Persistent Organic Pollutants

Seasonal fluctuations of DDTs and PCBs in a pelagic food web of Lake Maggiore (Northern Italy).

by pietro volta

Bettinetti R., S. Quadroni, M. Manca, R. Piscia, P. Volta, L. Guzzella, C. Roscioli, S. Galassi. Chemosphere. In press.

Cycling DDT and homologues at basin scale: the case of Lake Maggiore.

by pietro volta

Galassi, S., P. Volta, L.Guzzella & A. Calderoni. 2006. Journal of Limnology, 65(2): 100-106.

pp’DDT and pp’DDE accumulation in a food chain of Lake Maggiore (Northern Italy): testing steady-state condition.

by pietro volta

Bettinetti, R., V. Croce, S. Galassi & P. Volta. 2006. Environmental Science and Pollution  Research 13: 59-66.

Age-Dependent Bioaccumulation of Organochlorine Compounds in Fish and their Selective Biotransformation in Top Predators from Lake Maggiore (Italy).

by pietro volta

Volta, P., Tremolada, P., Neri, M. C., Giussani, G. & S. Galassi, 2009. Water Air & Soil Pollution 197: 193-209.

Fish and piscivorous bird eggs collected in 2003 from Lake Maggiore (Italy), were analysed for PCB and DDT... more Fish and piscivorous bird eggs collected in 2003 from Lake Maggiore (Italy), were analysed for PCB and DDT contamination. Lake Maggiore has been severely polluted by DDT through production of the pesticide within its catchment. Although agricultural application of DDT was banned in Italy in the 1978, industrial production continued until 1996, with enough contamination of water and soil for serious bioaccumulation in the lake biota. PCB and DDT concentrations in a whitefish (Coregonus macrophthalmus Nusslin 1882) were seen to be dependent on season and fish age, but not on sex. The average
increase of the lipid-normalised concentration of DDTs and PCBs was two-fold across season and also across age, resulting in an overall increase of four fold. The seasonal variation was related to the ecophysiological cycle of the fish and to the contamination
dynamic of the lake, while the effect of the fish age was explained on the base of biomagnificationrelated mechanisms. A fugacity model was applied to predict the age-dependent bioaccumulation potential of PCBs, whose concentrations were rather stable in recent years in the lake. Predicted values for compounds with negligible biotransformation were in good agreement with experimental data (calculated vs. experimental mean difference of 14%), and a relationship between the increase of experimental agedependent concentration and Kow was observed. The good correspondence between the predicted and the measured values for most PCB congeners confirmed
the general inability of fishes to biotransform these compounds. On the contrary, the importance of biotransformation processes was recognised in birds; eggs of a fish eating bird (Podiceps cristatus) from the same area selectively bioaccumulated p,p′-DDE.
For PCBs, congener 149 appears to be completely metabolized by the bird species, and congeners 95, 101, 132, 151 and 174 were reduced as well. The role of the meta–para free position on at least one phenyl ring of PCB congeners in biotransformation processes was confirmed.

The role of zooplankton in DDT biomagnification in a pelagic food web of Lake Maggiore (Northern Italy).

by pietro volta

Bettinetti R., Galassi S., Guzzella L., Quadroni S.& P Volta. 2010. Environmental Sciences and Pollution Research 17: 1508-1518.

