Magnetic photocatalysts from δ-FeOOH and TiO2 and application in reactions for degradation of methylene blue and paracetamol with UV-C and sunlight

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Water contamination is a common problem, especially considering dyes and drugs disposal. A possible and effective treatment method to remove these...     

Modeling traffic-related air pollution in street canyons of Beijing

It is important to develop a general model to accurately simulate the air pollution in urban street areas. In this paper, the Operational Street Pollution Model (OSPM) initially developed in Denmark is tested with measured data from a relatively wide and open street in Beijing. Major factors influencing the dispersion, such as emission factors, stationary source emissions, and solar radiation, are analyzed. Results show that the model can reflect the basic dispersion pattern in the street but gives systematically higher concentrations. After modifications to estimate street-level wind speed in the model, performance is obviously improved.     

The deep-sea as a final global sink of semivolatile persistent organic pollutants? Part I: PCBs in surface and deep-sea dwelling fish of the north and south Atlantic and the Monterey Bay Canyon (California)

The understanding of the global environmental multiphase distribution of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) as a result of the physico-chemical properties of the respective compounds is well established. We have analysed the results of a vertical transport of POPs from upper water layers (0-200 m) to the deepwater region (> 800 m) in terms of the contamination of the biophase in both water layers. The contents of persistent organochlorine compounds like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish living in the upper water layers of the North Atlantic and the South Atlantic, and at the continental shelf of California (Marine Sanctuary Monterey Bay and its deep-sea Canyon) are compared to the levels in deep-sea or bottom dwelling fish within the same geographic area. The deep-sea biota show significantly higher burdens as compared to surface-living species of the same region. There are also indications for recycling processes of POPs--in this case the PCBs--in the biophase of the abyss as well. It can be concluded that the bio- and geo phase of the deep-sea may act similarly as the upper horizons of forest and grasslands on the continents as an ultimate global sink for POPs in the marine environment.     

Acute and chronic toxicity of veterinary antibiotics to Daphnia magna

The acute and chronic toxicity of nine antibiotics used both therapeutically and as growth promoters in intensive farming was investigated on the freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna. The effect of the antibiotics metronidazole (M), olaquindox (OL), oxolinic acid (OA), oxytetracycline (OTC), streptomycin (ST), sulfadiazine (SU), tetracycline (TC), tiamulin (TI) and tylosin (TY) was tested in accordance to the ISO (1989) and OECD (1996) standard procedures. The acute toxicities (48-h EC50 value, mg/l) in decreasing order were OA (4.6), TI (40), SU (221), ST (487), TY (680) and OTC (approximately 1000). NOECs were 340 mg/l for TC and 1000 mg/l for M and OL. Toxic effect on reproduction occurred generally at concentrations, which were one order of magnitude below the acute toxic levels. The chronic toxicity (EC50 values, mg/l) in the D. magna reproduction test in decreasing order were TI (5.4), SU (13.7), TC (44.8) and OTC (46.2). The NOECs (mg/l) obtained in the reproduction test with OA, ST, TY and M were 0.38 for OA, 32 for ST, 45 for TY and 250 for M. The observed toxicity of OA to D. magna indicates that this substance, which is a commonly used feed additive in fish farms, has a potential to cause adverse effects on the aquatic environment.     

Inflammation biomarkers associated with arsenic exposure by drinking water and respiratory outcomes in indigenous children from three Yaqui villages in southern Sonora,México

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Environmental arsenic exposure in adults and children has been associated with a reduction in the expression of club cell secretory protein (CC16) and...     

Effects of storage method and duration on the toxicity of marine sediments to embryos of Crassostrea gigas oysters

The objective of laboratory sediment bioassays is to estimate in situ toxicity. This goal is difficult to achieve, as one of the main limitations of sediment toxicity tests is disruption of sediment geochemistry during sampling, handling and preservation. The effects of storage on the estimation of marine sediment toxicity to Crassostrea gigas embryos and larvae were investigated. Three storage methods and four storage periods were compared with three different sediment types contaminated by heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and both contaminants. Freezing and freeze-drying considerably increased the toxicity of decanted sediments and their elutriates as compared to the toxicity obtained with fresh sediments. Concerning the elutriates, the toxicity found with frozen and freeze-dried sediments was correlated with DOC, ammonia and PAH contents. However, the toxicity of fresh sediments kept at 4 degrees C increased with increasing duration of storage and was also correlated with the amount of ammonia in the elutriates.     

Electrochemical monitoring of methylparathion degradation in an acid aqueous medium in presence of Cu(II)

A study was undertaken to determine the effect of Cu(II) in degradation of methylparathion (o,o-dimethyl o,4-nitrophenyl phosphoriotioate) in acid medium. Initial electrochemical characterization of Cu(II) and methylparathion was done in an aqueous medium at a pH range of 2-7. Cu(II) was studied in the presence of different anions and it was observed that its electroactivity depends on pH and is independent of the anion used. Methylparathion had two reduction signals at pH < or = 6 and only one at pH > 6. The pesticide's transformation kinetic was then studied in the presence of Cu(II) in acid buffered aqueous medium at pH values of 2, 4, and 7. Paranitrophenol appeared as the only electroactive product at all three pH values. The reaction was first order and had k values of 5.2 x 10(-3) s(-1) at pH 2, 5.5 x 10(-3) s(-1) at pH 4 and 9.0 x 10(-3) s(-1) at pH 7. It is concluded that the principal degradation pathway of methylparathion in acid medium is a Cu(II) catalyzed hydrolysis reaction.     

Polychlorinated biphenyls and chlorinated pesticides in mussels from the Egyptian Red Sea coast

The residues of 17 organochlorine pollutants were analyzed in bivalve Brachiodontes sp. collected from 11 different locations in April 2000 along the Egyptian Red Sea coast. The pollutants studied were 10 individual polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, alpha,alpha,alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCHs), cyclodienes (heptachlor, heptachlorepoxide, aldrin, dieldrin) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) (p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDD and p,p'-DDT). The concentration of total DDTs ranged between 125 and 772 ng/g of wet weight whereas the concentration of the PCBs, HCHs and cyclodienes ranged from 6.7 to 66.4 ng/g; 16.2 to 183.4 ng/g and 8.8 to 221.6 ng/g of wet weight, respectively. The levels are low to moderate in relation to the published data from other coastal areas. The present results indicate low to moderate PCBs and pesticides contamination in the investigated mussels except DDTs.     

Oxidative dealkylation of five phenylurea herbicides by the fungus CunninghamellaechinulataThaxter

Microorganisms isolated from soil degrade phenylurea herbicides via two major pathways: (i) direct hydrolysis by an amidase leading to N,O-dimethylhydroxylamine, CO₂ and aniline¹ and (ii) N-dealkylation, which has been described as the first step in urea herbicide degradation by a variety of organisms including mammals, plants and microbial systems (for a review see reference 2).Until now no attempts have been made to investigate the mechanism of N-demethylation of substituted ureas in soil microorganisms, due to the instability of the N-hydroxymethyl intermediates. This reaction mechanism has only been described in detail in green plants^3–5. As among soil fungi Phycomycetes are known to demethylate phenylurea herbicides^6,7 this study has been made to identify intermediate hydroxymethyl compounds from urea herbicides, when incubated with the fungus $\text{Cunninghamella echinulata Thaxter}$.