Pollution by oestrogenic endocrine disruptors and β-sitosterol in a south-western European river (Mira,Portugal)

The Mira River is a Portuguese water body widely known for its wilderness and is advertised as one of the less polluted European rivers. On this presumption, the levels of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) in Mira waters were never measured. However, because environmentalists have claimed that the Mira could be moderately polluted, a range of 17 EDCs were measured not only at the estuary but also along the river. The targeted EDCs included natural and pharmaceutical oestrogens (17β-oestradiol, oestrone and 17α-ethynylestradiol), industrial/household pollutants (octylphenols, nonylphenols and their monoethoxylates and diethoxylates and bisphenol A), phytoestrogens (formononetin, biochanin A, daidzein, genistein) and the phytosterol sitosterol (SITO). For this propose, waters from six sampling sites were taken every 2 months, over a 1-year period (2011), and analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Unexpectedly high levels of oestrogens and of industrial/household pollutants were measured at all sampling sites, including those located inside natural protected areas. Indeed, the annual average sum of EDCs was ≈57 ng/L for oestrogens and ≈1.3 μg/L for industrial/household chemicals. In contrast, the global average levels of phytoestrogens (≈140 ng/L) and of SITO (≈295 ng/L) were lower than those reported worldwide. The EDC concentrations were normalised for ethynylestradiol equivalents (EE_2eq). In view of these, the oestrogenic load of the Mira River attained ≈47 ng/L EE_2eq. In addition, phosphates were above legal limits at both spring and summer (>1 mg/L). Overall, data show EDCs at toxicant relevant levels in the Mira and stress the need to monitor rivers that are allegedly less polluted.     

Iron Ore Industry Emissions as a Potential Ecological Risk Factor for Tropical Coastal Vegetation

In the coastal zone of the Espírito Santo state, Brazil, fragments of restinga, which form a natural ecosystem, share their space with an increasing number of iron ore industries. The iron ore dust and SO(2) originating from the industry processing activities can interfere with the vegetation of the adjacent ecosystems at various levels. This study was undertaken in order to evaluate the effects of industry emissions on representative members of the restinga flora, by measuring physiological and phenological parameters. Foliar samples of Ipomoea pes caprae, Canavalia rosea, Sophora tomentosa, and Schinus terebinthifolius were collected at three increasing distances from an ore industry (1.0, 5.0, and 15.0 km), and were assessed for their dust deposition, chlorophyll, and Fe content. Phenological monitoring was focused on the formation of shoots, flowers, and fruits and was also performed throughout the course of a year. The results showed that the edaphic characteristics and the mineral constitutions of the plants were affected by industry emissions. In addition, the chlorophyll content of the four species increased with proximity to the industry. Phenological data revealed that the reproductive effort, as measured by fruit production, was affected by emissions and S. tomentosa was the most affected species. The use of an integrative approach that combines biochemical and ecological data indicates that the restinga flora is under stress due to industry emissions, which on a long-term basis may put the ecosystem at risk.     

Assessment of human health risk related to metals by the use of biomonitors in the province of Córdoba, Argentina

The evaluation of metal contents in the environment is of vital importance for the assessment of human exposure. Thus the species Usnea amblyoclada, Ramalina celastri and Tillandsia capillaris were tested as bioaccumulators of transition metals in the urban area of Córdoba city, Argentina. The level of metals on biomonitors was compared to that of total deposition samples. All three species discriminated zones within the urban area of Córdoba city with different pollution levels; they revealed high levels of Zn in the downtown area and confirmed high levels of some transition metals in an industrial area. The correlation analysis revealed that the lichen R. celastri had the highest correlation rates with total deposition samples, suggesting it is a valuable biomonitor of atmospheric pollution. A significant relationship was also observed between respiratory diseases in children and the contents of metal accumulated in R. celastri and T. capillaris, indicating their usefulness when assessing human exposure to metals.     

Organotropism of total mercury (THg) in Cichla pinima,ecological aspects and human consumption in fish from Amazon region,Brazil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Specimens of the Cichla pinima are of ecological and economic importance in the Amazon region and are a good bioindicator species of Hg...     

Bioassays for the evaluation of reclaimed opencast coal mining areas

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study aimed to use bioassays (single and multispecies) with organisms from different trophic levels to assess soil quality in reclaimed coal...     

Soil carbon stock estimations: methods and a case study of the Maranhão State,Brazil

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Soils feature significant variations in soil carbon stocks through land-use changes, management practices, and intrinsic characteristics. The aim of...     

Development of the Diatom Ecological Quality Index (DEQI) for peri-urban mountain streams in the Basin of Mexico

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the Basin of Mexico, one of the most important economic regions in the country with over 22 million inhabitants, peri-urban streams have been...     

