A review on fabricating functional materials by heavy metal–containing sludges

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - With the development of industry, sustainable use of natural resources has become a worldwide hot topic. Heavy metal–containing sludge (HMS) is...     

Impact of municipal solid waste dumpsites on trace metal contamination levels in the surrounding area: a case study in West Africa,Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The impact of uncontrolled municipal dumping sites on metal contamination in the surrounding waters, sediments, and soils are of great concern in many...     

活性污泥中硝化螺菌(Nitrospira)的富集及其动力学参数

采用连续进水的进水方式对污水处理厂活性污泥系统中的Nitrospira富集培养并对其相关动力学参数进行研究.结果表明,在控制反应器亚硝酸盐浓度不高于2 mg·L~(-1)的条件下可以成功富集出以Nitrospira为优势种属的活性污泥,其最大比亚硝酸盐氧化速率(以N/VSS计)为48.72 mg·(g·h)~(-1).荧光原位杂交结果显示Nitrospira占活性污泥总微生物量的75%左右,而Nitrobacter仅占总微生物的0.1%.此外通过对Nitrospira在20℃时的动力学参数进行测定,结果表明Nitrospira的最适生长温度为30~35℃,温度修正系数τN为1.046,其基质半饱和常数KS和氧半饱和常数KO分别为(0.32±0.03)mg·L~(-1)和(1.52±0.09)mg·L~(-1).Nitrospira动力学参数的研究为污水处理厂的设计运行及工艺优化提供理论参考.     

基于大气被动式采样的人体头发中类二(口恶)英多氯联苯暴露的途径

本研究通过分析采集自云南省开远市的13个树皮混合样品和13个相应的头发混合样品中DL-PCBs的水平、同族体分布及相关性,研究了当地人群对DL-PCBs的主要暴露途径.结果表明,云南开远树皮和头发样品中DL-PCBs的含量分别为4.0~88.9 pg·g^-1和4.1~19.3 pg·g^-1,其在当地环境和人体中的污染程度均较轻.树皮和头发样品中主要的DL-PCB同族体均是PCB-118,分别占总含量的48%和61%.树皮样品中DL-PCBs的各同族体具有相同的源,其主要的来源可能是大气的长距离输移.云南开远市居民头发中的PCBs可能来源于内部暴露和外部暴露的综合作用,其中外部暴露对低氯代PCBs的贡献要高于高氯代PCBs.     

Re-evaluation of thyroid hormone signaling antagonism of tetrabromobisphenol A for validating the T3-induced Xenopus metamorphosis assay

We developed the T3-induced Xenopus metamorphosis assay, which is supposed to be able to sensitively detect thyroid hormone(TH) signaling disruption of chemicals. The present study aimed to validate the T3-induced Xenopus metamorphosis assay by re-evaluating the TH signaling antagonism of tetrabromobisphenol A(TBBPA), a known TH signaling disruptor. According to the assay we developed, Xenopus tadpoles at stage 52 were exposed to 10–500 nmol/L TBBPA in the presence of 1 nmol/L T3. After 96 hr of exposure, TBBPA in the range of 10–500 nmol/L was found to significantly inhibit T3-induced morphological changes of Xenopus tadpoles in a concentration-dependent manner in term of body weight and four morphological endpoints including head area(HA), mouth width(MW), unilateral brain width/brain length(ULBW/BL), and hind-limb length/snout-vent length(HLL/SVL).The results show that these endpoints we developed are sensitive for characterizing the antagonistic effects of TBBPA on T3-induced metamorphosis. Following a 24-hr exposure,we found that TBBPA antagonized expression of T3-induced TH-response genes in the tail,which is consistent with previous findings in the intestine. We propose that the tail can be used as an alternative tissue to the intestine for examining molecular endpoints for evaluating TH signaling disruption. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the T3-induced Xenopus metamorphosis assay we developed is an ideal in vivo assay for detecting TH signaling disruption.     

Control of aliphatic halogenated DBP precursors with multiple drinking water treatment processes: Formation potential and integrated toxicity

