The strength in numbers: comprehensive characterization of house dust using complementary mass spectrometric techniques.

Untargeted analysis of a composite house dust sample has been performed as part of a collaborative effort to evaluate the progress in the field of suspect and nontarget screening and build an extensive database of organic indoor environment contaminants. Twenty-one participants reported results that were curated by the organizers of the collaborative trial. In total, nearly 2350 compounds were identified (18%) or tentatively identified (25% at confidence level 2 and 58% at confidence level 3), making the collaborative trial a success. However, a relatively small share (37%) of all compounds were reported by more than one participant, which shows that there is plenty of room for improvement in the field of suspect and nontarget screening. An even a smaller share (5%) of the total number of compounds were detected using both liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Thus, the two MS techniques are highly complementary. Most of the compounds were detected using LC with electrospray ionization (ESI) MS and comprehensive 2D GC (GC×GC) with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) and electron ionization (EI), respectively. Collectively, the three techniques accounted for more than 75% of the reported compounds. Glycols, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and various biogenic compounds dominated among the compounds reported by LC-MS participants, while hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon derivatives, and chlorinated paraffins and chlorinated biphenyls were primarily reported by GC-MS participants. Plastics additives, flavor and fragrances, and personal care products were reported by both LC-MS and GC-MS participants. It was concluded that the use of multiple analytical techniques was required for a comprehensive characterization of house dust contaminants. Further, several recommendations are given for improved suspect and nontarget screening of house dust and other indoor environment samples, including the use of open-source data processing tools. One of the tools allowed provisional identification of almost 500 compounds that had not been reported by participants.

Multi-pathway human exposure assessment of phthalate esters and DINCH.

Phthalate esters are substances mainly used as plasticizers in various applications. Some have been restricted and phased out due to their adverse health effects and ubiquitous presence, leading to the introduction of alternative plasticizers, such as DINCH. Using a comprehensive dataset from a Norwegian study population, human exposure to DMP, DEP, DnBP, DiBP, BBzP, DEHP, DINP, DIDP, DPHP and DINCH was assessed by measuring their presence in external exposure media, allowing an estimation of the total intake, as well as the relative importance of different uptake pathways. Intake via different uptake routes, in particular inhalation, dermal absorption, and oral uptake was estimated and total intake based on all uptake pathways was compared to the calculated intake from biomonitoring data. Hand wipe results were used to determine dermal uptake and compared to other exposure sources such as air, dust and personal care products. Results showed that the calculated total intakes were similar, but slightly higher than those based on biomonitoring methods by 1.1 to 3 times (median), indicating a good understanding of important uptake pathways. The relative importance of different uptake pathways was comparable to other studies, where inhalation was important for lower molecular weight phthalates, and negligible for the higher molecular weight phthalates and DINCH. Dietary intake was the predominant exposure route for all analyzed substances. Dermal uptake based on hand wipes was much lower (median up to 2000 times) than the total dermal uptake via air, dust and personal care products. Still, dermal uptake is not a well-studied exposure pathway and several research gaps (e.g. absorption fractions) remain. Based on calculated intakes, the exposure for the Norwegian participants to the phthalates and DINCH was lower than health based limit values. Nevertheless, exposure to alternative plasticizers, such as DPHP and DINCH, is expected to increase in the future and continuous monitoring is required.

Chemical monitoring of Swedish coastal waters indicates common exceedances of environmental thresholds, both for individual substances as well as their mixtures.

Chemical pollution was monitored and assessed along the Swedish west coast. 62 of 172 analyzed organic chemicals were detected in the water phase of at least one of five monitored sites. A Concentration Addition based screening-level risk assessment indicates that all sites are put at risk from chemical contamination, with total risk quotients between 2 and 9. Only at one site did none of the individual chemicals exceeded its corresponding environmental threshold (PNEC, EQS). The monitoring data thus demonstrate a widespread blanket of diffuse pollution, with no clear trends among sites. Further issues critical for the environmental chemical risk assessment include the challenges to achieve sufficiently low levels of detection, especially for hormones and cypermethrin (a pyrethroid insecticide), the appropriate consideration of non-detects and the limited availability of reliable PNECs and EQS values.

