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PubMed2003

Ambient concentrations of total suspended particulate matter and its elemental constituents at the wider area of the mining facilities of TVX Hellas in Chalkidiki, Greece.

To assess ambient air quality at the wider area of TVX Hellas mining facilities, the Total Suspended Particulate matter (TSP) and its content in characteristic elements, i.e., As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn are being monitored for more than thirty months as part of the established Environmental Monitoring Program. High Volume air samplers equipped with Tissue Quartz filters were employed for the collection of TSP. Analyses were effected after digestion of the suspended particulate with an HNO3-HCl solution and determination of elemental concentrations with an Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy equipped with graphite furnace. The sampling stations were selected to record representatively the existing ambient air quality in the vicinity of the facilities and at remote sites not affected from industrial activities. Monitoring data indicated that the background TSP concentrations ranged from 5-60 microg/m3. Recorded TSP concentrations at the residential sites close to the facilities ranged between 20-100 microg/m3, indicating only a minimal influence from the mining and milling activities. Similar spatial variation was observed for the TSP constituents and specifically for Pb and Zn. To validate the monitoring procedures, a parallel sampling campaign took place with different High Volume samplers at days where low TSP concentrations were expected. The satisfactory agreement (+/- 11%) at low concentrations (50-100 microg/m3) clearly supported the reproducibility of the techniques employed specifically at the critical range of lower concentrations.

Air Pollutants↗

PubMed1999

Tradescantia-micronucleus assay on the water quality of lake Hongzhe in Jiangsu Province, China.

Lake Hongzhe, located in the northwest part of the Province of Jiangsu, is one of the five largest freshwater lakes in China. It has great economic importance for the fishery industry and for scenic beauty. Effluents from the industrial development and runoff from farm chemicals have contributed increasingly to the water pollutants in recent years. For many years, water quality has been monitored only by chemical analysis. No information is provided from the chemical analysis on the toxicity level of the aquatic forms in the lake and the ecosystems that directly or indirectly depend upon this water. In the present study, some chemical components were determined from water samples collected from the lake and in addition, the genotoxicity of the same water samples was determined using the Tradescantia-micronucleus bioassay. Results confirmed that the quantity of pollutants in the water bears some relationship with the genotoxicity in terms of chromosome damage. High nitrates and nitrogen content were the main contributing factors observed. The use of bioassays such as the Tradescantia-micronucleus test together with chemical analyses to monitor the water quality is highly recommended for the general practice for the environmental monitoring stations through the country.

Biological Assay↗

PubMed2004

Meiofaunal colonisation on artificial substrates: a tool for biomonitoring the environmental quality on coastal marine systems.

The use of artificial substrates for monitoring environmental quality and contaminant impact has been repeatedly suggested, but little information is yet available on the applicability and the sensitivity of this approach. One of the crucial points to be addressed for using artificial substrates, as tools mirroring actual benthic community state, is assessing whether, and how, they reflect in situ conditions characterising natural sediments. In this study we investigated short-term dynamics of meiofaunal colonisation on artificial substrates (bottle brushes) deployed in impacted and "pristine" (control) sites. Meiofaunal colonisation reached a threshold level after 4-6 days in both impacted and control sites but with significantly higher densities in artificial substrates deployed in the control site. Meiofaunal parameters in artificial substrates reflected those of meiofaunal assemblages inhabiting natural sediments where artificial substrates were deployed. Colonised artificial substrates were then transplanted from impacted to control sites. This caused a significant increase of meiofaunal abundance, which after 5 days reached values indistinguishable from the non-impacted control. Given the rapid colonisation time, meiofaunal sensitivity to changing environmental conditions, it can be concluded that artificial substrates can represent an useful tool to be further developed for routine and low-cost monitoring studies aiming at integrating biological indicators of environmental quality.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

An analysis of occupational blood lead trends in Manitoba, 1979 through 1987.

BACKGROUND: While regulations for workplace lead exposure become more strict, their effectiveness in decreasing blood lead concentrations and the method by which this is attained have not been evaluated. METHODS: An analysis was conducted of 10,190 blood lead samples from employees of 10 high-risk workplaces collected in Manitoba, 1979-87, as part of regulated occupational surveillance. RESULTS: A significant decrease in blood lead concentrations was observed overall as well as for each individual company. A 1979 government regulation to reduce blood lead to below 3.38 mumol/L (70 micrograms/dl) was followed by a drop in blood lead concentrations; a 1983 order to reduce blood leads to below 2.90 mumol/L (60 micrograms/dl) was not followed by such a drop. Longitudinal analysis by individual workers suggested that companies were complying by use of administrative control, i.e., removing workers to lower lead areas until blood lead levels had fallen, then returning them to high lead areas. CONCLUSION: Focusing upon blood lead as the sole criterion for compliance is not effective; regulations must specifically require environmental monitoring and controls. Biological surveillance serves as "back-up" to environmental surveillance and this database illustrates the usefulness of a comprehensive centralized surveillance system.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗

PubMed1999

[The microbiological characterization of the bioaerosol and leachate from an urban solid refuse dump: preliminary data].

