exposure routes

One of the most commonly asked questions of redevelopment of contaminated sites is whether the site can be used for human habitation and whether it can be implemented into urban development. In order to address this question we need to assess the spatial degree of contamination and evaluate the risks involved. This risk is highly dependent on various aspects of land use, the type of people that are involved (for instance the age category), the time spent in the contaminated site, etc. At present, different areas of the NW-Europe region have different risk assessment procedures to assess human risks, however, little is know on the spatial variation that occur in contaminated sites. We would not like to re-invent the wheel, but rather integrate modules of these existing procedures in our spatial and visual risk systems. Obviously, as we cannot model every single aspect of risk for all different age groups, so we will focus on the risks for the most vulnerable age groups, i.e. small children. In this project we will integrate the existing legislative framework of the UK, Flanders (Belgium) and the Netherlands into a Decision support system. This will allow the end-user to evaluate the soil contamination in a European perspective. Our primary focus will be on heavy metals as they are the contaminant most frequently occurring in contaminated areas and because they have been extensively studied.

"Perfluorinated Organic Compounds in the Foodchain: a Risk Analysis to Support Government Policy"

The PERFOOD project aims to:

Abstract

This study investigates the importance of water and food as exposure sources of three model contaminants with different physico-chemical properties and modes of action to zebrafish. It is explored to what extend uptake via water or food results in different responses and toxic effects. The responses and effects are studied at molecular, cellular and organismal level using genomics, proteomics and physiological approaches. The project aims to provide a in depth understanding of how different substances interact with a model system taking into account key factors such as developmental stage, exposure route and exposure time. The results of the genomics and proteomics analysis should considerable enlarge our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of toxicity and defense.

This study investigates the importance of water and food as exposure sources of copper to zebrafish. (Danio rerio) It is explored to what extend uptake via water or food results in different responses and toxic effects.

Although cadmium toxicity is a well studied theme in the field of aquatic toxicology, still little is known concerning the molecular mechanisms of its toxic action. Moreover most laboratory studies only consider waterborne cadmium exposure, whereas dietary exposure can also contribute to the accumulation and effects of cadmium in fish. For a better understanding of the toxic responses leading to adverse effects there is an increasing need for more sensitive tools to determine early reactions on cadmium exposure and accumulation.