Occurrence,sources, and ecological risks of PBDEs,PCBs, OCPs,and PAHs in surface sediments of the Yangtze River Delta city cluster,China

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 25 surface sediments in three cities (Nantong, Wuxi, and Suzhou) in the Yangtze River Delta, eastern China were measured. The mean concentrations were 378, 45.8, 1.98, 4,002 ng/g for PBDEs, OCPs, PCBs, and PAHs, respectively. Their levels in the sediments in the three cities were generally consistent with the city industrialization. PBDEs and OCPs were markedly dominated by deca-BDE (>90 %) and DDTs (>70 %). A principle component analysis of the analytes identified three major factors suggesting different sources of the contaminants in the sediments. PBDEs and the organic carbon in the sediments have common sources from industrial activities; whereas OCPs and PCBs, correlated with the second factor, were mainly from historical sources. The third factor with loadings of PAHs is indicative of various combustion sources. Ecological risk assessment indicated that the potential highest risk is from DDTs, for which 22 sites exceed the effects range low (ERL) values and three sites exceed the effects range median (ERM) value.     

Transition of human and livestock waste management in rural Hanoi: a material flow analysis of nitrogen and phosphorus during 1980–2010

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Human and livestock waste, i.e., excreta, were intensively used in crop cultivation in Asia over the years. However, rapid economic growth induced...     

Recent levels of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in sediments of the sewer system in Hanoi, Vietnam

The occurrence, temporal trend, sources and toxicity of PCBs and organochlorine pesticides were investigated in sediment samples from the sewer system of Hanoi City, including the rivers Nhue, To Lich, Lu, Set, Kim Nguu and the Yen So Lake. In general, the concentrations of the pollutants followed the order DDTs > PCBs > HCHs (β-HCH) > HCB. However, the pollution pattern was different for the DDTs and PCBs when the sampling locations were individually evaluated. The concentrations of the DDTs, PCBs, HCHs, and HCB ranged from 4.4 to 1100, 1.3 to 384, <0.2 to 36 and <0.2 to 22 ng/g d.w., respectively. These levels are higher than at any other location in Vietnam. Compared to measurements from 1997, the DDTs, PCBs, β-HCH and HCB levels show an increasing trend with DDT/DDE ratios, indicating very recent inputs into the environment although these persistent compounds are banned in Vietnam since 1995.     

Esterification of sugarcane bagasse by citric acid for Pb2+ adsorption: effect of different chemical pretreatment methods

In this study, different pretreatment strategies of sugarcane bagasse prior to citric acid modification were investigated in terms of Pb²⁺ adsorption capacity. Pretreatment strategies included the use of NaOH, HCl, and C₂H₅OH in various concentrations. In order to fundamentally understand how these pretreatment methods affect the modification of sugarcane bagasse by citric acid as well as the Pb²⁺ adsorption capacity of sugarcane bagasse, three main components of sugarcane bagasse namely cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin were isolated and esterified by citric acid under the same conditions. ATR-FTIR, XPS, SEM, and an analysis of the number of carboxylic acid groups were used to investigate the physicochemical and chemical properties of the materials. These three components were proved to participate in adsorption and induce the esterification with citric acid. Hence, pretreatment with ethanol and 0.01 M NaOH which could retain cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in sugarcane bagasse achieved a high Pb²⁺ adsorption capacity, i.e., 122.4 and 97 mg/g after the esterification with citric acid. In contrast, pretreatment with 0.5 M NaOH and 0.1 M HCl removed lignin and hemicellulose, leading to the lowest value of approximately 45 mg/g for citric acid esterified-pretreated sugarcane bagasse. XPS analysis and number of carboxylic group measurement confirmed the esterification between bagasse and citric acid. To understand the adsorption mechanism of adsorbent, two kinetic models including pseudo-first-order model and pseudo-second-order model were applied. The experimental data were well described by the pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption isotherm data were fitted Langmuir and Freundlich.

     

Status of water use and potential of rainwater harvesting for replacing centralized supply system in remote mountainous areas: a case study

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The failure of the centralized water supply system forced XY community to become more dependent on uncertain and unstable water sources. The results...     

