Person: Biegel-Engler, Annegret
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Veröffentlichung Significance thresholds for the assessment of contaminated groundwater: perfluorinated and polyfluorinated chemicals(2018) von der Trenck, Karl Theo; Biegel-Engler, Annegret; Konietzka, RainerBackground Per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFC) do not occur naturally in the environment and are, therefore, of anthropogenic origin. As a consequence of their wide range of everyday applications and their extreme persistence in the environment, PFC have become ubiquitous in nature and can, therefore, be detected in groundwater as well as in many other environmental matrices. The German States' Water and Soil Consortia have compiled 'significance thresholds' (GFS) to assess groundwater contaminated with PFC. The GFS serve as criteria for the decision whether actions to remediate polluted groundwater are necessary. Thirteen of these PFC had been detected in groundwater at levels above their limit of quantitation and were assigned first priority. Results The data regarding human health effects were sufficient to derive guide values according to the criteria of the German Drinking Water Ordinance for 7 of the 13 first-priority PFC. With regard to available ecotoxicological data, predicted no-effect concentration values from official risk assessments existed for 2 of the 13 first-priority PFC. A predicted no-effect concentration for protection of the aquatic biocenosis could be derived for eight more substances. Conclusions After evaluation of data from available literature regarding both human health and ecotoxicological effects, significance thresholds ranging from 0.06 to 10.0 ng/L could be derived for 7 of the 13 priority PFC in groundwater. As a practical guide valid solely for human health-based values, a summation rule was proposed for exposures to mixtures of these seven PFC.Veröffentlichung Digging deep - implementation, standardisation and interpretation of a total oxidisable precursor (TOP) assay within the regulatory context of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in soil(2022) Göckener, Bernd; Bandow, Nicole; Lange, Frank Thomas; Biegel-Engler, Annegret; Lesmeister, LukasOver the past decades, thousands of different per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been produced and applied in various industrial processes and consumer products. Their structural diversity has reached a level that cannot be covered by classical target screening methods for individual compounds. Large-scale contaminations of soil, however, require the need to adapt new analytical methods that can describe a contamination more comprehensively. While sum parameters such as the total oxidisable precursor (TOP) assay have been developed in the past years, they are not yet applied in the regulatory context of PFASs. In this commentary, we provide an overview on different approaches of the TOP assay as well as its benefits and disadvantages to other sum parameters for PFASs in soil samples. Furthermore, we elaborate its opportunities and its challenges that need to be tackled to implement the TOP assay as a regulatory tool. With several different approaches of the TOP assay being available, a sound and standardised method needs to be agreed upon and more research is necessary to better describe the method. Although the complexity of PFAS contaminations in soil cannot be fully covered by any analytical method alone, the TOP assay can provide valuable data to detect and characterise soil contamination as an inventory for subsequent remediation measures. Therefore, the TOP assay should be implemented as a useful tool both in research and in the regulatory context of PFASs. © The Author(s) 2022.Veröffentlichung The upcoming European Soil Health Law - chances and challenges for an effective soil protection(Umweltbundesamt, 2023) Biegel-Engler, Annegret; Frauenstein, Jörg; Ginzky, Harald; Glante, Frank; Grimski, Detlef; Kotschik, Pia; Marx, Kirstin; Pieper, SilviaThe European Soil Strategy for 2030 by the European Commission has set the foundations for an overarching approach to the protection of soils in Europe. In this scientific opinion paper, the German Environment Agency (⥠UBA⥠) lays down its key recommendations for the upcoming Soil Health Law. Feedback on legislative options is provided and experience gained in Germany in the past years on soil protection and restoration is shared. Knowing the outstanding importance of soils for human and ecosystem health, UBA strongly agrees that a new binding European legislative framework on soils with high ambition is urgently needed. Quelle: Umweltbundesamt.deVeröffentlichung Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the German environment - Levels and patterns in different matrices(2020) Kotthoff, Matthias; Biegel-Engler, Annegret; Fliedner, Annette; Rüdel, Heinz; Koschorreck, JanPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment mostly originate from emissions of previously unregulated PFAS. However, there are also many documented incidents of accidental releases. To track such releases, it is essential to distinguish between typical background contamination and legally relevant incidents. This requires a comprehensive overview of all PFAS present in the environment, which is currently only possible to a limited extent due to the large variety of individual compounds. In the present study, a multimethod for capturing 41 PFAS including perfluoroalkyl acid (PFAA) precursors is introduced. The applicability of the method was tested on terrestrial, freshwater and marine samples from