Human Biomonitoring of Selected Hazardous Compounds in Portugal: Part II-Lessons Learned on Mycotoxins.

Human biomonitoring (HBM) data provide information on total exposure regardless of the route and sources of exposure. HBM studies have been applied to quantify human exposure to contaminants and environmental/occupational pollutants by means of determining the parent compounds, their metabolites, or even their reaction products in biological matrices. HBM studies performed among the Portuguese population are dispersed and limited. Thus, to overcome this knowledge gap, this work reviews the published Portuguese HBM information concerning mycotoxins detected in the urine, serum, milk, hair, and nails of different groups of the Portuguese population. This integrative approach to the available HBM data allows us to analyze the main determinants and patterns of exposure of the Portuguese population to the selected hazardous compounds, as well as to assess the potential health risks. We also aimed to identify the main difficulties and challenges of HBM through the analysis of the enrolled studies. Ultimately, this study aims to support national and European policies in promoting human health by summarizing the most important outcomes and lessons learned through the HBM studies carried out in Portugal.

Human Biomonitoring of Selected Hazardous Compounds in Portugal: Part I-Lessons Learned on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Metals, Metalloids, and Pesticides.

Human biomonitoring (HBM) data provide information on total exposure regardless of the route and sources of exposure. HBM studies have been applied to quantify human exposure to contaminants and environmental/occupational pollutants by determining the parent compounds, their metabolites or even their reaction products in biological matrices. HBM studies performed among the Portuguese population are disperse and limited. To overcome this knowledge gap, this review gathers, for the first time, the published Portuguese HBM information concerning polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals, metalloids, and pesticides concentrations detected in the urine, serum, milk, hair, and nails of different groups of the Portuguese population. This integrative insight of available HBM data allows the analysis of the main determinants and patterns of exposure of the Portuguese population to these selected hazardous compounds, as well as assessment of the potential health risks. Identification of the main difficulties and challenges of HBM through analysis of the enrolled studies was also an aim. Ultimately, this study aimed to support national and European policies promoting human health and summarizes the most important outcomes and lessons learned through the HBM studies carried out in Portugal.

Selected Pharmaceuticals in Different Aquatic Compartments: Part II-Toxicity and Environmental Risk Assessment.

Potential risks associated with releases of human pharmaceuticals into the environment have become an increasingly important issue in environmental health. This concern has been driven by the widespread detection of pharmaceuticals in all aquatic compartments. Therefore, 22 pharmaceuticals, 6 metabolites and transformation products, belonging to 7 therapeutic groups, were selected to perform a review on their toxicity and environmental risk assessment (ERA) in different aquatic compartments, important issues to tackle the water framework directive (WFD). The toxicity data collected reported, with the exception of anxiolytics, at least one toxicity value for concentrations below 1 µg L-1. The results obtained for the ERA revealed risk quotients (RQs) higher than 1 in all the aquatic bodies and for the three trophic levels, algae, invertebrates and fish, posing ecotoxicological pressure in all of these compartments. The therapeutic groups with higher RQs were hormones, antiepileptics, anti-inflammatories and antibiotics. Unsurprisingly, RQs values were highest in wastewaters, however, less contaminated water bodies such as groundwaters still presented maximum values up to 91,150 regarding 17α-ethinylestradiol in fish. Overall, these results present an important input for setting prioritizing measures and sustainable strategies, minimizing their impact in the aquatic environment.

Selected Pharmaceuticals in Different Aquatic Compartments: Part I-Source, Fate and Occurrence.

Potential risks associated with releases of human pharmaceuticals into the environment have become an increasingly important issue in environmental health. This concern has been driven by the widespread detection of pharmaceuticals in all aquatic compartments. Therefore, 22 pharmaceuticals, 6 metabolites and transformation products, belonging to 7 therapeutic groups, were selected to perform a systematic review on their source, fate and occurrence in different aquatic compartments, important issues to tackle the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The results obtained evidence that concentrations of pharmaceuticals are present, in decreasing order, in wastewater influents (WWIs), wastewater effluents (WWEs) and surface waters, with values up to 14 mg L-1 for ibuprofen in WWIs. The therapeutic groups which presented higher detection frequencies and concentrations were anti-inflammatories, antiepileptics, antibiotics and lipid regulators. These results present a broad and specialized background, enabling a complete overview on the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic compartments.

The mycoestrogen zearalenone in Portuguese flowing waters and its potential environmental impact.

This study provides the first environmental risk assessment (ERA) for zearalenone (ZEN), the only known mycoestrogen, based on a broad-scale investigation on its occurrence in rivers and creeks from Portugal. Water sample filtration and immunoaffinity columns (IAC) clean-up followed by liquid chromatograph with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS n ) provided an analytical method with good analytical performance. ZEN levels were determined for seven Portuguese rivers and one creek, during two different seasons, in a total of 38 samples collected upstream wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Overall, 23.7% were contaminated with ZEN at levels ranging between 5.6 and 82.6 ng/L. The highest concentration was observed during spring, although no statistically significant differences were observed between spring and autumn sampling campaigns. The potential ecotoxicological risk from ZEN to different trophic levels of aquatic organisms was evaluated by means of risk quotients (RQs) calculation. Although all the RQs obtained were lower than 1, our results confirm that ZEN is a relatively frequent contaminant in flowing waters in Portugal and might contribute to the overall estrogenic activity in the environment.

Human pharmaceuticals in Portuguese rivers: The impact of water scarcity in the environmental risk.

Pharmaceuticals occurrence and environmental risk assessment were assessed in Portuguese surface waters, evaluating the impact of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and river flow rates. Twenty three pharmaceuticals from 6 therapeutic groups, including metabolites and 1 transformation product, were analysed in 72 samples collected from 20 different sites, upstream and downstream the selected WWTPs, in two different seasons. Analysis was performed by solid phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectroscopy. Pharmaceuticals were detected in 27.8% of the samples. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), anti-inflammatories and antibiotics presented the highest detection frequencies (27.8, 23.6 and 23.6%, respectively) and average concentrations (37.9, 36.1 and 33.5ngL-1, respectively). When assessing the impact of WWTPs, an increase of 21.4% in the average concentrations was observed in the samples located downstream these facilities, when compared with the upstream samples. Increased detection frequencies and concentrations were observed at lower flow rates, both when comparing summer and winter campaigns and by evaluating the different rivers. Risk quotients (RQs) higher than one were found for two pharmaceuticals, concerning two trophic levels. However, since Iberian rivers are highly influenced by water scarcity, in drought periods, the flow rates in these rivers can decrease at least ten times from the lowest value observed in the sampling campaigns. In these conditions, RQs higher than 1 would be observed for 5 pharmaceuticals, additionally, all the detected pharmaceuticals (11) would present RQs higher than 0.1. These results emphasize that the river flow rate represents an important parameter influencing pharmaceuticals concentrations, highlighting the ecotoxicological pressure, especially due to water scarcity in drought periods. This should be a priority issue in the environmental policies for minimizing its impact in the aquatic environment.