Consumption of illicit drugs and benzodiazepines in six Spanish cities during different periods of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) can provide objective and real time information about the use of addictive substances. A national study was conducted by measuring the most consumed illicit drugs, other drugs whose consumption is not so widespread but has increased significantly in recent years, and benzodiazepines in untreated wastewater from seven wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in six Spanish cities. Raw composite wastewater samples were collected from December 2020 to December 2021, a period in which the Spanish and regional governments adopted different restriction measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Samples were analyzed using a validated analytical methodology for the simultaneous determination of 18 substances, based on solid-phase extraction and liquid-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Except for heroin, fentanyl, 6-acetylmorphine and alprazolam, all the compounds were found in at least one city and 9 out of 18 compounds were found in all the samples. In general, the consumption of illicit drugs was particularly high in one of the cities monitored in December 2020, when the restrictions were more severe, especially for cannabis and cocaine with values up to 46 and 6.9 g/day/1000 inhabitants (g/day/1000 inh), respectively. The consumption of MDMA, methamphetamine and mephedrone was notably higher in June 2021, after the end of the state of alarm, in the biggest population investigated in this study. Regarding the use of benzodiazepines, the highest mass loads corresponded to lorazepam. This study demonstrates that WBE is suitable for complementing epidemiological studies about the prevalence of illicit drugs and benzodiazepines during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Spatial and temporal distribution of polyhalogenated carbazoles in sediments from the Yangtze River estuary and adjacent East China Sea.

Polyhalogenated carbazoles (PHCZs) have been increasingly detected in marine sediment, raising concerns in recent years. In this study, sediment samples (42 surface and one core) were collected from the Yangtze River estuary and the adjacent East China Sea, and eleven PHCZs and unsubstituted carbazole were measured. The total concentration of PHCZs in surface sediments ranged from 0.19 to 2.49 ng/g dry weight (d.w.) (median 1.03 ng/g d. w.). The congener compositions of PHCZs in the surface sediment were dominated by 3,6-dichlorocarbazole (36-CCZ, 53.2%), followed by 3-chlorocarbazole (14.9%) and 3,6-dibromocarbazole (36-BCZ, 11.8%). Carbazole in the surface sediment ranged from not detected to 9.89 ng/g (median 1.25 ng/g), with a detection frequency of 81.0%. The spatial distribution of 36-CCZ in surface sediments exhibited a clear decline from the coast to offshore, while 36-BCZ showed the opposite trend. The depth profile of 36-CCZ was maintained at a relatively low and stable concentration (about 0.36 ng/g) in core segments from 1903 to 1951, followed by a steady increase to 1.5 ng/g in 2006. This increase coincides with the industrial and agricultural development in China that began in the 1950s. In contrast, the other detected PHCZs and carbazole maintained stable, low concentrations over time. These spatial and temporal patterns suggest that 36-CCZ in this area is predominantly from anthropogenic sources, while 36-BCZ has a natural origin. Toxic equivalent estimations indicated that dioxin-like effects for the observed PHCZs were low. These results provide useful information for understanding the origin of PHCZs and carbazole in this area.

A global burden assessment of lung cancer attributed to residential radon exposure during 1990-2019.

This study aimed to explore the spatial and temporal trends of lung cancer burden attributable to residential radon exposure at the global, regional, and national levels. Based on the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2019, we collected the age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) and age-standardized disability-adjusted life rate (ASDR) of lung cancer attributable to residential radon exposure from 1990 to 2019. The Joinpoint model was used to calculate the annual average percentage change (AAPC) to evaluate the trend of ASMR and ASDR from 1990 to 2019. The locally weighted regression (LOESS) was used to estimate the relationship of the socio-demographic index (SDI) with ASMR and ASDR. In 2019, the global ASMR and ASDR for lung cancer attributable to residential radon exposure were 1.03 (95% CI: 0.20, 2.00) and 22.66 (95% CI: 4.49, 43.94) per 100 000 population, which were 15.6% and 23.0% lower than in 1990, respectively. According to the estimation, we found the lung cancer burden attributable to residential radon exposure declined significantly in high and high-middle SDI regions, but substantially increased in middle and low-middle SDI regions from 1990 to 2019. Across age and sex, the highest burden of lung cancer attributable to residential radon exposure was found in males and elderly groups. In conclusion, the global burden of lung cancer attributable to residential radon exposure showed a declining trend from 1990 to 2019, but a relatively large increase was found in the middle SDI regions. In 2019, the burden of lung cancer attributable to residential radon exposure remained high, particularly in males, the elderly, and high-middle SDI regions compared with other groups.

