Temporal trends in concentrations and total serum burdens of organochlorine compounds from birth until adolescence and the role of breastfeeding

Introduction: The aims of the present study are to assess the temporal trends of organochlorine compounds (OCs) concentrations and total serum burdens from birth until adolescence and the influence of breastfeeding in these temporal trends. Methods: In 1997 two birth cohort studies were set up in Ribera d'Ebre (N=102) and the island of Menorca (N=482), Spain. Concentrations (ng/mL) of OCs [pentachlorobenzene (PeCB), four isomers of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (4,4'-DDT), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (4,4'-DDE) and seven polychlorobiphenyl congeners (σ7PCBs)] were measured in cord blood and at the age of 4 and 14years. The total serum burdens (ng) of these compounds were estimated based on the total blood volume (mL) of children at the different ages. We compared median concentrations and total serum burdens of these OCs at the different time-points of follow-up between children of Ribera d'Ebre and Menorca and between breastfed and non-breastfed children. Results: From birth until adolescence concentrations of all OCs drastically reduced. These reductions were mainly derived from the dilution of OCs, associated to an increase in total blood volume of children at the age of 4 and 14years. Despite the reduction in OCs concentrations, the total serum burdens of 4,4'-DDE and σ7PCBs, were higher in adolescents than at birth. Increases in OCs total serum burden occurred both in breastfed and non-breastfed children, but were significantly higher in the first. Conclusions: Even after decades of banning OCs production and use, current young generations in westernized countries are still bioaccumulating these compounds. Given the potential health effects of OCs, especial attention should be paid in the control of secondary emissions in the environment and in the control of food production and contamination. In countries with endemic malaria it is important to work towards effective alternatives to the use of DDT. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.This study was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Health (FIS-97/1102, FIS 97/0588, 00/0021-2, PI061756, PS0901958 and FIS PS09/00362), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red INMA G03/176 and CB06/02/0041), Fundació La Caixa (97/009-00 and 00/077-00), and the Generalitat de Catalunya-CIRIT 1999SGR 00241. Finally, the authors would like to be grateful to the families in Flix and Menorca participating in the study, to the high school management team of Flix for their interest and collaboration, and to Rosa Maria Sabaté, the nurse of the health center of Flix, for her support and commitment.Peer reviewe

Impacts of Use and Abuse of Nature in Catalonia with Proposals for Sustainable Management

This paper provides an overview of the last 40 years of use, and in many cases abuse, of the natural resources in Catalonia, a country that is representative of European countries in general, and especially those in the Mediterranean region. It analyses the use of natural resources made by mining, agriculture, livestock, logging, fishing, nature tourism, and energy production and consumption. This use results in an ecological footprint, i.e., the productive land and sea surface required to generate the consumed resources and absorb the resulting waste, which is about seven times the amount available, a very high number but very similar to other European countries. This overexploitation of natural resources has a huge impact on land and its different forms of cover, air, and water. For the last 25 years, forests and urban areas have each gained almost 3% more of the territory at the expense of agricultural land; those municipalities bordering the sea have increased their number of inhabitants and activity, and although they only occupy 6.7% of the total surface area, they account for 43.3% of the population; air quality has stabilized since the turn of the century, and there has been some improvement in the state of aquatic ecosystems, but still only 36% are in good condition, while the remainder have suffered morphological changes and different forms of nonpoint source pollution; meanwhile the biodiversity of flora and fauna remains still under threat. Environmental policies do not go far enough so there is a need for revision of the legislation related to environmental impact and the protection of natural areas, flora, and fauna. The promotion of environmental research must be accompanied by environmental education to foster a society which is Land 2021, 10, 144 3 of 53 more knowledgeable, has more control and influence over the decisions that deeply affect it. Indeed, nature conservation goes hand in hand with other social and economic challenges that require a more sustainable vision. Today’s problems with nature derive from the current economic model, which is environmentally unsustainable in that it does not take into account environmental impacts. Lastly, we propose a series of reasonable and feasible priority measures and actions related to each use made of the country’s natural resources, to the impacts they have had, and to their management, in the hope that these can contribute to improving the conservation and management of the environment and biodiversity and move towards sustainability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Use of proficiency testing materials for the calculation of detection and quantification limits in the analysis of organochlorine compounds in human serum

