Plant communities in relation to flooding and soil contamination in a lowland Rhine River floodplain

Using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), relationships were investigated between plant species composition and flooding characteristics, heavy metal contamination and soil properties in a lowland floodplain of the Rhine River. Floodplain elevation and yearly average flooding duration turned out to be more important for explaining variation in plant species composition than soil heavy metal contamination. Nevertheless, plant species richness and diversity showed a significant decrease with the level of contamination. As single heavy metal concentrations seemed mostly too low for causing phytotoxic effects in plants, this trend is possibly explained by additive effects of multiple contaminants or by the concomitant influences of contamination and non-chemical stressors like flooding. These results suggest that impacts of soil contamination on plants in floodplains could be larger than expected from mere soil concentrations. In general, these findings emphasize the relevance of analyzing effects of toxic substances in concert with the effects of other relevant stressors.     

Accumulation and maternal transfer of polychlorinated biphenyls in Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus) from Prince William Sound and the Bering Sea, Alaska

The western stock of the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) in the northern Pacific Ocean has declined by approximately 80% over the past 30 years. This led to the listing of this sea lion population as an endangered species in 1997. Chemical pollution is a one of several contributing causes. In the present study, 145 individual PCBs were determined in tissues of male sea lions from Tatitlek (Prince William Sound) and St. Paul Island (Bering Sea), and placentae from the Aleutian Islands. PCBs 90/101, 118, and 153 were abundant in all the samples. The mean toxic equivalents (TEQ) were 2.6, 4.7 and 7.4 pg/g lw in the kidney, liver, and blubber samples, respectively. The mean TEQ in placentae was 8 pg/g lw. Total PCBs concentrations (2.6-7.9 μg/g lw) in livers of some males were within a range known to cause physiological effects. Further suggesting the possibility of adverse effects on this stock.     

Atmospheric particle characterization, distribution, and deposition in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, Central China

Physical characterization and chemical analysis of settled dusts collected in Xi’an from November 2007 to December 2008 show that (1) dust deposition rates ranged from 14.6 to 350.4 g m⁻² yr⁻¹. The average deposition rate (76.7 g m⁻² yr⁻¹) ranks the 11th out of 56 dust deposition rates observed throughout the world. The coal-burning power was the major particle source; (2) on average (except site 4), ∼10% of the settled dusts having size <2.6, ∼30% having size <10.5, and >70% having size <30 μm; (3) the concentrations for 20 out of 27 elements analyzed were upto 18 times higher than their soil background values in China. With such high deposition rates of dusts that contain elevated levels of toxic elements, actions should be taken to reduce emission and studies are needed to assess the potential impacts of settled particles on surface ecosystem, water resource, and human health in the area.     

大宝山矿区水体和沉积物中重金属的污染评价

分别于丰水期和枯水期对广东省大宝山矿区铁龙拦泥坝至凉桥河段水体中溶解态的重金属进行了调查,应用EPA推荐的健康风险评价模型发现,水体中非致癌物通过饮水途径所导致平均个人年风险排列顺序是Cu〉Pb〉Zn,最大值的平均个人年风险在丰水期和枯水期的平均值分别是2.14×10-7 a-1和4.13×10-7 a-1,小于国际防辐射委员会（ICRP）推荐的最大可接受平均个人年风险5.0×10-5a-1。致癌物Cd的平均个人年风险在丰水期和枯水期的平均值分别是3.52×10-4 a-1和4.53×10-4 a-1,大于ICRP推荐的最大可接受值,同时也大于非致癌物3～4个数量级。另外,通过对枯水期沉积物的重金属总量分析,发现凉桥槽对坑支流受水体pH的影响,导致其沉积物重金属的浓度最高。根据Long和Macdonald利用生物效应数据库法建立的沉积物质量基准,发现除冷水泾外,其他采样点的平均效应中值指数（mERMQ）值都大于1.5,可见沉积物中的重金属会对当地底栖生物产生毒害作用。     

