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Maddalon A, Pierzchalski A, Krause JL, Bauer M, Finckh S, Brack W, Zenclussen AC, Marinovich M, Corsini E, Krauss M, Herberth G. Impact of chemical mixtures from wastewater treatment plant effluents on human immune cell activation: An effect-based analysis. Sci Total Environ 2024; 906:167495. [PMID: 37804965 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Humans are exposed to many different chemicals on a daily basis, mostly as chemical mixtures, usually from food, consumer products and the environment. Wastewater treatment plant effluent contains mixtures of chemicals that have been discarded or excreted by humans and not removed by water treatment. These effluents contribute directly to water pollution, they are used in agriculture and may affect human health. The possible effect of such chemical mixtures on the immune system has not been characterized. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of extracts obtained from four European wastewater treatment plant effluents on human primary immune cell activation. METHODS Immune cells were exposed to the effluent extracts and modulation of cell activation was performed by multi-parameter flow cytometry. Messenger-RNA (mRNA) expression of genes related to immune system and hormone receptors was measured by RT-PCR. RESULTS The exposure of immune cells to these extracts, containing 339 detected chemicals, significantly reduced the activation of human lymphocytes, mainly affecting T helper and mucosal-associated invariant T cells. In addition, basophil activation was also altered upon mixture exposure. Concerning mRNA expression, we observed that 12 transcripts were down-regulated by at least one extract while 11 were up-regulated. Correlation analyses between the analyzed immune parameters and the concentration of chemicals in the WWTP extracts, highlighted the most immunomodulatory chemicals. DISCUSSION Our results suggest that the mixture of chemicals present in the effluents of wastewater treatment plants could be considered as immunosuppressive, due to their ability to interfere with the activation of immune cells, a process of utmost importance for the functionality of the immune system. The combined approach of immune effect-based analysis and chemical content analysis used in our study provides a useful tool for investigating the effect of environmental mixtures on the human immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ambra Maddalon
- Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences 'Rodolfo Paoletti', Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Balzaretti 9, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Arkadiusz Pierzchalski
- Department of Environmental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jannike Lea Krause
- Schwiete Laboratory for Microbiota and Inflammation, German Rheumatism Research (DRFZ), Centre-a Leibniz Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Mario Bauer
- Department of Environmental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Saskia Finckh
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Werner Brack
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Environmental Toxicology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
| | - Ana C Zenclussen
- Department of Environmental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany; Perinatal Immunology Research Group, Medical Faculty, Saxonian Incubator for Clinical Translation (SIKT), University of Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marina Marinovich
- Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences 'Rodolfo Paoletti', Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Balzaretti 9, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Emanuela Corsini
- Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences 'Rodolfo Paoletti', Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Balzaretti 9, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Martin Krauss
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gunda Herberth
- Department of Environmental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany.
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Finckh S, Carmona E, Borchardt D, Büttner O, Krauss M, Schulze T, Yang S, Brack W. Mapping chemical footprints of organic micropollutants in European streams. Environ Int 2024; 183:108371. [PMID: 38103345 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
There is increasing awareness that chemical pollution of freshwater systems with complex mixtures of chemicals from domestic sources, agriculture and industry may cause a substantial chemical footprint on water organisms, pushing aquatic ecosystems outside the safe operating space. The present study defines chemical footprints as the risk that chemicals or chemical mixtures will have adverse effects on a specific group of organisms. The aim is to characterise these chemical footprints in European streams based on a unique and uniform screening of more than 600 chemicals in 445 surface water samples, and to derive site- and compound-specific information for management prioritisation purposes. In total, 504 pesticides, biocides, pharmaceuticals and other compounds have been detected, including frequently occurring and site-specific compounds with concentrations up to 74 µg/L. Key finding is that three-quarter of the investigated sites in 22 European river basins exceed established thresholds for chemical footprints in freshwater, leading to expected acute or chronic impacts on aquatic organisms. The largest footprints were recorded on invertebrates, followed by algae and fish. More than 70 chemicals exceed thresholds of chronic impacts on invertebrates. For all organism groups, pesticides and biocides were the main drivers of chemical footprints, while mixture impacts were particularly relevant for invertebrates. No clear significant correlation was found between chemical footprints and the urban discharge fractions, suggesting that effluent-specific quality rather than the total load of treated wastewater in the aquatic environment and the contribution of diffuse sources, e.g. from agriculture, determine chemical footprints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saskia Finckh
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Environmental Toxicology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Eric Carmona
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Dietrich Borchardt
- Department of Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis and Management, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Olaf Büttner
- Department of Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis and Management, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Martin Krauss
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tobias Schulze
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Soohyun Yang
- Department of Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis and Management, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Werner Brack
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Environmental Toxicology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Meyns M, Dietz F, Weinhold CS, Züge H, Finckh S, Gerdts G. Multi-feature round silicon membrane filters enable fractionation and analysis of small micro- and nanoplastics with Raman spectroscopy and nano-FTIR. Anal Methods 2023; 15:606-617. [PMID: 36644945 DOI: 10.1039/d2ay01036d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Visualization of small micro-(20-1 μm) and nanoplastics (<1 μm) combined with chemical identification is still a challenge. To address this, we designed and manufactured easy-to-handle silicon membrane filters with a standard round filter geometry of 25 mm in diameter and a 10 mm diameter filtration area, holding hexagonal sections with periodically arranged pores of either 250 nm or 1 μm. Due to their flat and reflective surface, the filters serve as a versatile substrate for spectroscopic identification of particles. Optical markers at different levels of magnification, including the bare eye, allow for an easy transfer and repositioning of samples between instruments and methods as well as for a re-measurement of nanoscale particles. We demonstrate how nanoscale particles of weakly absorbing polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene are analyzed on these filters by nano-FTIR, a combination of atomic force microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. By sequential filtration we separated the fractions of small micro and nanoplastics from a degraded polylactic acid coffee cup lid and achieved subsequent identification by Raman and nano-FTIR spectroscopy. The applications presented in this study will enable future research regarding the identification of small polymer particles difficult to access by other methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Meyns
- Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Heligoland, Germany.
