Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been used as flame retardants in building materials, electronics, furnishings, vehicles, airplanes, plastics, polyurethane foams, and textiles for many ...years. Currently, the primary commercial mixtures, penta-, octa-, and deca-BDE, are globally restricted. Still, products containing PBDEs are expected to impact waste management and the environment for many years. In January 2016, an open fire in the Santa Marta landfill close to Santiago de Chile affected the city and surroundings. The fire caused several acute health effects and an increase in emergency hospitalizations. We measured PBDE levels in the areas affected by the fire in the air (gaseous and particulate) and soil, and PBDE emissions were estimated using a dispersion model. The results showed an increase in PBDE concentrations by a factor of 2–4 one day after the start of the fire. However, PBDE concentrations measured after the fire in PM10 and the gas phase were considered low compared to other regions. Interestingly, PBDEs’ patterns differed across the sites; however, BDE209 was the dominant congener for all environmental matrices. A preliminary risk assessment was conducted using the daily exposure dose (DED) by air inhalation estimation. The results showed low DED values for adults and children and suggested no direct health risk due to PBDE exposure. This study brings new data useful for future solid waste management initiatives in the country.
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•PBDEs were detected in air, PM10 and soil, before, during and after the landfill fire in Santiago.•PBDE concentrations increased in the atmosphere by a factor of ∼2 during the fire event.•CALPUFF dispersion model showed that fire plumes impacted the whole area of Metropolitan Santiago.•Despite the fire event, PBDE concentrations were low comparing to other regions of the world.•The exposure assessment showed that PBDE levels in PM10 did not pose a direct risk to human health.
The occurrence of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) used decades ago for vector control in urban areas is still reported as a threat to human health. Pyrethroids emerged as a replacement for OCPs in ...sanitary campaigns and are currently the main insecticides used for vector control worldwide, with prominent use as agricultural and household insecticides, for veterinary and gardening purposes, and as wood preservative. This study aimed to assess the occurrence, seasonal variation, and potential sources of pyrethroids in ambient air of two urban regions of Southeastern Brazil, along with the potential health risks to local populations via inhalation exposure. Pyrethroids were sampled by polyurethane foam passive air samplers and their concentrations were determined by gas chromatography coupled with electron capture negative ionization mass spectrometry (GC/ECNI-MS). Atmospheric pyrethroid concentrations (hereinafter reported in pg m−3) were considerably higher than those reported by previous studies worldwide. Cypermethrin (median: 2446; range: 461–15 125) and permethrin (655; 19–10 328) accounted for 95% of the total measured pyrethroids in ambient air. The remaining fraction comprised smaller amounts of bifenthrin (46; <limit of detection (LOD)–5171), deltamethrin (58; <LOD–564), phenothrin (7; <LOD–22) and fenvalerate (0.3; <LOD–3). Bifenthrin, deltamethrin and permethrin were linked to local sources, while cypermethrin, fenvalerate and phenothrin had more prominent regional contributions. In broad terms, most pyrethroids showed no clear seasonal trend. The concentrations and hazard quotients (HQs) showed the following order of occurrence and magnitude: urban > urban-industrial > background areas. HQs increased with decreasing age group, but deterministic and probabilistic estimates did not identify direct health risks for any group. Nevertheless, since only inhalation exposure was considered in this work, other pathways should be investigated to provide a more comprehensive risk assessment of the human exposure to pyrethroids.
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•First health risk assessment regarding pyrethroid inhalation in Latin America.•Most pyrethroids showed a significant urban signature as their potential sources.•Pyrethroids were ubiquitously detected over spatial and seasonal variations.•Exposure and hazard quotients increased with decreasing age group.•The inhalation exposure to pyrethroids showed no apparent risk to human health.
Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) have been produced for almost a century and some of them are still used, even after they have been proved to be toxic, persistent, bioaccumulative and prone to ...long-range transport. Brazil has used and produced pesticides in industrial scales for both agricultural and public health purposes. Urban and industrial regions are of special concern due to their high population density and their increased exposure to chemical pollution, many times enhanced by chemical production, application or irregular dumping. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the occurrence of OCPs in outdoor air of urban sites from two major regions of southeast Brazil. Some of these sites have been affected by OCP production and their irregular dumping. Deterministic and probabilistic inhalation cancer risk (CR) assessments were conducted for the human populations exposed to OCPs in ambient air. Ambient air was mainly affected by Ʃ-HCH (median = 340 pg m−3) and Ʃ-DDT (median = 233 pg m−3), the only two OCPs registered for domissanitary purposes in Brazil. OCP concentrations tended to be higher in summer than in winter. Dumping sites resulted in the highest OCP atmospheric concentrations and, thus, in the highest CR estimations. Despite of all limitations, probabilistic simulations suggested that people living in the studied regions are exposed to an increased risk of hepatic cancer. Infants and toddlers (0 < 2 y) were exposed to the highest inhalation CRs compared to other age groups. Other exposure pathways (such as ingestion and dermic uptake) are needed for a more comprehensive risk assessment. Moreover, this study also highlights the need to review the human exposure to OCPs through inhalation and their respective CR in other impacted areas worldwide, especially where high levels of OCPs are still being measured.
