Robbaarup0299

Traditional food consumption for Indigenous peoples is associated with improved nutrition and health but can also pose potential risks via exposure to contaminants. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are compounds of interest due to their widespread presence (e.g., their metabolites are detected in up to 100% of the Canadian population) and their toxicological potential. To better understand the range of exposures faced by Indigenous populations in northern Canada and to address a contaminant of emerging concern identified by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, a multi-year biomonitoring study investigated levels of PAH exposure in subarctic First Nations communities of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Secondary data analysis of banked samples from a subset of the cross-sectional study was done. PAHs and cotinine markers in the urine samples (n = 97) of participants from two regions from the Mackenzie Valley (Dehcho and Sahtú) was completed by liquid and gas chromatography coupled with massover time. These findings will support regional and territorial decision makers in identifying environmental health priorities. BACKGROUND Studies on the hypertensive effect of long-term air pollution exposure were inconclusive and showed scarce evidence from rural areas in developing countries. In this context, we examined the associations of air pollution exposure with hypertension and blood pressure, and their effect modifiers in rural Chinese adults. METHODS We studied 39,259 participants from a cohort established in five rural regions of central China. Individual exposures to PM2.5 and PM10 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm and 10 μm) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was evaluated using satellite-based spatiotemporal models. Mixed-effect regression models were applied to examine the associations of long-term exposure to air pollution with hypertension and four blood pressure component measurements, including systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and pulse pressure (PP). Several potential effect modifiers related to demographic and behavioral factors were also examined. RESULTS The results showed that for each 1 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5, PM10 and NO2, the adjusted odds ratio of hypertension was 1.029 (95%CI 1.001,1.057), 1.015 (95%CI 1.001, 1.029) and 1.069 (95%CI 1.038, 1.100), respectively. These three air pollutants were also associated with increased SBP (except for PM10), DBP and MAP. The hypertensive effects of air pollution were more pronounced among males, smokers, drinkers, individuals with a high-fat diet, and those with high-level physical activity. CONCLUSION Long-term exposure to PM2.5, PM10 and NO2 was associated with increased blood pressure and hypertension in rural Chinese adults, and the associations were modified by several behavioral factors. Diflufenican is used in both agricultural and urban areas to control weeds. However, in Europe pesticides are regulated using agricultural soil data only. Urban soils where the top layer is replaced by gravel (e.g. driveways, outdoor tiled areas) can evidently differ from agricultural soils in many biotic and physical properties. In the present study, we compared the degradation, mineralization, sorption and aging of diflufenican between an agricultural sandy soil to a gravel used in urban areas. Both diflufenican and its two main aerobic metabolites were investigated. Diflufenican and the metabolites degraded slower in gravel than in agricultural soil. One of the metabolites, 2-[3-(Trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]nicotinic acid (AE B107137 as identified by EFSA; further abbreviated as AE-B), was formed from the incubation of diflufenican in both soil and gravel, however, showing different formation patterns in the two materials No accumulation of AE-B was determined in the soil, whereas in gravel, an accumulation of AE-B was determined over the full study period of 150 days. After 150 days, approximately 10% of the applied diflufenican was mineralised in the soil (cumulative), while it was not mineralised in the gravel. Diflufenican showed much stronger sorption to the soil than to the gravel, while the sorption of the metabolites was weaker than diflufenican in both soil and gravel. Within the experimental period, the influence of aging on the fate of diflufenican in soil and gravel is limited ( less then 0.9 and less then 1.4%, respectively) when compared to the amount of compound still present in the soil. HSP (HSP90) inhibitor Overall, the results imply shortcomings in the risk assessment procedures requested for the registration of pesticides for urban areas. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromobiphenyl (BB-153), novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs), and unsubstituted/methylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs/Me-PAHs) were simultaneously monitored in the air samples collected from Vietnamese urban and vehicular waste processing areas by using polyurethane foam-based passive air sampling (PUF-PAS) method. Concentrations (pg m-3) of organic pollutants decreased in the order PAHs (median 29,000; range 5100-100,000) > Me-PAHs (6000; 1000-33,000) > PCBs (480; 170-1100) > PBDEs (11; 5.3-86) > NBFRs (0.20; n. d. - 51) > BB-153 (n.d.). The difference in total PCB and PBDE concentrations between the urban and waste processing air samples was not statistically significant. Meanwhile, levels of PAHs, Me-PAHs, benzo [a]pyrene equivalents (BaP-EQs), and toxic equivalents of dioxin-like PCBs (WHO-TEQs) were much higher in the waste processing sites. This is the first report on the abundance of mono- and di-CBs (notably CB-11) in the air from a developing country, suggesting their roles as emerging and ubiquitous air pollutants. Our results have indicated potential sources of specific organic pollutants such as dioxin-like PCBs, PAHs, and Me-PAHs from improper treatment of end-of-life vehicles and other vehicle related materials (e.g., waste oils and rubber tires), as well as current emission of PCBs and PBDEs in the urban area in Vietnam. Further atmospheric monitoring studies should be conducted in this developing country that cover both legacy and emerging contaminants with a focus on areas affected by rapid urbanization and informal waste processing activities.