Now showing items 21-40 of 110

    Helping WWTP managers to address the volatile methylsiloxanes issue-Behaviour and complete mass balance in a conventional plant 

    Volatile methylsiloxanes (VMSs) are a group of additives employed in different consumer products that can affect the quality of the biogas produced in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The main objective of this study is to understand the fate of different VMSs along the treatment process of a W...

    HBM4EU-MOM: Prenatal methylmercury-exposure control in five countries through suitable dietary advice for pregnancy - Study design and characteristics of participants 

    Background: Seafood is a major source of vital nutrients for optimal fetal growth, but at the same time is the main source of exposure to methylmercury (MeHg), an established neurodevelopmental toxicant. Pregnant women must be provided with dietary advice so as to include safely fish in their diet ...

    How to use human biomonitoring in chemical risk assessment: Methodological aspects, recommendations, and lessons learned from HBM4EU 

    One of the aims of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative, HBM4EU, was to provide examples of and good practices for the effective use of human biomonitoring (HBM) data in human health risk assessment (RA). The need for such information is pressing, as previous research has indicated that regu...

    HBM4EU chromates study - the measurement of hexavalent and trivalent chromium in exhaled breath condensate samples from occupationally exposed workers across Europe 

    The aim of this study was to investigate the practicability of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) as a biological matrix to detect and measure hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and trivalent chromium (Cr(III)) in workers occupationally exposed to Cr(VI). EBC samples were collected from workers in France, F...

    Harmonized human biomonitoring in European children, teenagers and adults: EU-wide exposure data of 11 chemical substance groups from the HBM4EU Aligned Studies (2014-2021) 

    As one of the core elements of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) a human biomonitoring (HBM) survey was conducted in 23 countries to generate EU-wide comparable HBM data. This survey has built on existing HBM capacity in Europe by aligning national or regional HBM studies, referr...

    New approach methods to improve human health risk assessment of thyroid hormone system disruption-a PARC project 

    Current test strategies to identify thyroid hormone (TH) system disruptors are inadequate for conducting robust chemical risk assessment required for regulation. The tests rely heavily on histopathological changes in rodent thyroid glands or measuring changes in systemic TH levels, but they lack sp...

    Interpreting biomonitoring data: Introducing the international human biomonitoring (i-HBM) working group's health-based guidance value (HB2GV) dashboard 

    Human biomonitoring (HBM) data measured in specific contexts or populations provide information for comparing population exposures. There are numerous health-based biomonitoring guidance values, but to locate these values, interested parties need to seek them out individually from publications, gov...

    Implementing New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) in food safety assessments: Strategic objectives and actions taken by the European Food Safety Authority 

    Background: New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) comprise in silico and in vitro methods applied as alternative to animal testing. Even though NAMs are already fully implemented as research tools, their use in regulatory risk assessments (RA) is limited currently. To promote the regulatory uptake/acce...

    Exposure to flame retardants in European children - Results from the HBM4EU aligned studies 

    Many legacy and emerging flame retardants (FRs) have adverse human and environmental health effects. This study reports legacy and emerging FRs in children from nine European countries from the HBM4EU aligned studies. Studies from Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia,...

    Coordination of chemical analyses under the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU): Concepts, procedures and lessons learnt 

    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 g...

    Current exposure to phthalates and DINCH in European children and adolescents - Results from the HBM4EU Aligned Studies 2014 to 2021 

    Phthalates are mainly used as plasticizers for polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Exposure to several phthalates is associated with different adverse effects most prominently on the development of reproductive functions. The HBM4EU Aligned Studies (2014-2021) have investigated current European exposure to t...

    A walk in the PARC: developing and implementing 21st century chemical risk assessment in Europe 

    Current approaches for the assessment of environmental and human health risks due to exposure to chemical substances have served their purpose reasonably well. Nevertheless, the systems in place for different uses of chemicals are faced with various challenges, ranging from a growing number of chem...

    A step towards harmonising human biomonitoring study setup on European level: Materials provided and lessons learnt in HBM4EU 

    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 understand...

    A simple method for direct mercury analysis in dried blood spots (DBS) samples for human biomonitoring studies 

    Human exposure to mercury can have serious health effects, especially in vulnerable groups such as children and fetuses. The use of dried blood spot (DBS) samples to collect capillary blood greatly facilitates sample collection and fieldwork, being a less invasive alternative to blood collection by...

    PFAS levels and determinants of variability in exposure in European teenagers - Results from the HBM4EU aligned studies (2014-2021) 

    Background: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made fluorinated chemicals, widely used in various types of consumer products, resulting in their omnipresence in human populations. The aim of this study was to describe current PFAS levels in European teenagers and to investigate the determinan...

    From science to policy: How European HBM indicators help to answer policy questions related to phthalates and DINCH exposure 

    Within the European Human Biomonitoring (HBM) Initiative HBM4EU we derived HBM indicators that were designed to help answering key policy questions and support chemical policies. The result indicators convey information on chemicals exposure of different age groups, sexes, geographical regions and ...

    Cross-sectional associations between exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and body mass index among European teenagers in the HBM4EU aligned studies 

    Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widespread pollutants that may impact youth adiposity patterns. We investigated cross-sectional associations between PFAS and body mass index (BMI) in teenagers/adolescents across nine European countries within the Human Biomonitoring for Europe (HBM4E...

    Approaches to mixture risk assessment of PFASs in the European population based on human hazard and biomonitoring data 

    Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a highly persistent, mobile, and bioaccumulative class of chemicals, of which emissions into the environment result in long-lasting contamination with high probability for causing adverse effects to human health and the environment. Within the Europea...

    Identification of Real-Life Mixtures Using Human Biomonitoring Data: A Proof of Concept Study 

    Human health risk assessment of chemical mixtures is complex due to the almost infinite number of possible combinations of chemicals to which people are exposed to on a daily basis. Human biomonitoring (HBM) approaches can provide inter alia information on the chemicals that are in our body at one ...

    Human urinary arsenic species, associated exposure determinants and potential health risks assessed in the HBM4EU Aligned Studies 

    The European Joint Programme HBM4EU coordinated and advanced human biomonitoring (HBM) in Europe in order to provide science-based evidence for chemical policy development and improve chemical management. Arsenic (As) was selected as a priority substance under the HBM4EU initiative for which open, ...