Mario Antonio Fernández

• Doctor of Pharmacy
• Spanish National Research Council

A comprehensive study on packaging used in commercially available milk products from Spanish markets has been presented. Concentrations of four phthalates, seven parabens and BPA were determined in forty-two milk products. Eleven brands and five types of packaging (metallic aluminium bag, carton, high-density polyethylene, metal pail and polyethyle...

Atmospheric PM1 has an impact on health and the environment, and is highly variable. PM1 filter samples were collected in urban roof and street sites in two Mediterranean cities in Europe (Barcelona and Madrid) to study the spatial and temporal trends of primary and secondary organic tracer compounds. Both cities are exposed to modern urban emissio...

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and -furans (PCDD/Fs) were measured in a temperate, deep-sea ecosystem, the Avilés submarine Canyon (AC; Cantabrian Sea, Southern Bay of Biscay). There was an increase of contaminant concentration with the trophic level of the organisms, a...

Obesity is one of the health problems with greater incidence in developed countries with a major economic impact because of the expenses associated with its treatment and that of other associated diseases. Apart from health considerations, the rise of new aesthetic canons in our modern society is also contributing to increase the use of food supple...

Phthalates (PAEs) are ubiquitous toxic chemical compounds. During the last few years, some phthalate metabolites (MPAEs) have been proposed as appropriate biomarkers in human urine samples to determine PAE human intake and exposure. So, it is necessary to have fast, easy, robust and validated analytical methods to determine selected MPAEs in urine...

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are organic pollutants considered mainly anthropogenic (generated during incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and organic matter) even if some of them may be biogenic as well. Although some of them are biodegradable and not as recalcitrant as legacy persistent organic pollutants, they have been studied and r...

This study is part of the BioMadrid Project, a bio-monitoring study designed to assess pollutants in the environment surrounding children born in the Madrid region. Our aim in this report is to evaluate the association between prenatal lead exposure and fetal development using three biological samples (maternal and paternal blood lead at around 34...

PM1 aerosol characterization on organic tracers for biomass burning (levoglucosan and its isomers and dehydroabietic acid) was conducted within the AERTRANS project. PM1 filters (N = 90) were sampled from 2010 to 2012 in busy streets in the urban centre of Madrid and Barcelona (Spain) at ground-level and at roof sites. In both urban areas, biomass...

In Spain, few studies have evaluated prenatal exposure to heavy metals. The objective of this study was to describe lead, mercury and cadmium concentrations in blood from a sample of newborn--mother-father trios, as well as to investigate the association between metals in cord blood and parental variables. We also explored the relationship between...

Phthalates are chemicals that have been used for over 80 years in large quantities due to their wide range of applications, mainly in the plastic industry. For many years, these compounds were not considered dangerous for humans due to their low toxicity shown in the preliminary studies and their low persistence. However, research conducted in rece...

Although breastfeeding is the ideal way of nurturing infants, it can be a source of exposure to toxicants. This study reports the concentration of Hg, Pb and Cd in breast milk from a sample of women drawn from the general population of the Madrid Region, and explores the association between metal levels and socio-demographic factors, lifestyle habi...

Background: In Spain, few studies have evaluated prenatal exposure to heavy metals. The objective of this study was to describe lead, mercury and cadmium concentrations in blood from a sample of newborn–mother-father trios, as well as to investigate the association between metals in cord blood and parental variables. We also explored the relationsh...

Monitoring cytogenetic damage is frequently used to assess population exposure to environmental mutagens. The cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay is one of the most widely used methods employed in these studies. In the present study we used this assay to assess the baseline frequency of micronuclei in a healthy population of father-pregnant woman-...

In Spain environmental surveillance has mainly relied on measures of selected pollutants in air, water, food and soil. A study was conducted in Madrid to assess the feasibility of implementing a surveillance system of exposure among the general population to specific environmental pollutants, using bio-markers. The project was basically focused on...

In Spain environmental surveillance has mainly relied on measures of selected pollutants in air, water, food and soil. A study was conducted in Madrid to assess the feasibility of implementing a surveillance system of exposure among the general population to specific environmental pollutants, using biomarkers. The project was basically focused on t...

Median concentration of total PBDEs in maternal serum, paternal serum, umbilical cord serum, and breast milk samples were 12, 12, 17, and 6.1 ng/g lipid weight (lw) in Vallecas and 9.7, 12, 15, and 5.5 ng/g lw in Getafe. The median value found in placentas was 1.9 ng/g lw (in Vallecas). BDE 47 was the predominant congener in serum samples (maternal...

