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Ladeira C. The use of effect biomarkers in chemical mixtures risk assessment - Are they still important? MUTATION RESEARCH. GENETIC TOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MUTAGENESIS 2024; 896:503768. [PMID: 38821670 DOI: 10.1016/j.mrgentox.2024.503768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2024] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/02/2024]
Abstract
Human epidemiological studies with biomarkers of effect play an invaluable role in identifying health effects with chemical exposures and in disease prevention. Effect biomarkers that measure genetic damage are potent tools to address the carcinogenic and/or mutagenic potential of chemical exposures, increasing confidence in regulatory risk assessment decision-making processes. The micronucleus (MN) test is recognized as one of the most successful and reliable assays to assess genotoxic events, which are associated with exposures that may cause cancer. To move towards the next generation risk assessment is crucial to establish bridges between standard approaches, new approach methodologies (NAMs) and tools for increase the mechanistically-based biological plausibility in human studies, such as the adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) framework. This paper aims to highlight the still active role of MN as biomarker of effect in the evolution and applicability of new methods and approaches in human risk assessment, with the positive consequence, that the new methods provide a deeper knowledge of the mechanistically-based biology of these endpoints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carina Ladeira
- H&TRC, Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL-Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Lisbon 1990-096, Portugal; NOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal; Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), Lisbon, Portugal.
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2
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Jiang Z, Schenk L, Assarsson E, Albin M, Bertilsson H, Dock E, Hagberg J, Karlsson LE, Kines P, Krais AM, Ljunggren S, Lundh T, Modig L, Möller R, Pineda D, Ricklund N, Saber AT, Storsjö T, Amir ET, Tinnerberg H, Tondel M, Vogel U, Wiebert P, Broberg K, Engfeldt M. Hexavalent chromium still a concern in Sweden - Evidence from a cross-sectional study within the SafeChrom project. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2024; 256:114298. [PMID: 38056371 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is classified as a human carcinogen. Occupational Cr(VI) exposure can occur during different work processes, but the current exposure to Cr(VI) at Swedish workplaces is unknown. METHODS This cross-sectional study (SafeChrom) recruited non-smoking men and women from 14 companies with potential Cr(VI) exposure (n = 113) and controls from 6 companies without Cr(VI) exposure (n = 72). Inhalable Cr(VI) was measured by personal air sampling (outside of respiratory protection) in exposed workers. Total Cr was measured in urine (pre- and post-shift, density-adjusted) and red blood cells (RBC) (reflecting Cr(VI)) in exposed workers and controls. The Bayesian tool Expostats was used to assess risk and evaluate occupational exposure limit (OEL) compliance. RESULTS The exposed workers performed processing of metal products, steel production, welding, plating, and various chemical processes. The geometric mean concentration of inhalable Cr(VI) in exposed workers was 0.15 μg/m3 (95% confidence interval: 0.11-0.21). Eight of the 113 exposed workers (7%) exceeded the Swedish OEL of 5 μg/m3, and the Bayesian analysis estimated the share of OEL exceedances up to 19.6% for stainless steel welders. Median post-shift urinary (0.60 μg/L, 5th-95th percentile 0.10-3.20) and RBC concentrations (0.73 μg/L, 0.51-2.33) of Cr were significantly higher in the exposed group compared with the controls (urinary 0.10 μg/L, 0.06-0.56 and RBC 0.53 μg/L, 0.42-0.72). Inhalable Cr(VI) correlated with urinary Cr (rS = 0.64) and RBC-Cr (rS = 0.53). Workers within steel production showed the highest concentrations of inhalable, urinary and RBC Cr. Workers with inferred non-acceptable local exhaustion ventilation showed significantly higher inhalable Cr(VI), urinary and RBC Cr concentrations compared with those with inferred acceptable ventilation. Furthermore, workers with inferred correct use of respiratory protection were exposed to significantly higher concentrations of Cr(VI) in air and had higher levels of Cr in urine and RBC than those assessed with incorrect or no use. Based on the Swedish job-exposure-matrix, approximately 17 900 workers were estimated to be occupationally exposed to Cr(VI) today. CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrates that some workers in Sweden are exposed to high levels of the non-threshold carcinogen Cr(VI). Employers and workers seem aware of Cr(VI) exposure, but more efficient exposure control strategies are required. National strategies aligned with the European strategies are needed in order to eliminate this cause of occupational cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheshun Jiang
- Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Linda Schenk
- Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Eva Assarsson
- Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Maria Albin
- Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Helen Bertilsson
- Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Sustainable Health, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Eva Dock
- Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Region Skåne, Lund, Sweden
| | - Jessika Hagberg
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Faculty of Business, Science and Engineering, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Lovisa E Karlsson
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Örebro University Hospital, Region Örebro County, Sweden
| | - Pete Kines
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Annette M Krais
- Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Stefan Ljunggren
- Occupational and Environmental Medicine Center in Linköping, Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Thomas Lundh
- Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Lars Modig
- Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Sustainable Health, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Rickie Möller
- Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Daniela Pineda
- Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Niklas Ricklund
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Örebro University Hospital, Region Örebro County, Sweden
| | - Anne T Saber
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Tobias Storsjö
- Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Evana Taher Amir
- Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Håkan Tinnerberg
- Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden; Occupational and Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Martin Tondel
- Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ulla Vogel
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Pernilla Wiebert
- Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Karin Broberg
- Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Malin Engfeldt
- Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Region Skåne, Lund, Sweden
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Göen T, Abballe A, Bousoumah R, Godderis L, Iavicoli I, Ingelido AM, Leso V, Müller J, Ndaw S, Porras SP, Verdonck J, Santonen T. HBM4EU chromates study - PFAS exposure in electroplaters and bystanders. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 346:140613. [PMID: 37944767 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
The study aims to reveal the exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in workers in different industry sectors with exposures to hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). The PFAS exposure of in total 172 individuals from 4 countries was assessed by the determination of 8 perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids and 4 perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids in plasma samples. The participants were 52 chrome plating workers, 43 welders, 3 surface treating workers and 74 workers without any occupational Cr exposure as controls. Significant differences between workers with Cr exposure and controls were found for the perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids, particularly for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). The median and maximum levels were, respectively, 4.83 and 789 μg/l for chrome plating workers, 4.97 and 1513 μg/l for welders, and 3.65 and 13.9 μg/l for controls. The considerably high PFOS exposure in Cr platers and welders can be explained by the former application of PFOS as mist suppressants in electroplating baths, which resulted in an exposure of the directly involved operators, but also of welders performing maintenance and repair service at these workplaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Göen
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Erlangen, Germany.
| | - Annalisa Abballe
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Environment and Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Radia Bousoumah
- French National Research and Safety Institute (INRS), Vandœuvre-Lès-Nancy, France
| | - Lode Godderis
- Catholic University Leuven, Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Leuven, Belgium; IDEWE, External Service for Prevention and Protection at Work, Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Ivo Iavicoli
- University of Naples Federico II, Department of Public Health, Naples, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Ingelido
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Environment and Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Veruscka Leso
- University of Naples Federico II, Department of Public Health, Naples, Italy
| | - Johannes Müller
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Sophie Ndaw
- French National Research and Safety Institute (INRS), Vandœuvre-Lès-Nancy, France
| | - Simo P Porras
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jelle Verdonck
- Catholic University Leuven, Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tiina Santonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH), Helsinki, Finland
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Zare Jeddi M, Galea KS, Viegas S, Fantke P, Louro H, Theunis J, Govarts E, Denys S, Fillol C, Rambaud L, Kolossa-Gehring M, Santonen T, van der Voet H, Ghosh M, Costa C, Teixeira JP, Verhagen H, Duca RC, Van Nieuwenhuyse A, Jones K, Sams C, Sepai O, Tranfo G, Bakker M, Palmen N, van Klaveren J, Scheepers PTJ, Paini A, Canova C, von Goetz N, Katsonouri A, Karakitsios S, Sarigiannis DA, Bessems J, Machera K, Harrad S, Hopf NB. FAIR environmental and health registry (FAIREHR)- supporting the science to policy interface and life science research, development and innovation. FRONTIERS IN TOXICOLOGY 2023; 5:1116707. [PMID: 37342468 PMCID: PMC10278765 DOI: 10.3389/ftox.2023.1116707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The environmental impact on health is an inevitable by-product of human activity. Environmental health sciences is a multidisciplinary field addressing complex issues on how people are exposed to hazardous chemicals that can potentially affect adversely the health of present and future generations. Exposure sciences and environmental epidemiology are becoming increasingly data-driven and their efficiency and effectiveness can significantly improve by implementing the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) principles for scientific data management and stewardship. This will enable data integration, interoperability and (re)use while also facilitating the use of new and powerful analytical tools such as artificial intelligence and machine learning in the benefit of public health policy, and research, development and innovation (RDI). Early research planning is critical to ensuring data is FAIR at the outset. This entails a well-informed and planned strategy concerning the identification of appropriate data and metadata to be gathered, along with established procedures for their collection, documentation, and management. Furthermore, suitable approaches must be implemented to evaluate and ensure the quality of the data. Therefore, the 'Europe Regional Chapter of the International Society of Exposure Science' (ISES Europe) human biomonitoring working group (ISES Europe HBM WG) proposes the development of a FAIR Environment and health registry (FAIREHR) (hereafter FAIREHR). FAIR Environment and health registry offers preregistration of studies on exposure sciences and environmental epidemiology using HBM (as a starting point) across all areas of environmental and occupational health globally. The registry is proposed to receive a dedicated web-based interface, to be electronically searchable and to be available to all relevant data providers, users and stakeholders. Planned Human biomonitoring studies would ideally be registered before formal recruitment of study participants. The resulting FAIREHR would contain public records of metadata such as study design, data management, an audit trail of major changes to planned methods, details of when the study will be completed, and links to resulting publications and data repositories when provided by the authors. The FAIREHR would function as an integrated platform designed to cater to the needs of scientists, companies, publishers, and policymakers by providing user-friendly features. The implementation of FAIREHR is expected to yield significant benefits in terms of enabling more effective utilization of human biomonitoring (HBM) data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Zare Jeddi
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, Netherlands
| | - Karen S. Galea
- Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM), Research Avenue North, Riccarton, United Kingdom
| | - Susana Viegas
- NOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre, Comprehensive Health Research Center, CHRC, NOVA University Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Peter Fantke
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Henriqueta Louro
- National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Department of Human Genetics, Lisbon and ToxOmics - Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health, NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Jan Theunis
- VITO HEALTH, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - Eva Govarts
- VITO HEALTH, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - Sébastien Denys
- SpF— Santé Publique France, Environmental and Occupational Health Division, Saint-Maurice, France
| | - Clémence Fillol
- SpF— Santé Publique France, Environmental and Occupational Health Division, Saint-Maurice, France
| | - Loïc Rambaud
- SpF— Santé Publique France, Environmental and Occupational Health Division, Saint-Maurice, France
| | | | - Tiina Santonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH), Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Manosij Ghosh
- Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Carla Costa
- Department of Environmental Health, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Porto, Portugal and EPIUnit—Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - João Paulo Teixeira
- Department of Environmental Health, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Porto, Portugal and EPIUnit—Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Hans Verhagen
- Nutrition Innovation Center for Food and Health (NICHE), University of Ulster, Coleraine, United Kingdom
- National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
- Food Safety and Nutrition Consultancy, Zeist, Netherlands
| | - Radu-Corneliu Duca
- Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), Dudelange, Luxembourg
| | - An Van Nieuwenhuyse
- Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), Dudelange, Luxembourg
| | - Kate Jones
- HSE—Health and Safety Executive, Buxton, United Kingdom
| | - Craig Sams
- HSE—Health and Safety Executive, Buxton, United Kingdom
| | - Ovnair Sepai
- UK Health Security Agency, Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards Division, Chilton, United Kingdom
| | - Giovanna Tranfo
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Institute Against Accidents at Work (INAIL), Monte PorzioCatone(RM), Italy
| | - Martine Bakker
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, Netherlands
| | - Nicole Palmen
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, Netherlands
| | - Jacob van Klaveren
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, Netherlands
| | - Paul T. J. Scheepers
- Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | | | - Cristina Canova
- Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Cardio-Thoraco-Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padova, Italy
| | - Natalie von Goetz
- Federal Office of Public Health, Bern, Switzerland
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Spyros Karakitsios
- HERACLES Research Center on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Dimosthenis A. Sarigiannis
- HERACLES Research Center on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
- Complex Risk and Data Analysis Research Center, University School for Advanced Studies IUSS, Pavia, Italy
| | - Jos Bessems
- VITO HEALTH, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - Kyriaki Machera
- Laboratory of Pesticides’ Toxicology, Department of Pesticides Control and Phytopharmacy, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, Kifissia, Greece
| | - Stuart Harrad
- School of Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Nancy B. Hopf
- Centre for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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5
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Vorkamp K, Esteban López M, Gilles L, Göen T, Govarts E, Hajeb P, Katsonouri A, Knudsen LE, Kolossa-Gehring M, Lindh C, Nübler S, Pedraza-Díaz S, Santonen T, Castaño A. Coordination of chemical analyses under the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU): Concepts, procedures and lessons learnt. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2023; 251:114183. [PMID: 37148759 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
The European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) ran from 2017 to 2022 with the aim of advancing and harmonizing human biomonitoring in Europe. More than 40,000 analyses were performed on human samples in different human biomonitoring studies in HBM4EU, addressing the chemical exposure of the general population, temporal developments, occupational exposure and a public health intervention on mercury in populations with high fish consumption. The analyses covered 15 priority groups of organic chemicals and metals and were carried out by a network of laboratories meeting the requirements of a comprehensive quality assurance and control system. The coordination of the chemical analyses included establishing contacts between sample owners and qualified laboratories and monitoring the progress of the chemical analyses during the analytical phase, also addressing status and consequences of Covid-19 measures. Other challenges were related to the novelty and complexity of HBM4EU, including administrative and financial matters and implementation of standardized procedures. Many individual contacts were necessary in the initial phase of HBM4EU. However, there is a potential to develop more streamlined and standardized communication and coordination in the analytical phase of a consolidated European HBM programme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrin Vorkamp
- Aarhus University, Department of Environmental Science, Roskilde, Denmark.
