Bioavailability evaluation,uptake of heavy metals and potential health risks via dietary exposure in urban-industrial areas

A verity of human activities i.e. urbanization and industrialization have been resulted serious environmental contaminations by heavy metals in all over the world. The settlement of populations in urban and nearby industrial areas for economic development has significant share in their exposure to these metallic contaminants. Depending on the nature and type of the pollutants, targeted urban-industrial environments can have harmful and chronic health risk impacts on exposed local inhabitants and may require detoxification, healing and remedial therapy. Consequently, environmental monitoring as well as human health risk assessments of urban environments under industrial influence are key dominant features. We believe this work will provide new insights into the studies of metals exposure and associated health risks in emerging industrials cities of developing countries. Present study aimed to study the bioavailability of metals, quantify the changeability in soil and vegetable metal concentrations and estimation of human health risks via dietary exposure, focusing on urban-industrial environment. Soil and vegetable samples were collected in six random sites within the urban, periurban and industrial areas and analyzed for metal concentrations. In addition, risk assessment model proposed by US-EPA was employed to estimate the potential health risk of heavy metals via dietary intake. Results indicated that the heavy metal concentrations were noteworthy in periurban and urban-industrial areas. However, contamination levels varied with the type of vegetable, and the point source pollution such as traffic, urban wastes and industrial effluent. According to the estimated THQ and HI values for non-carcinogenic risk, little or no negative impact of heavy metals was observed on local inhabitants. However, the concentrations of Cr, Cd, Pb and Ni were nearly closed to the permissible limits described by US-EPA in urban-industrial areas. Conclusively, some efficient remedial strategies should be focus to overcome the increasing levels of Cr, Cd, Pb and Ni in this study area to protect the health of local inhabitants.     

Deriving sorption indices for the prediction of potential phosphorus loss from calcareous soils

The aim of this study was to develop techniques to evaluate soil phosphorus (P) sorption capacity (PSC) and determine critical soil P levels to predict P loss potential for calcareous soils. Seventy-five soils mostly from Northern China were analyzed for soil P using four extraction methods (water, P_w; carbonate, P_Ols; ammonium oxalate, P_ox; and Mehlich 3, P_M3) as well as PSC derived from single-point (PSC₁₅₀) and multipoint sorption (S _t) isotherms. Strong correlation was found between PSC₁₅₀ and S _t (r ²=0.89, p<0.001). The sum of αCa_M3 and βMg_M3 as an index of PSC (PSC_{(CaM3 + MgM3)}) was most closely related to the maximum amount of P sorbed (S _max) as given by the sum of S _t and soil initial P setting α=0.039 and β=0.462 (r ²=0.80, p<0.001). The degree of P saturation (DPS) was thereafter calculated from PSC_{(CaM3 + MgM3)} (DPS_{(CaM3 + MgM3)}), to which Olsen P (P_Ols) was significantly correlated (r ²=0.82, p<0.001). In a split-line regression from P_w against DPS_{(CaM3 + MgM3)} (r ²=0.87, p<0.05), a change point was identified at 28.1% DPS_{(CaM3 + MgM3)}, which was equivalent to 49.2 mg kg^?1 P_Ols and corresponded to a P_w concentration of 8.8 mg kg^?1. After the change point, a sharp increase in P_w was observed. Our results reveal a new approach to approximating DPS from Ca_M3 and Mg_M3 for calcareous soils without the need to generate a S _max. We conclude that in the absence of an environmental soil test criteria for P, the DPS_{(CaM3 + MgM3)} and P_Ols could be used to predict P loss potential from calcareous soils.     

