Molecular diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at a large-scale antimony mining area in southern China

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have great potential for assisting heavy metal hyperaccumulators in the remediation of contaminated soils. However, little information is available about the community composition of AMF under natural conditions in soils contaminated by antimony (Sb). The objective of this study was to investigate the characteristics of AMF molecular diversity, and to explore the effects of Sb content and soil properties on the AMF community structure in an Sb mining area. Four Sb mine spoils and one adjacent reference area were selected from around the Xikuangshan mine in southern China. The association of AMF molecular diversity and community composition with the rhizosphere soils of the dominant plant species was studied by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). Results from all five studied sites showed that the diversity of AMF decreased with increasing Sb concentration. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the AMF community structure was markedly different among these groups. Further redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that Sb contaminationwas the dominating factor influencing the AMF community structure in the Sb mine area. However, the multivariate analysis showed that, apart from the soil Sb content, extractable nitrogen content and organic matter content also attributed to AMF sequence distribution type. Some AMF sequences were only found in the highly contaminated area and these might be ideal candidates for improving phytoremediation efficiency in Sb mining regions. Gene sequencing analysis revealed that most species were affiliated with Glomus, suggesting that Glomus was the dominant AMF genus in the studied Sb mining area.     

Effects of water regime,crop residues,and application rates on control of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense

Biological soil disinfestation is an effective method to control soil-borne disease by flooding and incorporating with organic amendments, but field conditions and resources sometimes limited its practical application. A laboratory experiment was conducted to develop practice guidelines on controlling Fusarium wilt, a widespread banana disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (FOC). FOC infested soil incorporated with rice or maize straw at rates of 1.5 tons/ha and 3.0 tons/ha was incubated under flooded or water-saturated (100% water holding capacity) conditions at 30°C for 30 days. Results showed that FOC populations in the soils incorporated with either rice or maize straw rapidly reduced more than 90% in the first 15 days and then fluctuated till the end of incubation, while flooding alone without organic amendment reduced FOC populations slightly. The rapid and dramatic decrease of redox potential (down to − 350 mV) in straw-amended treatments implied that both anaerobic condition and strongly reductive soil condition would contribute to pathogen inactivation. Water-saturation combined with straw amendments had the comparable effects on reduction of FOC, indicating that flooding was not indispensable for inactivating FOC. There was no significant difference in the reduction of FOC observed in the straw amendments at between 1.5 and 3 tons/ha. Therefore, incorporating soil with straw (rice or maize straw) at a rate of 3.0 tons/ha under 100% water holding capacity or 1.5 tons/ha under flooding, would effectively alleviate banana Fusarium wilt caused by FOC after 15-day treating under 30°C.     

Risk assessment of Giardia from a full scale MBR sewage treatment plant caused by membrane integrity failure

Membrane bioreactors (MBR) are highly efficient at intercepting particles and microbes and have become an important technology for wastewater reclamation. However, many pathogens can accumulate in activated sludge due to the long residence time usually adopted in MBR, and thus may pose health risks when membrane integrity problems occur. This study presents data from a survey on the occurrence of water-borne Giardia pathogens in reclaimed water from a full-scale wastewater treatment plant with MBR experiencing membrane integrity failure, and assessed the associated risk for green space irrigation. Due to membrane integrity failure, the MBR effluent turbidity varied between 0.23 and 1.90 NTU over a period of eight months. Though this turbidity level still met reclaimed water quality standards (≤5 NTU), Giardia were detected at concentrations of 0.3 to 95 cysts/10 L, with a close correlation between effluent turbidity and Giardia concentration. All β-giardin gene sequences of Giardia in the WWTP influents were genotyped as Assemblages A and B, both of which are known to infect humans. An exponential dose-response model was applied to assess the risk of infection by Giardia. The risk in the MBR effluent with chlorination was 9.83 × 10^-3, higher than the acceptable annual risk of 1.0 × 10^-4. This study suggested that membrane integrity is very important for keeping a low pathogen level, and multiple barriers are needed to ensure the biological safety of MBR effluent.     

Predicted no-effect concentrations for mercury species and ecological risk assessment for mercury pollution in aquatic environment

Mercury(Hg) exists in different chemical forms presenting varied toxic potentials. It is necessary to explore an ecological risk assessment method for different mercury species in aquatic environment. The predicted no-effect concentrations(PNECs) for Hg(Ⅱ) and methyl mercury(Me Hg) in the aqueous phase, calculated using the species sensitivity distribution method and the assessment factor method, were 0.39 and 6.5 × 10-3μg/L, respectively. The partition theory of Hg between sediment and aqueous phases was considered, along with PNECs for the aqueous phase to conduct an ecological risk assessment for Hg in the sediment phase. Two case studies, one in China and one in the Western Black Sea, were conducted using these PNECs. The toxicity of mercury is heavily dependent on their forms,and their potential ecological risk should be respectively evaluated on the basis of mercury species.     