| | - Marta Esteban López
- Instituto de Salud Carlos III, National Centre for Environmental Health, Majadahonda, Spain
| | - Liese Gilles
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Mol, Belgium
| | - Thomas Göen
- Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Eva Govarts
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Mol, Belgium
| | - Parvaneh Hajeb
- Aarhus University, Department of Environmental Science, Roskilde, Denmark
| | | | - Lisbeth E Knudsen
- University of Copenhagen, Institute of Public Health, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Christian Lindh
- Lund University, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund, Sweden
| | - Stefanie Nübler
- Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Susana Pedraza-Díaz
- Instituto de Salud Carlos III, National Centre for Environmental Health, Majadahonda, Spain
| | - Tiina Santonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Argelia Castaño
- Instituto de Salud Carlos III, National Centre for Environmental Health, Majadahonda, Spain
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Mortada WI, El-Naggar A, Mosa A, Palansooriya KN, Yousaf B, Tang R, Wang S, Cai Y, Chang SX. Biogeochemical behaviour and toxicology of chromium in the soil-water-human nexus: A review. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 331:138804. [PMID: 37137390 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Chromium (Cr) affects human health if it accumulates in organs to elevated concentrations. The toxicity risk of Cr in the ecosphere depends upon the dominant Cr species and their bioavailability in the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. However, the soil-water-human nexus that controls the biogeochemical behaviour of Cr and its potential toxicity is not fully understood. This paper synthesizes information on different dimensions of Cr ecotoxicological hazards in the soil and water and their subsequent effects on human health. The various routes of environmental exposure of Cr to humans and other organisms are also discussed. Human exposure to Cr(VI) causes both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health effects via complicated reactions that include oxidative stress, chromosomal and DNA damage, and mutagenesis. Chromium (VI) inhalation can cause lung cancer; however, incidences of other types of cancer following Cr(VI) exposure are low but probable. The non-carcinogenic health consequences of Cr(VI) exposure are primarily respiratory and cutaneous. Research on the biogeochemical behaviour of Cr and its toxicological hazards on human and other biological routes is therefore urgently needed to develop a holistic approach to understanding the soil-water-human nexus that controls the toxicological hazards of Cr and its detoxification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wael I Mortada
- Urology and Nephrology Center, Mansoura University, Mansoura, 35516, Egypt
| | - Ali El-Naggar
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Lin'an, 311300, China; Department of Soil Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 11241, Egypt; Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H1, Canada
| | - Ahmed Mosa
- Soils Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Mansoura University, Mansoura, 35516, Egypt.
| | | | - Balal Yousaf
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and the Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China; Department of Environmental Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, 06800, Turkey
| | - Ronggui Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Lin'an, 311300, China
| | - Shengsen Wang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, 196 W Huayang Rd, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Yanjiang Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Lin'an, 311300, China
| | - Scott X Chang
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Lin'an, 311300, China; Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H1, Canada.
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7
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Uhl M, Schoeters G, Govarts E, Bil W, Fletcher T, Haug LS, Hoogenboom R, Gundacker C, Trier X, Fernandez MF, Calvo AC, López ME, Coertjens D, Santonen T, Murínová ĽP, Richterová D, Brouwere KD, Hauzenberger I, Kolossa-Gehring M, Halldórsson ÞI. PFASs: What can we learn from the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative HBM4EU. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2023; 250:114168. [PMID: 37068413 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/19/2023]
Abstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were one of the priority substance groups selected which have been investigated under the ambitious European Joint programme HBM4EU (2017-2022). In order to answer policy relevant questions concerning exposure and health effects of PFASs in Europe several activities were developed under HBM4EU namely i) synthesis of HBM data generated in Europe prior to HBM4EU by developing new platforms, ii) development of a Quality Assurance/Quality Control Program covering 12 biomarkers of PFASs, iii) aligned and harmonized human biomonitoring studies of PFASs. In addition, some cohort studies (on mother-child exposure, occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium) were initiated, and literature researches on risk assessment of mixtures of PFAS, health effects and effect biomarkers were performed. The HBM4EU Aligned Studies have generated internal exposure reference levels for 12 PFASs in 1957 European teenagers aged 12-18 years. The results showed that serum levels of 14.3% of the teenagers exceeded 6.9 μg/L PFASs, which corresponds to the EFSA guideline value for a tolerable weekly intake (TWI) of 4.4 ng/kg for some of the investigated PFASs (PFOA, PFOS, PFNA and PFHxS). In Northern and Western Europe, 24% of teenagers exceeded this level. The most relevant sources of exposure identified were drinking water and some foods (fish, eggs, offal and locally produced foods). HBM4EU occupational studies also revealed very high levels of PFASs exposure in workers (P95: 192 μg/L in chrome plating facilities), highlighting the importance of monitoring PFASs exposure in specific workplaces. In addition, environmental contaminated hotspots causing high exposure to the population were identified. In conclusion, the frequent and high PFASs exposure evidenced by HBM4EU strongly suggests the need to take all possible measures to prevent further contamination of the European population, in addition to adopting remediation measures in hotspot areas, to protect human health and the environment. HBM4EU findings also support the restriction of the whole group of PFASs. Further, research and definition for additional toxicological dose-effect relationship values for more PFASs compounds is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Uhl
- Environment Agency Austria, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Greet Schoeters
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium; University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Eva Govarts
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - Wieneke Bil
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands
| | - Tony Fletcher
- UK Health Security Agency, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire, England, UK
| | | | - Ron Hoogenboom
- Wageningen Food Safety Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | | | - Xenia Trier
- European Environment Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | | | | | | | - Tiina Santonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
| | | | | | - Katleen De Brouwere
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
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8
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Rodríguez-Carrillo A, Mustieles V, Salamanca-Fernández E, Olivas-Martínez A, Suárez B, Bajard L, Baken K, Blaha L, Bonefeld-Jørgensen EC, Couderq S, D'Cruz SC, Fini JB, Govarts E, Gundacker C, Hernández AF, Lacasaña M, Laguzzi F, Linderman B, Long M, Louro H, Neophytou C, Oberemn A, Remy S, Rosenmai AK, Saber AT, Schoeters G, Silva MJ, Smagulova F, Uhl M, Vinggaard AM, Vogel U, Wielsøe M, Olea N, Fernández MF. Implementation of effect biomarkers in human biomonitoring studies: A systematic approach synergizing toxicological and epidemiological knowledge. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2023; 249:114140. [PMID: 36841007 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Revised: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2023]
Abstract
Human biomonitoring (HBM) studies have highlighted widespread daily exposure to environmental chemicals. Some of these are suspected to contribute to adverse health outcomes such as reproductive, neurological, and metabolic disorders, among other developmental and chronic impairments. One of the objectives of the H2020 European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) was the development of informative effect biomarkers for application in a more systematic and harmonized way in large-scale European HBM studies. The inclusion of effect biomarkers would complement exposure data with mechanistically-based information on early and late adverse effects. For this purpose, a stepwise strategy was developed to identify and implement a panel of validated effect biomarkers in European HBM studies. This work offers an overview of the complete procedure followed, from comprehensive literature search strategies, selection of criteria for effect biomarkers and their classification and prioritization, based on toxicological data and adverse outcomes, to pilot studies for their analytical, physiological, and epidemiological validation. We present the example of one study that demonstrated the mediating role of the effect biomarker status of brain-derived neurotrophic factor BDNF in the longitudinal association between infant bisphenol A (BPA) exposure and behavioral function in adolescence. A panel of effect biomarkers has been implemented in the HBM4EU Aligned Studies as main outcomes, including traditional oxidative stress, reproductive, and thyroid hormone biomarkers. Novel biomarkers of effect, such as DNA methylation status of BDNF and kisspeptin (KISS) genes were also evaluated as molecular markers of neurological and reproductive health, respectively. A panel of effect biomarkers has also been applied in HBM4EU occupational studies, such as micronucleus analysis in lymphocytes and reticulocytes, whole blood comet assay, and malondialdehyde, 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine and untargeted metabolomic profile in urine, to investigate, for example, biological changes in response to hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) exposure. The use of effect biomarkers in HBM4EU has demonstrated their ability to detect early biological effects of chemical exposure and to identify subgroups that are at higher risk. The roadmap developed in HBM4EU confirms the utility of effect biomarkers, and support one of the main objectives of HBM research, which is to link exposure biomarkers to mechanistically validated effect and susceptibility biomarkers in order to better understand the public health implications of human exposure to environmental chemicals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Rodríguez-Carrillo
- Biomedical Research Center (CIBM), University of Granada, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), 18012, Granada, Spain; Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Granada, 18016, Granada, Spain
| | - Vicente Mustieles
- Biomedical Research Center (CIBM), University of Granada, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), 18012, Granada, Spain; Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Granada, 18016, Granada, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Spain
| | - Elena Salamanca-Fernández
- Biomedical Research Center (CIBM), University of Granada, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), 18012, Granada, Spain; Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Granada, 18016, Granada, Spain.
| | - Alicia Olivas-Martínez
- Biomedical Research Center (CIBM), University of Granada, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), 18012, Granada, Spain
| | - Beatriz Suárez
- Biomedical Research Center (CIBM), University of Granada, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), 18012, Granada, Spain
| | - Lola Bajard
- RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, CZ62500, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Kirsten Baken
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - Ludek Blaha
- RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, CZ62500, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Cecilie Bonefeld-Jørgensen
- Centre for Arctic Health & Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Public Health Aarhus University, Denmark; Greenland Centre for Health Research, University of Greenland, Nuuk, Greenland
| | - Stephan Couderq
- Physiologie Moléculaire et Adaptation, Département "Adaptation du Vivant", UMR 7221 MNHN/CNRS, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Shereen Cynthia D'Cruz
- Univ Rennes, EHESP, Inserm, Irset (Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail) - UMR_S 1085, F-35000, Rennes, France
| | - Jean-Baptiste Fini
- Physiologie Moléculaire et Adaptation, Département "Adaptation du Vivant", UMR 7221 MNHN/CNRS, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Eva Govarts
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - Claudia Gundacker
- Institute of Medical Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Strasse 10, A-1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Antonio F Hernández
- Biomedical Research Center (CIBM), University of Granada, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), 18012, Granada, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Spain; Department of Legal Medicine and Toxicology, University of Granada School of Medicine, Granada, Spain
| | - Marina Lacasaña
- Biomedical Research Center (CIBM), University of Granada, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), 18012, Granada, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Spain; Department of Legal Medicine and Toxicology, University of Granada School of Medicine, Granada, Spain
| | - Federica Laguzzi
- Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Birgitte Linderman
- Department of Environmental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Manhai Long
- Centre for Arctic Health & Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Public Health Aarhus University, Denmark; Greenland Centre for Health Research, University of Greenland, Nuuk, Greenland
| | - Henriqueta Louro
- National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Human Genetics Department, Toxicogenomics and Human Health (ToxOmics), NOVA Medical School/FCM, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | - Axel Oberemn
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Max-Dohrn-Straße 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sylvie Remy
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | | | | | - Greet Schoeters
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium; Department of Biomedical Sciences and Toxicological Center, University of Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Maria Joao Silva
- National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Human Genetics Department, Toxicogenomics and Human Health (ToxOmics), NOVA Medical School/FCM, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Fatima Smagulova
- Univ Rennes, EHESP, Inserm, Irset (Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail) - UMR_S 1085, F-35000, Rennes, France
| | - Maria Uhl
- Environment Agency Austria (EAA), Vienna, Austria
| | - Anne Marie Vinggaard
- National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Ulla Vogel
- National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs, Lyngby, Denmark; The National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Maria Wielsøe
- Centre for Arctic Health & Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Public Health Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Nicolás Olea
- Biomedical Research Center (CIBM), University of Granada, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), 18012, Granada, Spain; Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Granada, 18016, Granada, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Spain
| | - Mariana F Fernández
- Biomedical Research Center (CIBM), University of Granada, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA), 18012, Granada, Spain; Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Granada, 18016, Granada, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Spain.