The comprehensive control efficiency for the formation potentials(FPs) of a range of regulated and unregulated halogenated disinfection by-products(DBPs)(including carbonaceous DBPs(C-DBPs), nitrogenous DBPs(N-DBPs), and iodinated DBPs(I-DBPs)) with the multiple drinking water treatment processes, including pre-ozonation, conventional treatment(coagulation–sedimentation, pre-sand filtration), ozone-biological activated carbon(O_3-BAC) advanced treatment, and post-sand filtration, was investigated. The potential toxic risks of DBPs by combing their FPs and toxicity values were also evaluated.The results showed that the multiple drinking water treatment processes had superior performance in removing organic/inorganic precursors and reducing the formation of a range of halogenated DBPs. Therein, ozonation significantly removed bromide and iodide,and thus reduced the formation of brominated and iodinated DBPs. The removal of organic carbon and nitrogen precursors by the conventional treatment processes was substantially improved by O_3-BAC advanced treatment, and thus prevented the formation of chlorinated C-DBPs and N-DBPs. However, BAC filtration leads to the increased formation of brominated C-DBPs and N-DBPs due to the increase of bromide/DOC and bromide/DON.After the whole multiple treatment processes, the rank order for integrated toxic risk values caused by these halogenated DBPs was haloacetonitriles(HANs)》haloacetamides(HAMs) haloacetic acids(HAAs) trihalomethanes(THMs) halonitromethanes(HNMs) 》I-DBPs(I-HAMs and I-THMs). I-DBPs failed to cause high integrated toxic risk because of their very low FPs. The significant higher integrated toxic risk value caused by HANs than other halogenated DBPs cannot be ignored.     

大冶湖表层水和沉积物中重金属污染特征与风险评价

于2014年4月采集大冶湖表层水和表层沉积物,用原子吸收分光光度法测定其重金属含量,并基于健康风险评价模型和潜在生态风险指数法开展表层水和沉积物重金属污染的潜在健康风险和生态风险评价.结果表明,表层水和沉积物重金属(Ni、Cd、Cu和Pb)含量平均值分别为49.27、2.19、12.18、12.13μg·L~(-1)和78.46、77.13、650.13、134.22 mg·kg~(-1).富集系数显示,Cd、Cu和Pb均为重度富集,尤其是Cd累积最为明显.与国内典型湖泊重金属污染相比,表层水和沉积物中重金属元素含量均相对较高.表层水和沉积物重金属元素均表现为湖湾处含量较高,中部含量较均匀的分布规律,其来源主要受多种人为活动污染.环境风险评价显示,重金属类化学物质通过饮水途径产生健康风险范围为9.77E-08~1.63E-05 a-1,Ni和Cd是水环境健康风险的优先管理对象.沉积物重金属的潜在生态风险高低为CdCuPbNi,其中Cd是生态风险的贡献元素.     

Construction of vesicle CdSe nano-semiconductors photocatalysts with improved photocatalytic activity: Enhanced photo induced carriers separation efficiency and mechanism insight

Visible-light-driven photocatalysis as a green technology has attracted a lot of attention due to its potential applications in environmental remediation. Vesicle Cd Se nano-semiconductor photocatalyst are successfully prepared by a gas template method and characterized by a variety of methods. The vesicle Cd Se nano-semiconductors display enhanced photocatalytic performance for the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride, the photodegradation rate of78.824% was achieved by vesicle Cd Se, which exhibited an increase of 31.779% compared to granular Cd Se. Such an exceptional photocatalytic capability can be attributed to the unique structure of the vesicle Cd Se nano-semiconductor with enhanced light absorption ability and excellent carrier transport capability. Meanwhile, the large surface area of the vesicle Cd Se nano-semiconductor can increase the contact probability between catalyst and target and provide more surface-active centers. The photocatalytic mechanisms are analyzed by active species quenching. It indicates that h+and UO_2~-are the main active species which play a major role in catalyzing environmental toxic pollutants. Simultaneously, the vesicle Cd Se nano-semiconductor had high efficiency and stability.     

Evaluating the technical efficiencies of fishing vessels to achieve effective management of overexploited fisheries

Global marine capture fisheries are undergoing serious stress, with overfishing as one of the major problems. In order to mitigate the overexploitation of capture fisheries, government regulation or fisheries management is necessary. Among various management approaches, vessel quantity control is being widely employed. To achieve effective governance of fisheries, the technical efficiency (TE) issue needs to be considered in the implementation of vessel quantity control. Using the Pacific saury (Cololabis saira) stick-held dip net fishery in Japan as a case study, this paper estimated the TE of sampled fishing vessels and explored the possible factors affecting the gap in efficiency. This paper aims to provide suggestions for a better implementation of vessel quantity control in global Pacific saury fishery, and also to serve as an empirical example of integrating TE analysis into management of overexploited fisheries for achieving satisfactory effects. Results show the TE score of the sampled fishery averaged around 0.7 from 2009 to 2014, and factors concerning owners/skippers’ motivation such as vessel ownership and specialization, vessel tonnage as well as skippers’ age show positive effects on the TE. Our findings in the present work provide important strategies for mitigating overexploitation in fisheries. Conducting technical efficiency analysis of targeted fisheries is a vital issue to be considered for designing and realizing an effective implementation of fisheries management approaches. The large vessels and the enthusiasm of vessel owners/skippers need to be particularly addressed when vessel quantity limit is considered to mitigate the problem of overfishing.