The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency, or Tukes (Finnish: Turvallisuus- ja kemikaalivirasto, previously Turvatekniikan keskus, Swedish: Säkerhets- och kemikalieverket) is an agency within the Ministry of Employment and the Economy of Finland. Its task is to monitor and enforce safety and regulations compliance in technology, chemicals and hazardous materials, workplace safety and consumer and product safety. It is the Member State Competent Authority (MSCA) for the European Union REACH, CLP, BPD and SEVESO III regulations in Finland. However, food, medications and medical safety are governed by different agencies (Evira, Fimea and Valvira, respectively).
Neonicotinoids have been detected in farmland-associated birds and exposure to these insecticides has been linked to adverse effects. Even though neonicotinoids are mobile and persistent and have been detected in surface waters and aquatic invertebrates, there is a considerable lack of knowledge on their occurrence in waterbirds. Here we investigated the occurrence of seven neonicotinoids and some of their transformation products (imidacloprid, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam, acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, nitenpyram, 6-chloronicotinic acid, hydroxy-imidacloprid, imidacloprid-urea, imidacloprid-olefin, thiamethoxam-urea, thiacloprid-amide, acetamiprid-acetate, and acetamiprid-desmethyl) in blood plasma of 51 incubating female common goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula). We collected samples from five different regions from southern to northern Finland encompassing rural and urban settings in coastal and inland areas. Surprisingly, none of the targeted neonicotinoids was found above the limit of detection in any of the samples. As neonicotinoid concentrations in wild birds can be very low, a likely reason for the nil results is that the LODs were too high; this and other possible reasons for the lack of detection of neonicotinoids in the goldeneyes are discussed. Our results suggest that neonicotinoid exposure in their breeding areas is currently not of major concern to female goldeneyes in Finland. Even though this study did not find any immediate danger of neonicotinoids to goldeneyes, further studies including surface water, aquatic invertebrates, and other bird species could elucidate potential indirect food chain effects.
Euroopan komission järjestämä työpaja kestävästä kasvinsuojelusta järjestettiin Alankomaissa huhtikuussa. Ohjelmaan sisältyi mielenkiintoisia vierailuja koekentillä ja useita esityksiä kasvinsuojeluaineiden käytön vähentämiseen liittyvistä projekteista ympäri Eurooppaa. Koekentillä korostui viljelykierron ja ennustemallien merkitys kestävässä kasvinsuojelussa.
Worldwide reports over the last few decades have shown that the amount of natural organic matter (NOM) in surface water is continuously increasing, which has an adverse effect on drinking water purification. For many practical and hygienic reasons, the presence of NOM in drinking water is undesirable. Various technologies have been proposed for NOM removal with varying degrees of success. The properties and amount of NOM, however, can significantly affect the process efficiency. To improve and optimize these processes, it is essential to characterize and quantify NOM at various points during purification and treatment. It is also important to be able to understand and predict the reactivity of NOM or its fractions at different stages of the process. Methods used in the characterization of NOM include resin adsorption, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The NOM in water has been quantified with parameters including ultraviolet and visible, total organic carbon, and specific UV-absorbance. More comprehensive analytical methods for determining NOM structures have been developed recently: liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS), multidimensional NMR techniques, and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS). This chapter focuses on the methods used for the characterization and quantification of NOM in relation to drinking water treatment.
Background Alpha-chloralose (AC) is a compound known to be toxic to various animal species and humans. In 2018 and 2019 an increase in suspected cases of AC poisoning in cats related to the use of AC as a rodenticide was reported to national veterinary and chemical authorities in Finland, Norway and Sweden by veterinarians working in clinical practices in respective country. The aims of this study were to prospectively investigate AC poisoning in cats, including possible secondary poisoning by consuming poisoned mice, and to study metabolism and excretion of AC in cats through analysis of feline urine. Methods Data on signalment, history and clinical findings were prospectively collected in Finland, Norway and Sweden from July 2020 until March of 2021 using a questionnaire which the attending veterinarian completed and submitted together with a serum sample collected from suspected feline cases of AC-poisoning. The diagnosis was confirmed by quantification of AC in serum samples. Content of AC was studied in four feline urine samples, including screening for AC metabolites by UHPLC-HRMS/MS. Bait intake and amount of AC consumed by mice was observed in wild mice during an extermination of a rodent infestation. Results In total, 59 of 70 collected questionnaires and accompanying serum samples were included, with 127 to 70 100 ng/mL AC detected in the serum. Several tentative AC-metabolites were detected in the analysed feline urine samples, including dechlorinated and oxidated AC, several sulfate conjugates, and one glucuronic acid conjugate of AC. The calculated amount of AC ingested by each mouse was 33 to 106 mg with a mean of 61 mg. Conclusions Clinical recognition of symptoms of AC poisoning in otherwise healthy cats roaming free outdoors and known to be rodent hunters strongly correlated with confirmation of the diagnosis through toxicological analyses of serum samples. The collected feline exposure data regarding AC show together with the calculation of the intake of bait and subsequent AC concentrations in mice that secondary poisoning from ingestion of mice is possible. The results of the screening for AC metabolites in feline urine confirm that cats excrete AC both unchanged and metabolized through dechlorination, oxidation, glucuronidation and sulfatation pathways.
