Search Results (14)

Semi-volatile organic contaminants (SVOCs) are known for their tendency to evaporate from source regions and undergo atmospheric transport to distant areas. Cold condensation intensifies dry deposition, particle deposition, and scavenging by snow and rain, allowing SVOCs to move from the atmosphere into terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in alpine and polar regions. However, no standardized methods exist for the sampling, laboratory processing, and instrumental analysis of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in snow. The lack of reference methods makes these steps highly variable and prone to errors. This study critically reviews the existing literature to highlight the key challenges in the sampling phase, aiming to develop a reliable, consistent, and easily reproducible technique. The goal is to simplify this crucial step of the analysis, allowing data to be shared more effectively through standardized methods, minimizing errors. Additionally, an innovative method for laboratory processing is introduced, which uses activated carbon fibers (ACFs) as adsorbents, streamlining the analysis process. The extraction method is applied to analyze polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides (α-HCH, γ-HCH, p,p′-DDE, o,p′-DDT, HCB, and PeCB). The entire procedure, from sampling to instrumental analysis, is subsequently tested on snow samples collected on the Svalbard Islands. To validate the efficiency of the new extraction system, quality control measures based on the EPA methods 1668B and 1699 for aqueous methods are employed. This study presents a new, reliable method that covers both sampling and lab analysis, tailored for detecting POPs in snow. Full article

Marine sediments act as a sink for the accumulation of various organic contaminants such as polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs). These contaminants affect the composition and activity of microbial communities, particularly favoring those capable of thriving from their biodegradation and biotransformation under favorable conditions. Hence, contaminated environments represent a valuable biological resource for the exploration and cultivation of microorganisms with bioremediation potential. In this study, we successfully cultivated microbial consortia with the capacity for PCB removal under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The source of these consortia was a multicontaminated marine sediment collected from the Mar Piccolo (Taranto, Italy), one of Europe’s most heavily polluted sites. High-throughput sequencing was employed to investigate the dynamics of the bacterial community of the marine sediment sample, revealing distinct and divergent selection patterns depending on the imposed reductive or oxidative conditions. The aerobic incubation resulted in the rapid selection of bacteria specialized in oxidative pathways for hydrocarbon transformation, leading to the isolation of Marinobacter salinus and Rhodococcus cerastii species, also known for their involvement in aerobic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) transformation. On the other hand, anaerobic incubation facilitated the selection of dechlorinating species, including Dehalococcoides mccartyi, involved in PCB reduction. This study significantly contributes to our understanding of the diversity, dynamics, and adaptation of the bacterial community in the hydrocarbon-contaminated marine sediment from one sampling point of the Mar Piccolo basin, particularly in response to stressful conditions. Furthermore, the establishment of consortia with biodegradation and biotransformation capabilities represents a substantial advancement in addressing the challenge of restoring polluted sites, including marine sediments, thus contributing to expanding the toolkit for effective bioremediation strategies. Full article

The present study aims to assess the respective efficiency of Biochars (BCs) and activated carbons (ACs) to limit PCB 101, 138, 153 and 180 transfer to plants. A set of 6 high carbon materials comprising 3 BCs and 3 ACs was tested and used to amend a soil at 2% rate. Then, the two most efficient carbonaceous materials were used as an amendment of an historically contaminated soil sampled in the St Cyprien vicinity (Loire, France). An environmental availability assessment was performed using the ISO/DIS 16751 Part A assay (n = 3). For the in vivo part, Cucurbita pepo were grown for 12 weeks. Significant decreases of transfer were found for both assays notably for powdered ACs (up to 98%). By contrast, significantly lower levels of transfer reduction were observed when BCs amendments were performed, ranging from 27 to 80% for environmental availability assessment and 0 to 36% for C. pepo. Reduction factors above 90% for the 2 selected materials were found from amended historically contaminated soils. Present results led to consider such a sequestering strategy as valuable to ensure plant production on non-dioxin-like polychlorobiphenyls (NDL-PCBs) contaminated soils. Full article

