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Mixtures of Chemical Pollutants at European Legislation Safety Concentrations: How Safe Are They?

Carvalho, Raquel N. ; Arukwe, Augustine ; Ait-Aissa, Selim ; Bado-Nilles, Anne ; Balzamo, Stefania ; Baun, Anders ; Belkin, Shimshon ; Blaha, Ludek ; Brion, François ; Conti, Daniela ; Creusot, Nicolas ; Essig, Yona ; Ferrero, Valentina E. V. ; Flander-Putrle, Vesna ; Fürhacker, Maria ; Grillari-Voglauer, Regina ; Hogstrand, Christer ; Jonáš, Adam ; Kharlyngdoh, JoubertB ; Loos, Robert ; Lundebye, Anne-Katrine ; Modig, Carina ; Olsson, Per-Erik ; Pillai, Smitha ; Polak, Natasa ; Potalivo, Monica ; Sanchez, Wilfried ; Schifferli, Andrea ; Schirmer, Kristin ; Sforzini, Susanna ; Stürzenbaum, Stephen R. ; Søfteland, Liv ; Turk, Valentina ; Viarengo, Aldo ; Werner, Inge ; Yagur-Kroll, Sharon ; Zounková, Radka ; Lettieri, Teresa

In: Toxicological Sciences, 2014, vol. 141, no. 1, p. 218-233

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    Title
    • Mixtures of Chemical Pollutants at European Legislation Safety Concentrations: How Safe Are They?
    Author
    • Carvalho, Raquel N.. European Commission—DG Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Via E. Fermi 2749, 21027 Ispra (VA), Italy
    • Arukwe, Augustine. Norwegian University of Science & Technology, Trondheim, Norway
    • Ait-Aissa, Selim. National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks, Verneuil en Halatte, France
    • Bado-Nilles, Anne. National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks, Verneuil en Halatte, France
    • Balzamo, Stefania. Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Rome, Italy
    • Baun, Anders. Department of Environmental Engineering,Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
    • Belkin, Shimshon. Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
    • Blaha, Ludek. Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, RECETOX, Brno, Czech Republic
    • Brion, François. National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks, Verneuil en Halatte, France
    • Conti, Daniela. Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Rome, Italy
    • Creusot, Nicolas. National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks, Verneuil en Halatte, France
    • Essig, Yona. Analytical and Environmental Sciences Division, King's College London, UK
    • Ferrero, Valentina E. V.. European Commission—DG Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Via E. Fermi 2749, 21027 Ispra (VA), Italy
    • Flander-Putrle, Vesna. Marine Biology Station Piran, National Institute of Biology, Slovenia
    • Fürhacker, Maria. University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
    • Grillari-Voglauer, Regina. University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
    • Hogstrand, Christer. Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Division, King's College London, UK
    • Jonáš, Adam. Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, RECETOX, Brno, Czech Republic
    • Kharlyngdoh, JoubertB. Life Science Center, Örebro University, Sweden
    • Loos, Robert. European Commission—DG Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Via E. Fermi 2749, 21027 Ispra (VA), Italy
    • Lundebye, Anne-Katrine. National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research, Bergen, Norway
    • Modig, Carina. Life Science Center, Örebro University, Sweden
    • Olsson, Per-Erik. Life Science Center, Örebro University, Sweden
    • Pillai, Smitha. University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
    • Polak, Natasa. Analytical and Environmental Sciences Division, King's College London, UK
    • Potalivo, Monica. Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Rome, Italy
    • Sanchez, Wilfried. National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks, Verneuil en Halatte, France
    • Schifferli, Andrea. Swiss Centre for Applied Ecotoxicology, Eawag-EPFL, Dübendorf, Switzerland
    • Schirmer, Kristin. Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
    • Sforzini, Susanna. Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale Vercelli Novara Alessandria, Alessandria, Italy
    • Stürzenbaum, Stephen R.. Analytical and Environmental Sciences Division, King's College London, UK
    • Søfteland, Liv. National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research, Bergen, Norway
    • Turk, Valentina. Marine Biology Station Piran, National Institute of Biology, Slovenia
    • Viarengo, Aldo. Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale Vercelli Novara Alessandria, Alessandria, Italy
    • Werner, Inge. Swiss Centre for Applied Ecotoxicology, Eawag-EPFL, Dübendorf, Switzerland
    • Yagur-Kroll, Sharon. Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
    • Zounková, Radka. Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, RECETOX, Brno, Czech Republic
    • Lettieri, Teresa. European Commission—DG Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Via E. Fermi 2749, 21027 Ispra (VA), Italy
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    Language
    • English
    Published in
    • Toxicological Sciences, 2014, vol. 141, no. 1, p. 218-233. Oxford University Press
    Other Version
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:294770
    Summary
    The risk posed by complex chemical mixtures in the environment to wildlife and humans is increasingly debated, but has been rarely tested under environmentally relevant scenarios. To address this issue, two mixtures of 14 or 19 substances of concern (pesticides, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, a surfactant, and a plasticizer), each present at its safety limit concentration imposed by the European legislation, were prepared and tested for their toxic effects. The effects of the mixtures were assessed in 35 bioassays, based on 11 organisms representing different trophic levels. A consortium of 16 laboratories was involved in performing the bioassays. The mixtures elicited quantifiable toxic effects on some of the test systems employed, including i) changes in marine microbial composition, ii) microalgae toxicity, iii) immobilization in the crustacean Daphnia magna, iv) fish embryo toxicity, v) impaired frog embryo development, and vi) increased expression on oxidative stress-linked reporter genes. Estrogenic activity close to regulatory safety limit concentrations was uncovered by receptor-binding assays. The results highlight the need of precautionary actions on the assessment of chemical mixtures even in cases where individual toxicants are present at seemingly harmless concentrations