Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) include a wide array of pollutants, such as some metals and other toxic elements, which may cause changes in hormonal homeostasis. In addition to affecting physiology of individuals directly, EDCs may alter the transfer of maternal hormones to offspring, i.e. causing transgenerational endocrine disruption. However, such effects have been rarely studied, especially in wild populations. We studied the associations between environmental elemental pollution (As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb) and maternally-derived egg thyroid hormones (THs) as well as nestling THs in great tits (Parus major) using extensive sampling of four pairs of polluted and reference populations across Europe (Finland, Belgium, Hungary, Portugal). Previous studies in these populations showed that breeding success, nestling growth and adult and nestling physiology were altered in polluted zones compared to reference zones. We sampled non-incubated eggs to measure maternally-derived egg THs, measured nestling plasma THs and used nestling faeces for assessing local elemental exposure. We also studied whether the effect of elemental pollution on endocrine traits is dependent on calcium (Ca) availability (faecal Ca as a proxy) as low Ca increases toxicity of some elements. Birds in the polluted zones were exposed to markedly higher levels of toxic elements than in reference zones at the populations in Finland, Belgium and Hungary. In contrast to our predictions, we did not find any associations between overall elemental pollution, or individual element concentrations and egg TH and nestling plasma TH levels. However, we found some indication that the effect of metals (Cd and Cu) on egg THs is dependent on Ca availability. In summary, our results suggest that elemental pollution at the studied populations is unlikely to cause overall TH disruption and affect breeding via altered egg or nestling TH levels with the current elemental pollution loads. Associations with Ca availability should be further studied.

For most birds, energy efficiency and conservation are paramount to balancing the competing demands of self-maintenance, reproduction, and other demanding life history stages. Yet the ability to maximize energy output for behaviors like predator escape and migration is often also critical. Environmental perturbations that affect energy metabolism may therefore have important consequences for fitness and survival. Methylmercury (MeHg) is a global pollutant that has wide-ranging impacts on physiological systems, but its effects on the metabolism of birds and other vertebrates are poorly understood. We investigated dose-dependent effects of dietary MeHg on the body composition, basal and peak metabolic rates (BMR, PMR), and respiratory quotients (RQ) of zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Dietary exposure levels (0.0, 0.1, or 0.6 ppm wet weight) were intended to reflect a range of mercury concentrations found in invertebrate prey of songbirds in areas contaminated by atmospheric deposition or point-source pollution. We found adiposity increased with MeHg exposure. BMR also increased with exposure while PMR decreased, together resulting in reduced metabolic scope in both MeHg-exposed treatments. There were differences in RQ among treatments that suggested a compromised ability of exposed birds to rapidly metabolize carbohydrates during exercise in a hop-hover wheel. The elevated BMR of exposed birds may have been due to energetic costs of depurating MeHg, whereas the reduced PMR could have been due to reduced oxygen carrying capacity and/or reduced glycolytic capacity. Our results suggest that environmentally relevant mercury exposure is capable of compromising the ability of songbirds to both budget and rapidly exert energy.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including PCDD/Fs, PCBs and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are among the most important and hazardous pollutants of soil. Food producing animals such as chicken, beef, sheep and goats can take up soil while grazing or living outdoors (free-range) and this can result in contamination.In recent decades, large quantities of brominated flame retardants such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) and per- and polyfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) have been produced and released into the environment and this has resulted in widespread contamination of soils and other environmental matrices. These POPs also bioaccumulate and can contaminate food of animal origin resulting in indirect exposure of humans.Recent assessments of chicken and beef have shown that surprisingly low concentrations of PCBs and PCDD/Fs in soil can result in exceedances of regulatory limits in food. Soil contamination limits have been established in a number of countries for PCDD/Fs but it has been shown that the contamination levels which result in regulatory limits in food (the maximum levels in the European Union) being exceeded, are below all the existing soil regulatory limits. ‘Safe’ soil levels are exceeded in many areas around emission sources of PCDD/Fs and PCBs. On the other hand, PCDD/F and dioxin-like PCB levels in soil in rural areas, without a contamination source, are normally safe for food producing animals housed outdoors resulting in healthy food (e.g. meat, eggs, milk).For the majority of POPs (e.g. PBDEs, PFOS, PFOA, SCCP) no regulatory limits in soils exist.There is, therefore, an urgent need to develop appropriate and protective soil standards minimising human exposure from food producing animals housed outdoors. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to eliminate POPs pollution sources for soils and to control, secure and remediate contaminated sites and reservoirs, in order to reduce exposure and guarantee food safety.

