Trace-element speciation and partitioning in environmental geochemistry and health

Establishment of the chemical form and associations of trace elements is important in the scientific and medical fields related to environmental geochemistry and health. Fundamental understanding of trace-element behaviour, the realistic formulation of historical perspectives of trace-element contamination, an assessment of environmental transformation processes and a thorough appraisal of environment-related ill health and disease all depend on knowledge of the chemical speciation and partitioning of trace elements. These topics and the development of analytical speciation techniques and procedures are discussed with reference to trace-element studies in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Science, University of Glasgow, on lacustrine sediments and water, the atmosphere, soil and street dirt of an urban environment and human biological fluids.     

Seeking evidence of multidisciplinarity in environmental geochemistry and health: an analysis of arsenic in drinking water research

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - A multidisciplinary approach to research affords the opportunity of objectivity, creation of new knowledge and potentially a more generally acceptable...     

Demand for environmental policies to improve health: Evaluating community-level policy scenarios

Using a national survey and a discrete choice experiment format, we estimate demand for environmental polices to improve health. We use a richly detailed community-level approach that describes illnesses avoided, premature deaths avoided, policy duration, and the affected population size. We allow preferences for policy attributes to vary systematically with the scenario design, with the source of risk and type of health threat, and with respondent characteristics. Using a willingness to pay (WTP) framework similar to that used for studies of individual risk, we find that omission of illness information leads to an upward bias in estimates of the value of avoided premature deaths and that individuals view avoided deaths and avoided illnesses as substitutes. We also find evidence of strongly diminishing marginal utility in policy scope. Differences in marginal WTP from different sources of risk or types of illness appear very small relative to differences associated with respondent characteristics and/or perceptions. Self-interest strongly dominates altruistic considerations.     

The emergence of stable isotopes in environmental and forensic geochemistry studies: a review

In the past decade, environmental forensics has emerged as a discipline directed toward determining parties liable for causing spills of contaminants into the environment. Such investigations, while geared toward determining the guilty parties in order to recover costs of the cleanup and remediation, require various questions to be addressed. These include determination of the nature of the product; Where did it come from?; Extent of weathering, if any; How long has it been there?; and Is it degrading naturally? Traditionally, these studies have been addressed through utilization of techniques such as gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GCMS). However, in recent years, stable isotopes, primarily determined through the use of combined gas chromatography–isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GCIRMS), have emerged as an equally important tool in environmental forensics. For relatively low molecular, volatile compounds such as MTBE, BTEX, or chlorinated solvents, the isotopes, primarily carbon and hydrogen, have been used extensively for evaluating the onset of natural attenuation. For larger molecules such as PCBs or PAHs, in which the effects of biodegradation on the isotope composition of these molecules is minimal, the isotopic fingerprints of the individual compounds can be used for correlation purposes. In this paper, a brief introduction to isotope geochemistry will be given, followed by a review of applications of stable isotopes to a variety of environmental problems. While the review may not necessarily be exhaustive, it will provide a comprehensive overview of areas where isotopes have been used and potential applications for the future. Most of the review is concerned with carbon and hydrogen isotopes, although a brief overview of the emerging area of chlorine isotopes will also be discussed.     

黑碳对污染物环境地球化学过程的影响

黑碳是生物体和化石燃料不完全燃烧形成的一种富含芳香族基团的产物,普遍存在环境中.由于其具有超强的吸附能力,影响污染物在环境中的存在形态,进而影响其生物有效性,并最终改变污染物的归宿.因此,有必要考察黑碳对环境中的污染物的环境行为的影响进行研究,才能更加准确地预测污染物在环境中的归趋.文章在黑碳对污染物的吸附及其影响因素、黑碳对污染物的生物毒性和污染物的生物降解影响方而进行了综述,并提出黑碳对污染物环境地球化学过程影响的末来研究方向.     

珠江三角洲土壤Hg污染区生态地球化学评价

通过系统的区域土壤地球化学调查,珠江三角洲部分地区土壤存在Hg高含量区,主要分布于广州市、佛山市等城市及周边地区。通过多种方法调查分析,认为Hg高含量区属人为污染引起。土壤垂直剖面测量显示:土壤Hg低含量区自地表往2m深处Hg含量变化甚微,而大部分Hg高含量区的土壤从表面往2m深处Hg含量则显著降低。通过相态分析和重砂分析等方法,证实土壤污染区Hg主要以硫化物存在,部分硫化物为结晶态(即辰砂);污染区土壤在酸性→弱酸性→中性→弱碱性环境下,活泼相态Hg含量极低且变化极小。通过壤中Hg气测量和模拟大气Hg试验,推测污染区土壤Hg极可能有部分进入大气层。通过对部分农作物Hg含量调查,显示土壤Hg污染对不同种类农作物的影响差异较大,初步表明土壤Hg污染已影响部分农产品的质量但对质量安全构成的威胁并不大。     

