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PubMed1994

Biological monitoring of environmental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; 1-hydroxypyrene in urine of people.

A biomarker of human exposure to chemical agents provides a valuable parameter for assessing the extent and significance of the uptake by giving a measurement that is direct and integrated over time and exposure routes. Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene is currently tested as a biomarker for the assessment of low level environmental exposure of people to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Five examples of the application of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene methodology in the assessment of environmental exposure to PAH are presented: inhalation of tobacco smoke; inhalation of urban outdoor air; windsurfers sailing on polluted water; absorption of contaminated food; exposure in an urban area with many heavy industries. The examples illustrate that the urinary 1-hydroxypyrene test is sufficiently sensitive. Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene is an effective biomarker for the assessment of human environmental exposure to PAH.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Biological monitoring of environmental exposure to manganese in blood samples from residents of the city of Barcelona, Spain.

Serum manganese levels were determined in 250 healthy subjects (122 men and 128 women) living in Barcelona in northeastern Spain. The study was designed to assess the reference levels for serum manganese and to investigate its relationship to age and sex. The age distribution ranged from 15 to 90 years. The assays were performed by means of a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The geometric mean of serum manganese concentration was 1.1 microg/l, ranging from 0.3 microg/l to 2.5 microg/l. In almost every case, the 95th upper percentiles of this element were < 1.8 microg/l. No correlation between the concentration of manganese and sex could be established, but in the younger population the manganese levels were nearly three times higher than the results obtained in the older population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Monitoring of environmental heavy metals in fish from Nasser Lake.

Lake ecosystems are, in particular, vulnerable to heavy metal pollution. Tilapia nilotica is one of the aquatic organisms affected by heavy metals. Therefore, heavy metals Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Sr and Zn were determined in different tissues of T. nilotica (ages 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 years), which include the muscle, gill, stomach, intestine, liver, vertebral column and scales, to assess the fish pollution with heavy metals. In addition, the study was extended to determine these elements in the aquatic plant (Najas armeta), sediment and water of Khor E1-Ramel in Nasser Lake (Egypt). The study showed that of all the fish parts, fish liver accumulated the highest levels of Cu and Zn. Manganese presented in the intestine and stomach in the highest concentration. Scales exhibited the highest levels of Co, Cr, Ni and Sr, while the gill and vertebral column contains the lowest level of the studied elements. Heavy metals in different parts of T. nilotica differ with the fish growth and extraction rate of these elements from sediment, aquatic plant and lake water. Heavy metals under study in the edible parts of the investigated fish were in the safety permissible levels for human uses.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Biological monitoring of environmental exposure to PAHs in the vicinity of a Söderberg aluminium reduction plant.

OBJECTIVES: To assess environmental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the vicinity of a Söderberg aluminium reduction plant in Shawinigan, Canada with urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) as a biomarker. METHODS: Urine samples were collected from 20 non-occupationally exposed subjects living less than 500 m from the plant and from 20 controls living in Trois-Rivières, another industrial town 40 km from Shawinigan. Concentrations of 1-OHP were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). RESULTS: Among controls, geometric mean (range) 1-OHP concentrations were 0.046 (0.012-0.116) mumol/mol creatinine in non-smokers and 0.125 (0.051-0.282) mumol/mol creatinine in smokers. Among exposed subjects, values were 0.103 (0.056-0.196) mumol/mol creatinine in non-smokers and 0.250 (0.112-0.448) mumol/mol creatinine in smokers. Excretion of 1-OHP was significantly higher in exposed subjects than in controls among non-smokers and smokers (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Based on urinary 1-OHP as a biomarker, it seems that living near an industrial point source of PAHs is associated with higher exposure. The health significance of this finding will require further investigation.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Determining ecoregions for environmental and GMO monitoring networks.

A representative environmental monitoring network at the regional scale cannot use raster-based or random sampling designs, but requires a stratified sampling procedure integrating different information layers, and it has to occur in ecologically differing homogeneous regions (ecoregions). These we have determined using a set of spatial strata with ecological variables which we analysed with classification and regression trees (CART). We present a framework for environmental monitoring, that covers different scales, and we transfer the framework to a potential GMO (genetically modified organisms) monitoring network. We use ecoregion and other environmental strata together with existing environmental monitoring networks to determine GMO monitoring sites more precisely.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2003

Selection of bioindicators for monitoring marine environmental quality in the Bay of Fundy, Atlantic Canada.