Using phenotype microarrays in the assessment of the antibiotic susceptibility profile of bacteria isolated from wastewater in on-site treatment facilities.

The scope of the study was to apply Phenotype Biolog MicroArray (PM) technology to test the antibiotic sensitivity of the bacterial strains isolated from on-site wastewater treatment facilities. In the first step of the study, the percentage values of resistant bacteria from total heterotrophic bacteria growing on solid media supplemented with various antibiotics were determined. In the untreated wastewater, the average shares of kanamycin-, streptomycin-, and tetracycline-resistant bacteria were 53, 56, and 42%, respectively. Meanwhile, the shares of kanamycin-, streptomycin-, and tetracycline-resistant bacteria in the treated wastewater were 39, 33, and 29%, respectively. To evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility of the bacteria present in the wastewater, using the phenotype microarrays (PMs), the most common isolates from the treated wastewater were chosen: Serratia marcescens ss marcescens, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Stenotrophomonas rhizophila, Microbacterium flavescens, Alcaligenes faecalis ss faecalis, Flavobacterium hydatis, Variovorax paradoxus, Acinetobacter johnsonii, and Aeromonas bestiarum. The strains were classified as multi-antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Most of them were resistant to more than 30 antibiotics from various chemical classes. Phenotype microarrays could be successfully used as an additional tool for evaluation of the multi-antibiotic resistance of environmental bacteria and in preliminary determination of the range of inhibition concentration.

Case Study on Screening Emerging Pollutants in Urine and Nails.

Alternative plasticizers and flame retardants (FRs) have been introduced as replacements for banned or restricted chemicals, but much is still unknown about their metabolism and occurrence in humans. We identified the metabolites formed in vitro for four alternative plasticizers (acetyltributyl citrate (ATBC), bis(2-propylheptyl) phthalate (DPHP), bis(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHTP), bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA)), and one FR (2,2-bis (chloromethyl)-propane-1,3-diyltetrakis(2-chloroethyl) bisphosphate (V6)). Further, these compounds and their metabolites were investigated by LC/ESI-Orbitrap-MS in urine and finger nails collected from a Norwegian cohort. Primary and secondary ATBC metabolites had detection frequencies (% DF) in finger nails ranging from 46 to 95%. V6 was identified for the first time in finger nails, suggesting that this matrix may also indicate past exposure to FRs as well as alternative plasticizers. Two isomeric forms of DEHTP primary metabolite were highly detected in urine (97% DF) and identified in finger nails, while no DPHP metabolites were detected in vivo. Primary and secondary DEHA metabolites were identified in both matrices, and the relative proportion of the secondary metabolites was higher in urine than in finger nails; the opposite was observed for the primary metabolites. As many of the metabolites present in in vitro extracts were further identified in vivo in urine and finger nail samples, this suggests that in vitro assays can reliably mimic the in vivo processes. Finger nails may be a useful noninvasive matrix for human biomonitoring of specific organic contaminants, but further validation is needed.

Evaluation of exposure to phthalate esters and DINCH in urine and nails from a Norwegian study population.

