| 1. |
- Waaijers, Susanne L., et al.
(författare)
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Persistence, Bioaccumulation, and Toxicity of Halogen-Free Flame Retardants
- 2013
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Ingår i: Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. - New York, NY : Springer. - 9781461447160 - 9781461447177 ; , s. 1-71
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Polymers are synthetic organic materials having a high carbon and hydrogen content, which make them readily combustible. Polymers have many indoor uses and their flammability makes them a fire hazard. Therefore, flame retardants (FRs) are incorporated into these materials as a safety measure. Brominated flame retardants (BFRs), which accounted for about 21% of the total world market of FRs, have several unintended negative effects on the environment and human health. Hence, there is growing interest in finding appropriate alternative halogen-free flame retardants (HFFRs). Many of these HFFRs are marketed already, although their environ- mental behavior and toxicological properties are often only known to a limited extent, and their potential impact on the environment cannot yet be properly assessed. Therefore, we undertook this review to make an inventory of the available data that exists (up to September 2011) on the physical-chemical properties, pro- duction volumes, persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity (PBT) of a selection of HFFRs that are potential replacements for BFRs in polymers. Large data gaps were identified for the physical-chemical and the PBT properties of the reviewed HFFRs. Because these HFFRs are currently on the market, there is an urgent need to fill these data gaps. Enhanced transparency of methodology and data are needed to reevaluate certain test results that appear contradictory, and, if this does not provide new insights, further research should be performed. TPP has been studied quite extensively and it is clearly persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic. So far, RDP and BDP have demonstrated low to high ecotoxicity and persistence. The compounds ATH and ZB exerted high toxicity to some species and ALPI appeared to be persistent and has low to moderate reported ecotoxicity. DOPO and MPP may be persistent, but this view is based merely on one or two studies, clearly indicating a lack of information. Many degradation studies have been performed on PER and show low persistence, with a few exceptions. Additionally, there is too l ittle information on the bioaccumulation potential of PER. APP mostly has low PBT properties; however, moderate ecotoxicity was reported in two studies. Mg(OH)₂, ZHS, and ZS do not show such remarkably high bioaccumulation or toxicity, but large data gaps exist for these compounds also. Nevertheless, we consider the latter compounds to be the most promising among alternative HFFRs. To assess whether the presently reviewed HFFRs are truly suitable alternatives, each compound should be examined individually by comparing its PBT values with those of the relevant halogenated flame retardant. Until more data are available, it remains impossible to accurately evaluate the risk of each of these compounds, including the ones that are already extensively marketed.
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| 2. |
- Alves, Andreia, et al.
(författare)
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Case Study on Screening Emerging Pollutants in Urine and Nails
- 2017
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 51:7, s. 4046-4053
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Alternative plasticizers and flame retardants (FRs) have been introduced as replacements for banned or restricted chemicals, but much is still unknown about their metabolism and occurrence in humans. We identified the metabolites formed in vitro for four alternative plasticizers (acetyltributyl citrate (ATBC), bis(2-propylheptyl) phthalate (DPHP), bis(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHTP), bis(2ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA)), and one FR (2,2-bis (chloromethyl)-propane-1,3-diyltetrakis(2-chloroethyl) bisphosphate (V6)). Further, these compounds and their metabolites were investigated by LC/ESI-Orbitrap-MS in urine and finger nails collected from a Norwegian cohort. Primary and secondary ATBC metabolites had detection frequencies (% DF) in finger nails ranging from 46 to 95%. V6 was identified for the first time in finger nails, suggesting that this matrix may also indicate past exposure to FRs as well as alternative plasticizers. Two isomeric forms of DEHTP primary metabolite were highly detected in urine (97% DF) and identified in finger nails, while no DPHP metabolites were detected in vivo. Primary and secondary DEHA metabolites were identified in both matrices, and the relative proportion of the secondary metabolites was higher in urine than in finger nails; the opposite was observed for the primary metabolites. As many of the metabolites present in in vitro extracts were further identified in vivo in urine and finger nail samples, this suggests that in vitro assays can reliably mimic the in vivo processes. Finger nails may be a useful noninvasive matrix for human biomonitoring of specific organic contaminants, but further validation is needed.
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| 3. |
- Audouze, Karine, et al.
