Metabolites of di-(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHTP), a substitute for ortho-based phthalate plasticisers like di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), were analysed in 2112 first-morning void urine samples from children and adolescents aged 3-17 years, participating in the population representative German Environmental Survey on Children and Adolescents, GerES V 2014-2017. The major metabolite 5cx-MEPTP was detected in all urine samples with a geometric mean (GM) of 7.39 (my)g/L, with highest levels in the mg/L range. The GM for the other metabolites were 0.55 (my)g/L for 5OH-MEHTP, 0.54 (my)g/L for 5oxo-MEHTP and below the limit of quantification (LOQ) for 2cx-MMHTP. As already observed for other plasticisers and their substitutes, the youngest children (3-5 years) had 2-2.5-fold higher urinary DEHTP metabolite levels compared to 14-17 years old adolescents. High urinary levels of DEHTP metabolites were associated with high DEHTP concentrations in house dust. None of the samples analysed exceeded the toxicologically derived German human biomonitoring guidance value (HBM-I-Value) of 1.8 mg/L for 5cx-MEPTP. Comparison with DEHTP levels reported in other HBM studies worldwide confirmed a widespread exposure of children, adolescents and adults, with considerably higher exposures (2.6-7 fold) reported in the United States. In GerES V, exposure data for 12 different phthalates and the phthalate substitute DINCH were generated as well. Together with the data for DEHTP presented in this manuscript, GerES V allows a current and comprehensive overview on the concurrent exposure of German children and adolescents to common plasticisers. Further evaluation of aggregate exposure characteristics shall support efforts to reduce chemical hazard burden from plasticisers in Germany and beyond. © 2020 The Author(s).
Ziel des vorliegenden Berichts war es, die beiden Optionen – der trockenen Entaschung/-schlackung und Nassentaschung/-schlackung im Wasserbad – hinsichtlich der Qualität der ausgelesenen Metalle und Mineralik experimentell zu untersuchen. Dazu wurden Aschen/Schlacken aus einer Abfallverbrennungsanlage nass und trocken ausgetragen und anschließend anhand aufbereitungstechnischer, metallurgischer sowie bautechnischer Charakterisierungsmethoden bewertet. Neben der klassischen Aufbereitung, wie beispielsweise Magnetscheidung, wurden im Labormaßstab neue Ansätze wie biologische und chemische Laugung sowie Bioflotation zur Metallrückgewinnung aus der Feinfraktion < 4 mm untersucht.
Ziel des vorliegenden Berichts war es, die beiden Optionen – der trockenen Entaschung/-schlackung und Nassentaschung/-schlackung im Wasserbad – hinsichtlich der Qualität der ausgelesenen Metalle und Mineralik experimentell zu untersuchen. Dazu wurden Aschen/Schlacken aus einer Abfallverbrennungsanlage nass und trocken ausgetragen und anschließend anhand aufbereitungstechnischer, metallurgischer sowie bautechnischer Charakterisierungsmethoden bewertet. Neben der klassischen Aufbereitung, wie beispielsweise Magnetscheidung, wurden im Labormaßstab neue Ansätze wie biologische und chemische Laugung sowie Bioflotation zur Metallrückgewinnung aus der Feinfraktion < 4 mm untersucht. Veröffentlicht in Texte | 99/2018.
