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Environmental Science and Pollution... Apr 2024This study delves into the repercussions of the 2023 earthquake in Turkey, particularity its impact on air pollution. A year post-event, it is evident that scientific...
This study delves into the repercussions of the 2023 earthquake in Turkey, particularity its impact on air pollution. A year post-event, it is evident that scientific literature has paid limited attention to monitoring the situation. However, the release of hazardous substances, such as asbestos, lead, and other toxins, from damaged structures poses a significant threat by contaminating nearby air, soil, and water sources, thereby jeopardizing ecosystems and public well-being. The improper disposal of waste post-earthquake and the presence of mining and oil refinery sites in the region contribute to potential air pollutants. These circumstances create challenging environments conducive to the spread of respiratory diseases, with potential long-term health and social consequences. Unfortunately, existing data gaps hinder a comprehensive understanding of the situation. This paper pioneers the reporting and analysis of data regarding potential sources of air pollution resulting from the earthquake in Turkey. It also pinpoints gaps in knowledge, outlining areas that demand further investigation. To effectively prevent and mitigate air pollution risks and associated health concerns linked to earthquakes, strategic recommendations are proposed. A key suggestion is the establishment of post-disaster air pollution monitoring systems capable of swiftly identifying emerging health issues, facilitating efficient responses, and curtailing potential long-term effects of the disaster. The paper underscores the necessity for continuous health monitoring of the affected population to mitigate possible adverse impacts on human health. These strategies play a pivotal role in reducing the likelihood of air pollution, supporting emergency response and recovery initiatives, and fostering new dedicated scientific studies.
Topics: Humans; Earthquakes; Turkey; Ecosystem; Air Pollution; Air Pollutants
PubMed: 38411917
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-32592-8 -
The Science of the Total Environment May 2024Dioxins, furans, and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of persistent and toxic chemicals that are known to have human health effects at low...
Dioxins, furans, and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of persistent and toxic chemicals that are known to have human health effects at low levels. These chemicals have been produced for commercial use (PCBs) or unintentionally as by-products of industry or natural processes (PCBs, dioxins, and furans). Additionally, dioxin-like PCBs were formerly used in electrical applications before being banned internationally (2004). These chemicals are widely dispersed in the environment as they can contaminate air and travel hundreds to thousands of kilometers before depositing on land or water, thereafter, potentially entering food chains. Community concerns surrounding the safety of traditional foods prompted a human biomonitoring project in Old Crow, Yukon Territory (YT), Canada (2019). Through collaborative community engagement, dioxins and like compounds were identified as a priority for exposure assessment from biobanked samples. In 2022, biobanked plasma samples (n = 54) collected in Old Crow were used to measure exposures to seven dioxins, ten furans, and four dioxin-like PCBs. 1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDD, 1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDD, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD, OCDD, 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF, 1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDF, PCB 126, and PCB 169 were detected in at least 50 % of samples. Among these analytes, the only congener at elevated levels was PCB 169, which was approximately ∼2-fold higher than the general population of Canada. No significant sex-based or body mass index (BMI) differences in biomarker concentrations were observed. Generally, the concentrations of the detected congeners increased with age, except for 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD. For the first time, this research measures dioxin and like-compound exposures in Old Crow, advancing the information available on chemical exposures in the Arctic. Further research could be directed towards the investigation of PCB 169 exposure sources and temporal monitoring of exposures and determinants.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Dioxins; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Yukon Territory; Crows; Furans; Biological Monitoring; Canada; Plasma; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins
PubMed: 38408666
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171222 -
Foods (Basel, Switzerland) Feb 2024Pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent environmental pollutants. When entering the food chain, they can represent a public health problem due to...
Pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent environmental pollutants. When entering the food chain, they can represent a public health problem due to their negative effects on health. In this study, concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), organophosphate pesticides (OPPs), pyrethroids, carbamates, and PCBs-a total 73 compounds-were determined in a total of 2268 samples of fat tissues (beef, pork, sheep, goat, poultry, game, horse, rabbit) and processed fat, meat, and processed meat products collected in Croatia during an 8-year period. In fatty tissues, 787 results exceeded the limits of quantification (LOQ): 16 OCPs, eight OPPs, six pyrethroids, one carbamate, and seven PCBs. The most positive results in fat samples were found for OCPs, with a frequency of quantification in the range of 57.5-87.5%. Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) were quantified in the highest percentages, in the ranges of 5.5-66.7% and 5.4-55.8%. Concentrations above the MRL values were determined for chlorpyrifos in pork fat and for resmethrin in six fat samples and one pâté. In 984 samples of meat and meat products, only 62 results exceeded the LOQ values. The highest frequency of quantification was determined for OCPs (25 samples), of which 40% were DDT isomers (60% DDE). Frequency quantifications of PCBs in fat samples were between 7.23 and 36.7%. An evaluation of the health risk assessment showed that the consumption of fat, meat, and meat products does not pose a threat to consumer health, since all EDI values were well below the respective toxicological reference values.