| | - Frank Dietz
- Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology ISIT, Itzehoe, Germany
| | | | - Heiko Züge
- Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology ISIT, Itzehoe, Germany
| | - Saskia Finckh
- Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Heligoland, Germany.
| | - Gunnar Gerdts
- Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Heligoland, Germany.
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Finckh S, Buchinger S, Escher BI, Hollert H, König M, Krauss M, Leekitratanapisan W, Schiwy S, Schlichting R, Shuliakevich A, Brack W. Endocrine disrupting chemicals entering European rivers: Occurrence and adverse mixture effects in treated wastewater. Environ Int 2022; 170:107608. [PMID: 36343551 PMCID: PMC9720157 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In the present study on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in treated wastewater, we used chemical and effect-based tools to analyse 56 wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents from 15 European countries. The main objectives were (i) to compare three different receptor-based estrogenicity assays (ERα-GeneBLAzer, p-YES, ERα-CALUX®), and (ii) to investigate a combined approach of chemical target analysis and receptor-based testing for estrogenicity, glucocorticogenic activity, androgenicity and progestagenic activity (ERα-, GR-, AR- and PR-GeneBLAzer assays, respectively) in treated wastewater. A total of 56 steroids and phenols were detected at concentrations ranging from 25 pg/L (estriol, E3) up to 2.4 μg/L (cortisone). WWTP effluents, which passed an advanced treatment via ozonation or via activated carbon, were found to be less contaminated, in terms of lower or no detection of steroids and phenols, as well as hormone receptor-mediated effects. This result was confirmed by the effect screening, including the three ERα-bioassays. In the GeneBLAzer assays, ERα-activity was detected in 82 %, and GR-activity in 73 % of the samples, while AR- and PR-activity were only measured in 14 % and 21 % of the samples, respectively. 17β-estradiol was confirmed as the estrogen dominating the observed estrogenic mixture effect and triamcinolone acetonide was the dominant driver of glucocorticogenic activity. The comparison of bioanalytical equivalent concentrations (BEQ) predicted from the detected concentrations and the relative effect potency (BEQchem) with measured BEQ (BEQbio) demonstrated good correlations of chemical target analysis and receptor-based testing results with deviations mostly within a factor of 10. Bioassay-specific effect-based trigger values (EBTs) from the literature, but also newly calculated EBTs based on previously proposed derivation options, were applied and allowed a preliminary assessment of the water quality of the tested WWTP effluent samples. Overall, this study demonstrates the high potential of linking chemical with effect-based analysis in water quality assessment with regard to EDC contamination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saskia Finckh
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Environmental Toxicology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Sebastian Buchinger
- Department of Biochemistry and Ecotoxicology, Federal Institute for Hydrology - BfG, Koblenz, Germany
| | - Beate I Escher
- Department of Cell Toxicology, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany; Environmental Toxicology, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Henner Hollert
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Environmental Toxicology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Maria König
- Department of Cell Toxicology, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Martin Krauss
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Warich Leekitratanapisan
- Environmental Toxicology Unit - GhEnToxLab, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Sabrina Schiwy
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Environmental Toxicology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Rita Schlichting
- Department of Cell Toxicology, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Aliaksandra Shuliakevich
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Environmental Toxicology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Werner Brack
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Environmental Toxicology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Pistocchi A, Alygizakis NA, Brack W, Boxall A, Cousins IT, Drewes JE, Finckh S, Gallé T, Launay MA, McLachlan MS, Petrovic M, Schulze T, Slobodnik J, Ternes T, Van Wezel A, Verlicchi P, Whalley C. European scale assessment of the potential of ozonation and activated carbon treatment to reduce micropollutant emissions with wastewater. Sci Total Environ 2022; 848:157124. [PMID: 35792263 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Revised: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Micropollutants (MPs) in wastewater pose a growing concern for their potential adverse effects on the receiving aquatic environment, and some countries have started requiring that wastewater treatment plants remove them to a certain extent. Broad spectrum advanced treatment processes, such as ozonation, activated carbon or their combination, are expected to yield a significant reduction in the toxicity of effluents. Here we quantify the reduction of effluent toxicity potentially achieved by implementing these advanced treatment solutions in a selection of European wastewater treatment plants. To this end, we refer to a list of "total pollution proxy substances" (TPPS) composed of 1337 chemicals commonly found in wastewater effluents according to a compilation of datasets of measured concentrations. We consider these substances as an approximation of the "chemical universe" impinging on the European wastewater system. We evaluate the fate of the TPPS in conventional and advanced treatment plants using a compilation of experimental physicochemical properties that describe their sorption, volatilization and biodegradation during activated sludge