Evaluation of phytoextracting cadmium and lead by sunflower, ricinus, alfalfa and mustard in hydroponic culture

Soil contaminated with heavy metals cadmium(Cd)and lead(Pb)is hard to be remediated.Phytoremediation may be a feasible method to remove toxic metals from soil,but there are few suitable plants which can hyperaccumulate metals.In this study,Cd and Pb accumulation by four plants including sunflower(Helianthus annuus L.),mustard(Brassica juncea L.),alfalfa(Medicago sativa L.), ricinus(Ricinus communis L.)in hydroponic cultures was compared.Results showed that these plants could phytocxtract heavy metals, the ability of accumulation differed with species,concentrations and categories of heavy metals.Values of BCF(bioconcentration factor)and TF(translocation factor)indicated that four species had dissimilar abilities of phytoextraction and transportation of heavy metals.Changes on the biomass of plants,pH and Eh at different treatments revealed that these four plants had distinct responses to Cd and Pb in cultures.Measurements should be taken to improve the phytoremediation of sites contaminated with heavy metals,such as pH and Eh regulations,and so forth.     

Treatment of tunnel wash waters – experiments with organic sorbent materials. Part II: Removal of toxic metals

In the first part of the article, the column and the bag experiments concerning removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nonpolar oil (NPO) from tunnel wash waters using organic sorbent materials have been described. This part presents the results of removal of toxic metals. The metals of concern (Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mo, Ni, and Zn) were selected based on the priority toxicant pollutants defined in surface water quality criteria. Concentrations of these metals in the collected effluent...     

Application of chemometrics methods for the estimation of heavy metals contamination in river sediments

The concentration and speciation of six heavy metals in sediments of eight sampling sites of Haihe River were investigated. The metals, namely Cd, Cu, Co, Ni, Mn and Pb were considered. By using sequential extraction(SE), the total metals were divided into five fractions: exchangeable, carbonate bound, iron/manganese oxide bound, sulfides and organic matter fraction and residual fraction. A multivariate statistical approach( principal component analysis, PCA) was used to evaluate the contamination of heavy metals by the total levels and chemical forms, respectively. The results showed that the total metals concentration(TMC) could not provide sufficient and accurate information because the mobility, bioavailabllity and toxicity of metals depend not only on their total concentration but also on the physicochemical form in which they occur.     

Toxicities and risk assessment of heavy metals in sediments of Taihu Lake, China, based on sediment quality guidelines

The occurrence, toxicities, and ecological risks of five heavy metals(Pb, Cu, Cd, Zn and Ni) in the sediment of Taihu Lake were investigated in this study. To evaluate the toxicities caused by the heavy metals, the toxicities induced by organic contaminants and ammonia in the sediments were screened out with activated carbon and zeolite. The toxicities of heavy metals in sediments were tested with benthic invertebrates(tubificid and chironomid).The correlations between toxicity of sediment and the sediment quality guidelines(SQGs)derived previously were evaluated. There were significant correlations(p 0.0001) between the observed toxicities and the total risk quotients of the heavy metals based on SQGs,indicating that threshold effect level(TEL) and probable effect level(PEL) were reliable to predict the toxicities of heavy metals in the sediments of Taihu Lake. By contrast, the method based on acid volatile sulfides(AVS) and simultaneously extracted metals(SEM),such as ∑SEM/AVS and ∑SEM-AVS, did not show correlations with the toxicities. Moreover,the predictive ability of SQGs was confirmed by a total predicting accuracy of 77%. Ecological risk assessment based on TELs and PELs showed that the contaminations of Pb, Cu, Cd and Zn in the sediments of Taihu Lake were at relatively low or medium levels. The risks caused by heavy metals in the sediments of northern bay of the lake, which received more wastewater discharge from upper stream, were higher than other area of the lake.     