PubMed: 38397505
DOI: 10.3390/foods13040528 -
Toxics Jan 2024Although the ecological risk of emerging contaminants is currently a research hotspot in China and abroad, few studies have investigated the ecological risk of pesticide...
Although the ecological risk of emerging contaminants is currently a research hotspot in China and abroad, few studies have investigated the ecological risk of pesticide pollutants in Chinese coastal sediments. In this study, nine pesticide pollutants included in the "List of New Key Pollutants for Control (2023 Edition)" issued by the Chinese government were used as the research objects, and the environmental exposure of pesticide pollutants in China's coastal sediments was analyzed. The baseline sediment quality criteria were deduced using the balanced distribution method, and a multi-level ecological risk assessment of pesticides in sediment was performed. The results showed that the nine pesticide pollutants were widespread in Chinese coastal sediments, with concentrations ranging from 0.01 ng·g to 330 ng·g. The risk quotient assessment showed that endosulfan and DDT posed medium environmental risks to the Chinese coastal sediment environment, and PCBs posed medium risks in some bays of the East China Sea. The semi-probabilistic, optimized semi-probability evaluation and joint probability curve (JPC) assessments all show that endosulfan and DDT pose a certain degree of risk to the environment.
PubMed: 38393209
DOI: 10.3390/toxics12020114 -
Journal of Personalized Medicine Feb 2024Semen quality represents a compelling factor for fertility, and delineating the normal values has proven difficult. In the last four decades, several authors have... (Review)
Review
Semen quality represents a compelling factor for fertility, and delineating the normal values has proven difficult. In the last four decades, several authors have reported a noticeable decline in sperm parameters. Also, studies investigating 'time to pregnancy' have shown that fecundity begins to be reduced when sperm numbers decrease below 30 million, even though according to the 6th edition of the WHO manual, the normal value is currently 16 million/mL or 39 million per ejaculate. There exists sufficient data to suggest a decline in sperm counts over time, even though the clear reason for this adverse trend is not well established, but some associations have been hypothesised, such as maternal smoking during pregnancy. Additional potential factors have yet to be fully illustrated but involve poor diet, increased obesity, and exposure to environmental toxins. Moreover, the change in environmental conditions and more common exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as pesticides and herbicides, as well as bisphenol A, phthalates, polychlorinated biphenyls, and heavy metals, starting from prenatal life and continuing into adulthood, may exhibit probable features explaining the reduction in sperm parameters. Therefore, the main goal of this narrative review is to furnish an overview of the possible effects of exposure to EDCs on testicular function and spermatogenesis and, also, to summarise the evidence regarding a decrease in sperm quality and examine its potential consequences.
PubMed: 38392631
DOI: 10.3390/jpm14020198 -
The Science of the Total Environment Apr 2024Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) are a suite of harmful chemicals (hereafter collectively...
Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins/furans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in fish and crustaceans of a recreationally fished estuary, following targeted remediation.
Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) are a suite of harmful chemicals (hereafter collectively referred to as 'dioxins'), and their emission into aquatic habitats leads to persistent contamination of sediments, aquatic food-webs, and seafoods. Quantifying contaminant levels in seafood species is important for the ongoing management of exposure risk by fishers, particularly after any remediation actions. We present dioxin concentrations in four seafood species (Yellowfin Bream Acanthopagrus australis, Sea Mullet Mugil cephalus, Eastern School Prawn Metapenaeus macleayi, and Eastern King Prawn Penaeus plebejus) in a recreationally fished estuary, in relation to a contaminated site that has undergone a remediation process, partially removing contaminated sediments (Homebush Bay, Port Jackson, New South Wales, Australia). Dioxin concentrations in these species were measured before (2005/6) and after (2015/16) remediation at a range of locations in and around the remediated site. Dioxin concentrations and congener profiles differed substantially among taxa, and concentrations were frequently higher than Australian screening criteria. The two prawn species showed evidence of a decline in dioxin concentrations after remediation, but the fish species only showed a declining dioxin concentration with distance from the contaminated site (not between periods). There were some minor changes in the congener profile for some species following remediation. While there was evidence for greatly reduced dioxin concentrations in prawn species following remediation, the complex patterns for fish were likely affected by environmental changes, species-specific and temporal changes in lipid content, and animal movement patterns. Future monitoring may aid interpretation of the patterns and modelling of exposure risk associated with seafood consumption into the future.
