I am the cordinator of the two Master's programme sin Environmental Science; Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (ETC), and Atmopsher, Biogeochemistry and Climate (ABC). I teach environmental chemistry in several courses (MI7014, KZ4007, MI7009, MI7019, KA3000, MI2007, MI8021); adressing history of environmental awareness, chemical managemment through time, basic chemical distribution and fate, sampling, quantitaive and qualitative chemical analysis, exposure and risk assessment, basic endocrine disruption, early warning systems, suspect screening and non-target analysis, effect-directed analysis. 

A selection from Stockholm University publication database

• Cats’ internal exposure to selected BFRs and organochlorines correlated to house dust and cat food

  Jessica Norrgran Engdahl (et al.).

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• Anthropogenic Organic Contaminants Analysed in Human Blood and Combined Risk

  2023. A. Josefin Engelhardt, K. Norström, Jana M. Weiss. Exposure and Health 15 (3), 551-565

  Article

  The number of chemicals in the anthroposphere is increasing and some of them end up in humans. A literature search was made to assess which anthropogenic organic contaminants (OCs) that have been analysed in blood from the general population. The reviewed articles were used to create a database of studies [human blood database (HBDB), containing 559 OCs] reporting blood analyses made worldwide. All studies analysing blood from the Swedish population were compiled into a second database [Swedish exposure database (SEDB), containing 166 OCs] listing blood concentrations of OCs. Data from the SEDB showed decreasing levels of regulated chemicals in blood over time, indicating that regulation had made an impact. The Hazard Index (HI) approach was used as a qualitative mixture risk assessment of the OCs with established human biomonitoring guidance values (HBM-GVs) and blood levels in the SEDB. Nine HBM-GVs were found and the HI of the corresponding OCs/groups of OCs showed that a risk of adverse effects in the general population could not be excluded, which is a cause for concern considering that only a fraction of the analysed OCs in the SEDB were included. This study presents the OCs identified in human blood and concentration time trends. The study highlights the lack of HBM-GVs needed for mixture risk assessments to assess the combined risk of chemical exposure to the general population. 

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• Estimated daily intake of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances related to different particle size fractions of house dust

  2022. Åsa Gustafsson, Åke Bergman, Jana M. Weiss. Chemosphere 303, part 2

  Article

  Indoor environmental pollutants are a threat to human health. In the current study, we analysed 25 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in seven different size fraction of house dust including the two relevant for exposure via ingestion and inhalation. The highest PFAS concentration is found in the inhalable particulate fraction which is explained by the increased surface area as the particulate's sizes decrease. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of the individual PFAS and exposure pathways were calculated for children and adults. In addition, the total EDI for PFOA and its precursors was estimated. The polyfluoroalkyl phosphoric acid diesters (diPAP), followed by PFOA and PFHxA fluortelomer, showed the highest concentrations of PFAS analysed. The cumulative EDI of PFAS for children was 3.0 ng/kg bw per day, a worst-case scenario, which is 17 times higher than the calculated EDI for adults. For children, ingestion of dust was found to result in 800 times higher PFOA exposure than via inhalation. The contribution from PFOA precursors corresponded to only 1% of the EDI from dust indicating PFOA as the main source of exposure. The EDI's of PFOA and PFOS from dust were lower than the calculated EDI's from food ingestion reported by the Swedish Food Agency. Our data indicate that the EDI for the sum of four PFASs: PFOA, PFNA, PFHxS and PFOS from dust intake alone is close to the established tolerable weakly intake of 4.4 ng/kg bw in children, set by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2020. The combined EDI levels PFOA and PFOS from both dust and food exceeded the EFSA TWI for both children and adults. This study demonstrates that dust is a relevant exposure pathway for PFAS intake and that analysis of relevant particle size fractions is important for evaluation of dust as an exposure pathway.