Characteristics of water-soluble inorganic ions in PM2.5 and PM2.5–10 in the coastal urban agglomeration along the Western Taiwan Strait Region,China

PM_2.5 and PM_2.5–10 aerosol samples were collected in four seasons during November 2010, January, April, and August 2011 at 13 urban/suburban sites and one background site in Western Taiwan Straits Region (WTSR), which is the coastal area with rapid urbanization, high population density, and deteriorating air quality. The 10 days average PM_2.5 concentrations were 92.92, 51.96, 74.48, and 89.69 μg/m³ in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively, exceeding the Chinese ambient air quality standard for annual average value of PM_2.5 (grade II, 35 μg/m³). Temporal distribution of water-soluble inorganic ions (WSIIs) in PM_2.5 was coincident with PM_2.5 mass concentrations, showing highest in spring, lowest in summer, and middle in autumn and winter. WSIIs took considerable proportion (42.2～50.1 %) in PM_2.5 and PM_2.5–10. Generally, urban/suburban sites had obviously suffered severer pollution of fine particles compared with the background site. The WSIIs concentrations and characteristics were closely related to the local anthropogenic activities and natural environment, urban sites in cities with higher urbanization level, or sites with weaker diffuse condition suffered severer WSIIs pollution. Fossil fuel combustion, traffic emissions, crustal/soil dust, municipal constructions, and sea salt and biomass burnings were the major potential sources of WSIIs in PM_2.5 in WTSR according to the result of principal component analysis.     

Health risk assessment of exposure to organic matter from the use of reclaimed water in toilets

To estimate the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of six volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in reclaimed water used for flushing toilets, a probabilistic health risk assessment based on Monte Carlo simulations was used. Before Monte Carlo simulations, the contaminant volatilization model was applied to estimate the concentration of the pollutants in air. Moreover, a questionnaire was used to acquire daily exposure time and the Batch Fit tool of Crystal Ball software was applied to find the best-fitting distribution of a part of the input parameters. The risk analysis indicated that the health risks from six VOCs were lower than the negligible risk level (1?×?10^?8) in all cases, and the health risk for females was slightly higher than that for males. Overall, exposure to organic pollutants in reclaimed water during toilet flushing does not currently pose a significant carcinogenic risk to humans. In this study, we want to provide some information on the health risk from reclaimed water used for toilet flushing in China and hope that it will be useful to promote the application of reclaimed water in water-deficient areas.     

Physiological and biochemical responses of rice seeds to phosphine exposure during germination

Rice seeds (Tianyou, 3618) were used to examine the physiological and biochemical responses to phosphine exposure during germination. A control (0 mg m⁻³) and four concentrations of phosphine (1.4 mg m⁻³, 4.2 mg m⁻³, 7.0 mg m⁻³ and 13.9 mg m⁻³) were used to treat the rice seeds. Each treatment was applied for 90 min once per day for five days. The germination rate (GR); germination potential (GP); germination index (GI); antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT); and lipid peroxidation measured through via malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined as indicators of the physiological and biochemical responses of the rice seeds to phosphine exposure. These indicators were determined once per day for five days. The results indicated that the GR, GP and GI of the rice seeds markedly decreased after phosphine exposure. The changes in the activities of the antioxidant enzymes due to the phosphine exposure were also significant. The exposure lowered the CAT and SOD activities and increased POD activity in the treated rice seeds compared with controls. The MDA content exhibited a slow increase trend with the increase of phosphine concentration. These results suggest that phosphine has inhibitory effects on seed germination. In addition, phosphine exposure caused oxidative stress in the seeds. The antioxidant enzymes could play a pivotal role against oxidative injury. Overall, the effect of phosphine on rice seeds is different from what has been reported previously for insects and mammals.     

固硫灰路面基层材料的性能

以固硫灰作为路面基层材料,研究了固硫灰原灰和经预处理固硫灰路面基层材料的最佳含水量、最大干密度、体积安定性、膨胀率和强度等性能。同时,通过重金属浸出实验评估了固硫灰对土壤环境的影响。结果表明,经预处理固硫灰路面基层材料体积安定性好,膨胀率低,性能良好;此外,固硫灰重金属浸出率低,符合环保要求。     

