This research aims to determine five steroids and four non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in milk and egg samples collected from rural Roma communities in Transylvania, Romania. Target compounds were extracted from selected matrices by protein precipitation, followed by extract purification by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic droplets. The extraction procedure was optimized using a 2⁴ full factorial experimental design. Good enrichment factors (87.64–122.07 milk; 26.97–38.72 eggs), extraction recovery (74.49–103.76% milk; 75.64–108.60% eggs), and clean-up of the sample were obtained. The method detection limits were 0.74–1.77 µg/L for milk and 2.39–6.02 µg/kg for eggs, while the method quantification limits were 2.29–5.46 µg/L for milk and 7.38–18.65 µg/kg for eggs. The steroid concentration in milk samples was <MDL up to 4.30 µg/L, decreasing from 17α-ethinyl estradiol, 17β-estradiol, and estrone to estriol. The NSAID concentration was <MDL up to 3.41 µg/L, decreasing from ibuprofen, diclofenac, and ketoprofen to naproxen. The steroid concentration in the egg samples was <MDL to 2.79 µg/kg, with all steroids detected, while the concentration of NSAIDs was <MDL to 2.28 µg/kg, with only ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and naproxen detected. The developed protocol was successfully applied to the analysis of target compounds in real milk and egg samples.

This paper aims to assess the pollution by determining the sources of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in 22 rural Roma communities in Transylvania in order to assess the human health risk associated with this exposure. For this, 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 20 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and 12 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in 22 soil samples collected from selected areas by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry for PAHs and with electron capture detector for all halogenated compounds. Target compounds were isolated from soil by ultrasound-assisted extraction. We found that POP concentrations in soil ranged from 4.86 to 451.85 ng/g dw for PAHs, from 25.62 to 139.30 ng/g dw for OCPs, and from 0.22 to 49.12 ng/g dw for PCBs. The diagnostic ratios Ʃ_LMW/Ʃ_HMW, ANT/(ANT + PHE), and FLT/(FLT + PYR) strongly suggest a pyrogenic model of PAHs, such as biomass, coal, and petroleum combustion, while the isomer ratios Ʃ_DDT/Ʃ_HCH, α-HCH/γ-HCH and (DDE + DDD)/Ʃ_DDT suggest that OCP residues originate from their ancient uses. Non-carcinogenic (HI) and carcinogenic (CR) risks of these organic compounds present in the soil through non-dietary pathways were in the very low-risk category (ranging from 10⁻⁸ to 10⁻⁴), indicating an absence of these risks from the investigated POPs in the studied area.

This research aims to assess the content of some ions and trace elements in water sources in 24 rural Roma communities in Transylvania in order to assess the human health risk associated with exposure to such elements and ions. To this end, eight ions (F⁻, Cl⁻, Br⁻, NO₂⁻, NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻, PO₄³⁻, NH₄⁺) and ten trace elements (Cr, Ni, As, Pb, Cd, Mn, Cu, Zn, Fe, and Hg) were determined in 71 water samples by ion chromatography coupled with a conductivity detector for ions and atomic absorption spectrophotometry for all trace elements. General parameters were also determined. Non-conformity (as number of samples), according to the EU Drinking Water Directive, was observed as follows: pH (7), EC (7), hardness (1), oxidizability (15), Cl⁻ (4), NO₃⁻ (30), SO₄²⁻ (6), Fe (16), Mn (14), As (3), and Ni (1 sample). The incidence of ions was Cl⁻ (71), SO₄²⁻ (70), F⁻ (67), NO₃⁻ (65), NH₄⁺ (21), Br⁻ (10), PO₄³⁻, and NO₂⁻ (1 sample) and for trace elements, Mn (59), Fe (50), As (38), Ni (32), Cu (29), Zn (28), Cd (12), Cr (11), and Pb (3 samples). Hg was not detected. Non-carcinogenic (HI) values exceeded one for As in 13 Roma communities, with higher values for children than for adults. For NO₃⁻, the HI values were >1 in 12 for adults and 14 communities for children. The carcinogenic risk (CR) for As through ingestion ranged from 0.795 to 3.50 × 10⁻⁴ for adults and from 1.215 to 5.30 × 10⁻⁴ for children. CR by dermal contact was in the range of ×10⁻⁶ both for adults and children.