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9
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A step towards harmonising human biomonitoring study setup on European level: Materials provided and lessons learnt in HBM4EU. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2023; 249:114118. [PMID: 36773579 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
Internal exposure of the human body to potentially harmful chemical substances can be assessed by Human Biomonitoring (HBM). HBM can be used to generate conclusive data that may provide an overview of exposure levels in entire or specific population groups. This knowledge can promote the understanding of potential risks of the substances of interest or help monitoring the success of regulatory measures taken on the political level. Study planning and design are key elements of any epidemiologic study to generate reliable data. In the field of HBM, this has been done using differing approaches on various levels of population coverage so far. Comparison and combined usage of the resulting data would contribute to understanding exposure and its factors on a larger scale, however, the differences between studies make this a challenging and somewhat limited endeavour. This article presents templates for documents that are required to set up an HBM study, thus facilitating the generation of harmonised HBM data as a step towards standardisation of HBM in Europe. They are designed to be modular and adaptable to the specific needs of a single study while emphasising minimum requirements to ensure comparability. It further elaborates on the challenges encountered during the process of creating these documents during the runtime of the European Joint Programme HBM4EU in a multi-national expert team and draws up lessons learnt in the context of knowledge management.
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Santonen T, Louro H, Bocca B, Bousoumah R, Duca RC, Fucic A, Galea KS, Godderis L, Göen T, Iavicoli I, Janasik B, Jones K, Leese E, Leso V, Ndaw S, Poels K, Porras SP, Ruggieri F, Silva MJ, Van Nieuwenhuyse A, Verdonck J, Wasowicz W, Tavares A, Sepai O, Scheepers PTJ, Viegas S. The HBM4EU chromates study - Outcomes and impacts on EU policies and occupational health practices. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2023; 248:114099. [PMID: 36528954 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.114099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Within the EU human biomonitoring initiative (HBM4EU), a targeted, multi-national study on occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) was performed. Cr(VI) is currently regulated in EU under REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) and under occupational safety and health (OSH) legislation. It has recently been subject to regulatory actions to improve its risk management in European workplaces. Analysis of the data obtained within the HBM4EU chromates study provides support both for the implementation of these regulatory actions and for national enforcement programs and may also contribute to the updating of occupational limit values (OELs) and biological limit values for Cr(VI). It also provides useful insights on the contribution of different risk management measures (RMMs) to further reduce the exposure to Cr(VI) and may support the evaluation of applications for authorisation under REACH. Findings on chrome platers' additional per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure highlight the need to also pay attention to this substance group in the metals sector. A survey performed to evaluate the policy relevance of the HBM4EU chromates study findings supports the usefulness of the study results. According to the responses received from the survey, the HBM4EU chromates study was able to demonstrate the added value of the human biomonitoring (HBM) approach in assessment and management of occupational exposure to Cr(VI). For future occupational studies, we emphasise the need for engagement of policy makers and regulators throughout the whole research process to ensure awareness, relevance and uptake of the results in future policies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiina Santonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Henriqueta Louro
- Department of Human Genetics, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, I.P, and Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health (ToxOmics), NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Beatrice Bocca
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Radia Bousoumah
- French National Research and Safety Institute (INRS), Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France
| | - Radu Corneliu Duca
- Department Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), Dudelange, Luxembourg; Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - Aleksandra Fucic
- Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Karen S Galea
- Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM), Edinburgh, UK
| | - Lode Godderis
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium; IDEWE, External Service for Prevention and Protection at Work, Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Thomas Göen
- Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
| | - Ivo Iavicoli
- Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Beata Janasik
- Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland
| | - Kate Jones
- Health and Safety Executive, Harpur Hill, Buxton, UK
| | | | - Veruscka Leso
- Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Sophie Ndaw
- French National Research and Safety Institute (INRS), Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France
| | - Katrien Poels
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - Simo P Porras
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Flavia Ruggieri
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria J Silva
- Department of Human Genetics, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, I.P, and Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health (ToxOmics), NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - An Van Nieuwenhuyse
- Department Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), Dudelange, Luxembourg; Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jelle Verdonck
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Ana Tavares
- Department of Human Genetics, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, I.P, and Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health (ToxOmics), NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | - Paul T J Scheepers
- Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Susana Viegas
- NOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal; Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), Lisbon, Portugal
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11
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Knudsen LE, Tolonen H, Scheepers PTJ, Loots I, Vorkamp K, Hajeb P, Sepai O, Gilles L, Splanemann P, Weise P, Kolossa-Gehring M. Implementation and coordination of an ethics framework in HBM4EU - Experiences and reflections. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2023; 248:114098. [PMID: 36565602 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.114098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Human biomonitoring involves the use of human samples and data to investigate exposure to environmental chemicals and their impact on human health. HBM4EU developed a coordinated and harmonized approach involving 29 countries in Europe plus Israel. Addressing ethical issues has been an indispensable prerequisite, from the application phase, grant agreement, project performance to the closing of the project. HBM4EU has established a better understanding of the ethics in such projects and the need for a standardised way of reporting and handling of ethics and data exchange, securing compliance with ethics standards, transparency, transferability and sustainability. The main reflections were: KNOWLEDGE: Ethics awareness, norms and practices are dynamic and increased throughout the project, much learning and experience is achieved by practice and dialogue. ATTITUDE Rules and standards were very diversely known and needed to adhere to local practices. ASSISTANCE Good results achieved from webinars, training, help desk, and individual consultations. STANDARDISATION Was achieved by templates and naming convention across documents. MANAGEMENT The establishment of the SharePoint directory with uploading of all requested documents assisted collaboration and exchange. Also, a designated task for ethics within the management/coordination work package and the enthusiasm of the task leader were essential. COMPLIANCE Some, but not all partners were very good at complying with deadlines and standards. TRANSFERABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY All documents are archived in the SharePoint directory while a system assuring updating is recommended. TRANSPARENCY Assured by public access to annual ethics reports. The ethics reports bridged to the annual work plans (AWPs). EVALUATION The Ethics Check by the Commission was successful.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisbeth E Knudsen
- Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Oester Farimagsgade 5, DK 1353, Copenhagen K, Denmark.
| | - Hanna Tolonen
- Department of Health and Welfare, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Paul T J Scheepers
- Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
| | - Ilse Loots
- Department of Sociology (CRESC) and IMDO, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
| | - Katrin Vorkamp
- Aarhus University, Department of Environmental Science, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark.
| | - Parvaneh Hajeb
- Aarhus University, Department of Environmental Science, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Ovnair Sepai
- UK Health Security Agency, Harwell Science Park, OX11 0RQ, UK.
| | - Liese Gilles
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), 2400, Mol, Belgium.
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12
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Zhao M, Wu J, Xu J, Li A, Mei Y, Ge X, Yin G, Liu X, Wei L, Xu Q. Association of environmental exposure to chromium with differential DNA methylation: An epigenome-wide study. Front Genet 2023; 13:1043486. [PMID: 36685967 PMCID: PMC9845398 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.1043486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Previous studies have reported that chromium (Cr)-induced epigenetic alterations and DNA methylation play a vital role in the pathogenesis of diseases induced by chromium exposure. Epigenomic analyses have been limited and mainly focused on occupational chromium exposure; their findings are not generalizable to populations with environmental Cr exposure. Methods: We identified the differential methylation of genes and regions to elucidate the mechanisms of toxicity related to environmental chromium exposure. DNA methylation was measured in blood samples collected from individuals in Cr-contaminated (n = 10) and unexposed areas (n = 10) by using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation850K array. To evaluate the relationship between chromium levels in urine and CpG methylation at 850 thousand sites, we investigated differentially methylated positions (DMPs) and differentially methylated regions (DMRs) by using linear models and DMRcate method, respectively. The model was adjusted for biologically relevant variables and estimated cell-type compositions. Results: At the epigenome-wide level, we identified five CpGs [cg20690919 (p FDR =0.006), cg00704664 (p FDR =0.024), cg10809143 (p FDR =0.043), cg27057652 (p FDR =0.047), cg05390480 (p FDR =0.024)] and one DMR (chr17: 19,648,718-19,648,972), annotated to ALDH3A1 genes (p < 0.05) as being significantly associated with log2 transformed urinary chromium levels. Discussion: Environmental chromium exposure is associated with DNA methylation, and the significant DMPs and DMR being annotated to cause DNA damage and genomic instability were found in this work. Research involving larger samples is required to further explore the epigenetic effect of environmental chromium exposure on health outcomes through DNA methylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meiduo Zhao
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Jingtao Wu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Xu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Ang Li
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Yayuan Mei
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoyu Ge
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Guohuan Yin
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaolin Liu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China
| | - Lanping Wei
- Jinzhou Central Hospital, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China
| | - Qun Xu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,*Correspondence: Qun Xu,
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13
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Bocca B, Leso V, Battistini B, Caimi S, Senofonte M, Fedele M, Cavallo DM, Cattaneo A, Lovreglio P, Iavicoli I. Human biomonitoring and personal air monitoring. An integrated approach to assess exposure of stainless-steel welders to metal-oxide nanoparticles. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 216:114736. [PMID: 36343713 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In welding, there is a potential risk due to metal-oxide nanoparticles (MONPs) exposure of workers. To investigate this possibility, the diameter and number particles concentration of MONPs were evaluated in different biological matrices and in personal air samples collected from 18 stainless-steel welders and 15 unexposed administrative employees engaged in two Italian mechanical engineering Companies. Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and urine were sampled at pre-shift on 1st day and post-shift on 5th day of the workweek, while plasma and inhalable particulate matter (IPM) at post-shift on 5th day and analysed using the Single Particle Mass Spectrometry (SP-ICP-MS) technique to assess possible exposure to Cr2O3, Mn3O4 and NiO nanoparticles (NPs) in welders. The NPs in IPM at both Companies presented a multi-oxide composition consisting of Cr2O3 (median, 871,574 particles/m3; 70 nm), Mn3O4 (median, 713,481 particles/m3; 92 nm) and NiO (median, 369,324 particles/m3; 55 nm). The EBC of welders at both Companies showed Cr2O3 NPs median concentration significantly higher at post-shift (64,645 particles/mL; 55 nm) than at pre-shift (15,836 particles/mL; 58 nm). Significantly lower Cr2O3 NPs median concentration and size (7762 particles/mL; 44 nm) were observed in plasma compared to EBC of welders. At one Company, NiO NPs median concentration in EBC (22,000 particles/mL; 65 nm) and plasma (8248 particles/mL; 37 nm) were detected only at post-shift. No particles of Cr2O3, Mn3O4 and NiO were detected in urine of welders at both Companies. The combined analyses of biological matrices and air samples were a valid approach to investigate both internal and external exposure of welding workers to MONPs. Overall, results may inform suitable risk assessment and management procedures in welding operations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice Bocca
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
| | - Veruscka Leso
- Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Beatrice Battistini
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Caimi
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Marta Senofonte
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Mauro Fedele
- Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Andrea Cattaneo
- Department of Science and High Technology, Insubria University, Como, Italy
| | - Piero Lovreglio
- Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Ivo Iavicoli
- Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
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14
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Ndaw S, Leso V, Bousoumah R, Rémy A, Bocca B, Duca RC, Godderis L, Hardy E, Janasik B, van Nieuwenhuyse A, Pinhal H, Poels K, Porras SP, Ruggieri F, Santonen T, Santos SR, Scheepers PTJ, Silva MJ, Verdonck J, Viegas S, Wasowicz W, Iavicoli I. HBM4EU chromates study - Usefulness of measurement of blood chromium levels in the assessment of occupational Cr(VI) exposure. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 214:113758. [PMID: 35764127 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2022] [Revised: 06/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Occupational exposures to hexavalent Chromium (Cr(VI)) can occur in welding, hot working stainless steel processing, chrome plating, spray painting and coating activities. Recently, within the human biomonitoring for Europe initiative (HBM4EU), a study was performed to assess the suitability of different biomarkers to assess the exposure to Cr(VI) in various job tasks. Blood-based biomarkers may prove useful when more specific information on systemic and intracellular bioavailability is necessary. To this aim, concentrations of Cr in red blood cells (RBC-Cr) and in plasma (P-Cr) were analyzed in 345 Cr(VI) exposed workers and 175 controls to understand how these biomarkers may be affected by variable levels of exposure and job procedures. Compared to controls, significantly higher RBC-Cr levels were observed in bath plating and paint application workers, but not in welders, while all the 3 groups had significantly greater P-Cr concentrations. RBC-Cr and P-Cr in chrome platers showed a high correlation with Cr(VI) in inhalable dust, outside respiratory protective equipment (RPE), while such correlation could not be determined in welders. In platers, the use of RPE had a significant impact on the relationship between blood biomarkers and Cr(VI) in inhalable and respirable dust. Low correlations between P-Cr and RBC-Cr may reflect a difference in kinetics. This study showed that Cr-blood-based biomarkers can provide information on how workplace exposure translates into systemic availability of Cr(III) (extracellular, P-Cr) and Cr(VI) (intracellular, RBC-Cr). Further studies are needed to fully appreciate their use in an occupational health and safety context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Ndaw
- French National Research and Safety Institute, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France.
