Impact of particle sizes on health risks and source-specific health risks for heavy metals in road dust

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - To analyze the impact of particle sizes on sources and related health risks for heavy metals, road dust samples in Beijing were collected and sifted...     

Health risks of heavy metals in contaminated soils and food crops irrigated with wastewater in Beijing, China

Consumption of food crops contaminated with heavy metals is a major food chain route for human exposure. We studied the health risks of heavy metals in contaminated food crops irrigated with wastewater. Results indicate that there is a substantial buildup of heavy metals in wastewater-irrigated soils, collected from Beijing, China. Heavy metal concentrations in plants grown in wastewater-irrigated soils were significantly higher (P相似文献   

热处理对土壤重金属形态的影响及健康风险

为探究土壤热修复后的土壤重金属形态以及健康风险的变化,以退役电镀企业地块的污染土壤为研究目标,分别在200、400和600℃下处理土壤15 min,以分析热处理对土壤重金属Cu、Pb、Ni和Cd赋存形态的影响、生物可给性变化以及重金属人体健康风险的差异.结果 表明,经热处理后,土壤Cu、Pb和Ni的酸可提取态增加,增加...     

Urinary heavy metals in residents from a typical city in South China: human exposure and health risks

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Although heavy metal pollution has developed into a major global environmental problem, most research has focused on specific elements, especially...     

Assessment of atmospheric pollution from toxic heavy metals in two cities in India

Atmospheric concentrations of Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn have been measured at different locations in Bombay. The concentration levels of these metals in blood and teeth of Bombay residents were also measured to assess the current and integrated exposure. Higher atmospheric concentrations were observed in higher vehicular traffic zones in Bombay. Environmental monitoring of Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn was also carried out at Moradabad, the largest production and exporting centre of brass wares in India. Surface soil concentrations of these metals were also measured in Moradabad and Bombay. The analysis of samples was carried out by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). The study indicates that automobile exhaust is the dominant source for heavy metals in the environment of Bombay whereas the brass industry is responsible for enhanced concentrations of these metals in Moradabad.     

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.     

Biosorption of heavy metals using rice milling by-products. Characterisation and application for removal of metals from aqueous effluents

The morphological characteristics as well as chemical composition of rice husks were evaluated by different techniques such as spectroscopy and thermogravimetry. The material, which is considered a by-product obtained from rice milling, was then investigated as a potential decontaminant of toxic heavy metals present in laboratory effluents. Studies using glass columns were carried out at room temperature employing 100 ml of synthetic solutions containing Cd(II) and Pb(II) at 100 mg l(-1) in order to study the effects of pH, flow rate and particle size on Cd(II) and Pb(II) adsorption. After establishing the optimised conditions, the potentiality of rice husks for removing Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions from 100 ml of laboratory effluent, presenting concentrations before treatment of 22 and 12 mg l(-1), respectively, was evaluated. The ability to take up other metals species, such as Al(III), Cu(II) and Zn(II), present in this effluent was also studied. According to the data obtained, under the optimised conditions (pH=4.0, flow rate of 8.0 ml min(-1) and < or =355 microm rice husk particle size), 30 g of husks were necessary to attain the permissible limits for effluent release, as recommend by the EPA, for those species evolved in this work (Al, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn).     

大辽河主要污染源重金属特征及污染评价

为了解大辽河水环境中重金属污染来源及其污染程度,对大辽河上游来水以及主要排污口的表层水体和表层沉积物主要重金属(Cr、Co、Cd、Mn、Zn、Ni、Cu、Pb、As)浓度进行了研究,并分别采用综合污染指数评价法和地累积指数评价法对表层水体和表层沉积物污染程度进行了评价。结果表明,大辽河上游来水中Cr、Cd、Zn、Cu、As、Pb元素浓度均低于《地表水环境质量标准》(GB 3838—2002)Ⅰ类标准规定的限值;太子河中Cr、Co、Ni、Cu、Zn、Cd、Pb元素浓度较高,海城河Mn、As元素浓度较高;主要排污口水体中Cr、Cu、As、Cd、Pb元素浓度均低于GB 3838—2002的Ⅰ类标准规定的限值,其中纱厂潮沟、港监潮沟排污口水体重金属浓度较高。大辽河沉积物重金属浓度表现出自上游向下游递减的特征,西潮沟、港监潮沟排污口沉积物重金属浓度高于其他排污口。综合污染指数评价法表明,大辽河水质情况较好,太子河存在较高的潜在污染风险;而地累积指数评价法表明,大辽河主要汇入河流和主要污染源沉积物重金属污染程度大多为清洁,只有西潮沟排污口沉积物中As处于轻度污染,需要引起注意。     