the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB), thereby providing a rough overview of PFAS contamination in German environment. Special focus was put on soil samples from ESB sites across Germany in comparison to soil samples from a polluted site in south-west Germany. The method was successfully applied to environmental samples. In total, 31 PFAS were detected, among them PFAA precursors and fluorinated ethers. Substance patterns differed between sites and matrices. In ESB soil samples from 2014 (n = 11), the sum of all captured PFAS ranged between 0.75 and 19.5 (my)g kg-1 dry weight (dw), while concentrations between 416 (my)g kg-1 and 3530 (my)g kg-1 were detected in samples from the incident site (n = 10). In other matrices, total PFAS concentrations were magnitudes lower. Highest concentrations were observed for PFOS in bream livers from the Saale (226 (my)g kg-1). Given the heterogeneous patterns, it will require further broadly-based monitoring data to allow for a solid estimation of relevant background levels. The data provided here may support the differentiation between background levels and hotspot contaminations. ©2020 The AuthorsVeröffentlichung PFAS - unsere persistenten Begleiter(2020) Schulte, Christoph; Biegel-Engler, AnnegretVeröffentlichung PFAS in Boden und Grundwasser - Herausforderungen und Lösungsansätze(2022) Biegel-Engler, AnnegretVeröffentlichung Short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids: environmental concerns and a regulatory strategy under REACH(2018) Biegel-Engler, Annegret; Fetter, Èva; Brendel, Stephan; Fetter, Éva; Staude, Claudia; Vierke, LenaBackground Short-chain PFASs (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are widely used as alternatives to long-chain PFASs. Long-chain PFASs become gradually regulated under REACH (EC No. 1907/2006) and other international regulations, due to having persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic properties and/or being toxic for reproduction. The increasingly used short-chain PFASs are assumed to have a lower bioaccumulation potential. Nonetheless, they have other properties of concern and are already widely distributed in the environment, also in remote regions. The REACH Regulation does not directly address these emerging properties of concern, complicating the implementation of regulatory measures. Therefore, this study illustrates these environmental concerns and provides a strategy for a regulation of short-chain PFASs within REACH. Results Short-chain PFASs have a high mobility in soil and water, and final degradation products are extremely persistent. This results in a fast distribution to water resources, and consequently, also to a contamination of drinking water resources. Once emitted, short-chain PFASs remain in the environment. A lack of appropriate water treatment technologies results in everlasting background concentrations in the environment, and thus, organisms are permanently and poorly reversibly exposed. Considering such permanent exposure, it is very difficult to estimate long-term adverse effects in organisms. Short-chain PFASs enrich in edible parts of plants and the accumulation in food chains is unknown. Regarding these concerns and uncertainties, especially with respect to the precautionary principle, short-chain PFASs are of equivalent concern to PBT substances. Therefore, they should be identified as substances of very high concern (SVHC) under REACH. The SVHC identification should be followed by a restriction under REACH, which is the most efficient way to minimize the environmental and human exposure of short-chain PFASs in the European Union. Conclusion Due to an increasing use of short-chain PFASs, an effective regulation is urgently needed. The concerns of short-chain PFASs do not match the "classical" concerns as defined under REACH, but are not of minor concern. Therefore, it is of advantage to clearly define the concerns of short-chain PFASs. This might facilitate the following restriction process under REACH. © The Author(s) 2018Veröffentlichung Regulierung von PFC(2017) Biegel-Engler, Annegret; Staude, Claudia; Vierke, LenaVeröffentlichung Extending the knowledge about PFAS bioaccumulation factors for agricultural plants(2020) Lesmeister, Lukas; Biegel-Engler, Annegret; Lange, Frank Thomas; Breuer, Jörn; Giese, EvelynA main source of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) residues in agricultural plants is their uptake from contaminated soil. Bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) can be an important tool to derive recommendations for cultivation or handling of crops prior consumption. This review compiles >4500 soil-to-plant BAFs for 45 PFASs from 24 studies involving 27 genera of agricultural crops. Grasses (Poaceae) provided most BAFs with the highest number of values for perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid. Influencing factors on PFAS transfer like compound-specific properties (hydrophobicity, chain length, functional group, etc.), plant species, compartments, and other boundary conditions are critically discussed. Throughout the literature, BAFs were higher for vegetative plant compartments than for reproductive and storage organs. Decreasing BAFs per additional perfluorinated carbon were clearly apparent for aboveground parts (up to 1.16 in grains) but not always for roots (partly down to zero). Combining all BAFs per single perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acid (C4-C14) and sulfonic acid (C4-C10), median log BAFs decreased by -0.25(+/-0.029) and -0.24(+/-0.013) per fluorinated carbon, respectively. For the first time, the plant uptake of ultra-short-chain (