Topics: Animals; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; Dioxins; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Estuaries; Furans; Dibenzofurans; Australia; Crustacea; Decapoda; Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated
PubMed: 38387567
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171089 -
Se Pu = Chinese Journal of... Feb 2024Rapid industrial and agricultural developments in China have led to the wide use and discharge of chemical products and pesticides, resulting in extensive residues in...
Rapid industrial and agricultural developments in China have led to the wide use and discharge of chemical products and pesticides, resulting in extensive residues in environmental media. These residues can enter the human body through various pathways, leading to high exposure risks and health hazards. Because the human body is exposed to a variety of chemical pollutants, accurately quantifying the exposure levels of these pollutants in the human body and evaluating their health risks are of great importance. In this study, the serum concentrations of 97 typical chemical pollutants of 60 adults in central China were simultaneously determined using solid-phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (SPE-GC-MS/MS). In this method, 200 μL of a serum sample was mixed with 10 μL of an isotope-labeled internal standard solution. The sample was vortexed and refrigerated overnight at 4 ℃. Each sample was then deproteinized by the addition of 200 μL of 15% formic acid aqueous solution and vortexed. The serum sample was loaded into a preconditioned Oasis PRiME HLB SPE cartridge and rinsed with 3 mL of methanol-water (6∶1, v/v). The SPE cartridge was subsequently vacuumed. The analytes were eluted with 3 mL of dichloromethane followed by 3 mL of n-hexane. The eluent was concentrated to near dryness under a gentle nitrogen stream and reconstituted with 100 μL of acetone. The samples were determined by GC-MS/MS and separated on a DB-5MS capillary column (30 m×0.25 mm×0.25 μm) with temperature programming. The column temperature was maintained at 70 ℃ for 2 min, increased at a rate of 25 ℃/min to 150 ℃, increased at a rate of 3 ℃/min to 200 ℃, and then held for 2 min. Finally, the column temperature was increased at a rate of 8 ℃/min to 300 ℃ and maintained at this temperature for 8 min. The samples were detected in multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode and quantitatively analyzed using the internal standard method. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the effects of demographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, and diet on the concentrations of the chemical pollutants in the serum samples, and known biomonitoring equivalents (BEs) and human biomonitoring (HBM) values were combined to compute hazard quotients (HQs) and hazard indices (HIs) and evaluate the health risks of single and cumulative exposures to the chemical pollutants. The results showed that the main pollutants detected in human serum were organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The detection rates of eight pollutants, including hexachlorobenzene (HCB) (100%), pentachlorophenol (PCP) (100%), p,p'-dichlorodiphenylene (p,p'-DDE) (100%), PCB-138 (100%), PCB-153 (98.3%), β-hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH) (91.7%), fluorene (Flu) (85.0%), and anthracene (Ant) (75.0%), were greater than 70%. The serum levels of β-HCH were higher in females than in males, and age was positively correlated with exposure to p,p'-DDE, PCB-138, PCB-153, and β-HCH. Increased exposure levels to p,p'-DDE and β-HCH may be associated with a high frequency of meat intake, whereas increased exposure level to PCP may be associated with a high frequency of vegetable intake. The serum HQ of PCP was greater than 1 in 6.7% of the samples, and no risk was observed for HCB and p,p'-DDE exposure in the study population. Approximately 28.3% of the study subjects had HI values greater than 1. Overall, the general adult population in this region is widely exposed to a wide range of chemical pollutants, and gender, age, and diet are likely to be the main factors influencing the concentration of chemical pollutants. The health risk of single and compound exposures to chemical pollutants should not be ignored.
Topics: Adult; Male; Female; Humans; Environmental Pollutants; Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene; Hexachlorobenzene; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Environmental Monitoring; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; Pesticides; Pentachlorophenol; Risk Assessment; Hexachlorocyclohexane
PubMed: 38374603
DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1123.2023.11022 -
Frontiers in Plant Science 2024Flavonoids are among the main plant root exudation components, and, in addition to their role in symbiosis, they can broadly affect the functionality of plant-associated...
INTRODUCTION
Flavonoids are among the main plant root exudation components, and, in addition to their role in symbiosis, they can broadly affect the functionality of plant-associated microbes: in polluted environments, for instance, flavonoids can induce the expression of the enzymatic degradative machinery to clean-up soils from xenobiotics like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). However, their involvement in root community recruitment and assembly involving non-symbiotic beneficial interactions remains understudied and may be crucial to sustain the holobiont fitness under PCB stress.
METHODS
By using a set of model pure flavonoid molecules and a natural blend of root exudates (REs) with altered flavonoid composition produced by mutant lines affected in flavonoid biosynthesis and abundance (null mutant , flavonoid aglycones hyperproducer , and flavonoid conjugates hyperaccumulator ), we investigated flavonoid contribution in stimulating rhizocompetence traits and the catabolic potential of the model bacterial strain for PCB degradation LB400.