Phthalate esters (PEs) and 1,2-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid diisononyl ester (DINCH) used as additives in numerous consumer products are continuously released into the environment, leading to subsequent human exposure which might cause adverse health effects. The human biomonitoring approach allows the detection of PEs and DINCH in specific populations, by taking into account all possible routes of exposure (e.g. inhalation, transdermal and oral) and all relevant sources (e.g. air, dust, personal care products, diet). We have investigated the presence of nine PE and two DINCH metabolites and their exposure determinants in 61 adult residents of the Oslo area (Norway). Three urine spots and fingernails were collected from each participant according to established sampling protocols. Metabolite analysis was performed by LC-MS/MS. Metabolite levels in urine were used to back-calculate the total exposure to their corresponding parent compound. The primary monoesters, such as monomethyl phthalate (MMP, geometric mean 89.7ng/g), monoethyl phthalate (MEP, 104.8ng/g) and mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP, 89.3ng/g) were observed in higher levels in nails, whereas the secondary bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and DINCH oxidative metabolites were more abundant in urine (detection frequency 84-100%). The estimated daily intakes of PEs and DINCH for this Norwegian population did not exceed the established tolerable daily intake and reference doses, and the cumulative risk assessment for combined exposure to plasticizers with similar toxic endpoints indicated no health concerns for the selected population. We found a moderate positive correlation between MEP levels in 3 urine spots and nails (range: 0.56-0.68). Higher frequency of personal care products use was associated with greater MEP concentrations in both urine and nail samples. Increased age, smoking, wearing plastic gloves during house cleaning, consuming food with plastic packaging and eating with hands were associated with higher levels in urine and nails for some of the metabolites. In contrast, frequent hair and hand washing was associated with lower urinary levels of monoisobutyl phthalate (MiBP) and mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (5-OH-MEHP), respectively.

Comprehensive Study of Human External Exposure to Organophosphate Flame Retardants via Air, Dust, and Hand Wipes: The Importance of Sampling and Assessment Strategy.

We compared the human exposure to organophosphate flame retardants (PFRs) via inhalation, dust ingestion, and dermal absorption using different sampling and assessment strategies. Air (indoor stationary air and personal ambient air), dust (floor dust and surface dust), and hand wipes were sampled from 61 participants and their houses. We found that stationary air contains higher levels of ΣPFRs (median = 163 ng/m(3), IQR = 161 ng/m(3)) than personal air (median = 44 ng/m(3), IQR = 55 ng/m(3)), suggesting that the stationary air sample could generate a larger bias for inhalation exposure assessment. Tris(chloropropyl) phosphate isomers (ΣTCPP) accounted for over 80% of ΣPFRs in both stationary and personal air. PFRs were frequently detected in both surface dust (ΣPFRs median = 33 100 ng/g, IQR = 62 300 ng/g) and floor dust (ΣPFRs median = 20 500 ng/g, IQR = 30 300 ng/g). Tris(2-butoxylethyl) phosphate (TBOEP) accounted for 40% and 60% of ΣPFRs in surface and floor dust, respectively, followed by ΣTCPP (30% and 20%, respectively). TBOEP (median = 46 ng, IQR = 69 ng) and ΣTCPP (median = 37 ng, IQR = 49 ng) were also frequently detected in hand wipe samples. For the first time, a comprehensive assessment of human exposure to PFRs via inhalation, dust ingestion, and dermal absorption was conducted with individual personal data rather than reference factors of the general population. Inhalation seems to be the major exposure pathway for ΣTCPP and tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), while participants had higher exposure to TBOEP and triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) via dust ingestion. Estimated exposure to ΣPFRs was the highest with stationary air inhalation (median =34 ng·kg bw(-1)·day(-1), IQR = 38 ng·kg bw(-1)·day(-1)), followed by surface dust ingestion (median = 13 ng·kg bw(-1)·day(-1), IQR = 28 ng·kg bw(-1)·day(-1)), floor dust ingestion and personal air inhalation. The median dermal exposure on hand wipes was 0.32 ng·kg bw(-1)·day(-1) (IQR = 0.58 ng·kg bw(-1)·day(-1)) for ΣTCPP. The selection of sampling and assessment strategies could significantly affect the results of exposure assessment.

Microbial Community Profiles in Wastewaters from Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems Technology.

