An investigation of changes in water quality throughout the drinking water production/distribution chain using toxicological and fluorescence analyses

Changes in water quality from source water to finished water and tap water at two conventional drinking water treatment plants(DWTPs) were monitored.Beside the routine water quality testing,Caenorhabditis elegans-based toxicity assays and the fluorescence excitation–emission matrices technique were also applied.Both DWTPs supplied drinking water that met government standards.Under current test conditions,both the investigated finished water and tap water samples exhibited stronger lethal,genotoxic and reprotoxic potential than the relative source water sample,and the tap water sample was more lethal but tended to be less genotoxic than the corresponding finished water sample.Meanwhile,the nearly complete removal of tryptophan-like substances and newly generated tyrosine-like substances were observed after the treatment of drinking water,and humic-like substances were identified in the tap water.Based on these findings,toxic pollutants,including genotoxic/reproductive toxicants,are produced in the drinking water treatment and/or distribution processes.Moreover,further studies are needed to clarify the potentially important roles of tyrosine-like and humic-like substances in mediating drinking water toxicity and to identify the potential sources of these contaminants.Additionally,tryptophan-like fluorescence may be adopted as a useful parameter to monitor the treatment performance of DWTPs.Our observations provided insights into the importance of utilizing biotoxicity assays and fluorescence spectroscopy as tools to complement the routine evaluation of drinking water.     

Ecotoxicity evaluation of Cu- and Fe-CNT complexes based on the activity of bacterial bioluminescence and seed germination

The toxic effects of the composites of Fe~0 and Cu~0 with different percentages of CNTs were examined based on the activity of bacterial bioluminescence and seed germination. In terms of the EC_50 values, the toxic effects of Cu~0 on bacterial bioluminescence and seed germination were approximately 2 and 180 times greater than that of Fe~0, respectively. The toxicity increased with increasing CNT content in the Cu-CNT mixtures for both organisms,whereas opposite results were observed with Fe-CNT mixtures. The mean toxic effects of Cu-CNT(6%) were approximately 1.3–1.4 times greater than that of Cu-CNT(0%), whereas the toxic effects of Fe-CNT(6%) were approximately 2.1–2.5 times lower than that of Fe-CNT(0%) for both the bioluminescence activity and seed germination. The causes of this phenomenon are unclear at this point. More research will be needed to elucidate the mechanism of the toxicity of nano-mixture materials and the causes of the different patterns of toxicity with Cu-and Fe-CNT mixtures.     

广东省生活垃圾焚烧设施环境与健康风险评估构架研究

生活垃圾焚烧设施的建立是解决城市生活垃圾逐年增多的有效方式之一,但其所引发的环境与健康问题成为公众关注的热点。基于广东省对生活垃圾焚烧设施的研究,以环境管理为目标,结合国内外在该领域的研究现状,提出广东省生活垃圾焚烧设施环境与健康风险评估构架。通过该构架的多年实践,总结了广东省生活垃圾焚烧设施环境与健康风险评估研究所取得的成效,有望将该成果推而广之,从而使该行业实现绿色生态的蓬勃发展。     

呼兰河哈尔滨段水环境质量现状及污染源解析

为了解呼兰河哈尔滨段水环境质量现状及污染物来源,在平水期和枯水期,对呼兰河哈尔滨段沿线进行现场勘查及断面水质监测。结果表明,呼兰河哈尔滨段沿岸集中式排污点源、工业点源、农村生活污染、畜禽粪便、农田径流等各类污染源化学需氧量总入河量为7 671.02吨/年,氨氮总入河量为1 195.16吨/年。松北区的主要污染贡献源为肇兰新河支流污染;呼兰区的主要污染贡献源为集中式排污点源和农业面源污染。     

天津市滨海新区PM_(2.5)污染时空分布及影响因素研究

为了降低天津市滨海新区中PM_(2.5)的污染,需要对天津市滨海新区PM_(2.5)污染的时空分布和影响因素进行研究。研究天津市滨海新区近年来PM_(2.5)的时空分布特征,并选取PM_(2.5)的相关指标,对天津市滨海新区PM_(2.5)污染影响因素进行分析。结果表明,在天津市滨海新区的冬季时,PM_(2.5)的质量浓度值最高,在滨海新区的夏季时,PM_(2.5)的质量浓度值最低。PM_(2.5)在天津市滨海新区昼间大气中的质量浓度低于夜间大气中的质量浓度。     

考虑环境污染物减排的石油储运策略研究

随着经济的快速发展,科技水平不断地提高,中国石油行业发展迅速,石油储运的技术也在不断提高。对考虑环境污染物减排的石油储运策略进行研究,对石油储运的过程中出现污染源以及产生的危害进行论述,在此基础上对石油储运污染物减排存在的障碍性因素进行说明,最后针对上述问题,提出石油储运策略对污染物减排相应的解决措施,由变频调速污染物的减排技术、可燃气体的排放与回收技术等措施对石油储运策略的污染物减排进行优化,减少污染物的排放,对生态环境进行保护。     

Disease progression and mortality in neoplasticMya arenaria in the field

Four 6-mo mark-and-recapture experiments conducted in Long Island Sound, USA, from 1988 to 1990, involving approximately 2250 individual observations, demonstrated that under natural conditions significantly higher mortality (p0.001, chi-square test) occurred amongMya arenaria (L.) with hematopoietic neoplasia than those diagnosed as non-neoplastic. Using a blood-screening technique, the clams were diagnosed and placed in one of three diagnostic groups based on the severity of the disease (the percentage neoplastic cells per total number of blood cells): non-neoplastic (NN), 0%; low-severity neoplastic (LSN), < 50%; high-severity neoplastic (HSN), > 50%. Mortality of those clams initially diagnosed as HSN ranged from 48% to 78%, depending on the test period, as compared to 3% to 21% for the non-neoplastic. Mortality in the LSN treatment varied from 8% to 34%. Both progression and remission were evident in clams at all stages of the disease. Mortality and rates of progression and remission in individuals appeared to be linked to water temperatures. Differential mortality may be responsible for the apparent seasonal cycle of prevalence in populations.