Genotoxicity in adult residents in mineral coal region—a cross-sectional study

The present study assessed the DNA damage in environmentally exposed volunteers living in seven municipalities in an industrial coal region, through the use of the comet assay with blood cells and the micronucleus test with buccal cells. Blood and buccal smears were collected from 320 male volunteers living in seven cities inserted in a coal region. They were ages of 18 and 50 years and also completed a questionnaire intended to identify factors associated with DNA damage through a Poisson regression analysis. The comet assay detected significant differences in DNA damage in volunteers from different municipalities, and neighboring cities (Pedras Altas, Aceguá, and Hulha Negra) had a higher level of DNA damage in relation to control city. Some of the risk factors associated with identified DNA lesions included residence time and life habits. On the other hand, the micronucleus test did not identify differences between the cities studied, but the regression analysis identified risk factors such as age and life habits (consumption of mate tea and low carbohydrates diet). We conclude that there are differences in the DNA damage of volunteers from different cities of the carboniferous region, but the presence of micronuclei in the oral mucosa does not differ between the same cities. Furthermore, we alert that some related factors may increase the risk of genotoxicity, such as residence location and time, and living and food habits. Finally, we suggest the need for continuous biomonitoring of the population, as well as for investing in health promotion in these vulnerable populations.

     

Removal of arsenic(III,V) by a granular Mn-oxide-doped Al oxide adsorbent: surface characterization and performance

In order to remove arsenic (As) from contaminated water, granular Mn-oxide-doped Al oxide (GMAO) was fabricated using the compression method with the addition of organic binder. The analysis results of XRD, SEM, and BET indicated that GMAO was microporous with a large specific surface area of 54.26 m^2/g, and it was formed through the aggregation of massive Al/Mn oxide nanoparticles with an amorphous pattern. EDX, mapping, FTIR, and XPS results showed the uniform distribution of Al/Mn elements and numerous hydroxyl groups on the adsorbent surface. Compression tests indicated a satisfactory mechanical strength of GMAO. Batch adsorption results showed that As(V) adsorption achieved equilibrium faster than As(III), whereas the maximum adsorption capacity of As(III) estimated from the Langmuir isotherm at 25 °C (48.52 mg/g) was greater than that of As(V) (37.94 mg/g). The As removal efficiency could be maintained in a wide pH range of 3~8. The presence of phosphate posed a significant adverse effect on As adsorption due to the competition mechanisms. In contrast, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ could favor As adsorption via cation-bridge involvement. A regeneration method was developed by using sodium hydroxide solution for As elution from saturated adsorbents, which permitted GMAO to keep over 75% of its As adsorption capacity even after five adsorption–regeneration cycles. Column experiments showed that the breakthrough volumes for the treatment of As(III)-spiked and As(V)-spiked water (As concentration = 100 μg/L) were 2224 and 1952, respectively. Overall, GMAO is a potential adsorbent for effectively removing As from As-contaminated groundwater in filter application.

     

Distribution and controls of heavy metals and organic matter in the surface sediments of the Southern Yellow Sea,China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Accurate and effective determination of the source of heavy metals is essential for the treatment of marine ecological environments. This article...     

Coupled Monte Carlo simulation and Copula theory for uncertainty analysis of multiphase flow simulation models

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Simulation-optimization techniques are effective in identifying an optimal remediation strategy. Simulation models with uncertainty, primarily in the...     

Validation of temporal and spatial consistency of facility- and speed-specific vehicle-specific power distributions for emission estimation: A case study in Beijing,China

Vehicle-specific power (VSP) has been found to be highly correlated with vehicle emissions. It is used in many studies on emission modeling such as the MOVES (Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator) model. The existing studies develop specific VSP distributions (or OpMode distribution in MOVES) for different road types and various average speeds to represent the vehicle operating modes on road. However, it is still not clear if the facility- and speed-specific VSP distributions are consistent temporally and spatially. For instance, is it necessary to update periodically the database of the VSP distributions in the emission model? Are the VSP distributions developed in the city central business district (CBD) area applicable to its suburb area? In this context, this study examined the temporal and spatial consistency of the facility- and speed-specific VSP distributions in Beijing. The VSP distributions in different years and in different areas are developed, based on real-world vehicle activity data. The root mean square error (RMSE) is employed to quantify the difference between the VSP distributions. The maximum differences of the VSP distributions between different years and between different areas are approximately 20% of that between different road types. The analysis of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission factor indicates that the temporal and spatial differences of the VSP distributions have no significant impact on vehicle emission estimation, with relative error of less than 3%.

Implications: The temporal and spatial differences have no significant impact on the development of the facility- and speed-specific VSP distributions for the vehicle emission estimation. The database of the specific VSP distributions in the VSP-based emission models can maintain in terms of time. Thus, it is unnecessary to update the database regularly, and it is reliable to use the history vehicle activity data to forecast the emissions in the future. In one city, the areas with less data can still develop accurate VSP distributions based on better data from other areas.     