(författare)
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Evidenced-Based Approaches to Support the Development of Endocrine-Mediated Adverse Outcome Pathways : Challenges and Opportunities
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Toxicology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2673-3080. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A transformation of regulatory toxicology is underway to meet the demands of testing increasing numbers of chemicals whilst reducing reliance on in vivo models. This transformation requires a shift from chemical safety assessment largely based on direct empirical observation of apical toxicity outcomes in whole organisms to predictive approaches in which outcomes and risks are inferred from accumulated mechanistic understanding.
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| 4. |
- Blum, Kristin, 1989-
(författare)
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Targeted and untargeted analysis of organic contaminants from on-site sewage treatment facilities : Removal, fate and environmental impact
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- On-site sewage treatment facilities (OSSFs) are widely used all over the world to treat wastewater when large-scale sewage treatment plants (STPs) are not economically feasible. Although there is great awareness that the release of untreated wastewater into the environment can lead to water-related diseases and eutrophication, little is known about organic contaminants and their removal by OSSFs, environmental load and fate. Thus, this PhD thesis aims to improve the knowledge about treatment efficiencies in current OSSFs, the environmental impact and fate of contaminants released from OSSFs, as well as how biochar fortification in sand filter (soil beds) OSSFs might increase removal of these contaminants. State-of-the-art analytical techniques for untargeted and targeted analyses were used and the results evaluated with univariate and multivariate statistics.Environmentally-relevant contaminants discharged from OSSFs were identified using untargeted analysis with two-dimensional gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC×GC-MS) and a MS (NIST) library search in combination with a prioritization strategy based on environmental relevance. A method was successfully developed for the prioritized contaminants using solid phase extraction and GC×GC-MS, and the method was also applicable to untargeted analysis. This method was applied to several studies. The first study compared treatment efficiencies between STP and soil beds and showed that treatment efficiencies are similar or better in soil beds, but the removal among the same type of treatment facilities and contaminants varied considerably. Hydrophilic contaminants were generally inadequately removed in both types of treatment facilities and resulted in effluent levels in the nanogram per liter range.Additionally, several prioritized and sometimes badly removed compounds were found to be persistent, mobile, and bioavailable and two additional, untargeted contaminants identified by the NIST library search were potentially mobile. These contaminants were also found far from the main source, a large-scale STP, at Lake Ekoln, which is part of the drinking water reservoir Lake Mälaren, Sweden. The study also showed that two persistent, mobile and bioavailable contaminants were additionally bioaccumulating in perch. Sampling for this study was carried out over several seasons in the catchment of the River Fyris. Parts of this catchment were affected by OSSFs, other parts by STPs. Potential ecotoxicological risks at these sites were similar or higher at those affected by STPs compared to those affected by OSSFs. Mass fluxes per capita were calculated from these levels, which were higher at STP-affected than at OSSF-affected sites in summer and autumn, but not in winter. Possibly, the diffuse OSSF emissions occur at greater average distances from the sampling sites than the STP point emissions, and OSSF-affected sites may consequently be more influenced by fate processes.The studies carried out suggested that there is a need to improve current treatment technologies for the removal of hydrophilic contaminants. Thus, the final study of this thesis investigated char-fortified sand filters (soil beds) as potential upgrades for OSSFs using a combination of advanced chemical analysis and quantitative structure-property relationship modeling. Removal efficiencies were calculated from a large variety of contaminants that were identified by untargeted analysis using GC×GC-MS and liquid chromatography ion mobility mass spectrometry as well as library searches (NIST and Agilent libraries). On average, char-fortified sand filters removed contaminants better than sand, partly due to an enhanced removal of several hydrophilic contaminants with heteroatoms. After a two-year runtime, sorption and particularly biodegradation must have contributed to the removal of these compounds.Generally, the combination of targeted and untargeted analysis has proven valuable in detecting a large variety of organic contaminants, as well as unexpected ones. The results imply that OSSFs have similar or better removal efficiencies, similar or lower environmental risks and similar or lower mass fluxes per capita, compared to STPs. Biochar fortification can improve the removal of organic contaminants in soil beds, but further research is needed to find technologies that reduce the discharge of all types of organic contaminants.
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| 5. |
- Brandsma, Sicco H., et al.
