Linking landscape development intensity within watersheds to methyl-mercury accumulation in river sediments

An indicator of the disturbance of natural systems, the landscape development intensity (LDI) index, was used to assess the potential for land-use within watersheds to influence the production/accumulation of methyl-mercury (MeHg) in river sediments. Sediment samples were collected from locations impacted by well-identified land-use types within the Mobile-Alabama River Basin in Southeastern USA. The samples were analyzed for total-Hg (THg) and MeHg concentrations and the obtained values correlated to the calculated LDI indexes of the sampled watersheds to assess the impact of prevalent land use/land cover on MeHg accumulation in sediments. The results show that unlike THg, levels of MeHg found in sediments are impacted by the LDI indexes. Overall, certain combinations of land-use types within a given watershed appear to be more conducive to MeHg accumulation than others, therefore, pointing to the possibility of targeting land-use practices as potential means for reducing MeHg accumulation in sediments, and ultimately, fish contamination.     

Simultaneous determination of estrogenic odorant alkylphenols,chlorophenols, and their derivatives in water using online headspace solid phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A simple online headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method was developed for simultaneous determination of trace amounts of nine estrogenic odorant alkylphenols and chlorophenols and their derivatives in water samples. The extraction conditions of HS-SPME were optimized including fiber selection, extraction temperature, extraction time, and salt concentration. Results showed that divinylbenzene/Carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) fiber was the most appropriate one among the three selected commercial fibers, and the optimal extraction temperature, time, and salt concentration were 70 °C, 30 min, and 0.25 g/mL, respectively. The developed method was validated and showed good linearity (R ²?>?0.989), low limit of detection (LOD, 0.002–0.5 μg/L), and excellent recoveries (76–126 %) with low relative standard deviation (RSD, 0.7–12.9 %). The developed method was finally applied to two surface water samples and some of these target compounds were detected. All these detected compounds were below their odor thresholds, except for 2,4,6-TCAS and 2,4,6-TBAS wherein their concentrations were near their odor thresholds. However, in the two surface water samples, these detected compounds contributed to a certain amount of estrogenicity, which seemed to suggest that more attention should be paid to the issue of estrogenicity rather than to the odor problem.     

近50a江西省旱、涝变化趋势及驱动因素研究

基于江西省5个气象站(赣县、吉安、南城、南昌、景德镇)近50 a(1961~2010年)平均气温、最高、最低平均气温、相对湿度、风速、日照时数、降雨量等逐月平均资料,计算江西省干旱侦测指数(Reconnaissance drought index,RDI),分析旱情、涝情变化趋势。同时,运用多元回归法分析主要驱动因素。研究结果表明,1961~2010年江西省年及四个季节的降雨量、平均相对湿度与RDIst值均呈现极显著的正相关关系(p0.01),而日照时数则与RDIst值呈现极显著的负相关关系(p0.01)。降雨量对江西省旱、涝变化的贡献率最大,为42%~58%;其次是平均气温和相对湿度,分别为11%~19%和7%~19%;平均风速和日照时数对江西省旱、涝变化的贡献率较小。降雨量、相对湿度的增加,日照时数的减少共同导致了1961~2010年江西省年际尺度和春季RDIst值的增加,表明江西省总体从偏旱向偏涝转变。1961~2010年江西省夏季、秋季和冬季RDIst没有明显的增长或降低趋势。     

Food chain transfer of cadmium and lead to cattle in a lead–zinc smelter in Guizhou, China

Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb) are environmental pollutants. Environmental samples and bovine tissues were collected from the areas around a lead–zinc smelter in Guizhou, China for Cd, Pb, zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) analysis. Cd in soil (10 mg/kg) and feed (6.6 mg/kg) from the polluted areas was 10 times higher than the Chinese Standards, resulting in higher Cd in bovine kidney (38 mg/kg) and liver (2.5 mg/kg). Pb in feed (132 mg/kg) from the polluted area was much higher than unpolluted areas, causing higher Pb levels in bovine tissues. Environmental Zn was elevated, but bovine tissue Zn was normal. Cu in bovine liver decreased with increased Cd and Pb. Metals in drinking water and in bovine muscle were within the Standard range. Thus, in the areas of this lead–zinc smelter, the environment has been contaminated with Cd and Pb, which has been transferred to cattle through the food chain.     

碱激发胶凝材料及其固化Pb^2＋的试验研究

对碱激胶凝材料（碱-偏高岭土、碱-矿渣和碱-粉煤灰）与水-水泥体系固化Ph^2＋进行了试验研究,其中水-水泥体系为对比样。结果表明：对于相同稠度的碱激发胶凝材料,即使Pb^2＋含量达到2．4％,除了碱-粉煤灰的抗压强度略低外,其他都达到30MPa以上,满足填埋或做建筑基材的使用要求;与水泥相比,碱激发胶凝材料能显著降低重金属离子（Ph^2＋）浸出浓度,其规律性与其NH4交换容量大小的规律性一致,与其固化体的抗压强度的大小没有相关性。     

Diversity of Soil Nematodes in Areas Polluted with Heavy Metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Lanzhou,China

This study investigated the soil nematode community structure along the Yellow River in the Lanzhou area of China, and analyzed the impact of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, and Zn) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on the nematode community. Soil samples from five locations (named A–E), which were chosen for soil analysis, showed significant differences in their heavy metal content (p < 0.01), as well as in the variety of nematodes (up to 41 genera) and families (up to 20) that were present. The different samples also differed significantly in the total PAH content (p < 0.05), as well as the six types of PAH present. Sites A–C showed the most severe contamination with heavy metals and PAHs; these sites had the lowest abundance of fungivores and omnivore/predators, but the proportion of bacteriovores was the highest (p < 0.05). Site E, in contrast, showed only minor pollution with heavy metals and PAHs, and it contained the highest abundance of plant parasites (p < 0.05). Several nematode ecological indicators were found to correlate with concentration of soil pollutants at all the sites tested: the maturity index (MI, in addition to plant parasites), plant parasite index (PPI), ΣMI (including all the soil nematodes), Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H′′), and Wasilewska index (WI). Disturbance to the soil environment was more severe when MI, ΣMI, and H′ values were lower. The results of the study show that the abundance and structure of the soil nematode communities in the sampling locations were strongly influenced by levels of heavy metals and PAHs in the soil. They also show that the diversity index H′ and the maturity index can be valuable tools for assessing the impact of pollutants on nematodes.     

Polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in various bird species from northern China

Little data are available on organochlorine contamination in Chinese terrestrial birds of prey. This study examined the presence of PCBs, DDTs and other organochlorine pesticides in various raptors from northern China. DDE exhibited the highest concentrations among targeted compounds. Greatest levels (23.5-1020 mg/kg lipid weight) were observed in Eurasian sparrowhawks. This may be due to their stopover in southeastern China, where high DDT and dicofol applications have been documented. Residential kestrels exhibited much lower DDE, but similar PCB and HCH concentrations. ΣTEQs and PCB-126/-77 concentration ratios exhibited significant positive correlations with ΣPCB concentrations, respectively. Similar results were also demonstrated by a meta-analysis of previously published data across avian species. Possible hepatic sequestration of coplanar PCB-77, -126, -169 and -118 was observed as liver TEQs increased in Eurasian sparrowhawks. These observations may indicate an induction of CYP1A enzymes, as a result of elevated contamination in some species.