酸碱联合调节剩余污泥过程中氮、磷和有机质的释放

实现城市污泥的减量化和资源化是污水厂面临的难题之一。通过采用(1)先酸性(pH=3)后碱性(pH=10)、(2)先碱性(pH=10)后酸性(pH=3)的两段控制方式(每段反应8 d),同时做pH不调的对比实验,研究剩余污泥水解酸化过程中氨氮、磷酸盐和溶解性COD(SCOD)、碳水化合物、蛋白质和挥发性脂肪酸(VFAs)等有机质组分的释放。结果表明,酸碱联合调节有利于各组分的释放;氮和磷在酸性条件下的释放量大于碱性,有机质在碱性条件下的释放量大于酸性;采用(2)方式,调为酸性后反应1 d,氨氮的释放量即达到最大(17.28 mg/g TS);采用(1)的调节方式反应7 d,磷酸盐能达到最佳释放量(14.16 mg/g TS);总VFAs的产生受反应时间的影响较大,其余有机质组分在(2)的调节方式下,6 d左右即可达到较大释放量。     

吸附-预沉淀MBR工艺处理生活污水及膜污染控制效果

膜污染是限制膜生物反应器（MBR）广泛应用的主要因素之一。针对MBR处理生活污水过程中存在的硝化效果不稳定与膜污染问题,提出了一种新型的MBR系统：通过吸附-预沉淀实现进水中碳氮的分离和单独处理,不仅提高了污染物去除效果,且能够有效控制膜污染。研究结果表明,吸附-预沉淀可以去除进水中约89.7%的有机物,系统出水COD、NH₄⁺-N平均浓度为24 mg/L、0.78 mg/L,去除率分别为95.9%和98.1%。MBR中碳氮比的降低和硝化细菌比例的增加大大降低了MBR内MLSS、EPS和SMP含量,平均浓度分别为5 185 mg/L、41 mg/g MLSS和2.62 mg/g MLSS。在膜通量为4 L/（m²·h）条件下,TMP可稳定保持在20 kPa左右。通过吸附-预沉淀过程可有效控制MBR中的膜污染。     

重金属离子在钠基膨润土中的吸附特征与机理

膨润土是一种天然粘土矿物,比表面积大、吸附能力强。通过钠基膨润土对复合重金属离子Cu2+、Zn2+和Cd2+的竞争吸附实验研究,探讨了钠基膨润土对Cu2+、Zn2+和Cd2+的吸附特征。结果表明,钠基膨润土对Cu2+、Zn2+和Cd2+的吸附随离子浓度增加而增大。吸附具有选择性,Cu2+、Zn2+和Cd2+的吸附能力大小顺序为Cu2+>Zn2+>Cd2+。并通过XRD及IR等分析探讨了钠基膨润土的吸附机理主要表现为离子交换吸附。     

Slightly acidic electrolyzed water for reducing airborne microorganisms in a layer breeding house

Reducing airborne microorganisms may potentially improve the environment in layer breeding houses. The effectiveness of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW; pH 5.29–6.30) in reducing airborne microorganisms was investigated in a commercial layer house in northern China. The building had a tunnel-ventilation system, with an evaporative cooling. The experimental area was divided into five zones along the length of the house, with zone 1 nearest to an evaporative cooling pad and zone 5 nearest to the fans. The air temperature, relative humidity, dust concentration, and microbial population were measured at the sampling points in the five zones during the study period. The SAEW was sprayed by workers in the whole house. A six-stage air microbial sampler was used to measure airborne microbial population. Results showed that the population of airborne bacteria and fungi were sharply reduced by 0.71 × 10⁵ and 2.82 × 10³ colony-forming units (CFU) m^?3 after 30 min exposure to SAEW, respectively. Compared with the benzalkonium chloride (BC) solution and povidone-iodine (PVP-I) solution treatments, the population reductions of airborne fungi treated by SAEW were significantly (P < 0.05) more, even though the three disinfectants can decrease both the airborne bacteria and fungi significantly (P < 0.05) 30 min after spraying.

Implications: There are no effective methods for reducing airborne microbial levels in tunnel-ventilated layer breeding houses; additionally, there is limited information available on airborne microorganism distribution. This research investigated the spatial distribution of microbial population, and the effectiveness of spraying slightly acidic electrolyzed water in reducing microbial levels. The research revealed that slightly acidic electrolyzed water spray was a potential method for reducing microbial presence in layer houses. The knowledge gained in this research about the microbial population variations in the building may assist producers in managing the bird housing environment and engineers in designing poultry houses.