Heavy metals in rice and garden vegetables and their potential health risks to inhabitants in the vicinity of an industrial zone in Jiangsu, China

Contamination of soil and agricultural products by heavy metals resulting from rapid industrial development has caused major concern. In this study, we investigated heavy metal (Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Hg and Cd) concentrations in rice and garden vegetables, as well as in cultivated soils, in a rural-industrial developed region in southern Jiangsu, China, and estimated the potential health risks of metals to the inhabitants via consumption of locally produced rice and garden vegetables. A questionnaire-based survey on dietary consumption rates of foodstuffs showed that rice and vegetables accounted for 64% of total foodstuffs consumed, and over 60% of rice and vegetables were grown in the local region. Average concentrations of Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg and Pb were 0.75, 2.64, 12.00, 0.014, 0.006 and 0.054 mg/kg dw (dry weight) in rice and were 0.67, 1.18, 4.34, 0.011, 0.002 and 0.058 mg/kg fw (fresh weight) in garden vegetables, respectively. These values were all below the maximum allowable concentration in food in China except for Cr in vegetables. Leafy vegetables had higher metal concentrations than solanaceae vegetables. Average daily intake of Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg and Pb through the consumption of rice and garden vegetables were 5.66, 16.90, 74.21, 0.10, 0.04 and 0.43 μg/(kg·day), respectively. Although Hazard Quotient values of individual metals were all lower than 1, when all six metal intakes via self-planted rice and garden vegetables were combined, the Hazard Index value was close to 1. Potential health risks from exposure to heavy metals in self-planted rice and garden vegetables need more attention.     

Oxidative removal of acetaminophen using zero valent aluminum-acid system: Efficacy, influencing factors, and reaction mechanism

Commercial available zero valent aluminum under air-equilibrated acidic conditions (ZVAl/H⁺/air system) demonstrated an excellent capacity to remove aqueous organic compounds. Acetaminophen (ACTM), the active ingredient of the over-the-counter drug Tylenol^®, is widely present in the aquatic environment and therefore the treatment of ACTM-contaminated water calls for further research. Herein we investigated the oxidative removal of ACTM by ZVAl/H⁺/air system and the reaction mechanism. In acidic solutions (pH < 3.5), ZVAl displayed an excellent capacity to remove ACTM. More than 99% of ACTM was eliminated within 16 hr in pH 1.5 reaction solutions initially containing 2.0 g/L aluminum and 2.0 mg/L ACTM at 25 ± 1\textcelsius. Higher temperature and lower pH facilitated ACTM removal. The addition of different iron species Fe⁰, Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ into ZVAl/H⁺/air system dramatically accelerated the reaction likely due to the enhancing transformation of H₂O₂ to HO. via Fenton's reaction. Furthermore, the primary intermediate hydroquinone and the anions formate, acetate and nitrate, were identified and a possible reaction scheme was proposed. This work suggested that ZVAl/H⁺/air system may be potentially employed to treat ACTM-contaminated water.     

中国东部主要河流河水腐殖酸的起源、含量及地域分异规律

测定了中国东部地区主要河流河水、悬浮物和沉积物中腐殖酸含量,研究了该地区河水腐殖酸含量的地域分异规律,并探讨了河水腐殖酸的可能来源。结果表明,所研究河流河水腐殖酸含量在0.9—14.4mg/L范围内,中值为4.16mg/L,并有北高南低的一般趋势。黑龙江上游及松花江北部支流的河水腐殖酸含量在8.5mg/L以上,滦河以北其它地区在3.9—6.4mg/L范围内,黄河以南区域则在0.9—3.3mg/L之间,所研究地区河水中的腐殖酸为混合起源的,它既来自河流悬浮物和沉积物中腐殖酸的释放,又来自流域表土中腐殖酸的淋溶。     

Long-term effects of silver nanoparticles on performance of phosphorus removal in a laboratory-scale vertical flow constructed wetland

