Impact of nickel mining and metallurgical activities on the distribution of heavy metals in sediments of Levisa, Cabonico and Nipe Bays, Cuba

At MayarÕ zone, northeast Cuba, important lateritic deposits have been exploited since 1943. The mineral is used as raw material in a nickel-processing plant which discharges its untreated solid and liquid wastes into Levisa Bay. Similarly to the adjacent Nipe and Cabonico bays, fluvial currents from the mining areas convey a significant mineral load into this bay. To assess the environmental impact caused by the mining and the metallurgical activities, the distribution of Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, Cu, Pb and Zn was investigated in surface and core sediment samples. Uni- and multivariate statistical methods as well as different indices and pollutant factors were used to interpret results. These revealed significant environmental impacts in some areas of the three bays with high concentrations of Ni, Co, Fe and Mn, whose values are up to two orders of magnitude greater than the zone baseline levels. The metal concentrations decreased with increasing distance from discharges. A comparison with other Cuban bays and coastal zones, confirmed that the main source of metal pollution in these three bays was not urban and industrial activities, but lateritic mining and metallurgy.     

N-亚硝基二甲胺(NDMA)的环境过程和毒理效应

N-亚硝基二甲胺(NDMA)是一种工业和环境污染物,具有强烈的致癌、致畸和致突变毒性;实验证明它可导致动物很多器官包括肝脏、肺和肾脏的癌症;它几乎无处不在,广泛分布于人类的生活环境中,已引起了人们的高度重视。在综合了大量文献的基础上,充分总结了NDMA的物理和化学性质、来源、毒理学信息和暴露途径等,并就研究中尚未解决的问题作了讨论,以期为NDMA的人类毒理效应研究以及各类标准的制定提供科学依据。     

镉致癌的分子机制研究进展

镉是一种无处不在的重金属环境污染物,广泛用于工业环境中。普通人主要通过摄食、吸烟及饮水等方式摄入镉。1993年国际肿瘤研究机构(IARC)就已将镉及其化合物列为第1类人致癌物,镉的致癌性被广泛研究,大量研究发现镉会提高肺癌、前列腺癌、乳腺癌、消化道肿瘤等肿瘤的患病风险。但至目前为止,镉的致癌分子机制尚不清楚。大量研究认为镉通过以下几方面致癌:氧化应激、抑制DNA损伤修复、DNA异常甲基化、抑制细胞凋亡、影响细胞周期调控、致多种基因异常表达、雌激素样效应、促进肿瘤干细胞生长、慢性炎症刺激。     

全氟化合物发育神经毒性研究进展

全氟化合物(PFCs)在工业生产和生活中广泛应用,已成为环境中一类普遍的污染物。由于PFCs污染表现出全球性、持久性和富集性等特征,其毒性备受关注。近期研究结果显示,PFCs除对肝脏、免疫系统和生殖内分泌系统等有明显影响外,还具有发育神经毒性。在总结了近年来PFCs发育神经毒性的研究进展基础上,讨论了PFCs发育神经毒性可能的几个机制,并且分析该领域研究存在的问题,提出应该加强环境相关剂量下PFCs发育神经毒性研究,关注PFCs与其他神经毒物复合暴露的发育神经毒性,以推进对实际环境中PFCs所产生的神经损伤的认识。     

多溴联苯醚暴露的神经行为效应及其毒理机制

溴代阻燃剂多溴联苯醚(PBDEs)是一类在各类环境介质、生物体和人体中均能检出的普遍存在的环境污染物。我国的主要污染源之一集中于东南部地区的电子废弃物回收场地。由于PBDEs具有结构稳定性、亲脂性和生物累积性,电子废弃物拆解回收活动对当地生态系统和居民健康存在着巨大的潜在风险。PBDEs的发育神经毒性受到研究者的极大关注,但其神经行为毒性效应和机制仍需深入研究。行为学效应既是内在神经毒性机制的外在反映,也是推测环境污染物在高级别生物学水平(如种群、群落)影响的最有力试验手段。近年来,基于视频追踪系统技术的商业行为学分析设备迅速发展,使行为学效应测试在环境毒理学领域具备极大的潜力。本文结合近年来国内外环境毒理学研究进展,回顾了PBDEs的神经行为毒性效应,包括运动行为、掠食行为和认知行为,并分析了其可能的毒理机制,最后总结了当前研究存在的问题和未来研究需要关注的重点方向。     

