Exposure to air pollution is a well-known health risk. For instance, volatile and very volatile organic compounds (VOCs and VVOCs) are known to cause respiratory, haematologic or immune diseases, and even cancer. Based on the Luxembourgish indoor pollution surveillance program, we performed an exploratory analysis for the period 2014–2019, in order (1) to evaluate the prevalence of VOCs and VVOCs in households, and (2) to estimate the risks of lifelong exposure to selected VOCs on the health of the adult population. The database included 715 indoor air samples from 159 different households. Observed VOC and VVOC levels were similar to those in neighbouring countries. Our health impact assessment identified some health risks associated with the observed concentrations in Luxembourg. Furthermore, this study shows the major public health importance of having a national indoor pollution surveillance system in place. Highlights: (1) This study provides an overview of the domestic indoor pollution in Luxembourg. (2) (V)VOCs levels in Luxembourg were similar to those in neighbouring countries. (3) The results clearly show the importance of having a surveillance system in place.

Wheat safety is a major concern for consumers worldwide. We assessed pesticides, mycotoxins and trace metals in 96 wheat flours marketed in France according to conventional/organic farming systems, supply chains and particle size. Pesticides were detected in 26% of samples, including permethrin EFSA violation in three conventional flours. We detected at least one mycotoxin in 76% of flours, and ochratoxin A MRL violation in three samples from organic farming. Pesticides were more frequent in conventional farming and short supply chain products, whereas mycotoxins were at higher concentration in organic than conventional flours. Trace metals were at higher concentrations in organic farming and less refined flours, with one non-compliance for cadmium. Multivariate analysis identified farming type as main driver of variability. More than 7.5% of samples failed to comply with at least one EFSA threshold, pointing out issues for pesticide use, storage time, land pollution, and regulation controls and harmonization worldwide.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a well-known cytostatic drug, which is often used in cancer treatments. Yet, it is also a very dangerous compound for people who are occupationally exposed to it for a long time, such as pharmacy employees, nurses and cleaning staff. We aimed to improve and implement a LC-MS/MS method for 5-FU quantification on surface contamination samples collected with swabs in a pharmacy department and outpatient nursing station of a university hospital. To improve the existing methods to quantify 5-FU, we compared a LC-MS/MS method using the frequently applied electrospray ionization source (ESI) with a UniSpray ionization source (USI). To determine the contamination of 5-FU in a pharmacy department preparing 5-FU infusion bags, which are then given to patients in the outpatient nursing stations, we collected multiple surface swabs of the laminar flow cabinets and frequently touched objects, before the preparation and administration of 5-FU and afterwards. Furthermore, we sampled the protective gloves and the bare hands of employees of the pharmacy department, involved in the preparation of the infusion bags. Using the USI source, we were able to reach the lowest limit of quantification (LOQ). With this technique, we were able to detect 5-FU contamination on the laminar flow cabinets and frequently used objects in the pharmacy department and the outpatient nursing station in the very low ng/cm² range. This contamination was mostly higher after preparation or administration than before. While we also found 5-FU on the protective gloves, we almost found no 5-FU on the skin of the pharmacy technicians preparing the 5-FU infusion bags. In conclusion, our method was able to detect very low concentrations of 5-FU contamination, but the contamination we found is very unlikely to result in any issues for the personnel working in these areas.

Levels of glyphosate and their metabolite AMPA were measured in urine of farmers and their spouses that lived in intensively farmed area in Morocco. The levels were used as proxies to determine the exposure of these target population to herbicides. Determinants of exposure to glyphosate were also assessed. Urine was collected from 104 farmers, 50 spouses and 50 people from the general adult population and information from sociodemographic characteristics and occupational exposure was collected from questionnaires administrated to farmers and spouses. The detection frequency was 67% for glyphosate and 62% for AMPA among farmers, and 56% for glyphosate and 48% for AMPA among spouses, with the mean concentration of 1.22 μg L⁻¹ and 0.85 μg L⁻¹ among farmers, and 0.58 μg L⁻¹ and 0.50 μg L⁻¹ among spouses, respectively. Nevertheless, mean values of glyphosate and AMPA for general population were below the reported quantification limits. Multiple regression analysis showed that smoking status, applying glyphosate in the last 7 days, and glove use are the most important contribution to urinary levels of glyphosate and AMPA among farmers, and proximity of home to spraying area, and herbicides drift enters house are the main predictors of urinary glyphosate and AMPA exposure among spouses. The GMs of estimated daily intake were 1.26 and 1.39 µg/kg BW/day for glyphosate and AMPA among farmers, and 0.56 and 0.96 µg/kg BW/day for glyphosate and AMPA among spouses, respectively. This study provides further evidence on factors associated with glyphosate and AMPA exposure, especially in developing countries.

Pharmaceutical as well as illicit drugs are massively consumed worldwide and many studies have established that their release, respectively the release of their metabolites, into the environment may have considerable negative effects on the wildlife and general ecosystems functioning. This study deals with the detection and the determination of contamination levels of some commonly used pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs in surface water and in the two freshwater invertebrates Gammarus pulex and Asellus aquaticus collected in Luxembourg. A method, based on liquid chromatography coupled to a quadrupole time-of flight mass spectrometer (LC-QToF-MS), was developed to investigate eight compounds (alprazolam, bisoprolol, carbamazepine, citalopram, lidocaine, O-desmethyltramadol, MDMA and benzoylecgonine, the major cocaine metabolite). Except for alprazolam all compounds were detected at least once in the surface water. Three of these compounds were detected in biota samples with concentrations ranging from < LOQ to 6.3 ng/g of dry weight. The bioaccumulation (BAF) factors were calculated for two compounds. The results draw attention to the importance of monitoring drugs in freshwater biota to better assess the effects of drugs on non-target organisms.