A Procedure for NEPA Assessment of Selenium Hazards Associated With Mining

This paper gives step-by-step instructions for assessing aquatic selenium hazards associated with mining. The procedure was developed to provide the U.S. Forest Service with a proactive capability for determining the risk of selenium pollution when it reviews mine permit applications in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The procedural framework is constructed in a decision-tree format in order to guide users through the various steps, provide a logical sequence for completing individual tasks, and identify key decision points. There are five major components designed to gather information on operational parameters of the proposed mine as well as key aspects of the physical, chemical, and biological environment surrounding it — geological assessment, mine operation assessment, hydrological assessment, biological assessment, and hazard assessment. Validation tests conducted at three mines where selenium pollution has occurred confirmed that the procedure will accurately predict ecological risks. In each case, it correctly identified and quantified selenium hazard, and indicated the steps needed to reduce this hazard to an acceptable level. By utilizing the procedure, NEPA workers can be confident in their ability to understand the risk of aquatic selenium pollution and take appropriate action. Although the procedure was developed for the Forest Service it should also be useful to other federal land management agencies that conduct NEPA assessments, as well as regulatory agencies responsible for issuing coal mining permits under the authority of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) and associated Section 401 water quality certification under the Clean Water Act. Mining companies will also benefit from the application of this procedure because priority selenium sources can be identified in relation to specific mine operating parameters. The procedure will reveal the point(s) at which there is a need to modify operating conditions to meet environmental quality goals. By recognizing concerns early in the NEPA process, it may be possible for a mining company to match operational parameters with environmental requirements, thereby increasing the likelihood that the permit application will be approved.     

我国硒淡水水生生物水质基准值推导

水体中硒含量过高会导致水生生态系统退化,而中国现有的地表水环境质量标准对硒的标准值设定并不是基于我国水生生物相关毒理学研究得出的,难以因地制宜地保护我国水生生物.为保护我国水生生物,本研究利用物种敏感度分布法,推导出基于最大无效应浓度（NOEC）、最低有效应浓度（LOEC）的慢性硒（无机）淡水水质一级基准值和基于半数致死效应浓度（LC₅₀）、半数最大效应浓度（EC₅₀）、半数抑制浓度（IC₅₀）的急性硒（无机）淡水水质二级基准值分别为0.58 μg·L^-1、0.52 mg·L^-1,发现我国现有的水质标准可能会对我国水生生物造成欠保护.进一步推导出为保护我国鱼类的硒（无机）淡水水质一级、二级基准值分别为0.21 μg·L^-1、1.60 mg·L^-1,以及硒淡水鱼类饲料有机硒和无机硒含量一级基准值分别为97 μg·kg^-1和98 μg·kg^-1.本研究基于硒对水生生物的急性和慢性毒性效应,推导出硒的系列基准值,为保护我国淡水水生生物安全的标准制定提供数据支撑和科学依据.     

Long-term effects of silver nanoparticles on performance of phosphorus removal in a laboratory-scale vertical flow constructed wetland

Silver nanoparticles(AgNPs) have been widely used in many fields,which raised concerns about potential threats to biological sewage treatment systems.In this study,the phosphorus removal performance,enzymatic activity and microbial population dynamics in constructed wetlands(CWs) were evaluated under a long-term exposure to Ag NPs(0,50,and 200 μg/L) for 450 days.Results have shown that Ag NPs inhibited the phosphorus removal efficiency in a short-term exposure,whereas caused no obviously negative effects from a long-term perspective.Moreover,in the coexisting CW system of Ag NPs and phosphorus,competition exhibited in the initial exposure phase,however,cooperation between them was observed in later phase.Enzymatic activity of acid-phosphatase at the moderate temperature(10–20°C) was visibly higher than that at the high temperature(20–30℃) and CWs with Ag NPs addition had no appreciable differences compared with the control.High-throughput sequencing results indicated that the microbial richness,diversity and composition of CWs were distinctly affected with the extension of exposure time at different Ag NPs levels.However,the phosphorus removal performance of CWs did not decline with the decrease of polyphosphate accumulating organisms(PAOs),which also confirmed that adsorption precipitation was the main way of phosphorus removal in CWs.The study suggested that Ag NPs and phosphorus could be removed synergistically in the coexistence system.This work has some reference for evaluating the influences of Ag NPs on the phosphorus removal and the interrelation between them in CWs.     

电化学微传感器检测水中痕量铜离子

为改善微电极在阳极溶出伏安法检测重金属离子过程中低电流响应和低电催化能力的缺点,提出了一种在碳纤维微电极表面合成还原氧化石墨烯/纳米金材料制得还原氧化石墨烯纳米金修饰碳纤维微电极（rGO/AuNPs CFMEs）的方法.通过SEM表征,所制备的rGO/AuNPs CFMEs具有比表面积高、吸附能力强和催化活性好的特点,因此改性微电极适合作为方波阳极溶出伏安法（SWASV）测定水中铜离子（Cu²⁺）的工作电极.在构建微传感器测试水中痕量铜离子系统后,对pH值、电导率、富集时间和富集电位等检测条件进行了优化.在pH值为4,电导率为36.1S/m,富集时间为360s,富集电位为-1.2V的最佳条件下,铜的线性范围和检出限分别0~1.0μmol/L和2.4nmol/L.此外,微传感器的可重复性、长期稳定性以及选择性也得到了验证.     