Assessment of airborne heavy metal pollution by aboveground plant parts

Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) and oleander (Nerium oleander L.) leaves, bark and wood samples were collected at different sites around an industrial area (Huelva, SW Spain) and compared with samples of the same species from a background site. Samples were analysed with respect to the following pollutants: Al, Ba, Cr, Cu, Fe and Pb by ICP-AES. The suitability of different plant parts as biomonitors of pollution was investigated. In pine samples from the polluted sites the ratio of concentrations between bark and wood was high for Al, Ba, Cu and Fe, whereas no differences were found in samples from the unpolluted area. No differences were detected in oleander for the same ratio. In the oleander species, the ratio between leaves and wood concentration allowed to distinguish between control and polluted sites. The ratio of the concentration between leaves and wood was elevated for Al, Ba and Fe in pine samples from the polluted sites. The ratio of the concentration in bark or leaves to their concentration in wood might be useful to detect inorganic atmospheric pollutants.     

石灰干化污泥对土壤重金属稳定化处理的效果

以采自湖南省嘉禾县重金属复合污染土壤为研究对象,采用城市污水处理石灰干化污泥作为稳定剂,对污染土壤进行稳定化处理,并采用TCLP和BCR连续提取法对稳定化效果进行分析和评价。研究结果表明,单独使用石灰干化污泥,TCLP浸出浓度随着干化污泥质量分数的增加而显著减少,干化污泥的质量分数为40%时,稳定化率最大为Zn-98.92%、Cd-99.06%、Pb-96.84%;但是干化污泥的高pH值导致稳定后土壤中As的浸出增加。为了恢复植物生长功能,经过亚铁盐和磷酸调节pH后,石灰干化污泥稳定过的土壤pH有效降低,同时亚铁盐和磷酸有利于促进Pb和Zn的稳定效果;但是对Cd的稳定有负面影响;另外,亚铁盐的加入同时可以减少As的浸出浓度。经处理后土壤中重金属形态由不稳定态转为稳定态,使重金属的浸出浓度明显降低,减少了土壤重金属的浸出毒性。该研究结果表明,石灰干化污泥可以作为资源回收利用,应用于重金属污染土壤的修复中,并能改善稳定后土壤适宜植物生长的理化性质。     

Disinfection and removal of human pathogenic bacteria in arctic waste stabilization ponds

Wastewater stabilization ponds (WSPs) are commonly used to treat municipal wastewater in Arctic Canada. The biological treatment in the WSPs is strongly influenced by climatic conditions. Currently, there is limited information about the removal of fecal and pathogenic bacteria during the short cool summer treatment season. With relevance to public health, the objectives of this paper were to determine if treatment in arctic WSPs resulted in the disinfection (i.e., removal of fecal indicator bacteria, Escherichia coli) and removal of selected human bacterial pathogens from the treated effluent. The treatment performance, with focus on microbial removal, was assessed for the one-cell WSP in Pond Inlet (Nunavut [NU]) and two-cell WSP in Clyde River (NU) over three consecutive (2012–2014) summer treatment seasons (late June-early September). The WSPs provided a primary disinfection treatment of the wastewater with a 2–3 Log removal of generic indicator E. coli. The bacterial pathogens Salmonella spp., pathogenic E. coli, and Listeria monocytogenes, but not Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter pylori, were detected in the untreated and treated wastewater, indicating that human pathogens were not reliably removed. Seasonal and annual variations in temperature significantly (p < 0.05) affected the disinfection efficiency. Improved disinfection and pathogen removal was observed for the two-cell system in Clyde River as compared to the one-cell system in Pond Inlet. A quantitative microbial risk assessment should be performed to determine if the release of low levels of human pathogens into the arctic environment poses a human health risk.     

土壤重金属的植物污染化学研究进展

针对中国土壤重金属污染加剧的趋势,为改善土壤环境质量和保障农产品安全,提出了土壤重金属的植物污染化学研究领域.结合多年的研究工作,从土壤重金属的植物根际化学行为、土壤重金属的植物吸收与解毒机制和重金属污染土壤的植物-微生物交互作用等方面简要阐述了土壤-植物系统中重金属的分布、存在形态、迁移转化、累积及生物学效应和控制规律的研究进展,并对将来的植物污染化学理论研究提出了展望.     

