Study on ground water characteristics and the effects of discharged effluents from textile units at Karur District

A study was made on the physico-chemical characteristics of water samples mixed with effluent discharged from textile industries at Chellandipalayam (Site--I), Senaparatti (Site--II) and Pasupathipalayam (Sites--III and IV) revealed the elevated levels of Ca, Mg, Na, Cr, K, Ni, Cu, Zn, CO3, SO4, NO3 and Cl- . The concentrations of these ions exceeded the limit prescribed by ISI. The increase in the concentrations of ions was revealed by higher values of electrical conductivity (EC). Water at these sites was found to be hard, brackish and unsuitable for drinking purpose. In all these sites, the seed germination of rice alone was significantly affected among the other crops tested. Irrigation of crops with ground water notably lowered the quantity of reserve food in rice, wheat (starch), and sugarcane (sugar), indicating the interference of their metabolic pathway by polluted ground water.     

Reduction of availability of trace metals in urban soils using inorganic amendments

Urban soils in medium- and large-sized cities generally have shown elevated contents of environmentally important trace metals (e.g. lead, copper, zinc). Such high concentrations in soils of green areas, mainly recreational areas, can be a source of potentially toxic elements and pose a risk for human health. Thus the availability of these contaminants is an essential control parameter, as it indicates potential plant uptake and their transfer to humans via inhalation of suspended dust, or direct ingestion (i.e. hand to mouth pathway), or consumption of contaminated foodstuff. Young children are the most sensitive segment of the population. Addition of amendments to the soil is a feasible technique to reduce the availability of trace metals. Accordingly, four urban soils of green areas of Seville (Spain), with relatively high lead contents and moderate copper and zinc contents, were amended in the laboratory with four inorganic materials [acid zeolite (AZ), sodium zeolite (SZ), Slovakite (SL), apatite (AP)], at two rates (1%, 5% w/w) and incubated for 1 year. Significant decreases in EDTA-extractable metal contents were observed in some of the treatments after adding the amendments even before the incubation begun, mainly for SL treatments. The amendment that produced the longest lasting immobilisation effect, compared to control treatments, was AZ at the higher rate. The effects of SZ and SL tended to decrease with time, while the AP effect was almost negligible after 3 months of ageing. This study confirms the feasibility of using certain inexpensive soil amendments to at least temporarily immobilise metals in urban soils for the purpose of protecting human health, especially that of young children.     

Bioaccessibility of metals in soils: comparison between chemical extractions and in vitro tests

It is well-known that the total metal content in soils is not a good indicator of their harmful effects, leading to an overestimation of risks. Toxicological and environmental hazards depend on the chemical species and on its bioavailability to target organisms. Because a good estimation of bioavailability is difficult, a good compromise is to assess bioaccessibility, defined as the maximum amount of a pollutant which is potentially absorbable by a target organism. This study presents a comparison of different strategies to measure metal bioaccessibility in soils. Three procedures were applied to real soil samples with different levels of metal contamination: pseudo-total metal attack, selective sequential extractions and in vitro tests (deliberately developed to simulate human or mammals digestion). Considering the first step of the selective extraction procedure, which can provide the bioaccessible fraction for deposit-feeder organisms, data obtained for each metal were lower than those obtained from in vitro tests. Therefore, it is possible to highlight that this extraction tends to underestimate metal bioaccessibility in soils for humans, while in vitro tests certainly will overestimate bioaccessibility for organisms as invertebrates. If the sum of first and second step of sequential procedure is considered, results are quite similar to those obtained from in vitro tests, but this kind of procedure would require two days of work rather than a few hours required to perform an in vitro test. Results highlight the diversity among the differently defined bioaccessible fractions and the need to apply the most suitable procedure depending on the target organism.     

A comparative study of three different methods for the sequential extraction of heavy metals in soil

Three different methods for the sequential extraction of heavy metals from soil (viz those of Tessier et al. (A. Tessier, P.G. Campbell and N. Bisson (1979). Anal. Chem., 51, 844.), Sposito et al. (G. Sposito, L.J. Lund and A.C. Chang (1989). Soil. Sci. Soc. Am. J., 46, 260.) and Mann and Ritchie (S.S. Mann and G.S.P. Ritchie (1993). Aust. J. Soil Res., 31, 255.)) were examined in terms of the distribution of Cu, Zn and Pb in the soil phases and the bioavailability of these elements in soil. To this end, several samples of soils polluted with metals from a copper mine were fractionated by using the three studied methods and analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometry. The results revealed differences in extraction efficiency among the methods due to the extractant used, or its concentration, and to the soil/solution ratio. The three methods were found to provide accurate heavy metal background contents. However, the method of Tessier et al. is to be preferred for quantifying increased levels of heavy metals on account of its high extraction power.     

