Search

Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential metal widespread in the environment, to which humans are exposed through different routes, being food consumption the most important one. It is considered an endocrine disruptor that is associated with estrogen-dependent diseases with women being particularly susceptible. In order to assess the exposure to this metal through diet intake in premenopausal women, levels of Cd were quantified in 7-days duplicate diet samples provided by 23 women working or studying at University of Aveiro , Portugal. Cd was detected in all analyzed samples with concentrations ranging between 0.007 and 0.21 μg g − 1 ww (median: 0.009 μg g − 1 ww). The estimated dietary weekly intakes varied from 1.4 to 48 μg kg-bw − 1 week − 1 (median: 2.3 μg kg-bw − 1 week − 1 ), and 35% of the participants exhibited dietary intakes of Cd higher than the tolerable weekly intake (2.5 μg kg-bw − 1 week − 1 ) set for this metal which suggest health risks for these women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organotin compounds (OTs) are ubiquitous contaminants with a broad range of applications ranging from biocides and pesticides to catalysts for the production of polyurethane foams and silicones. The deleterious effects of some OTs (particularly tributyltin – TBT) upon wildlife and experimental animals are well documented and include endocrine disruption, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, genotoxicity and metabolic dysfunction in which obesity is included. However, virtually no data on the current human exposure levels is available. In order to bridge this gap, we quantified for the first time the levels of OTs in duplicate diet samples from members of the University of Aveiro in Portugal. OTs were detected in 32% of the 28 diet samples analyzed, at relatively low levels. TBT and monobutyltin were detected only in two samples and dibutyltin was detectable in three samples. Dioctyltin was quantified in four samples and monooctyltin in three samples. Phenyltins were below the detection limit in all the diet samples analyzed. Overall, for the vast majority of the samples (89%), the estimated daily intakes (EDI) of organotins through food were much lower than the established tolerable daily intakes (TDI). Hence, for the majority of the participants the risk associated with food ingestion is low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead is a naturally occurring element that with the advent of the industrial era became a serious environmental and public health issue. Leaded gasoline, lead based paints, use of lead in plumbing and water pipes, ceramics with lead-containing glazes and tobacco smoke are potential sources of lead exposure for humans. Despite these multiple sources, food is still considered the most important one for the general non-smoking population. Hence, in the present study, the dietary intake of lead was determined in duplicate diet samples provided by 30 participants working or studying at University of Aveiro, Portugal. Pb was detected in all the analysed samples with values ranging between 0.009 and 0.10 mg kg − 1 ww which correspond to estimated daily intakes between 0.22 and 3.5 μg kg-bw − 1 day − 1 . Risk estimations disclose that at least 3.3% and 26.7% of the participants might suffer cardiovascular and nephrotoxic effects, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

House dust is an important matrix to evaluate the human exposure to a large number of contaminants including organochlorine compounds and flame retardants. In this study, we measured the levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDDs), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy) ethane (BTBPE), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and several organophosphorus flames retardants (PFRs) in 28 house dust samples collected between 2010 and 2011 in two Portuguese cities, Aveiro and Coimbra. Among the measured compounds, PFRs, particularly tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (TEHP), triphenyl phosphate (TPHP), 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate (EHDPP) and tris(methylphenyl) phosphate (TMPP), were the dominant group (median: 3200 ng g − 1 ). PBDE levels were the second highest (median: 340 ng g − 1 ) with great predominance of BDE 209 (median 270 ng g − 1 ), followed by HBCDDs (median: 150 ng g − 1 ), DBDPE (54 ng g − 1 ), PCBs (median: 6.3 ng g − 1 ) and BTBPE (median: 1.2 ng g − 1 ). Estimated daily intakes (EDIs) via dust ingestion showed a higher intake of PFRs (median: 4.6 ng kg-bw − 1 day); however for all contaminants the EDIs were much lower than the established reference dose (RfD) values. Therefore, the studied population is exposed to non-hazardous levels of the target compounds when considering the exposure through house dust ingestion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDDs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), chlordane compounds (CHLs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), were measured in duplicate diet samples from 21 volunteers at a Portuguese academic community (University of Aveiro). Overall, the levels of the target compounds were low, with detection frequencies varying widely depending on the compounds and with brominated flame retardants (BFRs) registering the lowest detection frequencies. Among PCB congeners, nondioxin-like PCBs were predominant and detected in the majority of the samples. Organochlorine pesticides were also detected in the majority of the samples, with 100% detection for DDTs and HCHs. Estimated daily intakes (EDIs) were calculated using lower and upper bound estimations, and in both cases values were far below the currently established tolerable daily intakes for PCBs and OCs and the reference doses for PBDEs and HBCDDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]