Goal, Scope and Background Rapid urbanization and the expansion of industrial activities in the past several decades have led to large increases in emissions
of pollutants in the Pearl River Delta of south China. Recent reports have suggested that industrial emission is a major factor
contributing to the damages in current natural ecosystem in the Delta area. Tree barks have been used successfully to monitor
the levels of atmospheric metal deposition in many areas, but rarely in China. This study aimed at determining whether atmospheric
heavy metal deposition from a Pb-Zn smeltery at Qujiang, Guangdong province, could be accurately reflected both in the inner
bark and the outer bark of Masson pine (Pinus massoniana L.). The impact of the emission from smeltery on the soils beneath the trees and the relationships of the concentrations
between the soils and the barks were also analyzed.
Methods Barks around the bole of Pinus massoniana from a pine forest near a Pb-Zn smeltery at Qujiang and a reference forest at Dinghushan natural reserve were sampled with
a stainless knife at an average height of 1.5 m above the ground. Mosses and lichens on the surface barks were cleaned prior
to sampling. The samples were carefully divided into the inner bark (living part) and the outer bark (dead part) in the laboratory,
and dried and ground, respectively. After being dry-ashed, the powder of the barks was dissolved in HNO3. The solutions were analyzed for iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni) and cobalt
(Co) by inductively coupled plasmas emission spectrometry (ICP, PS-1000AT, USA) and Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) by graphite
furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS, ZEENIT 60, Germany). Surface soils (0–10 cm) beneath the sample trees were
also collected and analyzed for the selected metals.
Results and Discussion Concentrations of the selected metals in soils at Qujiang were far above their environmental background values in the area,
except for Fe and Mn, whilst at Dinghushan, they were far below their background values, except for Cd and Co. Levels of the
metals, in particular Pb and Zn, in the soils beneath the sample trees at Qujiang were higher than those at Dinghushan with
statistical significance. The result suggested that the pine forest soils at Qujiang had a great input of heavy metals from
wet and dry atmospheric deposition, with the Pb-Zn smeltery most probably being the source.
Levels of Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni and Pb at Qujiang, both in the inner and the outer bark, were statistically higher than those
at Dinghushan. Higher concentrations of Pb, Fe, Zn and Cu may come from the stem-flow of elements leached from the canopy,
soil splash on the 1.5 m height and sorption of metals in the mosses and lichens growing on the bark, which were direct or
indirect results from the atmospheric deposition. Levels of heavy metals in the outer barks were associated well with the
metal concentrations in the soil, reflecting the close relationships between the metal atmospheric deposition and their accumulation
in the outer bark of Masson pine. The significant (p<0.01) correlations of Fe-Cu, Fe-Cr, Fe-Pb, Fe-Ni, Pb-Ni, and Pb-Zn in
the outer barks at Qujiang again suggested a common source for the metals. The correlation only occurred between Pb and Ni,
Cd and Co in the outer barks at Dinghushan, which suggested that those metals must possibly have other uncommon sources.
Conclusions Atmospheric deposition of the selected metals was great at Qujiang, based on the levels in the bark of Pinus massoniana and on the concentrations in the soils beneath the trees compared with that at Dinghushan. Bark of Pinus massoniana, especially the outer bark, was an indicator of metal loading at least at the time of sampling.
Recommendations and Perspectives The results from this study and the techniques employed constituted a new contribution to the development of biogeochemical
methods for environmental monitoring particularly in areas with high frequency of pollution in China. The method would be
of value for follow up studies aimed at the assessment of industrial pollution in other areas similar with the Pearl River
Delta. 相似文献
Due to the high rates of energy consumption and its impact on environment over the last decades, policy decision-makers are increasingly recognising the need to take actions that allow to address problems associated with the deployment of non-renewable resources and climate changes. One field of action has been the promotion of measures that contribute to improve energy efficiency of countries. The purpose of this study is to identify the main factors explaining changes in energy efficiency applying the multiplicative Log Mean Divisia Index decomposition method for a set of countries (Portugal, UK, Brazil and China) with different socio-economic background and energy mix. The results show that overall energy efficiency trends display different patterns between countries and the same happens within each country from a sectoral perspective. Major drivers of improvements of overall energy efficiency were the intensity effect and the affluence effect, whereas the driver that hampered those improvements was the energy consumption per capita. Some policy implications derived from the results achieved are: policy decision-makers should support measures that promote the adoption of energy-saving technologies resulting from new technological developments; policy measures should be directed to raise awareness of end-users regarding energy efficiency and energy conservation efforts; policy measures promoting economic growth through the development (or expansion) of sectors of activity that consume less energy can also be implemented; finally, policy instruments may also be used to reduce the costs of implementing energy efficiency and energy-saving measures to households and firms. 相似文献
The present study assessed the DNA damage in environmentally exposed volunteers living in seven municipalities in an industrial coal region, through the use of the comet assay with blood cells and the micronucleus test with buccal cells. Blood and buccal smears were collected from 320 male volunteers living in seven cities inserted in a coal region. They were ages of 18 and 50 years and also completed a questionnaire intended to identify factors associated with DNA damage through a Poisson regression analysis. The comet assay detected significant differences in DNA damage in volunteers from different municipalities, and neighboring cities (Pedras Altas, Aceguá, and Hulha Negra) had a higher level of DNA damage in relation to control city. Some of the risk factors associated with identified DNA lesions included residence time and life habits. On the other hand, the micronucleus test did not identify differences between the cities studied, but the regression analysis identified risk factors such as age and life habits (consumption of mate tea and low carbohydrates diet). We conclude that there are differences in the DNA damage of volunteers from different cities of the carboniferous region, but the presence of micronuclei in the oral mucosa does not differ between the same cities. Furthermore, we alert that some related factors may increase the risk of genotoxicity, such as residence location and time, and living and food habits. Finally, we suggest the need for continuous biomonitoring of the population, as well as for investing in health promotion in these vulnerable populations.
Decatungstate W10O324? was efficiently intercalated between the layers of three-dimensionally ordered macroporous Mg2Al-layered double hydroxide. The structural and textural properties of as-prepared intercalated compound were characterized using different solid-state characterization techniques such as X-ray powder diffraction, FTIR and Raman spectroscopies and electronic microscopy. The photocatalytic properties of immobilized W10O324? within Mg2Al structure were investigated using 2-(1-naphthyl) acetamide (NAD) as a model of pesticide. The influence of different parameters such as amount of catalyst, pH and oxygen concentration were investigated. An optimal NAD degradation was obtained for a photocatalyst concentration of 60 mg l?1. Under our experimental conditions, this heterogeneous photocatalyst induces photodegradation of 60 % of NAD after 17 h of irradiation at 365 nm and at pH 6.6. Interestingly, pesticide photodegradation leads to the mineralization of substrates to H2O and CO2 and the photocatalyst can be recycled and reused without any loss of activity over four cycles. 相似文献