Unwanted metals and hydrophobic contaminants in bioreactor effluents are associated with the presence of humic substances

Biological treatment of landfill leachate is challenging due to the presence of complex compounds. Here, we treated an old landfill leachate using a membrane bioreactor under the following conditions: 24 h for hydraulic retention, 65 days of sludge retention and an average organic load rate of 1.71 ± 0.16 g/L/day. We observed a high removal of ammonia, phosphorous and some metals. However, removal of organic carbon was incomplete. Despite a major removal of suspended solids, hydrophobic and volatile hydrophilic compounds, high concentration of fulvic acid and hydrophilic contaminants was found in the effluent. Overally, we demonstrate that the presence of humic substances in the effluent is associated with the detection of arsenic, copper and chromium and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate.     

城市近地面大气颗粒物空间分布的监测与分析

城市近地面环境与人呼吸带高度范围相当,近地面大气颗粒物对行人健康有直接影响.当常规环境监测点位置和数量不足以全面反映近地表大气颗粒物空间分布状况时,选择合适的颗粒物载体显得十分必要.植物叶片的滞尘效应使之成为大气颗粒物的良好指标,尤其是常绿灌木叶片更能直接反映近地表环境悬浮颗粒物状况.以大气颗粒物污染严重的代表性城市石家庄市为研究区域,选择道路绿篱灌木大叶黄杨,于连续晴朗干燥天气条件下采集了3个5 d周期内、63处样点的滞尘叶片样品,测试叶片滞尘量和滞尘颗粒物粒度,利用ArcGIS讨论叶片滞尘量和滞尘颗粒粒度的空间分布及空间变异特征.结果显示,石家庄市大叶黄杨叶片平均滞尘量为0.3843 g·m-2·d-1 (变化于0.09310.9155 g·m-2·d-1),滞尘颗粒物粒度均值为1.9185μm(变化于1.30672.2500 μm),98.27%的颗粒小于10 μm,表明大叶黄杨叶片在城市近地表环境中对可吸入颗粒物有较好滞留性能,对行人呼吸健康有益.空间变异性分析表明,大叶黄杨叶片滞尘量和滞尘颗粒物粒度均具有空间自相关性,其中滞尘颗粒物粒度的块金值/基台值更小,即空间自相关性更强,表明滞尘颗粒物尺度除受局地污染源影响外,叶片表面属性因素起更重要作用;而滞尘量相对较大的块金值说明局地小尺度过程的影响不容忽视,即更易受到局地起尘源的影响.通过PM1、PM2.5、PM5、PM10等不同粒级颗粒物的分析表明,颗粒物越细其空间分布差异越大,这种细颗粒物的空间变化为进一步探讨城市不同地区人对大气颗粒物的暴露风险研究提供了基础.     

镍钴采选行业废石和尾矿中重金属淋溶释放规律研究

镍钴采选废石和尾矿中重金属的溶出释放规律对矿区的重金属污染防治具有重要意义。但目前,国内还没有对镍钴行业采选产生的尾矿和废石中重金属的溶出规律开展研究。本文以镍钴采选企业的尾矿和废石作为样本,开展了毒性浸出实验。研究了不同pH值、离子强度、温度等实验条件对重金属溶出的影响,探讨了镍钴采选过程中所产生的尾矿和废石中重金属的溶出特性和释放规律。实验结果表明,尾矿样品中Ni的浸出浓度为42.28 mg·L^-1,是最大允许排放浓度的8.86倍,为具有浸出毒性特征的危险废物;废石样品中重金属Ni和Cu的溶出浓度分别为4.72 mg·L^-1和26.2 mg·L^-1,超过最大允许排放浓度,属于第Ⅱ类一般工业固体废物。pH对样品中Ni、Cr、Pb、Co和As的溶出量影响较大,其中尾矿中Ni和Cu在pH较低的条件下,可达到44.28 mg·L^-1和53 mg·L^-1,远高于最大允许排放浓度,而Hg、Cd和Cu的溶出量随pH值的变化不大。除As以外,样品中大多数重金属的溶出质量浓度在酸性条件下比在中性条件下高,这表明在酸性环境条件下,这些重金属对周围生态环境的潜在风险更大。离子强度的变化对Cd和Co的溶出量的变化并不明显,而当离子强度变化时,Ni、Cr、Pb、Hg、Cu和As的溶出量可能达到最大,使周围环境的潜在生态风险增大。当温度达到35~40℃时,部分重金属如Co、Pb、Cd 等,溶出量将达到最大;当温度低于25℃时,除 Ni 以外,大部分重金属溶出量很低。而温度变化对重金属Cu、As、Cr和Hg的溶出量的影响不明显,波动范围较小,对周围生态环境产生的潜在生态风险较小。     