New psychoactive substances in several European populations assessed by wastewater-based epidemiology.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) can be a useful tool to face some of the existing challenges in monitoring the use of new psychoactive substances (NPS), as it can provide objective and updated information. This Europe-wide study aimed to verify the suitability of WBE for investigating the use of NPS. Selected NPS were monitored in urban wastewater by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The main classical illicit drugs were monitored in the same samples to compare their levels with those of NPS. Raw composite wastewater samples were collected in 2016 and 2017 in 14 European countries (22 cities) following best practice sampling protocols. Methcathinone was most frequent (>65% of the cities), followed by mephedrone (>25% of the cities), and only mephedrone, methcathinone and methylone were found in both years. This study depicts the use of NPS in Europe, confirming that it is much lower than the use of classical drugs. WBE proved able to assess the qualitative and quantitative spatial and temporal profiles of NPS use. The results show the changeable nature of the NPS market and the importance of large WBE monitoring campaigns for selected priority NPS. WBE is valuable for complementing epidemiological studies to follow rapidly changing profiles of use of drugs.

Monitoring caffeine and nicotine use in a nationwide study in Italy using wastewater-based epidemiology.

Smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee are common habits in today's society. However, it is not easy to get up-to-date information on smoking prevalence and caffeine consumption as it is usually obtained from population surveys. To overcome this limitation and complement epidemiological information, we employed wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) to gain a picture of the consumption of cigarettes and caffeine per day per person in Italy. A nationwide study was conducted by measuring two urinary metabolites of nicotine (cotinine and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine) and a caffeine metabolite (1,7-dimethyluric acid) in untreated wastewater from 16 cities. The spatial profiles of use depended mostly on the specific population habits in each city, not on the geographical area or the population size. The patterns of consumption were stable over the week, except in Milan where the use of both substances decreased on Sundays, probably because there were no commuters. In Milan, the use of nicotine decreased from 2013 to 2015. There was a significant relationship between smoking and consumption of products containing caffeine (mainly coffee), thus in cities where more cigarettes were smoked, more caffeine was drunk. These results are generally in accordance with findings from epidemiological studies, but provide some additional local profiles of use and closely follow changes over the years. This information could be useful for healthcare professionals and policy-makers to monitor progress towards the reduction of prevalence in tobacco use, and set up new health campaigns.

Dioxins in Great Lakes fish: Past, present and implications for future monitoring.

Dioxins/furans are considered among the most toxic anthropogenic chemicals, and are ubiquitous in the environment including in the North American Great Lakes, which contain one fifth of the world's surface freshwater. Our exposure to dioxins/furans is mainly through contaminated diet. Elevated levels of dioxins/furans in Great Lakes fish have resulted in issuance of fish consumption advisories. Here we examine spatial/temporal trends of dioxins/furans in the edible portion (fillet) of fish from the Canadian waters of the Great Lakes using the data collected by the Province of Ontario, Canada. Our analyses show that the Toxic Equivalent (TEQ) dioxin/furan concentrations declined between 1989 and 2013 in Lake Trout from Lakes Ontario, Huron and Superior by 91%, 78% and 73%, respectively, but increased in Lake Whitefish from Lake Erie by 138%. An expanded dataset created by combining our data with historical Lake Ontario Lake Trout measurements from the literature showed a greater decline of >96% (from 64 to 2.3 pg/g) between 1977 and 2013. Measurements collected for 30 types of fish show overall low levels but local/regional concerns at some locations in Lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario. Dioxins/furans are globally present in foodstuff and "zero concentration" target is considered impractical. Based on the observations for the Great Lakes in the context of risk to human health from eating fish, it is concluded that comprehensive monitoring of dioxins/furans can be replaced with targeted locations and/or indicator species, and the saved resources can be more efficiently utilized for monitoring of other priority or emerging contaminants.

Levels, patterns, trends and significance of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) in Great Lakes fish.

Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) were introduced to market about a century ago and their production is thought to have ceased by the early 1980s. However, relatively limited knowledge exists on their abundance in the edible portion of a variety of Great Lakes fish to aid in understanding their potential risk to human consumers. We studied levels, patterns, trends and significance of PCNs in a total 470 fillet samples of 18 fish species collected from the Canadian waters of the Great Lakes between 2006 and 2013. A limited comparison of fillet and wholebody concentrations in Carp and Bullhead was also conducted. The ∑PCN ranged from 0.006-6.7ng/g wet weight (ww) and 0.15-190ng/g lipid weight (lw) with the dominant congeners being PCN-52/60 (34%), -42 (21%) and -66/67 (15%). The concentrations spatially varied in the order of the Detroit River>Lakes Erie>Ontario>Huron>Superior. PCN-66/67 was the dominating congener contributing on average 76-80% of toxic equivalent concentration (TEQPCN). Contribution of TEQPCN to TEQTotal (TEQDioxins+Furans+dioxin-likePCBs+PCNs) was mostly <15%, especially at higher TEQTotal, and PCB-126 remains the major congener contributing to TEQTotal. The congener pattern suggests that impurities in PCB formulations and thereby historical PCB contamination, instead of unintentional releases from industrial thermal processes, could be an important source of PCNs in Great Lakes fish. A limited temporal change analysis indicated declines in the levels of PCN-66/67 between 2006 and 2012, complemented by previously reported decrease in PCNs in Lake Ontario Lake Trout between 1979 and 2004. The whole body concentrations were 1.4-3.2 fold higher than the corresponding fillets of Carp and Bullhead. Overall, the study results suggest that only targeted monitoring of PCNs in Great Lakes fish, especially at the Detroit River, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, is necessary to assess continued future improvements of this group of contaminants of concern.

Spatial and temporal variations in the atmospheric concentrations of "Stockholm Convention" organochlorine pesticides in Kuwait.

The study reports fortnightly atmospheric concentrations of organochlorine pesticides concomitantly measured at an urban, "industrial" and a remote location over a twelve month period in Kuwait to examine seasonal variability and urban-rural concentration gradients. The average±SD (and range) of the ΣOC concentrations measured throughout the study period in decreasing order were urban, 505±305 (range, 33-1352) pgm-3, remote, 204±124 (4.5-556) pgm-3, and "industrial" 155±103 (8.8-533) pgm-3. The concentrations of most OCs measured in this study, except for DDT and its metabolites, were higher at urban locations relative to their concentrations at remote location, in line with the literature on POPs regarding urban conurbations being sources of industrial chemicals. The most abundant pesticides measured throughout this study were dieldrin, pentachlorobenzene, hexachlorobenzene, ΣDDTs, ΣHCHs, and oxychlordane. Hexachlorobenzene concentrations were generally higher than those of pentachlorobenzene and are both strongly negatively correlated with temperature (p<0.05) at all sampling locations. Mean summertime concentrations were higher for hexachlorocyclohexanes, chlordanes, dieldrin, and DDT isomers, except for pp-DDT. This may suggest that concentrations of these compounds may be driven by temperature.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in Great Lakes fish: Levels, patterns, trends and implications for human exposure.

Levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were measured in edible portions of Great Lakes fish, with the goal of examining patterns/trends and evaluating implications for human exposure. A total of 470 fillets of 18 fish species collected from various parts of the Canadian waters of the Great Lakes between 2006 and 2013 were analyzed for 17 (expanded to 33 in 2009) PBDEs. For a limited number of species, fillet to whole body and fillet to eggs PBDEs were compared to examine pattern and concentration among tissue types. Levels and patterns of PBDEs varied dramatically within and among the 18 fish species. Bottom dwelling Common Carp (and White Sucker) exhibited the highest ∑PBDE levels (27-71ng/g). Lake Trout and Lake Whitefish from Lake Superior had higher levels than those from the other Great Lakes; otherwise the spatial trend was Lake Ontario≫Erie~Huron~Superior. The measured levels would result in restriction on consumption of only Common Carp from the Toronto waterfront area, which is in proximity to the most urbanised region on the Canadian side of the basin. Deca-BDE was the major congener in panfish, while BDE-47 was the major congener in top predators and its contribution to ∑PBDE increased with the contamination. Although ∑PBDE was related to fish length and lipid content when all measurements were pooled, the relationships were variable for individual sampling events (species/location/year). Whole body ∑PBDE for bottom dweller Brown Bullhead and Common Carp were 2.6-4.9 times greater and egg ∑PBDE for four fatty Salmon/Trout species were same to 6.5 times greater than the corresponding fillet concentrations. Levels of major lower brominated PBDEs appear to have declined in fish fillets by 46-74% between 2006/07 and 2012. Although PBDE in existing consumer items will remain in-use for a while, it will likely not result in appreciable accumulation of PBDEs in fish. Based on an overall assessment, regular monitoring of PBDEs in Great Lake fish can be replaced with targeted surveillance and focus can be shifted to other in-use flame retardants.