BTEX pollution caused by motorcycles in the megacity of HoChiMinh

Monitoring of benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTEX) was conducted along with traffic counts at 17 roadside sites in urban areas of HoChiMinh. Toluene was the most abundant substance, followed by p,m-xylenes, benzene, o-xylene and ethylbenzene. The maximum observed hour-average benzene concentration was 254 μg/m3 . Motorcycles contributed to 91% of the traffic fleet. High correlations among BTEX species, between BTEX concentrations and the volume of on-road motorcycles, and between inter-species ratios in air and in gasoline indicate the motorcycle-exhaust origin of BTEX species. Daily concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, p,m-xylenes and o-xylene were 56, 121, 21, 64 and 23 μg/m 3 , respectively. p,m-xylenes possess the highest ozone formation potential among the BTEX family.     

含油污泥无害化处置优化研究及生命周期评价

提出含油污泥的优化处置方案,并通过生命周期评价方法(LCA)对优化方案进行环境影响评价。结果表明,与原处置工艺相比优化后环境负荷降低了99.62%。     

A numerical study of summer ozone concentration over the Kanto area of Japan using the MM5/CMAQ model

We assessed the ability of the MM5/CMAQ model to predict ozone (O3) air quality over the Kanto area and to investigate the factors that a ect simulation of O3. We find that the coupled MM5/CMAQ model is a useful tool for the analysis of urban environmental problems. The simulation results were compared with observational data and were found to accurately replicate most of the important observed characteristics. The initial and boundary conditions were found to have a significant e ect on simulated O3 concentrations. The results show that on hot and dry days with high O3 concentration, the CMAQ model provides a poor simulation of O3 maxima when using initial and boundary conditions derived from the CMAQ default data. The simulation of peak O3 concentrations is improved with the JCAP initial and boundary conditions. On mild days, the default CMAQ initial and boundary conditions provide a more realistic simulation. Meteorological conditions also have a strong impact on the simulated distribution and accumulation of O3 concentrations in this area. Low O3 concentrations are simulated during mild weather conditions, and high concentrations are predicted during hot and dry weather. By investigating the e ects of di erent meteorological conditions on each model process, we find that advection and di usion di er the most between the two meteorological regimes. Thus, di erences in the winds that govern the transport of O3 and its precursors are likely the most important meteorological drivers of ozone concentration over the central Kanto area.     

Arsenic and other trace elements in groundwater and human urine in Ha Nam province,the Northern Vietnam: contamination characteristics and risk assessment

The contamination characteristics of arsenic and other trace elements in groundwater and the potential risks of arsenic from the groundwater were investigated. Elevated contamination of arsenic, barium and manganese was observed in tube-well water of two villages (Chuyen Ngoai and Chau Giang) in Ha Nam province in the Northern Vietnam. Concentrations of As in the groundwater ranged from 12.8 to 884 µg/L with mean values in Chuyen Ngoai and Chau Giang were 614.7 and 160.1 µg/L, respectively. About 83 % of these samples contained As concentrations exceeding WHO drinking water guideline of 10 μg/L. The mean values of Mn and Ba in groundwater from Chuyen Ngoai and Chau Giang were 300 and 657 μg/L and 650 and 468 μg/L, respectively. The mean value of Ba concentration in groundwater in both Chuyen Ngoai and Chau Giang was about 22 % of the samples exceeded the WHO guideline (700 µg/L). Arsenic concentrations in human urine of residents from Chuyen Ngoai and Chau Giang were the range from 8.6 to 458 µg/L. The mean values of Mn and Ba in human urine of local people from Chuyen Ngoai were 46.9 and 62.8 μg/L, respectively, while those in people from Chau Giang were 25.9 and 45.9 μg/L, respectively. The average daily dose from ingesting arsenic for consuming both untreated and treated groundwater is from 0.02 to 11.5 and 0.003 to 1.6 μg/kg day, respectively. Approximately, 57 % of the families using treated groundwater and 64 % of the families using untreated groundwater could be affected by elevated arsenic exposure.