(författare)
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Two organophosphorus flame retardants, resorcinol bis (diphenylphosphate)(PBDPP) and bisphenol A bis (diphenylphosphate) (BPA-BDPP) used as alternatives for BDE209 detected in dust
- 2013
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1086-931X .- 1520-6912 .- 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 47:24, s. 14434-14441
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Resorcinol bis(diphenylphosphate) (RBDPP) and bisphenol A bis(diphenylphosphate) (BPA-BDPP) are two halogen-free organophosphorus flame retardant (PFRs) that are used as an alternative for the decabromodiphenyl ether (Deca-BDE) technical mixture in TV/flatscreen housing and other electronic consumer products.' In this study, dust samples were collected from various microenvironments in The Netherlands (houses, cars), Greece.(houses), and Sweden (apartments, cars, furniture stores, electronics stores) and analyzed for RBDPP and BPA-BDPP. Additionally, the dust samples from The Netherlands were analyzed for decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) for comparison and for TPHP, which is a byproduct in the RBDPP and BPA-BDPP technical products. BPA-BDPP was detected in almost all dust samples from The Netherlands, Greece, and Sweden. Highest concentrations were found in dust samples collected on electronic equipment from all three countries with BPA-BDPP levels ranging from <0.1 to 1300 mu g/g and RBDPP levels from <0.04 to 520 mu g/g. RBDPP and BPA-BDPP levels in dust collected further away from the electronics (source) were usually lower. BDE-209 levels in The Netherlands dust samples collected on and around the electronics were similar and much lower than the BPA-BDPP/RBDPP levels, indicating that the electronics were not the source of BDE-209. Strong positive correlations were found between TPHP concentrations and those of RBDPP (r = 0.805) and BPA-BDPP (r = 0.924), probably due to TPHP being a byproduct in commercial RBDPP and BPA-BDPP mixtures in electronics. To our knowledge, this is the first time that RBDPP and BPA-BDPP were detected in dust samples from Europe.
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| 6. |
- Christia, Christina, et al.
(författare)
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Occurrence of legacy and alternative plasticizers in indoor dust from various EU countries and implications for human exposure via dust ingestion and dermal absorption
- 2019
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Ingår i: Environmental Research. - : Academic Press. - 0013-9351 .- 1096-0953. ; 171, s. 204-212
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plasticizers are a category of chemicals extensively used in consumer products and, consequently, their presence is ubiquitous in the indoor environment. In the present study, an analytical method has been developed for the quantification of plasticizers (7 legacy phthalate esters (LPEs) and 14 alternative plasticizers (APs)) in indoor floor dust based on ultrasonic and vortex extraction, Florisil fractionation and GC-(EI)-MS analysis. Dust samples (n = 54) were collected from homes, offices, and daycare centers from different EU countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland and Sweden). Method LOQs ranged from 0.2 to 5 mu g/g. Tri-n-hexyl trimellitate (THTM) was not detected in any sample, whereas dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diphenyl phthalate and acetyl triethyl citrate (ATEC) were detected only in 6, 2 and 1 out of 54 samples, respectively. The highest concentrations of plasticizers were measured in Swedish offices, at a mean concentration of total plasticizers of 1800 mu g/g, followed by Swedish daycare centers at 1200 and 670 mu g/g for winter and spring sampling, respectively. Generally, the contribution of APs was slightly higher than for LPEs for all indoor environments (mean contribution 60% and 40%, respectively based on contributions per indoor environment). For the APs, main contributors were DINP in Belgian homes (28%), Swedish offices (60%), Swedish daycare centers (48%), and Dutch offices (31%) and DEHT in Belgian (28%), Irish (40%) and Dutch homes (37%) of total APs. The predominant LPE was bis-2-ethylhexyl-phthalate (DEHP) with a mean contribution varying from 60% to 85% of total LPEs. Human exposure was evaluated for dust ingestion and dermal absorption using hazard quotients (HQs) of plasticizers (ratio between average daily doses and the reference dose). None of the HQs of plasticizers exceeded 1, meaning that the risk for adverse human health effects from these plasticizers via dust ingestion and dermal absorption is unlikely.
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| 7. |
- Dulio, Valeria, et al.
(författare)
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The NORMAN Association and the European Partnership for Chemicals Risk Assessment (PARC) : let’s cooperate!