Relationship between blood concentrations of heavy metals and cytogenetic and endocrine parameters among subjects involved in cleaning coastal areas affected by the 'Prestige' tanker oil spill

The sinking of the 'Prestige' oil tanker in front of the Galician coast (NW of Spain) in November 2002 offered a unique opportunity to analyze intermediate cytogenetic and endocrine effects among people exposed to the complex mixture of substances that oil constitutes, including several toxic heavy metals. In this work we evaluated the relationship between exposure to heavy metals (blood concentrations of aluminium, cadmium, nickel, lead and zinc) and genotoxic parameters (sister chromatid exchanges, micronucleus test and comet assay) or endocrine parameters (plasmatic concentrations of prolactin and cortisol) in subjects exposed to 'Prestige' oil during cleaning tasks developed after the spillage. Concentrations of lead were significantly related to the comet assay even after adjusting by age, sex and smoking. Cortisol concentrations were significantly influenced by aluminium, nickel (both, inversely) and cadmium (positively). Women had clearly higher concentrations of prolactin and cortisol, even when adjusting by age, smoking, cadmium, aluminium or nickel. Plasmatic cortisol was jointly influenced by gender, smoking and aluminium or nickel (all p<0.05). In women there was a strong relationship between concentrations of cadmium and prolactin (beta=0.37, p=0.031). When the effects of cadmium, aluminium and nickel on cortisol were simultaneously assessed, only the latter two metals remained statistically significant. Among parameters analysed, cortisol appeared to be the most sensitive to the effects of metal exposure. Plasma levels of cortisol deserve further evaluation as a potentially relevant biomarker to assess the effects of exposure to heavy metals.     

Health risk assessment through consumption of vegetables rich in heavy metals: the case study of the surrounding villages from Panasqueira mine,Central Portugal

Panasqueira mine is a tin–tungsten mineralization hosted by metasediments with quartz veins rich in ferberite. The mineralization also comprises wolframite, cassiterite, chalcopyrite, several sulfides, carbonates and silver sulfosalts. The mining and beneficiation processes produce arsenic-rich mine wastes laid up in huge tailings (Barroca Grande and Rio tailings). The contents of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn were estimated in rhizosphere soils, irrigation waters, road dusts and in potatoes, cabbages, lettuces and beans, collected on local gardens of four neighborhood Panasqueira mine villages: S. Francisco de Assis (SFA) and Barroca suffering the influence of tailings; Unhais-o-Velho and Casegas considered as non-polluted areas. The mean concentrations of metals in rhizosphere soils and vegetables exceed the reference guidelines values and seem to be linked to the sulfides. The rhizosphere ecological risks were ranked in the order of Cd > As > Cu > Pb > Zn > Cr and SFA > Barroca > Casegas > Unhais-o-Velho. Metal concentrations, in vegetables, were found in the order of lettuce > cabbage > potatoes and SFA > Barroca > Casegas > Unhais-o-Velho. For cabbages and lettuces, the tendency of contamination is roots > leaves and for potatoes is roots > leaves > tubers. The risk for residents, due to ingesting of metals/metalloid, by consuming vegetables grown around the sampling area, was calculated and the result indicates that the inhabitants of these villages are probably exposed to some potential health risks through the intake of heavy metals and metalloids via consuming their vegetables.     

Updated methods for assessing the impacts of nearby gas drilling and production on neighborhood air quality and human health

An explosive growth in natural gas production within the last decade has fueled concern over the public health impacts of air pollutant emissions from oil and gas sites in the Barnett and Eagle Ford shale regions of Texas. Commonly acknowledged sources of uncertainty are the lack of sustained monitoring of ambient concentrations of pollutants associated with gas mining, poor quantification of their emissions, and inability to correlate health symptoms with specific emission events. These uncertainties are best addressed not by conventional monitoring and modeling technology, but by increasingly available advanced techniques for real-time mobile monitoring, microscale modeling and source attribution, and real-time broadcasting of air quality and human health data over the World Wide Web. The combination of contemporary scientific and social media approaches can be used to develop a strategy to detect and quantify emission events from oil and gas facilities, alert nearby residents of these events, and collect associated human health data, all in real time or near-real time. The various technical elements of this strategy are demonstrated based on the results of past, current, and planned future monitoring studies in the Barnett and Eagle Ford shale regions.

Implications: Resources should not be invested in expanding the conventional air quality monitoring network in the vicinity of oil and gas exploration and production sites. Rather, more contemporary monitoring and data analysis techniques should take the place of older methods to better protect the health of nearby residents and maintain the integrity of the surrounding environment.