treatment, as well as known removal efficiency in ozonation and activated carbon treatment, while filling the gaps through in silico prediction models. We estimate that the discharge of micropollutants with wastewater effluents in the European Union has a cumulative MP toxicity to the environment equal to the discharge of untreated wastewater of ca. 160 million population equivalents (PE), i.e. about 30 % of the generated wastewater in the EU. If all plants above a capacity of 100,000 PE were equipped with advanced treatment, we show that this load would be reduced to about 95 million PE. In addition, implementing advanced treatment in wastewater plants above 10,000 PE discharging to water bodies with an average dilution ratio smaller than 10 would yield a widespread improvement in terms of exposure of freshwater ecosystems to micropollutants, almost halving the part of the stream network exposed to the highest toxic risks. Our analysis provides background for a cost-effectiveness appraisal of advanced treatment "at the end of the pipe", which could lead to optimized interventions. This should not be regarded as a stand-alone solution, but as a complement to policies for the control of emissions at the source for the most problematic MPs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Werner Brack
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Environmental Toxicology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
| | - Alistair Boxall
- Environment and Geography Department, University of York, Heslington York YO10 5NG, UK
| | - Ian T Cousins
- Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jörg E Drewes
- Urban Water Systems Engineering, Technical University of Munich, D-85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Saskia Finckh
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tom Gallé
- LIST, Environmental Research and Innovation Dept., 41 rue du Brill, L-4422 Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | - Marie A Launay
- Micropollutants Competence Centre Baden-Württemberg, Institute of Sanitary Engineering, Water Quality and Solid Waste Management, University of Stuttgart, Bandtaele 2, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Michael S McLachlan
- Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mira Petrovic
- Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Girona, and Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Tobias Schulze
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | | | | | - Annemarie Van Wezel
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Paola Verlicchi
- Department of Engineering, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
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Finckh S, Beckers LM, Busch W, Carmona E, Dulio V, Kramer L, Krauss M, Posthuma L, Schulze T, Slootweg J, Von der Ohe PC, Brack W. A risk based assessment approach for chemical mixtures from wastewater treatment plant effluents. Environ Int 2022; 164:107234. [PMID: 35483182 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In this study, 56 effluent samples from 52 European wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were investigated for the occurrence of 499 emerging chemicals (ECs) and their associated potential risks to the environment. The two main objectives were (i) to extend our knowledge on chemicals occurring in treated wastewater, and (ii) to identify and prioritize compounds of concern based on three different risk assessment approaches for the identification of consensus mixture risk drivers of concern. Approaches include (i) PNEC and EQS-based regulatory risk quotients (RQs), (ii) species sensitivity distribution (SSD)-based hazard units (HUs) and (iii) toxic units (TUs) for three biological quality elements (BQEs) algae, crustacean, and fish. For this purpose, solid-phase extracts were analysed with wide-scope chemical target screening via liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS), resulting in 366 detected compounds, with concentrations ranging from < 1 ng/L to > 100 µg/L. The detected chemicals were categorized with respect to critical information relevant for risk assessment and management prioritization including: (1) frequency of occurrence, (2) measured concentrations, (3) use groups, (4) persistence & bioaccumulation, and (5) modes of action. A comprehensive assessment using RQ, HU and TU indicated exceedance of risk thresholds for the majority of effluents with RQ being the most sensitive metric. In total, 299 out of the 366 compounds were identified as mixture risk contributors in one of the approaches, while 32 chemicals were established as consensus mixture risk contributors of high concern, including a high percentage (66%) of pesticides and biocides. For samples which have passed an advanced treatment using ozonation or activated carbon (AC), consistently much lower risks were estimated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saskia Finckh
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity - Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Liza-Marie Beckers
- Department of Aquatic Chemistry, BfG - Federal Institute of Hydrology, Koblenz, Germany
| | - Wibke Busch
- Department of Bioanalytical Ecotoxicology, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Eric Carmona
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Valeria Dulio
- Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques (INERIS), Verneuil-en-Halatte, France
| | - Lena Kramer
- Department of Bioanalytical Ecotoxicology, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Martin Krauss
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Leo Posthuma
- RIVM, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, the Netherlands; Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Tobias Schulze
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jaap Slootweg
- RIVM, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, the Netherlands
| | | | - Werner Brack
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity - Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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