| | - Veruscka Leso
- Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Radia Bousoumah
- French National Research and Safety Institute, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France
| | - Aurélie Rémy
- French National Research and Safety Institute, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France
| | - Beatrice Bocca
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Radu Corneliu Duca
- Department of Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), Dudelange, Luxembourg; Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Kapucijnenvoer 35, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Lode Godderis
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Kapucijnenvoer 35, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Emilie Hardy
- Department of Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), Dudelange, Luxembourg
| | - Beata Janasik
- Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland
| | - An van Nieuwenhuyse
- Department of Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), Dudelange, Luxembourg; Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Kapucijnenvoer 35, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Hermínia Pinhal
- National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Department of Human Genetics and Environmental Health Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Katrien Poels
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Kapucijnenvoer 35, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Simo P Porras
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Flavia Ruggieri
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Tiina Santonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Sílvia Reis Santos
- National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Department of Human Genetics and Environmental Health Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Paul T J Scheepers
- Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Maria João Silva
- National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Department of Human Genetics and Environmental Health Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Jelle Verdonck
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Kapucijnenvoer 35, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Susana Viegas
- NOVA NOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1600 560, Lisbon, Portugal; Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), 1169 056, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | - Ivo Iavicoli
- Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
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15
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Tavares A, Aimonen K, Ndaw S, Fučić A, Catalán J, Duca RC, Godderis L, Gomes BC, Janasik B, Ladeira C, Louro H, Namorado S, Nieuwenhuyse AV, Norppa H, Scheepers PTJ, Ventura C, Verdonck J, Viegas S, Wasowicz W, Santonen T, Silva MJ. HBM4EU Chromates Study-Genotoxicity and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in Workers Exposed to Hexavalent Chromium. TOXICS 2022; 10:483. [PMID: 36006162 PMCID: PMC9412464 DOI: 10.3390/toxics10080483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
A study was conducted within the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) to characterize occupational exposure to Cr(VI). Herein we present the results of biomarkers of genotoxicity and oxidative stress, including micronucleus analysis in lymphocytes and reticulocytes, the comet assay in whole blood, and malondialdehyde and 8-oxo-2′-deoxyguanosine in urine. Workers from several Cr(VI)-related industrial activities and controls from industrial (within company) and non-industrial (outwith company) environments were included. The significantly increased genotoxicity (p = 0.03 for MN in lymphocytes and reticulocytes; p < 0.001 for comet assay data) and oxidative stress levels (p = 0.007 and p < 0.001 for MDA and 8-OHdG levels in pre-shift urine samples, respectively) that were detected in the exposed workers over the outwith company controls suggest that Cr(VI) exposure might still represent a health risk, particularly, for chrome painters and electrolytic bath platers, despite the low Cr exposure. The within-company controls displayed DNA and chromosomal damage levels that were comparable to those of the exposed group, highlighting the relevance of considering all industry workers as potentially exposed. The use of effect biomarkers proved their capacity to detect the early biological effects from low Cr(VI) exposure, and to contribute to identifying subgroups that are at higher risk. Overall, this study reinforces the need for further re-evaluation of the occupational exposure limit and better application of protection measures. However, it also raised some additional questions and unexplained inconsistencies that need follow-up studies to be clarified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Tavares
- Department of Human Genetics, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Kukka Aimonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 00250 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Sophie Ndaw
- French National Research and Safety Institute, 54500 Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France
| | - Aleksandra Fučić
- Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaverska Cesta 2, HR-10001 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Julia Catalán
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 00250 Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Anatomy Embryology and Genetics, University of Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Radu Corneliu Duca
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), O&N 5b, Herestraat 49, P.O. Box 952, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), 3555 Dudelange, Luxembourg
| | - Lode Godderis
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), O&N 5b, Herestraat 49, P.O. Box 952, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- IDEWE, External Service for Prevention and Protection at Work, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Bruno C. Gomes
- Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health (Toxomics), NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, 130, 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Beata Janasik
- Department of Environmental and Biological Monitoring, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, 91348 Lodz, Poland
| | - Carina Ladeira
- HTRC—Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL—Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, 1549-020 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Henriqueta Louro
- Department of Human Genetics, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
- Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health (Toxomics), NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, 130, 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Sónia Namorado
- Department of Human Genetics, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - An Van Nieuwenhuyse
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), O&N 5b, Herestraat 49, P.O. Box 952, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), 3555 Dudelange, Luxembourg
| | - Hannu Norppa
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 00250 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Paul T. J. Scheepers
- Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboudumc, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Célia Ventura
- Department of Human Genetics, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
- Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health (Toxomics), NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, 130, 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Jelle Verdonck
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), O&N 5b, Herestraat 49, P.O. Box 952, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Susana Viegas
- NOVA National School of Public Health, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1600-560 Lisbon, Portugal
- Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Wojciech Wasowicz
- Department of Environmental and Biological Monitoring, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, 91348 Lodz, Poland
| | - Tiina Santonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 00250 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Maria João Silva
- Department of Human Genetics, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
- Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health (Toxomics), NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, 130, 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
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16
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Louro H, Gomes BC, Saber AT, Iamiceli AL, Göen T, Jones K, Katsonouri A, Neophytou CM, Vogel U, Ventura C, Oberemm A, Duca RC, Fernandez MF, Olea N, Santonen T, Viegas S, Silva MJ. The Use of Human Biomonitoring to Assess Occupational Exposure to PAHs in Europe: A Comprehensive Review. TOXICS 2022; 10:toxics10080480. [PMID: 36006159 PMCID: PMC9414426 DOI: 10.3390/toxics10080480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are among the chemicals with proven impact on workers' health. The use of human biomonitoring (HBM) to assess occupational exposure to PAHs has become more common in recent years, but the data generated need an overall view to make them more usable by regulators and policymakers. This comprehensive review, developed under the Human Biomonitoring for Europe (HBM4EU) Initiative, was based on the literature available from 2008-2022, aiming to present and discuss the information on occupational exposure to PAHs, in order to identify the strengths and limitations of exposure and effect biomarkers and the knowledge needs for regulation in the workplace. The most frequently used exposure biomarker is urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OH-PYR), a metabolite of pyrene. As effect biomarkers, those based on the measurement of oxidative stress (urinary 8-oxo-dG adducts) and genotoxicity (blood DNA strand-breaks) are the most common. Overall, a need to advance new harmonized approaches both in data and sample collection and in the use of appropriate biomarkers in occupational studies to obtain reliable and comparable data on PAH exposure in different industrial sectors, was noted. Moreover, the use of effect biomarkers can assist to identify work environments or activities of high risk, thus enabling preventive risk mitigation and management measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henriqueta Louro
- Department of Human Genetics, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
- Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health (ToxOmics), Nova Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, 130, 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Bruno Costa Gomes
- Department of Human Genetics, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
- Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health (ToxOmics), Nova Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, 130, 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Anne Thoustrup Saber
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Thomas Göen
- IPASUM, Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Kate Jones
- Health and Safety Executive, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 9JN, UK
| | - Andromachi Katsonouri
- Cyprus State General Laboratory, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box 28648, Nicosia 2081, Cyprus
| | - Christiana M. Neophytou
- Cyprus State General Laboratory, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box 28648, Nicosia 2081, Cyprus
- Department of Life Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, Cyprus
| | - Ulla Vogel
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet, Bygning 202, DK-2800 Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Célia Ventura
- Department of Human Genetics, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
- Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health (ToxOmics), Nova Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, 130, 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Axel Oberemm
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Max-Dohrn-Straße 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany
| | - Radu Corneliu Duca
- Unit Environmental Hygiene and Human Biological Monitoring, Department of Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), 1, Rue Louis Rech, 3555 Dudelange, Luxembourg
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), O&N 5b, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Mariana F. Fernandez
- Centre of Biomedical Research (CIBM), University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain
- Biosanitary Research Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA), 18012 Granada, Spain
- CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Nicolas Olea
- Centre of Biomedical Research (CIBM), University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain
- Biosanitary Research Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA), 18012 Granada, Spain
- CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Tiina Santonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 00250 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Susana Viegas
- Public Health Research Centre, NOVA National School of Public Health, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1600-560 Lisbon, Portugal
- Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Maria João Silva
- Department of Human Genetics, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
- Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health (ToxOmics), Nova Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, 130, 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
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17
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Hanser O, Melczer M, Martin Remy A, Ndaw S. Occupational exposure to metals among battery recyclers in France: Biomonitoring and external dose measurements. WASTE MANAGEMENT (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2022; 150:122-130. [PMID: 35810728 DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2022.06.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In battery-recycling facilities, exposure to trace elements may occur through inhalation of contaminated dust or vapor emanating from the treatment processes. Exposure of battery-recycling workers to lead has been quite well covered in the literature. In contrast, we lack data on exposure to other elements contained in batteries. The aim of this study was to characterize the exposure of French battery recyclers to multiple elements using biomonitoring and airborne measurements. Eighty-six workers participated in the study. Inhalable metal concentrations were determined for personal airborne samples, and total exposure was determined from pre-shift and post-shift urine samples collected during the working week. In both types of sample, a total of 33 trace elements were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Results showed battery recyclers to be mostly exposed to Cd, Co, Cr, Li, Mn, Ni, and Pb. Administrative and sorting workers were exposed at lower levels than maintenance, treatment, and dismantling workers. Cd, Co, Li, Mn, and Ni were detected at high levels in air samples, especially near the treatment facilities, with airborne cadmium levels of up to 79.4 µg/m3. Urinary sample analysis indicated exposure to Cd and Co, with levels measured at up to 27.6 and 3.34 µg/g of creatinine, respectively. Concentrations were compared to data reported for e-waste recycling companies. The data presented provide valuable information on exposure to trace elements for workers involved in battery-recycling. They also highlight the need to improve both collective and individual protective measures, which were not sufficient in the participating companies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ogier Hanser
- Toxicology and Biomonitoring Department, INRS-French National Research and Safety Institute for the Prevention of Occupational Accidents and Diseases, 54500 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France.
| | - Mathieu Melczer
- Toxicology and Biomonitoring Department, INRS-French National Research and Safety Institute for the Prevention of Occupational Accidents and Diseases, 54500 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France
| | - Aurélie Martin Remy
- Toxicology and Biomonitoring Department, INRS-French National Research and Safety Institute for the Prevention of Occupational Accidents and Diseases, 54500 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France
| | - Sophie Ndaw
- Toxicology and Biomonitoring Department, INRS-French National Research and Safety Institute for the Prevention of Occupational Accidents and Diseases, 54500 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France
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18
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Tavares AM, Viegas S, Louro H, Göen T, Santonen T, Luijten M, Kortenkamp A, Silva MJ. Occupational Exposure to Hexavalent Chromium, Nickel and PAHs: A Mixtures Risk Assessment Approach Based on Literature Exposure Data from European Countries. TOXICS 2022; 10:431. [PMID: 36006111 PMCID: PMC9414170 DOI: 10.3390/toxics10080431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), nickel (Ni) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are genotoxic co-occurring lung carcinogens whose occupational health risk is still understudied. This study, conducted within the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU), aimed at performing a mixtures risk assessment (MRA) based on published human biomonitoring (HBM) data from Cr(VI), Ni and/or PAHs occupational co-exposure in Europe. After data extraction, Risk Quotient (RQ) and Sum of Risk Quotients (SRQ) were calculated for binary and ternary mixtures to characterise the risk. Most selected articles measured urinary levels of Cr and Ni and a SRQ > 1 was obtained for co-exposure levels in welding activities, showing that there is concern regarding co-exposure to these substances. Similarly, co-exposure to mixtures of Cr(VI), Ni and PAHs in waste incineration settings resulted in SRQ > 1. In some studies, a low risk was estimated based on the single substances’ exposure level (RQ < 1), but the mixture was considered of concern (SRQ > 1), highlighting the relevance of considering exposure to the mixture rather than to its single components. Overall, this study points out the need of using a MRA based on HBM data as a more realistic approach to assess and manage the risk at the workplace, in order to protect workers’ health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Maria Tavares
- Departamento de Genética Humana, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal; (A.M.T.); (H.L.)
