Bioavailability evaluation,uptake of heavy metals and potential health risks via dietary exposure in urban-industrial areas

A verity of human activities i.e. urbanization and industrialization have been resulted serious environmental contaminations by heavy metals in all over the world. The settlement of populations in urban and nearby industrial areas for economic development has significant share in their exposure to these metallic contaminants. Depending on the nature and type of the pollutants, targeted urban-industrial environments can have harmful and chronic health risk impacts on exposed local inhabitants and may require detoxification, healing and remedial therapy. Consequently, environmental monitoring as well as human health risk assessments of urban environments under industrial influence are key dominant features. We believe this work will provide new insights into the studies of metals exposure and associated health risks in emerging industrials cities of developing countries. Present study aimed to study the bioavailability of metals, quantify the changeability in soil and vegetable metal concentrations and estimation of human health risks via dietary exposure, focusing on urban-industrial environment. Soil and vegetable samples were collected in six random sites within the urban, periurban and industrial areas and analyzed for metal concentrations. In addition, risk assessment model proposed by US-EPA was employed to estimate the potential health risk of heavy metals via dietary intake. Results indicated that the heavy metal concentrations were noteworthy in periurban and urban-industrial areas. However, contamination levels varied with the type of vegetable, and the point source pollution such as traffic, urban wastes and industrial effluent. According to the estimated THQ and HI values for non-carcinogenic risk, little or no negative impact of heavy metals was observed on local inhabitants. However, the concentrations of Cr, Cd, Pb and Ni were nearly closed to the permissible limits described by US-EPA in urban-industrial areas. Conclusively, some efficient remedial strategies should be focus to overcome the increasing levels of Cr, Cd, Pb and Ni in this study area to protect the health of local inhabitants.     

Characteristics of water-soluble inorganic ions in PM2.5 and PM2.5–10 in the coastal urban agglomeration along the Western Taiwan Strait Region,China

PM_2.5 and PM_2.5–10 aerosol samples were collected in four seasons during November 2010, January, April, and August 2011 at 13 urban/suburban sites and one background site in Western Taiwan Straits Region (WTSR), which is the coastal area with rapid urbanization, high population density, and deteriorating air quality. The 10 days average PM_2.5 concentrations were 92.92, 51.96, 74.48, and 89.69 μg/m³ in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively, exceeding the Chinese ambient air quality standard for annual average value of PM_2.5 (grade II, 35 μg/m³). Temporal distribution of water-soluble inorganic ions (WSIIs) in PM_2.5 was coincident with PM_2.5 mass concentrations, showing highest in spring, lowest in summer, and middle in autumn and winter. WSIIs took considerable proportion (42.2～50.1 %) in PM_2.5 and PM_2.5–10. Generally, urban/suburban sites had obviously suffered severer pollution of fine particles compared with the background site. The WSIIs concentrations and characteristics were closely related to the local anthropogenic activities and natural environment, urban sites in cities with higher urbanization level, or sites with weaker diffuse condition suffered severer WSIIs pollution. Fossil fuel combustion, traffic emissions, crustal/soil dust, municipal constructions, and sea salt and biomass burnings were the major potential sources of WSIIs in PM_2.5 in WTSR according to the result of principal component analysis.     

Health risk assessment of exposure to organic matter from the use of reclaimed water in toilets

To estimate the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of six volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in reclaimed water used for flushing toilets, a probabilistic health risk assessment based on Monte Carlo simulations was used. Before Monte Carlo simulations, the contaminant volatilization model was applied to estimate the concentration of the pollutants in air. Moreover, a questionnaire was used to acquire daily exposure time and the Batch Fit tool of Crystal Ball software was applied to find the best-fitting distribution of a part of the input parameters. The risk analysis indicated that the health risks from six VOCs were lower than the negligible risk level (1?×?10^?8) in all cases, and the health risk for females was slightly higher than that for males. Overall, exposure to organic pollutants in reclaimed water during toilet flushing does not currently pose a significant carcinogenic risk to humans. In this study, we want to provide some information on the health risk from reclaimed water used for toilet flushing in China and hope that it will be useful to promote the application of reclaimed water in water-deficient areas.     

Physiological and biochemical responses of rice seeds to phosphine exposure during germination

Rice seeds (Tianyou, 3618) were used to examine the physiological and biochemical responses to phosphine exposure during germination. A control (0 mg m⁻³) and four concentrations of phosphine (1.4 mg m⁻³, 4.2 mg m⁻³, 7.0 mg m⁻³ and 13.9 mg m⁻³) were used to treat the rice seeds. Each treatment was applied for 90 min once per day for five days. The germination rate (GR); germination potential (GP); germination index (GI); antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT); and lipid peroxidation measured through via malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined as indicators of the physiological and biochemical responses of the rice seeds to phosphine exposure. These indicators were determined once per day for five days. The results indicated that the GR, GP and GI of the rice seeds markedly decreased after phosphine exposure. The changes in the activities of the antioxidant enzymes due to the phosphine exposure were also significant. The exposure lowered the CAT and SOD activities and increased POD activity in the treated rice seeds compared with controls. The MDA content exhibited a slow increase trend with the increase of phosphine concentration. These results suggest that phosphine has inhibitory effects on seed germination. In addition, phosphine exposure caused oxidative stress in the seeds. The antioxidant enzymes could play a pivotal role against oxidative injury. Overall, the effect of phosphine on rice seeds is different from what has been reported previously for insects and mammals.     