Inhalation exposure to flame retardants used as additives to minimize fire risk and plasticizers is ubiquitous in human daily activities, but has not been adequately assessed. To address this research gap, the present study conducted an assessment of human health risk for four age groups through inhalation exposure to size fractionated particle-bound and gaseous halogenated flame retardants (polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and alternative halogenated flame retardants (AHFRs)) and organophosphate esters (OPEs) at indoor and outdoor environments (school, office, and residence) in three districts of a megacity (Guangzhou, China). Results demonstrated that OPEs were the dominant components among all targets. Indoor daily intakes of PBDEs and OPEs were 13–16 times greater than outdoor levels for all age groups. Gaseous OPEs contributed significantly greater than particle-bound compounds to daily intakes of all target compounds. Based on the different life scenarios, hazard quotient (HQ) and incremental life cancer risk (ILCR) from adults exposure to PBDEs and OPEs in indoor and outdoor settings were the greatest, followed by adolescents, children, and seniors. The estimated HQ and ILCR for all age groups both indoors and outdoors were lower than the safe level (HQ = 1 and ILCR = 10−6), indicating that the potential health risk for local residents in Guangzhou via inhalation exposure to atmospheric halogenated flame retardants and OPEs was low.

Seasonal and diurnal variations of carbonyl compounds were investigated in the ambient air of a mountainous city in China, from September 2014 to July 2015. The most abundant carbonyl compounds are formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acetone, propionaldehyde and methacryladehyde (MACR), which were all measured in most samples. The average concentrations of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, propionaldehyde and MACR in the atmosphere in Changsha were broken down into each season: 6.57, 3.29, 3.66, 0.67 and 0.54 μg/m³ respectively during Spring, 14.09, 8.28, 9.02, 1.28 and 0.6 μg/m³, respectively during Summer, 9.24, 5.48, 8.62, 0.73 and 0.62 μg/m³, respectively during Autumn, and 5.88, 4.84, 7.84, 0.87 and 0.26 μg/m³ respectively during Winter. And majority of the species had higher concentration during noon, showing photochemical oxidation and human activities played an important role in diurnal variation. The highest average C1/C2 (formaldehyde/acetaldehyde) ratio was observed in summer (2.10) compared to those (1.33–2.03) in other seasons, implying the photochemical activities had a positive effect on increasing the ratio of C1/C2. In this study, the monthly concentration of formaldehyde produced from isoprene accounts for 4.8%–39.1% of formaldehyde in ambient air. Strong correlation among some carbonyl compounds means that they came from the same sources. Photochemical reaction was the main source of carbonyl compounds in summer and vehicular exhaust (gasoline and diesel engines) in winter. Changsha is not a completely urbanized city and it is rich in vegetation of broadleaf evergreen shrubs. Both atmospheric photochemical reactions and anthropogenic sources, including vehicular exhaust and industrial processes, dominate the levels of carbonyls. The ILTCR and HQ values of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are 1.23E-04 and 1.34E-05, 2.80E-01 and 1.86E-01, respectively.

This article gives an overview of nanotechnologies applied in remediation of water contaminated by poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). The use of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in physical sorption and photochemical reactions offers a promising solution in PFAS removal because of the high surface area and the associated high reactivities of the ENMs. Modification of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) (e.g., oxidation, applying electrochemical assistance) significantly improves their adsorption rate and capacity for PFASs removal and opens a new door for use of CNTs in environmental remediation. Modified nanosized iron oxides with high adsorption capacity and magnetic property have also been demonstrated to be ideal sorbents for PFASs with great recyclability and thus provide an excellent alternative for PFAS removal under various conditions. Literature shows that PFOA, which is one of the most common PFASs detected at contaminated sites, can be effectively decomposed in the presence of either TiO₂-based, Ga₂O₃-based, or In₂O₃-based nano-photocatalysts under UV irradiation. The decomposition abilities and mechanisms of different nano-photocatalysts are reviewed and compared in this paper. Particularly, the nanosized In₂O₃ photocatalysts have the best potential in PFOA decomposition and the decomposition performance is closely related to the specific surface area and the amount of photogenerated holes on the surfaces of In₂O₃ nanostructures. In addition to detailed review of the published studies, future prospects of using nanotechnology for PFAS remediation are also discussed in this article.

The predominance of natural organic matter (NOM) in nonlinear sorption of nonionic organic compounds (NOCs) is a fundamental behavior that controlling the fate, transfer and bioavailability of NOCs in natural environment. There is a debate, i.e., whether the nonlinear sorption is captured by nonlinear partition mechanism or adsorption mechanism. The debate has been going on for decades because characteristics of nonlinear partition are still unknown due to the lack of an adsorbent that can partition NOCs nonlinearly. We find a resin ADS-21, with specific surface area undetectable (<0.5 m² g⁻¹) but high sorption capacity for NOCs (up to 1000 mg g⁻¹ for phenol as an example), is an ideal adsorbent for examining characteristics of nonlinear partitioning. This resin has nonlinear isotherms for phenols and anilines but linear isotherms for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrobenzenes. The observed positively linear relationship of sorption capacities of NOCs with NOCs solubility in water or octanol, could be one of the characteristics of nonlinear partition. Moreover, competitive sorption and no desorption hysteresis could be observed for the nonlinear partition. Hydrogen-bonding of phenols and anilines with ADS-21 is responsible for nonlinear partition, competitive sorption and isotherm nonlinearity. These evidences would be supportive for understanding nonlinear partition and the nonlinear sorption of NOCs by NOM.

Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) were added to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) at the eighth meeting of the conference of the parties in 2017. As a consequence, increasing environmental attention and international regulation on SCCPs is expected in the future. Inhalation uptake of particulate matter (PM) was an important exposure pathway for POPs into the human body. In the present study, a total of eighty PM2.5 samples were collected in the four seasons of the year at an urban site (Shandong University, Jinan) in Shandong province to investigate the seasonal changes of SCCPs and their inhalation exposure risks to human health. The concentrations of SCCPs ranged from 9.80 to 105 ng m−3, with the mean value of 38.7 ng m−3. The highest concentrations of SCCPs were detected in winter, while the lowest concentrations were in summer. SCCPs concentrations were positively correlated with the mass concentrations of PM2.5 (r = 0.629, p < 0.01), and negatively correlated with the ambient temperature (r = −0.447, p < 0.01). The SCCPs congeners with 10 carbon atoms (C10 congeners) and 7 chlorine numbers (Cl7 congeners) were the predominant congeners, which contributed 35% and 37% of the total SCCPs contamination, respectively. The average inhalation exposure was estimated to be 1.75 × 10−4 mg kg−1 day−1 for adults, which is much lower than the “no observed adverse effect level” (NOAEL) of 100 mg kg−1 day−1 given by European risk assessment for SCCPs.

The concentration and speciation of heavy metals (Cu, Co, Ni, Zn, Cr, Pb and Cd) were studied in surface sediment from the Yangtze River(YR)to the East China Sea (ECS) shelf. The results showed that high contents of metals were found in the YR estuary (YRE) and in the nearshore muddy area, while lower concentrations were found in the YR channel and the ECS shelf. However, after standardization, the total content of most heavy metals from the YR showed little change or slightly increased during the transport process from the river to the estuary but decreased significantly outside the estuary, especially in the sediments of the ECS shelf. The residual fraction is the dominant fraction for all the metals, while the oxidizable and reducible fractions are the most important forms of the nonlithogenic fractions. The total amount of heavy metals from the YR to the continental shelf is mainly affected by the filtration of the estuary and the barrier impacts of the coastal current in the ECS. The environmental physicochemical conditions that vary significantly in the turbidity zone greatly influence the associated forms of metals. The metals in the acid-soluble fraction are mostly affected by the pH change in the sediment and the discharge of human activities, while the reducible fraction is significantly affected by the bottom water DO. The oxidizable fraction was affected by oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), primary productivity, as well as OM content. Therefore, with changes in the physicochemical conditions of the environment, the metals have undergone significant changes in their speciation from the YR to the ECS shelf. Various complex effects in the estuary area have not only a large filtration effect on the total amount of metals but also a major impact on the geochemical forms of the metals.

Numerous recent studies have underlined the crucial players of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), i.e., microRNAs(miRNAs), long noncoding RNAs(lncRNAs) and circle RNAs(circRNAs) participating in genotoxic responses induced by a wide variety of environmental genotoxicants consistently. Genotoxic-derived ncRNAs provide us a new epigenetic molecular–ecological network (MEN) insights into the underlying mechanisms regarding genotoxicant exposure and genotoxic effects, which can modify ncRNAs to render them “genotoxic” and inheritable, thus potentially leading to disease risk via epigenetic changes. In fact, the spatial structures of ncRNAs, particularly of secondary and three-dimensional structures, diverse environmental genotoxicants as well as RNA splicing and editing forma dynamic pool of ncRNAs, which constructs a MEN in cells together with their enormous targets and interactions, making biological functions more complicated. We nonetheless suggest that ncRNAs have both beneficial(positive) and harmful(negative) effects, i.e., are “double-edged” in regulating genotoxicant toxic responses. Understanding the “double-edged” effects of ncRNAs is of crucial importance for our further comprehension of the pathogenesis of human diseases induced by environmental toxicants and for the construction of novel prevention and therapy targets. Furthermore, the MEN formed by ncRNAs and their interactions each other as well as downstream targets in the cells is important for considering the active relationships between external agents (environmental toxicants) and inherent genomic ncRNAs, in terms of suppression or promotion (down- or upregulation), and engineered ncRNA therapies can suppress or promote the expression of inherent genomic ncRNAs that are targets of environmental toxicants. Moreover, the MEN would be expected to be would be applied to the mechanistic explanation and risk assessment at whole scene level in environmental genotoxicant exposure. As molecular biology evolves rapidly, the proposed MEN perspective will provide a clearer or more comprehensive holistic view.