Leaching of arsenic from coal fly ashes 2. Arsenic pre‐leaching with sodium gluconate solution

The present study deals with the development of an efficient and reliable process for safe disposal of coal fly ash to remove arsenic that has been found to be the most easily leachable and hazardous heavy metal in coal fly ash. Pre‐leaching of fly ash prior to disposal by a natural chelating agent, sodium gluconate (SG), was proposed and studied. Several operational factors influencing arsenic leachability, such as concentration of SG solution, liquid to solid ratio, pH, length of leaching time and leaching temperature were examined. Arsenic was found to leach out substantially with SG, but almost no further release was observed from the ash pre‐leached by SG. After the pre‐leaching treatment, the desirable high buffering capacity of the ash was well sustained. SG solution was effectively regenerated by activated alumina adsorption so that it could be successfully reused for multiple leaching/adsorption cycles.     

Arsenic and sulfur nanoparticle synthesis mimicking environmental conditions of submarine shallow-water hydrothermal vents

Arsenic and sulfur mineralization is a natural phenomenon occurring in hydrothermal systems where parameters like temperature and organic matter(OM) can influence the mobilization of the toxic metalloid in marine environments. In the present study we analyze the influence of temperature and OM(particularly sulfur-containing additives) on As and S precipitation based on the recent discovery of As-rich nanoparticles in the hydrothermal system near the coast of the Greek island Milos. To this end, ...     

Immobilization and transformation of co-existing arsenic and antimony in highly contaminated sediment by nano zero-valent iron

Arsenic(As) and antimony(Sb) are usually coexistent in mine wastes and pose a great threat to human health. The As immobilization by nano zero-valent iron(n ZVI) is promising, however, the stabilization for co-occurring As and Sb is not known. Herein, the immobilization and transformation of As and Sb in n ZVI-treated sediments were evaluated using complementary leaching experiments and characterization techniques. Raw sediment samples from a gold-antimony deposit revealed the co-existence of ul...     

Arsenic trophodynamics along the food chains/webs of different ecosystems: a review

In drinking water, arsenic (As) food chain accumulation may pose a risk to human health. An attempt was made to synthesise the published information concerning As trophic transfer along the food chain/web of various marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems. Some investigations included As speciation. Further objectives were to outline the factors potentially influencing As trophodynamics and to understand the consequence of As trophic transfer in the environment.     

Comments on the Carcinogenicity and Mutagenicity of metals and their compounds†

The carcinogenicity of metals has received extensive study, both epidemiologically and in the laboratory. These have included case reports of occasional human occurrence or clusters of cancer cases as well as extensive epidemiologic studies; in addition, there has been significant laboratory research on the whole animals and in vitro systems. This body of information will be examined selectively.

I will not in this paper attempt a comprehensive review of the mutagenicity and carcinogenicity of metals and their compounds. Rather, I will attempt to set forth some historical perspectives, and to comment on some current gaps and needs.

Other papers in this workshop have presented thorough and very current reviews of most of the topics briefly noted in this presentation and do not require repetition here.

The cancer issue has been studied and reported on far more extensively than that relating to heritable mutations. There has been in recent years increasing interest in the use of short term tests for mutagenicity and cell transformation. These, however, are primarily with respect to their relationship to cancer production rather than to germ cell injury. Interest in cancer from metal compounds goes back a long time; in fact, one of the earliest reports was on the carcinogenicity of arsenic not many decades after the pioneering report of Sir Perceval Pott on cancer in chimney sweeps. Since then cancer has been definitely associated in humans with chromium compounds, nickel, and with less assurance but probably definitely with beryllium and cadmium. The confirmation of these findings in laboratory animals has been uneven. In the case of arsenic, for example, there has been only limited success in the production of cancer in laboratory animals with arsenic.

Many other metals have been found in laboratory studies to produce cancer, although with most of these, evidence of production of cancer in humans is either absent or extremely uncertain.

The extensive body of recent information relating to the testing of metals with a variety of short term tests will be briefly reviewed.     

Arsenic in Two Taiwanese Bivalves,Crassostrea Gigas (Thumberg) and Meretrix Lusoria Röding

Abstract

Arsenic, one of the most toxic elements, is present naturally in marine organisms at much higher concentrations than in terrestrial organisms. the arsenic contents in two marine bivalves, Crassostrea gigas (Thumberg) and Meretrix lusoria Röding, from Taiwan were investigated. the total arsenic content of C. gigas (33.7–60.5 μg g^?1) is higher than that of M. lusoria (30.2–34.6 μg g^?1). These two bivalves from Lu-kang contain more arsenic in soft tissues than specimens from other areas (significant at 1%, t-test). On the other hand, samples from Pen-hu contain less arsenic than those from other areas (significant at 5%). the arsenic contents of other Indo-Pacific bivalves are also given for comparison.     

