Improvement of analytical methods for the assessment of the presence, effects, and health risks of emerging contaminants of interest (DAMCEC)

R&D Project for Knowledge Generation, Ministry of Science and Innovation - 2022-2024

PID2020-114587GB-I00

The DAMCEC project aims to develop analytical methods to determine contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in complex matrices such as environmental and biological samples, and to subsequently assess their impact on human health.

In terms of sampling, air is analysed to evaluate the influence of urban and industrial activities in the Tarragona area, home to a large petrochemical complex. Regarding water, several types of environmental waters are studied, including drinking water, surface water, and wastewater. The presence of CECs in surface waters is also used to assess their transfer to marine organisms. These organisms are monitored in the Tarragona and Ebro Delta regions, as well as in species obtained from local fishers that are representative of the most commonly consumed fish locally. Biological fluids from (former) drug users are also analysed to monitor the detoxification process.

The compounds being monitored include high-production-volume chemicals such as benzotriazoles, phthalates, poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), as well as drugs of abuse, new psychoactive substances (NPS) and their major metabolites.

Analytical method improvement focuses on sampling and sample preparation stages, followed by advanced techniques such as gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, and capillary electrophoresis (CE) coupled to tandem or high-resolution mass spectrometry. A key focus is placed on the use of passive samplers for air and water to obtain time-weighted average concentrations, essential for chronic risk assessment. Additionally, microsampling techniques such as dried spot matrices or volumetric absorptive microsampling are evaluated for biological fluid sampling.

In sample preparation, various mixed-mode ion-exchange sorbents are developed and functionalised with single, dual, or zwitterionic ion-exchange groups. These materials are integrated into solid-phase extraction (SPE) techniques to overcome retention issues with highly polar or ionic contaminants. They are also incorporated into passive samplers for water and in cleanup steps for marine organism samples. Electrophoretic and chromatographic preconcentration, such as in-line SPE-CE using magnetic particles, is explored for the enantioselective determination of drugs of abuse in biological fluids and wastewater. For air samples, semivolatile contaminants collected on particulate matter are analysed using thermal desorption to simplify the analytical methods.

The data obtained from the monitoring campaigns will be used to assess health risks for populations in the Tarragona area. Air sample data will be used to evaluate inhalation risks, while drinking water and marine organism data will serve to assess ingestion risks. In the case of marine organisms, cooking effects and bioaccessibility will be taken into account to provide more realistic exposure estimates.