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Phthalates are used as plasticizers in many products used in daily life worldwide. Due to industrial and economic developments, exposure among general population to phthalates may vary geographically and temporally. However, studies are lacking for investigating temporal changes in phthalate exposure in the Japanese population. In the present study, the temporal trends in exposure to various phthalates were assessed among a group of Japanese adult female population over 1993–2016 and derived associated risks. For this purpose, urine samples of healthy Japanese females in Kyoto, Japan (N = 132) collected in 1993, 2000, 2003, 2009, 2011, and 2016, were employed and measured for the concentrations of 18 phthalate metabolites. Over this period, the detection rates of mono(3-carboxypropyl) phthalate (MCPP) and monoisobutyl phthalate (MiBP) decreased, and the geometric means of the urinary concentrations of mono(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (MECPP), and mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) showed a significant decreasing trend. Cumulative risk due to exposure to dibutyl phthalate (DBP), diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) showed a dramatic decrease only between 1993 and 2000. The maximum hazard quotient (HQM) was attributed to DEHP in most subjects regardless of sampling year. This study showed the temporal trend of the exposure of Japanese females to several phthalate esters over two decades. As of the late 2010’s, DEHP was still the predominant component of phthalate ester exposure in the population. The HI value, however, indicates that direct risk due to phthalate exposure was unlikely among the studied population.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEN), and deoxynivalenol (DON) are frequent mycotoxins that may cause carcinogenic, mutagenic, estrogenic, or gastrointestinal effects. The aim of this study was to assess the exposure to and risk from AFB1, OTA, ZEN, and DON in 172 participants of the Maule Cohort (MAUCO) by a biomarker analysis in urine and to associate their exposure with food consumption and occupation. Mycotoxins in the first morning urine were analyzed by solid-phase extraction and quantified by Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with a mass–mass detector. Participants’ information regarding food consumption, occupation, and other characteristics was obtained from a baseline and 2-year follow-up survey of the cohort. The prevalence and mean levels of mycotoxins in the urine were as follows: DON 63%, 60.7 (±78.7) ng/mL; AFB1 8%, 0.3 (±0.3) ng/mL; α-zearalenol (α-ZEL) 4.1%, 41.8 (±115) ng/mL; β-ZEL 3.5%, 17.4 (±16.1) ng/mL; AFM1 2%, 1.8 (±1.0) ng/mL; OTA 0.6% (1/172), 1.3 ng/mL; and ZEN 0.6%, 1.1 ng/mL. These results were translated into exposures of DON, ZEN, and aflatoxins of public health concern. Participants who consumed coffee and pepper the day before had a significantly greater presence of DON (OR: 2.3, CI95 1.17–4.96) and total ZEL (OR: 14.7, CI95 3.1–81.0), respectively, in their urine. Additionally, we observed associations between the habitual consumption of beer and DON (OR: 2.89, CI95 1.39–6.42). Regarding the levels of mycotoxins and the amount of food consumed, we found correlations between DON and nuts (p = 0.003), total ZEL and cereals (p = 0.01), and aflatoxins with capsicum powder (p = 0.03) and walnuts (p = 0.03). Occupation did not show an association with the presence of mycotoxins in urine.