环境雌激素生物效应的作用机制研究进展

环境雌激素(Environmental Estrogens, EEs)种类繁多、来源多样且分布广泛,大量工业添加剂、食品添加剂和农药类物质已被证实具有雌激素活性。EEs对人体生殖、神经、免疫等系统生物毒性,已经引起了公众的普遍关注。近年来的研究表明,EEs不仅可以结合雌激素核受体(nuclear Estrogen Receptor, nER)干扰正常的雌激素基因组信号通路,还能活化雌激素膜受体(membrane Estrogen Receptor, mER)引发快速的雌激素非基因组信号转导途径。本文总结了EEs通过nER、mER介导的多种雌激素基因组和非基因组信号途径及其产生的生物学效应,综述了在其毒理学作用机理基础上发展的环境样品的雌激素活性评估和EEs混合物的联合作用研究,以期为该类污染物的筛查、风险评估和进一步的机制研究提供参考。     

土壤中锰氧化物的形态及其化学提取方法综述

土壤中锰元素主要来自于成土母质,风化后的锰主要以锰氧化物形式存在于土壤中.锰氧化物因具有比表面积大、表面电荷低、对金属的亲合力强、氧化还原电位高等特性,对土壤中痕量金属的环境行为存在重要影响.化学提取方法是研究土壤中不同固相组分的重要手段.本文首先从土壤中锰的来源及主要存在形态出发,介绍了不同价态锰(+2、+3、+4)...     

环境雌激素生物效应的作用机制研究进展

环境雌激素(environmental estrogens,EEs)种类繁多,来源多样且分布广泛,大量工业添加剂、食品添加剂和农药类物质已被证实具有雌激素活性。EEs对人体生殖、神经、免疫等系统的生物毒性已经引起了公众的普遍关注。近年来的研究表明,EEs不仅结合雌激素核受体(nuclear estrogen receptor,n ER),还可以活化雌激素膜受体(membrane estrogen receptor,m ER),干扰正常的雌激素信号通路。本文总结了EEs通过n ER、m ER介导的多种雌激素基因组和非基因组信号途径及其产生的生物学效应,综述了在其毒理学作用机理基础上发展的环境样品的雌激素活性评估和EEs混合物的联合作用研究,以期为该类污染物的筛查、风险评估和进一步的机制研究提供参考。     

用遗传算法优化工业污染源布局

工业污染源的优化布局是复杂的以偏微分方程为约束条件的控制问题。遗传算法是一种近年发展起来并广泛应用于多个领域优化问题的最优化方法。引入罚函数来处理环境不等式约束，建立了适当的编码方式和适应度函数，应用遗传算法以求解优化布局问题，并进行了数值试验。数值试验结果表明，遗传算法可以有效地用于求解工业污染源的优化布局问题，而且该方法鲁棒性好，适用于任意的目标函数和空气污染模式，天然适合于并行计算，有很好的应用前景。     

全氟辛烷磺酸神经发育毒性机制研究进展

全氟辛烷磺酸(PFOS)是全氟化合物的终端降解产物,在生态环境中能够通过食物链进入生物组织并蓄积,对环境和生物存在潜在危害。动物实验研究发现,PFOS能够通过胎盘和血脑屏障,影响发育期神经系统,其持续性和严重性已引起国内外学者的广泛关注。本文通过对PFOS神经发育毒性效应及其主要机制研究进展进行综述,分析目前研究现状,并对未来PFOS神经发育毒性机制研究提出设想和展望。     

有机磷酸酯阻燃剂的环境暴露与迁移转化研究进展

有机磷酸酯(organophosphate esters,OPEs)是目前被广泛使用的阻燃剂添加成份,其具有神经、生殖、基因等生物毒性,且具有致癌性。作为新一类污染物,有机磷酸酯在环境中越来越多的释放引起了环境研究者的关注。文章综述了OPEs在水体、土壤、空气和生物体中的暴露浓度,并介绍了OPEs在环境中的各种迁移转化途径。目前针对OPEs的环境暴露研究仍十分有限,需要更全面调查其在多环境介质中的暴露状况以综合评价其生态风险。OPEs的多种迁移途径已得到证实,但相关物理化学转化和生物转化机制研究尚不完整。最后对OPEs的进一步研究提出了展望,以期促进我国OPEs的生态风险研究。     

全氟和多氟化合物替代品的研究进展

全氟和多氟化合物(per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances,PFASs)是一类新型持久性有机污染物(POPs),广泛应用于工业和人类日常生活用品中。此类化合物具有高能量的C-F共价键,因此具有优良的理化特性和生物稳定性。由于存在持久性、生物累积性、长距离迁移以及毒性等问题,长链PFASs(C7)已经成为全世界关注的焦点之一,寻找能够替代PFASs的新型化合物具有重要意义。本文介绍了几种可能替代PFASs的新型氟化替代品,PFASs替代品在各类环境介质中的分布、持久性、人体暴露及毒性等几个方面进行了综述,特别对目前存在的问题及今后的研究方向进行了讨论和展望,以期为PFASs替代品的环境污染及风险评估提供参考。     

