Background. A water filtered by jug filter system (JFS) can be applied for the preparation of food products, as well as it can be directly consumed as drinking water. In the European Union, in both above-mentioned cases the quality of water filtered using JFSs has to fulfill the requirements listed in Directive 98/83/EC. However, Directive 98/83/EC sets no parametric value for silver, JFSs are not regulated under this legislative act and additionally, silver-modified activated carbon (applied in such systems) has not been approved by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Therefore, the exposure to this metal should be assessed for all JFSs containing filtration cartridges with silver-modified activated carbon, present on the retail market. Objective. A comprehensive study was conducted in order to examine the effect of JFSs (consisted of filtration oval-cartridges of the new type with silver-modified activated carbon) on the quality of filtered water regarding the released amounts of silver. Silver migration from such type of cartridges has not been examined before. The aim of work was the assessment of exposure to silver released into filtered water from silver-modified activated carbon applied in such types of JFSs. Material and methods. Silver migration from six brands of JFSs (A–F) was investigated according to British Standard BS 8427:2004 using a validated inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method. Results. The average daily silver concentrations in the composite samples collected on six measurement days for A, B, C, D, E and F JFSs were in the ranges of: 3.95–18.1 μg/l, 4.6–21.7 μg/l, 0.41–8.7 μg/l, 6.9–10.9 μg/l, 3.3–17.1 μg/l and 10.1–20.8 μg/l, respectively. The established grand mean concentrations of released silver from all six oval cartridges were in the range of 2.7–14.3 μg/l. The estimated Hazard Quotient (HQ) indices were in the range of 0.015–0.082 Conclusions. The estimated HQ indices were significantly lower than 1 and therefore no long-term risk for human health could be expected. All the investigated JFSs of the new type meet previously established provisional migration limit for silver from such systems – 25 μg/l.
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The new retiolitid species, Spinograptus tubothecalis, is described from the Colonograptus praedeubeli and C. deubeli biozones from two localities in Poland: a borehole on the East European Platform and the Holy Cross Mountains. This was a recovery phase after the severe Silurian Cyrtograptus lundgreni Event. The new species has a unique, previously undescribed form of finite rhabdosome. Unlike the species Spinograptus reticulolawsoni and S. lawsoni, in which the fi− nite rhabdosomes taper distally, its rhabdosome is parallel−sided with the two distal thecae developed as isolated tubes without genicular processes, with a small appendix between them. The new species also has preserved membranes of the sicula, thecae and ancora sleeve, similar to a few species of Spinograptus from the lower Homerian. Spinograptus tubothecalis, like Spinograptus clathrospinosus and S. spinosus, has paired reticulofusellar genicular processes on the pre−thecal ventral orifices, similar to but shorter than thecal processes. Transverse rods, a rare character in post−Cyrto− graptus lundgreni Event retiolitids occur in the new species in rudimentary form.