title: Human health risk assessment of environmental exposure to organochlorine compounds in the Catalan stretch of the Ebro River, Spain.
abstract: In this study, the environmental impact and human health risks associated with exposure to organochlorine compounds (OCs) through soils and tap water in the Catalan stretch of the Ebro River, Spain, were investigated. The concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls, hexachlorocyclohexanes, as well as DDT and derivates, were determined. Relatively low levels of these pollutants were observed, with mean concentrations ranging between 0.51-315.8 lg/kg and 0.05-74.6 ng/L in soil and tap water, respectively. These values are similar to those found in a number of recent surveys over the world. In spite of the presence of a chlor-alkali plant located upstream the Ebro River, which could mean a potential source of pollution, the current levels of OCs should not mean significant additional health risks for the local population.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, IISPV, Rovira i Virgili University, San Lorenzo 21, Reus, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Núria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ferré-Huguet
authors.forename: Carme
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bosch
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lourencetti
authors.forename: Martí
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nadal
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schuhmacher
authors.forename: Joan O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Grimalt
authors.forename: José L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Domingo
mesh_terms: D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006801:Humans; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000633:toxicity*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013030:Spain; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical