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Polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs), including the decabromodiphenyl congener (BDE-209), were determined in the serum of 731 individuals from a general adult population (18-74. years) collected in 2002 in Catalonia (north-eastern Spain). The BDE-209 was the predominant congener (median 3.7. ng/g lipid) followed by BDE-47 (2.6. ng/g lipid) and BDE-99 (1.2. ng/g lipid). PBDEs in this population (median 15.4. ng/g lipid) ranked amongst the highest of previously described concentrations in populations in Europe, Asia, New Zealand and Australia, yet it was lower than those found in North American reports. Age was clearly the socio-demographic factor of highest influence on the PBDE distributions. However, unlike usual trends of higher accumulation of POPs through age, the higher concentrations were found in young individuals (< 30. years) rather than in adults (≥ 30. years), with differences of 14%, 31% and 46% in the most abundant congeners (i.e. BDE-209, BDE-99 and BDE-47, respectively). This age-dependent distribution of PBDEs (including the case for BDE-209, which is shown for the first time in this study) is explained by the higher and widespread use of these compounds since the 1980s. In view that these compounds remain highly used, this accumulation pattern is likely to evolve, anticipating an increasing level of PBDE concentrations in future general population surveys, yet probably assuming an age-dependent increase pattern. Socio-economic level was also a determinant of BDE-47 concentrations, but only relevant for the least affluent class, suggesting that lifestyle and environmental conditions in the dwelling place may also contribute to exposure. Nonetheless, gender, body mass index, place of birth, parity and education level did not show any statistically significant influence on the observed PBDE distributions. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ; This study was funded by the Department of Health of the Government of Catalonia, the Foundation La Marató de TV3 (grant No. 090431), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Consolider Ingenio GRACCIE, CSD2007-00067) and the EU funded project ArcRisk (FP7-ENV-2008-1-226534). The paper was also sponsored by the research group 2009SGR1178 from the Government of Catalonia. M.C. is grateful for a grant from the JAE Predoctoral program (CSIC). R. Chaler, D. Fanjul and M. Comesaña are thanked for their kind support with the GC–MS analyses. ; Peer Reviewed

6 pages, 1 figures, 3 tables.-- PMID: 11333625 [PubMed]. ; [ESP] Objetivos: La cloración del agua potable genera trihalometanos y otros subproductos con propiedades mutágenas y cancerígenas en experimentos con animales. Los trihalometanos se han asociado en estudios epidemiológicos con un incremento del riesgo de cáncer de vejiga urinaria. Evaluamos los niveles de trihalometanos en 4 áreas de España y calculamos el riesgo de cáncer de vejiga atribuible a dicha exposición. ; Métodos: Se han analizado los niveles de trihalometanos en 111 muestras de agua potable en 4 áreas de España utilizando cromatografía de gases. Se ha contactado con las potabilizadoras de agua y se ha analizado información sobre hábitos de consumo de agua en España. Se ha hecho una revisión de los estudios epidemiológicos que evalúan el riesgo de cáncer de vejiga asociado a la exposición a subproductos de la cloración. Se ha calculado el riesgo atribuible de cáncer de vejiga a partir de estos niveles, los datos de mortalidad por área y las estimaciones del riesgo extraídas de la bibliografía. ; Resultados: Los niveles de trihalometanos más altos se encuentran en la franja mediterránea, con niveles medios de 81, 80, 61 y 52 mg/l en Sabadell, Alicante, Barcelona y Manresa, respectivamente. Los valores más bajos se encuentran en Tenerife y Asturias, con 7 y 20 mg/l, respectivamente. En las áreas con niveles altos de trihalometanos el riesgo de cáncer de vejiga atribuible a los subproductos de cloración puede ser, en promedio, de un 20%. ; Conclusiones: Los niveles de trihalometanos identificados son altos en comparación con otros países de la Unión Europea. En las áreas de exposición alta la cloración del agua puede dar lugar a un número considerable de casos de cáncer de vejiga. Estas estimaciones se tienen que interpretar con cautela y verificarse con estudios más extensos. ; [ENG] Objectives: Drinking water chlorination generates trihalomethanes and other by-products with mutagenic and carcinogenic properties in animal experiments. Epidemiological studies have associated trihalomethanes to