Amberlite XAD-2 resin extracts of river and drinking water sampled in each month during the period from January to December 2008 from the Northwest district of Chiba Prefecture were investigated to characterize and determine their cholinesterase (ChE)-inhibiting potentials and pesticide levels. The XAD-2 extracts from river water collected during the mid-spring to mid-summer periods exhibited strong inhibition effect to horse serum ChE, reflecting the application of organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides to paddy fields. Gas chromatographicmass spectrometric (GC/MS) determinations of the XAD-2 extracts of the river water collected during spring to summer periods also showed to be comparatively high levels of agricultural chemicals, such as herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, as compared with those detected in the drinking water. Although a considerable reduction in the ChE-inhibiting potentials and in the GC/MS detectable compound levels was observed for the river water samples, it is particularly interest that ChE-inhibiting potentials still remained in the drinking water.

This investigation was undertaken to determine the effect of the bromide concentration on the formation of polyhalogenated ethylphenoxyethylphenols (PXEPEPs), including predioxins, during the chlorination of 4-ethylphenol in solution. An aqueous solution of 4-ethylphenol was treated with hypochlorite in the presence of various concentrations of bromide ions. The changes in the compositions of the halogenated products in hexane extracts of the chlorinated solution were analyzed by gas chromatograph (GC) and a flame ionization detector (FID) and mass spectrometry (MS). 4-ethylphenol was shown to from several halogenated compounds, including PXEPEPs, as by-products of chlorination. The number of substituted chlorine or bromine atoms ranged from 0 to 4. The formation of bromine-substituted PXEPEPs was observed in the presence of 0.1 equivalents of bromide ions per mole of 4-ethylphenol. The number of substituted bromine atoms increased with the amount of co-existing bromide ions. In the presence of more than one equivalent of bromide ions per mole of 4-ethylphenol, the number of bromine atoms substituted in the PXEPEPs increased, whereas the number of chlorine atoms substituted in the PXEPEPs decreased. GC-MS total ion chromatograms confirmed the formation of polybrominated and polychlorinated predioxins during the aqueous chlorination of 4-ethylphenol in the presence of bromide ions. However, at ten equivalents of bromide ions per mole of 4-ethylphenol, no predioxins were observed in the hexane extract obtained from the aqueous 4-ethylphenol solution after being treated with chlorine. The formation of PXEPEPs during the chlorination of 4-ethylphenol in the presence of bromide ions was also influenced by the reaction pH.

-Amberlite XAD-2 resin extracts of river and drinking water sampled from the Northwest district of Chiba Prefecture in each month during the period from January to December 2008 were investigated to characterize and determine their mutagenic potentials and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) levels. The extracts from the river water were shown to be mutagenic in Salmonella typhimurium TA98 (a flameshift mutagen) without S9 mix, with higher mutagenic responses in summer and early fall seasons. While the drinking water extracts exhibited weak mutagenicity in both the TA98 and TA100 strains (a base-pair substitution mutagen) without S9 mix, with high mutagenic responses in fall and early winter seasons. GC/MS determinations of the water concentrates showed some seasonal scatter in PAH levels in river water. In contrast, comparatively high concentrations of PAHs were observed for drinking water samples collected during warmer seasons. Statistical studies revealed that there is a lower correlation between the levels of flameshift mutagenicity and the concentrations of PAH in the river water concentrations, but a higher correlation between them in the drinking water samples.

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-A reproducible method for monitoring traces of cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitors in acetonitrile extracts from fruits and vegetables is described. The method is based on hypochlorite oxidation and ChE inhibition assay. Four common representative samples of produce were selected from a supermarket to investigate the effect of different matrices on pesticides recoveries and assay precision. The samples were extracted with acetonitrile to prepare them for ChE inhibition assays: if necessary, clean-up was performed using dispersive solid-phase extraction for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/ MS) analyses. Chlorine was tested as an oxidising reagent for the conversion of thiophosphorus pesticides (P=S compounds) into their P=O analogues, which have high ChE-inhibiting activity. Chlorine consumption of individual acetonitrile extracts was determined and was strongly dependent on the individual types of fruits and vegetables. After treating the acetonitrile extracts with an excess hypochlorite at 25°C for 15 min, the ChE-inhibiting activities and detection limits for each chlorine-treated pesticide solution were determined. Matrix composition did not interfere significantly with the determination of the pesticides. Enhanced anti-ChE activities leading to low detection limits (ppb levels) were observed for the chlorinetreated extracts that were spiked with chlorpyrifos, diazinon, fenitrothion, and isoxathion. This combination of oxidative derivatisation and ChE inhibition assays was used successfully to monitor and perform semi-quantitative determination of ChE inhibitors in apple, tomato, cucumber, and strawberry samples.