Ecological Risk Assessment
Ted W. Simon in Environmental Risk Assessment, 2019
Much work has been done to understand differences in bioaccumulation between animal receptors at various trophic levels. The most direct and ecologically relevant approach to assessing bioaccumulation is to measure concentrations of contaminants in the tissue of organisms collected or exposed in the field.5 Sampling of benthic organisms, which provides a much clearer understanding of the bioavailability of contaminants and extent of contamination, is often limited by the workload constraints of obtaining sufficient tissue biomass for analytical measurements.8 Caging organisms, such as freshwater mussels, in the field is one approach to address this issue. Though providing a balance between experimental control and ecological relevance not offered with field collections or laboratory studies, in situ studies are still time-consuming, labor-intensive, and occasionally prone to vandalism, predation, or destruction.7,8
Determination
David Woolley, Adam Woolley in Practical Toxicology, 2017
The plight of marine mammals highlights the processes and effects of bioaccumulation and the difficulties of studying its effects. Marine mammalian toxicology is a discipline that has to cope with a number of challenges that make laboratory-based toxicology in rodents look easy. The subject species range in weight from a few kilos to tens of tons, are widely dispersed, are often rare, and are found in the largest continuous ecosystem on the planet. This area of toxicology has emerged from its early beginnings of simple analysis of tissues for contaminants into an era where detailed investigation of the effects of the contaminants is being addressed in an increasingly multidisciplinary manner. However, increasing fragmentation into disciplines may mean that it becomes more difficult to achieve a holistic view of marine toxicology (as it does with any other area of toxicology). This is true of marine mammal toxicology per se and of the marine ecosystem as a whole.
Water and foodborne contamination *
Jamie Bartram, Rachel Baum, Peter A. Coclanis, David M. Gute, David Kay, Stéphanie McFadyen, Katherine Pond, William Robertson, Michael J. Rouse in Routledge Handbook of Water and Health, 2015
Water scarcity and food security are also inextricably linked. In regions with limited available clean water, poor quality water may be used for irrigation. In Marrakech City, Morocco, for example, wastewater is used to irrigate crops (Sedki et al., 2003). Once crops are contaminated, meat, diary, and fish products become contaminated by bioaccumulation following consumption of contaminated feed. In Marrakech, this manifests as high levels of cadmium in cattle fed alfalfa and corn leaves irrigated using the wastewater (Sedki et al., 2003). The linkages between water scarcity and food security are not limited only to foodborne contamination; other impacts (e.g., food scarcity) are outside the scope of this chapter (Fereres et al., 2011).
Development of reliable quantitative structure–toxicity relationship models for toxicity prediction of benzene derivatives using semiempirical descriptors
Published in Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods, 2023
Ayushi Singh, Sunil Kumar, Archana Kapoor, Parvin Kumar, Ashwani Kumar
Invertebrates and algae are the important testing endpoint for chemical safety assessment and in silico predictive methods are required to fill the data gap of toxicity toward toxicity endpoints (EC–European Commission Regulation 1999; ECHA. 2008; Valerio 2012). Algae form one of the most significant parts of the food chain of the aquatic environment and are responsible for providing basic nutrition to aquatic organisms. Bioaccumulation of chemicals by algae leads to biomagnification which can cause toxicity to other living organisms including human beings (Seth and Roy 2020). Therefore, it is important to develop predictive models for toxicity toward algae like Scenedesmus obliquus. Its rapid reproduction ability and high sensitivity to pollutants make it an attractive model organism for environmental toxicity determination (Cai et al. 2008). Likewise, Ciliated protozoa, e.g. Tetrahymena pyriformis possess many characteristics which are desirable in a test organism for assessment of environmental risk, e.g. it occurs at the first tropic level and shows early indications of toxicity. It is significantly involved in energy and matter transfer and can be cultured easily. These models can be used to study physiological and metabolic processes for several generations which is very important from a toxicology point of view (Bogaerts et al. 2001).
Nanotechnology-based formulations toward the improved topical delivery of anti-acne active ingredients
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, 2021
Ana Cláudia Paiva-Santos, Filipa Mascarenhas-Melo, Sara Cabanas Coimbra, Kiran D. Pawar, Diana Peixoto, Raquel Chá-Chá, André RTS Araujo, Célia Cabral, Selmo Pinto, Francisco Veiga
Also about environmental toxicity, it seems that metal-based NPs deserve the most attention. ZnO and TiO2NPs, widely used in sunscreens, lead to the production of H2O2, a phytoplankton stress inducer, under photoexcitation. One study indicated that TiO2NPs appear to be considered the largest oxidizing agent on beaches, due to the quantities that are released daily into the seawater [105]. ZnONPs also appear to have an obvious environmental toxic effect, even at low concentrations [106]. The bioaccumulation effect and long-term studies are of utmost importance to clarify the impact of these NPs on the biosphere. Besides, a study concluded that AgNPs can also have harmful effects on blood circulation, which can even lead to death; but, on the other hand, they demonstrated that the accumulation of AuNPs did not cause any undesirable effects [107]. In fact, given the extreme importance of environmental safety issues, the toxicity of nanotechnology-based formulations for topical applications, particularly including the acne targeted ones, is an area that requires stronger attention from researchers.
Bioaccumulation and health risk assessment of toxic metals in red algae in Sudanese Red Sea coast
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2021
Abuagla Y.A. Ali, Abubakr M. Idris, Mohmaed A.H. Eltayeb, Adel A. El-Zahhar, I.M. Ashraf
The dendrogram obtained from CA of metal concentrations is depicted in Figure 2. Two major clusters were obtained. One was represented by Jania and Hypnea, which were both collected from Klanieb area, whereas the other cluster was represented by the rest of samples. This result indicates that metal bioaccumulation in algae species from Klanieb area was different from those in other areas. On the other side, the dendrogram demonstrates that the nearest neighbors, namely numbers 15, 4, 1, and 9, besides 11 and 13, represent Jania and Hypnea. This result suggests that those species had similar bioaccumulation trend. This finding could also be strengthened by the same species from Haloot area. Notably, samples of Jania from Flamingo, Haidob, and Dama-Dama areas were also nearer neighbors in terms of metal bioaccumulation by red algae than other objects. This result suggests similar behavior of metal bioaccumulation.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Bioconcentration
- Biomagnification
- Biotransformation
- Excretion
- Pesticide
- Poisoning
- Toxin
- Catabolism
- Biological Half-Life
- Measured Environmental Concentration