In the marine environment, a new threat linked to plastic pollution relates to plastic additives. This threat encompasses multiple chemical compound groups with a high bioaccumulation potential for these chemical mixtures. Hence, informative biomarkers are needed to indicate the effects of environmentally realistic mixtures of these additives. This study proposes an in vitro approach using tissue homogenates of two marine fish, the European sea bass and hake, which are both of interest in aquaculture and fisheries. The selected biomarkers are B-esterase activities comprising acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and carboxylesterases (CEs). The physiological role of AChE in brain and muscle is mainly neural transmission, while CEs participate in liver detoxification processes. However, B-esterases are also widely distributed in other tissues/organs, where their role is yet to be determined, but their inhibition may have undesired biological consequences. Here, we compared the interaction of the plastic additives, bisphenol A and some of its derivatives, like tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), with B-esterase activities. We particularly focused not only on the robust and broadly distributed CE enzymes in brain, gonad, liver, kidney, and plasma tissues of two marine fish, but also on the use of two commercial substrates, p-nitrophenyl butyrate and α-naphthyl butyrate, tentatively representing two CE isoforms. The results evidenced specific species and tissue responses that could be due to a diverse isoform composition. They identified sea bass as better protected against neurotoxic exposures, at least in terms of B-esterase composition. The flame retardant TBBPA was the most reactive to B-esterases inhibition, although Bisphenol A bis (2,3-dihydroxy propyl) ether and Bisphenol F bis (3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl) ether warrant further toxicology assessments.

Global attention is drawn to the significant issue of indoor pollution, given its direct negative impact on human health and wellness. Typically, individuals can nowadays spend 80% or more of their time in enclosed built locations where they can be prone to a multitude of harmful toxic chemicals distributed in particulate and gas phases. Therefore, a systematic efficient monitoring of such chemicals in indoor environments is urgently required to devise and implement various measures that allow their control. The objective of this study is to evaluate the concomitance occurrence of phthalates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) within the indoor settings of residential homes in Strasbourg. It focused on both the indoor air and dust samples collected in nine residential homes in Strasbourg for a one-year sampling period, February 2016 - February 2017. For this, Radiello®, SiC^© foams, and Tenax-TA® were successfully introduced and used as reliable passive samplers for the aforementioned matrices. Extractions were carried out using pressurized solvent extraction (PSE) followed by ATD-GC/MSMS analysis. The findings of the presented study revealed that 12 PAHs, 18 PCBs, and 7 phthalates were regularly perceived in the indoor environments of the houses under assessment. In gaseous samples, the average concentrations of the detected pollutant were approximately 3,919, 4.3, and 601.6 ng/sampler for PAHs, PCBs, and phthalates, respectively. As for dust samples, the average concentrations of the detected pollutant were approximately 3,438, 6.2, and 1,816.2 ng/g, respectively. The obtained results showed that PCBs exhibited the lowest concentration in both matrices. However, air samples were mostly contaminated by PAHs, while dust samples showed higher levels of phthalates. These results are correlated to the physico-chemical properties of these compounds and to their origin and source of emission. The findings of this study stress the importance of indoor pollution assessment so that the risks associated with it could be controlled.

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) - which include electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes, or simply e-cigs, and marijuana vaping have become increasingly popular. ENDS devices have been established as one of the tobacco quit methods and promoted to be safer compared to traditional tobacco cigarettes. Emerging evidence demonstrates that e-cigarette and marijuana vape use can be harmful, with potential associations with cancer. Herein, we summarize the level of evidence to date for altered immune response, with a focus on cancer risks in the offspring after maternal use of, or aerosol exposures from, ENDS or marijuana vape during pregnancy. From 27 published articles retrieved from PubMed, we sought to find out identified carcinogens in ENDS aerosols and marijuana vapor, which cross the placental barrier and can increase cancer risk in the offspring. Carcinogens in vaping aerosols include aldehydes, metals, tobacco-specific nitrosamines, tobacco alkaloids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds. Additionally, there was only one passive vaping exposure case study on a human fetus, which noted that glycerol, aluminum, chromium, nickel, copper, zinc, selenium, and lead crossed from the mother to the offspring’s cord blood. The carcinogens (metals) in that study were at lower concentrations compared to the mother’s biological matrices. Lastly, we observed that in utero exposures to ENDS-associated chemicals can occur in vital organs such as the lungs, kidneys, brain, bladder, and heart. Any resulting DNA damage increases the risk of tumorigenesis. Future epidemiological studies are needed to examine the effects of passive aerosol exposures from existing and emerging electronic nicotine and marijuana products on developing offspring to cancer.

