Concentration and composition variations of metals in the outdoor PM10 of elementary schools during river dust episodes

Aeolian river dust can seriously affect the air quality in central Taiwan. The main purpose of this study was to assess the concentration variations of PM₁₀ and metals at different elementary schools during river dust episodes. River dust samples were taken from eight sites in the main bare soil areas of the Choshui River. PM₁₀ aerosols from four elementary schools in Yulin County were collected by means of high-volume samplers. Fifteen elements (Fe, Al, Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn, Ti, Ni, V, Cr, As, Pb, Cu, Co, and Cd) in the river dust and PM₁₀ were analyzed in this study. The coefficients of divergence (CDs) were obtained by comparing the metal compositions in PM₁₀ aerosols at the four schools on the sampling days with the mean metal contents in the river soil samples as reference. The CD values showed that metal compositions in the aerosols at high-exposure sites during river dust episodes were similar to those compositions in the river dust. The concentrations of PM₁₀ at the high-exposure schools during river dust episodes were much higher than those during non-river-dust episodes. This study also indicated that at the high-exposure sites, both the PM₁₀ and metal concentrations were higher than at the low-exposure and control sites, not only during the river dust episodes, but also after the river dust episodes. The concentrations of toxic metals (Ni, Cr, As, and Cd) at the high-exposure sites were about 11.3 times higher during the river dust episodes (189 ng/m³) than during non-river-dust episodes (16.7 ng/m³) and about 8.9 times higher during the same periods at the control site (21.3 ng/m³).     

Is an assessment factor of 10 appropriate to account for the variation in chemical toxicity to freshwater ectotherms under different thermal conditions?

Ecotoxicity tests are often conducted following standard methods, and thus carried out at a fixed water temperature under controlled laboratory conditions. Yet, toxicity of a chemical contaminant may vary in a temperature-dependent manner, depending on the physiology of the test organism and physicochemical properties of the chemical. Although an assessment factor of 10 (AF10) is commonly adopted to account for variability in toxicity data related to temperature in the development of water quality guidelines and/or ecological risk assessment, no one has ever rigorously assessed the appropriateness of AF10 to account for potential variation in temperature-dependent chemical toxicity to aquatic organisms. This study, therefore, aims to address this issue through a meta-analysis by comparing median lethal concentration data for nine chemicals (cadmium, copper, nickel, lead, silver, zinc, arsenic, selenium and DDT) on a range of freshwater ectothermic animal species at different temperatures, and to assess whether AF10 is under- or over-protective for tropical and temperate freshwater ecosystems. Our results reveal varying extents of interaction between temperature and different chemicals on organisms and the complexity of these interactions. Applying AF10 sufficiently protects 90 % of the animal species tested over a range of temperatures for cadmium, copper, nickel, silver, zinc and DDT in the tropics, but it is insufficient to adequately encompass a larger temperature variation for most studied chemicals in temperate regions. It is therefore important to set specific AFs for different climatic zones in order to achieve the desired level of ecosystem protection.     

Dietary antioxidants (selenium and N-acetylcysteine) modulate paraoxonase 1 (PON1) in PCB 126-exposed rats

Environmental pollutants polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), especially dioxin-like PCBs, cause oxidative stress and associated toxic effects, including cancer and possibly atherosclerosis. We previously reported that PCB 126, the most potent dioxin-like PCB congener, not only decreases antioxidants such as hepatic selenium (Se), Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione (GSH) but also increases levels of the antiatherosclerosis enzyme paraoxonase 1 (PON1) in liver and serum. To probe the interconnection of these three antioxidant systems, Se, GSH, and PON1, we examined the influence of varying levels of dietary Se and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a scavenger of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and precursor for GSH synthesis, on PON1 in the absence and presence of PCB 126 exposure. Male Sprague–Dawley rats, fed diets with differing Se levels (0.02, 0.2, or 2 ppm) or NAC (1 %), were treated with a single intraperitoneal injection of corn oil or various doses of PCB 126 and euthanized 2 weeks later. PCB 126 significantly increased liver PON1 mRNA, protein level and activity, and serum PON1 activity in all dietary groups but did not consistently increase thiobarbituric acid levels (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS), an indicator of lipid oxidation and oxidative stress, in liver or serum. Inadequate (high or low) dietary Se decreased baseline and PCB 126-induced aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) expression but further increased PCB 126-induced cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) expression, the enzyme believed to be the cause for PCB 126-induced oxidative stress. In addition, a significant inverse relationship was observed not only between dietary Se levels and PON1 mRNA and PON1 activity but also with TBARS levels in the liver, suggesting significant antioxidant protection from dietary Se. NAC lowered serum baseline TBARS levels in controls and increased serum PON1 activity but lowered liver PON1 activities in animals treated with 1 μmol/kg PCB 126, suggesting antioxidant activity by NAC primarily in serum. These results also show an unexpected predominantly inverse relationship between Se or NAC and PON1 during control and PCB 126 exposure conditions. These interactions should be further explored in the development of dietary protection regimens.     