Background In the present study, we report the analytical results of pp′DDT, pp′DDE and pp′DDD determination in lake... more Background In the present study, we report the analytical results of pp′DDT, pp′DDE and pp′DDD determination in lake water, plankton and zooplanktivorous fish of Lake Maggiore (Northern Italy), rather recently polluted by DDT of industrial origin, in order to understand the bottom-up pollution transfer among the abiotic and biotic components of the lake ecosystem.
Materials and methods Fourteen water sampling campaigns
were carried out from March 2003 to January 2009 in the water column of the deepest point (Ghiffa) of Lake Maggiore. Suspended and dissolved pollutants were determined separately. Three sampling campaigns were carried out from July 2008 to January 2009 for zooplankton and pelagic fish, and DDT residues were analysed by HRGC coupled with ECD and MS. Moreover, food items were detected in fish stomachs.
Results and discussion Starting from 2007, the DDT contamination along the water column became rather
homogeneous, probably because no flooding or other relevant hydrological events occurred; although steadystate condition should be expected, lipid normalised concentrations of pp′DDE and pp′DDD in zooplanktonexceeded the levels of the same compounds in zooplanktivorous fishes.
Conclusion As this finding represents a thermodynamic paradox since bioaccumulative pollutant concentrations are expected to increase along the trophic chain, it was supposed that the abiotic and biotic lake components were not in a steady-state condition in Lake Maggiore.

Use of Anguilla anguilla for biomonitoring Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in brackish and riverine waters in Central and Southern Italy

by pietro volta

Bettinetti, R, Galassi, S., Quadroni, S., Volta, P., Ciccotti, E., Capoccioni, F. & G. A. De Leo, 2011. Water Air & Soil Pollution 217: 321-331

One of the aims of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/CE is to assess the ecological status of water bodies in... more One of the aims of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/CE is to assess the ecological status of water bodies in Europe in relation to priority contaminants, including some persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Recognizing the benefits of measuring hydrophobic compounds in biota tissues rather than in water, we used the European eel Anguilla anguilla in the present study as a bioindicator species for monitoring POPs in freshwater/brackish environments. We presentthe results of a contamination analysis of eels carried out in three Italian sites representative of different pollution levels: the last part of Tevere River, which flows through a very urbanized and industrialized area, Caprolace Lake and Lesina Lagoon, inside two different protected national parks. A very high pollution variability was recorded within each group of eels, in particular for those caught at Caprolace Lake. Due to this high variability, inter-population comparisons were carried out only between eels collected in Tevere River and Lesina Lagoon. PCBs values in Lesina Lagoon
were two orders of magnitude lower than those measured in Tevere River, while no significant differences were found for levels of DDT compounds. Our results confirm the suitability of the eel as an indicator of persistent bioaccumulative pollutants in brackish environments and rivers where it can be easily caught,
but we are sceptical of its use in deep lakes where its capture might be problematic considering standard operation procedures for fish sampling.

Serum Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) Concentrations and Liver Function Biomarkers in a Population with Elevated PFOA Exposure

by Giovanni Leonardi

Gallo V, Leonardi G, Genser B, Lopez-Espinosa M-J, Frisbee SJ, Karlsson L, et al. 2012. Serum Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) Concentrations and Liver Function Biomarkers in a Population with Elevated PFOA Exposure. Environ Health Perspect :-. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1104436

Screening of PAHs and DDTs in sand and acrisols soil by a rapid solid-phase microalgal bioassay

by (Jake) Ming Kei Chung

A sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for adducts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with human serum albumin

by (Jake) Ming Kei Chung

Removal of aqueous phenanthrene by brown seaweed Sargassum hemiphyllum: Sorption-kinetic and equilibrium studies

by (Jake) Ming Kei Chung

Pollutants in Hong Kong soils: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

by (Jake) Ming Kei Chung

Approaches and Frameworks for Managing Contaminated Sediments-A European Perspective

by Sabine E. Apitz

Age of Puberty in Relation to Perfluorooctanoic Acid

by Giovanni Leonardi

Tony Fletcher, Giovanni Leonardi, Maria-Jose Lopez-Espinosa, and
Ben Armstrong
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.

ISEE 22nd Annual Conference, Seoul, Korea, 28 August–1 September 2010

Epidemiology • Volume 22, Number 1, p. S122, January Supplement 2011

Background/Aims: Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, also known as C8) is widespread and has been shown to affect the... more Background/Aims: Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, also known as C8) is widespread and has been shown to affect the reproductive cycle in rodents. One small study has reported an association between PFOA exposure and earlier development of pubertal maturation in girls.

