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Carbonated and non-carbonated mineral water samples bottled in 0.5-L, 1.5-L and 2.0-L polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers belonging to three different water brands commercialized in Hungary were studied in order to determine their phthalate content by gas chromatography -mass spectrometry. Among the six investigated phthalates, diisobutyl phthalate, di-n-butyl-phthalate, benzyl-butyl phthalate and di(2-ethyl-hexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were determined in non-carbonated samples as follows: 3

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The respiratory bio-accessibility of a substance is the fraction that is soluble in the respiratory environment and is available for absorption. In the case of respiratory exposure the amount of absorbed substance plays a main role in the biological effects. Extensive bio-accessibility studies have always been an essential requirement for a better understanding of the biological effects of different workplace aerosols, such as welding fumes. Fumes generated using three different welding techniques, manual metal arc (MMA) welding, metal inert gas (MIG) welding, and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding were investigated in the present study. Each technique was used for stainless steel welding. Welding fumes were collected on PVC membrane filters in batches of 114 using a multiport air sampler. Three different fluids were applied for the solubility study: deionised water and two kinds of lung fluid simulants: lung epithelial lining fluid simulant (Gamble's solution) and artificial lung lining fluid simulant (Hatch's solution). In order to obtain sufficient data to study the tendencies in solubility change with time, seven different leaching periods were used (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 h), each of them with three replicates. The effect of dissolution temperature was also studied. The total amounts of selected metals in the three different welding fumes were determined after microwave-assisted digestion with the mixture of aqua regia and hydrofluoric acid. The most obvious observation yielded by the results is that the solubility of individual metals varies greatly depending on the welding technique, the composition of the leaching fluid and leaching time. This study shows that the most reasonable choice as a media for the bio-assessment of solubility might be Hatch's solution by a dissolution time of 24 h.

Flow injection analysis (FIA) and high-performance liquid chromatography double-focusing sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-DF-ICP-MS) were used for total arsenic determination and arsenic speciation of xylem sap of cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus L.) grown in hydroponics containing 2 micromol dm(-3) arsenate or arsenite, respectively. Arsenite [As(III)], arsenate [As(V)] and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) were identified in the sap of the plants. Arsenite was the predominant arsenic species in the xylem saps regardless of the type of arsenic treatment, and the following concentration order was determined: As(III) > As(V) > DMA. The amount of total As, calculated taking into consideration the mass of xylem sap collected, was almost equal for both treatments. Arsenite was taken up more easily by cucumber than arsenate. Partial oxidation of arsenite to arsenate (<10% in 48 h) was observed in the case of arsenite-containing nutrient solutions, which may explain the detection of arsenate in the saps of plants treated with arsenite.

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