高温滤袋的有效清灰强度

对Φ120 mm×1 000 mm氟美斯滤袋的最大侧壁压力峰值、除尘器运行阻力进行实验测试,并结合滤袋破损情况探究高温滤袋的有效清灰强度。结果表明,最大侧壁压力峰值在一定范围内对滤袋有较好的清灰效果且对滤袋的损伤较小。对粉煤灰而言,滤袋沿长度方向的平均最大侧壁压力峰值为876 Pa时的强度能满足除尘器的清灰要求,随着滤袋的最大侧壁压力峰值增大,除尘器清灰效果越好,当平均最大侧壁压力峰值超过2 713 Pa时,清灰效果仅轻微提升;且局部最大侧壁压力峰值大于5 282 Pa时滤袋破损,造成过度清灰。     

Feasibility of using microalgal biomass cultured in domestic wastewater for the removal of chromium pollutants

The feasibility of obtaining and using the biomass of a microalga, Chlorella miniata, from domestic wastewater (DW) cultures for the removal of chromium(III) [Cr(III)] and chromium(VI) [Cr(VI)] was compared with that from commercial Bristol medium (BM). Results showed that Chlorella miniata cultured in DW under 16-8 hours light-dark cycle [DW(16-8)] had similar growth to that in BM [BM(16-8)], but these two biomass had different biochemical compositions, and the former one had lower carbohydrate and higher protein content. When cultured in domestic wastewater, a higher biomass was obtained under continuous illumination [DW(24-0)], and the cells had higher carbohydrate and lower protein concentrations than that of DW(16-8). The spectra of the Fourier transform infrared spectrometer revealed that the functional groups on the surface of the three kinds of biomass--DW(16-8), DW(24-0), and BM(16-8)--were comparable, except an additional peak at 1731 cm(-1) was found in the biomass cultured in domestic wastewater, which was probably the result of bacterial contamination. Although biochemical differences were found among the three kinds of microalgal biomass, similar biosorption performances to chromium pollutants were recorded, with approximately 75% Cr(III) and 100% Cr(VI) removed at equilibrium in Cr(III) and Cr(VI) experiments, respectively, when dead biomass was used as a biosorbent. Therefore, it is possible to culture Chlorella miniata in domestic wastewater and use the biomass for the removal of chromium pollutants.     

Partitioning of aromatic and oxygenated constituents into water from regular and ethanol-blended gasolines

Variability in gasoline-water partitioning of major aromatic constituents (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX)) and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) were examined for regular and ethanol-blended gasolines. By use of a two-phase liquid-liquid equilibrium model, the distribution of nonpolar solutes between fuel phase and water was related to principles of equilibrium. The models derived using Raoult's law convention for activity coefficients and liquid solubility is presented. The observed inverse log-log linear dependence of K_fw values on aqueous solubility, could be well predicted by assuming gasoline to be an ideal solvent mixture. Oxygenated additives (i.e., ethanol and MTBE), in the low percent range (below 5%), were shown to have minimal or negligible cosolvent effects on hydrocarbon partitioning. In the case of high fuel-to-water ratio (e.g., 1:1) or near contaminant source zone, the cosolvent effect of oxygenated gasoline with high content of ethanol (e.g., E85) will be environmentally significant.     

羧甲基纤维素抑尘剂的制备及其应用研究

以羧甲基纤维素、丙烯酸丁酯、甲基丙烯酸甲酯为原料,用溶液聚合法制备出一种环保软膜抑尘剂.探讨了添加甘油、辛癸基葡糖苷对抑尘剂吸水性能、润湿性能的变化以及m(甘油):m(辛癸基葡糖苷)以不同配比加入抑尘剂后对粉尘含水率的影响.经傅里叶红外光谱、X-射线衍射仪、扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜对制备的产物进行结构表征和形貌的分析.对抑尘剂的性能:耐风蚀性、温度适应性进行了测试.结果表明:当m(甘油):m(辛癸基葡糖苷)为2:3,室温时粉尘含水率达15.8%、50℃粉尘含水率仍可达11.7%;经3 h(15 m/s)风速吹扫,粉尘损失率仅为2.3%.     

基于因子分析法研究太原市土壤重金属污染的主要来源

太原市土壤的研究还处于起步阶段,尚缺乏系统的研究和探讨.基于因子分析法分析研究太原市土壤重金属污染类型及污染来源,在面积性土壤测量基础上,采用城市土壤单点样采集方法,通过测试获得了城市表层土壤中重金属元素(As、Cd、Hg、Pb、Cr、Ni、Zn、Cu)的含量数据;应用统计数手段及处理软件,采用因子分析法对太原市土壤化探数据进行详细分析研究;结合太原市工企分布情况,对比因子分析中的六个主因子,进行整理分析;研究结果充分反映出太原市作为一个典型的重化工基地和燃煤城市的污染特点,表明太原市土壤重金属污染的主要来源有四个方面,即:工矿企业污染源,燃煤污染源,交通污染源,商业活动和居民生活污染源等.     

复合人工湿地对水源地库区水质净化效果分析

宁波皎口水库是水源地,皎口复合人工湿地位于皎口水库的进水口,采用多种水流方式复合,对提高水库水质及保障饮用水安全具有积极的作用。为了探明人工湿地在微污染地区的应用价值,对人工湿地水源地水质净化效能进行了研究。在1年的监测调查调查中,研究探讨了复合人工湿地及其不同模块在不同季节的净化效果。结果表明,该人工湿地对总氮和总磷的平均去除率分别可达到为34.7%和42.6%,对COD和TOC的平均去除率可达到28.5%和21.6%。COD、NH₄⁺-N和总磷出水平均浓度分别为2.193、0.215和0.021 mg/L,均达到 《地表水环境质量标准》（GB3838-2002）Ⅱ类水质标准。在比较不同模块去除效果方面,提出了具有填料的生态滤池更有利于磷的去除,而对于氮、有机物等营养元素,复合多级强化生物膜系统及营养盐集约式植物资源化系统则有较好的去除效果。