- ToxOmics–Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health, NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, 130, 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Susana Viegas
- Public Health Research Centre, NOVA National School of Public Health, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1600-560 Lisbon, Portugal;
- Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Henriqueta Louro
- Departamento de Genética Humana, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal; (A.M.T.); (H.L.)
- ToxOmics–Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health, NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, 130, 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Thomas Göen
- Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine (IPASUM), University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Henkestraße 9-11, 91054 Erlangen, Germany;
| | - Tiina Santonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, FI-00250 Helsinki, Finland;
| | - Mirjam Luijten
- Centre for Health Protection, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands;
| | - Andreas Kortenkamp
- Centre for Pollution Research and Policy, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, London UB8 3PH, UK;
| | - Maria João Silva
- Departamento de Genética Humana, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal; (A.M.T.); (H.L.)
- ToxOmics–Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health, NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, 130, 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
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19
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HBM4EU Diisocyanates Study—Research Protocol for a Collaborative European Human Biological Monitoring Study on Occupational Exposure. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19148811. [PMID: 35886663 PMCID: PMC9319997 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19148811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Diisocyanates have long been a leading cause of occupational asthma in Europe, and recently, they have been subjected to a restriction under the REACH regulations. As part of the European Human Biomonitoring project (HBM4EU), we present a study protocol designed to assess occupational exposure to diisocyanates in five European countries. The objectives of the study are to assess exposure in a number of sectors that have not been widely reported on in the past (for example, the manufacturing of large vehicles, such as in aerospace; the construction sector, where there are potentially several sources of exposure (e.g., sprayed insulation, floor screeds); the use of MDI-based glues, and the manufacture of spray adhesives or coatings) to test the usability of different biomarkers in the assessment of exposure to diisocyanates and to provide background data for regulatory purposes. The study will collect urine samples (analysed for diisocyanate-derived diamines and acetyl–MDI–lysine), blood samples (analysed for diisocyanate-specific IgE and IgG antibodies, inflammatory markers, and diisocyanate-specific Hb adducts for MDI), and buccal cells (micronucleus analysis) and measure fractional exhaled nitric oxide. In addition, occupational hygiene measurements (air monitoring and skin wipe samples) and questionnaire data will be collected. The protocol is harmonised across the participating countries to enable pooling of data, leading to better and more robust insights and recommendations.
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20
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Tolonen H, Moore S, Lermen D, Virgolino A, Knudsen LE, Andersson AM, Rambaud L, Ancona C, Kolossa-Gehring M. What is required to combine human biomonitoring and health surveys? Int J Hyg Environ Health 2022; 242:113964. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.113964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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21
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Kozłowska L, Santonen T, Duca RC, Godderis L, Jagiello K, Janasik B, Van Nieuwenhuyse A, Poels K, Puzyn T, Scheepers PTJ, Sijko M, Silva MJ, Sosnowska A, Viegas S, Verdonck J, Wąsowicz W. HBM4EU Chromates Study: Urinary Metabolomics Study of Workers Exposed to Hexavalent Chromium. Metabolites 2022; 12:metabo12040362. [PMID: 35448548 PMCID: PMC9032989 DOI: 10.3390/metabo12040362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Exposure to hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) may occur in several occupational activities, placing workers in many industries at risk for potential related health outcomes. Untargeted metabolomics was applied to investigate changes in metabolic pathways in response to Cr(VI) exposure. We obtained our data from a study population of 220 male workers with exposure to Cr(VI) and 102 male controls from Belgium, Finland, Poland, Portugal and the Netherlands within the HBM4EU Chromates Study. Urinary metabolite profiles were determined using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, and differences between post-shift exposed workers and controls were analyzed using principal component analysis. Based on the first two principal components, we observed clustering by industrial chromate application, such as welding, chrome plating, and surface treatment, distinct from controls and not explained by smoking status or alcohol use. The changes in the abundancy of excreted metabolites observed in workers reflect fatty acid and monoamine neurotransmitter metabolism, oxidative modifications of amino acid residues, the excessive formation of abnormal amino acid metabolites and changes in steroid and thyrotropin-releasing hormones. The observed responses could also have resulted from work-related factors other than Cr(VI). Further targeted metabolomics studies are needed to better understand the observed modifications and further explore the suitability of urinary metabolites as early indicators of adverse effects associated with exposure to Cr(VI).
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucyna Kozłowska
- Laboratory of Human Metabolism Research, Department of Dietetics, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02776 Warsaw, Poland;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +48-22-59-370-17
| | - Tiina Santonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 00250 Helsinki, Finland;
| | - Radu Corneliu Duca
- Labotoire National de Santé (LNS), Unit Environmental Hygiene and Human Biological Monitoring, Department of Health Protection, 3555 Dudelange, Luxembourg;
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (L.G.); (A.V.N.); (K.P.); (J.V.)
| | - Lode Godderis
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (L.G.); (A.V.N.); (K.P.); (J.V.)
- IDEWE, External Service for Prevention and Protection at Work, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Karolina Jagiello
- QSAR Laboratory Ltd., 80172 Gdansk, Poland; (K.J.); (T.P.); (A.S.)
- Laboratory of Environmental Chemoinfomatics, Department of Environmental Chemistry and Radiochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdansk, 80308 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Beata Janasik
- Department of Environmental and Biological Monitoring, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, 91348 Lodz, Poland; (B.J.); (W.W.)
| | - An Van Nieuwenhuyse
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (L.G.); (A.V.N.); (K.P.); (J.V.)
- Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), Department of Health Protection, 3555 Dudelange, Luxembourg
| | - Katrien Poels
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (L.G.); (A.V.N.); (K.P.); (J.V.)
| | - Tomasz Puzyn
- QSAR Laboratory Ltd., 80172 Gdansk, Poland; (K.J.); (T.P.); (A.S.)
- Laboratory of Environmental Chemoinfomatics, Department of Environmental Chemistry and Radiochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdansk, 80308 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Paul T. J. Scheepers
- Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboudumc, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
| | - Monika Sijko
- Laboratory of Human Metabolism Research, Department of Dietetics, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02776 Warsaw, Poland;
| | - Maria João Silva
- Human Genetics Department, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Toxicogenomics and Human Health (ToxOmics), NOVA Medical School, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal;
| | - Anita Sosnowska
- QSAR Laboratory Ltd., 80172 Gdansk, Poland; (K.J.); (T.P.); (A.S.)
| | - Susana Viegas
- Public Health Research Centre, NOVA National School of Public Health, Universidade NOVA de Lisbon, 1600-560 Lisbon, Portugal;
- Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Jelle Verdonck
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (L.G.); (A.V.N.); (K.P.); (J.V.)
| | - Wojciech Wąsowicz
- Department of Environmental and Biological Monitoring, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, 91348 Lodz, Poland; (B.J.); (W.W.)
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22
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Pautasso L, Montlevier S, Maitre A, Persoons R. Surveillance biologique de l’exposition aux métaux et HAP en métallurgie et recommandations de prévention. ARCH MAL PROF ENVIRO 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.admp.2022.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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23
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Environmental Substances Associated with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-A Scoping Review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19073945. [PMID: 35409627 PMCID: PMC8997594 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19073945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a slowly developing non-communicable disease (NCD), causing non-reversible obstruction and leading to marked morbidity and mortality. Besides traditional risk factors such as smoking, some environmental substances can augment the risk of COPD. The European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) is a program evaluating citizens’ exposure to various environmental substances and their possible health impacts. Within the HBM4EU, eighteen priority substances or substance groups were chosen. In this scoping review, seven of these substances or substance groups are reported to have an association or a possible association with COPD. Main exposure routes, vulnerable and high-exposure risk groups, and matrices where these substances are measured are described. Pesticides in general and especially organophosphate and carbamate insecticides, and some herbicides, lead (Pb), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) showed an association, and cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr and CrVI), arsenic (As), and diisocyanates, a possible association with COPD and/or decreased lung function. Due to long latency in COPD’s disease process, the role of chemical exposure as a risk factor for COPD is probably underestimated. More research is needed to support evidence-based conclusions. Generally, chemical exposure is a growing issue of concern, and prompt action is needed to safeguard public health.
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HBM4EU Chromates Study: Determinants of Exposure to Hexavalent Chromium in Plating, Welding and Other Occupational Settings. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19063683. [PMID: 35329370 PMCID: PMC8953290 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19063683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Work-related exposures in industrial processing of chromate (chrome plating, surface treatment and welding) raise concern regarding the health risk of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). In this study, performed under the HBM4EU project, we focused on better understanding the determinants of exposure and recognising how risk management measures (RMMs) contribute to a reduction in exposure. HBM and occupational hygiene data were collected from 399 workers and 203 controls recruited in nine European countries. Urinary total chromium (U-Cr), personal inhalable and respirable dust of Cr and Cr(VI) and Cr from hand wipes were collected. Data on the RMMs were collected by questionnaires. We studied the association between different exposure parameters and the use of RMMs. The relationship between exposure by inhalation and U-Cr in different worker groups was analysed using regression analysis and found a strong association. Automatisation of Cr electroplating dipping explained lower exposure levels in platers. The use of personal protective equipment resulted in lower U-Cr levels in welding, bath plating and painting. An effect of wearing gloves was observed in machining. An effect of local exhaust ventilation and training was observed in welding. Regression analyses showed that in platers, exposure to air level of 5 µg/m3 corresponds to U-Cr level of 7 µg/g creatinine. In welders, the same inhalation exposure resulted in lower U-Cr levels reflecting toxicokinetic differences of different chromium species.
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25
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Hu G, Long C, Hu L, Zhang Y, Hong S, Zhang Q, Zheng P, Su Z, Xu J, Wang L, Gao X, Zhu X, Yuan F, Wang T, Yu S, Jia G. Blood chromium exposure, immune inflammation and genetic damage: Exploring associations and mediation effects in chromate exposed population. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 425:127769. [PMID: 34799157 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Revised: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Both genetic damage and inappropriate immune function are relevant to cancer of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)]. However, its associations with immune response and genetic damage development are poorly understood. To explore their associations and mediating effects, 1249 participants were included from the Occupational Chromate Exposure Dynamic Cohort, and their blood Cr concentrations were measured as internal exposure. A set of biomarkers including urinary 8-hydroxy-2' - deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), micronucleus frequency (MNF) and mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtCN) was developed to evaluate the landscape of genetic damage of Cr(VI). Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and first component of complement q (C1q) were measured to reflect immune inflammation. Multivariate linear regression and mediation analyses were applied to assess the potential associations and mediation effects. It was found that blood Cr level showed significant dose-dependent relationships with increasing of MNF and urinary 8-OHdG, while negative association with CRP and C1q. Furthermore, a 1-unit increase in CRP was associated with decreases of - 0.765 to - 0.254 in MNF, - 0.400 to - 0.051 in urinary 8-OHdG. 4.97% of the association between blood Cr level and the increased MNF was mediated by CRP. 11.58% of the relationship between concentration of blood Cr and urinary 8-OHdG was mediated by C1q. These findings suggested that Cr(VI) exposures might prompt genetic damage, possibly partial via worsening immune inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guiping Hu
- School of Engineering Medicine and Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Big Data-Based Precision Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China; Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Changmao Long
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Lihua Hu
- Department of Cardiology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 100034, China
| | - Yali Zhang
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Shiyi Hong
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Qiaojian Zhang
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Pai Zheng
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Zekang Su
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Jiayu Xu
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Li Wang
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Science, School of Public Health, Baotou Medical College, Baotou, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region 014040, China
| | - Xiaoying Gao
- Department of economics and related studies, University of York, York, North Yorkshire YO105DD, UK
| | - Xiaojun Zhu
- National Center for Occupational Safety and Health, NHC, Beijing 102308, China
| | - Fang Yuan
- Chongqing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chongqing 400042, China
| | - Tiancheng Wang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Shanfa Yu
- Henan Institute for Occupational Medicine, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province 450052, China
| | - Guang Jia
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China.
