New insights into disruption of iron homeostasis by environmental pollutants

Among the numerous health conditions environmental pollutants can cause, chronic exposure to pollutants including persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals has been shown to disturb a specific biological homeostatic process, the iron metabolism in human body. Disorders of iron metabolism are among the common diseases of humans and encompass a broad spectrum of diseases with different clinical manifestations, ranging from anemia to iron overload, and possibly to neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Hepcidin–ferroportin (FPN) signaling is one of the key mechanisms responsible for iron supply, utilization, recycling, and storage, and recent studies demonstrated that exposure to environmental pollutants including POPs and heavy metals could lead to disruption of the hepcidin–FPN axis along with disordered systemic iron homeostasis and diseases. This article introduces and highlights the accompanying review article by Drs. Xu and Liu in this journal, which elaborates in detail the adverse effects of environmental pollutants on iron metabolism, and the mechanisms responsible for these toxicological outcomes. It also points out the knowledge gaps still existing in this subject matter. Research that will fill these gaps will improve our understanding of the issue and provide useful information to prevent or treat diseases induced by environmental pollutants.     

Pollution levels and characteristics of phthalate esters in indoor air in hospitals

The concentrations of phthalate esters(PAEs) in Chinese hospitals were investigated by simultaneously determining concentrations of gas- and particle-phase PAEs. PAEs were detected in two third-class first-grade hospitals, two second-class first-grade hospitals, and a community health service center. Hospital drugstores had the highest concentration(24.19 μg/m3), which was 1.54 times that of newly decorated houses. The second highest concentration was found in the transfusion rooms, averaging 21.89 μg/m3; this was followed by the concentrations of PAEs in the nurse's workstations, the wards, and the doctor's offices, with mean concentrations of 20.66, 20.0, and 16.92 μg/m3, respectively. The lowest concentrations were found in the hallways(16.30 μg/m3). Of the six different kinds of PAEs found, major pollutants included diethyl phthalates, dibutyl phthalates, butylbenzyl phthalates and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalates, comprising more than 80% of all PAEs present.Meanwhile, a comparison between different wards showed that PAE concentrations in the maternity wards were 1.63 times higher than in the main wards. Based on known health hazards, our results suggest that the PAEs seriously influence the health of the pregnant women and babies; therefore, it is of great importance to take the phthalate concentrations in hospitals into consideration. In addition, hospital indoor air was more seriously contaminated than the air of newly decorated houses.     

Assessment of lead pollution in topsoils of a southern Italy area: Analysis of urban and peri-urban environment

Exposure to lead (Pb) may affect adversely human health. Mapping soil Pb contents is essential to obtain a quantitative estimate of potential risk of Pb contamination. The main aim of this paper was to determine the soil Pb concentrations in the urban and peri-urban area of Cosenza–Rende to map their spatial distribution and assess the probability that soil Pb concentration exceeds a critical threshold that might cause concern for human health. Samples were collected at 149 locations from residual and non-residual topsoil in gardens, parks, flower-beds, and agricultural fields. Fine earth fraction of soil samples was analyzed by X-ray Fluorescence spectrometry. Stochastic images generated by the sequential Gaussian simulation were jointly combined to calculate the probability of exceeding the critical threshold that could be used to delineate the potentially risky areas. Results showed areas in which Pb concentration values were higher to the Italian regulatory values. These polluted areas were quite large and likely, they could create a significant health risk for human beings and vegetation in the near future. The results demonstrated that the proposed approach can be used to study soil contamination to produce geochemical maps, and identify hot-spot areas for soil Pb concentration.     

我国区域空气污染治理效率及其影响机制——基于超效率SBM模型和门槛回归模型

随着人民对美好生活需求的日益增长,政府空气污染治理的效率问题日益得到重视。本文从地方政府空气污染治理效率及其影响因素的视角入手,以全国30个省份为研究对象,运用超效率SBM模型测算2003—2015年各省级区域的空气污染治理效率。在此基础上,运用门槛回归模型分析政府空气污染治理效率的影响机制。研究表明:①地区间空气污染治理效率差异性较为显著。中部、西部空气污染治理效率整体呈下降趋势。东部和东北地区空气污染治理效率则上升比较平稳。②政策规划、碳源、污染物排放和环境治理投入表现出双重门槛特征,其中碳源对空气污染治理效率影响显著,而以碳为首的能源消费结构则主要对中部和西部空气污染治理效率产生影响。落后地区政府应注重产业升级,财政上应对碳税等税目进行征收,产业上应鼓励企业创新,并对落后企业进行倒逼升级。     

大气污染防治与可持续发展探究

目前,我国积极开展大气污染防治工作,提出了系列防治工作目标,正在全面落实。做好大气污染的防治,并将其作为系统性工程,落实到实践,对推动社会经济可持续发展有着重要意义。本文基于可持续发展目的,针对当前大气污染防治工作做了简单论述,并提出了防治策略,希望能够给相关人员提供参考。     

突发性环境污染事故应急监测的措施分析

突发性环境污染事故会对环境造成较大的伤害,如果不能及时采取措施,就会使污染进一步扩大,不仅带来经济的损失,而且会破坏到生态的平衡。因此,要建立起突发环境污染事故的应急监测,这样才能尽可能的减少突发性环境污染事件的影响。基于此,本文从突发性环境污染事故的特征入手,首先分析其应急监测的意义,然后探究具体的措施,希望可以借此给突发性环境污染应急监测的相关研究提供一定的参考意见。     

宁波月湖的水质改善与生态修复

随着浙江"五水共治"工作的深化,宁波作为浙江"五水共治"的中坚力量,始终把"五水共治"作为全市工作的首要任务和突破重点。自1999年进行清淤后,月湖水质得到短期改善,然而治标不治本的治理措施,并没有让月湖水质得到根本改善。因此,对月湖进行科学有效的生态修复,针对性地处理水污染问题,使之重新焕发活力具有十分重要的意义。     

绿色化工环保技术与环境治理的关系

我国化工产业的不断发展,带动了我国经济的飞速发展,给人们的生活带来了许多便利条件,但是与此同时也对我国的环境造成了严重的破坏,化工生产用到许多化学材料,在生产过程中会产生大量的化学废弃物,对环境的污染造成很严重的影响。我国对化工生产给环境保护造成的影响高度重视,随着绿色化工环保技术的出现,有效解决了化工产业造成的环境污染问题,对我国的环境问题进行了有效的改善,对我国工业的发展具有重要意义。本文针对绿色化工环保技术进行分析,探讨绿色化工环保技术在环境治理中的有效应用。     

环境监测中重金属污染的控制对策分析

在我国社会经济快速发展的过程中,人们对自然资源需求无度,造成生态环境破坏问题非常严重。通过环境监测可以及时分析空气中有毒有害的物质成分,并且对环境污染问题进行及时有效的解决。但是在监测的过程中所采用大量的空气试剂很容易造成环境二次污染等问题,为此必须要积极加强对环境监测中重金属污染的合理控制,对空气试剂产生的大量废弃物进行及时的回收处理,从而有效避免出现二次污染的情况,充分发挥环境监测的作用。     

污染农田土壤修复产业发展面临的问题及建议

随着经济的发展,我国的农业建设也迎来了新的发展机遇,但是目前我国的农业发展过程中存在着严重的土壤污染问题,污染农田土壤修复的问题有待解决。本文围绕污染农田土壤修复这一问题展开研究,望有所助益。