The adaptive response of lichens to mercury exposure involves changes in the photosynthetic machinery

Lichens are an excellent model to study the bioaccumulation of heavy metals but limited information is available on the molecular mechanisms occurring during bioaccumulation. We investigated the changes of the lichen proteome during exposure to constant concentrations of mercury. We found that most of changes involves proteins of the photosynthetic pathway, such as the chloroplastic photosystem I reaction center subunit II, the oxygen-evolving protein and the chloroplastic ATP synthase β-subunit. This suggests that photosynthesis is a target of the toxic effects of mercury. These findings are also supported by changes in the content of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a and b, and β-carotene). Alterations to the photosynthetic machinery also reflect on the structure of thylakoid membranes of algal cells. Response of lichens to mercury also involves stress-related proteins (such as Hsp70) but not cytoskeletal proteins. Results suggest that lichens adapt to mercury exposure by changing the metabolic production of energy.     

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.     

Subcellular distribution and toxicity of cadmium in Potamogeton crispus L

The submerged macrophyte Potamogeton crispus L. was subjected to varying doses of cadmium (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 μM) for 7 d, and the plants were analyzed for subcellular distribution of Cd, accumulation of mineral nutrients, photosynthesis, oxidative stress, protein content, and ultrastructural distribution of calcium (Ca). Leaf fractionation by differential centrifugation indicated that 48-69% of Cd was accumulated in the cell wall. At all doses of Cd, the levels of Ca and B rose and the level of Mn fell; the levels of Fe, Mg, Zn, Cu, Mo, and P rose initially only to decline later. Exposure to Cd caused oxidative stress as evident by increased content of malondialdehyde and decreased contents of chlorophyll and protein. Photosynthetic efficiency, as indicated by the quenching of chlorophyll a fluorescence (Fv/Fm, Fo and Fm), decreased significantly, the extent of decrease being directly proportional to the concentration of Cd. Increased amounts of precipitates of calcium were noticed in the treated plants, located either outside the cell membrane or in chloroplasts, mitochondria, the nucleus, and the cytoplasm whereas control plants showed small deposits of the precipitates around surface of the vacuole membrane and in the intercellular space but rarely in the cytoplasm. Photosynthetic efficiency and oxidative stress could be used as indicators of physiological end-points in determining the extent of Cd phytotoxicity.     

Endosulfan in China 1—gridded usage inventories

Background, aim, and scope  Endosulfan, an organochlorine pesticide (OCP), is genotoxic in mammalian cells and generally considered to be toxic and classified by the World Health Organization and the US Environmental Protection Agency as priority pollutants and a nominator for inclusion in a future iteration of the persistent organic pollutants treaty. Endosulfan is a currently used pesticide and still being used worldwide. The general trend of total global endosulfan use has increased continuously since the first year when this pesticide was applied. It is critical to create national endosulfan usage/emission inventories for China to carry out source–receptor relation analysis, risk assessment, and other research related to endosulfan in this country. Chinese inventories have been published for some OCPs, such as technical HCH and lindane, DDT, and chlordane; for endosulfan, however, there has not been any usage inventory available on any scales (national or provincial), although endosulfan has been widely used since 1994 in this country. This is the first part of the work. The goal of this paper is to quantify the historical production and usage of endosulfan in China and to compile gridded historical usage inventories of endosulfan for this country. Based on these usage inventories, emission and residue inventories will be created, which is the goal of the second part of the work. Materials and methods  Due to the lack of national production and usage information of endosulfan in China, a method to estimate the use of endosulfan was developed. First, information of crops on which endosulfan is applied and average endosulfan use and annual application frequencies of endosulfan on these crops were collected. Secondly, usage of endosulfan on each crop was estimated using the national cropland area for each province from Chinese government reports. Finally, with the help of GIS (geographic information system), the usage data of this insecticide was allocated to a grid system, with a 1/4° longitude by 1/6° latitude resolution, with a size for each grid cell of approximately 25 km by 25 km. Results and discussion  The use of endosulfan in agriculture in China started on cotton in 1994, and on wheat, tea, tobacco, apples, and other fruits in 1998. Endosulfan usage on cotton, wheat, tea, tobacco, and apples in China has been estimated to be approximately 25,700 t between 1994 and 2004. The province with the highest usage of endosulfan is Henan Province, with a total usage reaching 4,000 t, followed by the uses in Xinjiang Autonomous Region (3,200 t), Shandong Province (3,000 t), Hebei Province (2,100 t), and Anhui Province (1,900 t). Gridded usage inventories of endosulfan at a 1/4° longitude by 1/6° latitude resolution have been created, which indicate that the intensive endosulfan use was in the south of Hebei Province, west of Shandong Province, east of Henan Province, north of Anhui Province, east of Jiangsu Province, and some areas in Yunnan Province and Xinjiang Autonomous Region. General agreement has been found between the usage data from our estimation and the small amount of usage data published in China. Conclusions  This is the first national gridded endosulfan usage inventory produced for China. The annual applications of endosulfan from 1994 to 2004 in China were estimated based on the total areas of major crops, on which endosulfan was applied, and spatial distribution of the application was generated at provincial and prefecture levels. With the help of GIS, endosulfan usage based on prefecture was transferred to a 1/4° longitude by 1/6° latitude gridding system. The satisfaction of the inventories was supported by the consistence between the estimation of the annual usage and the reported annual production of endosulfan. Recommendations and perspectives  This gridded endosulfan usage inventory created in this study will be improved upon availability of new information of endosulfan. The usage inventories can be used to create gridded emission and residue inventories for this insecticide. It is believed that this work will pave the way for further endosulfan studies in China and beyond.     