联用技术在砷形态分析中的研究进展

摘要：目前用于元素砷的形态分析技术主要是色谱与原子光谱、质谱等的联用,最常用的是HPLC与ICP—OES、ICP—MS的联用,方法准确可靠,灵敏度高,但是不能提供砷化合物的分子结构信息。因此以色谱一电喷雾质谱（ESI—MS）的联用作为定性分析的主要手段,但是ESI—MS灵敏度低,易受基体干扰,因此需要复杂的前处理技术。     

湿法消解-原子荧光光谱法同时测定地表水中的砷和汞

为提高检测效率、降低检测成本、提高检测的准确性,采用硝酸消解水样,断续流动进样,在KBH_4-酸体系中、最佳的仪器试验条件下,用原子荧光光谱法同时测定地表水中的砷和汞。实验结果表明:砷、汞检出限分别为0.109、0.0026μg/L,线性范围分别为0～40μg/L和0～2μg/L,精密度都是1.4%,加标回收率分别为93.5%～107%和96.0%～104%。表明该检测方法检出限低、干扰性小、精密度高、测定结果稳定,能够满足地表水中砷和汞同时测定要求。     

Using Mediterranean shrubs for the phytoremediation of a soil impacted by pyritic wastes in Southern Spain: a field experiment

Re-vegetation is the main aim of ecological restoration projects, and in Mediterranean environments native plants are desirable to achieve successful restoration. In 1998, the burst of a tailings dam flooded the Guadiamar river valley downstream from Aznalcóllar (Southern Spain) with sludges that contained elevated concentrations of metals and metalloids, polluting soils and waters. A phytoremediation experiment to assess the potential use of native shrub species for the restoration of soils affected by the spillage was performed from 2005 to 2007, with soils divided into two groups: pH < 5 and pH > 5. Four native shrubs (Myrtus communis, Retama sphaerocarpa, Rosmarinus officinalis and Tamarix gallica) were planted and left to grow without intervention. Trace element concentrations in soils and plants, their extractability in soils, transfer factors and plant survival were used to identify the most-interesting species for phytoremediation. Total As was higher in soils with pH < 5. Ammonium sulphate-extractable zinc, copper, cadmium and aluminium concentrations were higher in very-acid soils, but arsenic was extracted more efficiently when soil pH was >5. Unlike As, which was either fixed by Fe oxides or retained as sulphide, the extractable metals showed significant relationships with the corresponding total soil metal concentration and inverse relationships with soil pH. T. gallica, R. officinalis and R. sphaerocarpa survived better in soils with pH > 5, while M. communis had better survival at pH < 5. R. sphaerocarpa showed the highest survival (30%) in all soils. Trace element transfer from soil to harvestable parts was low for all species and elements, and some species may have been able to decrease trace element availability in the soil. Our results suggest that R. sphaerocarpa is an adequate plant species for phytostabilising these soils, although more research is needed to address the self-sustainability of this remediation technique and the associated environmental changes.     

Distribution and chemical speciation of arsenic in different sized atmospheric particulate matters

The distribution and chemical speciation of arsenic (As) in different sized atmospheric particulate matters (PMs), including total suspended particles (TSP), PM₁₀, and PM_2.5, collected from Baoding, China were analyzed. The average total mass concentrations of As in TSP, PM₁₀, and PM_2.5 were 31.5, 35.3, and 54.1 µg/g, respectively, with an order of PM_2.5 >PM ₁₀ > TSP, revealing that As is prone to accumulate on fine particles. Due to the divergent toxicities of different As species, speciation analysis of As in PMs is further conducted. Most of previous studies mainly focused on inorganic arsenite (iAs^III), inorganic arsenate (iAs^V), monomethylarsonate (MMA), and dimethylarsinate (DMA) in PMs, while the identification and sensitive quantification of trimethylarsine oxide (TMAO) were rarely reported. In this study, a high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry system was optimized for As speciation including TMAO in PMs. An anion exchange column was used to separate MMA, DMA and iAs^V, while a cation exchange column to separate TMAO and iAs^III. Results showed that iAs^V was the dominate component in all the samples, corresponding to a portion of 79.2% ± 9.3% of the total extractable species, while iAs^III, TMAO and DMA made up the remaining 21%. Our study demonstrated that iAs^III accounted for about 14.4% ± 11.4% of the total extracted species, with an average concentration of 1.7 ± 1.6 ng/m³. It is worth noting that TMAO was widely present in the samples (84 out of 97 samples), which supported the assumption that TMAO was ubiquitous in atmospheric particles.