Exposure medium contamination was controlled by chemical
analysis by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) for
carbendazim (Alliance 2695 equipped with autosampler, degasser,
and heater column) and by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry
(ICP-MS) for cadmium. To controlmedium contamination
for carbendazim, actual concentrations were checked only in one
sample of the lowest and highest concentrations, due to the experimental
design used and the volume of sample needed for chemical
analysis (ca. 1500 ml per sample), and it was assumed that no mistakeswere
carried out during the dilution process of stock solution
to obtain all tested concentrations. For cadmium, 25 samples of
both single and combined exposures were analysed.