固硫灰路面基层材料的性能

以固硫灰作为路面基层材料,研究了固硫灰原灰和经预处理固硫灰路面基层材料的最佳含水量、最大干密度、体积安定性、膨胀率和强度等性能。同时,通过重金属浸出实验评估了固硫灰对土壤环境的影响。结果表明,经预处理固硫灰路面基层材料体积安定性好,膨胀率低,性能良好;此外,固硫灰重金属浸出率低,符合环保要求。     

酸碱联合调节剩余污泥过程中氮、磷和有机质的释放

实现城市污泥的减量化和资源化是污水厂面临的难题之一。通过采用(1)先酸性(pH=3)后碱性(pH=10)、(2)先碱性(pH=10)后酸性(pH=3)的两段控制方式(每段反应8 d),同时做pH不调的对比实验,研究剩余污泥水解酸化过程中氨氮、磷酸盐和溶解性COD(SCOD)、碳水化合物、蛋白质和挥发性脂肪酸(VFAs)等有机质组分的释放。结果表明,酸碱联合调节有利于各组分的释放;氮和磷在酸性条件下的释放量大于碱性,有机质在碱性条件下的释放量大于酸性;采用(2)方式,调为酸性后反应1 d,氨氮的释放量即达到最大(17.28 mg/g TS);采用(1)的调节方式反应7 d,磷酸盐能达到最佳释放量(14.16 mg/g TS);总VFAs的产生受反应时间的影响较大,其余有机质组分在(2)的调节方式下,6 d左右即可达到较大释放量。     

吸附-预沉淀MBR工艺处理生活污水及膜污染控制效果

膜污染是限制膜生物反应器（MBR）广泛应用的主要因素之一。针对MBR处理生活污水过程中存在的硝化效果不稳定与膜污染问题,提出了一种新型的MBR系统：通过吸附-预沉淀实现进水中碳氮的分离和单独处理,不仅提高了污染物去除效果,且能够有效控制膜污染。研究结果表明,吸附-预沉淀可以去除进水中约89.7%的有机物,系统出水COD、NH₄⁺-N平均浓度为24 mg/L、0.78 mg/L,去除率分别为95.9%和98.1%。MBR中碳氮比的降低和硝化细菌比例的增加大大降低了MBR内MLSS、EPS和SMP含量,平均浓度分别为5 185 mg/L、41 mg/g MLSS和2.62 mg/g MLSS。在膜通量为4 L/（m²·h）条件下,TMP可稳定保持在20 kPa左右。通过吸附-预沉淀过程可有效控制MBR中的膜污染。     

废柴油再生工艺废弃物的固化实验

废弃油基钻井液中废柴油再生工艺产生的废渣废液具有高COD和高色度等特点,直接外排对环境危害严重。通过单因素实验和正交实验确定了该废弃物的最佳固化配方为:水泥∶粉煤灰为3∶2,水泥和粉煤灰加量30%,石膏加量1.5%,硫酸铝加量1.5%,石灰加量1%。在最佳固化配方下,废弃物浸出液的COD由10 062 mg/L降至62 mg/L,色度由500倍降至8倍,各主要污染指标都符合《污水综合排放标准》(GB 8978-1996)一级标准,固化成本约120元/m3。通过固化体的宏观照片和微观SEM照片对固化机理进行了分析,结果表明,废弃物被稳固地包裹在固化体之中。     

含表面活性剂的采油废水催化氧化处理

对含有表面活性剂的废水(以下简称表活废水)进行了傅里叶红外光谱分析(FTIR),结果表明,废水中所含表面活性剂主要为环烷酸钠。采用次氯酸钙(Ca(ClO)2)和活性炭-Ni催化氧化处理,在Ca(ClO)2投加量为4 500 mg/L,活性炭-Ni投加量为7 000 mg/L时,反应90 min,出水COD为158.91 mg/L,去除率达62.92%。催化氧化出水经沸石吸附处理,在pH为6.85,吸附时间为2 h,沸石投加量为17 g/L的条件下,吸附出水COD和油含量分别为88.92 mg/L和2.53mg/L,去除率分别为45.65%和90.02%,均达到《污水综合排放标准(GB8978-1996)》的一级标准要求。催化剂活性炭-Ni和吸附剂沸石均具有较稳定的活性,在重复使用20次后,出水COD的去除率仅分别降低了1.16%和1.32%。     

活性污泥法处理高钙废水中污泥特性的变化

通过单级SBR法处理模拟高钙废水,研究了活性污泥法处理高钙废水的过程中钙离子对COD,MLVSS,MLSS,SVI,污泥增长速率,污泥形态结构及生物相的影响,揭示活性污泥法处理高钙废水的过程中污泥量巨大的原因。采用逐步增加钙离子浓度的方法,检测到在污泥培养期([Ca2+]=0 mg/L),COD去除率为98.1%,MLVSS和MLSS稳定在4 900~5 500mg/L,污泥增长速率为67 mg/(L·d),SVI为55~60 mL/g;在驯化处理期([Ca2+]=120~2 400 mg/L),COD去除率降至87.37%,MLVSS降至2 500 mg/L,MLSS增加至19 300 mg/L,污泥增长速率为212.31 mg/(L·d),SVI降至25 mL/g;在冲击期([Ca2+]=4 000 mg/L),COD去除率降至69.23%,MLVSS降至1 600 mg/L,MLSS迅速增加至24 200 mg/L,污泥增长速率为816.67 mg/(L·d),SVI降至14 mL/g。经显微镜观察发现,污泥絮体由松散变得密实,生物相由钟虫等指示性微生物变为不适应环境的胞囊结构。结果表明,随Ca2+浓度的增加,COD去除率下降,MLSS迅速增加,MLVSS和SVI急剧缩小,说明活性污泥中的活性微生物逐渐减少,而无机物组分逐渐增多;钙离子的加入促使系统碳酸平衡向右移动,使离子状态的钙大部分转化为难降解的碳酸盐,并附着于污泥絮体上,污泥绒粒被压缩,使污泥颗粒密实度及MLSS迅速增加,导致污泥排放量巨大。