Volatilization of heavy metals during incineration of municipal solid wastes

Incineration experiments with MSW, which had been impregnated with heavy metals, were presented to obtain information on the volatilization behavior of the elements cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) under different conditions. Experiments were carried out in a bubbling fluid bed system connected to a customized inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy(ICP-OES) for analyzing metals in the flue gas. The results indicated that the combustion temperature, the gas atmosphere, and the chlorine content in the flue gas could affect the volatilization behavior of heavy metals. In the fluidized bed combustion, a large surface area was provided by the bed sand particles, and they may act as absorbents for the gaseous ash-forming compound. Comparer with the metals Cd and Pb, the vaporization of Zn was low. The formation of stable compounds such as ZnO.Al2O3 could greatly decrease the metals volatilization. The presence of chlorine would enhance the volatilization of heavy metals by increasing the formation of metal chlorides. However, when the oxygen content was high, the chlorinating reaction was kinetically hindered, which heavy metals release would be delayed.     

Mobility of toxic metals in sediments: Assessing methods and controlling factors

<正>Metals and metalloids(termed as metals in this article)are important constituent elements of the earth's crust.A number of metals,if present in excess,are toxic to organisms and therefore they are usually defined as toxic metals.Toxic metals in the environment can be divided into two groups:those that     

Speciation and fractionation of heavy metals in soil experimentally contaminated with Pb,Cd, Cu and Zn together and effects on soil negative surface charge

Speciation and fractionation of heavy metals in soil subsamples experimentally loaded with Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn in orthogonal design was investigated by sequential extraction, and operationally defined as water-soluble and exchangeable(SE), weakly specific adsorbed( WSA),Fe and Mn oxides-bound(OX) and organic-bound( ORG). The results showed that fractions of heavy metals in the soil subsamples depended on their speciation. About 90% of Cd and 75% of Zn existed in soil subsamples in the SE fraction. Lead and Cu existed in soil subsamples as SE, WSA and OX fractions simultaneously, although SE was still the major fraction. Organic-bound heavy metals were not clearly apparent in all the soil subsamples. The concentration of some heavy metal fractions in soil subsamples showed the good correlation with ionic impulsion of soil, especially for the SE fraction. Continuous saturation of soil subsamples with 0.20 mol/L NH4CI, which is the first step for determination of the negative surface charge of soil by the ion retention method, resulted in desorption of certain heavy metals from the soil. It was found that the percentage desorption of heavy metals from soil subsamples depended greatly on pH, the composition and original heavy metal content of the soil subsamples. However, most of the heavy metals in the soil subsamples were still be retained after multiple saturation. Compared with the parent soil, the negative surface charge of soil subsamples loaded with heavy metals did not show difference significantly from that of the parent one by statistical analysis. Heavy metals existed in the soil subsamples mainly as exchangeable and precipitated simultaneously.     

Horizontal distribution and levels of heavy metals in the biggest snowstorm in a century in Shenyang, China

The horizontal distribution and levels of heavy metals in the biggest snowstorm in Shenyang since 1904 were investigated by analyzing 4 metals (As,Cd,Pb,and Cu) in a series of ultraclean samples collected from 17 sites distributed in different regions of the Shenyang area,China.The results showed that the concentrations of all the 4 heavy metals in snow from the industrial regions were high,up to 7.3 (As),2.2 (Cd),850.0 (Pb),and 0.197-20.2 (Cu)μg/kg,respectively.In the suburb,in contrast,their concentrat...     

Limitation of spatial distribution of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in the Haihe River, China, by heavy metals

