An environment is defined as polluted when contaminants are introduced within it and causeadverse effects to its ecosystem. Chemical pollutants can migrate and often affect severalenvironmental compartments: for instance, chemicals can leach from polluted soil intogroundwater, or they can evaporate and disperse into the atmosphere.The recent advent of industrialisation and urbanisation has brought on the daily discharge ofharmful chemicals, such as heavy metals, organic pollutants and radioactive materials, into theenvironment via a high number of contamination sources, both commercial and industrial.More and more chemicals are identified as harmful to humans and the environment every year;in regard to the seemingly unsurmountable number of new ones being constantly introduced tothe market, it is important that authorities keep improving the efficiency of regulatoryprocedures and safety testing. This includes supporting scientific research which isfundamental for improving our understanding of the mechanisms of action of these chemicalsin order to handle them properly.In the present study, FET (Fish Embryo acute Toxicity) tests and behavioural challenges wereperformed on zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos and larvae to investigate coumarin 47 andpermethrin in terms of toxicity and effect on larval photomotor response. A change inlocomotor activity in response to a light-to-dark transition stimulus is often the ultimate causeof exposure to specific neurotoxic agents, making it a useful endpoint in assessing centralnervous system toxicity, while FET tests are a guideline tool employed in the determination ofdevelopmental toxicity and teratogenicity.4Overall, the results obtained provided a significant understanding on the toxicity endpoints ofthe selected test compounds to be employed as references for future investigations.

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Humans today spend most of their time in various indoor settings such as housing, schools and workplaces. The quality of the indoor environment is therefore of great significance for our wellbeing. However, it has been suggested that the indoor environment contains over 6000 organic compounds, such as various volatile organic compounds (VOC). Around 500 of these compounds is believed to be due to emissions from different surrounding building materials such as insulation, plastic film, sealants and flooring. This study targeted building materials from three low energy preschools that were sampled and analyzed for emissions of VOCs and nine different organophosphate flame retardant compounds (OPFR) using a gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC/MS). Low energy buildings are buildings that is particularly air tight to be so energy efficient as possible. The study uses a qualitative approach and therefore mainly identifies possible contribution from building materials to indoor environment. More than 100 different VOCs was identified and the most noticeable were meta-, ortho- and para-xylene, toluene, n-hexane and propylene glycol, all but the last compound is associated with hazardous health effects. The building materials that emitted the largest amounts of VOCs was sealants and adhesives. Linoleum flooring and acrylic was also large emitters. Tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCIPP) were identified in all samples and all nine targeted OPFR compounds were identified in the various material samples and dust samples. T-Flex tape and plastic film was the sample materials that emitted most OPFR compounds.