Human health effects of benzene, arsenic, cadmium, nickel, lead and mercury: Report of an expert consultation

Ana Isabel Cañas Portilla y Argelia Castaño Calvo del Centro Nacional de Sanidad Ambiental (ISCIII) han participado en este informe como expertos proporcionando comentarios técnicos.Benzene, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury and nickel are ubiquitous pollutants in ambient air. The main sources are industrial processes, electricity generation and fuel combustion. The main routes of exposure are inhalation for benzene, and diet for arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel and mercury. Inhalation of benzene, arsenic and cadmium is relevant for exposure in active tobacco smokers and people exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke. Epidemiological studies show that exposure to these pollutants is associated with adverse effects on the cardiovascular (cadmium, lead, mercury); haematological (benzene, lead); immunological, neurological and reproductive (benzene, lead, mercury); respiratory (cadmium, nickel); renal (cadmium, lead); and skeletal (cadmium) systems. Limited epidemiological evidence on ambient air pollution suggests adverse effects on the cardiovascular system (arsenic and nickel). Since benzene, arsenic, cadmium and nickel are classified as carcinogenic, the lowest possible exposure level is suggested to minimize the risk for cancer development in view of the no-effect threshold paradigm. Lead and methylmercury compounds are classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans. However, the available evidence is insufficient to warrant updating the air quality guidelines for these air pollutants. Evidence gaps are identified and these should guide future research efforts.S

The use of satellite products to assess spatial uncertainty and reduce life-time costs of offshore wind farms

Managers of offshore wind farms make strategic decisions based on information about site wind speeds and significant wave heights (SWH) available from numerical weather predictions (NWP) or local in-situ measurements. However, the coarse resolution with which such information are available, both in space and time, introduces a high degree of uncertainty into the decision process which in turn may result in higher costs during different stages of offshore wind farm life. The current work investigates how space-borne data describing wind speeds and SWH might be used to quantify spatial uncertainties and support decisions during the design and operation of offshore wind sites. Results have revealed that due to high spatial variance of wind speed, the estimated wind power can differ from that provided by an offshore met mast up to 11%. The methodology proposed for SWH has shown how data collected from distinct satellites can be efficiently interpolated (maximum absolute error observed around 1 m) to generate high-resolute spatial information of sea water surface, regardless of satellite trajectory distributions. The work has provided insights on how the propagation of measurement uncertainty through the wind farm area can affect both management costs and wind energy production over the plant life-cycle

Human biomonitoring. Basics: educational course

Ana Isabel Cañas Portilla, Argelia Castaño, Susana Pedraza Diaz y Marta Esteban López del Centro Nacional de Sanidad Ambiental (ISCIII) han contribuido en el desarrollo de este curso.Human biomonitoring (HBM) is an instrument for measuring the internal dose of exogenous substances/chemicals that enter a body during a certain period of exposure from a range of sources. It contributes to reducing uncertainties in the assessment of health risks from chemicals and provides information for decision-making on the prevention of negative impacts of chemicals on human health and the environment. Promoting the use of HBM is a recognized priority of chemical safety globally and in the WHO European Region. Given the complexity of HBM, relevant capacities should be built at the national level to explore its benefits. This educational course on HBM, presented in the form of slides with accompanying notes and references, compiles scientific information on HBM as well as practical examples. It was developed to support the training of public-health and health-care professionals; students of medical, biological and other allied sciences; and professionals and decision-makers in the health, environment and other relevant sectorsThis course was developed with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection and the German Federal Ministry of Health.S

The challenges of extending climate risk insurance to fisheries

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Nature Research via the DOI in this recordNatural Environment Research Council (NERC)Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas)Willis Research NetworkCommonwealth Marine Economies Programme, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Offic

Reproductive Failure in UK Harbour Porpoises Phocoena phocoena : Legacy of Pollutant Exposure?