Effective removal of coordinated copper from wastewater using a new dithiocarbamate-type supramolecular heavy metal precipitant

A new dithiocarbamate-type heavy metal precipitant, sodium 1,3,5-hexahydrotriazinedithiocarbamate (HTDC), was prepared and used to remove coordinated copper from wastewater. In the reported dithiocarbamate-type precipitants, HTDC possesses the highest percentage of the effective functional groups. It could effectively precipitate copper to less than 0.5 mg l⁻¹ from both synthetic and actual industrial wastewater containing CuEDTA in the range of pH 3–9. UV–vis spectral investigation and elemental analysis suggested that the precipitate was a kind of coordination supramolecular compound, [Cu₃(HTDC)₂]_n. The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) and semi-dynamic leaching test (SDLT) indicated that the supramolecular precipitate was non-hazardous and stable in weak acid and alkaline conditions. Tests of an anion exchange resin D231 provided a clue to simultaneously remove excess HTDC and residual CuEDTA in practical process of wastewater treatment.     

AERMOD在国内环境影响评价中的实例验证与应用

AERMOD是美国环保局推出的新一代空气质量模式系统,它由AERMET(气象数据预处理器)、AERMAP(地形数据预处理器)和AERMOD(大气扩散模型)3部分组成.结合宁波市北仑区域大气环境影响评价,对该模式系统进行模式验证,并应用于实际预测评价.验证结果表明,在采用适当的模型参数时,该系统预测值与实际监测值具有很好的一致性,SO2、NO2日均最高浓度预测准确率分别达到64.3%和85.7%.最后结合实际预测评价工作,提出AERMOD模式系统在国内环境影响评价工作中的优势及不足.     

SO2-4/TiO2光催化降解苯酚

以工业硫酸氧钛为原料水解制得SO42-/TiO2光催化剂,并以苯酚为目标降解物,考察了SO24-/TiO2的光催化性能。结果表明:随着SO42-/TiO2制备过程中焙烧温度的升高,其光催化活性逐渐增加,650℃焙烧获得的SO24-/TiO2的光催化活性最好,此后再升高温度会因催化剂中硫的挥发而下降;在确定苯酚原液初始浓度为50 mg/L条件下,SO42-/TiO2的光催化降解苯酚的最佳工艺条件为反应时间2 h、苯酚pH为7、催化剂用量1 g/L。XRD、SEM和FTIR的分析结果显示实验温度下制得的SO42-/TiO2均为锐钛型TiO2;其间掺杂的SO24-在TiO2表面分散性较好,没有聚集成大的颗粒;红外分析的结果初步判定低温(<550℃)焙烧制得的催化剂SO42-在TiO2表面是螯合双配位吸附,高温焙烧时(>550℃)SO42-在TiO2表面是桥式配位吸附。     

不同pH值条件下Fe3+、Cu2+和Zn2+对厨余垃圾两相厌氧消化水解酸化过程的影响

通过间歇实验研究了在pH=7和不调节pH两种情况下添加不同浓度的Fe3 、Cu2 和Zn2 对厌氧消化水解酸化阶段有机酸组分和含量的影响.结果表明,pH=7时,添加50 mg/L Fe3 和30 mg/L Cu2 ,有利于厨余垃圾水解酸化过程的进行,反应生成的VFA(挥发性脂肪酸)含量增加.不调节pH时,添加100 mg/L以下的Fe3 和Cu2 对VFA含量也有所促进,但乳酸含量也增加.在2种pH条件下添加Zn2 对反应的促进或抑制作用均不明显.     

腐殖酸、细颗粒泥沙对粉末活性炭吸附苯酚特性影响的研究

通过一系列实验,探讨了粉末活性炭吸附水中苯酚时,腐殖酸(HA)浓度和细颗粒泥沙用量对苯酚吸附量和去除率的影响.实验结果表明:在中性条件下,随着HA浓度的增加,粉末活性炭对苯酚的吸附量减少;在不同质量细颗粒泥沙的影响下,苯酚的去除率基本不变;在未加HA时,粉末活性炭对苯酚的吸附行为用Langmuir吸附等温式拟合效果最好,对苯酚的最大吸附量为150.60 mg/g,而在有HA存在时,粉末活性炭对苯酚的吸附行为用Freundlich吸附等温式拟合效果最好,对苯酚的最大吸附量为28.49 mg/g.     

环境影响后评价的最新进展与建议

结合《中华人民共和国环境影响评价法》的有关条款,探讨了环境影响后评价的概念、分类、适用对象、意义和内容,提出了环境影响后评价的管理和实施程序.结合多年的实践,分析了目前环境影响后评价工作在理论、方法和管理上存在的问题,提出了改进和完善的建议.案例实践表明,开展环境影响后评价有助于提高环境影响评价制度的有效性.