The Haihe River is characterized by high ammonia pollution. Therefore, it is necessary to determine how environmental factors, such as heavy metals in the river limit the spatial distribution of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms. In this study, the relationships between five heavy metals and ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms were studied. The results showed that under high ammonia, low oxygen and high concentrations of suspended particles, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria(AOB) ranged from 101:3 to 104:8 gene copies/mL and ammonia-oxidizing archaea(AOA) ranged from 102:7 to 104:9 gene copies/mL. The average metal concentrations in water were 23.57(Cr), 21.58(Ni), 65.09(Cu), 622.03(Zn) and 10.16(As) μg/L, with those of Zn, Cu and Cr being higher than the US EPA criteria. Scatter plots of microbial abundance and metals indicated that both AOA and AOB were limited by heavy metals, but in different ways. As had an inhibitory effect on AOB, while Ni and Zn promoted AOA, and the other metals investigated showed no significant correlation with microbial abundance. Overall, our results indicated that the effects of heavy metals on ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in water are complex, and that the final effect is determined by the physiological role of each element in the microorganisms, as well as environmental conditions such as complexation of organic matter, not simply the total metal concentration.     

Particle size distribution and characteristics of heavy metals in road-deposited sediments from Beijing Olympic Park

Due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, heavy metals in road-deposited sediments(RDSs) of parks are emitted into the terrestrial, atmospheric, and water environment, and have a severe impact on residents' and tourists' health. To identify the distribution and characteristic of heavy metals in RDS and to assess the road environmental quality in Chinese parks, samples were collected from Beijing Olympic Park in the present study. The results indicated that particles with small grain size(150 μm) were the dominant fraction. The length of dry period was one of the main factors affecting the particle size distribution, as indicated by the variation of size fraction with the increase of dry days. The amount of heavy metal(i.e., Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd) content was the largest in particles with small size(150 μm) among all samples. Specifically, the percentage of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd in these particles was 74.7%, 55.5%, 56.6% and 71.3%, respectively.Heavy metals adsorbed in sediments may mainly be contributed by road traffic emissions. The contamination levels of Pb and Cd were higher than Cu and Zn on the basis of the mean heavy metal contents. Specifically, the geoaccumulation index(I geo) decreased in the order:CdPbCuZn. This study analyzed the mobility of heavy metals in sediments using partial sequential extraction with the Tessier procedure. The results revealed that the apparent mobility and potential metal bioavailability of heavy metals in the sediments, based on the exchangeable and carbonate fractions, decreased in the order: CdZn≈PbCu.     

Development of a model to simulate soil heavy metals lateral migration quantity based on SWAT in Huanjiang watershed, China

Lateral transportation of soil heavy metals in rainfall events could significantly increase the scope of pollution. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a model with high accuracy to simulate the migration quantity of heavy metals. A model for heavy metal migration simulation was developed based on the SWAT(Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model. This model took into consideration the influence of soil p H value, soil particle size, runoff volume, sediment amount,concentration of water-soluble heavy metals dissolved in runoff and insoluble absorbed to the soil particles. This model was reasonable in Huanjiang watershed, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China, covering an area of 273 km~2. The optimal drainage area threshold was determined by analyzing the effects of watershed subdivision on the simulation results to ensure the simulation accuracy. The main conclusions of this paper were:(1) watershed subdivision could affect simulation migration quantity of heavy metals;(2) the quantity of heavy metals transported by sediment accounted for 97%–99% of the total migration quantity in the study watershed. Therefore, sediment played the most important role in heavy metal migration;(3) the optimal drainage area threshold percentage to ensure high simulation accuracy was determined to be 2.01% of the total watershed;(4) with the optimal threshold percentage, this model could simulate the migration quantity of As, Pb and Cd accurately at the total watershed and subwatershed level. The results of this paper were useful for identifying the key regions with heavy metal migration.     

Characterization of heavy metal desorption from road-deposited sediment under acid rain scenarios

Road-deposited sediments(RDS) on urban impervious surfaces are important carriers of heavy metals.Dissolved heavy metals that come from RDS influenced by acid rain,are more harmful to urban receiving water than particulate parts.RDS and its associated heavy metals were investigated at typical functional areas,including industrial,commercial and residential sites,in Guangdong,Southern China,which was an acid rain sensitive area.Total and dissolved heavy metals in five particle size fractions were analyzed using a shaking method under acid rain scenarios.Investigated heavy metals showed no difference in the proportion of dissolved fraction in the solution under different acid rain pHs above3.0,regardless of land use.Dissolved loading of heavy metals related to organic carbon content were different in runoff from main traffic roads of three land use types.Coarse particles(150 μm) that could be efficiently removed by conventional street sweepers,accounted for 55.1%-47.1%of the total dissolved metal loading in runoff with pH 3.0-5.6.The obtained findings provided a significant scientific basis to understand heavy metal release and influence of RDS grain-size distribution and land use in dissolved heavy metal pollution affected by acid rain.     