RESULTS
Flavonoids influenced the traits involved in bacterial recruitment in the rhizoplane by improving chemotaxis and motility responses, by increasing biofilm formation and by promoting the growth and activation of the PCB-degradative pathway of strain LB400, being thus potentially exploited as carbon sources, stimulating factors and chemoattractant molecules. Indeed, early rhizoplane colonization was favored in plantlets of the mutant and reduced in the line. Bacterial growth was promoted by the REs of mutant lines and under control conditions and reduced upon PCB-18 stress, showing no significant differences compared with the WT and , indicating that unidentified plant metabolites could be involved. PCB stress presumably altered the root exudation profile, although a sudden "cry-for-help" response to recruit strain LB400 was excluded and flavonoids appeared not to be the main determinants. In the plant-microbe interaction assays, plant growth promotion and PCB resistance promoted by strain LB400 seemed to act through flavonoid-independent mechanisms without altering bacterial colonization efficiency and root adhesion pattern.
DISCUSSIONS
This study further contributes to elucidate the vast array of functions provided by flavonoids in orchestrating the early events of PCB-degrading strain LB400 recruitment in the rhizosphere and to support the holobiont fitness by stimulating the catabolic machinery involved in xenobiotics decomposition and removal.
PubMed: 38371405
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1325048 -
The Science of the Total Environment Apr 2024Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) both continue to spread into the environment and to bioaccumulate from primary urban and industrial sources as well as from secondary...
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) both continue to spread into the environment and to bioaccumulate from primary urban and industrial sources as well as from secondary sources such as soils and the oceans. Fractions of congeners in PCB mixtures, i.e. PCB profiles, can be used as fingerprints to trace contamination pathways from sources to sinks because PCB mixtures fractionate during transport due to congener specific phase changes and degradation. Using a statistical analysis of a total of 8584 PCB profiles with seven congeners (CB28, CB52, CB101, CB118, CB138, CB153, CB180) for contaminated fish from two international datasets as well as a modelling of profiles, two major fractionation processes related to distinct contamination pathways were identified: (1) A relative enrichment of lighter congeners (CB28, CB52, CB101) in seawater fish due to a predominantly atmospheric transport, whereas freshwater and some coastal fish had higher fractions of heavier congeners (CB138, CB153) because those were mainly contaminated by particle-sorbed PCB from surface runoff. (2) A temperature driven fractionation tended to affect congeners with a medium molecular weight (CB118) as well as the heaviest congeners (CB180), a fractionation process which was conceptually associated with transport of PCB from secondary sources. Specifically, medium chlorinated PCB is sufficiently volatile and persistent for a preferred transport into cooler waters. In warmer climates, only the highest chlorinated congeners are persistent enough to ultimately accumulate in fish. Our analysis and modelling provide a starting point for the development of systems to trace - better than before - sources of PCB contaminations observed in fish.
Topics: Animals; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Temperature; Fresh Water; Seawater; Fishes
PubMed: 38360309
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170925 -
Environmental Science & Technology Feb 2024Volatilization of lower-chlorinated polychlorinated biphenyls (LC-PCBs) from sediment poses health threats to nearby communities and ecosystems. Biodegradation combined...
Volatilization of lower-chlorinated polychlorinated biphenyls (LC-PCBs) from sediment poses health threats to nearby communities and ecosystems. Biodegradation combined with black carbon (BC) materials is an emerging bioaugmentation approach to remove PCBs from sediment, but development of aerobic biofilms on BC for long-term, sustained LC-PCBs remediation is poorly understood. This work aimed to characterize the cell enrichment and activity of biphenyl- and benzoate-grown strain LB400 on various BCs. Biphenyl dioxygenase gene () abundance on four BC types demonstrated corn kernel biochar hosted at least 4 orders of magnitude more attached cells per gram than other feedstocks, and microscopic imaging revealed the attached live cell fraction was >1.5× more on corn kernel biochar than GAC. BC characteristics (i.e., sorption potential, pore size, pH) appear to contribute to cell attachment differences. Reverse transcription qPCR indicated that BC feedstocks significantly influenced expression in attached cells. The transcript-per-gene ratio of attached cells was >10-fold more than suspended cells, confirmed by transcriptomics. RNA-seq also demonstrated significant upregulation of biphenyl and benzoate degradation pathways on attached cells, as well as revealing biofilm formation potential/cell-cell communication pathways. These novel findings demonstrate aerobic PCB-degrading cell abundance and activity could be tuned by adjusting BC feedstocks/attributes to improve LC-PCBs biodegradation potential.
Topics: Benzoates; Biodegradation, Environmental; Biphenyl Compounds; Burkholderiaceae; Carbon; Charcoal; Ecosystem; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Dioxygenases
PubMed: 38356175
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c09183