环境中丙烯酰胺检测方法和健康危害的研究进展

丙烯酰胺广泛应用于工业生产,是一种潜在的环境污染物。本文从丙烯酰胺的检测方法和健康危害2个方面总结了目前的研究进展。检测方法上,以高效液相色谱-质谱串联法(HPLC-MS/MS)最为常用,一些新技术也逐渐应用到分析中。健康危害方面,丙烯酰胺可引起实验生物的神经、生殖、遗传和发育等毒性和潜在致癌性。其毒性机理为:直接损坏神经元;使活性氧(ROS)积累导致氧化损伤;诱发基因位点突变,或与DNA形成加合物而致其损伤等。鉴于目前研究存在的问题,对以后的工作进行了展望:加强监管与治理工作,保护生态环境和人类健康;深入开展丙烯酰胺对生物体的毒性效应研究;加强我国环境中丙烯酰胺的跟踪监测工作;建立一种快捷的生物测试系统来评估水体(尤其是海洋环境)中丙烯酰胺的毒性风险。     

Comparative study of the fate and mobility of metals discharged in mining and urban effluents using sequential extractions on suspended solids

The fate, bioavailability and environmental impacts of metals discharged in municipal and mining wastewater discharge will depend to a large extent on chemical speciation and distribution. Previous studies on metal bioaccumulation have shown that total metal concentrations are not a good predictor of bioavailability in the dispersion plumes of municipal effluents. The objective of this study was to determine the solid phase speciation of metals in surface waters receiving urban and mining effluents in order to assess their fate and relative mobility in the receiving environment. Suspended particulate matter was sampled using sediment traps at several sites downstream of effluent outfall plumes as well as at reference upstream sites. Particulate metal in operationally defined fractions—exchangeable/carbonates, reducible, oxidisable and residual—were determined in suspended particulate matter with a series of selective chemical extractions. Metal enrichment in suspended particles was generally observed in both mining and urban effluent discharges. When compared to its receiving environment, the mining effluent appeared to release more particulate metals (Cu, Fe, Zn) in the most reactive fractions (i.e. exchangeable/carbonates + reducible forms, 23–43%), while other released metals, such as Cd and Mn, were predominantly in the least reactive forms (i.e., oxidisable + residual, 73–97%). In contrast, the reactivity of all particulate metals, with the exception of Mn, from the urban effluent was much higher, with up to 65, 42, 30 and 43% for Cd, Cu, Fe and Zn, respectively, in the two most reactive fractions. As expected in effluent dispersion plumes, parameters such as the organic carbon, Fe oxide and carbonate contents have specific effects on the partitioning of several trace metals, particularly Cd, Cu and Zn. Our results indicated that the relative distributions of metals among geochemical fractions varied in the effluent receiving waters where organic carbon and Fe oxides appeared as the most important parameters. This could therefore decrease the exposure for aquatic organisms that are exposed to those contaminated sediments as well as the risk to human health.     

Effect of the topography of an industrial site on dust emissions from open storage yards

The erosion, transport and subsequent deposition of particles by wind has been identified as an important environmental problem worldwide. Investigations assessing fugitive dust emissions represent a relevant subject for various applications such as prevention of desert expansion, farmland erosion, quantification of dust emissions due to wind erosion from mining zones or open storage yards of granular materials. The present study, within this latter framework, aims to improve the methods of quantification of fugitive emissions from granular materials stockpiles on industrial sites. The methodology mostly used by the industrial operators to quantify dust emissions from their plants is based on the wind flow analysis and application of emission factors into such pattern. In this paper, three-dimensional numerical simulations were done to simulate wind flow over a real configuration of a power plant to highlight the influence of the surroundings buildings on the real exposure of the granular materials stockpiles. This study emphasizes the necessity to take into consideration the presence of surrounding buildings for the calculation of the particle emissions rate on stockpiles in order to obtain a more accurate and relevant evaluation of fugitive dust emissions from open storage systems on industrial sites.     

Cultivation of microalgae on liquid anaerobic digestate for depollution,biofuels and cosmetics: a review

Solid wastes from domestic, industrial and agricultural sectors cause acute economic and environmental problems. These issues can be partly solved by anaerobic digestion of wastes, yet this process is incomplete and generates abundant byproducts as digestate. Therefore, cultivating mixotrophic algae on anaerobic digestate appears as a promising solution for nutrient recovery, pollutant removal and biofuel production. Here we review mixotrophic algal cultivation on anaerobic waste digestate with focus on digestate types and characterization, issues of recycling digestate in agriculture, removal of contaminants, and production of biofuels such as biogas, bioethanol, biodiesel and dihydrogen. We also discuss applications in cosmetics and economical aspects. Mixotrophic algal cultivation completely removes ammonium, phosphorus, 17β-estradiol from diluted digestate, and removes 62% of zinc, 84% of manganese, 74% of cadmium and 99% of copper.