Distribution of metals, PAH's and PCB's in lobsters, mussels, and sediments were used to assess marine environmental quality of the Bay of Fundy. This study demonstrates that the lobster (Homarus americanus) is a better bioindicator for monitoring contaminants in the marine environment and has a greater capacity for the uptake and accumulation of contaminants than the mussel (Mytilus edulis) and sediments. A definite pattern in the spatial distribution of lobster Cu, Cd, and Ag was evident. The distribution of organic contaminants for both mussels and lobsters in the Bay of Fundy lacked a spatial trend, and organic contaminants were undetectable in sediments from all sites. The Gulf Watch Programme, which monitors chemicals in mussels in the Bay of Fundy, did not indicate a problem with high levels of Cu, Cd, and Zn in the ecosystem. Analytes below the detection limit, such as in mussels and sediments, increase the difficulties of chemical analysis and detection for environmental monitoring. Deficiencies of mussels in monitoring the Bay of Fundy were discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Parasitological data as monitors of environmental health.

When an appropriate fish host is selected, analysis of its parasites offers a useful, reliable, economical, telescoped indication or monitor of environmental health. The value of that information increases when corroborated by another non-parasitological technique. The analysis of parasites is not necessarily simple because not all hosts serve as good models and because the number of species, presence of specific species, intensity of infections, life histories of species, location of species in hosts, and host response for each parasitic species have to be addressed individually to assure usefulness of the tool. Also, different anthropogenic contaminants act in a distinct manner relative to hosts, parasites, and each other as well as being influenced by natural environmental conditions. Total values for all parasitic species infecting a sample cannot necessarily be grouped together. For example, an abundance of numbers of either species or individuals can indicate either a healthy or an unhealthy environment, depending on the species of parasite. Moreover, depending on the parasitic species, its infection, and the time chosen for collection/examination, the assessment may indicate a chronic or acute state of the environmental health. For most types of analyses, the host should be one that has a restricted home range, can be infected by numerous species of parasites, many of which have a variety of additional hosts in their life cycles, and can be readily sampled. Data on parasitic infections in the western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), a fish that meets the criteria in two separate studies, illustrate the usefulness of that host as a model to indicate both healthy and detrimentally influenced environments. In those studies, species richness, intensity of select species, host resistance, other hosts involved in life cycles, and other factors all relate to site and contaminating discharge.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Activation analysis of human hair as a tool for environmental pollution monitoring.

Recent development and uses of neutron activation techniques for human hair analyses are reviewed. The method of neutron activation analysis (NAA) appears to have the potential to be used as a tool for environmental pollution monitoring. Principally, two types of NAA procedure are in use nowadays for multielement analyses of human scalp hair. The more common of these is the method of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), consisting of a single short-term (3-10 hours) exposure of hair to a beam of neutrons in a nuclear reactor, followed by two measurements of gamma-ray spectra at 2-3 days and 3-4 weeks after the end of irradiation. The following microelements can be commonly determined by this type of activation procedure: As, Au, Br, Cu, K, La, Na, Sb, Sm, Co, Cr, Cs, Fe, Hg, Rb, Sc, Se and Zn. The other of the two procedures involves the use of radiochemical separation techniques and is employed for quantitative determinations of elements that are not easily determined by INAA (Mo, Cd, Ni, etc.), or in cases where there is a need to achieve the lowest possible limits of analytical determination. The accuracy of NAA techniques is strongly dependent on the hair sampling and hair sample processing methods used. The analytical error of this method may vary within the range of 5-15%. Its applicability as a tool for monitoring the environmental pollution level is here demonstrated on an example of groups of individuals living in the areas differing by the degree of environmental pollution. The use of other biopsy materials, such as e.g. mammalian hair, for the purpose of environmental exposure monitoring is also considered in this review.

Activation Analysis↗
PubMed2001

A simple and easy method for the monitoring of environmental pollutants using oligotrophic bacteria.

Sphingomonas paucimobilis KPS01, an oligotrophic bacterium isolated from soil, may be a useful tool for monitoring heavy metals. Previous methods relying on counting of viable cells require a relatively long time and some skill; we have developed a method based on optical density (O.D.) measurements which is significantly faster and does not require skilled personnel. The results of the O.D. and viable count methods were consistent; both methods detected heavy metals at concentrations ranging from 10-3 to 10-5 mmol l-1 and identified heavy metal contamination in 13 of 18 river water samples. Our results demonstrate that biological detection using this O.D. method and S. paucimobilis KPS01 may be useful for routine environmental monitoring of heavy metals, particularly in water sources.

Colony Count, Microbial↗
PubMed1991

Small mammals as monitors of environmental contaminants.

