Air pollution includes particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which eventually reach the placenta, triggering adverse perinatal outcomes through long-term exposure. Lately, air pollution has increased over the Metropolitan Area of Medellin-Colombia (MAMC), but its effects on pregnancy are still unknown. In this research, a real-time analysis of total airborne PAHs was made using a photoelectric sensor for residential places influenced by the industrial and traffic sources affecting the southern and northern MAMC during the second peak of the bimodal tendency for PM2.5 emissions in this region. Additionally, individual PAHs were analyzed by GC/MS coupled with pressurized hot water extraction methodology. The data were applied using an inhalation intake model to assess pregnancy exposure. The average concentration of PAHs in the southern MAMC was three times higher than in the northern MAMC, where the missed abortion rate has been 1.4 times higher according to the database. Previous research indicates that PAHs act as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) during pregnancy and that even heavy congeners could reside in umbilical cord blood. Finally, the annual series of missed abortion rates in the MAMC exhibited a significant correlation with the annual average levels of PM2.5, which were associated with PAHs through correlation analysis (r² = 0.69, p < 0.01). While this significant correlation does not imply causality, our results suggest an important connection between both variables, opening a gap for a deeper understanding of how regions with high PAH convergence influence the missed abortion rates in MAMC.

The Buenavista landfill is located east of the city of Medellín, but it has a slope steeper than 30% and is less than 600 m away from the Piedras River, possibly influencing the quality of the drinking water in the city. Many complex residues are disposed of in this landfill, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) such as levonorgestrel (LNG), which may reach water bodies via runoff and leaching. We assessed the levels of LNG in the effluent of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor from the Buenavista landfill by uHPLC–DAD, as well as the endocrine disruptor effect of LNG on placental cell lines (BeWo) and human sperm cells. Additionally, the potential leaching of LNG was assayed under laboratory conditions using soil layers that were sampled from the Buenavista landfill. LNG was detected at levels of 315 μg·L⁻¹ in the effluents of the UASB reactor. Thus, the UASB reactor is not an efficient treatment method for the removal of recalcitrant pollutants. Additionally, we found that a layer of soil used as a cover material may adsorb more than 90% of LNG pollutants, but small amounts may still be leached, which means that a cover material is not a strong enough barrier to fully prevent the leaching of LNG. Finally, our results show that the leachate fraction decreased the levels of β-human chorionic gonadotropin, but not sperm motility or viability. Thus, leached LNG could trigger reproduction disorders, but further studies should be carried out to investigate its potential effects in more detail.

Maternal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during pregnancy has been associated with adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes, including miscarriage, low birth weight, intrauterine growth restriction, and spontaneous abortion. Exposure occurs through multiple pathways, including dietary intake and inhalation, which ultimately determine the final body burden. PAHs may reach relevant levels in the blood, representing the initial step in their internal distribution to the placenta, umbilical cord, and breast milk, thereby compromising maternal–fetal health. In this exploratory study, maternal blood samples were collected from pregnant women residing in different regions of Antioquia, Colombia. Serum was isolated from whole blood, subsequently extracted using freezing-assisted liquid–liquid extraction, purified by solid-phase extraction, and analyzed by GC–MS. Method performance showed PAH recoveries between 60 and 120%, limits of detection (LOD) ranging from 0.5 to 3.3 ng·mL⁻¹, and limits of quantification (LOQ) ranging from 1.4 to 9.9 ng·mL⁻¹. Airborne PAH concentrations were measured using a photoelectric aerosol sensor, and higher levels were observed in municipalities intersected by major highways, indicating a strong vehicular contribution, with an average concentration of 72.6 ± 39.2 ng·m⁻³. Low and medium-molecular weight PAHs were detected in serum samples at an average concentration of 43.8 ± 8.8 ng·g⁻¹ of lipid (mean of ∑ individual congeners). In contrast, a high-molecular-weight PAH, benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), was detected in one participant. Pyrene (PYR) and fluoranthene (FLU) were the predominant congeners, suggesting combustion-related sources, primarily vehicular emissions. Serum PAH levels showed a correlation with the frequency of consumption of canned fish and meat, but not with short-term airborne PAH measurements. These exploratory findings suggest that dietary intake is a primary pathway of bioaccumulation during acute exposure and plays a key role in determining the parental PAHs burden during pregnancy in polluted environments. However, additional data on parent PAHs and their metabolites are needed to provide a more comprehensive assessment of cumulative exposure arising from dietary sources and chronic inhalation of airborne PAHs.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can enter water bodies and bioaccumulate in fish, leading to biomagnification; therefore, their monitoring is necessary. Passive sampling is easy to handle and shows potential for this purpose. However, studies in vivo are scarce, and kinetic parameters governing analyte partitioning between tissue and samplers remain poorly characterized. In this study, the silicone rubber membranes (SRMs) were exposed to fish fillet from common carp (Cyprinus carpio) to determine bioaccumulation parameters based on dissipation modelling using performance reference compounds (PRCs). The SRM was implanted in vivo in fish, and the dissipated PRCs were measured and applied to a mono-compartmental model. The results in fish fillet showed a pseudo-first kinetic order, and the plateau was attained at a time > 30 h. However, the equilibrium may not be ensured because of the low lipid fraction (fl) in fish (4.5%), which could lead to a local saturation of the tissue in contact with the SRM. The ratio between elimination and uptake constants (K_e/K_u) showed faster PAHs–SRM sorption than PAHs-fish tissue sorption (200 times); thus, fish with low fl will lead to faster SRM sorption. By contrast, in fish with higher fl, the long-term exposures will be necessary. The percentage of released deuterated PAHs from SRM during in vivo fish exposure was 1.6 times higher than that observed in the fish fillet, indicating an active clearance process. Therefore, during implantation, the rate of clearance and the fl should be considered to ensure detectable levels for applying the integrative equation based on dissipation modelling.