In January 2019, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) published an opinion on risks related to the presence of hazardous chemicals in infant diapers. ANSES found that health reference values were largely exceeded for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins (PCCD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorobiphenyls (DL-PCBs). The levels of formaldehyde and some fragrances were also considered potentially unsafe. Therefore, ANSES concluded that actions have to be taken to restrict levels of these contaminants in diapers. Under the exposure scenario deemed the most reliable by ANSES, estimates of cancer risks of the most potent PAHs detected in diapers exceeded 10⁻³ and hazard quotients for neurobehavioral effects attained values up to 66. Regarding dioxins and DL-PCBs, ANSES derived a hazard quotient of 12 for the risk of decreased sperm count at adult age. The aim of this study was to examine whether the exposure and risk assessment conducted by ANSES contained potential flaws that could explain such a high exceedance of health reference values. This study also put into perspective the exposure from diapers with that from breast milk whose benefits for children’s health are undisputable despite contamination by PAHs, dioxins and DL-PCB_S. Full article

Antarctic freshwater ecosystems are especially vulnerable to human impacts. Polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants that have a long lifetime in the environment. Despite their use having either been phased out or restricted, they are still found in nature, also in remote areas. Once in the environment, the fate of PCBs is strictly linked to bacteria which represent the first step in the transfer of toxic compounds to higher trophic levels. Data on PCB-oxidizing bacteria from polar areas are still scarce and fragmented. In this study, the occurrence of PCB-oxidizing cold-adapted bacteria was evaluated in water and sediment of four coastal lakes at Edmonson Point (Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica). After enrichment with biphenyl, 192 isolates were obtained with 57 of them that were able to grow in the presence of the PCB mixture Aroclor 1242, as the sole carbon source. The catabolic gene bphA, as a proxy for PCB degradation potential, was harbored by 37 isolates (out of 57), mainly affiliated to the genera Salinibacterium, Arthrobacter (among Actinobacteria) and Pusillimonas (among Betaproteobacteria). Obtained results enlarge our current knowledge on cold-adapted PCB-oxidizing bacteria and pose the basis for their potential application as a valuable eco-friendly tool for the recovery of PCB-contaminated cold sites. Full article

Active carbon-based sorbents are well known and are used in analytical chemistry. Activated carbon fibers (ACFs) are mainly used as abatement systems in industrial emission pollution control. The objective of this study was to extend the use of ACFs in analytical chemistry for the analysis of polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorodibenzofurans (PCDFs), dioxin-like polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), and chlorobenzenes (CBs). For this purpose, the extraction efficiency was evaluated based on the QA/QC criteria defined by EPA/ISO reference methods on ¹³C-standards recovery rates. The procedures tested were ultrasonic assisted extraction (UAE), Soxhlet extraction (SE), accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE). Each experiment was performed in triplicate to ensure the repeatability of the results, and a second extraction assessed the complete extraction. The comparison of the results of each set of experiments with the minimum requirements of the reference methods for each class of compounds led to SE being chosen as the best technique. SE with toluene resulted in a reduction of time and costs and with respect to the other investigated techniques. The present work demonstrated that ACFs can be used in environmental fields means of both prevention and control (exploiting the adsorbent characteristics) and for analytical purposes (exploiting the desorption) for the described chlorinated classes of pollutants. Full article

The greater omentum represents a specific adipose tissue resected with gastric surgery for cancer. Diffuse gastric adenocarcinoma (diffuse-GC) is of major relevance among gastric cancers due to its unknown origin, aggressiveness, and metastasis in the peritoneal cavity. We postulated that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) could be detected in the greater omentum. Great omentum from patients with (i) diffuse-GC, or (ii) with other peritoneal metastatic cancer, and (iii) control group without cancer disease were analyzed for the distribution of a large panel of 96 POPs. POPs include polychlorinated dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), hexabromocyclododecanes, organochlorine pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The widespread presence of a substantial list of POPs (PCDDs/Fs, PCBs, and brominated flame retardants) was found in the omentum from patients with aggressive diffuse-GC, with minor presence of some organochlorine pesticides and PAHs at the low analyzed levels. Some chemicals appeared in larger concentrations in diffuse-GC or other cancer groups, including some PCDDs, PCB105, 123, 138, PBDE209, and PBB153. Overall, the present pilot study provides novel information regarding POPs levels in the omental fat, which is an understudied fat depot in terms of POPs load, and diffuse-GC association. Full article