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26
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Nübler S, Schäfer M, Haji-Abbas-Zarrabi K, Marković S, Marković K, Esteban López M, Castaño A, Mol H, Koch HM, Antignac JP, Hajslova J, Thomsen C, Vorkamp K, Göen T. Interlaboratory Comparison Investigations (ICIs) for human biomonitoring of chromium as part of the quality assurance programme under HBM4EU. J Trace Elem Med Biol 2022; 70:126912. [PMID: 34954563 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2021.126912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The pan-European human biomonitoring initiative HBM4EU targets the harmonization of human biomonitoring (HBM) procedures and data for both environmental and occupational exposure, including chromium. The determination of chromium in urine (U-Cr), plasma (P-Cr) and whole blood (WB-Cr) is a common HBM application in employees occupationally exposed to chromium (VI) compounds. METHODS European laboratories which have registered as candidate laboratories for chromium analysis within HBM4EU were invited to participate in a quality assurance/qualitycontrol (QA/QC) programme comprising interlaboratory comparison investigations (ICI) for the parameters U-Cr, P-Cr and WB-Cr. Participating laboratories received two samples of different concentrations in each of four rounds and were asked to analyse the samples using their standard analytical procedure. The data were evaluated by the Z-score approach and were reported to the participants after each round. RESULTS The majority of the 29 participating laboratories obtained satisfactory results, although low limits of quantification were required to quantify chromium concentrations in some of the ICI materials. The robust relative standard deviation of the participants' results (study RSDR) obtained from all ICI runs ranged from 6 to 16 % for U-Cr, 7-18 % for P-Cr and 4-47 % for WB-Cr. The application of both inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (EAAS) appeared appropriate for the determination of chromium in urine, plasma and whole blood with regard to occupational exposure levels. CONCLUSION This QA/QC programme succeeded in establishing a network of laboratories with high analytical comparability and accuracy for the analysis of chromium across Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Nübler
- Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Henkestraße 9-11, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Moritz Schäfer
- Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Henkestraße 9-11, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Karin Haji-Abbas-Zarrabi
- Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Henkestraße 9-11, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Stefan Marković
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Katarina Marković
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Marta Esteban López
- National Center for Environmental Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Spain
| | - Argelia Castaño
- National Center for Environmental Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Spain
| | - Hans Mol
- Wageningen Food Safety Research, part of Wageningen University and Research, Akkermaalsbos 2, 6708 WB, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Holger M Koch
- Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine of the German Social Accident Insurance, Institute of Ruhr-Universität Bochum (IPA), Bürkle-de-la-Camp-Platz 1, 44789, Bochum, Germany
| | - Jean-Philippe Antignac
- L'Université Nantes Angers Le Mans (LUNAM), Oniris, UMR 1329 INRA Laboratoire d'Etude des Résidus et Contaminants dans les Aliments (LABERCA), F-44307, Nantes, France
| | - Jana Hajslova
- University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Department of Food Analysis and Nutrition, Technicka 5, 160 00, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Cathrine Thomsen
- Environmental Exposure and Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Katrin Vorkamp
- Aarhus University, Department of Environmental Science, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Thomas Göen
- Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Henkestraße 9-11, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.
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27
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Santonen T, Porras SP, Bocca B, Bousoumah R, Duca RC, Galea KS, Godderis L, Göen T, Hardy E, Iavicoli I, Janasik B, Jones K, Leese E, Leso V, Louro H, Majery N, Ndaw S, Pinhal H, Ruggieri F, Silva MJ, van Nieuwenhuyse A, Verdonck J, Viegas S, Wasowicz W, Sepai O, Scheepers PTJ. HBM4EU chromates study - Overall results and recommendations for the biomonitoring of occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 204:111984. [PMID: 34492275 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] may occur in several occupational activities, e.g., welding, Cr(VI) electroplating and other surface treatment processes. The aim of this study was to provide EU relevant data on occupational Cr(VI) exposure to support the regulatory risk assessment and decision-making. In addition, the capability and validity of different biomarkers for the assessment of Cr(VI) exposure were evaluated. The study involved nine European countries and involved 399 workers in different industry sectors with exposures to Cr(VI) such as welding, bath plating, applying or removing paint and other tasks. We also studied 203 controls to establish a background in workers with no direct exposure to Cr(VI). We applied a cross-sectional study design and used chromium in urine as the primary biomonitoring method for Cr(VI) exposure. Additionally, we studied the use of red blood cells (RBC) and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) for biomonitoring of exposure to Cr(VI). Personal measurements were used to study exposure to inhalable and respirable Cr(VI) by personal air sampling. Dermal exposure was studied by taking hand wipe samples. The highest internal exposures were observed in the use of Cr(VI) in electrolytic bath plating. In stainless steel welding the internal Cr exposure was clearly lower when compared to plating activities. We observed a high correlation between chromium urinary levels and air Cr(VI) or dermal total Cr exposure. Urinary chromium showed its value as a first approach for the assessment of total, internal exposure. Correlations between urinary chromium and Cr(VI) in EBC and Cr in RBC were low, probably due to differences in kinetics and indicating that these biomonitoring approaches may not be interchangeable but rather complementary. This study showed that occupational biomonitoring studies can be conducted successfully by multi-national collaboration and provide relevant information to support policy actions aiming to reduce occupational exposure to chemicals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiina Santonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Simo P Porras
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Radia Bousoumah
- French National Research and Safety Institute, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France
| | - Radu Corneliu Duca
- Department of Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), Dudelange, Luxembourg; Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Kapucijnenvoer 35, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Karen S Galea
- Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM), Edinburgh, EH14 4AP, UK
| | - Lode Godderis
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Kapucijnenvoer 35, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; IDEWE, External Service for Prevention and Protection at Work, Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Thomas Göen
- Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
| | - Emilie Hardy
- Department of Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), Dudelange, Luxembourg
| | - Ivo Iavicoli
- Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Beata Janasik
- Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland
| | - Kate Jones
- Health & Safety Executive, Buxton, SK17 9JN, UK
| | | | - Veruscka Leso
- Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Henriqueta Louro
- National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Department of Human Genetics and Environmental Health Lisbon, Portugal; Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health, NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Nicole Majery
- Service de Santé Au Travail Multisectoriel (STM), Luxembourg
| | - Sophie Ndaw
- French National Research and Safety Institute, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France
| | - Hermínia Pinhal
- National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Department of Human Genetics and Environmental Health Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | - Maria J Silva
- National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Department of Human Genetics and Environmental Health Lisbon, Portugal; Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health, NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - An van Nieuwenhuyse
- Department of Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), Dudelange, Luxembourg; Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Kapucijnenvoer 35, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jelle Verdonck
- Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Kapucijnenvoer 35, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Susana Viegas
- NOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1600-560 Lisbon, Portugal; Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), 1169-056, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | | | - Paul T J Scheepers
- Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
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28
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Capitão C, Martins R, Santos O, Bicho M, Szigeti T, Katsonouri A, Bocca B, Ruggieri F, Wasowicz W, Tolonen H, Virgolino A. Exposure to heavy metals and red blood cell parameters in children: A systematic review of observational studies. Front Pediatr 2022; 10:921239. [PMID: 36275050 PMCID: PMC9583003 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2022.921239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mechanistic studies show that heavy metals interfere with the hematopoietic system by inhibiting key enzymes, which could lead to anemia. However, the link between children's exposure and red blood cell (RBC) parameters has been inconsistent. We aimed to summarize evidence on human studies exploring the association between exposure to lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and chromium VI and RBC parameters in children. METHODS Following the PRISMA guidelines, we searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases for studies published between January 2010 and April 2022. Eligible papers included human observational studies that directly assessed exposure (internal dose) to the heavy metals under study and RBC parameters in participants aged ≤ 18 years. We excluded studies using hospital-based samples. Study quality was assessed using the National Institutes of Health's Quality Assessment Tools for Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. We synthesized the evidence using vote counting based on the direction of the relationship. RESULTS Out of 6,652 retrieved papers, we included a total of 38 (33 assessing lead, four mercury, two cadmium, and two arsenic; chromium VI was not assessed in any included paper). More than half of the studies were conducted in Asia. We found evidence of a positive relationship between lead concentration and hemoglobin (proportion of studies reporting negative relationships = 0.750; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.583, 0.874) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (0.875; 95% CI 0.546, 0.986), and a positive relationship with red cell distribution width (0.000; 95%CI 0.000, 0.379). When considering only good-quality studies (24% of the Pb studies), only the relationship with hemoglobin levels remained (0.875; 95% CI: 0.546, 0.986). CONCLUSION We found evidence of a negative relationship between lead concentration and hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin and of a positive relationship with red cell distribution width in children. We also identified a need to conduct more studies in European countries. Future studies should use standardized practices and make efforts to increase study quality, namely by conducting comprehensive longitudinal studies. Our findings support the need to take further actions to limit heavy metal exposure during childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Capitão
- Environmental Health Behaviour Lab, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Raquel Martins
- Environmental Health Behaviour Lab, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Osvaldo Santos
- Environmental Health Behaviour Lab, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Unbreakable Idea Research, Cadaval, Portugal
| | - Manuel Bicho
- Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Laboratório de Genética, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Instituto Rocha Cabral, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | | | - Beatrice Bocca
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Flavia Ruggieri
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Hanna Tolonen
- Department of Public Health and Welfare, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Ana Virgolino
- Environmental Health Behaviour Lab, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
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29
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HBM4EU Occupational Biomonitoring Study on e-Waste-Study Protocol. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph182412987. [PMID: 34948598 PMCID: PMC8701897 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182412987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Revised: 11/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Workers involved in the processing of electronic waste (e-waste) are potentially exposed to toxic chemicals. If exposure occurs, this may result in uptake and potential adverse health effects. Thus, exposure surveillance is an important requirement for health risk management and prevention of occupational disease. Human biomonitoring by measurement of specific biomarkers in body fluids is considered as an effective method of exposure surveillance. The aim of this study is to investigate the internal exposure of workers processing e-waste using a human biomonitoring approach, which will stimulate improved work practices and contribute to raising awareness of potential hazards. This exploratory study in occupational exposures in e-waste processing is part of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU). Here we present a study protocol using a cross sectional survey design to study worker’s exposures and compare these to the exposure of subjects preferably employed in the same company but with no known exposure to industrial recycling of e-waste. The present study protocol will be applied in six to eight European countries to ensure standardised data collection. The target population size is 300 exposed and 150 controls. Biomarkers of exposure for the following chemicals will be used: chromium, cadmium and lead in blood and urine; brominated flame retardants and polychlorobiphenyls in blood; mercury, organophosphate flame retardants and phthalates in urine, and chromium, cadmium, lead and mercury in hair. In addition, the following effect biomarkers will be studied: micronuclei, epigenetic, oxidative stress, inflammatory markers and telomere length in blood and metabolomics in urine. Occupational hygiene sampling methods (airborne and settled dust, silicon wristbands and handwipes) and contextual information will be collected to facilitate the interpretation of the biomarker results and discuss exposure mitigating interventions to further reduce exposures if needed. This study protocol can be adapted to future European-wide occupational studies.
