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Zahn D, Arp HPH, Fenner K, Georgi A, Hafner J, Hale SE, Hollender J, Letzel T, Schymanski EL, Sigmund G, Reemtsma T. Should Transformation Products Change the Way We Manage Chemicals? ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:7710-7718. [PMID: 38656189 PMCID: PMC11080041 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c00125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
When chemical pollutants enter the environment, they can undergo diverse transformation processes, forming a wide range of transformation products (TPs), some of them benign and others more harmful than their precursors. To date, the majority of TPs remain largely unrecognized and unregulated, particularly as TPs are generally not part of routine chemical risk or hazard assessment. Since many TPs formed from oxidative processes are more polar than their precursors, they may be especially relevant in the context of persistent, mobile, and toxic (PMT) and very persistent and very mobile (vPvM) substances, which are two new hazard classes that have recently been established on a European level. We highlight herein that as a result, TPs deserve more attention in research, chemicals regulation, and chemicals management. This perspective summarizes the main challenges preventing a better integration of TPs in these areas: (1) the lack of reliable high-throughput TP identification methods, (2) uncertainties in TP prediction, (3) inadequately considered TP formation during (advanced) water treatment, and (4) insufficient integration and harmonization of TPs in most regulatory frameworks. A way forward to tackle these challenges and integrate TPs into chemical management is proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Zahn
- Helmholtz
Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Hans Peter H. Arp
- Norwegian
Geotechnical Institute (NGI), P.O. Box 3930, Ullevål Stadion, 0806 Oslo, Norway
- Department
of Chemistry, Norwegian University of Science
and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Kathrin Fenner
- Swiss
Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600 Dübendorf, Zürich, Switzerland
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Anett Georgi
- Helmholtz
Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jasmin Hafner
- Swiss
Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600 Dübendorf, Zürich, Switzerland
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Sarah E. Hale
- TZW: DVGW
Water Technology Center, Karlsruher Str. 84, 76139 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Juliane Hollender
- Swiss
Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600 Dübendorf, Zürich, Switzerland
- ETH
Zurich, Institute of Biogeochemistry and
Pollutant Dynamics, Zürich 8092, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Letzel
- AFIN-TS
GmbH (Analytisches Forschungsinstitut für Non-Target Screening), Am Mittleren Moos 48, 86167 Augsburg, Germany
| | - Emma L. Schymanski
- Luxembourg
Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), University
of Luxembourg, 6 avenue
du Swing, L-4367 Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | - Gabriel Sigmund
- Environmental
Technology, Wageningen University &
Research, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Thorsten Reemtsma
- Helmholtz
Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
- University of Leipzig, Linnéstrasse 3, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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Pelkonen O, Abass K, Parra Morte JM, Panzarea M, Testai E, Rudaz S, Louisse J, Gundert-Remy U, Wolterink G, Jean-Lou CM D, Coecke S, Bernasconi C. Metabolites in the regulatory risk assessment of pesticides in the EU. FRONTIERS IN TOXICOLOGY 2023; 5:1304885. [PMID: 38188093 PMCID: PMC10770266 DOI: 10.3389/ftox.2023.1304885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
A large majority of chemicals is converted into metabolites through xenobiotic-metabolising enzymes. Metabolites may present a spectrum of characteristics varying from similar to vastly different compared with the parent compound in terms of both toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics. In the pesticide arena, the role of metabolism and metabolites is increasingly recognised as a significant factor particularly for the design and interpretation of mammalian toxicological studies and in the toxicity assessment of pesticide/metabolite-associated issues for hazard characterization and risk assessment purposes, including the role of metabolites as parts in various residues in ecotoxicological adversities. This is of particular relevance to pesticide metabolites that are unique to humans in comparison with metabolites found in in vitro or in vivo animal studies, but also to disproportionate metabolites (quantitative differences) between humans and mammalian species. Presence of unique or disproportionate metabolites may underlie potential toxicological concerns. This review aims to present the current state-of-the-art of comparative metabolism and metabolites in pesticide research for hazard and risk assessment, including One Health perspectives, and future research needs based on the experiences gained at the European Food Safety Authority.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olavi Pelkonen
- Research Unit of Biomedicine, Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Khaled Abass
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
- Sharjah Institute for Medical Research (SIMR), University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
- Research Unit of Biomedicine and Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | | | | | - Emanuela Testai
- Mechanisms, Biomarkers and Models Unit, Environment and Health Department, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Serge Rudaz
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, CMU, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jochem Louisse
- EFSA, European Food Safety Authority, Parma, Italy
- Wageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR), Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Ursula Gundert-Remy
- Institute of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gerrit Wolterink
- Centre for Prevention, Lifestyle and Health, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, Netherlands
| | | | - Sandra Coecke
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
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