The aim of the study was to determine the potential of community-level physiological profiles (CLPPs) methodology as an assay for characterization of the metabolic diversity of wastewater samples and to link the metabolic diversity patterns to efficiency of select onsite biological wastewater facilities. Metabolic fingerprints obtained from the selected samples were used to understand functional diversity implied by the carbon substrate shifts. Three different biological facilities of onsite wastewater treatment were evaluated: fixed bed reactor (technology A), trickling filter/biofilter system (technology B), and aerated filter system (the fluidized bed reactor, technology C). High similarities of the microbial community functional structures were found among the samples from the three onsite wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), as shown by the diversity indices. Principal components analysis (PCA) showed that the diversity and CLPPs of microbial communities depended on the working efficiency of the wastewater treatment technologies. This study provided an overall picture of microbial community functional structures of investigated samples in WWTPs and discerned the linkages between microbial communities and technologies of onsite WWTPs used. The results obtained confirmed that metabolic profiles could be used to monitor treatment processes as valuable biological indicators of onsite wastewater treatment technologies efficiency. This is the first step toward understanding relations of technology types with microbial community patterns in raw and treated wastewaters.

Human exposure, hazard and risk of alternative plasticizers to phthalate esters.

Alternative plasticizers to phthalate esters have been used for over a decade, but data regarding emissions, human exposure and health effects are limited. Here we review 20 alternative plasticizers in current use and their human exposure, hazard and risk. Physicochemical properties are collated for these diverse alternatives and log KOW values range over 15 orders of magnitude and log KAW and log KOA values over about 9 orders of magnitude. Most substances are hydrophobic with low volatility and are produced in high volumes for use in multiple applications. There is an increasing trend in the total use of alternative plasticizers in Sweden compared to common phthalate esters in the last 10 years, especially for DINCH. Evaluative indoor fate modeling reveals that most alternatives are distributed to vertical surfaces (e.g. walls or ceilings). Only TXIB and GTA are predicted to be predominantly distributed to indoor air. Human exposure data are lacking and clear evidence for human exposure only exists for DEHT and DINCH, which show increasing trends in body burdens. Human intake rates are collected and compared with limit values with resulting risk ratios below 1 except for infant's exposure to ESBO. PBT properties of the alternatives indicate mostly no reasons for concern, except that TEHPA is estimated to be persistent and TCP toxic. A caveat is that non-standard toxicological endpoint results are not available and, similar to phthalate esters, the alternatives are likely "pseudo-persistent". Key data gaps for more comprehensive risk assessment are identified and include: analytical methods to measure metabolites in biological fluids and tissues, toxicological information regarding non-standard endpoints such as endocrine disruption and a further refined exposure assessment in order to consider high risk groups such as infants, toddlers and children.

Application of the BIOLOG system for characterization of Serratia marcescens ss marcescens isolated from onsite wastewater technology (OSWT).

The scope of this study was to apply the Biolog system to identify and characterize a Serratia strain isolated from the surface of black plastic pieces which constitute the fluidized bed filter (onsite wastewater technology, OSWT). The preliminary isolation of the strain was done in the medium with tetracycline at a 16 mg/l concentration. To characterize the isolated strain, the following Biolog methods were applied: (1) EcoPlates microplates for evaluation of physiological profiling, (2) GEN III OmniLog® ID System for identification of the isolate, and (3) phenotypic microarrays (PM) technology for evaluation of sensitivity to antibiotics (PM11 and PM12). Results were recorded using the original OmniLog® software. The Serratia strain was identified as Serratia marcescens ss marcescens with similarity index 0.569. The same identification was obtained by the 16S rDNA analysis. PM analysis showed an enhancement of phenotype (resistance or growth) of this strain to 35 antibiotics. The loss of phenotype (sensitivity or non-growth) was observed only for 5 antibiotics: lomefloxacin (0.4 µg/ml), enoxacin (0.9 µg/ml), nalidixic acid (18.0 µg/ml), paromomycin (25.0 µg/ml) and novobiocin (1100 µg/ml). This study acknowledges that the methods proposed by the Biolog system allow correct and complete identification and characterization of the microbes isolated from different environments. Phenotypic microarrays could be successfully used as a new tool for identification of the multi-antibiotic resistance of bacteria and for determination of the minimal inhibition concentrations (MIC).

