scholarly journals Prolonged exposure to arsenic in UK private water supplies: toenail, hair and drinking water concentrations

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 562-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. S. Middleton ◽  
M. J. Watts ◽  
E. M. Hamilton ◽  
T. Fletcher ◽  
G. S. Leonardi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Chronic Exposure ◽  
Prolonged Exposure ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Adverse Health

Chronic exposure to arsenic (As) in drinking water is an established cause of cancer and other adverse health effects.

Microcystin class of toxins: health effects and safety of drinking water supplies

1994 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. W. Lambert ◽  
C. F. B. Holmes ◽  
S. E. Hrudey
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Tumor Promoter ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Blue Green Algae ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Human Illness ◽  
Safety Of Drinking Water

The microcystins are produced by several species of common planktonic cyanobacteria found in surface waters, but their biological function remains unknown. The microcystins have been shown to be extremely potent hepatotoxins in a variety of experimental animals and they are lethal at low doses. Microcystin-LR, one of over 40 microcystin analogues, has also been shown to be a potent tumor promoter. The toxic effects of the microcystins have been attributed to the inhibition of protein phosphatases. This inhibition causes collapse of the cytoskeleton and interferes with a general signal transduction mechanism in cells. The presence of toxic cyanobacteria in surface water has been documented in all parts of the world. The microcystins have been related to a few incidents of human illness and several incidents of animal poisoning in Canada, United States, Australia, Europe, and Africa. Therefore, exposure to the microcystins is a potentially significant health risk and toxin removal from drinking water is becoming a concern worldwide. Conventional water treatment processes (coagulation/sedimentation, chlorination) have generally proven ineffective at removing microcystin toxins from drinking water. Activated carbon, ozone, and free chlorine have been effective in removing microcystins below detectable concentrations in laboratory experiments. Considering these factors, the occurrence of microcystins in drinking water supplies deserves serious attention to insure that adverse health effects are prevented.Key words: microcystins, hepatotoxins, cyanobacteria, blue-green algae, water treatment, health risk.

The epidemiology and possible mechanisms of disinfection by-products in drinking water

2009 ◽  
Vol 367 (1904) ◽  
pp. 4043-4076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen ◽  
James Grellier ◽  
Rachel Smith ◽  
Nina Iszatt ◽  
James Bennett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Semen Quality ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Epidemiological Evidence ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Adverse Health ◽  
Small Sample Sizes ◽  
By Products

This paper summarizes the epidemiological evidence for adverse health effects associated with disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water and describes the potential mechanism of action. There appears to be good epidemiological evidence for a relationship between exposure to DBPs, as measured by trihalomethanes (THMs), in drinking water and bladder cancer, but the evidence for other cancers including colorectal cancer is inconclusive and inconsistent. There appears to be some evidence for an association between exposure to DBPs, specifically THMs, and little for gestational age/intrauterine growth retardation and, to a lesser extent, pre-term delivery, but evidence for relationships with other outcomes such as low birth weight, stillbirth, congenital anomalies and semen quality is inconclusive and inconsistent. Major limitations in exposure assessment, small sample sizes and potential biases may account for the inconclusive and inconsistent results in epidemiological studies. Moreover, most studies have focused on total THMs as the exposure metric, whereas other DBPs appear to be more toxic than the THMs, albeit generally occurring at lower levels in the water. The mechanisms through which DBPs may cause adverse health effects including cancer and adverse reproductive effects have not been well investigated. Several mechanisms have been suggested, including genotoxicity, oxidative stress, disruption of folate metabolism, disruption of the synthesis and/or secretion of placental syncytiotrophoblast-derived chorionic gonadotropin and lowering of testosterone levels, but further work is required in this area.

scholarly journals Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial examining the effect of blood and plasma donation on serum perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) levels in firefighters

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. e044833
Author(s):  
Gabriel Silver ◽  
Yordanka Krastev ◽  
Miriam K Forbes ◽  
Brenton Hamdorf ◽  
Barry Lewis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Whole Blood ◽  
Sulfonic Acid ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Plasma Donation ◽  
Adverse Health ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Randomised Controlled

IntroductionPerfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a diverse group of compounds that have been used in hundreds of industrial applications and consumer products including aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) for many years. Multiple national and international health and environmental agencies have accepted that PFAS exposures are associated with numerous adverse health effects. Australian firefighters have been shown to have elevated levels of PFAS in their blood, specifically perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), due to the historical use of AFFF. While PFAS concentrations decline over time once the source of exposure has been removed, their potential adverse health effects are such that it would be prudent to develop an intervention to lower levels at a faster rate than occurs via natural elimination rates.Methods and analysisThis is a randomised controlled trial of current and former Australian firefighters in the Metropolitan Fire Brigade/Fire Rescue Victoria, and contractors, with previous occupational exposure to PFAS and baseline elevated PFOS levels. The study is investigating whether whole blood donation every 12 weeks or plasma donation every 6 weeks will significantly reduce PFAS levels, compared with a control group. We have used covariate-adaptive randomisation to balance participants’ sex and blood PFAS levels between the three groups and would consider a 25% reduction in serum PFOS and PFHxS levels to be potentially clinically significant after 12 months of whole blood or plasma donation. A secondary analysis of health biomarkers is being made of changes between screening and week 52 in all three groups.Ethics and disseminationThis trial has been approved by Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee (reference number: 3855), final protocol V.2 dated 12 June 2019. Study results will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences.Trial registration numberAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12619000204145).

Disrupting the Flow of Perception-Action through Design

2021 ◽  
pp. 105971232198909
Author(s):  
Harry Heft
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Sense Of Place ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Good Design ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Adverse Health ◽  
Directed Action ◽  
Perception Action

It is usually a mark of good design when technologies and tools that mediate goal-directed action are such that the user’s attentional focus is maintained on the intended ends of action rather than on the technologies and tools themselves. When the mediators become the focus, the continuity of goal-directed action is disrupted, and the flow of action can be re-directed. What then is the purpose of the projects designed by the RAAAF studio, as described by Rietveld, which seem to be intended to do both? Disruption of the continuity of goal-directed perception-action may prompt reflection about the circumstances at work, and in so doing provoke a transformation in habitual patterns of action and of thought. The project “The End of Sitting” is intended to remediate the adverse health effects of standard chair-dominated offices through an unconventional office landscape that prompts intermittent postural readjustments, boosting the levels of activity common in such settings. The project “Bunker 599” demonstrates that seemingly unremarkable features of the landscape can sometimes conceal aspects of culture’s history, and that design can function to draw attention to a hidden and even vanishing history. Design can enrich an individual’s sense of place in a stream of cultural history.

scholarly journals Impact of Carcinogenic Chromium on the Cellular Response to Proteotoxic Stress

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (19) ◽  
pp. 4901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo M. R. Ferreira ◽  
Teresa Cunha-Oliveira ◽  
Margarida C. Sobral ◽  
Patrícia L. Abreu ◽  
Maria Carmen Alpoim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Response ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Cellular Response ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Proteotoxic Stress ◽  
Adverse Health ◽  
The Impact

Worldwide, several million workers are employed in the various chromium (Cr) industries. These workers may suffer from a variety of adverse health effects produced by dusts, mists and fumes containing Cr in the hexavalent oxidation state, Cr(VI). Of major importance, occupational exposure to Cr(VI) compounds has been firmly associated with the development of lung cancer. Counterintuitively, Cr(VI) is mostly unreactive towards most biomolecules, including nucleic acids. However, its intracellular reduction produces several species that react extensively with biomolecules. The diversity and chemical versatility of these species add great complexity to the study of the molecular mechanisms underlying Cr(VI) toxicity and carcinogenicity. As a consequence, these mechanisms are still poorly understood, in spite of intensive research efforts. Here, we discuss the impact of Cr(VI) on the stress response—an intricate cellular system against proteotoxic stress which is increasingly viewed as playing a critical role in carcinogenesis. This discussion is preceded by information regarding applications, chemical properties and adverse health effects of Cr(VI). A summary of our current understanding of cancer initiation, promotion and progression is also provided, followed by a brief description of the stress response and its links to cancer and by an overview of potential molecular mechanisms of Cr(VI) carcinogenicity.

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