Beta-blockers are pharmaceuticals used to treat cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, angina pectoris, and arrhythmia. Due to high consumption, they are continuously released into the environment, being detected in many aqueous matrices. The aim of this research is to test the effectiveness of two green liquid-phase microextraction procedures, such as dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) and solidification of floating organic droplet microextraction (SFOME) for the selective extraction of eight beta-blockers (atenolol, nadolol, pindolol, acebutolol, metoprolol, bisoprolol, propranolol, and betaxolol) from aqueous matrices for their analysis by gas chromatography (GC) or liquid chromatography (LC). The influence of extraction parameters, such as the type and volume of extraction and disperser solvents, and ionic strength were studied. The developed extraction procedures provide a good enrichment factor for six compounds (61.22–243.97), good extraction recovery (53.04–92.1%), and good sample cleaning for both extraction procedures. Good limits of detection (0.13 to 0.69 µg/mL for GC and 0.07 to 0.15 µg/mL for HPLC) and limits of quantification (0.39 to 2.10 µg/mL for GC and 0.20 to 0.45 µg/mL for LC) were obtained. The developed procedures were successfully applied to the analysis of selected beta-blockers in wastewater samples, proving their applicability to the real samples.

Pollution with heavy metals has raised substantial concerns worldwide due to their toxicity and persistence in environmental factors. The current research aims to provide a detailed understanding of the level of contamination in the Cerna River basin with the following heavy metals: copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), arsenic (As) and zinc (Zn). The collection of surface water was performed in two sampling campaings, the first one in October 2023, and second one in August 2024, resulting in ten sampling points from the Cerna River and its main tributaries, from Hunedoara County. The selected sampling points are the following: P1 - Cerna River at the confluence with Mureș River, P2 - Cerna River in Sântuhalm, P3 - Teliuc River in Teliucul Inferior, P4 - Toplița River in Toplița, P5 - Cristur River in Cristur, P6 - Peștiș River in Peștișul Mare, P7 - Petac River in Peștișul Mic, P8 - Zlaști River in Zlaști, P9- Govâjdia River in Govâjdie, P10 - Vălarița River in Vălari village. The analysis of heavy metal content from the surface water samples was performed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in a graphite furnace. The results on the two sampling campaign recorded the following concentrations (in μg/L): first sampling campaign carried out in October 2023, recorded the following concentrations: between 0.55-16.20 μg/L for Cr; between 1.05-2.68 μg/L for As; between 0.04-2.44 μg/L for Zn; between 0.74-24.90 μg/L for Cu; between 0.03-2.44 μg/L for Cd; between 0.12-5.30 μg/L for Pb and between 0.51-5.04 μg/L for Ni, respectively. Second campaign carried out in August 2024 recorded values between 0.50-9.54 μg/L for Cr; between 0.03-1.49 μg/L for As; between 0.03-1.00 μg/L for Zn, between 0.02-3.57 μg/L for Ni; between 0.02-1.93 μg/L for Cd; between 0.82-25.50 for Cu and between 0.14-8.71 μg/L for Pb, respectively. Considering the maximum allowed concentrations imposed by the current legislation, the heavy metals analysed in this study, namely Zn, Cr, and As, fall within the imposed values, while Cu, Cd, Pb, and Ni exceed the maximum allowed concentration in both sampling campaigns.

Most persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were made for specific purposes due to certain characteristic and properties. They can cause various diseases and are problematic for the environment due to their high persistence and toxicity. This study attests the presence of three classes of POPs namely polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the upper urban soils of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Soil samples were collected from 10 sampling points areas with heavy traffic. For determination of the compounds, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and with electron capture detector was used. The obtained results indicate a low level of pollution, the concentrations ranging between 8.83–184.92 ng/g for PAHs, 5.36–112.35 ng/g for PCBs, and 25.96–334.83 ng/g for OCPs. To identify the pollution emission sources, different PAHs and OCPs diagnostic ratios have been applied.