A critical review of sulfate aerosol formation mechanisms during winter polluted periods

Sulfate aerosol contributes to particulate matter pollution and plays a key role in aerosol radiative forcing, impacting human health and climate change. Atmospheric models tend to substantially underestimate sulfate concentrations during haze episodes, indicating that there are still missing mechanisms not considered by the models. Despite recent good progress in understanding the missing sulfate sources, knowledge on different sulfate formation pathways during polluted periods still involves large uncertainties and the dominant mechanism is under heated debate, calling for more field, laboratory, and modeling work. Here, we review the traditional sulfate formation mechanisms in cloud water and also discuss the potential factors affecting multiphase S(Ⅳ) oxidation. Then recent progress in multiphase S(Ⅳ) oxidation mechanisms is summarized. Sulfate formation rates by different prevailing oxidation pathways under typical winter-haze conditions are also calculated and compared. Based on the literature reviewed, we put forward control of the atmospheric oxidation capacity as a means to abate sulfate aerosol pollution. Finally, we conclude with a concise set of research priorities for improving our understanding of sulfate formation mechanisms during polluted periods.     

Rural vehicle emission as an important driver for the variations of summertime tropospheric ozone in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region during 2014–2019

Tropospheric ozone (O₃) pollution is increasing in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region despite a significant decline in atmospheric fine aerosol particles (PM_2.5) in recent years. However, the intrinsic reason for the elevation of the regional O₃ is still unclear. In this study, we analyzed the spatio-temporal variations of tropospheric O₃ and relevant pollutants (PM_2.5, NO₂, and CO) in the BTH region based on monitoring data from the China Ministry of Ecology and Environment during the period of 2014–2019. The results showed that summertime O₃ concentrations were constant in Beijing (BJ, 0.06 µg/(m³•year)) but increased significantly in Tianjin (TJ, 9.09 µg/(m³•year)) and Hebei (HB, 6.06 µg/(m³•year)). Distinct O₃ trends between Beijing and other cities in BTH could not be attributed to the significant decrease in PM_2.5 (from -5.08 to -6.32 µg/(m³•year)) and CO (from -0.053 to -0.090 mg/(m³•year)) because their decreasing rates were approximately the same in all the cities. The relatively stable O₃ concentrations during the investigating period in BJ may be attributed to a faster decreasing rate of NO₂ (BJ: -2.55 µg/(m³•year); TJ: -1.16 µg/(m³•year); HB: -1.34 µg/(m³•year)), indicating that the continued reduction of NO_x will be an effective mitigation strategy for reducing regional O₃ pollution. Significant positive correlations were found between daily maximum 8 hr average (MDA8) O₃ concentrations and vehicle population and highway freight transportation in HB. Therefore, we speculate that the increase in rural NO_x emissions due to the increase in vehicle emissions in the vast rural areas around HB greatly accelerates regional O₃ formation, accounting for the significant increasing trends of O₃ in HB.     

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus and ambient temperature: a critical review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought unprecedented public health, and social and economic challenges. It remains unclear...     

Insights into the effects of Zn exposure on the fate of tylosin resistance genes and dynamics of microbial community during co-composting with tylosin fermentation dregs and swine manure

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Though heavy metals are widely reported to induce antibiotic resistance propagation, how antibiotic resistance changes in response to heavy metal...     

大型蚤对五价砷抗性选择的响应

金属污染对栖息在该环境中的生物具有强大的选择力,生物若能进化出对该金属的抗性则能在该环境中生存下去,否则将会灭绝。人工模拟的选择方法可以用来研究生物对金属的抗性进化。为了探索大型蚤(Daphnia magna)是否能进化出对五价砷(As(Ⅴ))的抗性,采用多代选择的方法对其进行了As(Ⅴ)诱导的抗性响应研究。依据本实验室大型蚤对As(Ⅴ)的96h半致死浓度(4.25 mg·L~(-1)),试验选取As(Ⅴ)亚致死浓度(8.0 mg·L~(-1))对大型蚤进行选择,每代选择30%~50%对As(Ⅴ)耐受性高的大型蚤转移至不加As(Ⅴ)环境下继续繁殖得到下一代,并重复该选择过程至获得第五代(F5)终止试验。以选择组F5代及对照组F5代大型蚤为测试目标,考察其在As(Ⅴ)继续暴露下的存活时间以期获得具As(Ⅴ)抗性大型蚤。结果显示,在F5代中,选择组大型蚤在As(Ⅴ)(8.0 mg·L~(-1))暴露下的存活时间相比对照组显著延长175%,证实了大型蚤对As(Ⅴ)的进化抗性。进一步研究发现,选择组F5代与对照组F5代相比繁殖力下降19.96%,平均每批产仔量降低15.71%。这表明经过五代人工选择后,大型蚤能够进化出对As(Ⅴ)的抗性,而这种抗性的进化伴随以生物适应性参数的降低为代价。另外,大型蚤对这种抗性的获得机制(对As(Ⅴ)的累积和脱毒机制)仍需进一步研究。     