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•First investigation of OCP occurrence in ambient air of Brazilian urban areas.•OCP former factories and dumping sites generate high OCP atmospheric concentrations.•Deterministic and probabilistic estimations resulted in increased cancer risk for humans.•Younger individuals were exposed to higher cancer risks through OCP inhalation.
Infant formula intake is recommended to ensure comprehensive nutritional and caloric fulfillment when exclusive breastfeeding is not possible. However, similarly to breast milk, infant formulas may ...also contain pollutants capable of inducing endocrine-disrupting and neurotoxic effects. Thus, considering the sensitivity of their developing physiological systems and that infants have heightened susceptibility to environmental influences, this study was aimed at assessing the contents of essential elements, and inorganic and organic pollutants in infant formulas marketed in Brazil. Additionally, health risk assessments for selected contaminants were also performed. Measured contents of essential elements (Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Cu, Se, and Zn) were congruent with label information. Nevertheless, some toxic elements (Pb, Cd, As, Ni, and Al) were also detected. Notably, in the upper-bound scenario, Pb and Cd surpassed established threshold values when comparing the estimated daily intake (EDI) and tolerable daily intake (TDI - 3.57 and 0.36 μg/kg bw, respectively). Bisphenol P (BPP) and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) were frequently detected (84 % detection rate both) with elevated contents (BPP median = 4.28 ng/g and BBP median = 0.24 ng/g). Furthermore, a positive correlation (0.41) was observed between BPP and BBP, implying a potential co-occurrence within packaging materials. Methyl-paraben also correlated positively with BBP (0.57), showing a detection rate of 53 %. The cumulative PBDE contents ranged from 0.33 to 1.62 ng/g, with BDE-154 and BDE-47 the dominant congeners. When comparing EDI values with TDIs, all organic pollutants remained below the thresholds across all exposure scenarios. Moreover, non-carcinogenic risks were below the threshold (HQ > 1) when dividing the EDIs by the respective reference doses for chronic exposure. While the current findings may suggest that infant formula intake poses no immediate risk in terms of the evaluated chemicals, it remains imperative to conduct further research to safeguard the health of infants considering other chemicals, as well as their potential cumulative effects.
Urban centers cause atmospheric pollution and suffer the most from their emissions. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent toxic substances (PTS) that can be air transported at urban ...sites and impact human health, causing skin allergies, respiratory diseases, and cancer. Macaé is a southeastern Brazilian coastal city that had an intense process of urbanization and population growth due to the installation of oil companies in the 1970s. The study aimed to evaluate Macaé's air quality regarding atmospheric PAH occurrence, measured using polyurethane foam passive air samplers (PUF-PAS). PUF disks were deployed along environmental gradients during the 2018–2019 spring/summer in Macaé city and its surroundings. In total, 22 individual PAHs were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Total PAH air concentrations ranged from 0.3 to 3.3 ng.m-3, pointing out three- to four-membered ring compounds as the most abundant (76%). Among them, phenanthrene, anthracene, and fluoranthene had the highest air concentrations, especially at sampling sites where fossil fuel combustion seemed more prominent. Compared to other cities worldwide, the lower PAH air levels reported in this study may be linked to the influence of marine air masses. As the most carcinogenic PAH compound is benzoapyrene, the results are also given in benzoapyrene-equivalent (BaPeq). BaPeq ranged from 0.02 to 0.10 ng.m-3. This study indicated an environmental trend along urban-industry-background spatial transects. Even though a prominent marine air mass might contribute to efficient air pollution dispersion, in urban/industrial areas, human exposure to carcinogenic chemicals is higher, probably due to local PAH sources inside the urban perimeter of Macaé.
Pollution by chemicals and waste impacts human and ecosystem health on regional, national, and global scales, resulting, together with climate change and biodiversity loss, in a triple planetary ...crisis. Consequently, in 2022, countries agreed to establish an intergovernmental science-policy panel (SPP) on chemicals, waste, and pollution prevention, complementary to the existing intergovernmental science-policy bodies on climate change and biodiversity. To ensure the SPP's success, it is imperative to protect it from conflicts of interest (COI). Here, we (i) define and review the implications of COI, and its relevance for the management of chemicals, waste, and pollution; (ii) summarize established tactics to manufacture doubt in favor of vested interests, i.e., to counter scientific evidence and/or to promote misleading narratives favorable to financial interests; and (iii) illustrate these with selected examples. This analysis leads to a review of arguments for and against chemical industry representation in the SPP's work. We further (iv) rebut an assertion voiced by some that the chemical industry should be directly involved in the panel's work because it possesses data on chemicals essential for the panel's activities. Finally, (v) we present steps that should be taken to prevent the detrimental impacts of COI in the work of the SPP. In particular, we propose to include an independent auditor's role in the SPP to ensure that participation and processes follow clear COI rules. Among others, the auditor should evaluate the content of the assessments produced to ensure unbiased representation of information that underpins the SPP's activities.