The present paper shows the results of an experimental study aimed at arranging a microbiological characterization of bioaerosol and leachate resulting from a sanitary landfill for solid urban waste situated near Rome. Bioaerosol sampling was performed by using the active sampling method referred to as surface air system, that is extensively used during indoor environmental monitoring. The microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) believed to be of relevance on bioaerosol and leachate with a view to hygienic risks, were investigated in order to estimate the potential risks to which the population and the workers can be exposed and consequently to allow corrective measures by monitoring campaigns of the examined matrices and by models of low environmental impact landfill.

Aerosols↗

PubMed2005

[Oligotrophic bacteria and their applications in environmental science].

Oligotrophic bacteria are a group of microbes living in oligotrophic environments. Their diversity and biomass are dominant in biosphere, and thus, play an important role in biogeochemical cycles. Since 1980s, their oligotrophic mechanisms, responses to starvation, and roles in ecosystems have been one of the most advanced subjects in microbial ecological research. Much attention has been paid to the theoretical values and applied perspectives of oligotrophic bacteria. This paper reviewed the concepts, nutritional types, physiological and ecological characteristics, possible oligotrophic mechanisms, and main research methods of oligotrophic bacteria, and their applications in bacteria examination of iatrology and in environmental monitoring for heavy metals. The applied perspectives of oligotrophic bacteria in environmental science were also discussed.

Bacteria↗

PubMed2003

Can coral reefs be monitored from space?

The dramatic bleaching events on the coral reefs recently have enhanced the need for environmental monitoring. Remote sensing is an important constituent for monitoring of reefs, and an invaluable complement to field observations. This paper discusses the possibilities and limitations of present high resolution satellites for mapping and monitoring coral reefs. The sensors with the best spatial and radiometric resolution available today, e.g. IKONOS, can be useful for mapping and monitoring of reefs, but they are too costly for global surveys. However, our coral bleaching studies indicate that massive bleaching could be detected even from satellites with lower resolution, like Landsat, SPOT, and IRS. They could also be useful for coarser, from a spatial and thematic point of view, global mapping and updating purposes. A more detailed monitoring requires both better spatial resolution and spectral resolution than today's sensors. In the future, it is necessary to construct a more reef specific sensor with a few specially selected narrow bands and a good spatial, radiometric and temporal resolution.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Reference values and human biological monitoring values for environmental toxins. Report on the work and recommendations of the Commission on Human Biological Monitoring of the German Federal Environmental Agency.

This article describes the working principles and working procedures of the Commission on Human Biological Monitoring, which was established in 1993 as a joint commission of the Federal Health Office (Bundesgesundheitsamt) and the Federal Environmental Agency (Umweltbundesamt) in Germany. One of the main tasks of the commission is to develop scientifically based criteria for the application of human biological monitoring and for the evaluation of human monitoring data in environmental medicine. In principle, two different kinds of criteria are recommended: (a) reference values and (b) human biological monitoring values (HBM values). Reference values are intended to indicate the upper margin of the current background exposure of the general population to a given environmental toxin at a given time. Reference values can be used to identify subjects with an increased level of exposure (in relation to background exposure) to a given environmental toxin. However, reference values do not represent health-related criteria for the evaluation of human biological monitoring data. HBM values are derived from human toxicology and epidemiology studies and are intended to be used as a basis for a health-related evaluation of human biological monitoring data. Usually the commission recommends two different HBM values: HBM I, the concentration of an environmental toxin in a human biological material (usually blood, serum, plasma, or urine) below which there is--according to the knowledge and judgement of the commission--no risk for adverse health effects in individuals of the general population: and HBM II, the concentration of an environmental toxin in a human biological material (usually blood, serum, plasma, or urine) above which there is--according to the knowledge and judgement of the commission and with regard to the environmental toxin under consideration--an increased risk for adverse health effects in susceptible individuals of the general population. The HBM I value can be considered a kind of alert value (from the toxicological point of view), whereas the HBM II value represents a kind of action level, at which attempts should be undertaken to reduce the level of exposure immediately and to carry out further medical examinations. Values between HBM I and HBM II should be considered a warning signal of the need to control the analytical measurement and to reduce the level of exposure of the concerned individual as reasonably as is achievable. At present, reference and HBM values are available for lead in blood, for cadmium and mercury in blood and urine, and for pentachlorophenol in plasma/serum and urine. Reference values have been established for some polychlorinated biphenyls in blood and plasma as well as for hexachlorocyclohexane and hexacholorobenzene in blood as well as for some organochlorine in human milk.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1986

Definitions of monitoring activities and their relevance for the practice of occupational health.