PVA降解混合菌系生长和产酶的营养条件分析

研究碳源、氮源以及不同金属离子对PVA降解混合菌系生长和产酶的影响。结果表明,混合菌系生长过程中无机氮源优于有机氮源;补充碳源可促进混合菌系的生长,但酶活比不添加时稍有降低。金属离子对酶活影响的正交实验表明Mg2＋浓度影响最大,其次是Fe2＋和K＋浓度,Ca2＋、Mn2＋、Zn2＋和Cu2＋浓度影响较小;最佳浓度分别为Mg2＋0.05 g/L、Fe2＋0.04 g/L、K＋2 g/L和Ca2＋0.05 g/L。     

服务江苏环保,投身污染减排——论省环科院在江苏省污染减排中的作用

文中从江苏省环科院的职能出发,阐述了省环科院在江苏省污染减排工作中的地位和作用,指出省环科院应在污染减排工作中做出更大贡献。     

水体重金属污染生物监测的研究进展

综述了重金属的毒性效应和水体重金属污染的现状,介绍了利用水生藻类、浮游动物群落和底栖动物监测水体重金属污染的研究进展及发展趋势。     

粉煤灰基层状金属氧化物对水中活性红X-3B的吸附

以粉煤灰(FA)为原料,采用共沉淀法制备了层状双金属氢氧化物(LDH)和层状金属氧化物(LMO,也称LDO),并采用XRD和BET技术进行了表征。比较了FA、LDH、LMO对活性红X-3B染料(X-3B)的吸附效果;考察了LMO吸附X-3B的影响因素,并探讨了吸附机理。XRD表征结果表明,LMO在吸附X-3B后重新恢复LDH层状结构。BET表征结果表明,LMO的比表面积大于LDH。吸附实验结果表明,3种吸附剂对X-3B吸附效果的优劣顺序为:LMOLDHFA;在初始X-3B质量浓度为50 mg/L、LMO投加量为2.0 g/L、吸附温度为25℃、吸附pH为7、吸附时间为30 min的条件下,X-3B去除率可达98.1%;LMO对X-3B的吸附符合Langmuir等温吸附方程,饱和吸附量为129.53 mg/g,且吸附过程可用准二级动力学方程描述。     

基于排污许可的环境标准制度改革完善研究

排污许可制度是固定点源环境管理的基础核心制度,政府以排污许可证为载体,对固定污染源的污染物排放限值、排污行为等进行许可,以排放标准的要求作为基本依据,并以环境质量标准为依据,对非达标区实施更为严格的排污许可限制。然而,现有的部分行业排放标准由于制定时间较早、科学技术支撑方法不足、与环境质量改善难以挂钩等问题,难以满足新排污许可证制度改革要求。本文在研究现行环境标准体系对排污许可制度的支撑作用与相互关系的基础上,研究了基于排污许可制的排放标准存在的主要问题,并以健全排污许可制度的环境标准支撑为目的,提出了现行环境标准体系的完善和修订建议。     

Nanocatalyzed biodiesel synthesis from the oily contents of Marine brown alga Dictyota dichotoma

This research article demonstrates biodiesel synthesis through the methanolysis of the oily contents (4.02 ± 0.27% w/w on dried basis) of Dictyota dichotoma collected from the coast of Hawksbay, Pakistan. The metal oxides (CaO, MgO, ZnO, and TiO₂) used as nanocatalysts were refluxed (5% K₂SO₄), calcinated (850 °C) and characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) which produced 93.2% w/w FAME (biodiesel) at relatively mild condition (5% catalyst, 65 °C, 3 h, 18:1 molar ratio) using CaO. Whereas, MgO, ZnO, and TiO₂ produced 92.4%, 72.5%, and 31.8% w/w FAME, respectively at elevated condition (225 °C). Thus, CaO was considered to be the best catalyst among the others. This tri-phase reaction require continuous fast mixing and the yield depends on the reaction parameters like catalyst amount, temperature, reaction time and molar ratio (methanol: oil). The reusability of these heterogeneous catalysts simplified the purification step, reduced the waste generation and make the final product technically and economically viable.