Pharmaceutical residues in sewage sludge: effect of sanitization and anaerobic digestion.

The fate of pharmaceutical residues in treatment of WWTP sludge was evaluated during mesophilic anaerobic digestion (AD) and six sanitization technologies (pasteurization, thermal hydrolysis, advanced oxidation processes using Fenton's reaction, ammonia treatment, thermophilic dry digestion, and thermophilic anaerobic digestion). Sludge spiked with a selection of 13 substances was used and in total 23 substances were detected. A correlation between substance lipophilicity and sludge partitioning was found after sample centrifugation, with e.g., SSRI drugs (90-99%) and estrogens (96-98%) mainly found in the solid phase. A correlation between lipophilicity and persistence of pharmaceutical residues during AD was also detected, indicating that hydrophobic substances are less available to degrading microorganisms. Overall, AD was found to be the most effective technology in reducing a wide spectrum of organic substances (in average ca 30% reduction). Similar effects were obtained for both AD treatments, suggesting that temperature (mesophilic or thermophilic) is less important for micropollutant reduction. Advanced oxidation processes using Fenton's reaction also affected several compounds, including substances showing general stability over the range of treatments such as carbamazepine, propranolol, and sertraline. Pasteurization, ammonia treatment, and thermophilic dry digestion exhibited relatively modest reductions. Interestingly, only thermal hydrolysis efficiently removed the ecotoxicologically potent estrogenic compounds from the sludge.

Activated carbon for the removal of pharmaceutical residues from treated wastewater.

Pharmaceutical residues, which pass naturally through the human body into sewage, are in many cases virtually unaffected by conventional wastewater treatment. Accumulated in the environment, however, they can significantly impact aquatic life. The present study indicates that many pharmaceutical residues found in wastewater can be removed with activated carbon in a cost-efficient system that delivers higher resource utilisation and security than other carbon systems. The experiment revealed a substantial separation of the analysed compounds, notwithstanding their relatively high solubility in water and dissimilar chemical structures. This implies that beds of activated carbon may be a competitive alternative to treatment with ozone. The effluent water used for the tests, performed over 20 months, originated from Stockholm's largest sewage treatment plant. Passing through a number of different filters with activated carbon removed 90-98% of the pharmaceutical residues from the water. This paper describes pilot-scale tests performed by IVL and the implications for an actual treatment plant that has to treat up to several thousand litres of wastewater per second. In addition, the advantages, disadvantages and costs of the method are discussed. This includes, for example, the clogging of carbon filters and the associated hydraulic capacity limits of the activated carbon.

Application of a novel solid-phase-extraction sampler and ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry for determination of pharmaceutical residues in surface sea water.

In the present study, a multi-residue method based on a bag-solid phase extraction (bag-SPE) technique was evaluated for determination of 10 pharmaceuticals in surface water close to the effluent of a sewage treatment plant (STP) and along a coastal gradient from a STP effluent. The 10 compounds selected were caffeine, atenolol, metoprolol, oxazepam, carbamazepine, ketoprofen, naproxen, ibuprofen, diclofenac and gemfibrozil. All analyses were performed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) combined with quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometry. The detection limits (LOD) ranged from 1.0 to 13 ng L(-1). The method showed linear concentration ranges from 25 to 800 ng L(-1) with regression coefficients (R(2)) better than 0.9801. The recoveries of the selected analytes ranged from 11 to 65% with relative standard deviations (RSD) of <16% and inter-day variations of less than 18%. Isotopically labeled surrogate standards were used to compensate for sampling losses and matrix effects. Four of the selected 10 pharmaceuticals (caffeine, metoprolol, oxazepam and carbamazepine) were quantified, at concentrations ranging from 4 to 210 ng L(-1).