     

A compilation of field surveys on gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) from contrasting environmental settings in Europe,South America,South Africa and China: separating fads from facts

Mercury is transported globally in the atmosphere mostly in gaseous elemental form (GEM, \( {\text{Hg}}_{\text{gas}}^{0} \) ), but still few worldwide studies taking into account different and contrasted environmental settings are available in a single publication. This work presents and discusses data from Argentina, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, China, Croatia, Finland, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Slovenia and Venezuela. We classified the information in four groups: (1) mining districts where this contaminant poses or has posed a risk for human populations and/or ecosystems; (2) cities, where the concentration of atmospheric mercury could be higher than normal due to the burning of fossil fuels and industrial activities; (3) areas with natural emissions from volcanoes; and (4) pristine areas where no anthropogenic influence was apparent. All the surveys were performed using portable LUMEX RA-915 series atomic absorption spectrometers. The results for cities fall within a low GEM concentration range that rarely exceeds 30 ng m^?3, that is, 6.6 times lower than the restrictive ATSDR threshold (200 ng m^?3) for chronic exposure to this pollutant. We also observed this behavior in the former mercury mining districts, where few data were above 200 ng m^?3. We noted that high concentrations of GEM are localized phenomena that fade away in short distances. However, this does not imply that they do not pose a risk for those working in close proximity to the source. This is the case of the artisanal gold miners that heat the Au–Hg amalgam to vaporize mercury. In this respect, while GEM can be truly regarded as a hazard, because of possible physical–chemical transformations into other species, it is only under these localized conditions, implying exposure to high GEM concentrations, which it becomes a direct risk for humans.     

基于人群健康的污染产业转移环境效应研究——以广东省陶瓷行业为例

产业转移是经济发展过程中常见现象；产业生产与资源环境之间密不可分的关系决定了产业转移必然引起资源环境状况的变化。为评价产业转移对改善区域整体环境状况的作用，构建了以环境经济损益分析定量评价产业转移的环境效应的方法框架，并以广东省陶瓷行业转移为例，研究了基于人体健康的污染产业转移的环境效应。研究结果显示，一般而言，由于污染排放变化，产业迁出地将产生环境效益，同时承接地将发生环境损失。当产业转移产生环境净效益时，意味着整体区域环境的改善。这种改善主要得益于产业迁出地和承接地之间存在的社会经济特征差异、具有经济技术可行性的污染控制技术的推广以及环境自净能力的合理利用等因素的综合作用。为促进区域协调发展，区域内产业转移过程中，应采取优化产业转移目录、加强环境管理、建立环境信息公开和公众参与制度和统筹协调区域内的污染控制责任和环境利益等环境治理措施。     

Effects of manufactured nanomaterials on algae: Implications and applications

● Summary of positive and negative effects of MNMs on algae. ● MNMs adversely affect algal gene expression, metabolite, and growth. ● MNMs induce oxidative stress, mechanical damage and light-shielding effects on algae. ● MNMs can promote production of bioactive substances and environmental remediation. The wide application of manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs) has resulted in the inevitable release of MNMs into the aquatic environment along their life cycle. As the primary producer in aquatic ecosystems, algae play a critical role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems’ energy flow, material circulation and information transmission. Thus, thoroughly understanding the biological effects of MNMs on algae as well as the underlying mechanisms is of vital importance. We conducted a comprehensive review on both positive and negative effects of MNMs on algae and thoroughly discussed the underlying mechanisms. In general, exposure to MNMs may adversely affect algae’s gene expression, metabolites, photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation and growth rate. The major mechanisms of MNMs-induced inhibition are attributed to oxidative stress, mechanical damages, released metal ions and light-shielding effects. Meanwhile, the rational application of MNMs-algae interactions would promote valuable bioactive substances production as well as control biological and chemical pollutants. Our review could provide a better understanding of the biological effects of MNMs on algae and narrow the knowledge gaps on the underlying mechanisms. It would shed light on the investigation of environmental implications and applications of MNMs-algae interactions and meet the increasing demand for sustainable nanotechnology development.     

大气颗粒物暴露与健康效应研究进展

大气颗粒物一直是影响我国大多数城市空气质量的首要污染物,且呈现出与欧美不同的煤烟、机动车尾气以及开放源复合型污染并存的高浓度污染态势,已有研究发现颗粒物的短期或长期暴露均会对人体产生不良的健康效应。本文从环境科学、暴露科学、环境流行病学和环境毒理学研究等方面系统综述了大气颗粒物健康效应研究的方法和进展,可为我国的大气颗粒物健康效应研究与大气颗粒物环境质量标准的修订提供方法学参考和经验借鉴。目前我国PM10污染尚未得到有效控制,细颗粒物(PM2.5)的污染也已引起关注,建议在不同区域开展空气污染健康效应的系统研究。