广东省若干典型地方病环境地球化学病因分析

广东省是我国地方病高发省份。鼻咽癌发病率位居全国之首,肝癌发病率也大大高于全国平均水平,仅次于江苏和广西两省;地氟病也有着较广泛分布。前人尤其是流行病学工作者对广东省地方病开展了许多的医学研究,取得了一定的成果,但从环境地球化学的角度进行探讨相对不足,随着研究的深入,科学家发现地方病的发生与当地环境地球化学因素存在密切的关系,文章主要针对广东省存在的典型地方病与环境地球化学背景的关系进行探讨和研究,以期从环境地球化学角度为广东省地方病的防治工作提出新的思路。     

中国大气颗粒物中金属元素环境地球化学行为研究

大气颗粒物金属污染已成为目前大气污染的研究热点之一。文章梳理、分析归纳了中国近年来大气颗粒中金属元素的环境地球化学方面的研究。目前研究较多的是Fe、Ca、Mg、Si等地壳元素和Cu、Pb、Cd、Zn、Hg等污染元素;大气颗粒物中对人体有害的Cu、Pb、Cd、As、Zn等污染较严重,而Cr、Mn、Co、Ni等污染较轻。大气颗粒物中金属含量随时间分布变化显著,总体上呈现冬季〉秋季〉春季〉夏季的特点,空间分布上一般北方燃煤城市大于南方一般城市;城市内部一般工业区〉交通区〉居民区〉郊区;金属元素在细粒径颗粒（〈2μm）中高,粗颗粒（〉2μm）中低,尤其以污染元素明显。污染元素与地壳元素的垂直分布规律差异较大。大气颗粒物中金属元素的富集程度与元素种类、区域类型、季节变化、粒径大小等有关。最后,提出应加强大气颗粒物中金属元素空间分布差异、时间分布的尺度及差异性研究;同时加强超细颗粒物的研究,以便建立大气颗粒物金属元素与人类健康关系的风险模型。     

Project house water: a novel interdisciplinary framework to assess the environmental and socioeconomic consequences of flood-related impacts

Protecting our water resources in terms of quality and quantity is considered one of the big challenges of the twenty-first century, which requires global and multidisciplinary solutions. A specific threat to water resources, in particular, is the increased occurrence and frequency of flood events due to climate change which has significant environmental and socioeconomic impacts. In addition to climate change, flooding (or subsequent erosion and run-off) may be exacerbated by, or result from, land use activities, obstruction of waterways, or urbanization of floodplains, as well as mining and other anthropogenic activities that alter natural flow regimes. Climate change and other anthropogenic induced flood events threaten the quantity of water as well as the quality of ecosystems and associated aquatic life. The quality of water can be significantly reduced through the unintentional distribution of pollutants, damage of infrastructure, and distribution of sediments and suspended materials during flood events. To understand and predict how flood events and associated distribution of pollutants may impact ecosystem and human health, as well as infrastructure, large-scale interdisciplinary collaborative efforts are required, which involve ecotoxicologists, hydrologists, chemists, geoscientists, water engineers, and socioeconomists. The research network “project house water” consists of a number of experts from a wide range of disciplines and was established to improve our current understanding of flood events and associated societal and environmental impacts. The concept of project house and similar seed fund and boost fund projects was established by the RWTH Aachen University within the framework of the German excellence initiative with support of the German research foundation (DFG) to promote and fund interdisciplinary research projects and provide a platform for scientists to collaborate on innovative, challenging research. Project house water consists of six proof-of-concept studies in very diverse and interdisciplinary areas of research (ecotoxicology, water, and chemical process engineering, geography, sociology, economy). The goal is to promote and foster high-quality research in the areas of water research and flood-risk assessments that combine and build off-laboratory experiments with modeling, monitoring, and surveys, as well as the use of applied methods and techniques across a variety of disciplines.     