Evaluation of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate-co-carbon monoxide) and polydimethylsiloxane for equilibrium sampling of polar organic contaminants in water.

The aim of the present study was to develop a passive absorptive equilibrium sampler that would enable the determination of the concentrations of polar organic compound (POC) in water more efficiently than existing techniques. To this end, a novel plastic material, poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate-co-carbon monoxide) (PEVAC), was evaluated and the results were compared with an existing silicone-based passive absorptive equilibrium device. Seven compounds (imidacloprid, carbendazim, metoprolol, atrazin, carbamazepine, diazinon, and chlorpyrifos), a mixture of pharmaceuticals, and pesticides with a logarithmic octanol-water partition coefficient ranging from 0.2 to 4.77 were selected as model substances for the experiments. The results showed that six of the seven selected POCs reached distribution equilibrium within 4 d in the two materials tested. A linear relation with a regression coefficient of more than 0.8906 between the established logarithmic absorbent-water partition coefficient and the calculated logarithmic dissociation partition coefficient of the selected compounds in the two polymers was observed. The correlation between these two coefficients was within one order of magnitude for the compounds that reached equilibrium in the two polymers, which demonstrates that both materials are suitable for mimicking biological uptake of POCs. The PEVAC material showed an enhanced sorption for all selected compounds compared to the silicone material and up to five times higher enrichment for the most polar compound. Fluorescence analysis of the sampler cross-section, following the uptake of fluoranthene, and proof that the sorption was independent of surface area variations demonstrated that the PEVAC polymer possessed absorptive rather than adsorptive enrichment of organic compounds.

The ability of a novel sorptive polymer to determine the freely dissolved fraction of polar organic compounds in the presence of fulvic acid or sediment.

A novel plastic material, poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate-co-carbon monoxide) (PEVAC), was evaluated as an absorptive passive equilibrium sampler for determination of the freely dissolved fraction of seven polar organic contaminants (POCs) in the presence of fulvic acid and sediment. The seven compounds selected were imidacloprid, carbendazim, metoprolol, atrazin, carbamazepine, diazinon and chlorpyrifos, i.e. a mixture of pharmaceuticals and pesticides having logarithmic octanol/water partition coefficients (log K(OW)) ranging from 0.2 to 4.77. The experiments demonstrated that the PEVAC sampler is well suited for determination of the freely dissolved fraction of chemicals in aquatic environments. Generally, the freely dissolved fraction of the POCs decreased with increasing hydrophobicity. However, strong interactions with functional groups of the organic matter seemed to dominate the partitioning for imidacloprid and carbendazim, having logarithmic dissociation partition coefficient log D < 1.47, and for metoprolol, which is positively charged at neutral pH.

LC/MS/MS Analysis of N-Terminal Protein Adducts with Improved Sensitivity: A Comparison of Selected Edman Isothiocyanate Reagents.

This study provides a basis for a new and straightforward method for LC/MS/MS-based screening of N-terminal protein adducts. This procedure is denoted the "FIRE procedure" as fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) gave superior sensitivity by LC/MS/MS when measuring adducts (R) of electrophilic compounds with a modified Edman procedure. The principles of the FIRE-procedure are that adducts to N-terminal amino acids selectively are detached and measured from of proteins after derivatisation by isothiocyanate Edman reagents. In this study, FITC, 4-N,N-dimethylaminoazobenzene 4'-isothiocyanate (DABITC) and 4-dimethylamino-1-naphthyl isothiocyanate (DNITC) were used to synthesize thiohydantoin analytes from valine and N-methylvaline. The sensitivity by LC/MS/MS was enhanced by up to three orders of magnitude as compared to phenyl isothiocyanate and higher as compared to pentafluorophenyl isothiocyanate. The FITC reagent will enable measurements of low background adduct levels. Synthesized analytes were characterised with, for example, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, LC/MS/MS, and UV.