0000000000186008

AUTHOR

Anna-lea Rantalainen

Organochlorines as Environmental Tainting Substances: Taste Panel Study and Chemical Analyses of Incubated Mussels

Lake mussels (Anodonta piscinalis) incubated in freshwater stations upstream and downstream of a large pulp mill were studied for tainting by a panel of 18 persons. The tasted animal muscle and tissue water samples, and composites of other simultaneously incubated mussels were analyzed for organochlorine compounds. Bad taste scores were obtained for mussels from the nearest station downstream to the pulp mill and were significantly (p < 0.001 **) higher than those from other stations. A similar difference was observed for the measured chlorophenol, chloroanisole and chloroveratrole, chlorocymene and PCB contents. Chloroanisoles and chloroveratroles were indicated to form the main tai…

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Comparison of Three Techniques for Lipid Removal from Seal Blubber: Gel Permeation, Acid Treatment, and Dialysis with Semipermeable Membrane

Abstract Harbor seal blubber samples were analyzed for PCDD/Fs and PCBs by splitting the initial extract into three aliquots and applying three different techniques for lipid removal (the first step of sample cleanup methodology for GC-HRMS analysis): gel permeation chromatography (GPC), sulfuric acid treatment, and dialysis through semipermeable membrane. Correlation coefficients of analyte concentrations obtained from three sets of replicate samples ranged from 0.965 to 0.994. In addition, a number of seal blubber samples were processed without pre-extraction using only the dialysis technique. The analyte concentrations in these samples correlated well with the analyte concentrations obta…

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Uptake rates of semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) for PCDDs, PCDFs and PCBs in water and sediment.

Uptake rates of several PCDDs, PCDFs and PCBs were measured for semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) under controlled conditions in bulk water and sediment. The study was performed at 19 degrees C and 11 degrees C, and water and sediment concentrations were measured during the exposure. Linear uptake rates for specific PCDD/Fs and PCBs in 19 degrees C water varied from 34 to 111 l/m2 day and in 11 degrees C water from 8.8 to 96 l/m2 day for the whole SPMD. Uptake rates at 19 degrees C sediment ranged from 9.0 to 80 mgOC/m2 day and in 11 degrees C sediment, from 3.0 to 31, mgOC/m2 day. Partitioning of the compounds between membrane and lipid was also measured during the linear uptake phase…

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SIMILARITIES IN BIOACCUMULATION PATTERNS OF POLYCHLORINATED DIBENZO-p-DIOXINS AND FURANS AND POLYCHLORINATED DIPHENYL ETHERS IN LABORATORY-EXPOSED OLIGOCHAETES AND SEMIPERMEABLE MEMBRANE DEVICES AND IN FIELD-COLLECTED CHIRONOMIDS

Sediment and chironomid samples were collected from a river in the vicinity of and downstream from a closed chlorophenol production plant, and they were analyzed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/F) and polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (PCDE). Bioaccumulation of these compounds from the sediments by the oligochaeta, Lumbriculus variegatus, and semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) was studied in a 28-d bioaccumulation test. The sum concentrations of PCDD/Fs and PCDEs in sediments varied spatially, peaking at the site below the production plant, but the congener composition remained fairly constant throughout the river. The sum concentrations of chironomids, oligochaetes…

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Lipid-containing semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) as concentrators of toxic chemicals in the lower Fraser River, Vancouver, British Columbia.

Abstract Semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) were deployed in the water column and in the sediments of the Lower Fraser River (B.C., Canada) to compare the levels and the congener profiles of polychlorinated dibenzo- p -dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and non- ortho -chlorinated biphenyls (N-o,o′-PCBs) against those sampled by an Infiltrex resin column water sampler. Also the relationship between what was present in the ecosystem as sampled by SPMDs and what was accumulated in the tissue of resident benthic-feeding fish was explored. Only the lipid portion of the SPMDs was prepared for analysis, due to some technical difficulties in cleaning the polyethene tubing. The calculated w…

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Passive sampling of PAHs in indoor air in Nepal