Aquatic environments polluted with antibiotics and heavy metals: a human health hazard

Aquatic environments often receive wastewater containing pollutants such as antibiotics and heavy metals from hospital sewage, as well as contaminants from soil. The presence of these pollutants can increase the rate of exchange of resistant genes between environmental and pathogenic bacteria, which can make the treatment of various types of bacterial infections in humans and animals difficult, in addition to causing environmental problems such as ecological risk. In this study, two tetracycline-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (EW32 and EW33), isolated from aquatic environments close to industries and a hospital in southeastern Brazil, were investigated regarding the possible association between tetracycline and heavy metal resistance. The isolate EW32 presented a conjugative plasmid with coresistance to tetracycline and copper, reinforcing the concern that antibiotic resistance by acquisition of plasmids can be induced by the selective pressure of heavy metals in the environment.     

Effects of heavy metals on sea urchin embryo development. Part 2. Interactive toxic effects of heavy metals in synthetic mine effluents

Interactive toxic effects between heavy metals were investigated using a sea urchin (Anthocidaris crassispina) bioassay. An effluent from an abandoned mine showed significant inhibitory effects on embryo development as well as producing specific malformations. The effects on the embryos were reproduced by synthetic polluted seawater consisting of eight metals (manganese, lead, cadmium, nickel, zinc, chromium, iron, and copper) at the concentrations detected in the mine effluent. This indicated that the heavy metals were responsible for the effects observed. Five heavy metals were ranked in decreasing order of toxicity as follows: Cu>Zn>Pb>Fe>Mn. Among these, zinc and manganese could cause malformation of the embryos. From bioassay results using 27 combinations of heavy metals, 16 combinations including zinc could produce specific malformations, such as radialized, exo-gastrulal, and spaceship Apollo-like gastrulal embryos. Zinc was one of the elements responsible for causing malformations and its effects were intensified by the presence of the other metals, such as manganese, lead, iron, and copper.     

Soil pollution and changes in vegetation due to heavy metals in sinter-pavements

The use of heavy metal-contaminated sinters from a zinc smelter for paving roads, has resulted in changes in the species richness and genetic constitution of the roadside vegetation. In time the heavy metals in the sinters leach out, vertically to ground water levels as well as horizontally where they are taken up by crops growing beside these roads. Roadside soil from sinter-paved roads definitely constitutes an environmental hazard according to the present legislative standards.     

大宝山矿区水体和沉积物中重金属的污染评价

分别于丰水期和枯水期对广东省大宝山矿区铁龙拦泥坝至凉桥河段水体中溶解态的重金属进行了调查,应用EPA推荐的健康风险评价模型发现,水体中非致癌物通过饮水途径所导致平均个人年风险排列顺序是Cu〉Pb〉Zn,最大值的平均个人年风险在丰水期和枯水期的平均值分别是2.14×10-7 a-1和4.13×10-7 a-1,小于国际防辐射委员会（ICRP）推荐的最大可接受平均个人年风险5.0×10-5a-1。致癌物Cd的平均个人年风险在丰水期和枯水期的平均值分别是3.52×10-4 a-1和4.53×10-4 a-1,大于ICRP推荐的最大可接受值,同时也大于非致癌物3～4个数量级。另外,通过对枯水期沉积物的重金属总量分析,发现凉桥槽对坑支流受水体pH的影响,导致其沉积物重金属的浓度最高。根据Long和Macdonald利用生物效应数据库法建立的沉积物质量基准,发现除冷水泾外,其他采样点的平均效应中值指数（mERMQ）值都大于1.5,可见沉积物中的重金属会对当地底栖生物产生毒害作用。     

层次分析法与地理信息系统在农田土壤重金属污染评价中的应用

以《土壤环境质量标准》(GB 15618—1995)二级标准作为评价标准,采用以改进层次分析法确定权重的加权平均法对南京市郊典型蔬菜地的土壤重金属污染状况进行了评价。结果表明,研究区土壤中Cu、Pb、Cr的单因子污染指数平均值均小于1,含量超标率均不超过10.32%,而Cd的单因子污染指数平均值达2.15,含量超标率为84.13%,急需对该区土壤和受体做进一步的Cd污染深入调查或风险评估;研究区土壤重金属综合污染指数平均值为1.28,属玷污水平;利用ArcGIS 8.3软件进行土壤重金属污染的空间分布特征分析结果表明,研究区各元素的污染程度为Cd>Pb>Cu>Cr,各元素的污染格局较为相似,城市化活动对土壤污染贡献较大;研究区有81.16%的土壤重金属污染级别为玷污,3.78%处于本底级,15.06%处于安全级。     

