Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a complex group of man-made chemicals with high stability and mobility leading to ubiquitous environmental contamination and accumulation in the food chain. In human serum/plasma samples, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are the lead compounds. They are immunotoxic in experimental animals, and epidemiological studies provided evidence of a diminished production of vaccine antibodies in young children. However, information on children of the first year of age is missing but relevant, as they have a relatively high exposure if breastfed, and may have a higher susceptibility as their immune system is developing. In a cross-sectional study with 101 healthy 1-year-old children, internal levels of persistent organic pollutants and a broad panel of biological parameters were investigated at the end of the 1990s. Additional analysis of PFASs resulted in plasma levels (mean ± SD) of PFOA and PFOS of 3.8 ± 1.1 and 6.8 ± 3.4 µg/L, respectively, in the 21 formula-fed children, and of 16.8 ± 6.6 and 15.2 ± 6.9 µg/L in the 80 children exclusively breastfed for at least 4 months. The study revealed significant associations between levels of PFOA, but not of PFOS, and adjusted levels of vaccine antibodies against Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib, r = 0.32), tetanus (r = 0.25) and diphtheria (r = 0.23), with no observed adverse effect concentrations (NOAECs) determined by fitting a 'knee' function of 12.2, 16.9 and 16.2 µg/L, respectively. The effect size (means for PFOA quintiles Q1 vs. Q5) was quantified to be − 86, − 54 and − 53%, respectively. Furthermore, levels of PFOA were inversely associated with the interferon gamma (IFNɣ) production of ex-vivo lymphocytes after stimulation with tetanus and diphtheria toxoid, with an effect size of − 64 and − 59% (means Q1 vs. Q5), respectively. The study revealed no influence of PFOA and PFOS on infections during the first year of life and on levels of cholesterol. Our results confirmed the negative associations of PFAS levels and parameters of immune response observed in other epidemiological studies, with high consistency as well as comparable NOAECs and effects sizes for the three vaccine antibodies investigated, but for PFOA only. Due to reduction of background levels of PFASs during the last 20 years, children in Germany nowadays breastfed for a long duration are for the most part not expected to reach PFOA levels at the end of the breastfeeding period above the NOAECs determined.

Objective of this work was determination of processing contaminant known as 3-MCPD (3-chloropropa-ne-1,2-diol) in its free and bound form in breads with defined parameters of processing. Selected and analysed were 24 samples, which represented two sets of breads produced in bakeries equipped with a continual line. In all cases determinations were carried out for breadcrumb and crust separately. The first set of samples were wheat-rye breads produced chronologically in ten days in the bakery Michelská pekárna, slightly different in temperatures and times of baking. The second set contained 14 samples of wheat-rye breads with a content of rye flour less than 40% differing in the yeast type and acidity. These breads were produced in the bakery Kontinua. The fat content was determined in all samples by Soxhlet extraction. Free and bound 3-MCPD was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method. Concentration of free 3-MCPD in samples was at interval < 9-54.5 µg/kg. Concentration of bound 3-MCPD was at interval 1.56-23.60 mg/kg of fat (i.e. 5.7-84.9 µg/kg of sample).

No abstract

No abstract

A new predictive model for the estimation of agricultural operator exposure has been developed on the basis of new exposure data to improve the current agricultural operator exposure and risk assessment in the EU. The new operator exposure model represents current application techniques and practices in EU Member States (MS) and is applicable for national or zonal authorisation of plant protection products as well as for approval of active substances in plant protection products (PPP) supporting a stepwise risk assessment. 34 unpublished exposure studies conducted between 1994 and 2009 were evaluated for the new model. To ensure a very high quality of data the studies had to meet a set of quality criteria, e.g. GLP conformity or compliance with OECD guidance. Exposure data and supplementary information on the trials were used for a statistical analysis of exposure factors. The statistical analyses resulted in six validated models for typical outdoor scenarios of pesticide mixing/loading and application. As a major factor contributing to the exposure of operators, the amount of active substance used per day was identified. Other parameters such as formulation type, droplet size, presence of a cabin or density of the canopy were selected as factors for sub-scenarios. For two scenarios the corresponding datasets were too small to identify reliable exposure factors; instead the relevant percentiles of the exposure distribution were used. The whole project report on the development of the new model (including the underlying study data) and the corresponding exposure calculators will be published at the BfR website (http://www.bfr.bund.de) after confirmation of the model by EU MS.