Mercury levels and estimated total daily intakes for children and adults from an electronic waste recycling area in Taizhou, China: Key role of rice and fish consumption

In order to assess the potential health risks of Hg pollution, total mercury (T–Hg) and methyl mercury (MeHg) concentrations were determined in air, dust, surface soil, crops, poultry, fish and human hair samples from an electronic waste (e-waste) recycling area in Taizhou, China. High concentrations of T–Hg and MeHg were found in these multiple matrices, and the mean concentration was 30.7 ng/m³ of T–Hg for atmosphere samples, 3.1 μg/g of T–Hg for soil, 37.6 μg/g of T–Hg for dust, 20.3 ng/g of MeHg for rice and 178.1 ng/g of MeHg for fish, suggesting that the e-waste recycling facility was a significant source of Hg. The inorganic Hg (I–Hg) levels (0.84 μg/g) in hair samples of e-waste workers were much higher than that in the reference samples. Pearson''s correlation coefficients showed that strong positive correlations (p < 0.01) between hair I–Hg and time staying in industrial area (r = 0.81) and between MeHg and fish consumption frequency (r = 0.91), imply that workers were mainly exposed to Hg vapor through long-time inhalation of contaminated air and dust, while other population mainly exposed to MeHg through high-frequency fish consumption. The estimated daily intakes of Hg showed that dietary intake was the major Hg exposure source, and Hg intakes from rice and fish were significantly higher than from any other foods. The estimated total daily intakes (TDIs) of MeHg for both children (696.8 ng/(kg·day)) and adults (381.3 ng/(kg·day)) greatly exceeded the dietary reference dose (RfD) of 230 ng/(kg·day), implying greater health risk for humans from Hg exposures around e-waste recycling facilities.     

Genomic analyses of metal resistance genes in three plant growth promoting bacteria of legume plants in Northwest mine tailings,China

To better understand the diversity of metal resistance genetic determinant from microbes that survived at metal tailings in northwest of China, a highly elevated level of heavy metal containing region, genomic analyses was conducted using genome sequence of three native metal-resistant plant growth promoting bacteria(PGPB). It shows that: Mesorhizobium amorphae CCNWGS0123 contains metal transporters from P-type ATPase, CDF(Cation Diffusion Facilitator), Hup E/Ure J and CHR(chromate ion transporter) family involved in copper, zinc, nickel as well as chromate resistance and homeostasis. Meanwhile, the putative Cop A/Cue O system is expected to mediate copper resistance in Sinorhizobium meliloti CCNWSX0020 while Znt A transporter, assisted with putative Czc D, determines zinc tolerance in Agrobacterium tumefaciens CCNWGS0286. The greenhouse experiment provides the consistent evidence of the plant growth promoting effects of these microbes on their hosts by nitrogen fixation and/or indoleacetic acid(IAA) secretion,indicating a potential in-site phytoremediation usage in the mining tailing regions of China.     

AERMOD和CALPUFF对沿海电厂烟气扩散模拟对比研究

使用《环境影响评价技术导则大气环境》(HJ2.2-2008)推荐的环境空气质量模式(AERMOD和CALPUFF)对海陆风日沿海电厂的烟气扩散进行了对比模拟研究。模拟结果表明:由于大电厂的烟气抬升高度较高,大电厂烟囱的有效高度往往会高于珠江口海陆风的厚度,因此该区域海陆风对大电厂烟气扩散的影响不大;在海陆风发生时,由于风向的垂直切变极大,在此种情况下,AERMOD模式对烟气扩散的模拟结果明显不合理;同时,2个模式模拟的落地浓度值在某些情况下可能会有较大的差距;在某些气象条件下,电厂烟气会扩散到非常远的地方,由于AERMOD模式模拟范围有限(50 km),因此不适用于此种情况下烟气扩散的模拟。根据以上研究结果,建议在沿海区域,针对重大污染源的大气环境影响评价尽量使用CALPUFF模式进行核算验证。     

反渗透深度处理乳品加工业二级处理废水试验研究

采用砂滤、活性炭吸附和反渗透组合工艺深度处理乳制品加工废水。深度处理后出水指标CODcr、TP和硬度分别达到10、1 mg以下和20 mg/L以下,经反渗透组合工艺深度处理后的乳制品加工废水可以达到锅炉补水,冷却循环水等水质要求。     

北京市道路积雪污染及特性研究

通过2009~2012年对北京市区道路旁积雪的取样,分析了积雪中污染物的浓度和特性,并对国内外普遍关注的融雪剂污染问题及其控制进行了初步分析。得出道路积雪中+NH 4-N、TN、TP、COD、SS、Cd等污染物主要来自交通活动,氯化物主要来自氯盐融雪剂;与《地表水环境质量标准》相比,道路积雪中主要污染物为NH+4-N、TN、COD、BOD和氯化物,Cu、Zn、Pb、Cd等重金属的污染水平不高,可达到Ⅴ类水体标准;相同地点近似降水量条件下,积雪中TP、COD、SS的平均浓度高于降雨径流;北京市交通主干道及人行道上喷撒氯盐融雪剂的量高于国外道路,控制其污染主要通过源头减少使用量、使用替代融雪剂、严格融雪剂标准和使用方法、严肃责任追究、加强宣传教育等措施。     

安徽省农村大中型生物燃气工程现状及策略

概述了国内外开展生物燃气工程的背景,对安徽省大中型沼气工程运行模式、生产工艺、产品利用情况、运营与管理等方面进行了研究,总结了当前存在的主要问题,提出了对策。