Adsorption and characterization of MCPA on DDTMA- and raw-montmorillonite: Surface sites involved

The 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxy acid (MCPA) is an herbicide widely used in agriculture, which generates a great concern about contamination of surface water and serious consequences for human health and the environment. In this work, the adsorption of MCPA on an Argentine montmorillonite (MMT) and its organo-montmorillonite product (OMMT) with different dodecyl trimethyl ammonium loading was investigated. MCPA adsorption on OMMT increases at least 3 times, with respect to the amount determined for MMT. X-ray diffraction and zeta potential analyses indicated the inner (interlayer) and outer surface participate as adsorption sites. Changes in surface electric charge and also interlayer expansion suggest that dimethyl amine (MCPA counterion) was also surface-adsorbed. The larger aggregates of OMMT, without and with MCPA, obtained compared to those of MMT samples, generate an improvement in the coagulation efficiency. This property, particularly after MCPA retention, allows an easier separation of the solids from the solution and enables a simple technological process application.     

Newborns and low to moderate prenatal environmental lead exposure: might fathers be the key?

This study is part of the BioMadrid Project, a bio-monitoring study designed to assess pollutants in the environment surrounding children born in the Madrid region. Our aim in this report is to evaluate the association between prenatal lead exposure and fetal development using three biological samples (maternal and paternal blood lead at around 34 weeks of gestation as well as cord blood lead levels), three biomarkers of effect in cord blood peripheral lymphocytes (micronucleus in binucleated cells, nucleoplasmic bridges, and nuclear buds), and different anthropometrical characteristics at birth. Maternal and cord blood lead were not associated with newborn measurements or genotoxicity biomarkers. In contrast, increases in father blood lead were coupled with lower weight (mean difference (MD), ?110.8 g; 95 % confidence intervals (95%CI), ?235.6 to 6.00; p?<?0.10) and shorter abdominal (MD, ?0.81 cm; 95%CI, ?1.64 to 0.00; p?<?0.05) and cephalic (MD, ?0.32 cm; 95%CI, ?0.65 to 0.00; p?<?0.05) circumferences at birth as well as with the presence of nucleoplasmic bridges (odds ratio, 1.03; 95%CI, 1.00 to 1.06; p?<?0.05) and nuclear buds (odds ratio, 1.02; 95%CI, 0.99 to 1.04; p?<?0.10). These associations were mainly confined to female babies, in whom paternal lead was also inversely associated with length. Our results support the hypothesis that paternal lead exposure may be affecting the development of newborns.     

Biological activity in metal-contaminated calcareous agricultural soils: the role of the organic matter composition and the particle size distribution

Organic matter (OM) plays a key role in microbial response to soil metal contamination, yet little is known about how the composition of the OM affects this response in Mediterranean calcareous agricultural soils. A set of Mediterranean soils, with different contents and compositions of OM and carbonate and fine mineral fractions, was spiked with a mixture of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn and incubated for 12 months for aging. Microbial (Biolog Ecoplates) and enzyme activities (dehydrogenase, DHA; β-galactosidase, BGAL; phosphatase, PHOS; and urease, URE) were assessed and related to metal availability and soil physicochemical parameters. All enzyme activities decreased significantly with metal contamination: 36–68 % (DHA), 24–85 % (BGAL), 22–72 % (PHOS), and 14–84 % (URE) inhibitions. Similarly, catabolic activity was negatively affected, especially phenol catabolism (～86 % compared to 25–55 % inhibition for the rest of the substrates). Catabolic and DHA activities were negatively correlated with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-extractable Cd and Pb, but positively with CaCl₂, NaNO₃, and DTPA-extractable Cu and Zn. Soluble OM (water- and hot-water-soluble organic C) was positively related to enzyme and catabolic activities. Recalcitrant OM and fine mineral fractions were positively related to BGAL and PHOS. Conversely, catabolic activity was negatively related to clay and positively to silt and labile OM. Results indicate that the microbial response to metal contamination is highly affected by texture and OM composition.     

Influence of different abiotic and biotic factors on the metalaxyl and carbofuran dissipation

Metalaxyl and carbofuran dissipation was studied in response to different factors (soil bacterial communities, light irradiation, presence of an inorganic culture medium and presence of soil) and combinations of these factors in short-term experiments (48 h). The soil microbial communities have no effect on metalaxyl or carbofuran dissipation in the time scale employed. Light irradiation and soil promote metalaxyl and carbofuran dissipation by photodegradation and adsorption, respectively. However, photodegradation has a stronger effect on metalaxyl and carbofuran dissipation than the adsorption of the pesticides in the soil. The addition of the culture medium have no direct effect on pesticide dissipation, degradation by microbial communities or adsorption but its presence greatly increased photodegradation.     

Comparison of batch, stirred flow chamber, and column experiments to study adsorption, desorption and transport of carbofuran within two acidic soils

Different methods (batch, column and stirred flow chamber experiments) used for adsorption and desorption of carbofuran studies were compared. All tested methods showed that the carbofuran adsorption was higher in the soil with the higher organic matter content, whereas the opposite behaviour was observed for the percentage of carbofuran desorbed. However, different methods have revealed some discrepancies in carbofuran adsorption/desorption kinetics. Although batch method showed interesting data on equilibrium experiments, such as a low heterogeneity for the carbofuran adsorption sites independent of soil organic matter content, it had some disadvantages for carbofuran adsorption/desorption kinetic studies. The disadvantages were related with the excessive limitations of this method on kinetics, i.e., no difference could be detected between different soils. However, with column and stirred flow chamber methods the carbofuran adsorption/desorption kinetics of different soils could be compared. Moreover, the absolute values of carbofuran adsorption/desorption and its rate were higher in the stirred flow chamber than in the batch and column experiments. Using stirred flow chamber experiments the carbofuran desorption was significantly faster than its adsorption, whereas carbofuran using column experiments they were similar. These discrepancies should be considered when the results obtained only with one method is discussed.     