an increased risk of bladder cancer. We evaluate trihalomethane levels in four Spanish areas and calculate the bladder cancer risk attributable to this exposure. ; Methods: Trihalomethanes have been analysed in 111 drinking water samples from four Spanish areas using gas chromatography. Water utilities were contacted and information on drinking water consumption in Spain has been collected. We reviewed the epidemiological studies that assess the association between bladder cancer risk and exposure to chlorination by-products. Attributable risk was calculated on the basis of these levels, mortality data per area and risk estimates obtained from the literature. ; Results: Mediterranean areas present the highest levels of trihalomethanes with 81, 80, 61 and 52 mg/l in Sabadell, Alicante, Barcelona and Manresa respectively. Lower levels are found in Tenerife and Asturias with 7 and 20 mg/l respectively. The bladder cancer attributable risk in high trihalomethane exposure areas may be, on average, around 20%. ; Conclusions: The trihalomethane levels found are high compared to those of other European Union countries. In the high exposure areas, drinking water chlorination may generate a considerable number of bladder cancer cases. These estimations have to be carefully interpreted and verified with more extensive studies. ; Este proyecto ha sido financiado parcialmente por la ayuda número 1999SGR 00241 concedida por el Comissionat Interdepartamental per Recerca i Innovació Tecnològica (CIRIT), y una beca FIS (98/1274). Cristina M. Villanueva goza de una beca de Formación de Investigación, con el apoyo del Departament d'Universitats, Recerca i Societat de la Informació de la Generalitat de Catalunya. ; Peer reviewed

7 pages, 6 figures.-- PMID: 15536507 [PubMed].-- Printed version published Nov 2004. ; The uptake rates of selected hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) by semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs)—a polyethylene layflat containing the lipid triolein—were investigated under natural conditions. SPMDs were exposed in three sampling sites (industrial, urban, and agricultural areas) in the Tajo River (Toledo, Spain) for 5, 11 and 20 d. The organochlorine compounds 4,4′-DDT, 4,4′-DDE, α-HCH, γ-HCH, pentachlorobenzene, hexachlorobenzene, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and the 16 priority pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in the SPMDs deployed in the three sampling sites. A linear uptake rate was found for DDTs and for 4-Cl- and 5-Cl-substituted PCB congeners in all sampling sites. Concentrations of HCHs (80.3 ng g−1 SPMD for α-HCH and 109 ng g−1 SPMD for γ-HCH after 20 d of exposure) increased according to a linear uptake rate in the SPMDs deployed in the sampling site located in the agricultural area. Likewise, a marked increase of total PAH concentration (up to 300 ng g−1 SPMD after 20 d of exposure) was solely found in the sampling site situated near a thermoelectric power station. Examination of individual PAHs revealed that PAHs with log KOW between 4.2 and 5.7 displayed a linear uptake rate over the 20 d of exposure. Water concentrations (ng L−1) of HCB (0.80–2.48), lindane (1.30–11.5), 4,4′-DDT (0.61–2.02), 4,4′-DDE (6.89–11.6) and total PAHs (12.0–26.7) estimated by a linear uptake kinetic model were found to be high in comparison with other polluted aquatic systems, and similar to concentrations in other Spanish rivers. Our results suggest that SPMD kinetic uptake studies in the natural environment are recommended for identifying point-pollution sources, and that shorter times of SPMD exposure (similar1 week) are desirable to minimize one of the main problems of field SPMD deployment, i.e., the biofouling, which negatively affects the estimation of the dissolved HOC concentrations. ; This work was financed by a Marie Curie grant (MCFI-648) from the European Union (JCSH). ; Peer reviewed

Background: Breastfed children absorb persistent and toxic chemicals such as organohalogen compounds (OHCs) during the entire lactation period. Nursing is a main contributor to the burden of these pollutants in the first years of life, hence further assessments on the OHC load processes are needed. Objectives: To identify the determinants of OHC increase in children at four years of age, considering concentration gains, maternal venous concentrations and breastfeeding time. Methods: Concentrations of 19 organochlorine compounds (OCs) and 14 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were analyzed in maternal venous (n = 466), cord blood (n = 326) and children venous serum at four