Polonium-210 levels in different environmental samples

Polonium-210 is analysed in different samples which can be affected by the presence of a dicalcium phosphate plant (DCP). Particularly, it was determined in sludge samples from a drinking water treatment plant located downstream of the phosphate plant. From the obtained results, it was not possible to establish a correlation with the industrial activities carried out in the DCP plant since the measured activities were comparable to the reported in the literature for normal soils. This isotope was also monitored in different biota species (as mussels) taken also downstream of the DCP, and the potential risk of their ingestion by calculating the total effective doses was evaluated. As a result, it is important to highlight that the ingestion of these mussels does not constitute a risk for the population since the found doses were lower than the values published by UNSCEAR.

Co-occurrence of musk fragrances and UV-filters in seafood and macroalgae collected in European hotspots

In the last decades, awareness regarding personal care products (PCP), i.e. synthetic organic chemicals frequently used in cosmetic and hygienic products, has become a forward-looking issue, due to their persistency in the environment and their potential multi-organ toxicity in both human and wildlife. Seafood is one of the most significant food commodities in the world and, certainly, one of the most prone to bioaccumulation of PCP, what can consequently lead to human exposure, especially for coastal population, where its consumption is more marked. The aim of this work was to evaluate the co-occurrence of musk fragrances and UV-filters in both seafood and macroalgae collected in different European hotspots (areas with high levels of pollution, highly populated and near wastewater treatment plants). Despite the fact that UV-filters were detected in three different kind of samples (mussel, mullet, and clam), in all cases they were below the limit of quantification. Galaxolide (HHCB) and tonalide (AHTN) were the musk fragrances most frequently detected and quantified in samples from the European hotspots. Cashmeran (DPMI) was also detected in most samples but only quantified in two of them (flounder/herring and mullet). The highest levels of HHCB and AHTN were found in mussels from Po estuary.

Exposure of the population of Catalonia (Spain) to musk fragrances through seafood consumption: Risk assessment

The occurrence of ten synthetic musks in samples of 10 widely consumed fish and shellfish species from Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain) was determined. The most used nitro and polycyclic musks, as well as a well-known transformation product in tissues, were analyzed. Furthermore, the human health risks derived from the musk exposure through seafood consumption were characterized. None of the nitro musks were detected in any of the analyzed samples. In contrast, most of the polycyclic musks were found, being galaxolide (HHCB) and tonalide (AHTN) present in all the samples. HHCB was the greatest contributor, with maximum levels in sardine and mackerel (367 and 304 ng g(-1) (d.w.) (dry weight), respectively). The highest exposure to individual musks was estimated for HHCB and HHCB-Lactone, with average values of 19.7 and 6.8 ng kg(-1)bw day(-1), respectively, in adults. A notably lower mean exposure was calculated for AHTN, cashmeran (DPMI) and traseolide (ATII), being ranged between 1.1 and 3.7 ng kg(-1)bw day(-1). The current concentrations of musks in fish and shellfish should not mean human health risks for the adult population living in Tarragona. However, a continuous monitoring would be desirable to assure that the exposure does not follow increasing temporal trends.

Trace-level determination of sweeteners in sewage sludge using selective pressurized liquid extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

The occurrence of sweeteners in the environment has become a matter of concern due to the possibility of adverse effects on human health and wildlife species. One of the routes by which sweeteners enter the environment is through sewage sludge. Therefore, a method was developed with a selective-pressurized liquid extraction (S-PLE) followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the simultaneous determination of eight sweeteners in sewage sludge. The chromatographic separation was achieved in less than ten minutes using an amide polar-embedded reversed-phase column. Due to the high matrix effect present in the sample, an extensive study was conducted in order to overcome this issue, with C18 in-cell and solid-phase extraction (Oasis HLB) as a clean-up method. S-PLE/SPE recoveries at two levels of concentration (50μg/kg and 1000μg/kg in dry weight (d.w.), n=5) were higher than 61%. Repeatability and reproducibility at the same concentrations (%RSD, n=5) were lower than 11% and 16%, respectively. The limits of detection were 10μg/kg (d.w) for all compounds, except for cyclamate (5μg/kg (d.w.)). The method was successfully applied to sewage sludge samples from three sewage treatment plants located in Catalonia (Spain). Of the eight compounds, five were determined in all of the samples analysed, with acesulfame and saccharine being recorded at the highest concentrations of up to 481μg/kg and 591μg/kg (d.w.), respectively.

