Dataset Information

Microcystins in water and in microalgae: Do microcystins as microalgae contaminants warrant the current public alarm?

ABSTRACT: Microcystins have been the subject of increasingly alarming popular and scientific articles, which have taken as their unquestionable foundation the provisional Guideline of 1??g/L established by the WHO Panel on microcystins levels in water, and mechanically translated by the Oregon government as 1??g/g of Klamath Aphanizomenon flos aquae microalgae. This article underlines the significant limitations and ultimately scientific untenability of the WHO Guideline on microcystins in water, for being based on testing methodologies which may lead to a significant overestimation of the toxicity of microcystins. I propose criteria for the realization of new experimental studies on the toxicity of microcystins, based on the essential understanding that drinking water is contaminated by whole cyanobacterial microalgae rather than purified microcystins, while it is important to differentiate between water and cyanobacterial supplements. It is indeed a mistake to automatically apply standards that are proper for water to cyanobacterial supplements, as they have different concentrations of the antioxidant substances that inactivate or significantly reduce the toxicity of microcystins, a fact that also require that each cyanobacterial supplement be tested individually and through realistic testing methodologies.

SUBMITTER: Scoglio S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6086208 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Microcystins in water and in microalgae: Do microcystins as microalgae contaminants warrant the current public alarm?

Scoglio Stefano S

Toxicology reports 20180803

Microcystins have been the subject of increasingly alarming popular and scientific articles, which have taken as their unquestionable foundation the provisional Guideline of 1 μg/L established by the WHO Panel on microcystins levels in water, and mechanically translated by the Oregon government as 1 μg/g of Klamath Aphanizomenon flos aquae microalgae. This article underlines the significant limitations and ultimately scientific untenability of the WHO Guideline on microcystins in water, for bein ...[more]

PMID: 30105209

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Project description:Environmental pollutants have been associated with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy including gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and eclampsia, though few have focused on drinking water contamination. Water pollution can be an important source of exposures that may contribute to adverse pregnancy outcomes.MethodsWe linked water quality data on 13 contaminants and two violations from the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool to birth records from vital statistics and hospital discharge records (2007-2012) to examine the relationship between drinking water contamination and hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. We examined contaminants in single- and multipollutant models. Additionally, we examined if the relationship between water contamination and hypertensive disorders in pregnancy differed by neighborhood poverty, individual socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity.ResultsArsenic, nitrate, trihalomethane, hexavalent chromium, and uranium were detected in a majority of water systems. Increased risk of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy was modestly associated with exposure to cadmium, lead, trihalomethane, and hexavalent chromium in drinking water after adjusting for covariates in single pollutant models with odds ratios ranging from 1.01 to 1.08. In multipollutant models, cadmium was consistent, lead and trihalomethane were stronger, and additional contaminants were associated with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy including trichloroethylene, 1,2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane, nitrate, and tetrachloroethylene. Other contaminants either showed null results or modest inverse associations. The relationship between water contaminants and hypertensive disorders in pregnancy did not differ by neighborhood poverty.ConclusionsWe found increased risk of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy associated with exposure to several contaminants in drinking water in California. Results for cadmium, lead, trihalomethane, and hexavalent chromium were robust in multipollutant models.

Dataset Information

Microcystins in water and in microalgae: Do microcystins as microalgae contaminants warrant the current public alarm?

Publications

Microcystins in water and in microalgae: Do microcystins as microalgae contaminants warrant the current public alarm?

Similar Datasets

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