Characteristics of heavy metals in soils and grains of wheat and maize from farmland irrigated with sewage

The farmland irrigation with the sewage is a common and better pathway to save the resource of groundwater in Northern China. The investigation was conducted in the farmland along the Fuhe River to explore characteristics of heavy metals in soils and grains of wheat and maize from a long-term sewage-irrigated area of Baoding region. The results showed that the topsoil with long-term sewage irrigation accumulated more Cd, Pb, and Hg compared with that of soil irrigated with groundwater and their corresponding natural background values. Cd concentrations in 48% of sewage-irrigated soil samples exceeded the Chinese safety limitation at 0.6 mg/kg, but less Cd accumulated in crop grains and did not pose the potential health risk. On the contrary, Pb levels in soils irrigated with sewage were lower than the safety limitation but Pb concentrations in 24% of wheat grain samples exceeded the Chinese national safety limit. Long-term sewage irrigation did not increase As, Cr, and Ni concentrations in soils or crop grains. The target hazard quotient (THQ) of heavy metals in edible grains of crops was selected to assess their risk to human health. Total THQ values were higher than 1.0 for the wheat samples from sewage-irrigated area and both sewage-irrigated and smelter-impacted areas, and As is the main contributor to the total THQ and posed the potential risk to human health. Therefore, the accumulation of Cd, Pb, Hg, and As in soils and crops in sewage-irrigated area should be monitored continuously to ensure food safety and security.

     

Elevated urbanization-driven plant accumulation and human intake risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in crops of peri-urban farmlands

As an ubiquitous carcinogen, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are closely related to anthropogenic activities. The process of urbanization leads to the spatial interlacing of farmlands and urbanized zones. However, field evidence on the influence of urbanization on the accumulation of PAHs in crops of peri-urban farmlands is lacking. This study comparatively investigated the urbanization-driven levels, compositions, and sources of PAHs in 120 paired plant and soil samples collected from the Yangtze River Delta in China and their species-specific human intake risks. The concentrations of PAHs in crops and soils in the peri-urban areas were 2407.92 ng g^?1 and 546.64 ng g^?1, respectively, which are significantly higher than those in the rural areas. The PAHs in the root were highly relevant to those in the soils (R²?=?0.63, p?<?0.01), and the root bioconcentration factors were higher than 1.0, implying the contributions of root uptake to plant accumulations. However, the translocation factors in the peri-urban areas (1.57?±?0.33) were higher than those in the rural areas (1.19?±?0.14), indicating the enhanced influence through gaseous absorption. For the congeners, the 2- to 3-ring PAHs showed a higher plant accumulation potential than the 4- to 6-ring PAHs. Principal component analysis show that the PAHs in the peri-urban plants predominantly resulted from urbanization parameters, such as coal combustion, vehicle emissions, and biomass burning. The mean values of estimated dietary intake of PAHs from the consumption of peri-urban and rural crops were 9116 ng day^?1 and 6601.83 ng day^?1, respectively. The intake risks of different crops followed the order rice?>?cabbage?>?carrot?>?pea. Given the significant input of PAHs from urban to farmland, the influence of many anthropogenic pollutants arising from rapid urbanization should be considered when assessing the agricultural food safety.

Graphical abstract

     

雷州半岛土壤重金属分布特征及其污染评价

在雷州半岛采集了106个土壤表层样品,分析了其中8种重金属元素(Cu、Pb、Zn、Cr、Ni、Cd、Hg和As)的全量.结果表明,雷州半岛土壤重金属污染由高到低排序为Ni＞Cr＞Hg＞Cu＞Zn＞Cd＞As＞Pb,Zn、Cd、As和Pb质量浓度均没有超标,Hg和Cu质量浓度超标率亦不高,但Ni和Cr平均质量浓度达49.81、87.13 mg/kg,高于国内外其他对照区域,超标率分别为25.47%和24.53%;重金属元素在雷州半岛各土壤利用类型中分布规律不明显,按4种主要土壤利用类型受重金属污染程度大小排序为甘蔗地＞果园土＞水田＞菜地;雷州半岛土壤综合污染指数总平均为0.970,土壤总体上尚清洁,重金属污染处于警戒水平;雷州半岛各区域中,徐闻、雷州两地土壤重金属质量浓度明显高于其他地区,其主要原因是徐闻、雷州两地成土母质主要为玄武岩,造成土壤Cr、Ni及其他重金属背景值较高.