years of age (n = 272) in the Asturias INMA cohort representing the Spanish general population. Data were evaluated considering the socio-demographic and individual information collected at recruitment and follow up surveys, as well as the OHC physical-chemical constants. Results: The four years-old children concentration gains of the most abundant OHCs showed strong correlations (R2 = 0.65–0.93) with the maternal concentrations during pregnancy and lactation period. The child gain/maternal transfer rates of most correlated pollutants were similar. Discussion: Between 65 and 93% of the variance of OCs in four years-old children was explained by the maternal concentrations during pregnancy and the lactation period. The compounds with log(Kow) > 3.7 (hydrophobic) showed analogous child gain/maternal transfer rates indicating similar processes of membrane lipid dissolution and passive diffusion from the epithelial cells into the milk. Molecular weight of these pollutants did not influence on these rates. Compounds with low log(Koa) such as hexachlorobenzene are more volatile and less retained, involving lower child gain/maternal transfer rates. These results may be useful to anticipate the increase of the concentrations of OCs in children using the maternal concentration of these compounds during pregnancy and the planned lactation period and to implement prophylactic measures in mothers with high venous pollutant concentrations. © 2019 The Authors ; The authors would particularly like to thank all the participants for their generous collaboration and the staff from Hospital San Agustin in Aviles for their effort. This study was funded by grants from CIBERESP , FIS-FEDER ( PI04/2018 , PI09/02311 , PI13/02429 , PI18/00909 ), Obra Social Cajastur/Fundación Liberbank and Oviedo University . This paper was also supported by funding from the European Union projects: HEALS (FP7-ENV-2013- 603946), Neurosome (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2017_SEP-210411486) and EDC-MET (H2020-HEALTH/0490-825762). Appendix A ; Peer reviewed

The present study reports one of the few cases in which organophosphate (OP) and pyrethroid (PYR) pesticide human exposure is evaluated in family contexts by the analysis of mother/child pair samples. Urinary concentrations of 6 organic metabolites of organophosphates and 2 pyrethroids were measured in mothers and their 7-to 8-year-old children (n = 168) in a general population from the central area of Slovenia. The results were adjusted for specific gravity and creatinine. The most abundant OP metabolite in children was 4-nitrophenol (PNP) (median 0.7 ng/ml) and in mothers (0.45 ng/ml), representing parathion exposure. 3-Phenoxibenzoic acid (3-PBA) (0.26 ng/ml), the general metabolite of pyrethroids, and 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPY) (0.16 ng/ml; chlorpyriphos) were the second most abundant compounds in children and mothers, respectively. The geometric mean specific gravity adjusted concentrations of OPs and PYRs were statistically significantly higher in children than in their mothers (between 3% and 24% higher), with the exception of TCPY (26% lower). All OP and PYR metabolites found in higher concentration in children showed significant positive correlations with the metabolite concentrations found in the mothers (p < 0.05 and 0.01), involving the fact that higher maternal concentrations were associated with higher children levels. These differential mother-children distributions and significant correlations were observed for the 2 types of pesticides studied, OPs and PYRs, which have different chemical properties. This agreement is consistent with the incorporation of the pesticides because of the general activities developed in the family context, instead of pesticide-dependent specific inputs. Comparison of the estimated daily intakes with the acceptable daily intakes of all detected metabolites revealed no significant risk of adverse health effects from exposure to these pesticides. © 2019 The Authors ; The authors are grateful to all women who participated in the study, the participating hospital for the data sampling and all the field workers for their enthusiastic efforts. This paper was supported by the European Union project CROME (LIFE12 ENV/GR/001040 ). Additional funding was received from the European Union projects: HEALS ( FP7-ENV-2013-603946 ), PHIME ( FOOD-CT-2006-016253 ), Neurosome ( H2020-MSCA-ITN-2017 SEP-210411486 ) and EDC-MET ( H2020-HEALTH/0490-825762 ) and the Slovenian Research Agency–ARRS (program P1-0143 ; project NEURODYS–contract no. JZ-9400 ). Appendix A ; Peer reviewed