Minnesota has been grappling with public health issues regarding exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) since 2002. For some PFAS, the traditional paradigm for developing health-based water guidance values (HBGVs) is inadequate due to their tendency to accumulate within the body and to transfer from mother to newborn via placental transfer and breastfeeding. In 2017, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) developed an Excel-based model to simulate daily serum PFAS concentrations over a lifetime of exposure to facilitate the derivation of HBGVs for bioaccumulative PFAS. Model results compare favorably to data on breastfed infants, who represent a susceptible and highly exposed population. Since 2017, new data have emerged that warranted a re-evaluation of key model parameters. Here, we present a revised and updated version of the 2017 model and assess the impact of the updates on the model results for perfluorooctanoate (PFOA). Updates to the model’s calculations and input parameters resulted in a 57% reduction in peak modeled PFOA serum concentrations in 1-year-old infants compared to the original model. However, the significantly lower epidemiologic-based reference serum concentration of 0.93 ng/mL (compared to the laboratory animal-based value of 130 ng/mL used in 2017) resulted in a decrease in the noncancer guidance value from 35 to 0.24 ng/L. Currently available serum PFOA data indicate that at drinking water concentrations at or below ~1 ng/L, drinking water would not be a major source of PFOA exposure compared to non-water sources.

Aim: There is a dearth of information on in vitro oral bioaccessibility, challenging the evaluation of the health risks arising from indoor dust exposure to the brominated flame retardants, tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD). Here, we estimate the human oral bioaccessibility of TBBPA and HBCDD in indoor dust by applying the standardized bioaccessibility test under fasting (UBM-like test) and fed (FOREhST test) conditions.

Methods:In vitro bioaccessibility of HBCDD and TBBPA of sixteen indoor dust samples was conducted under fasted and fed states. In the fed test, food components, including healthy and unhealthy food. The concentrations of HBCDD and TBBPA were analyzed using LC-MS/MS. Bioaccessibility was calculated from the ratio of the amount of HBCDD and TBBPA in a simulated gut solution to that in indoor dust. The average daily dose (EDD_{bioaccessibility}) was calculated from the estimated daily intake and percentage of bioaccessibility.

Results: The concentration of TBBPA and HBCDD in indoor dust ranged from 137 to 14,671 ng g^-1 and < 0.7 to 528 ng g^-1, respectively. A higher bioaccessible concentration was observed in the small intestine than in the stomach and mouth. The condition of the fed state with food containing fat showed greater bioaccessibility of TBBPA and HBCDD at 74.0% ± 9.5% and 62.2% ± 10.1%, respectively. In contrast, the fed state with lower fat food containing fiber presented the lowest bioaccessibility with a mean of 54.7% ± 10.7% for TBBPA and 53.7% ± 10.8% for HBCDD. Moreover, children are more exposed than adults, especially those who ingest indoor dust with fatty food.

Conclusion: The oral bioaccessibility of TBBPA and HBCDD in indoor dust was highest in the fed state with fatty food, followed by fasted and fed states with lower fat, higher fiber food. Similarly, the estimated daily dose (EDD_{bioaccessibility}) for children exceeded that for adults. Therefore, this study indicated that food consumption is a factor influencing the bioaccessibility of TBBPA and HBCDD present in indoor dust.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of human-made persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic compounds. People can be exposed to PFAS through many different pathways, including food, drinking water, and PFAS-containing consumer products. Infants are recognized as particularly susceptible to the harmful effects of PFAS while also being among the most highly exposed populations. Exposure to PFAS begins in utero via placental transfer and can continue after birth from environmental exposures and breastfeeding. PFAS-contaminated water, if used to mix infant formula, is an important potential exposure route for formula-fed infants because they consume more fluid on a per-body-weight basis than older individuals. However, data about potential PFAS exposures from powdered infant formula itself are lacking. To address this data gap, we analyzed 17 powdered infant formulas for 10 different PFAS. Only one type of PFAS, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), was detected in a single dairy-based formula at a reconstituted concentration of 8.9 ng/L. Using our recently updated toxicokinetic model, we estimated serum PFOS concentration curves over the first year of life for various exposure scenarios, including different fluid intake rates, formula reconstituted with uncontaminated and contaminated water, and with and without placental transfer. Our analytical results indicate the single PFOS detection in powdered infant formula is not a major source of PFOS relative to other sources, and our risk assessment comparing various formula-fed infant scenarios to the Minnesota Department of Health’s 2024 PFOS reference serum concentration (2.6 ng/mL) concludes that PFAS from powdered formula likely does not pose a significant risk to infants.