Silver nanoparticles(AgNPs) have been widely used in many fields,which raised concerns about potential threats to biological sewage treatment systems.In this study,the phosphorus removal performance,enzymatic activity and microbial population dynamics in constructed wetlands(CWs) were evaluated under a long-term exposure to Ag NPs(0,50,and 200 μg/L) for 450 days.Results have shown that Ag NPs inhibited the phosphorus removal efficiency in a short-term exposure,whereas caused no obviously negative effects from a long-term perspective.Moreover,in the coexisting CW system of Ag NPs and phosphorus,competition exhibited in the initial exposure phase,however,cooperation between them was observed in later phase.Enzymatic activity of acid-phosphatase at the moderate temperature(10–20°C) was visibly higher than that at the high temperature(20–30℃) and CWs with Ag NPs addition had no appreciable differences compared with the control.High-throughput sequencing results indicated that the microbial richness,diversity and composition of CWs were distinctly affected with the extension of exposure time at different Ag NPs levels.However,the phosphorus removal performance of CWs did not decline with the decrease of polyphosphate accumulating organisms(PAOs),which also confirmed that adsorption precipitation was the main way of phosphorus removal in CWs.The study suggested that Ag NPs and phosphorus could be removed synergistically in the coexistence system.This work has some reference for evaluating the influences of Ag NPs on the phosphorus removal and the interrelation between them in CWs.     

水位变化对湖泊沉积物营养释放的影响

水位波动可有效调节湖泊生态系统的结构与功能,干湿交替过程引起的沉积物生物地球化学循环途径的改变是其重要机制之一。大量研究结果表明,干湿交替将加速沉积物有机碳的分解,强化沉积物硝化与硝化作用的偶联,促进沉积物磷的酶促水解和厌氧解离,从而增加再度淹没之后水中溶解有机碳和生物可利用性磷的浓度,并减少溶解无机态氮的浓度。有机质的分解是上述过程的关键步骤。因此,必须系统描述湖泊水陆界面土壤和沉积物基本理化性状与水生生物特征,分析干旱过程中沉积物生物地球化学循环途径的变化,了解淹没过程中水柱营养状态与浮游生物群落对沉积物营养释放的响应,从而揭示水位波动调控富营养化过程的机制,即诱发营养脉冲或维系其持续补给,改变营养阈值,进而导致稳态转换。     

Fenton法氧化降解聚乙烯醇的机制

为深入了解Fenton法氧化降解聚乙烯醇（PVA）的机制,通过考察反应过程中COD、BOD5、总有机碳及pH等随反应时间的变化,研究了聚乙烯醇Fenton氧化降解过程的特点,结果表明,当PVA被Fenton试剂氧化时,可生成大量CO2,同时生成酸性中间产物。进一步分析认为,当Fenton试剂中H2O2不足景时PVA氧化的中间产物以醛为主,而当H2O2足量时醛会被继续氧化生成有机酸,最终COD去除率达到80％。     

生活垃圾填埋场建设项目环保验收调查方法研究简

垃圾填埋场建设项目的主要环境问题包括：渗沥液排放、地下水环境污染、大气环境污染、噪声污染、景观变化和环境安全。根据工作经验,建立了包括建设项目基本情况、生态环境影响、社会环境影响、生态环境保护措施四大类调查监测指标为核心的环保验收调查指标体系,提出了文件资料核实、现场勘查、遥感调查、公众意见调查、环境监测和摄影法为主的建设项目竣工环保验收调查技术方法。     

后石油时代沙生灌木直燃发电对环境的影响＊

文章通过对内蒙古中西部地区沙生灌木的成分分析,基于生命周期法(LCA),定量论证了沙生灌木直燃发电开发模式对环境的影响和推广的可行性,指出相比石油等传统能源,这种模式具有较大的潜在效益,对于我国发展绿色替代能源,促进西部地区生态环境和经济协调发展具有一定的战略意义。     

基于环境地理信息平台的预警系统的构建

随着经济的高速发展,环境污染事故也呈现出上升的势头,环境污染事故不仅造成了环境危害,而且对人民群众的安全产生了重大威胁。鉴于环境污染事故的多发性、危害性,应急处置显然非常重要,而构建强大的应急处置信息系统有助于应急处置和分析决策的顺利进行。本文分析了环境应急处置需求,提出了建立环境污染应急管理信息系统的设计框架。     

土壤的重金属污染与土壤酶活性

本文根据模拟研究,论述了不同用量的重金属Hg、Cd和Pb对不同肥力水平的棕壤和红壤的过氧化氢酶、转化酶、脲酶和磷酸酶活性的影响.重金属对土壤酶抑制作用的顺序为:Hg>Cd>Pb.且随金属浓度的增大而增强.实验表明,重金属对土壤酶活性的抑制是一种暂时现象、由于脲酶活性恢复得较少较慢,故建议用土壤的脲酶活性作为土壤Hg污染程度的指标.