Environmental impact of coal mining and coal seam gas production on surface water quality in the Sydney basin,Australia

The extraction of coal and coal seam gas (CSG) will generate produced water that, if not adequately treated, will pollute surface and groundwater systems. In Australia, the discharge of produced water from coal mining and related activities is regulated by the state environment agency through a pollution licence. This licence sets the discharge limits for a range of analytes to protect the environment into which the produced water is discharged. This study reports on the impact of produced water from coal mine activities located within or discharging into high conservation environments, such as National Parks, in the outer region of Sydney, Australia. The water samples upstream and downstream from the discharge points from six mines were taken, and 110 parameters were tested. The results were assessed against a water quality index (WQI) which accounts for pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solids, total phosphorus, nitrate nitrogen and E .coli. The water quality assessment based on the trace metal contents against various national maximum admissible concentration (MAC) and their corresponding environmental impacts was also included in the study which also established a base value of water quality for further study. The study revealed that impacted water downstream of the mine discharge points contained higher metal content than the upstream reference locations. In many cases, the downstream water was above the Australia and New Zealand Environment Conservation Council and international water quality guidelines for freshwater stream. The major outliers to the guidelines were aluminium (Al), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn). The WQI of surface water at and downstream of the discharge point was lower when compared to upstream or reference conditions in the majority of cases. Toxicology indices of metals present in industrial discharges were used as an additional tool to assess water quality, and the newly proposed environmental water quality index (EWQI) lead to better trend in the impact of coal and coal seam gas mining activities on surface water quality when compared to the upstream reference water samples. Metal content limits were based on the impact points assigned by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, USA. For environmental and health impact assessment, the approach used in this study can be applied as a model to provide a basis to assess the anthropogenic contribution from the industrial and mining activities on the environment.     

Association between Blastocystis sp. infection and immunocompromised patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The significance of opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients and the enigmatic pathogenicity of Blastocystis directed us to conduct the...     

Trans-ferulic acid ameliorates cisplatin-induced testicular damage via suppression of TLR4, P38-MAPK,and ERK1/2 signaling pathways

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Testicular damage has been described as a common side effect of cisplatin (CDDP), which limits its clinical uses. Since oxidative injury and...     

Assessing the life cycle study of alternative earth-retaining walls from an environmental and economic viewpoint

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This research aims to assess the sustainability of the most common earth-retaining walls (Gravity Walls and Cantilever Walls) in terms of...     

The occurrence and environmental effect of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Taurus Mountains soils

Purpose  

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are of global concern due to their ubiquitous presence and toxicity. The occurence of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), -dibenzofurans (PCDFs), co-planar biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCH), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDT), and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in forest soil collected from Taurus mountains may have adverse effects on the environment and health. The aim of the study was to investigate the outcome and distribution of POPs in the environment and the possible grasshopper effect along an altitude transect from sea level up to nearly 2,000 m a.s.l at a spatial distance of about 60 km in the southeastern Turkish Mediterranean Sea.     

生物炭复合菌剂促进堆肥腐熟及氮磷保留

为减少堆肥的氮素损失并提升磷素有效性,通过堆肥试验研究了添加生物炭复合菌剂对猪粪堆肥腐熟度及氮磷保留的影响.结果表明,在42d堆肥中,对照（CK）、生物炭（B）、菌剂（M）和生物炭菌剂（BM）4个处理组均达到了畜禽粪便无害化卫生要求标准.BM处理组的NH₃和N₂O释放累积量为2.36和0.93g,显著低于CK（8.01和1.31g）,且总氮含量达23.78g/kg,显著高于CK（18.36g/kg）.堆肥结束时,CK、B、M和BM处理的TP含量分别为16.41,17.16, 18.51及19.16g/kg,且BM组OP含量增加77.60%,显著高于CK（50.66%）.堆肥后,磷素有效性增加,并以M和BM的变化趋势最为显著,各处理的缓效磷和有效磷所占比例加合顺序为：BM（42.94%） > M（39.80%） > B（37.29%） > CK（31.51%）.研究表明,生物炭复合菌剂在促进堆肥腐熟和氮磷保留中具有良好的效果.     

湖南古丈奥陶纪红石林地层特征与石灰岩沉积环境分析

湘西古丈红石林国家地质公园出露着奥陶系牯牛潭组红色石灰岩地层,含角石化石,被认为是海相红层.野外观察地层红色深浅与其层理/层次变化关系判断为近于同期形成,属原生色.水生化石存在红层中,前者反映水下缺氧条件,而红层指示着氧化环境,两种指示尖锐对立,意味着可能至少一方存在认识偏差.采样分析结果表明,赤铁矿和针铁矿是其中可以...     

Income inequality and environmental degradation in Egypt: evidence from dynamic ARDL approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Over the past four decades, the Egyptian economy has suffered from both income inequality and environmental degradation. This dual problem raises the...     

Biomonitoring of bisphenol A, 4-nonylphenol,and 4-t-octylphenol in Turkish population: exposure and risk assessment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Biomonitoring studies are important tools to understand the effects of endocrine-disrupting compounds on human health. Up to now, there have been no...     

A bibliometric review on the inter-connection between climate change and rice farming

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Rice is an important cereal and a staple food in many countries in the world. Climate change is a significant challenge that affects paddy production...