Methods: A survey in a group of residents from the Ohio and West Virginia communities with PFOA water contamination was conducted in 2005–2006. Approximately 69,000 participants of all ages who had consumed drinking water for at least 1 year from sources with PFOA contamination, providing demographic information by questionnaire and blood samples. Serum was analyzed for PFOA, PFOS, and many clinical markers, including testosterone and estradiol hormones. The questionnaire
included questions on pregnancy and menstruation. In analyses focused on 10—17 year olds, the proportion of teenagers who had reached puberty at each age is estimated by the concentrations of hormones, and for girls, at the onset of menses.

Results: Analyses currently underway are assessing the relationship between the odds of having reached puberty at different ages in relationship to PFOA levels in serum, from which average delay in puberty for unit PFOA increase will be estimated. The principal potential confounder for which we have data is BMI which is included in the models.

Conclusion: As the numbers studied are large and the exposure contrasts very high for PFOA in this population, this study will be very informative on any association between age of puberty and this exposure.

Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Clinical Parameters, and Self-Reported Disease: A Cross-sectional Study

by Giovanni Leonardi

Association of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) with Age of Puberty among Children Living near a Chemical Plant

by Giovanni Leonardi

Are exploited mangrove molluscs exposed to Persistent Organic Pollutant contamination in Senegal, West Africa?

by Luis Tito de Morais

The surface sediments, two bivalves (Arca senilis and Crassostera gasar) and three gastropods (Conus spp, Hexaplex... more The surface sediments, two bivalves (Arca senilis and Crassostera gasar) and three gastropods (Conus spp, Hexaplex duplex and Pugilina morio) from two Senegalese stations, Falia (Sine-Saloum Estuary) and Fadiouth (Petite Côte), were analyzed for their pollutant organic persistent contamination (Polychlorinated biphenyls PCBs; Organochlorinated pesticides OCPs; Polybrominated diphenyl ethers PBDEs). Results revealed significant levels of PCBs, DDTs and lindane in mangrove sediments ranging from 0.3 to 19.1, 0.3 to 15.9, and 0.1 to 1.9 ng.g-1d.w., respectively. Among the other POPs analysed, only hexachlorobenzene, heptachlor and trans-nonachlor for OCPs, as well as BDE47 and BDE99 congeners for PBDEs were detected at very low concentrations, generally not of concern. POP levels and patterns were in good accordance with literature data available for other tropical developing countries. A seasonal quantitative difference was highlighted with higher levels of PCBs and DDTs in sediments after the wet season, likely due to the strong wash-out of residues from inland to the marine ecosystems during the rainy season. The observed pattern of DDT and its metabolites pointed out probable recent applications of DDT for public health emergencies in Senegal. Exploited molluscs were exposed to the same POP compounds as those measured in sediments. They presented OCP levels within the same range as in sediments, while significant higher concentrations of PCBs were observed in shellfish soft tissues revealing a higher bioaccumulation potential mainly due to the lipophilicity of these compounds. Finally, the influence of the reproduction cycle on POP levels through lipid content variations was highlighted, minimizing potential differences in POP bioaccumulation between shellfish species. From an ecotoxicological and public health point of view, results from this study  revealed that POPs in sediments from the Petite Côte and the Sine-Saloum Estuary would not  cause toxic effects and impairments in molluscs from these regions, and that no potential risk  exists for human, especially local populations, through mangrove shellfish consumption.

Mexico's Pollutant Release Registry: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead

by Raul Pacheco-Vega

Pacheco-Vega, Raul (2007). Mexico's Pollutant Release Registry: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead. Mexico's Right-To-Know Reforms: Civil Society Perspectives. J. Fox, L. Haight, H. Hofbauer and T. Sánchez Andrade. Washington, DC - Ciudad de México, FUNDAR/Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars: 270-275.