Reducing the environmental impact of coal-washing practice in Australia

All Australian coal for export is washed — that is, the low-grade high-ash material is separated out and disposed of at the washery site. The coarse rejects are generally placed in embankments and the tailings are pumped into settling ponds. These methods of waste disposal can create environmental problems. In addition, they represent a significant energy loss, because about one-third of the waste material is combustible and is thus a potentially valuable source of energy. Laboratory studies at the CSIRO Division of Fossil Fuels at North Ryde, New South Wales, have shown that energy can be successfully recovered from washery wastes by the process of fluidized-bed combustion. A pilot fluidized-bed combustor, with a capacity of 2 tonnes/hour, is undergoing prolonged trial at the Clutha washery near Camden, New South Wales, in a joint project between the Joint Coal Board and CSIRO. The results from the pilot plant tests have provided the basis for a conceptual design and feasibility study for a full-scale tailings treatment plant. This study has indicated that fluidized-bed combustion:

1. offers an environmentally attractive and economically competitive alternative to the disposal of tailings in settling ponds, and
2. can be used to generate large quantities of energy from the wastes, reducing the energy lost in coal washing from around 16% to 6% of the coal mined.

     

Coal utilization in China: environmental impacts and human health

Coal is one of the major energy resources in China, accounting for approximately 70 % of primary energy consumption. Many environmental problems and human health risks arise during coal exploitation, utilization, and waste disposal, especially in the remote mountainous areas of western China (e.g., eastern Yunnan, western Guizhou and Hubei, and southern Shaanxi). In this paper, we report a thorough review of the environmental and human health impacts related to coal utilization in China. The abundance of the toxic trace elements such as F, As, Se, and Hg in Chinese coals is summarized. The environmental problems (i.e., water, soil, and air pollution) that are related to coal utilization are outlined. The provenance, distributions, typical symptoms, sources, and possible pathways of endemic fluorosis, arsenism, and selenosis due to improper coal usage (briquettes mixed with high-F clay, mineralized As-rich coal, and Se-rich stone coal) are discussed in detail. In 2010, 14.8, 1.9 million, and 16,000 Chinese people suffered from dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis, and arsenism, respectively. Finally, several suggestions are proposed for the prevention and treatment for endemic problems caused by coal utilization.     

Uranium mining in Portugal: a review of the environmental legacies of the largest mines and environmental and human health impacts

The history of uranium mining in Portugal during almost one century has followed international demand peaks of both radium and uranium, which in turn were driven by medical, military, and civil applications. Nowadays, following price drop in the 1980s, mining activities decreased and ceased in 2001. The current challenge is to deal with environmental legacies left by old uranium mines, mainly located in Viseu and Guarda districts. In 2001, based on several radiological surveys carried out, the Portuguese government assumed the remediation costs of abandoned mine areas for environmental safety and public health protection. Detailed environmental and public health risk assessments were performed under the scope of studies both requested by the government and by funded research projects. It was found that the existing risks, due to radiological and chemical exposures to metals and radionuclide’s, were particularly high at the old milling facilities and mines where in situ and heap leaching of low-grade ore occurred. The different studies, involving both humans and non-human species from different trophic levels, demonstrated the existence of effects at different levels of biological organization (molecular, cellular, tissues, individuals, and populations) and on ecosystem services. To mitigate the risks, the environmental rehabilitation works at the Urgeiriça mine complex are almost complete, while at Cunha Baixa mine, they are presently in progress. These works and environmental improvements achieved and expected are described herein.     

Multi-temporal land use and cover changing analysis: the environmental impact in Mediterranean area

ABSTRACT

Human activity shapes the levels of anthropogenic pressure that depend on the land management method adopted. This has a fundamental role in the transformation of traditional landscapes. This study focuses on a representative region of the Mediterranean area with the objective to analyse the landscape’s dynamics, to detect the spatial arrangement of class patches, to identify the main agroecosystem characters and to provide a framework to assess ecosystems services. In order to assess land use/land cover changes and landscape persistence, the period between 1960 and 2012 was analysed, taking into consideration the years 1960, 2000 and 2012 using comparable land use maps. Land use and land cover analysis show an urban area growth of 24% during 2000–2012 and of 523% over between 1960 and 2012. The very high levels of land abandonment up to the year 2000 (+7216%) have reversed their trend between 2000 and 2012 (?95%). The orchards showed a relevant increase, particularly after 2000, while the vineyards were linked to the highest value of surface erosion (?74%). The outcomes showed that urban settlements can damage the ecological network with negative effects on the landscape’s environmental sustainability in proximity of significant urban centres. Instead, the ecological network is well preserved and highly associated to the agricultural areas when there is the persistence of many land uses and low urban density, despite the presence of dynamic changes.     