The merit of using small mammals as monitors of environmental contaminants was assessed using data from the published literature. Information was located on 35 species of small mammals from 7 families used to monitor heavy metals, radionuclides, and organic chemicals at mine sites, industrial areas, hazardous and radioactive waste disposal sites, and agricultural and forested land. To document foodchain transfer of chemicals, concentrations in soil, vegetation, and invertebrates, where available, were included. The most commonly trapped North American species were Peromyscus leucopus, Blarina brevicauda, and Microtus pennsylvanicus. In these species, exposure to chemicals was determined from tissue residue analyses, biochemical assays, and cytogenetic assays. Where enough information was available, suitable target tissues, or biological assays for specific chemicals were noted. In general, there was a relationship between concentrations of contaminants in the soil or food, and concentrations in target tissues of several species. This relationship was most obvious for the nonessential heavy metals, cadmium, lead, and mercury and for fluoride. Kidney was the single best tissue for residue analyses of inorganic contaminants. However, bone should be the tissue of choice for both lead and fluorine. Exposure to lead was also successfully documented using biochemical and histopathological endpoints. Bone was the tissue of choice for exposure to 90Sr, whereas muscle was an appropriate tissue for 137Cs. For organic contaminants, exposure endpoints depended on the chemical(s) of concern. Liver and whole-body residue analyses, as well as enzyme changes, organ histology, genotoxicity, and, in one case, population dynamics, were successfully used to document exposure to these contaminants. Based on information in these studies, each species' suitability as a monitor for a specific contaminant or type of contaminant was evaluated and subsequently ranked. A relationship between contaminant exposure and trophic level emerged. Insectivores (shrews) had the highest levels of contaminants, followed by omnivores (cricetid mice) with intermediate levels, and herbivores (voles) with the lowest levels. A substantial number of these biomonitoring studies using small mammals collectively point to the importance of food habits and habitat of small mammals, and their availability and abundance as factors that should influence species selection for monitoring studies. The type of contaminants under consideration as well as the appropriateness of the endpoints selected are important factors to consider when deciding whether or not to include small mammals in biomonitoring studies.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

[Development of minimal requirements for site assessment and monitoring to estimate exposure in environmental medicine--the Hamburg approach].

As a further step towards quality management in environmental medicine the Hamburg Association of Panel Physicians and the Hamburg Department of Labour, Health and Welfare developed a consensus paper concerning the handling of indoor related problems. It focuses on the cooperation between environmental physicians and engineers. A critical point in the process of environmental health risk assessment is the selection of either human biomonitoring or environmental monitoring. Further well-known problems are quality of measures and process documentation. Accurate, reliable measures of individual exposure are an essential need for physicians who have to judge the potential impact of environmental contaminants on human health. The approach proposed in this paper was chosen to enable the patient and the physician to benefit from the special knowledge of environmental engineers on indoor related problems. The procedure and criteria might help to reduce misclassifications of diseases and the amount of measures with no medical relevance and to establish scientifically valid associations between health outcomes and exposures to environmental contaminants.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed1993

Assessment of exposure to chloramphenicol and azathioprine among workers in a South African pharmaceutical plant.

There have been very few published studies that have evaluated exposure to myelotoxic drugs among production workers in pharmaceutical plants. Previous studies have focussed mainly on nurses and evaluated exposure to cytotoxic drugs using urine mutagenicity as a marker of exposure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the exposure of workers involved in the production of chloramphenicol and azathioprine. Exposure was evaluated utilising biological monitoring, biological effect monitoring and environmental monitoring. Biological monitoring included plasma chloramphenicol levels, plasma 6-mercaptopurine and urine 6-thiouric acid levels. These were analysed using high performance liquid chromatography. Myelotoxic effect was assessed by measuring the haematological indices of bone marrow function. The exposed 17 workers were compared to matched controls of equal numbers. Neither substance could be detected in serum nor urine by the analytical methods employed. However, haematological indices demonstrated a significantly decreased mean reticulocyte and neutrophil count in the azathioprine exposed group. Industrial hygiene measurements demonstrated contamination of the air inside the airhood of exposed workers. In conclusion, it is evident that workers involved in the production of both these drugs are at risk of developing adverse health effects. Furthermore, more sensitive analytical methods need to be developed to evaluate absorption of myelotoxic chemicals among occupationally exposed workers.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

The reproductive success and quality of blue tits (Parus caeruleus) in a heavy metal pollution gradient.