Gas and particulate phase ambient air concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Ʃ₁₆PAHs) were determined in Strasbourg, a large city located in the Alsace region of northeastern France, from May 2018 to March 2020, to study the evolution of their temporal variations and their potential origins. The analysis of PAHs was performed using a global analytical method permitting the quantification of pesticides, PAHs, and polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs). Filters and Carbon doped silicon carbide NMC@SiC foams were extracted by accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) followed by a solid-phase extraction (SPE). Afterwards, extracts were analyzed using gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Prior to analysis, a pre-concentration step based on solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was used with a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) 100 µm fiber. The average total (gas plus particulate) concentration of Ʃ₁₆PAHs varied from 0.51 to 117.31 ng m⁻³ with a mean of 16.87 ng m⁻³, with higher concentrations in the cold season of more than 2.5-fold and 6-fold that in the warm season for the gas and particulate phases, respectively. Moreover, low molecular weight (LMW) (2-ring and 3-ring) and medium molecular weight (MMW) (4-ring) PAHs contribute dominantly to the gas phase, while the particulate phase is associated with MMW (4-ring) and high molecular weight (HMW) (5-ring and 6-ring) PAHs. Gas/particle partitioning coefficient (log Kp) was calculated, and values varied between −4.13 and −1.49. It can be seen that the log Kp increased with the molecular weight of the PAHs and that the log Kp is different between cold and warm seasons for HMW PAHs but not for LMW PAHs. Diagnostic ratios of PAHs, which were employed to estimate the primary source of PAHs in Strasbourg, indicate that fuel combustion and biomass/coal burning are the possible origins of PAHs in Strasbourg’s atmosphere. Full article

Monitoring contaminant residues in honey helps to avoid risks to human health, as it is a natural product widely consumed in all population groups, including the most vulnerable, such as children and the elderly. This is important for organic honey production that may be negatively influenced by geographical area pollution. Considering the importance of collecting data on the occurrence of various xenobiotics in different geographical areas, this study aimed to investigate the presence of contaminant residues (persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and pesticides, including glyphosate and metabolites) in organic honey samples from different production areas using different analytical methods, in order to confirm their incidence and possible impact on the food safety traits of organic production. Regarding POPs, traces of benzofluoroanthene and chrysene were detected in honey from intensive orchards and arable lands. Traces of all polychlorobiphenyl (PCB) congeners were detected at different percentages in almost all of the samples, regardless of the origin area. Traces of polybromodiphenylethers (PBDE 28, 33, and 47) were found in different percentages of samples from all of the geographical areas examined. Traces of organochlorines (OCs) and organophosphates (OPs) were identified in honey samples belonging to all of the geographical areas. No glyphosate, glufosinate, and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) residues were detected. Full article

Microplastics (MPs) have recently been discovered as considerable pollutants of all environmental matrices. They can contain a blend of chemicals, some of them added during the manufacture of plastic to improve their quality (additives) and others adsorbed from the surrounding environment. In light of this, a detailed study about the identification and quantification of target organic pollutants and qualitative screening of non-target compounds present on MPs was carried out in different types of samples: environmental MPs, collected from an Italian river, and pre-production MPs, taken from the plastic industry. Polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were chosen as target compounds to be quantified by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS), while the non-target screening was carried out by High Resolution Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (HRGC–MS). The target analysis revealed concentrations of 16 priority Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-PAHs) in the range of 29.9–269.1 ng/g; the quantification of 31 PCBs showed values from 0.54 to 15.3 ng/g, identifying CB-138, 153, 180, 52, and 101 primarily; and the detected OCPs (p,p’-DDT and its metabolites) ranged between 14.5 and 63.7 ng/g. The non-target screening tentatively identified 246 compounds (e.g., phthalates, antioxidants, UV-stabilizers), including endocrine disruptors, toxic and reprotoxic substances, as well as chemicals subjected to risk assessment and authorisation. The large assortment of plastic chemicals associated with MPs showed their role as a presumable source of pollutants, some of which might have high bioaccumulation potential, persistence, and toxicity. Full article

The biomagnification of mercury, polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs) and perfluoroalkyl acids substances (PFASs) was evaluated in the trophic web of Lake Mergozzo, a small and deep Italian subalpine lake, which has been chosen because it is a protected environment, and discharges into the lake are mostly avoided. Carbon source and relative trophic levels were calculated by using ¹³C and ¹⁵N stable isotopes, respectively, and trophic magnification factors (TMFs) were derived. Zooplankton and thirteen species of fish were collected and analyzed, and the results showed the elevated level of biota contamination from both legacy and emerging pollutants, even if direct discharges were avoided. Concentrations in biota, expressed as sums of compounds, ranged from 0.4 to 60 µg kg⁻¹ wet weight (ww) for PFASs, from 16 to 1.3 10⁴ µg kg⁻¹ lipid content (lw) for DDTs, from 17 to 1.5 10⁴ µg kg⁻¹ lw for PCBs and from 20.0 to 501 µg kg⁻¹ ww for mercury (Hg). TMFs of this deep, cold lake, with a prevalent pelagic trophic chain, were high and clearly indicated fish biomagnification, except for PFAS. The biomagnification capability of PFAS in a fish-only food web was discussed by using the biomagnification of Hg as a benchmark for assessing their bioaccumulation potential. Full article

(1) Objective: Highlight the in vitro effects of 3T3-L1 cell exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB118 and 153) or benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) alone or as a cocktail on adipogenesis (ADG) by focusing on changes in lipid metabolism and inflammatory-related genes expression (INFG) and ADG-related genes expression (ADGG); (2) Results: Treatment from the early stage of cell differentiation by BaP alone or in combination with PCBs decreased the expression of some of the ADGG (PPARγ Glut-4, FAS, Lipin-1a, Leptin, and Adiponectin). BaP enhanced the INFG, especially MCP-1 and TNFα. Co-exposure to BaP and PCB153 showed a synergistic effect on TNFα and IL6 expression. Treatment with BaP and PCBs during only the maturation period up-regulated the INFG (IL6, TNFα, CXCL-10 & MCP-1). PCB118 alone also enhanced TNFα, CXCL-10, and PAI-1 expression. The change in MCP-1 protein expression was in agreement with that of the gene. Finally, the BaP-induced up-regulation of the xenobiotic responsive element (XRE)-controlled luciferase activity was impaired by PCB153 but not by PCB118; (3) Conclusion: BaP and PCBs down-regulate a part of ADGG and enhance INFG. The direct regulatory effect of PCBs on both ADGG and INFG is usually rather lower than that of BaP and synergistic or antagonistic cocktail effects are clearly observed. Full article

The effects of occupational exposure to low concentrations of polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) on the urinary excretion of corticosteroid hormones were evaluated, taking into account the influence of cigarette smoking. The study included 26 males working as electrical maintenance staff in a steel factory, previously exposed to a mixture of PCBs (exposed workers), and 30 male workers with no occupational exposure to PCBs (controls). Serum PCBs (33 congeners), urinary 17-hydroxycorticosteroids, 17-ketosteroids (KS) and pregnanes, and their respective glucuronidated and sulfonated compounds, were determined for each subject. PCBs were significantly higher in the exposed workers than controls, and were correlated with age. Both the urinary concentrations of the total 17-KS and pregnanes, and those of some single steroids and their glucuronidated compounds, were significantly lower in the exposed workers than controls, but higher in smokers than the non-smokers + ex-smokers. Two-way analysis of variance showed a negative association between serum PCBs and both total glucuronidated 17-KS and total and glucuronidated pregnanes, and a positive association between cigarette smoking and both total and glucuronidated 17-KS. PCBs seem to act as endocrine disruptors by reducing the urinary excretion of corticosteroid hormones, particularly of the glucuronidated fraction. Cigarette smoking could boost these effects of PCBs in smokers. Full article

Within the context of the Water Framework Directive, the need to identify new monitoring tools in support of the traditional chemical monitoring process is emerging. Chemical characterization by itself does not provide specific biological information about potential hazards to organisms, in particular when facing cocktails of contaminants. Therefore, ecotoxicity tests can represent a useful tool supporting the chemical information. In the present work, the value of ecotoxicity tests as an effect-based tool for monitoring freshwater and sediment quality of the south-western basin of Lake Como (Northern Italy) was evaluated, assessing the potential risk of pollutants. Results obtained from D. magna toxicity tests showed a temporal variation of toxic response in relation to the variability of organic micropollutant load characteristics of urban rivers. Sediment ecotoxicity test data showed the spatial variability of the sediments’ contamination within the lake, confirmed by chemical analysis of two classes of pollutants (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorobiphenyls (PCB)). The observed effects on organisms in laboratory tests caused by a mixture of almost unknown chemicals underline the importance of integrating effect-based tools into monitoring efforts. Full article