Göckener, Bernd; Fliedner, Annette; Rüdel, Heinz; Fettig, Ina; Koschorreck, Jan Science of The Total Environment 782 (2021), 146825; online 29. März 2021 Limnetic, marine and soil samples of the German environmental specimen bank (ESB) were analyzed for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) using target analysis and a modified total oxidizable precursor (TOP) assay (direct TOP assay (dTOP)) that works without prior extraction. Target analysis determined ∑PFAS concentrations in bream livers of 8.7–282 μg kg−1 wet weight (ww) in 2019, with highest contaminations in the Rhine and lower Elbe. In bream fillet, concentrations were lower (<0.5–10.6 μg kg−1 ∑PFAS). Contamination of suspended particulate matter (SPM) was highest in the upper Elbe downstream the Czech border (5.5 μg kg−1 dry weight (dw) in 2018). Herring gull eggs from the North and Baltic Seas showed ∑PFAS levels around 53.0–69.6 μg kg−1 ww in 2019. In soil, concentrations ranged between <0.5 and 4.6 μg kg−1 dw with highest levels in the Dueben Heath near Leipzig and the low mountain range Solling. PFOS dominated in most samples. Of the targeted precursors, only FOSA, EtFOSAA, MeFOSAA, 6:2-FtS and 6:2 diPAP were found. Replacement chemicals (ADONA, HFPO-DA, F-53B) were not detected. The dTOP assay revealed that considerable amounts of precursors were present at most riverine sampling sites. Particularly high precursor concentrations were observed in samples from the Upper Elbe at the Czech border and the Upper and Middle Rhine. In herring gull eggs and most soil samples, though, concentrations of precursors were low. Time trend analysis showed decreasing trends for most detected PFAS since 2005. In SPM, however, C4-C6 perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids seem to increase indicating growing use of precursors based on shorter fluorinated chains. The results demonstrate that target analysis detects only a minor fraction of the PFAS burdens in environmental samples. The dTOP assay can support risk assessment and chemical monitoring with more comprehensive exposure data of the actual contamination. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146825
7-Hydroxy-3,7-dimethyl-1-octanal, also known as 7-hydroxycitronellal (7-HC, CAS No. 107-75-5) is a synthetic fragrance widely used in cosmetic and hygiene products. Because of its wide spread use and its known sensitizing properties, 7-HC was selected as one of 50 chemicals within the frame of the cooperation project between the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) to develop a suitable human biomonitoring (HBM) method in order to assess the exposure of the general population in Germany. Within this scope, the recently published analytical method for urinary 7-hydroxycitronellylic acid (7-HCA), the major metabolite of 7-HC, was applied to 329 24h-urine samples of young adults (20 to 29 years) collected between 2000 and 2018 and stored in the Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB). The widespread exposure to 7-HC as already observed in a pilot study with 40 volunteers could be confirmed with quantifiable concentrations of 7-HCA in all 329 study samples (mean: 14.9 ng/mL; median: 8.1 ng/mL). A significant, chronological decrease in 7-HCA levels was found for the monitored years (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2018). The most pronounced decline occurred between 2000 and 2004 (means: 34.37 versus 23.31, medians: 20.97 versus 12.49 ÎÌg/24h; p < 0.01). On average, females exhibited higher levels of urinary 7-HCA compared to males (29.34 versus 17.21 ÎÌg/24h, p < 0.05). Based on the urinary 7-HCA excretion, the daily intake (DI) of 7-HC normalized for body weight (bw) was estimated. Over all sampling years, average DI in females was significantly higher compared to males (0.99 versus 0.46 My g/kg bw/d). Assuming dermal exposure as the main route of 7-HC intake, the mean DIs correspond to <0.1% of the derived no effect level (DNEL) of 1,100 My g/kg bw/d defined by the European Chemical Agency (ECHA). The presented results for the exposure to the widely used fragrance 7-HC in Germany can be substantiated by applying the described methodology to the representative cohort of the launched German Environmental Survey in adults (GerES VI). © 2020 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
Average technology for the aluminium recycled (refined) in Europe
Wildlife exposures to pest controlling substances have resulted in population declines of many predatory species during the past decades. Many pesticides were subsequently classifed as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) and banned on national or global scales. However, despite their risks for non-target vertebrate wildlife, PBT substances such as anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are still permitted for use in Europe and have shown to threaten raptors. Whereas risks of ARs are known, much less information is available on emerging agrochemicals such as currently used PPPs and medicinal products (MPs) in higher trophic level species. We expect that currently used PPPs are relatively mobile (vs. lipophilic) as a consequence of the PBT criteria and thus more likely to be