Determination of high-intensity sweeteners in river water and wastewater by solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

High-intensity sweeteners have been suggested as potential organic contaminants due to their widespread use in food, drugs and sanitary products. As a consequence, they are introduced into the environment by different pathways, affecting aquatic life. In this study, a method based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) has been developed and validated for the determination of eight sweeteners (saccharin, cyclamate, aspartame, acesulfame, neohesperidin dihydrochalcone, sucralose, stevioside and glycyrrhizic acid) in river water and wastewater. To get the maximum recoveries in SPE, several commercial sorbents were tested and Oasis HLB gave the best results, with recoveries higher than 41% for all of the compounds in the different matrices. Method limits of detection were in the range of 0.001-0.04μg/L in river water and 0.01-0.5μg/L in influent and effluent wastewater. Method reproducibility between days (n=5) was below 15% for all compounds. The method was applied to the determination of sweeteners in various river waters and wastewaters in Catalonia. Cyclamate, aspartame, neohesperidin dihydrochalcone, acesulfame and sucralose were found in river water, with the two last compounds being present at the highest values (1.62μg/L for acesulfame and 3.57μg/L for sucralose). In influent and effluent wastewater, all of the compounds were found at concentration levels ranging from 0.05 to 155μg/L except for stevioside and neohesperidin dihydrochalcone, which were not detected.

Presence of radionuclides in sludge from conventional drinking water treatment plants. A review

The analysis of sludge samples generated during water treatment processes show that different radioisotopes of uranium, thorium and radium, among others can accumulate in that kind of samples, even the good removal rates obtained in the aqueous phase (by comparison of influent and effluent water concentrations). Inconsequence, drinking water treatment plants are included in the group of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) industries. The accumulation of radionuclides can be a serious problem especially when this sludge is going to be reused, so more exhaustive information is required to prevent the possible radiological impact of these samples in the environment and also on the people. The main aim of this review is to outline the current situation regarding the different studies reported in the literature up to date focused on the analysis of the radiological content of these sludge samples from drinking water treatment plants. In this sense, special attention is given to the recent approaches for their determination. Another important aim is to discuss about the final disposal of these samples and in this regard, sludge reuse (including for example direct agricultural application or also as building materials) are together with landfilling the main reported strategies.

Characterization of organic fouling in reverse osmosis membranes by headspace solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Adsorption of organic substances on reverse osmosis (RO) membrane surfaces may form an organic film on the membrane, known as organic fouling, and cause flow-rate loss. This problem is mostly unavoidable as no pretreatment method exists for perfect removal of possible foulants, including organic compounds resulting from undesirable bioactivity. Understanding the characteristics of fouling layers is an essential step towards overall improvement of RO membrane operations. In this study, the organic fouling in RO membranes treating the effluent of a secondary treatment from an urban wastewater treatment plant was characterized. Headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry has been used for the first time, to provide valuable information of organic fouling. Different polarity SPME fibers were tested for this purpose. In addition, the characterization of the organic fouling obtained by HS-SPME was compared with the results obtained by extraction using several organic solvents. The results indicated that more compound families can be identified by HS-SPME than by organic solvent extraction. Moreover, complementary organic analyses were done for better understanding of the organic fouling in RO membranes, such as total organic carbon and loss on ignition.

Hypercrosslinked materials: preparation, characterisation and applications

Hypercrosslinked materials have experienced a great expansion in both the synthetic approach and the field of applications.

Exposure to nitrosamines in thirdhand tobacco smoke increases cancer risk in non-smokers

In addition to passive inhalation, non-smokers, and especially children, are exposed to residual tobacco smoke gases and particles that are deposited to surfaces and dust, known as thirdhand smoke (THS). However, until now the potential cancer risks of this pathway of exposure have been highly uncertain and not considered in public health policy. In this study, we estimate for the first time the potential cancer risk by age group through non-dietary ingestion and dermal exposure to carcinogen N-nitrosamines and tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) measured in house dust samples. Using a highly sensitive and selective analytical approach we have determined the presence of nicotine, eight N-nitrosamines and five tobacco-specific nitrosamines in forty-six settled dust samples from homes occupied by both smokers and non-smokers. Using observations of house dust composition, we have estimated the cancer risk by applying the most recent official toxicological information. Calculated cancer risks through exposure to the observed levels of TSNAs at an early life stage (1 to 6years old) exceeded the upper-bound risk recommended by the USEPA in 77% of smokers' and 64% of non-smokers' homes. The maximum risk from exposure to all nitrosamines measured in a smoker occupied home was one excess cancer case per one thousand population exposed. The results presented here highlight the potentially severe long-term consequences of THS exposure, particularly to children, and give strong evidence of its potential health risk and, therefore, they should be considered when developing future environmental and health policies.