Heavy metals in maternal and cord blood in Beijing and their efficiency of placental transfer

This study aimed to determine the effect of exposure to heavy metals in pregnant women in Beijing, China. We also evaluated the association of these heavy metals with birth weight and length of newborns. We measured the levels of 10 heavy metals,including lead(Pb), titanium(Ti), manganese(Mn), nickel(Ni), cadmium(Cd), chromium(Cr), antimony(Sb), stannum(Sn), vanadium(V), and arsenic(As), in 156 maternal and cord blood pairs. An inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method was used for measurement. Pb, As, Ti, Mn, and Sb showed high detection rates( 50%) in both maternal and cord blood. Fourteen(9%) mothers had blood Pb levels greater than the United States Center for Disease Control allowable threshold limit for children(50 μg/L).In prenatal exposure to these heavy metals, there was no significant association between any heavy metal and birth weight/length. Moreover, we estimated the placental transfer efficiency of each heavy metal, and the median placental transfer efficiency ranged from 49.6%(Ni) to 194%(Mn)(except for Cd and Sn). The level and detection rate of Cd in maternal blood were much higher than that in cord blood, which suggested that Cd had difficulty in passing the placental barrier. Prospective research should focus on the source and risk of heavy metals in non-occupationally exposed pregnant women in Beijing.     

Trace metals in atmospheric fine particles in one industrial urban city: Spatial variations, sources, and health implications

Trace metals in PM2.5were measured at one industrial site and one urban site during September, 2010 in Ji'nan, eastern China. Individual aerosol particles and PM2.5samples were collected concurrently at both sites. Mass concentrations of eleven trace metals(i.e., Al, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, Ba, and Pb) and one metalloid(i.e., As) were measured by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy(ICP-AES). The result shows that mass concentrations of PM2.5(130 μg/m3) and trace metals(4.03 μg/m3) at the industrial site were 1.3 times and 1.7 times higher than those at the urban site, respectively, indicating that industrial activities nearby the city can emit trace metals into the surrounding atmosphere. Fe concentrations were the highest among all the measured trace metals at both sites, with concentrations of 1.04 μg/m3at the urban site and 2.41 μg/m3at the industrial site, respectively. In addition, Pb showed the highest enrichment factors at both sites, suggesting the emissions from anthropogenic activities existed around the city. Correlation coefcient analysis and principal component analysis revealed that Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn were originated from vehicular trafc and industrial emissions at both sites; As, Cr, and part of Pb from coal-fired power plant; Ba and Ti from natural soil. Based on the transmission electron microscopy analysis, we found that most of the trace metals were internally mixed with secondary sulfate/organic particles. These internally mixed trace metals in the urban air may have diferent toxic abilities compared with externally mixed trace metals.     

Cu(Ⅱ), Fe(Ⅲ) and Mn(Ⅱ) combinations as environmental stress factors have distinguishing effects on Enterococcus hirae