A method for the calculation of the limits of detection (LD) and quantification (LQ) for the analysis of organochlorine compounds in serum is described. The method is based on the analysis of proficiency testing materials, an external quality assessment for selected pollutants, and the study of the signal/noise ratio of chromatograms obtained from GC-ECD injection. This method provides representative results for matrix effects, instrumental variability and extraction recoveries in the analysis of serum samples.This research was supported by the research network INMA (G03/176) and the GRACCIE Consolider Ingenio Network (CSD2007-00067). MG thanks a grant from the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) in the JAE-Predoctoral Program. We thank P. Alabart for her kind support with GC-ECD analyses.Peer reviewe

Patterns of accumulation of persistent organic pollutants in human populations

The present research explores the levels and patterns of accumulation of a wide range of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the human population. It assesses two major families of POPs, namely organochlorine compounds (OCs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and focuses on the population of Catalonia, a Mediterranean country in South-West Europe with active agricultural and industrial sectors. The research described in this study is based on a public health survey conducted by the Government of Catalonia in 2002, which included a health exam and a blood testing for 919 individuals. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques have been used to determine the concentrations of these pollutants in the serum samples. This research has customised a methodology to better detect organochlorine compounds in human serum samples. It has also contrasted the POP concentrations with a set of socio-demographic factors, with a special focus on age, sex and body mass index (BMI). And nally, it provides complementary assessments on POPs in other locations of Catalonia, including the Flix township that hosts a chemical factory; and on mercury, which is a non-organic persistent pollutant, in the infant population of the Menorca island. In essence, this research navigates in a diversity of pollutants, research methodologies and geographic conditions to explore the linkages between environmental pollution and human health.Aquest estudi avalua els nivells i els patrons d'acumulació d'un ampli ventall de contaminants orgànics persistents (COPs) en la població humana. Comprèn dues classes de COPs, específicament els compos- tos organoclorats (OCs) i els polibromodifenil eters (PBDEs), i se centra en la població de Catalunya, un país mediterrani del sud-oest d'Europa amb uns sectors agrícola i industrial actius. La recerca descrita en aquest estudi es basa en una enquesta de salut pública duta a terme per la Generalitat de Catalunya el 2002, que va incloure en examen de salut i l'extracció d'una mostra de sang per a 919 persones. Les concentracions d'aquests contaminants en les mostres de s erum es van determinat mitjan cant t ecniques de cromatogra a de gasos i espectrometria de masses. En aquesta recerca s'ha dissenyat una metodologia específica per tal de millorar la detecció dels compostos organoclorats en mostres de sèrum humà. A més, les concentracions de COPs s'han contrastat amb una sèrie de factors sòcio-demogràfics, amb una especial atenció al sexe, l'edat i l' índex de massa corporal (IMC). Finalment, l'estudi proporciona avaluacions complementàries sobre els COPs en altres llocs de Catalunya, incloent el municipi de Flix, que acull una fàabrica de productes químics; i sobre el mercuri, un contaminant persistent inorgànic, a la població infantil de l'illa de Menorca. En resum, aquesta recerca combina una diversitat de contaminants, mètodes analítics i àrees geogrà ques per tal d'explorar l'associació entre la contaminació medioambiental i la salut humana

