Monitoring of dioxin levels in cow's milk in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen

In 1196/1997, the Belgian government measured dioxin levels in cow's milk from dairy farms in the neighborhood of a metal reclamation plant in Zelzate above the Belgian standard of 5 pg (i) TEQ/g of milkfat. In the same period they measured high dioxin emissions at the metal reclamation plant concerned. Predictions by the dioxin chain model in the basis of the emissions didn't exclude a exceeding of the Dutch standard of 6 pg (i) TEQ/gram milkfat for cow's milk from diary farms on the Dutch side of the border. Therefore, the Dutch government decided to start a monitoring program to measure the dioxin levels in cow's milk from two selected diary farms in the neighborhood of Sas van Gent, 5 km North-east of the metal reclamation plant, on a monthly basis. In the period October 1998 - June 2000 dioxin levels in cow's milk from these two diary farms were measured. None of the values exceeded the Dutch standard. The highest levels were measured at the start of the monitoring program; 3.0 +/- 0.2 and 5.1 +/- 0.3 pg (i)-TEQ/g milkfat, for the two farms respectively, in October 1998. During the same period, October-December 1998, the dioxin levels of consumers milk, sampled on a monthly basis were monitored. The samples were collected per region of the Netherlands (North, East, South and West). The measured dioxin levels in this period resulted in a background level of 0.5-0.8 pg (i)-TEQ/g of fat. At the end of the period, in June 2000, dioxin levels were decreased to a level round 1 pg (i) TEQ/g of fat. These values are in the same order of magnitude as the back ground level of 0.3-0.4 pg (i) TEQ/g of fat found for consumers milk in the second quarter of 2000. It can be concluded that the measures taken by the metal reclamation plant, imposed by the Belgian government, presumably have led to decreasing dioxin levels in locally produced cow's milk. Therefore, in August 2000, the monitoring program in Zeeuws Vlaanderen was discontinued.In 1996/1997 is door de Belgische overheid aangetoond dat de dioxine-gehalten in koemelk, uit de omgeving van een metaalsmelterij te Zelzate, de Belgische norm van 5 pg (i) TEQ/g melkvet overschreden. Tevens werd in die periode aangetoond dat de dioxine-emissie van de betreffende metaalsmelterij verhoogd was. Berekeningen met het ketenmodel sloten een overschrijding van de Nederlandse warenwetnorm van 6 pg (i) TEQ/g melkvet aan de Nederlandse zijde van de grens niet uit. Daarom is besloten koemelk van twee geselecteerde melkveebedrijven in de omgeving van Sas van Gent, 5 km ten noord-oosten van de metaalsmelterij, te monitoren op basis van maandgemiddelde monsters. In de periode oktober 1998-juni 2000 zijn dioxinegehalten gemeten in koemelk van deze twee melkveebedrijven. De dioxinegehalten in de monsters liggen allen beneden de warenwetnorm van 6 pg (i)-TEQ/g vet. De dioxinegehalten waren aan het begin van de meetperiode het hoogst; 3.0 +/- 0.2 en 5.1 +/- 0.3 pg (i)-TEQ/g melkvet voor respectievelijk melkveebedrijf SvG-1 en SvG-2. In dezelfde periode, oktober-december 1998, werden, in het kader van een ander deelprojekt (639102-9802), ook gehalten gemeten van maandgemiddelde consumptiemelkmonsters. De monsters zijn samengesteld per regio (Noord, Oost, Zuid en West) van Nederland. De gemeten waarden lagen in deze periode op een achtergrondniveau van 0.5-0.8 pg (i)-TEQ/g vet. Aan het eind van de periode, in juni 2000, zijn de waarden gedaald tot een niveau van rond de 1 pg (i) TEQ/g vet. Deze waarden hebben dezelfde orde van grootte als het achtergrondniveau van 03.-0.4 pg (i) TEQ/g vet in consumptiemelk bemonsterd in het tweede kwartaal van 2000. Geconcludeerd kan worden dat door de genomen maatregelen bij de metaalsmelterij, opgelegd door de Belgische overheid, de dioxineconcentraties in koemelk uit de omgeving waarschijnlijk structureel tot een waarde royaal onder de norm hebben geleid. Per augustus 2000 is dan ook, door de Inspectie Gezondheidsbescherming, Waren en Veterinaire Zaken besloten het monitoren van koemelk in de omgeving van Sas van Gent stop te zetten

Contemporary and future distributions of cobia, Rachycentron canadum

Climate change has influenced the distribution and phenology of marine species, globally. However, knowledge of the impacts of climate change is lacking for many species that support valuable recreational fisheries. Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) are the target of an important recreational fishery along the U.S. east coast that is currently the subject of a management controversy regarding allocation and stock structure. Further, the current and probable future distributions of this migratory species are unclear, further complicating decision-making. The objectives of this study are to better define the contemporary distribution of cobia along the U.S. east coast and to project potential shifts in distribution and phenology under future climate change scenarios

Short term fasting does not aggravate immunosuppression in harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) with high body burdens of organochlorines

Two groups of 11 harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) with different body burdens of organochlorines were subjected to an experimental 15-day fasting period, during which they lost an average 16.5% of their body weights. Blood levels of the most persistent organochlorines showed an approximate twofold increase, while levels of aryl hydrocarbon receptor-binding organochlorines remained largely unaffected. Few differences in immunological parameters were observed between the two dietary groups. Numbers of circulating lymphocytes dropped to about 65% of the initial values and NK cell activity showed a slight increase in both groups. Mitogen- and antigen-induced lymphoproliferative responses of the Baltic group of seals remained within normal ranges. These results suggest that relatively short-term fasting periods do not present an additional immunotoxicological risk to seals with high body burdens of organochlorines