present in aqueous matrices. We therefore analyzed blood of 204 raptor nestlings of three terrestrial (red kite, common buzzard, Montagu's harrier) and two aquatic species (white-tailed sea eagle, osprey) from Germany. In total, we detected ARs in 22.6% of the red kites and 8.6% of the buzzards, whereas no Montagu's harriers or aquatic species were exposed prior to sampling. Sigma AR concentration tended to be higher in North Rhine-Westphalia (vs. North-Eastern Germany) where population density is higher and intense livestock farming more frequent. Among the 90 targeted and currently used PPPs, we detected six substances from which bromoxynil (14.2%) was most frequent. Especially Montagu's harrier (31%) and red kites (22.6%) were exposed and concentrations were higher in North Rhine-Westphalia as well. Among seven MPs, we detected ciprofoxacin (3.4%), which indicates that risk mitigation measures may be needed as resistance genes were already detected in wildlife from Germany. Taken together, our study demonstrates that raptors are exposed to various chemicals during an early life stage depending on their sampling location and underpins that red kites are at particular risk for multiple pesticide exposures in Germany. © The Author(s) 2022
Average technology for the aluminium recycled in Europe
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. Only meta-analyses and review articles were included, as they provide more extensive evidence compared to individual studies. The collected evidence indicated that lead (Pb), phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) are moderately to highly associated with ADHD. Limited evidence exists for an association between ADHD and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), flame retardants, mercury (Hg), and pesticides. The evidence of association between ADHD and cadmium (Cd) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) based on the identified reviews was low but justified further research. The methods of the individual studies included in the reviews and meta-analyses covered in the current paper varied considerably. Making precise conclusions in terms of the strength of evidence on association between certain chemicals and ADHD was not straightforward. More research is needed for stronger evidence of associations or the lack of an association between specific chemical exposures and ADHD. © 2022 by the authors
Air pollution is a major health risk factor worldwide. Regular short- and long-time exposures to ambient particulate matter (PM) promote various diseases and can lead to premature death. Therefore, in Germany, air quality is assessed continuously at approximately 400 measurement sites. However, knowledge about this intermediate distribution is either unknown or lacks a high spatial-temporal resolution to accurately determine exposure since commonly used chemical transport models are resource intensive. In this study, we present a method that can provide information about the ambient PM concentration for all of Germany at high spatial (100 m * 100 m) and hourly resolutions based on freely available data. To do so we adopted and optimised a method that combined land use regression modelling with a geostatistical interpolation technique using ordinary kriging. The land use regression model was set up based on CORINE (Coordination of Information on the Environment) land cover data and the Germany National Emission Inventory. To test the model's performance under different conditions, four distinct data sets were used. (1) From a total of 8760 (365 * 24) available h, 1500 were randomly selected. From those, the hourly mean concentrations at all stations (ca. 400) were used to run the model (n = 566,326). The leave-one-out cross-validation resulted in a mean absolute error (MAE) of 7.68 (micro)gm-3 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 11.20 (micro)gm-3. (2) For a more detailed analysis of how the model performs when an above-average number of high values are modelled, we selected all hourly means from February 2011 (n = 256,606). In February, measured concentrations were much higher than in any other month, leading to a slightly higher MAE of 9.77 (micro)gm-3 and RMSE of 14.36 (micro)gm-3, respectively. (3) To enable better comparability with other studies, the annual mean concentration (n = 413) was modelled with a MAE of 4.82 (micro)gm-3 and a RMSE of 6.08 (mircro)gm-3. (4) To verify the model's capability of predicting the exceedance of the daily mean limit value, daily means were modelled for all days in February (n = 10,845). The exceedances of the daily mean limit value of 50 (micro)gm-3 were predicted correctly in 88.67% of all cases. We show that modelling ambient PM concentrations can be performed at a high spatial-temporal resolution for large areas based on open data, land use regression modelling, and kriging, with overall convincing results. This approach offers new possibilities in the fields of exposure assessment, city planning, and governance since it allows more accurate views of ambient PM concentrations at the spatial-temporal resolution required for such assessments. © 2022 by the authors
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