Pollution by various heavy metals as environmental stress factors might affect bacteria. It was established that iron(Fe(Ⅲ)), manganese(Mn(Ⅱ)) and copper(Cu(Ⅱ)) ion combinations caused effects on Enterococcus hirae that differed from the sum of the effects when the metals were added separately. It was shown that the Cu2+–Fe3+combination decreased the growth and ATPase activity of membrane vesicles of wild-type E. hirae ATCC9790 and atp D mutant(with defective FoF1-ATPase) MS116. Addition of Mn2+–Fe3+combinations within the same concentration range had no effects on growth compared to control(without heavy metals). ATPase activity was increased in the presence of Mn2+–Fe3+, while together with0.2 mmol/L N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide(DCCD), ATPase activity was decreased compared to control(when only 0.2 mmol/L DCCD was present). These results indicate that heavy metals ion combinations probably affect the FOF1-ATPase, leading to conformational changes. Moreover the action may be direct or be mediated by environment redox potential.The effects observed when Fe3+was added separately disappeared in both cases, which might be a result of competing processes between Fe3+and other heavy metals. These findings are novel and improve the understanding of heavy metals ions effects on bacteria,and could be applied for regulation of stress response patterns in the environment.     

Cobalt and manganese stress in the microalga Pavlova viridis （Prymnesiophyceae）： Effects on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes

Pollution of marine environment has become an issue of major concern in recent years.Serious environmental pollution by heavy metals results from their increasing utilization in industrial processes and because most heavy metals are transported into the marine environment and accumulated without decomposition.The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects on growth,pigments, lipid peroxidation,and some antioxidant enzyme activities of marine microalga Pavlova viridis,in response to elevated concentrations of cobalt(Co)and manganese(Mn),especially with regard to the involvement of antioxidative defences against heavy metal-induced oxidative stress.In response to Co~(2 ),lipid peroxidation was enhanced compared to the control,as an indication of the oxidative damage caused by metal concentration assayed in the microalgal cells but not Mn~(2 ).Exposure of Pavlova viridis to the two metals caused changes in enzyme activities in a different manner,depending on the metal assayed:after Co~(2 )treatments,total superoxide dismutase(SOD)activity was irregular,although it was not significantly affected by Mn~(2 )exposure.Co~(2 )and Mn~(2 )stimulated the activities of catalase(CAT)and glutathione(GSH),whereas,ghitathione peroxidase(GPX)showed a remarkable increase in activity in response to Co~(2 )treatments and decreased gradually with Mn~(2 )concentration,up to 50μmol/L,and then rose very rapidly,reaching to about 38.98% at 200μmol/L Mn~(2 ).These results suggest that an activation of some antioxidant enzymes was enhanced,to counteract the oxidative stress induced by the two metals at higher concentration.     

Adsorption and desorption of Cu(Ⅱ) and Pb(Ⅱ) in paddy soils cultivated for various years in the subtropical China

The adsorption and desorption of Cu(Ⅱ) and Pb(Ⅱ) on upland red soil,and paddy soils which were originated from the upland soil and cultivated for 8,15,35 and 85 years,were investigated using the batch method.The study showed that the organic matter content and cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the soils are important factors controlling the adsorption and desorption of Cu(Ⅱ) and Pb(Ⅱ).The 15-Year paddy soil had the highest adsorption capacity for Pb(Ⅱ),followed by the 35-Year paddy soil.Both the 35-Year paddy soil and 15-Year paddy soil adsorbed more Cu(Ⅱ) than the upland soil and other paddy soils.The 15-Year paddy soils exhibited the highest desorption percentage for both Cu(Ⅱ) and Pb(Ⅱ).These results are consistent with the trend for the CEC of the soils tested.The high soil CEC contributes not only to the adsorption of Cu(Ⅱ) and Pb(Ⅱ) but also to the electrostatic adsorption of the two heavy metals by the soils.Lower desorption percentages for Cu(Ⅱ) (36.7% to 42.2%) and Pb(Ⅱ) (50.4% to 57.9%) were observed for the 85-Year paddy soil.The highest content of organic matter in the soil was responsible for the low desorption percentages for the two metals because the formation of the complexes between the organic matter and the metals could increase the stability of the heavy metals in the soils.     