Studying the effects of pollution on the reproductive performance of birds in the natural environment is of increasing importance due to the need to monitor environmental quality biologically. In this study we investigated the reproductive success and the quality of blue tits in four study sites (at 0.1, 1, 2.5 and 4 km from a metallurgic smelter) located within a heavy metal pollution gradient during three consecutive years. At the two sites closest to the pollution source, a significantly higher proportion of females had egg laying interruptions, and the interruptions also lasted longer (although not significantly). Although the hatching success differed significantly among sites, these differences could not be related to differences in pollution levels. Other important breeding parameters such as the start of egg laying, the clutch size and the breeding success did not differ significantly among sites. Our results suggest that exposure to heavy metal pollution did not influence blue tit reproduction in an important way.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

[Mercury concentration and its distribution in Nycticorax nycticorax and Chinese Ardeola bacchus fledglings at Huangpu District of Guangzhou City, China].

In this study, live fledglings of Nycticorax nycticorax and Ardeola bacchus at the Huangpu District of Guangzhou City were collected, and their primary feather, breast feather, tail feather, liver, chest muscle and egg shell were sampled for mercury determination. The results showed that these two heron species had a very similar distribution pattern of mercury concentration in their tissues and organs, i. e., tail feather > breast and primary feather > liver > chest muscle > egg shell. Ardeola bacchus had higher levels of mercury in all its tissues than Nycticorax nycticorax. There were significant interspecific differences in mercury level for breast feather and primary feather. Because the collection of breast feather is easier and not harmful to birds, it is better to use it rather than primary or tail feather to monitor environmental pollution. The mercury level in breast feather was ten times higher than that in liver, lower than that in tail feather, but not significantly different to that in primary feather. The mercury concentrations in the tissues of Nycticorax nycticorax and Ardeola bacchus from Huangpu District of Guangzhou were similar to those from the suburbs of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, but lower than those from Taihu Lake, Jiangsu Province and higher than those from Hong Kong.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

An electret passive environmental 222Rn monitor based on ionization measurement.

The electret passive environmental 222Rn monitor (E-PERM) is an extension of electret dosimeters used for measurement of x and gamma radiation. An E-PERM consists of a small cup or canister, having an electret at the bottom, and a filtered inlet at the top. The 222Rn gas entering through the filter and the decay products formed inside the cup generate ions which are collected by the electret. The reduction of charge (or surface potential) on the electret is a measure of time integrated 222Rn exposure. An E-PERM of 220-mL volume with an electret of 0.23 cm thickness gave a surface potential drop of 2.5 V for 37 Bq m-3 d (1 pCi L-1 d). The electret voltage was measured with a specially built surface potential voltmeter. This sensitivity was found adequate for a 1-wk measurement of 222Rn in homes. For longer term measurements, an E-PERM of 40-mL volume and an electret of 51-micron thickness was developed which gave a surface potential drop of 2.6 V for 37 Bq m-3 y (1 pCi L-1 y). Other combinations of chamber volume and electret thicknesses gave responses between these two values. The surface potential of electrets made from Teflon FEP were shown to stay stable even under extreme conditions of relative humidity. The ion collection process in E-PERMs was also shown to be independent of humidity down to an electret surface potential of 100 V.

Environmental Monitoring↗
PubMed1991

Biological monitoring of environmental and occupational exposure to mercury.

Biological monitoring was used to assess mercury exposure from occupational and environmental sources in a group of chloralkali workers (n = 89) and in a control group (n = 75). In the control group, the median value for blood mercury (B-Hg) was 15 nmol/l, that for serum mercury (S-Hg) was 4 nmol/l and that for urinary mercury (U-Hg) was 1.1 nmol/mmol creatinine. Corresponding levels in the chloralkali group were 55 nmol/l, 45 nmol/l and 14.3 nmol/mmol creatinine, respectively. In the control group, there were statistically significant relationships between fish consumption and both B-Hg and S-Hg values (P less than 0.001), whereas U-Hg correlated best with the individual amalgam burden (P less than 0.01). In the chloralkali group, the mercury levels in blood and urine were significantly related to the type of work (P less than 0.001) but not to the length of employment, to fish consumption or to the quantity of dental amalgam fillings. In both groups there were poor correlations between smoking or alcohol intake and the mercury levels in blood and urine. The results strongly suggest that fish is an important source of methylmercury exposure and that amalgam fillings are probably the most important source of inorganic mercury exposure among occupationally unexposed individuals. In the chloralkali group, mercury exposure from fish and amalgam was overshadowed by occupational exposure to inorganic mercury.

Adult↗