Die POP-Konvention (Persistente Organische Schadstoffe - persistent organic pollutants - POPs) sieht ein weltweites Verbot der Herstellung und Verwendung von 12 der gefährlichsten Chemikalien vor. Dazu zählen acht Pflanzenschutzmittel wie DDT sowie Dioxine, Furane, polychlorierte Biphenyle (PCB) und Hexachlorbenzol. Diese Stoffe zeichnen sich durch ihre Giftigkeit, Langlebigkeit und ihre Eigenschaft, sich in der Umwelt und der Nahrungskette anzureichern, aus. Das Übereinkommen war im Mai 2001 in Stockholm unterzeichnet und im Rahmen des Umweltprogramms der Vereinten Nationen (UNEP) ausgehandelt worden.
Microplastics are small plastic fragments that are widely distributed in marine and terrestrial environments. While the soil ecosystem represents a large reservoir for plastic, research so far has focused mainly on the impact on aquatic ecosystems and there is a lack of information on the potentially adverse effects of microplastics on soil biota. Earthworms are key organisms of the soil ecosystem and are due to their crucial role in soil quality and fertility a suitable and popular model organism in soil ecotoxicology. Therefore, the aim of this study was to gain insight into the effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of microplastics on the earthworm Eisenia andrei on multiple levels of biological organization after different exposure periods. Earthworms were exposed to two types of microplastics: (1) polystyrene-HBCD and (2) car tire abrasion in natural soil for 2, 7, 14 and 28 d. Acute and chronic toxicity and all subcellular investigations were conducted for all exposure times, avoidance behavior assessed after 48 h and reproduction after 28 d. Subcellular endpoints included enzymatic biomarker responses, namely, carboxylesterase, glutathione peroxidase, acetylcholinesterase, glutathione reductase, glutathione S-transferase and catalase activities, as well as fluorescence-based measurements of oxidative stress-related markers and multixenobiotic resistance activity. Multiple biomarkers showed significant changes in activity, but a recovery of most enzymatic activities could be observed after 28 d. Overall, only minor effects could be observed on a subcellular level, showing that in this exposure scenario with environmentally relevant concentrations based on German pollution levels the threat to soil biota is minimal. However, in areas with higher concentrations of microplastics in the environment, these results can be interpreted as an early warning signal for more adverse effects. In conclusion, these findings provide new insights regarding the ecotoxicological effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of microplastics on soil organisms. © 2022 The Authors
Plant protection products (PPP) can only be authorized if they have no unacceptable effects on the environment. Aim of the project was to investigate whether the ecology and behavior of soil organisms should be considered in PPP risk assessment. The possible spatial and temporal relationship between the preferred soil layer, the distribution of PPP and the ecotoxicological effects were studied in Terrestrial Model Ecosystems (TME). The results indicate that also soil organism living deeper in soils are affected by the concentrations detected in the uppermost soil centimeters. The implications for the development of terrestrial risk assessment guidance are discussed in the report. Veröffentlicht in Texte | 201/2020.
The report on the project “REACH Compliance: Data Availability of REACH Registrations” presents findings and results from the screening of 1932 dossiers of lead and individual registrants covering phase-in substances with a production volume of equal or above 1000 tpa. The standard information requirements necessary for the registration and their adaptation options for high tonnage substances are specified in the REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, Annexes VII to XI. Within this project, the availability of data to fulfil these requirements was screened with a standardised web-based ap-proach. The endpoints considered were repeated dose toxicity, developmental and reproductive tox-icity, and genetic toxicity as human health-related endpoints and degradation (biotic, abiotic), bioac-cumulation, ecotoxicity and exposure as environment-related endpoints. Veröffentlicht in Texte | 43/2015.
The report summarizes the current knowledge on antibiotic contaminations in soils. The study raises concerns regarding the contamination of manure, anaerobic digestate and sewage sludge with antibiotic mixtures and discusses their ecotoxicological effects and spread of antimicrobial resistance in soils. Overall aims were mainly to identify antibiotic mixtures typically applied in veterinary and human medicine, to evaluate reports on mixtures and contamination levels occurring in soils and in organic waste materials applied to soil as fertilizer, to summarize mixture effects for soil(micro)organisms, and to identify major knowledge gaps to propose further steps for research and regulation. Veröffentlicht in Texte | 32/2019.
Based on the variety of existing nanomaterials with numerous modifications, the effort of investigating environmental fate and effects will be tremendous. Hence, it will be necessary to group nanomaterials which feature similar environmental fate and effects. Therefore, the project objective was to correlate physical-chemical data with ecotoxicological effects for selected nanomaterials and to define reference values which can serve as a basis for grouping. The report presents the development of concepts for grouping of nanomaterials with regard to their ecotoxicological effects with focus on aquatic ecotoxicity. The project was structured into five steps. First, fourteen nanomaterials were selected according to pre-defined criteria. The selected NMs were different subtypes of Ag, ZnO, TiO2, CeO2 and Cu. In a second step, their physico-chemical properties were determined in water and in all test media. Based on the results hypotheses regarding the expected ecotoxicity were formulated (third step). In a fourth step, the hypotheses were verified by testing the selected NMs in three ecotoxicological tests (acute aquatic toxicity with algae, daphnia and fish embryo according to the OECD Test Guidelines No. 201, 202 and 236). Finally, step five consisted of the compilation of a grouping concept based on nanomaterials physico-chemical parameters which were identified as relevant for the emergence of a toxic effect in aquatic organisms. Veröffentlicht in Texte | 102/2017.