Impacts of atmospheric chlor-alkali factory emissions in surrounding populations

Environmental exposures need to be assessed for the understanding of the health risks of general population. Organochlorine compounds (OCs) from chlor-alkali plants (CAPs) are significant for the exposomes of individuals living in locations receiving their emissions and have to be determined. The aims of the study are to identify the area of influence of past and present OC emissions from CAPs and to set quantitative body burden estimates. A CAP situated in a rural area was selected for study. The geographic distribution of the atmospheric emissions was monitored using olive tree leaves. Human biomonitoring was assessed by serum analysis from general population (n= 1340). OC concentrations followed exponential decay functions with maxima in the immediate vicinity of the factory. The individuals living within 1. km exhibited hexachlorobenzene (HCB), polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) and DDT-DDE (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene) concentrations that were 12, 1.3-1.9 and 3.9 times higher than in sites not influenced by the emissions from this factory. Individuals from municipalities situated 15-25. km away from the CAP showed 1.5, 1.2-1.4 and 1.3 times higher serum HCB, PCB and DDT concentrations than in distant sites. The high serum concentrations of DDT and PCBs were observed even 23-31. years and 9-17. years after manufacture completion of these compounds, respectively. Our methodology provides a way for assessment of the influence of past and present atmospheric OCs emissions from CAPs into the exposome of individuals living in nearby areas.a Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Jordi Girona, 18, 08034 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain b Department of Applied Environmental Science (ITM) and the Bert Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden c Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Dr Aiguader, 88, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain d Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Dr Aiguader, 88, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, SpainN

La nostra salut està ancorada en la del mar

Les concentracions de compostos organoclorats en els aliments produïts a Menorca són generalment baixes en comparació amb les d’altres països de la Unió Europea. Contràriament, els nivells de mercuri en peixos i mariscos pescats en zones properes i consumits a l’illa són més alts que els trobats en altres mars i oceans. S’ha observat una associació estadísticament significativa entre major consum de peix i marisc i concentracions de mercuri més altes en cabell de nens i nenes de quatre anys de l’illa. El 93 % de la ingesta de mercuri correspon al consum d’aquests productes alimentaris. També s’ha trobat una associació significativa entre consum de peix i acumulació de 4,4’-DDT en sèrum d’aquests infants. En el cas d’aquest insecticida, la carn també n’era una font rellevant. La incorporació dels contaminants organoclorats no és rellevant per a la salut pública en relació amb les recomanacions de la FAO/OMS, però la ingesta de mercuri per part dels nens i nenes supera en més del doble les indicacions de l’EFSA. Les concentracions de mercuri en peixos de les illes Balears, l’Alguer i Alacant han mostrat una contaminació general més alta en els espècimens d’aquest arxipèlag, encara que les de l’Alguer de vegades els superen, segons quines siguin les espècies estudiades. NATURA, ÚS O ABÚS? (2018-2019) La nostra salut està ancorada en la de la mar 17 Els espècimens d’Alacant són els de concentracions més baixes. Les medianes de mòllera de fang, clavellada, gat, escamarlà, gamba, marraix, anfós i déntol dels espècimens recollits a les illes Balears estan per sobre dels límits de referència indicats per la Unió Europea com a aptes per al consum humà. A les altres zones estudiades no s’han trobat valors de medianes d’espècies que fossin superiors a aquests nivells de referència

Influence of gestational weight gain on the organochlorine pollution content of breast milk

Transplacental transfer and breastfeeding are the main transport routes of organic pollutants into children at the beginning of life. Although pollutant transmission through these mechanisms primarily depends on the maternal pollution burden, its impact may be modulated by physiological effects.The authors are grateful to Silvia Fochs, Anna Sànchez, Maribel López and Nuria Pey, for their assistance in contacting the families and administering the questionnaires, to Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí for its implication and support, and particularly like to thank all the participants for their generous collaboration. We are also thankful to Marta Fort for the analyses of organohalogen compounds. We acknowledge the collaboration of the municipalities of Zumarraga, Urretxu, Legazpi, Azkoitia, Azpeitia y Beasain. We acknowledge financial support from the European Union, project EDCMET (H2020-HEALTH/0490–825762). This study was also funded by grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI06/0867, Red INMA G03/176 and FIS-PI18/01142), the Department of Health of the Basque Government (2005111093) and the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa (DFG06/002). M. G. acknowledges the support from the Joachim Herz Foundation through the Add-on Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Science.Peer reviewe