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• Estimation of the concentrations of hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls in human serum using ionization efficiency prediction for electrospray

  2022. Sara Khabazbashi (et al.). Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 414 (25), 7451-7460

  Article

  Hydroxylated PCBs are an important class of metabolites of the widely distributed environmental contaminants polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). However, the absence of authentic standards is often a limitation when subject to detection, identification, and quantification. Recently, new strategies to quantify compounds detected with non-targeted LC/ESI/HRMS based on predicted ionization efficiency values have emerged. Here, we evaluate the impact of chemical space coverage and sample matrix on the accuracy of ionization efficiency-based quantification. We show that extending the chemical space of interest is crucial in improving the performance of quantification. Therefore, we extend the ionization efficiency-based quantification approach to hydroxylated PCBs in serum samples with a retraining approach that involves 14 OH-PCBs and validate it with an additional four OH-PCBs. The predicted and measured ionization efficiency values of the OH-PCBs agreed within the mean error of 2.1 × and enabled quantification with the mean error of 4.4 × or better. We observed that the error mostly arose from the ionization efficiency predictions and the impact of matrix effects was of less importance, varying from 37 to 165%. The results show that there is potential for predictive machine learning models for quantification even in very complex matrices such as serum. Further, retraining the already developed models provides a timely and cost-effective solution for extending the chemical space of the application area.

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• Fate of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from Durable Water-Repellent Clothing during Use

  2022. Ike van der Veen (et al.). Environmental Science and Technology 56 (9), 5886-5897

  Article

  To make outdoor clothing water- or dirt-repellent, durable water-repellent (DWR) coatings based on side-chain fluorinated polymers (SFPs) are used. During use of outdoor clothing, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) can be emitted from the DWR to the environment. In this study, the effects of aging, washing, and tumble drying on the concentration of extractable PFASs in the DWR of perfluorohexane-based short-chain SFPs (FC-6 chemistry) and of perfluorooctane-based long-chain SFPs (FC-8 chemistry) were assessed. For this purpose, polyamide (PA) and polyester (PES) fabrics were coated with FC-6- and FC-8-based DWRs. Results show that aging of the coated fabrics causes an increase in concentration and formation of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs). The effect of aging on the volatile PFASs depends on the type of fabric. Washing causes a decrease in PFAA concentrations, and in general, volatile PFASs are partly washed out of the textiles. However, washing can also increase the extractable concentration of volatile PFASs in the fabrics. This effect becomes stronger by a combination of aging and washing. Tumble drying does not affect the PFAS concentrations in textiles. In conclusion, aging and washing of fabrics coated with the DWR based on SFPs release PFASs to the environment.

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• In Silico Identification of Potential Thyroid Hormone System Disruptors among Chemicals in Human Serum and Chemicals with a High Exposure Index

  2022. Elena Dracheva (et al.). Environmental Science and Technology 56 (12), 8363-8372

  Article

  Data on toxic effects are at large missing the prevailing understanding of the risks of industrial chemicals. Thyroid hormone (TH) system disruption includes interferences of the life cycle of the thyroid hormones and may occur in various organs. In the current study, high-throughput screening data available for 14 putative molecular initiating events of adverse outcome pathways, related to disruption of the TH system, were used to develop 19 in silico models for identification of potential thyroid hormone system-disrupting chemicals. The conformal prediction framework with the underlying Random Forest was used as a wrapper for the models allowing for setting the desired confidence level and controlling the error rate of predictions. The trained models were then applied to two different databases: (i) an in-house database comprising xenobiotics identified in human blood and ii) currently used chemicals registered in the Swedish Product Register, which have been predicted to have a high exposure index to consumers. The application of these models showed that among currently used chemicals, fewer were overall predicted as active compared to chemicals identified in human blood. Chemicals of specific concern for TH disruption were identified from both databases based on their predicted activity.

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• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in Swedish household dust and exposure of pet cats