Currently there are no testing and assessment strategies for environmental fate and effects taking the specific properties and behaviour of engineered nanomaterials into account. Therefore, the project objective was to develop a strategy for the investigation of ecotoxicity and environmental fate that allows the consideration of nano-specific effects within the environmental risk assessment of nanomaterials. For the development of the test strategy, both the results of "classic" assessment as well as those of recognized non-standardized endpoints were taken into account. For this analysis environmental fate and effects were addressed separately. Furthermore, the discussions of national and international level, e.g. the conclusions of the expert meeting on Ecotoxicology and Environmental fate of the OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials were taken into account. The test strategy considers various levels of test complexity as they are to be used in a tiered risk assessment scheme on the basis of a full life-cycle assessment. For the environmental risk assessment approach, the use of mathematical models and trigger values to either stop the procedure or proceed to the next tier is included. The presented test strategy features an overarching approach to test and assess fate and effects of NM while considering the specific challenges when investigating the potential environmental impact of NM. Veröffentlicht in Texte | 16/2015.
Next to properties like persistence and ecotoxicity, the determination of chemical substances to bioaccumulate in organisms is essential to understand potential harmful interactions with the environment. Existing methods to determine bioaccumulation are mainly addressing soluble organic chemicals. If these methods are also applicable to investigate bioaccumulation of nanomaterials remains an open issue. Once released to surface waters, nanomaterials tend to agglomerate and sediment in dependence of their individual properties and the properties of the surrounding media. Thus, it has to be anticipated, that benthic and filtering organisms are most likely exposed by nanomaterials. Therefore, the ability of nanomaterials to bioaccumulate in these organisms is important in view of a comprehensive evaluation of potential environmental risks. In this project a method was developed which allows to investigate the bioaccumulation of nanomaterials in freshwater mussels. A new test system was established and necessary adaptions regarding inter alia test performance and analytics of nanomaterials in biota and aquatic media were carried out. The new method was examined using selected nanomaterials of different chemical nature and collected data were critically discussed in view of their regulatory applicability. Veröffentlicht in Texte | 18/2020.
Das Umweltzeichen Blauer Engel für biologisch abbaubare Schmierstoffe und Hydraulikflüssigkeiten (DE-UZ 178) zeichnet die innerhalb der Produktgruppe umweltschonenderen Produkte aus. Die Kriterien werden regelmäßig überprüft. Zentrale Änderungen in der neuen Ausgabe des Umweltzeichens sind die Anpassung des wissenschaftlichen Stands zum Umweltverhalten der Produktbestandteile (Ökotoxizität und Abbauverhalten) und die Einführung von Nachweissystemen für eine nachhaltige Produktion biogener Rohstoffe (NaWaRo). Neu ist die Festlegung von Post-Consumer-Rezyklaten (PCR) in Gebinden oder die Etablierung wiederverwendbarer Verpackungs-Alternativen. Damit konnte eine weitere Harmonisierung mit dem EU Ecolabel (EU) 2018/1702 für Schmierstoffe herbeigeführt werden. Veröffentlicht in Texte | 34/2022.
Rüdel, Heinz; Böhmer, Walter; Müller, Martin; Fliedner, Annette; Ricking, Mathias; Teubner, Diana; Schröter-Kermani, Christa Chemosphere 91 (2013), 11, 1517-1524 A retrospective monitoring of triclosan (TCS; period 1994-2003 and 2008) and its potential transformation product methyl-triclosan (MTCS; period 1994-2008) was performed using archived fish samples from German rivers (16 sites, including Elbe and Rhine). At four of these sites suspended particulate matter (SPM) was also investigated covering the period 2005-2007. Samples were analyzed by GC/MS, either directly (MTCS) or after derivatization (TCS). TCS burdens of fish muscle tissue ranged from <0.2-3.4 ng g -1 ww (wet weight; corresponding to <2-69 ng g -1 lw, lipid weight) without apparent concentration trends over time. MTCS was detected at considerably higher concentrations in fish ranging from 1.0-33 ng g -1 ww (47-1010 ng g -1 lw) and increased until about 2003-2005. Thereafter, concentrations generally were lower, although at some sites single higher values were observed in recent years. In SPM, decreasing MTCS concentrations in the range 1-4 ng g -1 dry weight were detected while TCS was always below the limit of quantification. Assuming that MTCS concentrations are correlated to TCS consumption, the observed decrease in MTCS levels may be partly a result of the voluntary renunciation of TCS use in detergents for, e.g., laundry or dishwashing declared by a manufacturers’ association in 2001. Because of a lack of ecotoxicity studies for MTCS, a QSAR-derived predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) was compared to averaged ambient water concentrations of fish which were calculated from maximum tissue residues by applying an appropriate bioconcentration factor from literature. Since these calculated water concentrations were below the PNEC it is assumed that MTCS alone poses no immediate risk to aquatic organism. The conversion to a PNEC for SPM organisms and comparison with detected SPM levels of MTCS also revealed no risk. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.12.030
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