The authors discuss the definitions of environmental monitoring (EM), biological monitoring (BM) and health surveillance (HS) as agreed upon by a CEC/NIOSH/OSHA-seminar in 1980. They emphasize the essential differences in underlying principles. They add a fourth definition of biological effect monitoring (BEM). Each method has its own assets and liabilities. Moreover, EM and BM require another decision-making process (situation-centered) then BEM and HS (client-entered) of measures to be taken. When the differences between the four approaches are not taken into account, valid preventive measures may be hampered.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Biological monitoring in the occupational setting--relationship to cadmium exposure.

Statutory health surveillance of occupational exposure to cadmium exists in most Western countries. For biological monitoring, both indicators of internal dose and indicators of effect are available. Cadmium in urine is an indicator of chronic exposure and essentially reflects the body burden under low-exposure conditions and in the absence of renal damage. Whole blood cadmium is primarily a useful indicator for use in evaluations of recent exposures. Biological threshold limit values for cadmium in urine and blood are based on the correlation of biological levels with thresholds for renal dysfunction. The use of markers of high and low molecular weight proteinuria should be integrated into the health surveillance of cadmium-exposed workers. Priority should be given to the determination of albumin and of proteins such as beta 2-microglobulin, retinol-binding protein and alpha 1-microglobulin. Interpretation of biological monitoring data in terms of the threshold values requires a programme of periodic biological, medical and environmental monitoring.

Cadmium↗

PubMed2005

Miniaturized system of a gas chromatograph coupled with a Paul ion trap mass spectrometer.

Miniature gas chromatography (GC) and miniature mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation has been developed to identify and quantify the chemical compounds present in complex mixtures of gases. The design approach utilizes micro-GC components coupled with a Paul quadrupole ion trap (QIT) mass spectrometer. Inherent to the system are high sensitivity, good dynamic range, good QIT resolution, low GC flow-rates to minimize vacuum requirements and the need for consumables; and the use of a modular approach to adapt to volatile organic compounds dissolved in water or present in sediment. Measurements are reported on system response to gaseous species at concentrations varying over four orders of magnitude. The ability of the system to deal with complicated mixtures is demonstrated, and future improvements are discussed. The GC/QIT system described herein has a mass, volume and power that are, conservatively, one-twentieth of those of commercial off-the-shelf systems. Potential applications are to spacecraft cabin-air monitoring, robotic planetary exploration and trace-species detection for residual gas analysis and environmental monitoring.

Complex Mixtures↗

PubMed2001

Equilibrium partition theory applied to PCBs in macrophytes.

The applicability of the equilibrium partition theory (EPT) for PCB accumulation in submerged macrophyte shoots was investigated using field data. The equilibrium state of PCBs between macrophyte shoots and sediments was verified by testing the direct proportionality (slope = 1 in a log-log relationship) between congener concentrations in the lipids of macrophyte shoots (Cli) and in the organic fraction of sediments (Cso), using the slope-range method. A significant proportionality was found between Cli and Cso (slope of the log-log relationship: 0.978 +/- 0.041; R2 = 0.847; P < 0.001). The biota-sediment accumulation factor (BSAF) predicted from this relationship (3.74, SE: 1.14) was in the 1-4 range that is suggested in the literature. These results indicate that, in our study sites, EPT is applicable to PCBs in macrophyte shoots. This opens interesting perspectives in environmental monitoring.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2000

Environmental dosimetry performance criteria: pilot test of proposed ANSI draft standard N13.29. American National Standards Institute.

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards are a source of technical guidance on the application of passive radiation detectors in personnel and environmental monitoring programs. The proposed new ANSI Draft N13.29 describes performance tests for environmental dosimetry providers that are analogous to those now required in personnel dosimetry. The objective of this study was to pilot test the procedural specifications before Draft N13.29 is submitted for final balloting. The results of the performance tests are relevant to environmental surveillance programs, which may be affected if Draft N13.29 is approved. Seven environmental dosimetry providers submitted dosimeters for the pilot test, which included two phases. The first phase involved exposing dosimeters to laboratory gamma, beta, and x-ray sources at routine and accident dose levels. In the second phase, dosimeters were subjected to 90 d of simulated environmental conditions in a chamber that cycled through prescribed temperature and humidity parameters and lighting conditions. Two participants passed all categories of the laboratory test phase, and all seven passed the environmental test phase. We report here on the results of the performance tests; additional results relevant to finalizing Draft N13.29 are detailed elsewhere.