PAHs were sampled in ten homes in the Makwanpur region, Nepal. SPMDs and moss bags (Sphagnum girgensohnii) were used as passive samplers. Soot particles on the SPMD surfaces were also analyzed for PAHs. The overall PAH concentrations in SPMDs were significantly higher than those in moss bags. Total PAH mean concentrations of ten houses were 535μg/g lipid for SPMDs and 7.2 μg/g moss (dw) for moss bags. Ratios of phenanthrene/anthracene in indoor SPMDs and particulate matter varied from 2.9 to 3.5 and ratios of fluoranthene/pyrene varied from 1.1 to 1.4. The values for moss bags were respectively 1.7–3.6 and 0.8–2.4. These ratios indicate that the PAHs are from combustion origin. The PAH conc…

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Uptake of chlorohydrocarbons from soil by lipid-containing semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs)

Chlorohydrocarbons (CHCs) were surveyed in contaminated lake shore soil in Central Finland with polyethylene membranes containing synthetic triolein (SPMDs). High levels of hexachlorobenzene (HCBz) and PCBs were found in a significant number of the SPMDs exposed 28 days to 35 soil sampling locations along the 350 meter long shoreline. Distributions of HCBz and PCBs were different as demonstrated by two maximas of HCBz and four maximas of PCBs observed. Soil was also analyzed at selected locations for concentrations of CHCs, organic carbon (OC) and moisture. Steady state environmental fate modeling and simple equilibrium partition estimates based on analytical results both gave the same stea…

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Temperature dependent properties of environmentally important synthetic musks.

Environmental fate determining physical properties including their temperature dependence for five nitro musks and for seven polycyclic musks were estimated. The properties evaluated were vapor pressure in a solid and liquid state (PS and PL), solubility in water (S), Henry's law coefficient (H = PL/S) and log octanol-water partition coefficient (log KOW). Gas chromatography for starting values of vapor pressure estimation and HPLC experiments at 5-20 degrees C for comparison of the theoretical versus experimental solubilities in water were performed. The values of temperature (T) dependence coefficients (Ai and Bi) in equations: log (Property)i = Ai - Bi/T were determined. Values of proper…

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Polybrominated methoxy diphenyl ethers (MeO-PBDEs) in fish and guillemot of Baltic, Atlantic and Arctic environments

Arctic cod liver samples from Vestertana Fjord at the Arctic coast of Norway, salmon and guillemot samples from the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and salmon and lamprey larva samples from Kymijoki River in southern Finland were analysed for the occurrence of tri-, tetra- and pentabromomethoxy diphenyl ethers and their concentration levels were estimated. These compounds have previously been identified by other research groups in salmon, seal and dolphin samples. The aim of this study was to find out a possible temporal trend in the concentrations of these compounds in the cod liver samples from years 1987-1998 and to investigate the possible spatial differences in the concentrations in…

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Embryotoxic potential of persistent organic pollutants extracted from tissues of guillemots (Uria aalge) from the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean

The Baltic Sea is a heavily polluted area. To assess the current contaminant pressure on the common guillemot (Uria aalge) living there, whole-body extracts of guillemots from the Baltic Sea were prepared and subdivided over six fractions, which differed in composition due to lipophilicity and polarity of the contaminants. The fractions were tested in the chicken embryo assay and compared to fractions of Atlantic guillemot extracts. Fertilized chicken eggs were injected with 0.03, 0.3, or 3 bird egg equivalents (BEQ) of the contaminants present in the fractions and then incubated for 19 d. Endpoints were selected to cover several mechanisms that may play a role in reproductive failures of f…

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Estimation of the environmental hazard of organochlorines in pulp mill biosludge used as soil fertilizer

Abstract Contents of total organic chlorine and polychlorinated phenols, guaiacols, catechols, benzenes, cymenes, cymenenes, naphthalenes, toxic dibenzodioxins, toxic dibenzofurans, toxic PCB congener 77, alkylated dibenzofurans, alkylated bibenzyls and alkylated phenanthrenes in spent biosludges from activated sludge treatment plants of chlorobleaching kraft pulp mills are reported. Some estimations of hazard caused by these organochlorines to humans and wildlife from the use of biosludge as soil fertilizer are constructed and discussed.

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