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Zare Jeddi M, Virgolino A, Fantke P, Hopf NB, Galea KS, Remy S, Viegas S, Mustieles V, Fernandez MF, von Goetz N, Vicente JL, Slobodnik J, Rambaud L, Denys S, St-Amand A, Nakayama SF, Santonen T, Barouki R, Pasanen-Kase R, Mol HGJ, Vermeire T, Jones K, Silva MJ, Louro H, van der Voet H, Duca RC, Verhagen H, Canova C, van Klaveren J, Kolossa-Gehring M, Bessems J. A human biomonitoring (HBM) Global Registry Framework: Further advancement of HBM research following the FAIR principles. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2021; 238:113826. [PMID: 34583227 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2021.113826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Revised: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Data generated by the rapidly evolving human biomonitoring (HBM) programmes are providing invaluable opportunities to support and advance regulatory risk assessment and management of chemicals in occupational and environmental health domains. However, heterogeneity across studies, in terms of design, terminology, biomarker nomenclature, and data formats, limits our capacity to compare and integrate data sets retrospectively (reuse). Registration of HBM studies is common for clinical trials; however, the study designs and resulting data collections cannot be traced easily. We argue that an HBM Global Registry Framework (HBM GRF) could be the solution to several of challenges hampering the (re)use of HBM (meta)data. The aim is to develop a global, host-independent HBM registry framework based on the use of harmonised open-access protocol templates from designing, undertaking of an HBM study to the use and possible reuse of the resulting HBM (meta)data. This framework should apply FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) principles as a core data management strategy to enable the (re)use of HBM (meta)data to its full potential through the data value chain. Moreover, we believe that implementation of FAIR principles is a fundamental enabler for digital transformation within environmental health. The HBM GRF would encompass internationally harmonised and agreed open access templates for HBM study protocols, structured web-based functionalities to deposit, find, and access harmonised protocols of HBM studies. Registration of HBM studies using the HBM GRF is anticipated to increase FAIRness of the resulting (meta)data. It is also considered that harmonisation of existing data sets could be performed retrospectively. As a consequence, data wrangling activities to make data ready for analysis will be minimised. In addition, this framework would enable the HBM (inter)national community to trace new HBM studies already in the planning phase and their results once finalised. The HBM GRF could also serve as a platform enhancing communication between scientists, risk assessors, and risk managers/policy makers. The planned European Partnership for the Assessment of Risk from Chemicals (PARC) work along these lines, based on the experience obtained in previous joint European initiatives. Therefore, PARC could very well bring a first demonstration of first essential functionalities within the development of the HBM GRF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Zare Jeddi
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
| | - Ana Virgolino
- Environmental Health Behaviour Lab, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Peter Fantke
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Technical University of Denmark, Produktionstorvet 424, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Nancy B Hopf
- Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
| | - Karen S Galea
- IOM - Institute of Occupational Medicine, Edinburgh, EH14 4AP, UK
| | - Sylvie Remy
- VITO - Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Health Unit, Mol, Belgium
| | - Susana Viegas
- NOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1600-560, Lisbon, Portugal; Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), 1169-056, Lisbon, Portugal; H&TRC-Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL-Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, 1500-310, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Vicente Mustieles
- University of Granada, Center for Biomedical Research (CIBM), Granada, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Mariana F Fernandez
- University of Granada, Center for Biomedical Research (CIBM), Granada, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Joana Lobo Vicente
- EEA - European Environment Agency, Kongens Nytorv 6, 1050, Copenhagen K, Denmark
| | - Jaroslav Slobodnik
- NORMAN Association, Rue Jacques Taffanel - Parc Technologique ALATA, 60550 Verneuil-en-Halatte, France
| | - Loïc Rambaud
- SPF - Santé Publique France, Environmental and Occupational Health Division, France
| | - Sébastien Denys
- SPF - Santé Publique France, Environmental and Occupational Health Division, France
| | - Annie St-Amand
- Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Shoji F Nakayama
- Japan Environment and Children's Study Programme Office, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan
| | - Tiina Santonen
- FIOH-Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, P.O. Box 40, FI-00032, Työterveyslaitos, Finland
| | - Robert Barouki
- Université de Paris, Inserm Unit 1124, 45 rue des Saints Pères, 75006, Paris, France
| | - Robert Pasanen-Kase
- SECO - State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Labour Directorate Section Chemicals and Work (ABCH), Switzerland
| | - Hans G J Mol
- Wageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR) - part of Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Theo Vermeire
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Kate Jones
- HSE - Health and Safety Executive, Harpur Hill, Buxton, SK17 9JN, UK
| | - Maria João Silva
- INSA - National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Portugal; TOXOMICS - Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health, NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Henriqueta Louro
- INSA - National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Portugal; TOXOMICS - Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health, NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Hilko van der Voet
- Wageningen University & Research, Biometris, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Radu-Corneliu Duca
- Unit Environmental Hygiene and Human Biological Monitoring, Department of Health Protection, National Health Laboratory, Dudelange, Luxembourg; Centre Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Hans Verhagen
- University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK; Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Cristina Canova
- Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Public Health-University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Jacob van Klaveren
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | | | - Jos Bessems
- VITO - Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Health Unit, Mol, Belgium
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Verdonck J, Duca RC, Galea KS, Iavicoli I, Poels K, Töreyin ZN, Vanoirbeek J, Godderis L. Systematic review of biomonitoring data on occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2021; 236:113799. [PMID: 34303131 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2021.113799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Revised: 06/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) can cause serious adverse health effects such as lung cancer and irritation of the skin and airways. Although assessment of chromium (Cr) in urine is not specific for Cr(VI) exposure, the total amount of Cr in urine is the most used marker of exposure for biomonitoring of Cr(VI). The purpose of this systematic review was fourfold: (1) to assess current and recent biomonitoring levels in subjects occupationally exposed to Cr(VI), with a focus on urinary Cr levels at the end of a working week, (2) to identify variables influencing these biomonitoring levels, (3) to identify how urinary Cr levels correlate with other Cr(VI) exposure markers and (4) to identify gaps in the current research. To address these purposes, unpublished and published biomonitoring data were consulted: (i) unpublished biomonitoring data comprised urinary Cr levels (n = 3799) of workers from different industries in Belgium collected during 1998-2018, in combination with expert scores indicating jobs with Cr exposure and (ii) published biomonitoring data was extracted by conducting a systematic literature review. A linear mixed effect model was applied on the unpublished biomonitoring data, showing a decreasing time trend of 30% in urinary Cr levels. Considering the observed decreasing time trend, only articles published between January 1, 2010 and September 30, 2020 were included in the systematic literature search to assess current and recent biomonitoring levels. Twenty-five studies focusing on human biomonitoring of exposure to Cr(VI) in occupational settings were included. Overall, the results showed a decreasing time trend in urinary Cr levels and the need for more specific Cr(VI) biomarkers. Furthermore, this review indicated the importance of improved working conditions, efficient use of personal protective equipment, better exposure control and increased risk awareness to reduce Cr levels in biological matrices. Further investigation of the contribution of the different exposure routes is needed, so that better guidance on the use of control measures can be provided. In addition, this review support the call for more harmonization of human biomonitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jelle Verdonck
- Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35 Blok d-box 7001, Belgium.
| | - Radu-Corneliu Duca
- Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35 Blok d-box 7001, Belgium; Unit Environmental Hygiene and Human Biological Monitoring, Department of Health Protection, National Health Laboratory, Dudelange, Luxembourg
| | - Karen S Galea
- Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM), Research Avenue North, Riccarton, Edinburgh, EH14 4AP, UK
| | - Ivo Iavicoli
- Section of Occupational Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Via S. Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy
| | - Katrien Poels
- Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35 Blok d-box 7001, Belgium
| | - Zehra Nur Töreyin
- Department of Occupational Health and Diseases, Adana City Research and Training Hospital, Adana, Turkey
| | - Jeroen Vanoirbeek
- Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35 Blok d-box 7001, Belgium
| | - Lode Godderis
- Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35 Blok d-box 7001, Belgium; IDEWE, External Service for Prevention and Protection at Work, Interleuvenlaan 58, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium
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Ha F, Li N, Long C, Zheng P, Hu G, Jia G, Wang T. The Effect of Global DNA Methylation on PDCD5 Expression in the PBMC of Occupational Chromate Exposed Workers. J Occup Environ Med 2021; 63:600-608. [PMID: 34184653 DOI: 10.1097/jom.0000000000002192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To evaluate the alteration of protein of programmed cell death 5 (PDCD5) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and DNA methylation caused by hexavalent chromium exposure. METHODS There were 112 workers and 56 controls in this study. The chromium in RBC and urine, PBMC with PDCD5+, DNA methylation, urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and score of DNA damage were measured. RESULTS In chromate exposed workers, the percent of PBMC with PDCD5+, urine 8-OHdG, and score of DNA damage were significantly higher, whereas global DNA methylation was significantly lower. The binary logistic regression and generalized linear mixed model analysis showed that the percent of PBMC with PDCD5+ was significantly associated with global DNA hypomethylation. CONCLUSIONS The aberrant DNA hypomethylation plays an important role in PBMC apoptosis of occupational hexavalent chromium exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feizai Ha
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China (Ms Ha, Ms Li, and Dr Wang); Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China (Dr Long, Dr Zheng, Dr Hu, and Dr Jia)
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Proctor DM, Bhat V, Suh M, Reichert H, Jiang X, Thompson CM. Inhalation cancer risk assessment for environmental exposure to hexavalent chromium: Comparison of margin-of-exposure and linear extrapolation approaches. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 2021; 124:104969. [PMID: 34089813 DOI: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2021.104969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] exists in the ambient air at low concentrations (average upperbound ~0.1 ng/m3) yet airborne concentrations typically exceed EPA's Regional Screening Level for residential exposure (0.012 ng/m3) and other similar benchmarks, which assume a mutagenic mode of action (MOA) and use low-dose linear risk assessment models. We reviewed Cr(VI) inhalation unit risk estimates developed by researchers and regulatory agencies for environmental and occupational exposures and the underlying epidemiologic data, updated a previously published MOA analysis, and conducted dose-response modeling of rodent carcinogenicity data to evaluate the need for alternative exposure-response data and risk assessment approaches. Current research supports the role of non-mutagenic key events in the MOA, with growing evidence for epigenetic modifiers. Animal data show a weak carcinogenic response, even at cytotoxic exposures, and highlight the uncertainties associated with the current epidemiological data used in risk assessment. Points of departure from occupational and animal studies were used to determine margins of exposure (MOEs). MOEs range from 1.5 E+3 to 3.3 E+6 with a median of 5 E+5, indicating that current environmental exposures to Cr(VI) in ambient air should be considered of low concern. In this comprehensive review, the divergent results from default linear and MOE assessments support the need for more relevant and robust epidemiologic data, additional mechanistic studies, and refined risk assessment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah M Proctor
- ToxStrategies, Inc, 27001 La Paz Rd, Suite 260, Mission Viejo, CA, 92691, USA.
| | | | - Mina Suh
- ToxStrategies, Inc, 27001 La Paz Rd, Suite 260, Mission Viejo, CA, 92691, USA
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Barn P, Keefe AR, Slot N, Jardine KJ, Ziembicki S, Telfer J, Palmer AL, Peters CE. Canada Should Move Toward Adopting Harmonized Evidence-Based OELs to Consistently and Adequately Protect Workers. Ann Work Expo Health 2021; 65:367-372. [PMID: 33336241 PMCID: PMC8091453 DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxaa110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2020] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to the way occupational exposure limits (OELs) are set in Canada, workers across the country are not equally and adequately protected from harmful workplace exposures. This disparity is illustrated in the case of exposure to diesel engine exhaust (DEE). Based on the findings of a recent pan-Canadian and international scan of OELs for DEE, we recommend that Canada overcome these current disparities by moving towards harmonized, evidence-based OELs. To achieve this, Canada should adopt a centralized framework for setting OELs that considers the most recent scientific evidence as well as feasibility of implementation in the Canadian context. We assert that harmonizing OELs across Canada would allow for expertise and resources to be consolidated and is a crucial step to ensuring that all workers are consistently protected from harmful workplace exposures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prabjit Barn
- CAREX Canada, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Harbour Center Campus, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | | | - Nicole Slot
- Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research, Alberta Health Services - Cancer Care Alberta, Holy Cross Centre, Box ACB, SW, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Katherine J Jardine
- Occupational Cancer Research Centre, Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario), Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Stephanie Ziembicki
- Occupational Cancer Research Centre, Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario), Toronto, ON, Canada.,Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Health Sciences Building, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Joanne Telfer
- CAREX Canada, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Harbour Center Campus, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Alison L Palmer
- CAREX Canada, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Harbour Center Campus, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Cheryl E Peters
- CAREX Canada, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Harbour Center Campus, Vancouver, BC, Canada.,Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research, Alberta Health Services - Cancer Care Alberta, Holy Cross Centre, Box ACB, SW, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Tom Baker Cancer Centre, NW, Calgary, AB, Canada
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35
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Galea KS, Porras SP, Viegas S, Bocca B, Bousoumah R, Duca RC, Godderis L, Iavicoli I, Janasik B, Jones K, Knudsen LE, Leese E, Leso V, Louro H, Ndaw S, Ruggieri F, Sepai O, Scheepers PTJ, Silva MJ, Wasowicz W, Santonen T. HBM4EU chromates study - Reflection and lessons learnt from designing and undertaking a collaborative European biomonitoring study on occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2021; 234:113725. [PMID: 33714856 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2021.113725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
The EU human biomonitoring initiative, HBM4EU, aims to co-ordinate and advance human biomonitoring (HBM) across Europe. As part of HBM4EU, we presented a protocol for a multicentre study to characterize occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in nine European countries (HBM4EU chromates study). This study intended to collect data on current occupational exposure and to test new indicators for chromium (Cr) biomonitoring (Cr(VI) in exhaled breath condensate and Cr in red blood cells), in addition to traditional urinary total Cr analyses. Also, data from occupational hygiene samples and biomarkers of early biological effects, including genetic and epigenetic effects, was obtained, complementing the biomonitoring information. Data collection and analysis was completed, with the project findings being made separately available. As HBM4EU prepares to embark on further European wide biomonitoring studies, we considered it important to reflect on the experiences gained through our harmonised approach. Several practical aspects are highlighted for improvement in future studies, e.g., more thorough/earlier training on the implementation of standard operating procedures for field researchers, training on the use of the data entry template, as well as improved company communications. The HBM4EU chromates study team considered that the study had successfully demonstrated the feasibility of conducting a harmonised multicentre investigation able to achieve the research aims and objectives. This was largely attributable to the engaged multidisciplinary network, committed to deliver clearly understood goals. Such networks take time and investment to develop, but are priceless in terms of their ability to deliver and facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen S Galea
- Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM), Research Avenue North, Riccarton, Edinburgh, EH14 4AP, United Kingdom.