A fast extraction and clean-up method for the simultaneous determination of PCBs and PBDEs has been developed. The procedure consisted of a solid-phase extraction (SPE) of the analytes on an Oasis HLB cartridge and the subsequent on-line fat elimination by directly dropping the eluate from the SPE cartridge onto a second cartridge containing layers...

The different parameters affecting the ionisation and fragmentation of selected polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in an IT detector working in the MS/MS mode, ITD(MS/MS), have been optimised for maximum selectivity and sensibility. The low LODs (in the range 0.03-0.3 microg/L), the satisfactory repeatability (RSDs in general below 11%) and reproduci...

The polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD), dibenzofuran (PCDF), and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contents of 123 Spanish commercial salmon, tuna fish, sardine, oyster, mussel, and clam samples from 1995 to 2003 were investigated. A significant decrease of dioxin and non-ortho PCB concentrations in the studied species was found over the years. T...

A new approach to the determination of six toxaphene congeners in edible stuff has been accomplished. The analytical procedure presented in this paper involves a single-step cleanup process prior to the analysis. A solution containing three (13)C labelled polychlorinated biphenyls was used as internal standard and tetrachloronaphtalene was used as...

Congener-specific analyses of seventeen 2,3,7,8-substituted PCDD/Fs, three non-ortho and 8 mono-ortho dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were performed on 258 Spanish foodstuff samples, mainly of animal origin, for 2000--03. Daily dietary intakes of PCDD/Fs and PCBs, expressed as toxic equivalents (WHO-TEQs), were estimated by combining f...

In this study samples of common trout, European eel and barbel have been analysed for the levels of heavy metals such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and the metalloid arsenic (As). Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), including three non-ortho substituted PCBs, 2,3,7,8-substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychl...

Pollution can produce severe impacts on eggs leading to embryo death or abnormal embryonic development. We have analysed the presence of chemical toxicants inside chameleon eggs from southern Spain. In this area, the chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) is considered as an endangered species that usually inhabits in highly populated areas. Previous stu...

A study into levels of contamination by organochlorine compounds (insecticides and PCBs) and heavy metals (Cd and Pb) in the water/sediment system of the Southeast Regional Park (SERP) in Madrid, Spain, has been carried out. Residue levels of xenobiotics were determined in surface and underground waters and sediments from selected sites throughout...

Concentrations of 24 individual PCB congeners have been measured in livers of groupers (Epinephelus marginatus) and eight shark species (Centroscymnus coelolepis, Centrophorus squamosus, Dalatias licha, Hydrolagus affinis, Deania profundorum, Centroscymnus cryptacanthus, Etmopterus princeps, Deania histricosa) collected between 1994 and 1995 from t...

The impact of the spill from the mine in Aznalcollar (Seville, Spain) on waterfowl in the Doñana National Park is assessed. The concentrations of Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn nd As in the liver and eggs of 16 species of waterfowl found dead in the Park between April and November 1998 were determined. The highest levels were found for Zn, followed by Cu, Pb, Cd a...

A long-term monitoring plan was established to study if bird populations around Doñana National Park were affected by the toxic spill from the Aznalcóllar mine. The concentrations of Zn, Pb, As, Cu, Sb, Co, Tl and Cd in the blood of 11 bird species feeding in the area were determined. The parameters which most affect the accumulation of trace eleme...

Organochlorine insecticides and poychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in water and sediment samples taken from thirteen sites along the Ebro River (Spain), the most agricultural and industrial basin in the North of the Iberian Peninsula. Concentrations of 10 insecticides, PCBs and 13 PCB congeners were determined: grouping all chemicals by...

Polychlorinated terphenyls (PCTs) are compounds related to Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), because of their physical and chemical properties. They have been used for similar applications, although to a lower degree. As a consequence, PCTs have been sprayed in the environment. In this paper, we have analyzed some samples of marine origin that are...

Polychlorinated biphenyls have been widely used by industry throughout the world since 1930. Although their use has been banned in many countries since the late 1970s, they still represent an important class of priority pollutants due to their persistence. Most open uses of these chemicals have been severely curtailed in industrialized nations, but...

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Schreiber's bats Miniopterus schreibersii have more residues of organochlorine insecticides and PCBs than have greater horseshoe bats Rhinolophus ferrumequinum; no significant differences were found except for Σ DDT. the differences in residue levels between the two bat species do not seem related to differences in feeding habits, since both are in...

In this study we have attempted to: estimate the levels of organochlorine pollutants in human milk samples collected in Madrid (Spain) during 1991; to investigate whether significant alterations in levels of these contaminants have occurred since 1979-81, in Spain; and to find out if the residue levels exceeded the limits recommended by FAO/WHO in...

