Natural and anthropogenic hydrocarbon inputs to sediments of Patos Lagoon Estuary, Brazil

The Patos Lagoon Estuary, southern Brazil, is an area of environmental interest not only because of tourism, but also because of the presence of the second major port of Brazil, with the related industrial and shipping activities. Thus, potential hydrocarbon pollution was examined in this study. Sediment samples were collected at 10 sites in the estuary, extracted, and analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS for composition and concentration of the following organic geochemical markers: normal and isoprenoid alkanes, petroleum biomarkers, linear alkylbenzenes (LABs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The total concentrations varied from 1.1 to 129.6 microg g(-1) for aliphatic hydrocarbons, from 17.8 to 4510.6 ng g(-1) for petroleum biomarkers, from 3.2 to 1601.9 ng g(-1) for LABs, and from 37.7 to 11,779.9 ng g(-1) for PAHs. Natural hydrocarbons were mainly derived from planktonic inputs due to a usual development of blooms in the estuary. Terrestrial plant wax compounds prevailed at sites located far from Rio Grande City and subject to stronger currents. Anthropogenic hydrocarbons are related to combustion/pyrolysis processes of fossil fuel, release of unburned oil products and domestic/industrial waste outfalls. Anthropogenic hydrocarbon inputs were more apparent at sites associated with industrial discharges (petroleum distributor and refinery), shipping activities (dry docking), and sewage outfalls (sewage). The overall concentrations of anthropogenic hydrocarbons revealed moderate to high hydrocarbon pollution in the study area.     

Correction to: Characterization of a fatty acid-binding protein from the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas): pharmaceutical and toxicological implications

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13135-x     

Petroleum Hydrocarbons Rhizodegradation by Sebastiania commersoniana (Baill.) L. B. SM. & Downs

Petroliferous activities in Brazil have an accelerated development in the last years. As a consequence, the incidence of environmental accidents such as oil spills and contamination of soils has increased significantly. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to develop remediation techniques with lower costs, decontamination efficiency and impact minimisation. The aim of this work was to evaluate Sebastiania commersoniana phytoremediation potential in soil contaminated by petroleum. This species, which is a native tree, was selected due to its proven capacity for surviving in areas contaminated by petroleum. Experiments were carried out with soils that were vegetated but non-contaminated, soils that were freshly contaminated (25, 50 and 75 g kg^?1) but non-vegetated, and soils that were vegetated and contaminated, samples were collected 60 and 424 days after contamination with the purpose of evaluating the percentage of petroleum degradation in relation to the time. The results obtained in the present study allow us to state that S. commersoniana proves to be tolerant to petroleum contamination with respect to plant’s growth. The degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons was evaluated by gas chromatography with a flame ionisation detector (GC-FID) equipped with a capillary column HP-5 (5% phenyl-methylpolysiloxane, 30 m; 0.25 mm; 0.25 μm). According to chromatographic analysis, samples in contact with S. commersoniana showed a significant area reduction of the hydrocarbon peaks. Analysis of the 60-day samples showed a reduction of petroleum hydrocarbons area higher than 60% and the 424-day samples showed a reduction higher than 94%, which demonstrates that a petroleum degradation process is occurring.     

Networks of recyclable material waste-picker’s cooperatives: An alternative for the solid waste management in the city of Rio de Janeiro

The objective of this study is to discuss the role of networks formed of waste-picker cooperatives in ameliorating problems of final disposal of solid waste in the city of Rio de Janeiro, since the city’s main landfill will soon have to close because of exhausted capacity. However, it is estimated that in the city of Rio de Janeiro there are around five thousand waste-pickers working in poor conditions, with lack of physical infrastructure and training, but contributing significantly by diverting solid waste from landfills. According to the Sustainable Development Indicators (IBGE, 2010a, IBGE, 2010b) in Brazil, recycling rates hover between 45% and 55%. In the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, only 1% of the waste produced is collected selectively by the government (COMLURB, 2010), demonstrating that recycling is mainly performed by waste-pickers. Furthermore, since the recycling market is an oligopsony that requires economies of scale to negotiate directly with industries, the idea of working in networks of cooperatives meets the demands for joint marketing of recyclable materials. Thus, this work presents a method for creating and structuring a network of recycling cooperatives, with prior training for working in networks, so that the expected synergies and joint efforts can lead to concrete results. We intend to demonstrate that it is first essential to strengthen the waste-pickers’ cooperatives in terms of infrastructure, governance and training so that solid waste management can be environmentally, socially and economically sustainable in the city of Rio de Janeiro.     