  2021. Jana M. Weiss (et al.). Environmental Science and Pollution Research (28), 39001-39013

  Article

  Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are used in a wide range of products and have been found ubiquitously in our indoor environment, and there is evidence that exposure to PFAS can lead to adverse endocrine effects, such as thyroid hormone disruption. Pet cats have a high dust intake due to their grooming behavior and have been shown to be a suitable sentinel species for assessment of toddler's exposure. Here we used paired household dust (n=46) and cat serum (n=27) samples to establish whether dust is a relevant exposure pathway to PFASs. An analytical method for PFAS analysis was optimized using a low volume of cat serum samples, combining solid-phase extraction and online sample cleanup. Dust was extracted with methanol by sonication and cleaned up by addition of active carbon. In total, 27 PFASs were analyzed by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis. The correlation between PFAS levels in dust and serum, serum lipids and thyroid hormone levels, and PFAS levels in dust between different rooms were statistically evaluated. PFOS and PFDA could be quantified in all cat serum samples (median 2300 pg/mL and 430 pg/mL, respectively), followed by PFOA (median 1100 pg/mL), quantified in 96% of the samples. The levels of 6:2 and 8:2 diPAPs were determined in 65% and 92% of the serum samples, respectively, and were an order of magnitude lower (1.4-160 pg/mL). Household dust on the other hand was dominated by 6:2 and 8:2 diPAPs, with a median of 65 ng/g dust and 49 ng/g dust, respectively. PFOS (median 13 ng/g dust) and PFOA (median 9 ng/g dust) were quantified in 93% of the dust samples. Only eight PFASs were detected (>LOD) in at least 50% of the samples of both matrices and could be paired. Significant correlations between cat serum and dust were found for PFOA (r(S)=0.32, p<0.049) and PFUnDA (r(S)=0.55, p<0.001). Significant positive correlations were found between serum total thyroxine (r(S)=0.11, p<0.05) and PFNA and between serum cholesterol and PFHpA (r(S)=0.46, p<0.01), PFUnDA (r(S)=0.40, p<0.05), PFDoDA (r(S)=0.44, p<0.01), and sum PFAS (r(S)=0.48, p<0.01). In conclusion, this study confirmed that dust is a relevant exposure pathway for the ingestion of some PFASs for cats, and the serum levels of PFASs could be of relevance for the cat's health.

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• Short-, medium-, and long-chain chlorinated paraffins in South African indoor dust and cat hair

  2020. Martin Brits (et al.). Chemosphere 238

  Article

  Polychlorinated n-alkanes or chlorinated paraffins (CPs) contain a magnitude of structural isomers and are categorized as short-chain (SCCPs), medium-chain (MCCPs), and long-chain (LCCPs) CPs, according to the carbon chain lengths. In this study the Sigma SCCPs, Sigma MCCPs, and Sigma LCCP concentrations are reported for South African indoor dust and pet cat hair. The median concentrations of the Sigma CPs (C-9-C-37) ranged from 33 to 663 mu g/g for freshly collected dust (FD), 36-488 mu g/g for dust collected from household vacuum cleaner bags (VD), and 1.2-15 mu g/g for cat hair (CH) samples. MCCPs were the dominant CP group, followed by SCCPs and LCCPs. The Sigma MCCP concentration ranged from 13 to 498 mu g/g in dust and 0.6-6.5 mu g/g in cat hair. SCCPs with shorter carbon chains and lower chlorine substitution were observed in cat hair. LCCPs with carbon chains > C(20)were detected in dust and hair samples, possibly indicating the use of wax grade LCCP formulations. Non-traditional Kendrick mass defect plots were used to obtain information on the magnitude of CPs and provide evidence of possible interfering compounds. This is the first report on the occurrence of SCCPs, MCCPs, and LCCPs in the South African indoor environment. 

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• The effect of weathering on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) from durable water repellent (DWR) clothing

  2020. Ike van der Veen (et al.). Chemosphere 249

  Article

  To assess the effects of weathering on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) from durable water repellent (DWR) clothing, thirteen commercial textile samples were exposed to elevated ultra violet (UV) radiation, humidity, and temperature in an aging device for 300 h, which mimics the lifespan of outdoor clothing. Before and after aging, the textile samples were extracted and analysed for the ionic PFASs (perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), perfluorooctane sulfonamide (FOSA)) and volatile PFASs (fluorotelomer alcohols (FT0Hs), acrylates (FTACs) and methacrylates (FTMACs)). Results showed that weathering can have an effect on PFASs used in DWR of outdoor clothing, both on the PFAS profile and on the measured concentrations. In most weathered samples the PFAA concentrations increased by 5- to more than 100-fold, while PFAAs not detected in the original textiles were detected in the weathered samples. DWR chemistries are based on side-chain fluorinated polymers. A possible explanation for the increase in concentration of the PFAAs is hydrolysis of the fluorotelomer based polymers (FTPs), or degradation of the FT0Hs, which are used in the manufacturing of the FTPs. The concentrations of volatile PFASs also increased, by a factor up to 20. Suggested explanations are the degradation of the DWR polymers, making non-extractable fluorines extractable, or the transformation or degradation of unknown precursors. Further research is needed to unravel the details of these processes and to determine the transformation routes. This study shows that setting maximum tolerance limits only for a few individual PFASs is not sufficient to control these harmful substances in outdoor clothing.