Remediation of DDTs contaminated soil in a novel Fenton-like system with zero-valent iron

Application of a novel Fenton-like system with zero-valent iron, EDTA and Air (ZVI/EDTA/Air) was investigated to degrade dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane, and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) in the actual contaminated soil from an organochlorine pesticide site. It was found DDTs in the soil were effectively degraded by the system at room temperature, ambient atmosphere pressure and near neutral pH. The dosages of EDTA and ZVI were the dominant factors influencing the removal of contaminants. An increase of EDTA from 0.05 to 0.2 mM and ZVI from 1 to 5 g L^?1 improved the removal of the contaminants significantly. However, excessive amount of EDTA led to a negative effect on the degradation process. Meanwhile, EDTA was simultaneously degraded so as to avoid the secondary pollution risk on soil remediation. Only a small amount of 4,4′-DDE and 2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1-chloroethylene (4,4′-DDMU) generated as the intermediates of DDT degradation during the process. Our investigation suggests that the Fenton-like system is a promising alternative for remediation of organochlorine pesticides contaminated soils.     

Effect of chlorination and ultraviolet disinfection on tetA-mediated tetracycline resistance of Escherichia coli

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are an emerging threat to public health during drinking water consumption and reclaimed water reuse. Several studies have shown that the proportions of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in waters may increase when exposed to low doses of UV light or chlorine. In this study, inactivation of tetracycline-resistant Escherichia coli and antibiotic-sensitive E. coli by UV disinfection and chlorination was compared to determine the tolerance of tetracycline-resistant E. coli to UV light and chlorine, and tetracycline resistance of a tetracycline-resistant E. coli population was studied under different doses of the disinfectants. Our results showed that relative to antibiotic-sensitive E. coli, tetracycline-resistant E. coli had the same tolerance to UV light and a potentially higher tolerance to chlorination. The mortality frequency distributions of tetracycline-resistant E. coli exposed to tetracycline were shifted by both chlorination and UV disinfection. When compared to the hemi-inhibitory concentrations (IC₅₀) of tetracycline-resistant E. coli with no exposure to UV or chlorination, the IC₅₀ of tetracycline-resistant E. coli treated with tetracycline was 40% lower when inactivation by UV light or chlorination reached 3-log but was 1.18 times greater when inactivation by chlorination reached 4.3-log. Chlorination applied to drinking water or reclaimed water treatment may increase the risk of selection for highly tetracycline-resistant E. coli.     

Development of IC-ELISA for detection of organophosphorus pesticides in water

Diethyl (carboxymethyl) phosphonate (DECP) was used as the hapten to develop an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (IC-ELISA) for detecting organophosphorus pesticides (OPs). Conjugator of DECP with bovin serum albumin (BSA) was used as the immunogen for producing the polyclonal antibodies (PcAbs). Three antisera were obtained after the immune procedure. Characterization studies of the PcAbs indicated that the titer of antiserum-1 was highest in 3 antisera, and antiserum-1 had high affinity and specificity to the parathion, dichlorvos and pirimiphos. The IC-ELISA showed an IC₅₀ of 0.428 μ g/mL with a detection limit of 0.0125 μ g/mL to parathion. The assay also indicated that the IC₅₀ values of pirimiphos and dichlorvos were 0.331 μ g/mL and 1.25 μ g/mL respectively, and the detection limits of pirimiphos and dichlorvos were 0.0116 μ g/mL and 0.048 μ g/mL respectively. Recoveries of parathion, pirimiphos and dichlorvos spiked into water samples ranged from 90% to 160%. The results indicated that the ELISA could be a convenient and supplemental analytical tool for monitoring OPs residues in environmental water samples.     

过硫酸钾去除水中的TCE

以地水中的氯代烃污染物三氯乙烯(TCE)为目标污染物,以过硫酸钾溶液为氧化剂,探讨了不同条件下过硫酸钾对TCE的去除效果。实验结果表明,在40℃,过硫酸钾初始浓度为2.43 g/L条件下,反应2 h后,TCE的去除率就可达到96.8%;过硫酸钾对TCE的去除符合一级反应动力学方程,速率常数(K)为1.3364 h-1,半衰期(t1/2)为0.51 h;过硫酸钾对TCE的去除速率在pH为中性附近时最大,其后无论pH升高或降低去除速率均减小;受温度和pH影响较明显,并且反应温度越高,受pH的影响越明显;随离子强度的增加而减小;反应活化能为119.6 kJ/mol;过硫酸钾溶于水生成过硫酸根离子(S2O28-),S2O28-会进一步生成硫酸根自由基(SO4-.),在碱性条件下,SO4-.与OH-反应会进一步生成羟基自由基(.OH)。过硫酸钾对于TCE的去除主要源自SO4-.和.OH的强氧化性。     

Fingerprinting of High Boiling Hydrocarbon Fuels,Asphalts and Lubricants

Fingerprinting of hydrocarbon products requires high resolution differentiation of individual hydrocarbon compounds in any mixture. This requires the applications of various measuring techniques. In this paper, we have chosen the heavy hydrocarbons in fuels, lubricants and paving material as examples to discuss the methods for chemical characterization and differentiation. In the category most frequently termed "semi-volatile hydrocarbons" with boiling points from about 500°F to 1200°F or higher, there are several families of hydrocarbons, both natural and refined that are not easily distinguished by conventional EPA tests. Among the groups which we will use as examples are asphalts, hydraulic fluid, transmission oil, motor lubricating oils, heating oils, crude oil and coal. These hydrocarbon families are best studied using combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in full scan mode and characterizing various homologous series of hydrocarbons at known fragment ions. The hydrocarbon series providing the best information are: (1) N -alkanes; (2) iso-alkanes; (3) steranes; (4) terpanes; (5) polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons; (6) aromatic steranes; and (7) specific polycyclic compounds.