Air pollution includes particle-bound Polycyclic Aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which eventually reach the placenta triggering adverse perinatal outcomes by long-term exposure. Late-ly, air pollution has increased over the Metropolitan Area of Medellin-Colombia (MAMC) but its effects on pregnancy are still unknown. In this research, we made a real-time analysis of airborne total PAHs using a photoelectric sensor for residential places influenced by industrial and traffic sources contrasting southern and northern MAMC during the second peak of the bimodal ten-dency for PM2.5 emissions in this region. Additionally, we analyzed individual PAHs by GC/MS coupled to pressurized hot water extraction methodology. Data was applied in an Inhalation In-take Model to assess pregnancy exposure. The average concentration of PAHs over southern MAMC was three times higher than over northern MAMC where the abortion rate has been 1.4 times higher presented in database. Previous research found that PAHs act as an Endo-crine-Disrupting Chemical (EDC) during pregnancy and even heavy congeners could reside in umbilical cord blood. Finally, the annual series of abortion rates in the MAMC showed a signifi-cant correlation with the annual average levels of PM2.5 which are associate to PAHs. Although this significant correlation does not imply causality, our results suggest an important connection between both variables. This latter finding opens a gap in deeply understanding how regions with high PAHs-convergence influences abortion rates in MAMC.

Exposure to airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during pregnancy has been associated with adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes, including miscarriage, low birth weight, intrauterine growth restriction, and spontaneous abortion. These pollutants can reach the placenta, umbilical-cord, and breast milk, compromising maternal–fetal health, with blood concentrations representing the initial step in internal distribution. In this study, maternal blood samples were collected from pregnant women residing in different regions of Antioquia-Colombia. PAHs in blood serum were extracted using freezing-assisted liquid– liquid extraction, purified by solid-phase extraction, and analyzed by GC–MS. Method performance showed recoveries between 60 and 120%, limits of detection ranging from 0.47 to 3.27 ng·mL−1, and limits of quantification ranging from 1.42 to 9.87 ng·mL−1. PAHs levels in the air were analyzed using a photoelectric detector. Higher airborne PAHs levels were observed in municipalities intersected by major highways, indicating a strong vehicular contribution, with an average concentration of 72.6 ± 39.2 ng·m−3. Low and medium-molecular weight PAHs were detected in serum samples at an average concentration of 162.25 ± 31.8 ng·mL−1. In contrast, a high-molecular-weight PAH, benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), was detected in one participant. Pyrene (PYR) and fluoranthene (FLU) were the predominant congeners, suggesting combustion-related sources, primarily vehicular emissions. Correlation analysis indicated that serum PAH levels were positively associated with length of residence, whereas no positive correlation was observed with short- term airborne PAH measurements. These findings suggest that cumulative residential exposure, rather than contemporaneous ambient concentrations, plays a key role in determining internal PAH burden during pregnancy in polluted environments