The potential for adverse health effects from occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs (AD) is well known. Control measures recommended by the NIOSHAlert[3]include medical and biologic monitoring, and environmental monitoring where available. At present no guidelines or published best practices exist to guide EHS managers on how to carry out this biologic or environmental monitoring. Studies investigating surface wipe sampling for AD have been numerous in the past decade, but very limited research exists to correlate surface contamination with actual absorption by pharmacists and nurses. This article reviews the studies with concurrent surface wipe sampling and urine monitoring for the same AD, and tests their correlation. Methodologic limitations are reviewed. Twenty-one studies were identified that concurrently measured surface contamination by AD by wipe sampling and AD absorption by urine monitoring. Two studies directly evaluated the AD by wipe sampling and urine levels and neither found a statistically significant correlation. Six studies reported a decrease in both surface and urine levels following interventions to reduce contamination or exposure. Only one study directly evaluated the personal protective equipment and handling techniques employed by the studied workers, which can be viewed as a major confounder of absorption. While no statistically significant correlation was found between wipe sampling and urine monitoring for AD, decreases in urine and wipe levels following interventions to reduce exposure were noted. Limitations in the data and recommendations for future research are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Mycotoxins, produced by fungi as secondary metabolites, have the potential to induce both short-term and long-term toxic consequences in animals and humans. The present study aimed to determine multi-mycotoxin levels in Algerian workers using urine as the target. A method based on a QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) extraction procedure followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was optimized and validated for the determination of eleven mycotoxins in 96 urine samples. Different sorbents were tested to be used in the dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE) cleanup step of QuEChERS. The final method was fit-for-purpose and showed good analytical performance in terms of specificity, linearity, and precision. All samples contained at least two mycotoxins, and toxin-2 (T-2) was the most common, being found in 92.7% of the samples, followed by zearalenone (ZEN) in 90.6% of positive samples, and ochratoxin A (OTA) in 86.4%. T-2 levels ranged from 0.3 μg/L to 36.3 μg/L, while OTA ranged from 0.3 μg/L to 3.5 μg/L, and ZEN ranged from 7.6 μg/L to 126.8 μg/L. This was the first mycotoxin biomonitoring study carried out in the Algerian population. The findings highlight the need for accurate data for better risk assessment and for the development of better regulation to manage mycotoxin contamination in this country.

Biomonitoring of exposures to toxins is an important tool for monitoring public health and safety. Using this tool, exposures are typically measured by the collection of biological specimens such as blood and urine samples. Urine sampling represents a more convenient and less-invasive alternative to blood sampling; however, less work has been published on methodologies for characterizing the time course of excretion and the determination of the time of maximum excretion from urine samples. This paper compares two methods of characterizing the urine excretion profile and estimating the time of maximum excretion: Non-compartmental analysis versus a non-linear pharmacokinetic (PK) modeling. We examine these methodologies using both simulated data and observed data taken from a recent experiment examining a biomarker of diesel exhaust (DE), urinary 1-aminopyrene (1-AP). In the experiment, a series of spot urine samples were collected in a group of healthy volunteers for 24 h after a controlled DE exposure. Simulated data showed that the use of non-linear modeling techniques to estimate PK parameters was more likely to estimate the true time of maximum excretion compared with the non-compartmental approach. Our analysis of observed concentrations of 1-AP led to a hypothesis that there are two subgroups of subjects in terms of the timing of their 1-AP excretion. Results showed that approximately 63% of the subjects had a median time of maximum excretion of 5.37 h, whereas 30% of the subjects may have had maximum excretion times longer than 24 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEN), and deoxynivalenol (DON) are frequent mycotoxins that may cause carcinogenic, mutagenic, estrogenic, or gastrointestinal effects. The aim of this study was to assess the exposure to and risk from AFB1, OTA, ZEN, and DON in 172 participants of the Maule Cohort (MAUCO) by a biomarker analysis in urine and to associate their exposure with food consumption and occupation. Mycotoxins in the first morning urine were analyzed by solid-phase extraction and quantified by Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with a mass–mass detector. Participants' information regarding food consumption, occupation, and other characteristics was obtained from a baseline and 2-year follow-up survey of the cohort. The prevalence and mean levels of mycotoxins in the urine were as follows: DON 63%, 60.7 (±78.7) ng/mL; AFB1 8%, 0.3 (±0.3) ng/mL; α-zearalenol (α-ZEL) 4.1%, 41.8 (±115) ng/mL; β-ZEL 3.5%, 17.4 (±16.1) ng/mL; AFM1 2%, 1.8 (±1.0) ng/mL; OTA 0.6% (1/172), 1.3 ng/mL; and ZEN 0.6%, 1.1 ng/mL. These results were translated into exposures of DON, ZEN, and aflatoxins of public health concern. Participants who consumed coffee and pepper the day before had a significantly greater presence of DON (OR: 2.3, CI95 1.17–4.96) and total ZEL (OR: 14.7, CI95 3.1–81.0), respectively, in their urine. Additionally, we observed associations between the habitual consumption of beer and DON (OR: 2.89, CI95 1.39–6.42). Regarding the levels of mycotoxins and the amount of food consumed, we found correlations between DON and nuts (p = 0.003), total ZEL and cereals (p = 0.01), and aflatoxins with capsicum powder (p = 0.03) and walnuts (p = 0.03). Occupation did not show an association with the presence of mycotoxins in urine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]