The worldwide massive use of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and mercury (Hg) is taken as an environmental threat due to their high toxicity, potential for long-range transport, bioaccumulation and ...persistence. Both, OCPs and Hg, were widely used in the Brazilian Amazon region and deserve more attention in terms of environmental and public health. Focusing on expanding the knowledge about impacted areas and its consequences for local people, this study measured concentrations of OCPs and Hg in catfish (Ageneiosus brevifilis) samples. Moreover, a non-target analysis of organohalogen contaminants was carried out by means of full-scan screening. DDT and methylmercury showed the highest concentration values, ranging from 101 to 2061 microg kg.sup.-1 w.w. and 629 to 2009 microg kg.sup.-1 w.w., respectively. Pentachloroanisole was the only non-target organohalogenated compound identified and it was present in all samples. Estimated daily intake values did not exceed the safe reference limits proposed by the World Health Organization for OCPs, with the exception in some cases of heptachlor. On the other hand, the safe reference value of methylmercury was surpassed in all the fish samples. Results dismiss a recent input of OCPs due to greater contribution of pesticide metabolites, however, they point out a health risk hazard to riparian people. The concentrations of methylmercury and total dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, were up to one order of importance higher than other contaminants, which endorses that this region is still a hotspot for these contaminants. Keywords: estimated daily intake; organohalogen contaminants; persistent organic pollutants; risk assessment
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent toxic substances prone to long-range atmospheric transport. Even in low concentrations, environmental exposure to PAHs can impact human health. ...In this study we aimed to i) investigate the occurrence of 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (∑15PAHs), from August 2016 to January 2018, in the atmosphere of Molina, using polyurethane foam disks (PAS-PUF) in central Chile; and ii) perform deterministic and probabilistic (using Monte Carlo simulations) inhalation cancer risk assessments.
Gas chromatography and tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC- MS/MS) measured target PAHs. Results showed ∑15PAHs ranging from 2 ng m-3 to 108 ng m-3, with four-ring PAHs as the prevalent compounds, including phenanthrene (44%) and fluoranthene (24%). Winter season showed the highest PAH levels (increasing factor up to ∼8 times). PAHs diagnostic ratios showed the prevalence of pyrogenic combustion (winter) and petrogenic combustion (summer). Lifetime cancer risk assessments, using BaP-eq values, indicated an increased cancer risk for the exposed population considering different risk assessment approaches. Younger individuals were the most affected by an increased cancer risk at all sampling sites. The Monte Carlo probabilistic assessment indicated that infants and toddlers could be exposed to PAH air concentrations exceeding the cancer risk threshold in over 94% of the simulations. The coldest months in the studied region are critical for human exposure and health risk due to intense wood combustion. Indoor air can be even more relevant due to the chronic inhalation of the smoke and associated chemicals.
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•Winter season showed the highest PAH levels (increasing factor up to ∼8 times).•Four-ring PAHs were the prevalent compounds with phenanthrene accounting∼50%.•Lifetime cancer risk using BaP-eq showed values exceeding the cancer risk thresholds.•Younger individuals were the most affected by an increased cancer risk at all sampling sites.•The coldest months are critical for human exposure due to intense wood combustion.
Reservoir sediment can work as both sink and source for contaminants. Once released into the water column, contaminants can be toxic to biota and humans. We investigate potential ecological risk to ...benthic organisms by metals contamination in six reservoirs in Southeast Brazil. Results of the bioavailable fraction of copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe) in sediment samples are presented. Considering Cu, Cd, and Zn concentrations, about 6% of the samples exceeded the threshold effect levels of sediment quality guidelines. The comparison to sediment quality guidelines is conservative because we used a moderate metal extraction. Control of contaminant sources in these reservoirs is key because they are sources of water and food. The mixture toxicity assessment showed an increased incidence of toxicity to aquatic organisms showing that mixture toxicity should be taken into account in sediment assessment criteria.
The worldwide massive use of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and mercury (Hg) is taken as an environmental threat due to their high toxicity, potential for long-range transport, bioaccumulation and ...persistence. Both, OCPs and Hg, were widely used in the Brazilian Amazon region and deserve more attention in terms of environmental and public health. Focusing on expanding the knowledge about impacted areas and its consequences for local people, this study measured concentrations of OCPs and Hg in catfish (Ageneiosus brevifilis) samples. Moreover, a non-target analysis of organohalogen contaminants was carried out by means of full-scan screening. DDT and methylmercury showed the highest concentration values, ranging from 101 to 2061 µg kg-1 w.w. and 629 to 2009 µg kg-1 w.w., respectively. Pentachloroanisole was the only non-target organohalogenated compound identified and it was present in all samples. Estimated daily intake values did not exceed the safe reference limits proposed by the World Health Organization for OCPs, with the exception in some cases of heptachlor. On the other hand, the safe reference value of methylmercury was surpassed in all the fish samples. Results dismiss a recent input of OCPs due to greater contribution of pesticide metabolites, however, they point out a health risk hazard to riparian people. The concentrations of methylmercury and total dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, were up to one order of importance higher than other contaminants, which endorses that this region is still a hotspot for these contaminants. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17807/orbital.v10i4.1071
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