Spatial and seasonal variability of tap water disinfection by-products within distribution pipe networks.

Gradually-changing shocks associated with potable water quality deficiencies are anticipated for urban drinking-water distribution systems (UDWDS). The impact of structural UDWDS features such as, the number of pipe leaking incidences on the formation of water trihalomethanes (THM) at the geocoded household level has never been studied before. The objectives were to: (i) characterize the distribution of water THM concentrations in households from two district-metered areas (DMAs) with contrasting UDWDS characteristics sampled in two seasons (summer and winter), and (ii) assess the within- and between-household, spatial variability of water THM accounting for UDWDS characteristics (household distance from chlorination tank and service pipe leaking incidences). A total of 383 tap water samples were collected from 193 households located in two DMAs within the UDWDS of Nicosia city, Cyprus, and analyzed for the four THM species. The higher intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values for water tribromomethane (TBM) (0.75) followed by trichloromethane (0.42) suggested that the two DMAs differed with respect to these analytes. On the other hand, the low ICC values for total THM levels between the two DMAs suggested a large variance between households. The effect of households nested under each DMA remained significant (p<0.05) for TBM (not for the rest of the THM species) in the multivariate mixed-effect models, even after inclusion of pipe network characteristics. Our results could find use by water utilities in overcoming techno-economic difficulties associated with the large spatiotemporal variability of THM, while accounting for the influence of UDWDS features at points of water use.

Historical records, sources, and spatial trends of PCBs along the Rhône River (France).

Despite bans on PCB use since 1975 (open systems) and 1987 (closed systems), concentrations of PCBs in riverine fish in France continue to exceed regulatory levels. We present historical records of PCB concentrations in sediment cores from eight sites on the Rhône River, from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean Sea. Maximum PCB concentrations (sum of seven indicator PCBs) increase downstream, from 11.50 µg/kg at the most upstream site to 417.1 µg/kg at the most downstream site. At some sites peak concentrations occur in sediment deposited as recently as the 2000s. Hierarchical clustering (five clusters) identified differences in PCB congener profiles within and between sites. Exponential models fit to decadal time windows indicate that rapid reductions in concentrations during about 1990-2000 have slowed, and that it might be decades before target concentrations in sediment that correspond to regulatory thresholds in fish will be reached at some sites.

The spatial and temporal distribution of pollen in a room: forensic implications.

This paper presents two experimental studies that deal with the spatial and temporal distribution of pollen grains within a room of a domestic dwelling. The findings concur with the preliminary work of Morgan et al. [1] and provide greater detail as to the behaviour of pollen grains within indoor locations that are pertinent for forensic investigations. The spatial distribution of pollen in a room exhibits strong distance decay trends, with the majority of pollen recovered within 0.8m of its source. The pollen was found to persist in increasing quantities during the time the flowers were in the room. This study also shows that 20days after the flowers were removed, 25-32% of the original pollen was still present within the room. The influence of disturbance was investigated and whilst areas of high disturbance were found to retain less pollen than undisturbed locations, the influence of the proximity to source was a more dominant factor. These findings have significant implications for forensic investigation protocols, particularly the collection and interpretation phases of trace evidence analysis. The distribution of pollen around a room ensures that viable sources of trace pollen are available for transfer if contact is made between a location in the room and a suspect. The persistence of pollen many days after the flowers have been removed from a room indicates that many rooms in domestic dwellings will have distinctive assemblages that reflect the history of the flowers that have been displayed within that room in the past, and that these assemblages will persist and therefore be available for transfer. These preliminary findings indicate that investigation by forensic palynology in indoor domestic settings may well be an underutilised technique that has the potential to provide accurate and valuable intelligence and evidence for forensic enquiry.