Water incubation-induced fluctuating release of heavy metals in two smelter-contaminated soils

The soil moisture regime can affect the release of heavy metals in soil. In the previous studies, slightly polluted soils or artificially contaminated soil samples were considered to investigate the effect of soil moisture. We used highly smelter-contaminated and aged soils to study the release of typical heavy metals(Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) induced by water incubation in batch experiments with characterization via speciation and X-ray diffraction analyses(XRD). The results show that the leachable concentrations of the heavy metals increased slightly in the first 30 days, decreased drastically between 30 and 90 days, and immobilized relatively constant thereafter. The fluctuation was ascribed to the changes of soil Eh and pH, the reductive dissolution of crystalline iron oxides, the formation of new amorphous iron oxides, the absorption of dissolved organic matter and the precipitation of metal sulfide. Speciation analysis indicated that a proportion of the soil heavy metals was transformed from an exchangeable fraction to a less labile fraction after water incubation. And the presence of a lead iron oxide phase and the peak increasing of zinc sulfide were observed via XRD analyses. Finally, water incubation restrained the release of heavy metals after 180 days of incubation, and reduced the leachability of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb by as much as 1.61%–7.21% for soil A and 0.43%–3.36% for soil B, respectively. The study findings have implications for the formulation of risk control and management strategies for heavy metals in smelter-contaminated soils.     

Predicting heavy metals’ adsorption edges and adsorption isotherms on MnO2 with the parameters determined from Langmuir kinetics

Although surface complexation models have been widely used to describe the adsorption of heavy metals, few studies have verified the feasibility of modeling the adsorption kinetics,edge, and isotherm data with one p H-independent parameter. A close inspection of the derivation process of Langmuir isotherm revealed that the equilibrium constant derived from the Langmuir kinetic model, K S-kinetic, is theoretically equivalent to the adsorption constant in Langmuir isotherm, K S-Langmuir. The modified Langmuir kinetic model(MLK model) and modified Langmuir isotherm model(MLI model) incorporating p H factor were developed. The MLK model was employed to simulate the adsorption kinetics of Cu(II), Co(II), Cd(II), Zn(II) and Ni(II) on Mn O2 at p H 3.2 or 3.3 to get the values of K S-kinetic. The adsorption edges of heavy metals could be modeled with the modified metal partitioning model(MMP model), and the values of K S-Langmuir were obtained. The values of K S-kinetic and K S-Langmuir are very close to each other, validating that the constants obtained by these two methods are basically the same. The MMP model with K S-kinetic constants could predict the adsorption edges of heavy metals on Mn O2 very well at different adsorbent/adsorbate concentrations. Moreover, the adsorption isotherms of heavy metals on Mn O2 at various p H levels could be predicted reasonably well by the MLI model with the K S-kinetic constants.     

Distribution and relationship between antimicrobial resistance genes and heavy metals in surface sediments of Taihu Lake, China

Heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and other wastes released into the environment can significantly influence environmental antibiotic resistance. We investigated the occurrence of 22 antimicrobial resistance genes(ARGs) and 10 heavy metal concentrations, and the relationship between ARGs and heavy metals in surface sediment from seven sites of Lake Taihu. The results showed significant correlations(p 0.05) between sediment ARG levels,especially for tetracycline and sulfonamides(e.g., tet(A), tet(D), tet(E), tet(O), sul1, sul2 and int-1) and specific heavy metals(Fe, Mn, Cr, Cu, Zn, among others) in the Lake. In the surface sediments, heavy metals showed an interaction with resistance genes, but the strength of interaction was diminished with increasing depth. For most of the heavy metals, the concentration of elements in the top sediments was higher than that in other depths.Tetracycline resistance genes(tet(A), tet(B), tet(D), tet(E) and tet(O), β-lactam resistance genes(SHV, TEM, CTX, OXA and OXY) and sulfonamide resistance genes(sulA, sul1, sul2, sul3 and int-1) were detected. They showed a trend which inferred a statistically significant increase followed by decreases in the relative abundance of these ARGs(normalized to 16 S rRNA genes) with increasing depth. This study revealed that tet(A), tet(O), TEM, OXY, int-1, sul1 and sul3 were widespread in surface sediments with high abundance, indicating that these genes deserve more attention in future work.