A pressurised hot water extraction and liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry method to determine polar benzotriazole, benzothiazole and benzenesulfonamide derivates in sewage sludge

Benzothiazole, benzotriazole and benzenesulfonamide derivates are well-known aquatic contaminants, although very few studies have been published about their occurrence in sewage sludge samples. In this paper, a pressurised hot water extraction (PHWE) method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of these families of compounds. The compounds were determined by LC-Orbitrap-HRMS and several clean-up strategies such as in-cell PHWE and solid-phase extraction (SPE) were tested to reduce the high matrix effect that occurs when sludge samples are analysed. Absolute recoveries using the whole method were above 80% and the matrix effect was under -20% for most of the compounds studied. Repeatability and reproducibility were usually under 10% (%RSD, 50 and 250ngg(-1) (d.w.), n=5), while LODs and LOQs were between 0.25 and 25ngg(-1) (d.w.) and 0.5 and 50ngg(-1) (d.w.), respectively. The PHWE/SPE/LC-HRMS method developed was used to analyse several sludge samples collected from five sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Catalonia that use different sewage treatments. The most frequently determined compounds were benzotriazole derivates and the most abundant compound found was 2-hydroxybenzothiazole.

Recent trends in analytical methods and separation techniques for drugs of abuse in hair

Hair analysis of drugs of abuse has been a subject of growing interest from a clinical, social and forensic perspective for years because of the broad time detection window after intake in comparison to urine and blood analysis. Over the last few years, hair analysis has gained increasing attention and recognition for the retrospective investigation of drug abuse in a wide variety of contexts, shown by the large number of applications developed. This review aims to provide an overview of the state of the art and the latest trends used in the literature from 2005 to the present in the analysis of drugs of abuse in hair, with a special focus on separation analytical techniques and their hyphenation with mass spectrometry detection. The most recently introduced sample preparation techniques are also addressed in this paper. The main strengths and weaknesses of all of these approaches are critically discussed by means of relevant applications.

Comparison of triple quadrupole mass spectrometry and Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry in ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography for the determination of veterinary drugs in sewage: benefits and drawbacks

This paper presents a comparison of triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) combined to ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography for the determination of glucocorticoids and polyether ionophores in sewage, in order to show the major benefits and drawbacks for each mass spectrometry analyser. Overall, HRMS measurements have enhanced performance in terms of confirmatory capabilities than MS/MS measurements. Moreover, similar limits of quantification, limits of detection, linear range and repeatability for glucocorticoids with both the MS/MS and HRMS methods were compared, but in the case of polyether ionophores, slightly better limits of detection and limits of quantification were obtained with the HRMS method because of the high sensitivity obtained when diagnostic ions are used for quantification instead of selected reaction monitoring transitions for these compounds. The two methods have been applied to the analysis of several influent and effluent sewage samples from sewage treatment plants located in the Tarragona region (Catalonia, Spain), showing an excellent correlation between the two methods.

A quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe extraction method followed by liquid chromatography-(Orbitrap) high resolution mass spectrometry to determine benzotriazole, benzothiazole and benzenesulfonamide derivates in sewage sludge

A Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) extraction method followed by liquid chromatography-(Orbitrap) high resolution mass spectrometry was developed for the simultaneous determination of five benzotriazole, four benzothiazole and five benzenesulfonamide derivates in sewage sludge. While the method was being developed, several buffers and dispersive solid-phase extraction clean-up (dSPE) sorbents were tested. Citrate buffer and Z-sep+ (zirconium-based sorbent) were the most effective extraction buffer and dSPE clean-up material. The absolute recoveries were higher than 80% for all compounds (100ng/g (d.w.)) and the matrix effect was less than -20% for most compounds. The limits of detection were between 0.5 and 10ng/g (d.w.) and the limits of quantification (LOQ) were between 1 and 25ng/g (d.w.). Repeatability and reproducibility were lower than 15% (%RSD, n=5). Several sludge samples from five sewage treatment plants in Catalonia were analysed and the most abundant compounds were 2-hydroxybenzothiazole ( Collapse

Key Words

• Benzenesulfonamides
• Benzothiazoles
• Benzotriazoles
• Liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry
• QuEChERS
• Sewage sludge

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MESH Headings

• Benzothiazoles/analysis
• Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
• Limit of Detection
• Mass Spectrometry
• Reproducibility of Results
• Sewage/chemistry
• Solid Phase Extraction
• Sulfonamides/analysis
• Triazoles/analysis
• Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis
• Benzenesulfonamides

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