Assessment of heavy metals among suspended particulates and dissolved phases in Suez Canal water

The concentrations and distribution of particulate and dissolved heavy metals, viz: Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, Fe and Mn have been determined seasonally during 2003 in water samples collected from the Suez Canal. The presented data clarifies that the metals exhibited clear differences in their distribution between particulate and dissolved forms. The concentrations of particulate metals viz: Zn, Pb, Cd, Fe and Mn were high as compared to the dissolved form. Dissolved copper showed the highest percentage of total copper rather than particulate. The particulate forms of Pb, Cd, Fe and Mn had always-higher concentrations than the dissolved forms during the course of study except at summer season. The northern part of the Suez Canal at Port Said showed mean concentrations of particulate and dissolved Cu = 1.43 and 2.10, Zn = 8.61 and 3.17, Pb = 1.72 and 1.23, Cd = 0.35 and 0.35, Fe = 23.49 and 15.83 and Mn = 2.09 and 1.82 μg/L. These high concentrations may be attributed to the high activities, particularly, loading and unloading operations at Port Said harbour, industrial effluents and domestic drainage of Port Said city. On the other hand, Sinai side could be considered as reference site, as it is almost clean without harmful outfalls, where Cu = 0.16 and 0.56, Zn = 2.14 and 0.94, Pb = 6.29 and 3.44, Cd = 0.055 and 0.088, Fe = 6.29 and 3.44 and Mn = 0.56 and 0.26 μg/L for particulate and dissolved metals respectively.     

Sorption of DDTs on biofilms, suspended particles and river sediments: effects of heavy metals

The sorption by solid materials is one of the most important processes that affect the fate of hydrophobic organic pollutants in aquatic systems. Current studies focus on the sorption of hydrophobic pollutants by single natural solid material, whereas few studies compared the sorption behaviors of different solids. Furthermore, natural aquatic environment is a complex system where hydrophobic pollutants coexist with many other pollutants, but only limited studies reported the effects of coexisting components on the sorption. Here we studied the sorption of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) by three common solids in natural water, i.e., biofilms, suspended particles and sediments. The effects of typical coexisting heavy metals on the sorption were also examined. The results show that the sorption is described by a dual-mode sorption model. Compared with sediments, more DDTs were sorbed by biofilms and suspended particles. Coexisting Pb, Cd and Cu increased the sorption of DDTs on sediments while decreasing the sorption on biofilms slightly, with little effect on the sorption on suspended particles. The different sorption behaviors of the solids were mainly determined by the composition of the solids: more organics were observed in biofilms and suspended particles.     

Effects of garbage salvaging and suspended crossbar on microplastic pollution along a typical urban river

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Microplastic pollution has been considered as a global environmental issue that potentially threatens human health. However, research about microplastic...     

Comparative study of the age and location dependence of some heavy metals in human hair from two Nigerian cities

The concentration of some heavy metals (lead, zinc and copper) were determined in the scalp hair of children (1–15 year) and active adults (16–40 year) in two Nigerian cities. The levels of zinc were found to be higher in children than in the adult population. There was a significant difference (P?=?0.05) between the two age groups. The levels of copper were all within the same range for the two age groups and independent of location. The levels of lead were generally higher in adults than in children. However, there was no significant difference (P?=?0.05) in the average concentrations of lead between the children and adult populations of the two cities. The regression analysis indicated a strong correlation (r?=?0.86) between zinc and copper.     

Preliminary observations on the effect of heavy metals from mining and smelting on nitrogen-fixing bacteria in some British soils

Nitrogen fixation by free-living non-symbiotic bacteria has been qualitatively estimated in several surface soils and mine wastes from mineralised areas in Derbyshire and Cornwall, using a technique based on acetylene reduction. Fresh samples contaminated with varying amounts of one or more of the metals lead, zinc, cadmium and copper, together with appropriate controls, showed no ability to reduce acetylene, indicating an absence of nitrogen fixation. Addition of activeAzotobacter chroococcum resulted in acetylene reduction in the majority but not all of the samples. The effects of varying concentrations of lead, zinc, cadmium and copper on the growth ofAzotobacter chroococcum andBeijerinckia lactogenes were tested in laboratory culture.     