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• Transthyretin-Binding Activity of Complex Mixtures Representing the Composition of Thyroid-Hormone Disrupting Contaminants in House Dust and Human Serum

  2020. Timo Hamers (et al.). Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives 128 (1)

  Article

  BACKGROUND: House dust contains many organic contaminants that can compete with the thyroid hormone (TH) thyroxine (T-4) for binding to transthyretin (TTR). How these contaminants work together at levels found in humans and how displacement from TTR in vitro relates to in vivo T-4-TTR binding is unknown. OBJECTIVES: Our aims were to determine the TTR-binding potency for contaminant mixtures as found in house dust, maternal serum, and infant serum; to study whether the TTR-binding potency of the mixtures follows the principle of concentration addition; and to extrapolate the in vitro TTR-binding potency to in vivo inhibition levels of T-4-TTR binding in maternal and infant serum. METHODS: Twenty-live contaminants were tested for their in vitro capacity to compete for TTR-binding with a fluorescent FITC-T-4 probe. Three mixtures were reconstituted proportionally to median concentrations for these chemicals in house dust, maternal serum, or infant serum from Nordic countries. Measured concentration-response curves were compared with concentration-response curves predicted by concentration addition. For each reconstituted serum mixture, its inhibitor-TTR dissociation constant (K-i) was used to estimate inhibition levels of T-4-TTR binding in human blood. RESULTS: The TTR-binding potency of the mixtures was well predicted by concentration addition. The similar to 20% inhibition in FITC-T-4 binding observed for the mixtures reflecting median concentrations in maternal and infant serum was extrapolated to 1.3% inhibition of T-4-TTR binding in maternal and 1.5% in infant blood. For nontested mixtures reflecting high-end serum concentrations, these estimates were 6.2% and 4.9%, respectively. DISCUSSION: The relatively low estimated inhibition levels at median exposure levels may explain why no relationship between exposure to TTR-binding compounds and circulating T-4 levels in humans has been reported, so far. We hypothesize, however, that 1.3% inhibition of T-4-TTR binding may ultimately be decisive for reaching a status of maternal hypothyroidism or hypothyroxinemia associated with impaired neurodevelopment in children.

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• Carbamazepine Ozonation Byproducts: Toxicity in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Embryos and Chemical Stability

  2020. Johannes Pohl (et al.). Environmental Science and Technology 54 (5), 2913-2921

  Article

  Carbamazepine (CBZ) is an anticonvulsant medication with highly persistent properties in the aquatic environment, where it has the potential to affect nontarget biota. Because CBZ and many other pharmaceuticals are not readily removed in conventional sewage treatment plants (STP), additional STP effluent treatment technologies are being evaluated and implemented. Whole effluent ozonation is a prospective method to remove pharmaceuticals such as CBZ, yet knowledge on the toxicity of CBZ ozonation byproducts (OBPs) is lacking. This study presents, for the first time, in vivo individual and mixture toxicity of four putative OBPs, that is, carbamazepine 10,11-epoxide, 10,11-Dihydrocarbamazepine, 1-(2-benzaldehyde)-4-hydro-(1H,3H)-quinazoline-2-one (BQM), and 1-(2-benzaldehyde)-(1H,3H)-quinazoline-2,4-dione (BQD) in developing zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. BQM and BQD were isolated from the ozonated solution as they were not commercially available. The study confirmed that the OBP mixture caused embryotoxic responses comparable to that of ozonated CBZ. Individual compound embryotoxicity assessment further revealed that BQM and BQD were the drivers of embryotoxicity. OBP chemical stability in ozonated CBZ water solution during 2 week dark storage at 22 degrees C was also assessed. The OBP concentrations remained over time, except for BQD which decreased by 94%. Meanwhile, ozonated CBZ persistently induced embryotoxicity over 2 week storage, potentially illustrating environmental concern.

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