Search results for "Biomonitoring"
showing 10 items of 200 documents
Biomonitoring of bisphenols A, F, S and parabens in urine of breastfeeding mothers: Exposure and risk assessment
2019
In the present study we used human biomonitoring to assess the internal exposure and the risk to four parabens and three bisphenols in 103 Spanish breastfeeding mothers participating in the BETTERMIILK project. Urinary methylparaben (MP), ethylparaben (EP), propylparaben (PP) and butylparaben (BP) presented detection frequencies ranging from 12% (BP) to 92% (MP), while bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol S (BPS) were detected in 76% (BPA) and 20% (BPF, BPS) of the mothers. Average paraben concentrations (geometric mean) ranged from 0.021 ng mL(-1) (BP) to 17.7 ng mL(-1) (MP), whereas bisphenols had geometric means concentrations from 0.042 ng mL(-1) (BPF) to 0.927 ng mL(-1) (…
Background element content in the lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea: a comparative analysis of digestion methods
2019
In bioaccumulation studies, the interpretation of pollutant contents in the target biomonitor has to be performed by assessing a deviation from an unaltered reference condition. A common strategy consists in the comparison with background element content (BEC) values, often built up by uncritically merging methodologically heterogeneous data. In this respect, the acid digestion of samples was identified as a major step affecting BEC data. Here, the analytical outcomes of two acid mixtures were compared on a set of matched paired samples of the lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea, a widely used biomonitor for which BEC values based on partial digestion were previously provided. The standard refer…
Background element content of the lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea: A supra-national state of art implemented by novel field data from Italy
2018
Abstract In biomonitoring, the knowledge of background element content (BEC) values is an essential pre-requisite for the correct assessment of pollution levels. Here, we estimated the BEC values of a highly performing biomonitor, the epiphytic lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea, by means of a careful review of literature data, integrated by an extensive field survey. Methodologically homogeneous element content datasets, reflecting different exposure conditions across European and extra-European countries, were compiled and comparatively analysed. Element content in samples collected in remote areas was compared to that of potentially enriched samples, testing differences between medians for 2…
New Interpretative Scales for Lichen Bioaccumulation Data: The Italian Proposal
2019
The interpretation of lichen bioaccumulation data is of paramount importance in environmental forensics and decision-making processes. By implementing basic ideas underlying previous interpretative scales, new dimensionless, species-independent &ldquo
Illustration of constrained composition statistical methods in the interpretation of radionuclide concentrations in the moss Pleurozium schreberi.
2013
In this work we have used moss Pleurozium schreberi as a bioindicator of radioactive materials in environment. The following radionuclides were determined in moss samples: (137)Cs, (40)K, (210)Pb, (212)Pb, (214)Pb, (214)Bi, (231)Th, (235)U and (228)Ac, but not all of them in each sample. The highest activity concentrations were found for naturally occurring (210)Pb, (40)K and the artificial isotope (137)Cs. Activities of radioisotopes were recalculated into mass concentrations and the statistical methods intended for constrained data processing were used. Analysis of our results showed at most a weak relationship between radioisotope mass concentrations in moss. It was supposed that concent…
The Origin of Heavy Metals and Radionuclides Accumulated in the Soil and Biota Samples Collected in Svalbard, Near Longyearbyen
2017
Abstract Heavy metals and radioactive compounds are potentially hazardous substances for plants, animals and humans in the Arctic. A good knowledge of the spatial variation of these substances in soil and primary producers, and their sources, is therefore essential. In the samples of lichen Thamnolia vermicularis, Salix polaris and Cassiope tetragona, and the soil samples collected in 2014 in Svalbard near Longyearbyen, the concentrations of the following heavy metals were determined: Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Hg, as well as the activity concentrations of the following: K-40, Cs-137, Pb-210, Pb-212, Bi-212, Bi-214, Pb-214, Ac-228, Th-231 and U-235 in the soil samples. The differences in th…
Mosses as biomonitors of atmospheric heavy metal deposition : Spatial patterns and temporal trends in Europe
2010
In recent decades, mosses have been used successfully as biomonitors of atmospheric deposition of heavy metals. Since 1990, the European moss survey has been repeated at five-yearly intervals. Although spatial patterns were metal-specific, in 2005 the lowest concentrations of metals in mosses were generally found in Scandinavia, the Baltic States and northern parts of the UK ; the highest concentrations were generally found in Belgium and south-eastern Europe. The recent decline in emission and subsequent deposition of heavy metals across Europe has resulted in a decrease in the heavy metal concentration in mosses for the majority of metals. Since 1990, the concentration in mosses has decli…
Lead isotopic fingerprint in human scalp hair: The case study of Iglesias mining district (Sardinia, Italy)
2017
The Sulcis-Iglesiente district (SW Sardinia, Italy) has been, until recently, one of the most important Italian polymetallic mining areas for the extraction of lead. Epidemiological studies conducted over several decades have indicated this site at high risk of environmental crisis with possible adverse effects on the public health. In the present paper we discuss Pb isotope signatures in human scalp hair and road dust collected from the Sulcis-Iglesiente area in order to trace the exposure of populations to potential Pb sources. A total of 23 determinations (20 on hair samples and 3 on road dust samples) of lead isotope ratios (206Pb/207Pb and 208Pb/206Pb) were carried out. The obtained re…
Saliva as a matrix for human biomonitoring in occupational and environmental medicine [Biomonitoring Methods, 2015]
2016
Presence and biodistribution of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in Paracentrotus lividus highlight its potential application for environmental biomonit…
2021
AbstractThe first determination of presence and biodistribution of PFOA in ninety specimens of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus from two differently contaminated sites along Palermo’s coastline (Sicily) is reported. Analyses were performed on the sea urchins’ coelomic fluids, coelomocytes, gonads or mixed organs, as well as on seawater and Posidonia oceanica leaves samples from the collection sites. PFOA concentration ranged between 1 and 13 ng/L in seawater and between 0 and 794 ng/g in P. oceanica. The analyses carried out on individuals of P. lividus from the least polluted site (A) showed PFOA median values equal to 0 in all the matrices (coelomic fluid, coelomocytes and gonads). Conver…