Solar photocatalytic treatment of landfill leachate using a solid mineral by-product as a catalyst

The treatment of municipal solid waste landfill leachate in a pilot plant made up of solar compound parabolic collectors, using a solid industrial titanium by-product (WTiO₂) containing TiO₂ and Fe(III) as a photocatalyst, was investigated. In the study evidence was found showing that the degradation performed with WTiO₂ was mainly due to the Fe provided by this by-product, instead of TiO₂. However, although TiO₂ had very little effect by itself, a synergistic effect was observed between Fe and TiO₂. The application of WTiO₂, which produced coupled photo-Fenton and heterogeneous catalysis reactions, achieved a surprisingly high depuration level (86% of COD removal), higher than that reached by photo-Fenton using commercial FeSO₄ (43%) in the same conditions. After the oxidation process the biodegradability and toxicity of the landfill leachate were studied. The results showed that the leachate biodegradability was substantially increased, at least in the first stages of the process, and again that WTiO₂ was more efficient than FeSO₄ in terms of increasing biodegradability.     

Hidden demographic impacts of fishing and environmental drivers of fecundity in a sea turtle population

Fisheries bycatch is a critical threat to sea turtle populations worldwide, particularly because turtles are vulnerable to multiple gear types. The Canary Current is an intensely fished region, yet there has been no demographic assessment integrating bycatch and population management information of the globally significant Cabo Verde loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) population. Using Boa Vista island (Eastern Cabo Verde) subpopulation data from capture–recapture and nest monitoring (2013–2019), we evaluated population viability and estimated regional bycatch rates (2016–2020) in longline, trawl, purse-seine, and artisanal fisheries. We further evaluated current nesting trends in the context of bycatch estimates, existing hatchery conservation measures, and environmental (net primary productivity) variability in turtle foraging grounds. We projected that current bycatch mortality rates would lead to the near extinction of the Boa Vista subpopulation. Bycatch reduction in longline fisheries and all fisheries combined would increase finite population growth rate by 1.76% and 1.95%, respectively. Hatchery conservation increased hatchling production and reduced extinction risk, but alone it could not achieve population growth. Short-term increases in nest counts (2013–2021), putatively driven by temporary increases in net primary productivity, may be masking ongoing long-term population declines. When fecundity was linked to net primary productivity, our hindcast models simultaneously predicted these opposing long-term and short-term trends. Consequently, our results showed conservation management must diversify from land-based management. The masking effect we found has broad-reaching implications for monitoring sea turtle populations worldwide, demonstrating the importance of directly estimating adult survival and that nest counts might inadequately reflect underlying population trends.     

Spanish agriculture from 1900 to 2008: a long-term perspective on agroecosystem energy from an agroecological approach

Regional Environmental Change - According to the agroecological approach, energy analyses applied to agriculture should provide information about the structure and functions of the agroecosystem;...     

Historical changes of sediments and mollusk assemblages in the Gulf of Batabanó (Caribbean Sea) in the twentieth century

The first paleoecological reconstruction of the biogeochemical conditions of the Gulf of Batabanó, Caribbean Sea was performed from (210)Pb-dated sediment cores. Depth profiles of 20 major elements and trace metals, organic compounds, grain size, and mollusk assemblage composition were determined from 9 stations encompassing unconsolidated sediments in the gulf. Spatial heterogeneity was evident for the geochemistry of sediments and for the mollusk assemblage composition. Our reconstruction indicates that pollution is not a critical threat to the ecosystem, although a slight historical increase of lead enrichment factor was detected probably due to long-range atmospheric fallout. Mollusk assemblages were composed by 168 species belonging to 59 families and no temporal trends in the species diversity or assemblage composition were detected, suggesting no depletion of diversity or habitat loss. Other signals of habitat loss such as changes in organic budget or increase of fine sediment fraction were absent or weak. Nitrogen retained in sediments changed by <1% in the century, indicating no historical events of eutrophication or oligotrophication in the gulf. Historical decrease of fine sediment fraction in the eastern sector would be linked to modifications in sedimentation rate, land use, and/or particle transport from the shelf border; this also suggests that both sectors have different sedimentary dynamics. Although, on theoretical grounds, historical fishery may have caused deleterious ecosystem effects by overexploitation of spiny lobster stocks, no evidence of habitat degradation or loss, caused by fisheries, could be detected.     

PAHs in the urban air of Sarajevo: levels,sources, day/night variation,and human inhalation risk

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are organic pollutants derived from pyrolysis and pyrosynthesis processes. Industrial activity, motor vehicle emission, and domestic combustion are the main sources of PAHs in the urban atmosphere. In this work, samples collected during the day and night in the urban area of Sarajevo are analyzed separately for gaseous and particle-bound PAHs; the possible origin of PAHs at the receptor site was suggested using different methods applied to the solid phase and to the total PAHs (gaseous + particulate phase). Finally, the risk level in Sarajevo associated to the carcinogenic character of the studied PAHs has been assessed. The result of this study suggests that (a) the total PAH concentrations were higher than those reported in other European cities; (b) the PAH daytime concentrations are higher than nocturnal concentrations: the sum of the PAH day/night ratios is 1.52 (gas) and 1.45 (particle phase); (c) stationary combustion and traffic were suggested to be the main sources of PAHs; (d) the average particle-bound benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) concentration (5.4 ng/m³) is higher than EU target annual value (1 ng/m³); and (e) PAH cancer risk exceeds the carcinogenic benchmark level recommended by the EPA mainly due to BaP during both the day and night periods.