| | - Simo P Porras
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, P.O. Box 40, FI-00032, Työterveyslaitos, Finland
| | - Susana Viegas
- NOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1600-560, Lisbon, Portugal; Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), 1169-056, Lisbon, Portugal; H&TRC-Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL-Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, 1500-310, Lisboa, Portugal
| | | | - Radia Bousoumah
- French National Research and Safety Institute (INRS), France
| | - Radu Corneliu Duca
- National Health Laboratory (LNS), Department of Health Protection, Unit Environmental Hygiene and Human Biological Monitoring, 1 Rue Louis Rech, 3555, Dudelange, Luxembourg; KU Leuven, Centre for Environment and Health, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Lode Godderis
- KU Leuven, Centre for Environment and Health, Leuven, Belgium; IDEWE, External Service for Prevention and Protection at Work, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Ivo Iavicoli
- Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Italy
| | | | - Kate Jones
- Health & Safety Executive, Buxton, SK17 9JN, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Veruscka Leso
- Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Italy
| | - Henriqueta Louro
- National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Department of Human Genetics, Lisbon and ToxOmics - Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health, NOVA Medical School, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Sophie Ndaw
- French National Research and Safety Institute (INRS), France
| | | | | | - Paul T J Scheepers
- Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Maria J Silva
- National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Department of Human Genetics, Lisbon and ToxOmics - Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health, NOVA Medical School, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
| | | | - Tiina Santonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, P.O. Box 40, FI-00032, Työterveyslaitos, Finland
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Abstract
Chromium (Cr) is a common element in the Earth’s crust. It may exist in different oxidation states, Cr(0), Cr(III) and Cr(VI), with Cr(III) and Cr(VI) being relatively stable and largely predominant. Chromium’s peculiarity is that its behavior relies on its valence state. Cr(III) is a trace element in humans and plays a major role in glucose and fat metabolism. The beneficial effects of Cr(III) in obesity and types 2 diabetes are known. It has been long considered an essential element, but now it has been reclassified as a nutritional supplement. On the other hand, Cr(VI) is a human carcinogen and exposure to it occurs both in occupational and environmental contexts. It induces also epigenetic effects on DNA, histone tails and microRNA; its toxicity seems to be related to its higher mobility in soil and swifter penetration through cell membranes than Cr(III). The microorganisms Acinetobacter sp. Cr1 and Pseudomonas sp. Cr13 have been suggested as a promising agent for bioremediation of Cr(VI). This review intends to underline the important role of Cr(III) for human health and the dangerousness of Cr(VI) as a toxic element. The dual and opposing roles of this metal make it particularly interesting. An overview of the recent literature is reported in support.
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Zare Jeddi M, Hopf NB, Viegas S, Price AB, Paini A, van Thriel C, Benfenati E, Ndaw S, Bessems J, Behnisch PA, Leng G, Duca RC, Verhagen H, Cubadda F, Brennan L, Ali I, David A, Mustieles V, Fernandez MF, Louro H, Pasanen-Kase R. Towards a systematic use of effect biomarkers in population and occupational biomonitoring. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2021; 146:106257. [PMID: 33395925 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.106257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Revised: 09/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Effect biomarkers can be used to elucidate relationships between exposure to environmental chemicals and their mixtures with associated health outcomes, but they are often underused, as underlying biological mechanisms are not understood. We aim to provide an overview of available effect biomarkers for monitoring chemical exposures in the general and occupational populations, and highlight their potential in monitoring humans exposed to chemical mixtures. We also discuss the role of the adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework and physiologically based kinetic and dynamic (PBK/D) modelling to strengthen the understanding of the biological mechanism of effect biomarkers, and in particular for use in regulatory risk assessments. An interdisciplinary network of experts from the European chapter of the International Society for Exposure Science (ISES Europe) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Occupational Biomonitoring activity of Working Parties of Hazard and Exposure Assessment group worked together to map the conventional framework of biomarkers and provided recommendations for their systematic use. We summarized the key aspects of this work here, and discussed these in three parts. Part I, we inventory available effect biomarkers and promising new biomarkers for the general population based on the H2020 Human Biomonitoring for Europe (HBM4EU) initiative. Part II, we provide an overview AOP and PBK/D modelling use that improved the selection and interpretation of effect biomarkers. Part III, we describe the collected expertise from the OECD Occupational Biomonitoring subtask effect biomarkers in prioritizing relevant mode of actions (MoAs) and suitable effect biomarkers. Furthermore, we propose a tiered risk assessment approach for occupational biomonitoring. Several effect biomarkers, especially for use in occupational settings, are validated. They offer a direct assessment of the overall health risks associated with exposure to chemicals, chemical mixtures and their transformation products. Promising novel effect biomarkers are emerging for biomonitoring of the general population. Efforts are being dedicated to prioritizing molecular and biochemical effect biomarkers that can provide a causal link in exposure-health outcome associations. This mechanistic approach has great potential in improving human health risk assessment. New techniques such as in silico methods (e.g. QSAR, PBK/D modelling) as well as 'omics data will aid this process. Our multidisciplinary review represents a starting point for enhancing the identification of effect biomarkers and their mechanistic pathways following the AOP framework. This may help in prioritizing the effect biomarker implementation as well as defining threshold limits for chemical mixtures in a more structured way. Several ex vivo biomarkers have been proposed to evaluate combined effects including genotoxicity and xeno-estrogenicity. There is a regulatory need to derive effect-based trigger values using the increasing mechanistic knowledge coming from the AOP framework to address adverse health effects due to exposure to chemical mixtures. Such a mechanistic strategy would reduce the fragmentation observed in different regulations. It could also stimulate a harmonized use of effect biomarkers in a more comparable way, in particular for risk assessments to chemical mixtures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Zare Jeddi
- Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Cardio-Thoraco-Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, Italy
| | - Nancy B Hopf
- Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
| | - Susana Viegas
- NOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1600-560 Lisbon, Portugal; Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), 1150-090 Lisbon, Portugal; H&TRC-Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL-Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, 1990-096 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Anna Bal Price
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
| | - Alicia Paini
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
| | - Christoph van Thriel
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors at the Technical University of Dortmund (IfADo), Ardeystrasse 67, 44139 Dortmund, Germany
| | - Emilio Benfenati
- Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Via La Masa, 19, 20156 Milano, Italy
| | - Sophie Ndaw
- INRS-French National Research and Safety Institute, France
| | - Jos Bessems
- VITO - Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Belgium
| | - Peter A Behnisch
- BioDetection Systems b.v., Science Park 406, 1098 XH Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Gabriele Leng
- Currenta GmbH Co. OHG, Institute of Biomonitoring, Leverkusen, Germany
| | - Radu-Corneliu Duca
- Unit Environmental Hygiene and Human Biological Monitoring, Department of Health Protection, National Health Laboratory, Dudelange, Luxembourg
| | - Hans Verhagen
- Food Safety & Nutrition Consultancy (FSNConsultancy), Zeist, the Netherlands
| | - Francesco Cubadda
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità-National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Lorraine Brennan
- School of Agriculture and Food Science, Institute of Food and Health, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Imran Ali
- Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Arthur David
- Univ Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail)-UMR_S 1085, F-35000 Rennes, France
| | - Vicente Mustieles
- University of Granada, Center for Biomedical Research (CIBM), Granada, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Mariana F Fernandez
- University of Granada, Center for Biomedical Research (CIBM), Granada, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Henriqueta Louro
- National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Department of Human Genetics, Lisboa and ToxOmics - Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health, NOVA Medical School, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Robert Pasanen-Kase
- State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Labour Directorate Section Chemicals and Work (ABCH), Switzerland.
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Bergant M, Ščančar J, Milačič R. Kinetics of interaction of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) with serum constituents and detection of Cr species in human serum at physiological concentration levels. Talanta 2020; 218:121199. [DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2020.121199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2020] [Revised: 05/16/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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Stanislawska M, Janasik B, Kuras R, Malachowska B, Halatek T, Wasowicz W. Assessment of occupational exposure to stainless steel welding fumes – A human biomonitoring study. Toxicol Lett 2020; 329:47-55. [DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2020.04.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Revised: 04/20/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Biomonitoring as an Underused Exposure Assessment Tool in Occupational Safety and Health Context-Challenges and Way Forward. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17165884. [PMID: 32823696 PMCID: PMC7460384 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17165884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Revised: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Recent advances in analytical chemistry have allowed a greater possibility of using quantitative approaches for measuring human exposure to chemicals. One of these approaches is biomonitoring (BM), which provides unequivocal evidence that both exposure and uptake of a chemical have taken place. BM has been a longstanding practice in occupational health for several reasons. BM integrates exposure from all routes. It can help identify unintentional and unexpected exposures and assess the effectiveness of existing risk-management measures. BM also provides relevant information to support policy development by delivering better evidence of workers’ exposure to chemical substances, even within the framework of the present regulations. Thus, BM can allow for both the evaluation of the impact of regulation and identification of further needs for new or improved regulation. However, despite all these well-recognized advantages, BM is currently an underused exposure assessment tool. This paper provides an overview of the key aspects to be considered when using BM in the context of occupational health interventions. Additionally, this paper describes the potential of BM as an exposure assessment tool, distinguishing the role of BM in exposure assessment and health surveillance and clarifies ethical and communication aspects to guarantee that general data protection regulations are followed. In addition, actions and research needs are identified (particularly with reference to the European situation), which aim to encourage the increased use of BM as an exposure assessment tool.
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Milačič R, Ščančar J. Cr speciation in foodstuffs, biological and environmental samples: Methodological approaches and analytical challenges – A critical review. Trends Analyt Chem 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2020.115888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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Feng L, Guo X, Li T, Yao C, Xia H, Jiang Z, Jia J, Fang Y, Shi L, Lu CA, Lou J. Novel DNA methylation biomarkers for hexavalent chromium exposure: an epigenome-wide analysis. Epigenomics 2020; 12:221-233. [DOI: 10.2217/epi-2019-0216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Aim: We aimed to identify differential methylation of genes that could illuminate the biological mechanisms of chromium (VI) toxicity in this exposure-control study. Materials & methods: DNA methylation was measured in blood samples collected from electroplating workers and controls using a combination of Infinium Methylation450K Chip and targeted-bisulfite sequencing. QuantiGene assay was used to detect the mRNA expression of differentially methylated genes. Inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry was used to quantify metals in blood and urine samples. The cytosine–phosphate–guanine sites methylation and gene expression were confirmed in a human lymphoblastoid cell line. Results & conclusion: A total of 131 differentially methylated cytosine–phosphate–guanine sites were found between exposures and controls. DNA methylation of SEMA4B may serve as a potential biomarker for chromium (VI) exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingfang Feng
- Institute of Occupational Diseases, Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, Hangzhou 310013, PR China
| | - Xinnian Guo
- Institute of Occupational Diseases, Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, Hangzhou 310013, PR China
| | - Tao Li
- Institute of Occupational Diseases, Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, Hangzhou 310013, PR China
| | - Chunji Yao
- Institute of Hygiene, Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, Hangzhou 310013, PR China
| | - Hailing Xia
- Institute of Occupational Diseases, Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, Hangzhou 310013, PR China
| | - Zhaoqiang Jiang
- Institute of Occupational Diseases, Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, Hangzhou 310013, PR China
| | - Junlin Jia
- Center for Biostatistics, Bioinformatics & Big Data, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, PR China
| | - Yuan Fang
- Institute of Occupational Diseases, Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, Hangzhou 310013, PR China
| | - Li Shi
- Institute of Occupational Diseases, Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, Hangzhou 310013, PR China
| | - Chensheng Alex Lu
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jianlin Lou
- Institute of Occupational Diseases, Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, Hangzhou 310013, PR China
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW The present work represents an update of the review published in this journal by Corradi et al., regarding the use of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) to investigate occupational lung diseases. RECENT FINDINGS The relevant literature was searched in the Medline database, assessed through PubMed using key terms such as 'breath AND condensate AND occupational'. Eleven pertinent publications were retrieved between January 2018 and October 2019. One article only was related to occupational allergy, and the conclusion is that EBC hydrogen peroxide is not an useful marker in laboratory animal allergy. The biomarkers of exposure most often assessed with EBC are metals. However, it is controversial whether this approach has any advantage over the conventional environmental monitoring. The biomarkers of effect studied by the majority of investigations were those related to oxidative stress. They appear consistently elevated upon occupational exposures to various agents, including welding fumes, crystalline silica, nanomaterials and chemicals. SUMMARY Although EBC represent a suitable tool to sample airway lining fluid in a noninvasive manner, it remains a niche approach to the investigation of occupational diseases. The confounding influence of EBC dilution should be better addressed in the expression of the results.
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