Recently, a decrease in the number of bats in Europe has been detected. Polychlorobiphenyl (PCB) residues were analyzed in 120 bat carcasses belonging to three different species, Schreiber's bats (), greater horseshoe bats (), and common Pipistrelle bats (), from four sites in Spain that represented four different ecosystems (La Rioja, Málaga, Cádi...

Residues of organochlorines, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and heavy metals (mercury, cadmium, lead, copper and zinc) were measured in unhatched eggs of Lesser Kestrels (Falco naumanni) collected in southern Spain in 1988-1991. Although contaminants were detected in all eggs, the amounts were generally below levels known to have negative effect...

Human adipose tissue samples collected in Madrid (Spain) were analyzed to understand the levels of organochlorine insecticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); p,p'‐DDE, the major metabolite of p,p'‐DDT, and PCBs were found in all samples and the mean value was 8.48 and 0.87 mg/kg fat weight, respectively. Mean values for α‐HCH, β‐HCH, γ‐HCH,...

A study on contamination levels by organochlorinated compounds (pesticides and PCBs) and heavy metals (Hg, Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn) in Doana National Park (Spain) area and its surrounding region has been carried out. Residue levels of xenobiotics were determined in water and soils samples from seventeen sites selected through the park and nearest surroun...

Organochlorine compounds (insecticides and polychlorinated biphenyls) are known to maintain their stability in the aquatic environment for long periods. DDT and cyclodiene insecticides were used widely in Spain until their use was banned in 1976; DDT and its degradation products are still found in environmental samples. Since DDT has been legally r...

PCDDs, PCDFs and PCBs have been analysed in soil samples where waste electrical equipment has been burned directly on the ground in three locations of Burgos (Spain). High levels of PCDDs, PCDFs and PCBs were detected in the centre of combustion sites. The results show PCB levels between 0.824 and 1.240 μg/g, and PCDDs and PCDFs levels between 8.73...

Eggs from Herring Gulls, Audouin Gulls and Gull Billed Terns were collected at three different locations in Spain during the breeding season of 1988. Organochlorine pesticides, total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and seven selected individual chlorobiphenyl congeners were determined in each of the thirty infertile eggs. The levels of DDE and tot...

Since DDT has been legally restricted for use in many countries, lindane, the gamma isomer of hexachlorocyclohexane, ( ~-HCH), bas become important as a substitute for DDT. Thus, ~-HCH has been used in the control of various wood-inhabiting beetles, in seed treatment, and in pharmaceutical preparations as a scabicide and pediculicide. Lindane is de...

We have studied the influence of the activities of a piritas smelter on the degree of heavy metal pollution in Donana National Park during the 1983–1984 period. The mine has altered the pH‐value of the water of the Guadiamar River, causing the redistribution of heavy metals in the zone. We show the application of multivariate analysis in the study...

The Spanish Imperial Eagle Aquila (heliaca) adalberti is the only directly endangered bird of prey in Europe (Anonymous 1987). Its breeding range, which formerly included Algeria, Morocco and Portugal, is now almost certainly confined to southwest Spain. The breeding rate is small. The factors governing this reduced rate are habitat destruction, pe...

The presence of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls has been studied in water sampling in the Doñana National Park during the period 1982–1986. The organochlorine pollutants were identified and quantified by gas chromatography with electron affinity detector. Organochlorine compounds are uniformly distributed in the park. The le...

A principal components multivariate statistical approach (SIMCA) was used to examine complex mixtures of polychlorinated biphenyl residues (PCBs) in fly ash from municipal incinerators.

Over the last three decades the biosphere has been contaminated almost universally by persistent pollutants of agricultural and industrial origin. Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls have been documented to have adverse effects of the reproduction and survival of wild birds. Also, environmental contamination from heavy metals ha...

The study area, Donana National Park, is located in the South South-West of Spain, and this is one of the most important reservation of Europe. Samples of aquatic organism were obtained from the principal waterway of Donana National Park to determine the degree of organochlorine and metal contamination of this environment. The sampling was carried...

Residues of organochlorine pollutants and heavy metals were determined in 50 aquatic organisms of five species, 31 eggs of four species of wading birds, water, and sediment collected at Doñana National Park, (Spain) during the nesting season 1983 and 1984. The species analyzed were the Spanish frog (Rana perezi), the American crayfish (Procambarus...

The existence of 11 organochlorine compounds and five heavy metals in the liver and muscle of 57 members of 10 species of mammals, all from Doñana National Park (Spain), has been investigated. Five organochlorine compounds have been found and the five heavy metals were present in the samples. The biomagnification of organochlorines is shown. The de...