Heavy metal contamination and exposure risk assessment via drinking groundwater in Vehari,Pakistan

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The presence of toxic substances in aquifers, particularly potentially toxic heavy metals, is an important environmental and social concern worldwide....     

Trophic transfer of CuO nanoparticles from brine shrimp (Artemia salina) nauplii to convict cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata) larvae: uptake,accumulation and elimination

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - We investigated the trophic transfer potential of CuO-NPs from Artemia salina to Amatitlania nigrofasciata. The Cu uptake was investigated by exposure...     

The role of natural resources,globalization, and renewable energy in testing the EKC hypothesis in MINT countries: new evidence from Method of Moments Quantile Regression approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - We employ the new Method of Moments Quantile Regression approach to expose the role of natural resources, renewable energy, and globalization in...     

Correction to: Accumulation of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) irrigated with wastewater: a systematic review and meta-analysis and probabilistic health risk assessment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13115-1     

Effects of heavy metal contamination released by petrochemical plants on marine life and water quality of coastal areas

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The present study attempts to assess the threat of water contamination in Persian Gulf by heavy metals (Fe, Cr, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Se, and Ni) and its...     

Improvement of digestibility of sunflower and corn residues by some saprophytic fungi

The in vitro degradation of fiber from two agricultural residues (Helianthus annuus and Zea mays) was studied using four saprophytic fungi. The changes in cellulolytic enzyme and phosphatase activities, the C/N ratio, the dry weight, the crude fiber (CF) content, and the protein and fiber digestibility coefficients were investigated in solid-state culture during a 45-day period of biodegradation. The FPase activity of Phanerochaete chrysosporium and the endoglucanase activities of P. chrysosporium and Trichoderma reesei compared to those of the other fungi were significantly (P < 0.05) high on both crop resides. Both acid and alkaline phosphatases were produced in greater amounts by P. chrysosporium than by the other fungi. The organic carbon contents of both residues were reduced more by T. reesei than by the other fungi. The fiber digestibility coefficient of untreated corn residue was higher than that of sunflower residue, but after treatment with fungi, the sunflower fiber digestibility increased more than that of corn did. Although the CF contents of both residues were decreased more by P. chrysosporium than by T. reesei, the fiber digestibility coefficients of both residues were increased more by T. reesei than by P. chrysosporium. The treatment of both crop residues increased their protein digestibility coefficients significantly compared to the control. The protein digestibility coefficients of both residues were increased more by T. reesei and P. chrysosporium than by the other fungi. In all treatments, the protein digestibility coefficient of sunflower residue was higher than that of corn residue.     

The effect of air mass origin on the ambient concentrations of Be and Pb in Islamabad, Pakistan

Concentration of radionuclides ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be, having half lives of 22.3 years and 53.29 days, respectively, in the surface air samples of Islamabad (33.38° N, 73.10° E and Altitude ∼536 m asl.) are measured. The non-destructive technique of gamma-spectrometry, with a high purity germanium HPGe detector, was employed for the analysis of all samples. The annual average concentrations of ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be in the surface air samples were determined as 0.284 ± 0.15 and 3.171 ± 1.14 mBq m⁻³, respectively. Our results have shown a seasonal variation of the concentration of ⁷Be in air samples with high values for the spring season. High concentrations for ²¹⁰Pb are obtained when air masses originate from plain areas of Pothohar region, located in the South-West, West and North West of Islamabad. Our values of concentrations show a nice agreement with the relevant reported results.     

"Novel" brominated flame retardants in Belgian and UK indoor dust: implications for human exposure

Concentrations of several “novel” brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) are reported in indoor dust samples from Belgian houses (n = 39) and offices (n = 6) and from day-care centers and schools in the West Midlands of the UK (n = 36). Using a GC-ECNI/MS method, the following NBFRs were quantified: decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) (range <20-2470 ng g⁻¹), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE) (range <0.5-1740 ng g⁻¹), tetrabromobisphenol A-bis(2,3-dibromopropylether) (TBBPA-DBPE) (range <20-9960 ng g⁻¹), 2-ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (TBB) (range <2-436 ng g⁻¹) and bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromophthalate (TBPH) (range <2-6175 ng g⁻¹). Hexachlorocyclopentadienyl-dibromocyclooctane (HCDBCO), another NBFR, was below the detection limit of 2 ng g⁻¹ dust in all dust samples. No correlation was detected between concentrations of NBFRs and PBDEs. The ratio of TBB:TBPH in the dust samples ranged from 0.01 to 4.77 (average 0.42), compared to the ratio present in the commercial flame retardant product FM 550 (TBB:TBPH = 4:1). Furthermore, no correlation was detected between concentrations in dust of TBB and TBPH. This may suggest different sources of these NBFRs, or similar sources but compound-specific differences in their indoor fate and transport. Exposure via dust ingestion was estimated for both adults and toddlers under low-end (5th percentile), typical (median), and high-end (95th percentile concentrations) scenarios. These were calculated assuming 100% absorption of intake dust and using mean dust ingestion (adults = 20 mg d⁻¹; for toddlers = 50 mg d⁻¹) and high dust ingestion (adults = 50 mg d⁻¹; for toddlers = 200 mg d⁻¹). Typical exposure with high dust ingestion estimates for adults were 0.01, 0.2, 0.01, 0.02 and 0.08 ng kg⁻¹ bw d⁻¹ and for toddlers 0.05, 1.9, 0.08, 0.4 and 1.12 ng kg⁻¹ bw d⁻¹ for BTBPE, DBDPE, TBB, TBPH and TBBPA-DBPE, respectively. Our results showed that, similar to PBDEs, toddlers have higher exposure to NBFRs than adults. This study documents the presence of NBFRs in indoor environments, and emphasizes the need to evaluate the health implications of exposure to such chemicals.