Assessment of Atmospheric Deposition of Heavy Metals and Other Elements in Belgrade Using the Moss Biomonitoring Technique and Neutron Activation Analysis

This study aimed at assessing atmospheric deposition of heavy metals and other elements using the moss genera Brachythecium sp. (B. rutabulum and B. salebrosum) and Eurhynchium sp. (E. hians and E. striatum) collected in autumn 2004 in the urban area of Belgrade. The concentrations of 36 elements (Na, Mg, Al, Cl, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, As, Se, Br, Rb, Sr, Mo, Sb, I, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Sm, Tb, Dy, Hf, Ta, W, Hg, Th, U) were determined in moss and local topsoil samples by instrumental neutron activation analysis. The concentration of elements in moss positively correlated to those obtained for topsoil. High enrichment factors for As, Zn, Mo, Br, Sb, Se, Hg and Cl, calculated to continental crust composition, gave an evidence for anthropogenic impact on urban area, mainly due to intensive vehicular traffic and fossil fuel combustion. The concentration of elements in moss, characteristic for fossil fuel combustion, obtained in this study were substantially lower than in the previous investigation (2000) conducted in the area of Belgrade. The level of concentrations for V, Cr, Ni, and As in moss from this study correlated to those measured for neighboring countries, and were several times higher than the base-level data from low polluted areas. The level of accumulated elements in both investigated moss genera were similar and all studied species could be combined for biomonitoring purposes in urban areas.     

COVID-19: the impact of a global crisis on sustainable development teaching

Environment, Development and Sustainability - The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global crisis, one which also influences the ways sustainability is being taught at universities. This paper...     

Biomonitoring with epiphytic lichens as a complementary method for the study of mercury contamination near a cement plant

The study was focused on understanding the mercury contamination caused by a cement plant. Active and passive biomonitoring with epiphytic lichens was combined with other instrumental measurements of mercury emissions, mercury concentrations in raw materials, elemental mercury concentrations in air, quantities of dust deposits, temperatures, precipitation and other measurements from the cement plant's regular monitoring programme. Active biomonitoring with transplanted lichens Pseudevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf was performed at seven of the most representative sites around the cement plant and one distant reference site for periods of 3, 6 and 12 months. In situ lichens of different species were collected at the beginning of the monitoring period at the same sites. Mercury speciation of the plant exhaust gas showed that the main form of emitted mercury is reactive gaseous mercury Hg2?, which is specific for cement plants. Elemental mercury in air was measured in different meteorological conditions using a portable mercury detector. Concentrations in air were relatively low (on average below 10 ng m?3). In situ lichens showed Hg concentrations comparable to lichens taken from the background area for transplantation, indicating that the local pollution is not severe. Transplanted lichens showed an increase of mercury, especially at one site near the cement plant. A correlation between precipitation and Hg uptake was not found probably due to a rather uniform rainfall in individual periods. Dust deposits did not influence Hg uptake significantly. Lichens vitality was affected over longer biomonitoring periods, probably due to some elements in dust particles, their alkalinity and the influence of other emissions. Mercury uptake measured in vital transplanted lichens was in a good correlation with the working hours (i.e. emitted Hg quantity) of the kiln. The study showed that selected lichens could be used to detect low to moderate Hg emissions from a cement plant and that the biomonitoring procedure could be further standardized and used as part of an environmental monitoring programme.     

Occurrence and ecological risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and cocaine in the urban drainage channels of Santos beaches (São Paulo,Brazil): a neglected,but sensitive issue

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In some Brazilian coastal cities, it is common to observe ‘black tongues’ in beaches, i.e. a mixture of urban runoff and untreated...     

Evaluation of violations in water quality standards in the monitoring network of São Francisco River basin,the third largest in Brazil

The São Francisco River is the largest river located entirely within Brazil, and water scarcity problems have been a major concern of Brazilian society and government. Water quality issues are also a concern and have worsened with the recent intensification of urbanization and industrialization. In this study, violations to water quality standards established by local legislation were calculated as a percentage for 26 selected parameters over a monitoring period of 14 years. The violation percentages were analyzed spatially using the Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by multiple comparison analysis. Temporal analysis was performed using the Mann-Kendall test and Spearman correlation. Some parameters could be identified as cause for concern due to high violation levels, such as the fecal coliform indicator (FCI) and phosphorus—both related to domestic and effluent disposal without treatment or with insufficient treatment—and color, turbidity, manganese, and total suspended solids—which can be affected by erosive processes of natural and anthropogenic causes. The study found that these violations are concentrated in the most urbanized and industrialized areas of the basin. Some metallic parameters, such as iron and arsenic violations, may be related to mining activities in the rich soil of the Iron Quadrangle area located within the Minas Gerais State. Trend analysis results indicated that most monitoring stations did not have significant modification (elevation or reduction) trends over time, which, together with the high violation percentages, might indicate the maintenance of a scenario of constant pressure upon water resources, in particular in those more urbanized areas.     

(210)Pb content in natural gas pipeline residues ("black-powder") and its correlation with the chemical composition

The present work was carried out to assess the (210)Pb content in "black-powder" found in pigging operations on gas pipelines in Brazil, in particular, on the Campos Basin gas pipeline. Additionally, the chemical composition of such deposits was determined and an eventual correlation with (210)Pb concentration evaluated. Typical "black-powder" generated in the natural gas pipeline from Campos Basin oilfield contains mainly iron oxide ( approximately 81%) and residual organic matter ( approximately 9%). The (210)Pb content ranges from 4.9 to 0.04k Bqkg(-1) and seems to be inversely correlated with the distance to the platforms. On the other hand, (226)Ra concentration is higher on the pipeline branch between the platform and the onshore installations. (228)Ra was only observed in few samples, in particular, in the samples with the highest (226)Ra content.     

Heavy metals accumulation in tree leaves from urban areas

Higher plants may be used as biomonitors for the assessment of atmospheric heavy metal pollution by means of their bioaccumulative properties. We evaluated the reliability of biomonitoring heavy metal pollution by horse chestnut and linden leaves, common species found in Belgrade city parks. The results show that the highest concentrations of heavy metals were found in horse chestnut leaves at Studentski Park site, amounting to 110.2, 20.3 and 4.9 g g^–1 dry weight for Cu, Pb and Cd, respectively, which are considered above toxic levels for plants.Selected article from the Regional Symposium on Chemistry and Environment, Krusevac, Serbia, June 2003, organised by Dr. Branimir Jovancicevic.     

Process performance and polyphosphate-accumulating organism-glycogen-accumulating organism communities in an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic system operated with different carbon sources

A pilot plant anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A2/O) system fed with domestic wastewater was operated to examine the effect of varying different types of carbon source (acetic acid, propionic acid, and glucose), added as a complement to the wastewater, on the (1) process performance and (2) microbial population. The operational condition that lead to a significant removal of total nitrogen (82%) was achieved with acetic acid. When the complementary carbon source was propionic acid, an improved removal efficiency of orthophosphate (97%) was observed. Because this finding was concurrent with higher polyphosphate-accumulating organism (PAO) population fractions detected using fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis (41.9 +/- 3.0%), it suggests that members of PAO populations that were able to reduce nitrate gained importance over PAO members that could not, thus improving the denitrifying phosphorus removal.     

Metals and emerging contaminants in groundwater and human health risk assessment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Groundwaters are normally consumed without previous treatment and therefore the monitoring of contaminants in order to guarantee its safety is...