Environmental Monitoring↗

PubMed1991

Biological exposure and/or effect limits, facts, fallacies and uncertainties: general principles.

When looking for facts, fallacies and uncertainties of the use of biological exposure limits one has at first to discuss the general principles of biological monitoring (BM) and biological effect monitoring (BEM) because they determine the validity of the data that underpin the biological exposure limits. A difference between countries in preferred BM-methods can be observed. The terminology is still confusing: in addition to BM and BEM, biomonitoring and biological markers also are used. There are a number of problems in respect of the inter- and intra-individual variability in internal exposure and effect at similar exposure levels due to differences in for example, physical workload, body composition and genetics. Toxicokinetic models based on data from individual workers should be developed in order to get information on the variability and the cause of this. Both kinetics and dynamics may be sex-dependent. To date, BM methods have been tentatively suggested for only about 10 per cent of the regulated industrial chemicals. BM and BEM programmes yield important extra information on exposure and health risk, not to be gained by environmental monitoring alone.

Environmental Monitoring↗

PubMed1985

Current trends in the biological monitoring of exposure to carcinogens.

The biological monitoring of exposure to carcinogens and mutagens has gained a lot of research interest recently. Biological monitoring data, in conjunction with environmental monitoring data, will provide information for the needed exposure assessment for directing preventive actions. For the reviewed carcinogens aromatic amines, benzene, ethylene oxide, aflatoxins, N-nitroso compounds, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, and alkylating anticancer drugs, there are methods which are already routine in practice, whereas some promising methods are still used only for research purposes.

Aflatoxins↗

PubMed2006

Epidemiological surveillance of human enteric viruses by monitoring of different environmental matrices.

In the aim of studying possible relations between viruses detected in clinical specimens and the ones found in different environmental matrices, in the period May 2004 to April 2005, the collection of faecal samples from gastroenteritis cases and the monthly monitoring of raw and treated wastewater, river water, seawater and mussels were carried out. The viruses considered for environmental monitoring were adenovirus, rotavirus, enterovirus, norovirus, hepatitis A virus (HAV) and Torque teno virus (TTV): they were searched for with PCR and RT-PCR and confirmed by gene sequencing. Faecal coliforms and somatic coliphages' counts were also determined. The surveillance of case detected 45 positive faecal samples out of 255 (17.6%) while 35 of 56 environmental samples (62.5%) resulted positive for at least one of the considered viruses. The detection of the same viral strain in the faeces of gastroenteritis cases and in water was possible for adenovirus and rotavirus, which were also predominant in environmental matrices; thus they could be considered as a reference for risk assessment.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed2006

Modelling and field application of the Chemcatcher passive sampler calibration data for the monitoring of hydrophobic organic pollutants in water.

Passive sampling of dissolved pollutants in water has been gaining acceptance for environmental monitoring. Previously, an integrative passive sampler consisting of a C18 Empore disk receiving phase saturated with n-octanol and fitted with low density polyethylene membrane, was developed and calibrated for the measurement of time weighted average (TWA) concentrations of hydrophobic pollutants in water. In this study, the exchange kinetics were modelled to obtain a better understanding of the mechanism of the accumulation process and to enable the measurement of TWA concentrations of hydrophobic pollutants in the field. An empirical relationship that enables the calculation of in situ sampling rates of chemicals using performance reference compounds was derived and its application was demonstrated in a field study in which TWA aqueous concentrations estimated from sampler data for target analytes were compared with TWA concentrations obtained from spot samples of water collected regularly during the sampler deployment period.

Calibration↗

PubMed1995

Using biological monitoring to assess human exposure to priority toxicants.

Scientifically valid exposure assessment is crucial to risk assessment, risk management, and prevention of environmental disease. Scientists have used three tools to assess exposure: exposure history/questionnaire, environmental monitoring (including personal monitoring), and biological monitoring. Combinations of these tools usually provide the exposure information needed to meet objectives of human studies evaluating the exposure-health effect relationship. Biological monitoring is a capable exposure assessment tool that has provided important information used in public health decisions. We briefly describe how risk assessment and risk management decisions for lead, dioxin, and volatile organic compounds have substantially benefited from exposure information obtained from biological monitoring.

Dioxins↗