Trace elemental characterization of fly ash

The purpose of this study was to determine heavy metal concentrations in ash samples taken from the filter of the gas cleaning system of biomass incinerators in Austria. Knowing the concentrations of heavy metals is important for the decision of further treatment or utilization of the ashes. The heavy metals contained in the ashes remain in the bottom ash of the incinerator or leave the incinerator with the off-gas and are collected in the off-gas filter. The amount of the metals in the collected fly ash depends on the composition of the input material. The aim of this study was to examine this influence and compare the results with literature data. For measurement, the fly ash samples were at first dissolved in a microwave digestion unit using nitric acid and hydrochloric acid. Afterwards, 20 metals were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Al, Fe, Mg, Mn, and Zn were found in higher concentrations in the fly ash samples. The enrichment factor between the concentrations in the fly ash and the concentrations in the input material was on average in the range of 18.     

珠江水产品中滴滴涕和六六六残留特征及风险评价

以珠江河口水生食物链较顶端的鱼类和虾类作为研究对象,利用气相色谱(GC-ECD)法检测分析了有机氯农药滴滴涕(DDTs)和六六六(HCHs)及其单体在这些水生动物体内的残留水平和特征,以期为珠江流域水生生物生态风险评价提供基础资料和科学依据。结果显示,鱼类肌肉中的DDTs含量(以湿质量计)范围为未检出(nd)～42.73μg.kg-1(平均值为7.61μg.kg-1),在虾类肌肉中的含量范围为nd～9.51μg.kg-1(平均值为1.97μg.kg-1);鱼类肌肉中的HCHs含量范围为nd～1.71μg.kg-1(平均值为0.62μg.kg-1),在虾类肌肉中的含量范围为nd～0.86μg.kg-1(平均值为0.56μg.kg-1)。鱼类肌肉中DDTs和HCHs的残留均值高于虾类,而鱼类和虾类体内DDTs的残留量均高于HCHs的残留量。HCHs、DDTs的单体分别以γ-HCH、p,p'-DDT的含量最高,而且近期都有新的污染源输入。所采集的水产品中DDTs、HCHs残留量尚低于我国的无公害水产品质量安全标准要求(GB18406.4),亦低于日本、欧盟等发达国家和地区相关的最大残留限量,因此,DDTs、HCHs通过膳食的暴露暂时不会对该地区的人体健康产生危害。     

Normative barriers improvement through the MADS/MOSAR methodology

During the past 30 years, safety and environmental topics have moved up on the list of society’s significant concerns. Administrations and regulatory bodies have to publish rules for the protection of the public, decide whether to authorize the use of a chemical product or the construction of a new plant, limit the environmental impact, regulate waste disposal, etc. All these rules i.e. the legislative, normative and procedural corpus of a country, a state, a city or a factory can be designated to a barrier function. These barriers are indispensable and play an important role in industrial safety management. In developed countries, growth during the past few years in the number of laws directed at regulating environmental and safety aspects in industry is well known to everyone. Now the definition, classification and performance of the legislative and normative barriers definitely allow the management of technological risks. So it is possible to permit the identification of the flux of hazard and to perform risk reduction in order to enhance the acceptability in a regional context. A systemic risk analysis methodology was applied to Colombian industrial sectors. The current legislation was analyzed with three scenarios. A global panorama of the different existing instruments allowing future management opportunities was suggested. The obtained analysis results propose a point of view, which could be useful for a local government or a whole national system to evaluate or improve the risk legislative and normative barriers. This modeling can be applied to other countries and to other industrial sectors.     

灾害·资源·环境

印度洋地震海啸带给人们的创伤还来抚平,一系列大地震又接踵而来。曾经有人说,印度洋地震海啸造成的30多万人的伤亡记录,恐怕要成为若干世纪里自然灾害伤亡之最。然而,如果人类不能由此而警醒,不能由此强化防灾减灾意识,不能由此做好各种预防工作,谁又能保证这个记录不会被很快刷新呢?