This research was supported by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship within the Seventh European Community Framework Programme (Project Cetacean-stressors, PIOF-GA-2010-276145 to PDJ and SM). Additional funding was provided through the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS) (Grants SSFA/2008 and SSFA / ASCOBANS / 2010 / 5 to SM). Analysis of Scottish reproductive and teeth samples was funded by the EC-funded BIOCET project (BIOaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants in small CETaceans in European waters: transport pathways and impact on reproduction, grant EVK3-2000-00027 to GJP), and Marine Scotland (GJP). Samples examined in this research were collected under the collaborative Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (http://ukstrandings.org/), which is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the UK’s Devolved Administrations in Scotland and Wales (http://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/Defaul​t.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=No​ne&Completed=0&ProjectID=15331) (grants to PDJ, RD). UK Defra also funded the chemical analysis under a service-level agreement with the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (grants to RJL, JB). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A space-time multivariate Bayesian model to analyse road traffic accidents by severity

The paper investigates the dependences between levels of severity of road traffic accidents, accounting at the same time for spatial and temporal correlations. The study analyses road traffic accidents data at ward level in England over the period 2005–2013. We include in our model multivariate spatially structured and unstructured effects to capture the dependences between severities, within a Bayesian hierarchical formulation. We also include a temporal component to capture the time effects and we carry out an extensive model comparison. The results show important associations in both spatially structured and unstructured effects between severities, and a downward temporal trend is observed for low and high levels of severity. Maps of posterior accident rates indicate elevated risk within big cities for accidents of low severity and in suburban areas in the north and on the southern coast of England for accidents of high severity. The posterior probability of extreme rates is used to suggest the presence of hot spots in a public health perspective.Areti Boulieri acknowledges support from the National Institute for Health Research and the Medical Research Council Doctoral Training Partnership. Marta Blangiardo acknowledges support from the National Institute for Health Research and the Medical Research Council–Public Health England Centre for Environment and Health. Silvia Liverani acknowledges support from the Leverhulme Trust (grant ECF-2011-576)

Drinking Water Salinity and Maternal Health in Coastal Bangladesh: Implications of Climate Change.

Background: Drinking water from natural sources in coastal Bangladesh has become contaminated by varying degrees of salinity due to saltwater intrusion from rising sea levels, cyclone and storm surges and upstream withdrawal of freshwater. Objective: Our objective was to estimate salt intake from drinking water sources and examine environmental factors that may explain a seasonal excess of hypertension in pregnancy. Methods: Water salinity data (1998-2000) for Dacope, in rural coastal Bangladesh, were obtained from the Centre for Environment and Geographic Information System. Information on drinking water sources, 24-hour urine samples and blood pressure were obtained from 343 pregnant Dacope women during the dry season (October 2009 - March 2010). The hospital-based prevalence of hypertension in pregnancy was determined for 969 pregnant women (July 2008 - March 2010). Results: Average estimated sodium intakes from drinking water ranged from 5 to 16 g/day in the dry season, compared to 0.6 - 1.2 g/day in the rainy season. Average daily sodium excretion in urine was 3.4 g/day (range 0.4 - 7.7 g/d). Women who drank shallow tubewell water were more likely to have urine sodium > 100 mmol/d than women who drank rainwater (OR=2.05, 95% CI: 1.11 - 3.80). The annual hospital prevalence of hypertension in pregnancy was higher in the dry season (12.2%, 95% CI: 9.5 - 14.8) than the rainy season (5.1%, 95% CI: 2.91 - 7.26). Conclusions: The estimated salt intake from drinking water in this population exceeded recommended limits. The problem of saline intrusion into drinking water has multiple causes and is likely to be exacerbated by climate change induced sea-level rise

Broad-Scale Responses of Harbor Porpoises to Pile-Driving and Vessel Activities During Offshore Windfarm Construction

This study was partly funded by Beatrice Offshore Wind Ltd. and Moray Offshore Wind Farm (East) Ltd. using equipment previously purchased by UK Department of Energy & Climate Change, Scottish Government, Oil and Gas UK, COWRIE and Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd.. P.T. and I.G. were core funded by University of Aberdeen. A.B. was core funded by the collaboration between University of Aberdeen and Marine Scotland Science through the MarCRF PhD studentship. N.M. was core funded by Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Energetics and thermal adaptation in semifossorial pine-voles Microtus lusitanicus and Microtus duodecimcostatus

Acknowledgments are due for the financial support to Centre for environment and marine studies (UID/AMB/50017-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007638), to Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through national funds (PIDDAC), and the co-funding by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020. RIM was supported by fellowship BPD/UI88/7346/2016 and JRS was supported by the 1000 talents program of the Chinese government. We thank the three anonymous referees for their valuable comments on this manuscript.Peer reviewedPostprin