The Safety Assessment of Cosmetic Perfumes by Using In Chemico and In Vitro Methods in Combination with GC-MS/MS Analysis

Animal testing has been prohibited for the safety assessment of cosmetic ingredients or finished products. Thus, alternative non-animal methods, followed by confirmatory clinical studies on human volunteers, should be used as the sole legally acceptable approach within the EU. The safety assessment of cosmetic products requires the involvement of multiple scientific disciplines, including analytical chemistry and biomedicine, as well as in chemico, in vitro and in silico toxicology. Recent data suggest that fragrance components may exert multiple adverse biological effects, e.g. cytotoxicity, skin sensitisation, (photo)genotoxicity, mutagenicity, reprotoxicity and endocrine disruption. Therefore, a pilot study was conducted with selected samples of fragrance-based products, such as deodorant, eau de toilette and eau de parfum, with the aim of integrating results from a number of alternative non-animal methods suitable for the detection of the following toxicological endpoints: cytotoxicity (with 3T3 Balb/c fibroblasts); skin sensitisation potential (in chemico method, DPRA); skin sensitisation potential (LuSens in vitro method, based on human keratinocytes); genotoxicity potential (in vitro Comet assay with 3T3 Balb/c cells); and endocrine disruption (in vitro YES/YAS assay). The presence of twenty-four specific known allergens in the products was determined by using GC-MS/MS. The strategies for estimation of the NOAEL of a mixture of allergens, which were proposed by the Scientific Committee on Consumer Products in their 'Opinion on Tea tree oil' document and by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority in their 'Risk Profile of Tea tree oil' report, were used as models for the NOAEL estimation of the mixtures of allergens that were identified in the individual samples tested in this study.

Solar Water Disinfection to Produce Safe Drinking Water: A Review of Parameters, Enhancements, and Modelling Approaches to Make SODIS Faster and Safer

Solar water disinfection (SODIS) is one the cheapest and most suitable treatments to produce safe drinking water at the household level in resource-poor settings. This review introduces the main parameters that influence the SODIS process and how new enhancements and modelling approaches can overcome some of the current drawbacks that limit its widespread adoption. Increasing the container volume can decrease the recontamination risk caused by handling several 2 L bottles. Using container materials other than polyethylene terephthalate (PET) significantly increases the efficiency of inactivation of viruses and protozoa. In addition, an overestimation of the solar exposure time is usually recommended since the process success is often influenced by many factors beyond the control of the SODIS-user. The development of accurate kinetic models is crucial for ensuring the production of safe drinking water. This work attempts to review the relevant knowledge about the impact of the SODIS variables and the techniques used to develop kinetic models described in the literature. In addition to the type and concentration of pathogens in the untreated water, an ideal kinetic model should consider all critical factors affecting the efficiency of the process, such as intensity, spectral distribution of the solar radiation, container-wall transmission spectra, ageing of the SODIS reactor material, and chemical composition of the water, since the substances in the water can play a critical role as radiation attenuators and/or sensitisers triggering the inactivation process.

Exposure to additives or multigrain flour is associated with high risk of work-related allergic symptoms among bakers

OBJECTIVES

Wheat flour exposure in bakers can elicit respiratory and skin symptoms. Scarce data are available on the prevalence of such conditions in bakers. We investigated the prevalence of work-related rhinitis, asthma-like symptoms and dermatitis in bakers according to job task and type of allergens involved.

METHODS

Of the 229 traditional bakeries in Verona area who were invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey, 211 (92%) accepted; 727 employees in these bakeries answered a modified version of a questionnaire on job tasks; allergen exposure within the bakery; and work-related nasal, asthma-like and skin symptoms during 2010-2014. Determinants of work-related nasal, asthma-like or skin disorders were separately evaluated using different logistic models.

RESULTS

The prevalence of work-related nasal and asthma-like symptoms was, respectively, 15.1% and 4.2% in bakery shop assistants, increasing to 25.7% and 9.5% in bakers using only wheat flour, and further to 31.8% and 13.6% in bakers using flour and additives, and then to 34.1% and 18.2% in bakers using flour with additives and multigrain (p<0.001). The risk of work-related asthma-like symptoms was more than doubled in bakers using additives without or with multigrain than in shop assistants (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.0 to 5.5 and OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.1 to 10.8, respectively). Making bread with additives alone or with multigrain significantly increased the risk of work-related nasal symptoms in shop assistants, while the risk of skin symptoms was not significantly affected.

CONCLUSIONS

Bakers using additives alone or with multigrain are at a high risk of experiencing nasal and asthma-like symptoms.

Identification of late asthmatic reactions following specific inhalation challenge

Specific inhalation challenge (SIC) is the reference standard for the diagnosis of occupational asthma. Current guidelines for identifying late asthmatic reactions are not evidence based.

OBJECTIVES

To identify the fall in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV₁) required following SIC to exceed the 95% CI for control days, factors which influence this and to show how this can be applied in routine practice using a statistical method based on the pooled SD for FEV₁ from three control days.

METHODS

Fifty consecutive workers being investigated for occupational asthma were asked to self-record FEV₁ hourly for 2 days before admission for SIC. These 2 days were added to the in-hospital control day to calculate the pooled SD and 95% CI.

RESULTS

45/50 kept adequate measurements. The pooled 95% CI was 385 mL (SD 126), or 14.2% (SD 6.2) of the baseline FEV₁, but was unrelated to the baseline FEV₁ (r=0.06, p=0.68), or gender, atopy, smoking, non-specific reactivity or treatment before or during SIC. Thirteen workers had a late asthmatic reaction with ≥2 consecutive FEV₁ measurements below the 95% CI for pooled control days, 4/13 had <15% and 9/13 >15% late fall from baseline. The four workers with ≥2 values below the 95% CI all had independent evidence of occupational asthma.

CONCLUSION

The pooled SD method for defining late asthmatic reactions has scientific validity, accounts for interpatient spirometric variability and diurnal variation and can identify clinically relevant late asthmatic reactions from smaller exposures. For baseline FEV₁ <2.5 L, a 15% fall is within the 95% CI.