Trends of environmental accidents and impact factors in China

An overview of the spatial and temporal variations of the environmental accidents in China in recent years was presented in this paper using available data. The results showed that the frequency of pollution accidents was significantly decreased, from 3462 in 1990 to 462 in 2007. The water and air pollution accidents were found to be the dominant types, accounting for more than 80% of the total accidents. Considering the classification of environmental accidents at 4 scales, the general environmental accident, i.e., the least serious type, was the most frequent event, taking up 58.98% of the total pollution accidents. In addition, the distribution of environmental accidents was generally in accordance with the industrial layout in the country during the past decade. It is very important to note that the extraordinarily severe environmental accidents showed an increasing trend in underdeveloped regions, which was caused by the transfer and the development of heavy polluted industry in these areas. As to the losses of environmental accidents, the casualties presented an obvious reduction tendency, while the direct economic loss per accident tended to climb up. Furthermore, some key factors that affect the spatial and temporal tendencies of environmental accidents in China were discussed and some suggestions were put forward, hoping to shed light on environmental risk management and emergency plans making associated with environmental accidents in China.     

The promise of Beijing: Evaluating the impact of the 2008 Olympic Games on air quality

To prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games, China adopted a number of radical measures to improve air quality. Using the officially reported air pollution index (API) from 2000 to 2009, we show that these measures improved the API of Beijing during and a little after the Games, but a significant proportion of the effect faded away by October 2009. For comparison, we also analyze an objective and indirect measure of air quality at a high spatial resolution – aerosol optimal depth (AOD), derived using the data from NASA satellites. The AOD analysis confirms the real but temporary improvement in air quality, it also shows a significant correlation between air quality improvement and the timing and location of plant closure and traffic control. These results suggest that it is possible to achieve real environmental improvement via stringent policy interventions, but for how long the effects of these interventions will last will largely depend on the continuation of the interventions.     

Evaluating environmental and economic benefits of yellow dust storm-related policies in north China

Yellow-dust storms (YDSs) have attracted increasing attention worldwide in the past decade. They can extensively disrupt socioeconomic activities and pose hazards to ecosystems, as well as to human health. In recent years, China has invested multi-billions of dollars to mitigate the impact of YDSs. However, the effectiveness of such YDS control programmes has rarely been evaluated. This research develops a causal model to quantify the environmental benefits of YDS control programmes in China, and further employs regional economic models to evaluate the ensuing economic impacts. The economic benefits generated from the YDS control programmes should remain stable across the years, primarily because of the multiplier effect of the investments, while the environmental benefits tend to decline over time. Our results suggest that YDS control programmes should consider stimulating local economic activities in addition to environmental goals in order to be cost-effective and sustainable in the long term.     

Fluorides in groundwater and its impact on health

Fluoride is a naturally occurring toxic mineral present in drinking water and causes yellowing of teeth, tooth problems etc. Fluorspar, Cryolite and Fluorapatite are the naturally occurring minerals, from which fluoride finds its path to groundwater through infiltration. In the present study two groundwater samples, Station I and Station II at Hyderabad megacity, the capital of Andhra Pradesh were investigated for one year from January 2001 to December 2001. The average fluoride values were 1.37 mg/l at Station I and 0.91 mg/l at Station II. The permissible limit given by BIS (1983) 0.6-1.2 mg/l and WHO (1984) 1.5 mg/l for fluoride in drinking water. The groundwaters at Station I exceeded the limit while at Station II it was within the limits. The study indicated that fluoride content of 0.5 mg/l is sufficient to cause yellowing of teeth and dental problems.     

Uncertainty in epidemiology and health risk and impact assessment

Environmental epidemiology and health risk and impact assessment have long grappled with problems of uncertainty in data and their relationships. These uncertainties have become more challenging because of the complex, systemic nature of many of the risks. A clear framework defining and quantifying uncertainty is needed. Three dimensions characterise uncertainty: its nature, its location and its level. In terms of its nature, uncertainty can be both intrinsic and extrinsic. The former reflects the effects of complexity, sparseness and nonlinearity; the latter arises through inadequacies in available observational data, measurement methods, sampling regimes and models. Uncertainty occurs in three locations: conceptualising the problem, analysis and communicating the results. Most attention has been devoted to characterising and quantifying the analysis—a wide range of statistical methods has been developed to estimate analytical uncertainties and model their propagation through the analysis. In complex systemic risks, larger uncertainties may be associated with conceptualisation of the problem and communication of the analytical results, both of which depend on the perspective and viewpoint of the observer. These imply using more participatory approaches to investigation, and more qualitative measures of uncertainty, not only to define uncertainty more inclusively and completely, but also to help those involved better understand the nature of the uncertainties and their practical implications.