- 2020
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Ingår i: Environmental Sciences Europe. - : Springer. - 2190-4707 .- 2190-4715. ; 32:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Partnership for Chemicals Risk Assessment (PARC) is currently under development as a joint research and innovation programme to strengthen the scientific basis for chemical risk assessment in the EU. The plan is to bring chemical risk assessors and managers together with scientists to accelerate method development and the production of necessary data and knowledge, and to facilitate the transition to next-generation evidence-based risk assessment, a non-toxic environment and the European Green Deal. The NORMAN Network is an independent, well-established and competent network of more than 80 organisations in the field of emerging substances and has enormous potential to contribute to the implementation of the PARC partnership. NORMAN stands ready to provide expert advice to PARC, drawing on its long experience in the development, harmonisation and testing of advanced tools in relation to chemicals of emerging concern and in support of a European Early Warning System to unravel the risks of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and close the gap between research and innovation and regulatory processes. In this commentary we highlight the tools developed by NORMAN that we consider most relevant to supporting the PARC initiative: (i) joint data space and cutting-edge research tools for risk assessment of contaminants of emerging concern; (ii) collaborative European framework to improve data quality and comparability; (iii) advanced data analysis tools for a European early warning system and (iv) support to national and European chemical risk assessment thanks to harnessing, combining and sharing evidence and expertise on CECs. By combining the extensive knowledge and experience of the NORMAN network with the financial and policy-related strengths of the PARC initiative, a large step towards the goal of a non-toxic environment can be taken.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Gustafsson, Johan, 1991-
(författare)
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Exposure and effects of naturally produced hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers in fish : Implications for Baltic Sea wildlife
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis was to investigate if naturally produced hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (OH-PBDEs) are causing negative health effects for Baltic Sea wildlife. In the laboratory, OH-PBDEs have shown to be potent disrupters of energy metabolism as well as endocrine disruptors and neurotoxins. OH-PBDEs are naturally produced, for example, by filamentous macroalgae in the Baltic Sea but are also metabolites of the flame retardants polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). High concentrations of OH-PBDEs have been detected in several species in the Baltic Sea, including the European perch (Perca fluviatilis). The concentrations of OH-PBDEs in perch, and some other species from the Baltic Sea, are within reported toxicological effect concentrations.In this thesis, perch were sampled approximately once a week during an exposure peak of OH-PBDEs between May and October in 2018. In Paper I, correlations between OH-PBDEs and several health biomarkers in perch were studied. A higher OH-PBDE concentration correlated with increased ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity, increased plasma lactate concentration, increased plasma glucose concentration, decreased lipid percentage in muscle, and decreased liver somatic index. These correlations indicate that OH-PBDEs might cause negative health effects in perch from the Baltic Sea.Many aquatic species in the Baltic Sea have been reported to suffer from thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. Thiamine deficiency could be a confounding factor when assessing potential in vivo effects of OH-PBDEs. Hence, in Paper II, the thiamine status of perch was investigated. Perch were found to have sufficient thiamine, thus thiamine deficiency is not a confounding factor when assessing potential effects of OH-PBDEs in perch from the Baltic Sea.In Paper III, metabolomics was performed on zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos exposed to OH-PBDEs. The aim was to study the toxicity of OH-PBDEs at the metabolome level and to identify selective and sensitive biomarker(s) for energy disruption of OH-PBDEs. OH-PBDEs were found to cause diverse metabolic effects at environmentally relevant concentrations. Accumulation of succinic acid, a key metabolite for energy production and regulation of the immune system, was suggested as a potential biomarker for energy disruption due to OH-PBDEs. In Paper IV, lipids and 19 polar metabolites, including metabolites observed to be affected by OH-PBDEs in Paper III, were analysed in perch from the Baltic Sea. Among other findings, a correlation between increased OH-PBDE exposure and increased concentration of succinic acid was observed. The correlations observed in the perch to a large extent agreed with the metabolic effects seen in zebrafish embryos exposed to OH-PBDEs (Paper III), indicating potential causality between exposure to OH-PBDEs and effects in perch from the Baltic Sea.The correlations observed in this thesis between OH-PBDEs and biomarkers in perch should be interpreted with caution as the correlations could be spurious, for example caused by underlying environmental factors. However, taken together, the results support the hypothesis that naturally produced OH-PBDEs could cause negative health effects in perch from the Baltic Sea.
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