Contribution of sugar-cane harvesting season to atmospheric contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Araraquara city,Southeast Brazil

In Brazil, sugar-cane crops are burned to facilitate harvesting, and this causes environmental pollution from the large amounts of smoke and soot that are released into the atmosphere. The smoke and soot contain numerous organic compounds such as PAHs. In this study, PM₁₀ and PAH concentrations in the air of Araraquara (SE Brazil, with around 200,000 inhabitants and surrounded by sugar-cane plantations) were determined during the harvest and non-harvest seasons. The sampling strategy included two campaigns in each season, with 20 samples per season. PM₁₀ was collected using a Hi-vol sampler with Teflon? – coated glass fiber filters. PM₁₀ ranged from 41 to 181 μg m^?3 during the harvest season, and from 12 to 47 μg m^?3 during the non-harvest season. The mean total concentration of PAHs was 2.5 ng m^?3 (non-harvest season) and 11.6 ng m^?3 (harvest season). In all sampling periods, the most abundant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were phenanthrene and fluoranthrene, and the least abundant was anthracene. The cluster analysis of the total PAH concentrations for each day of sampling and the corresponding meteorological data suggested that the atmospheric concentration of PAHs was independent of the differences in the weather between the seasons. For both sampling seasons, the statistical treatment (PCA, Varimax rotation and HCA) indicated the presence of vehicle sources (diesel, gasoline, and natural-gas engines); but for the harvest season, the main source was attributed to sugar-cane burning. The data generated by this study indicated the burning of sugar-cane as the main contributor to the high levels of PAHs detected in samples during the sugar-cane harvest season.     

Socio-economic predictors of domestic wood use in an Atlantic forest area (north-east Brazil): a tool for directing conservation efforts

Given the excessive use pressure on forests, characterisation of the major users of forest resources can help guide conservation efforts. This study examines whether socio-economic variables explain domestic wood use in an area of Atlantic forest in the community of Três Ladeiras (Pernambuco, north-east Brazil). Socio-economic data were collected from 62 households, and geometric measurements of wood products in each household were taken to calculate the wood volume. An informant in each household indicated the average replacement time for each type of wood use. Data were analysed for static volume (wood volume found at the time of the visit) and dynamic volume (rate of wood consumption, calculated as the ratio between volume and replacement time). Multiple regression analyses were performed to determine the relationships between wood volume (static and dynamic) and the number of species used; independent variables including monthly family income, number of residents, average age of heads of the household, age of oldest household member, average residence time of heads of the household, average education level of heads of the household and education level of the most educated household member. Monthly income was inversely related to the static wood volume (adjusted R ² = 17.6%, p < 0.001), rate of wood consumption (adjusted R ² = 23.0%, p < 0.001) and number of species used (adjusted R ² = 22.3%, p < 0.001) and was the most important predictive variable for these three outcomes. Other factors such as average education level and average age of heads of the household were also explanatory variables of the total rate of wood consumption, as these two variables, together with monthly family income, explain 31.3% of the total dynamic volume. Given the high importance of income in our study, we suggest that future conservation strategies give special attention to the poorest members of the community.     

Potential application of 2-(6-ethylamino-3-ethylimino-2,7-dimethyl-3H-xanthen-9-yl) benzoic acid phenyl thiourea for mercury determination

Heavy metal contamination of the environment is a public health problem and research to develop new tools for monitoring the environmental impact of these elements is necessary. This study describes the preparation of a rhodamine-based probe 1 and its potential applications for detecting mercuric ion [Hg(II)] in samples from a nutrition media containing Salvinia auriculata. It was observed that an excess of probe 1 led to quenching in the fluorescence/absorption response, which was evidenced by a decrease in the signal when the stoichiometry differed from 1:1. Consequently, this probe is not suitable for quantitative analysis of Hg(II). Also, probe 1 reacts with methylmercury (MeHg) with different stoichiometry than that observed for Hg(II). These results indicate the potential application of probe 1 for qualitative detection of Hg(II) and MeHg in environmental samples.     

Toxicological aspects of trihalomethanes: a systematic review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Chlorine is considered the most used chemical agent for water disinfection worldwide. However, water chlorination can lead to by-product generation...