贵阳市区地表灰尘重金属污染分析与评价

以贵阳市区为研究地点,采集了贵阳城区工业区、交通区、商业区、居民区、文教区、公园广场、对照区7个类别共80个采样点的地表灰尘,分析了地表灰尘重金属在不同区域的分布特征,并分析其可能来源。最后,应用潜在生态危害指数法对6个功能区（工业区、交通区、商业区、居民区、文教区、公共区）样品中重金属的潜在生态危害进行评价。结果表明：贵阳市地表灰尘重金属的平均质量分数均高于贵州省土壤环境背景值,Cd、As、Cu污染质量分数都超过4倍以上背景值水平,其余重金属污染水平大多处于1~3倍背景值水平。就单个重金属潜在生态危害系数平均值来看,地表灰尘的潜在生态危害最大的是Hg,其次是Cd,生态危害最低的是Cr。6个功能区生态危害水平均属于强生态危害水平,其中工业区和公共区生态危害水平最高。     

基于RS和GIS的长沙城市热岛效应与TSP污染耦合关系

城市热岛效应反映了城市化发展对城市环境的影响,是影响城市生态环境的一个重要因素。文章以长沙市为例,利用3S技术与传统技术相结合对大气中总悬浮颗粒物(TSP)在城市热岛中的作用与贡献进行了研究。结果表明,长沙城市热岛效应与TSP污染在空间与时间分布上都具有耦合关系。采用RS和GIS技术可以从空间上对TSP在城市热岛中的贡献进行研究。长沙市TSP污染的分布特征和热岛强度分布状况基本一致,都是由市中心往外逐渐减轻。TSP高值区,城区呈高温区;TSP低值区,城区呈低温区。采用长沙市TSP高值区、TSP低值区的两个监测点2002年逐月TSP监测数据及相应气象统计数据,从时间上对TSP污染与城市热岛效应进行了相关性研究,长沙市TSP污染与热岛强度在年度分布上存在正相关关系。随着长沙城市建设和城市化速度的加快,城市热岛强度有逐年增强的趋势。3S技术与传统技术相结合,使科学研究更客观、准确。3S技术用于中尺度的区域环境质量调查,可实现空间区域的定量表达,而传统技术获取的环境背景数据,则从微观上对空间数据的准确性进行验证。     

地统计学在土壤重金属研究中的应用及展望

从采矿学与地质学研究中发展起来的地统计学是应用数理统计学的一个分支。与传统的统计学相比，地统计学可应用于土壤重金属研究中，能探索土壤重金属的空间分布特征及其变异规律。地统计学的基础理论与方法主要包括：区域化变量、半方差函数、克立格空间插值技术。半方差函数可以用来描述研究土壤重金属分布的空间相关性；而克立格插值可以对未采样区土壤重金属的含量进行无偏最优估计。在对地统计学理论进行简要阐述的基础上，回顾了近些年在土壤重金属研究的采样设计、空间结构分析、空间插值等方面的应用，并就其应用前景作了展望。     

典型矿冶周边地区土壤重金属污染及有效性含量

对湖南长沙、株洲、衡阳、郴州等地区的典型矿冶污染土壤进行了采样分析与有效性含量提取,结果表明,土壤中重金属污染严重,矿区土壤主要污染元素为Pb、Zn、As、Cr、Cu,而冶炼业周边污染土壤中主要是Zn、Pb、Cr、As、Cu、Cd,其污染程度均远远高于国家环境质量二级标准;Pb、Cd和Zn污染主要来源于采矿、冶炼活动而As污染可能还与农业生产有关。不同浸提液对土壤中Pb、Zn、Cd、As、Cu有效性质量分数的提取能力(设其符号为u)依次为u(NH4NO3)>u(HCl)>u(CaCl2);而对有效性Cr,HCl提取量为最高;盐基离子,尤其是NH4、NO3效应和酸效应(H+)大大促+-进了土壤中重金属离子的环境危害行为。     

Distribution and mobility of metals in agricultural soils near a copper smelter in South China

The distribution and mobility of heavy metals in the paddy soils surrounding a copper smelting plant in south China was investigated. We assessed the degree of metal contamination using an index of geoaccumulation. The metals were divided into two groups: (1) Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd, whose concentrations were heavily affected by anthropogenic inputs, and (2) Ni, Co and Cr, which were mainly of geochemical origin. Concentrations of Cu, Cd, Zn, and Pb in the polluted soils were higher than the Chinese soil quality criteria. The chemical partitioning patterns of Pb, Zn and Cu indicated that Pb was largely associated with the residual and NH₂OH HCl extractable fractions. In contrast, Cd was predominantly associated with the MgCl₂ extractable fraction. A large proportion of Cu was bound to the acidic H₂O₂ extractable fractions, while Zn was predominantly found in the residual phase. The fraction of mobile species, which potentially is the most harmful to the environment, was found to be elevated compared to unpolluted soils in which heavy metals are more strongly bound to the matrix. The mobility of the metals was studied by water extraction using a modification of Tessier’s procedure, and the order of mobility was Zn > Cd > Cu  > Pb.