The Dutch breeding population of the black-tailed godwit Limosa limosa limosa has declined substantially over recent decades; the role of contaminants is unknown. We analysed liver samples from 11 adult birds found dead on their breeding grounds in SW Friesland 2016-2020, six from extensive, herb-rich grasslands, five from intensive grasslands. We carried out LC and GC wide-scope target analysis of more than 2400 substances, LC suspect screening for more than 60,000 substances, target analysis for Cd, Hg, Ni and Pb, organo-phosphate flame retardants (OPFRs), dechlorane plus compounds and selected polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants (PBDEs), and bioassay for polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PBDDs/PDBFs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs). Residues of 29 emerging contaminants (ECs) were determined through wide-scope target analysis. Another 20 were tentatively identified through suspect screening. These contaminants include industrial chemicals (personal care products, surfactants, PAHs and others), plant protection products (PPPs) and pharmaceuticals and their transformation products. Total contaminant load detected by wide-scope target analysis ranged from c. 155 to c. 1400 ng g^-1 and was generally lower in birds from extensive grasslands. Heatmaps suggest that birds from intensive grasslands have a greater mix and higher residue concentrations of PPPs, while birds from extensive grasslands have a greater mix and higher residue concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). All four metals and two OPFRs were detected. All tested PBDEs were below the respective LODs. Bioassay revealed presence of PBDDs, PBDFs and dl-PCBs. Further research is required to elucidate potential health risks to godwits and contaminant sources.

The presence of 220 emerging contaminants belonging to different classes (artificial sweeteners, personal care products, coffee and tobacco-related compounds, and industrial chemicals) was investigated in hospital wastewater for the first time. Twenty samples were collected within two sampling periods from two points of a Greek General Hospital. Target compounds were analyzed using a solid-phase extraction protocol followed by UHPLC-ESI-QToF-MS analysis. Analytical results showed that 23 micropollutants were detected at least once in hospital wastewater samples in Period 1, while 27 compounds were detected at least once in Period 2. The coffee and tobacco-related compounds were the most frequently detected substances, followed by artificial sweeteners, parabens, and industrial chemicals. The highest mean concentrations were recorded for the artificial sweeteners cyclamic acid (377 μg/L) and saccharine (295 μg/L), followed by caffeine (193 μg/L), nicotine (162 μg/L), and the industrial chemical lauryl diethanolamide (153 μg/L). The group of artificial sweeteners contributed up to 55.1% (Point A/Period 1) to the total concentration of studied chemicals. The detection of high concentrations of artificial sweeteners in hospital effluents reveals that hospitals should be considered as important point-sources of these contaminants.

An extended suspect screening approach for the comprehensive chemical characterization of scrubber discharge waters from exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCSs), used to reduce atmospheric shipping emissions of sulphur oxides, was developed. The suspect screening was based on gas chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) and focused on the identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their alkylated derivatives (alkyl-PAHs), which are among the most frequent and potentially toxic organic contaminants detected in these matrices. Although alkyl-PAHs can be even more abundant than parent compounds, information regarding their occurrence in scrubber waters is scarce. For compound identification, an in-house compound database was built, with 26 suspect groups, including 25 parent PAHs and 23 alkyl-PAH homologues. With this approach, 7 PAHs and 12 clusters of alkyl-PAHs were tentatively identified, whose occurrence was finally confirmed by target analysis using GC coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Finally, a retrospective analysis was performed to identify other relevant (poly)cyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) of potential concern in scrubber waters. According to it, 18 suspect groups were tentatively identified, including biphenyls, dibenzofurans, dibenzothiophenes and oxygenated PAHs derivatives. All these compounds could be used as relevant markers of scrubber water contamination in heavy traffic marine areas and be considered as potential stressors when evaluating scrubber water toxicity.

A collaborative trial involving 16 participants from nine European countries was conducted within the NORMAN network in efforts to harmonise suspect and non-target screening of environmental contaminants in whole fish samples of bream (Abramis brama). Participants were provided with freeze-dried, homogenised fish samples from a contaminated and a reference site, extracts (spiked and non-spiked) and reference sample preparation protocols for liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography (GC) coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). Participants extracted fish samples using their in-house sample preparation method and/or the protocol provided. Participants correctly identified 9-69 % of spiked compounds using LC-HRMS and 20-60 % of spiked compounds using GC-HRMS. From the contaminated site, suspect screening with participants' own suspect lists led to putative identification of on average ∼145 and ∼20 unique features per participant using LC-HRMS and GC-HRMS, respectively, while non-target screening identified on average ∼42 and ∼56 unique features per participant using LC-HRMS and GC-HRMS, respectively. Within the same sub-group of sample preparation method, only a few features were identified by at least two participants in suspect screening (16 features using LC-HRMS, 0 features using GC-HRMS) and non-target screening (0 features using LC-HRMS, 2 features using GC-HRMS). The compounds identified had log octanol/water partition coefficient (K_OW) values from -9.9 to 16 and mass-to-charge ratios (m/z) of 68 to 761 (LC-HRMS and GC-HRMS). A significant linear trend was found between log K_OW and m/z for the GC-HRMS data. Overall, these findings indicate that differences in screening results are mainly due to the data analysis workflows used by different participants. Further work is needed to harmonise the results obtained when applying suspect and non-target screening approaches to environmental biota samples.