Pt负载暴露(001)晶面Bi2WO6催化剂合成及光催化性能

通过水热法制备了暴露（001）晶面的Bi₂WO₆纳米片,利用光还原法将Pt纳米颗粒负载于其表面.选择苯甲醇氧化和罗丹明B（RhB）降解为探针反应,评价了催化剂的光催化性能.在苯甲醇氧化实验中,Pt负载暴露001晶面的Bi₂WO₆样品的苯甲醇转化率为20.7%,约为未负载样品的2倍.在RhB降解实验中,Pt负载样品在光照40min后对RhB的矿化率可达81.1%,而未负载样品RhB矿化率仅为55.8%,表明Pt负载样品具有更优的降解速率和矿化能力.催化剂性能的提升归因于高能晶面暴露和Pt负载的协同作用.Pt纳米颗粒的负载作为助催化剂增加了催化剂表面的活性位点,同时提高了晶面光生电子空穴对的分离和迁移效率.     

Long-term effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of silver nanoparticles on microbial biomass, enzyme activity, and functional genes involved in the nitrogen cycle of loamy soil

The increasing production and use of engineered silver nanoparticles (AgNP) in industry and private households are leading to increased concentrations of AgNP in the environment. An ecological risk assessment of AgNP is needed, but it requires understanding the long term effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of AgNP on the soil microbiome. Hence, the aim of this study was to reveal the long-term effects of AgNP on soil microorganisms. The study was conducted as a laboratory incubation experiment over a period of one year using a loamy soil and AgNP concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 1?mg?AgNP/kg soil. The short term effects of AgNP were, in general, limited. However, after one year of exposure to 0.01?mg?AgNP/kg, there were significant negative effects on soil microbial biomass (quantified by extractable DNA; p?=?0.000) and bacterial ammonia oxidizers (quantified by amoA gene copy numbers; p?=?0.009). Furthermore, the tested AgNP concentrations significantly decreased the soil microbial biomass, the leucine aminopeptidase activity (quantified by substrate turnover; p?=?0.014), and the abundance of nitrogen fixing microorganisms (quantified by nifH gene copy numbers; p?=?0.001). The results of the positive control with AgNO3 revealed predominantly stronger effects due to Ag⁺ ion release. Thus, the increasing toxicity of AgNP during the test period may reflect the long-term release of Ag⁺ ions. Nevertheless, even very low concentrations of AgNP caused disadvantages for the microbial soil community, especially for nitrogen cycling, and our results confirmed the risks of releasing AgNP into the environment.     

An Evaluation of Selenium Concentrations in Water, Sediment, Invertebrates, and Fish from the Republican River Basin: 1997–1999

The Republican River Basin of Colorado,Nebraska, and Kansas lies in a valley which contains PierreShale as part of its geological substrata. Selenium is anindigenous constituent in the shale and is readily leached intosurrounding groundwater. The Basin is heavily irrigated throughthe pumping of groundwater, some of which is selenium-contaminated, onto fields in agricultural production. Water,sediment, benthic invertebrates, and/or fish were collected from46 sites in the Basin and were analyzed for selenium to determinethe potential for food-chain bioaccumulation, dietary toxicity,and reproductive effects of selenium in biota. Resultingselenium concentrations were compared to published guidelines orbiological effects thresholds. Water from 38% of the sites (n = 18) contained selenium concentrations exceeding 5 g L^-1, which is reported to be a high hazard for selenium accumulation into the planktonic food chain. An additional 12 sites (26% of the sites) contained selenium in water between 3–5 g L^-1, constituting a moderate hazard. Selenium concentrations in sedimentindicated little to no hazard for selenium accumulation fromsediments into the benthic food chain. Ninety-five percent ofbenthic invertebrates collected exhibited selenium concentrationsexceeding 3 g g^-1, a level reported as potentially lethal to fish and birds that consume them. Seventy-five percent of fish collected in 1997, 90% in 1998, and 64% in 1999 exceeded 4 g g^-1selenium, indicating a high potential for toxicity andreproductive effects. However, examination of weight profilesof various species of collected individual fish suggestedsuccessful recruitment in spite of selenium concentrations thatexceeded published biological effects thresholds for health andreproductive success. This finding suggested that universalapplication of published guidelines for selenium may beinappropriate or at least may need refinement for systems similarto the Republican River Basin. Additional research is needed todetermine the true impact of selenium on fish and wildliferesources in the Basin.     

氢化物发生原子荧光法测定饮用水中的微量硒

氢化物发生原子荧光法测定饮用水中的微量硒时。仪器条件和试剂的浓度选择很重要。本文对条件的最佳化进行了实验。并对方法的精密度、准确度和检出限进行了讨论。     

广州市32种水产品的Se含量特征分析

通过酸消解,原子荧光-氢化物发生法测定了广州市部分市售水产品中Se的含量,由标准物质(GBW 08551猪肝)和回收率控制检测质量.结果表明,不同水产品中Se含量有较大差异,含量范围为(34.-1117.)×10-9,平均含量为(345.±149.)×10-9,不同类型水产品中Se含量变化特征是:甲壳类(544.±107.)×10-9＞海水鱼类(392.±86.)×10-9＞软体类(244.±89.)×10-9＞淡水鱼类(238.±97.)×10-9.     

土壤中总硒与水溶性硒相关性的环境因素

通过对湖北省部分地区土壤中总硒与水溶性硒的调查研究，分析土壤中总硒与水溶性硒的相关性与自然环境因素的关系。从而探讨导致缺硒和富硒疾病的成因。