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.     

Photochemical processing of aldrin and dieldrin in frozen aqueous solutions under arctic field conditions

Organochlorine (OC) contaminants are transported to the Polar Regions, where they have the potential to bioaccumulate, presenting a threat to the health of wildlife and indigenous communities. They deposit onto snowpack during winter, and accumulate until spring, when they experience prolonged solar irradiation until snowmelt occurs. Photochemical degradation rates for aldrin and dieldrin, in frozen aqueous solution made from MilliQ water, 500 μM hydrogen peroxide solution or locally-collected melted snow were measured in a field campaign near Barrow, AK, during spring-summer 2008. Significant photoprocessing of both pesticides occurs; the reactions depend on temperature, depth within the snowpack and whether the predominant phase is ice or liquid water. The effect of species present in natural snowpack is comparable to 500 μM hydrogen peroxide, pointing to the potential significance of snowpack-mediated reactions. Aldrin samples frozen at near 0 °C were more reactive than comparable liquid samples, implying that the microenvironments experienced on frozen ice surfaces are an important consideration.     

Carry-over of dietary organochlorine pesticides, PCDD/Fs, PCBs, and brominated flame retardants to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) fillets

Information on carry-over of contaminants from feed to animal food products is essential for appropriate human risk assessment of feed contaminants. The carry-over of potentially hazardous persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from feed to fillet was assessed in consumption sized Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Relative carry-over (defined as the fraction of a certain dietary POP retained in the fillet) was assessed in a controlled feeding trial, which provided fillet retention of dietary organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), dioxins (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Highest retention was found for OCPs, BFRs and PCBs (31-58%), and the lowest retentions were observed for PCDD/Fs congeners (10-34%). National monitoring data on commercial fish feed and farmed Atlantic salmon on the Norwegian market were used to provide commercially relevant feed-to-fillet transfer factors (calculated as fillet POP level divided by feed POP level), which ranged from 0.4 to 0.5, which is a factor 5-10 times higher than reported for terrestrial meat products. For the OCP with one of the highest relative carry-over, toxaphene, uptake and elimination kinetics were established. Model simulations that are based on the uptake and elimination kinetics gave predicted levels that were in agreement with the measured values. Application of the model to the current EU upper limit for toxaphene in feed (50 μg kg⁻¹) gave maximum fillet levels of 22 μg kg⁻¹, which exceeds the estimated permissible level (21 μg kg⁻¹) for toxaphene in fish food samples in Norway.     

Photophysical and photochemical properties of the pharmaceutical compound salbutamol in aqueous solutions

Salbutamol is a potent β₂-adrenergic receptor agonist widely used in the treatment of bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. An increasing number of studies have detected salbutamol in natural water systems worldwide. Studies have shown that sunlight degrades salbutamol resulting in the formation of products; some showing higher toxicity to bacteria Vibrio fischeri than the parent compound. In this contribution, steady-state absorption and emission techniques, high-performance liquid chromatography, and transient absorption spectroscopy are used to investigate the photochemistry of salbutamol in aqueous buffer solutions at controlled pH values. Ground- and excited-state calculations that include solvent effects are performed to guide the interpretation of the experimental results. Salbutamol is sensitive to UVB light absorption in the pH range from 3 to 12, forming products that absorb light at longer wavelengths than the parent compound. Quantum yields of degradation reveal that the deprotonated species is 10-fold more photo-active than the protonated species. In line with this result, the fluorescence quantum yield of the protonated species is more than an order of magnitude higher than that of the deprotonated species. Transient absorption spectroscopy shows that population of the triplet state occurs with a rate constant of 7.1 × 10⁸ s⁻¹ in the protonated species, while a rate constant of 1.7 × 10¹⁰ s⁻¹ is measured for the deprotonated species. While degradation of the deprotonated species is not affected by the presence of molecular oxygen, a twofold increase in the photodegradation yield of the protonated species in air-saturated conditions is observed.     

活性炭纤维(ACF)应用于有机废气回收和净化的进展

活性炭纤维(ACF)有比普通活性炭吸附量大、吸附和脱附速度快等优点,因此应用于有机废气的回收和净化,具有良好的经济、环境和社会效益。文中介绍了ACF的微观结构、表面化学以及吸附性能,并综述了近年来ACF在有机废气回收和治理方面的国内概况。     

Comparison of inclined plate sedimentation and dissolved air flotation for the minimisation of subsequent nitrogenous disinfection by-product formation

The formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs), including both nitrogenous disinfection by-products (N-DBPs) and carbonaceous disinfection by-products (C-DBPs), was investigated upon chlorination of water samples following two treatment processes: (i) coagulation-inclined plate sedimentation (IPS)-filtration and (ii) coagulation-dissolved air flotation (DAF)-filtration. The removal of algae, dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and UV₂₅₄ by coagulation-DAF-filtration was superior to coagulation-IPS-filtration. On average, 53%, 53% and 31% of DOC, DON and UV₂₅₄ were removed by coagulation-DAF-filtration process, which were higher than 47%, 31% and 27% of that by coagulation-IPS-filtration process. Additionally, coagulation-IPS-filtration performed less well at removing the low molecular weight organics than coagulation-DAF-filtration process. The concentrations of chloroform, dichloroacetamide (DCAcAm) and dichloroacetonitrile (DCAN) formed during chlorination after coagulation-DAF-filtration reached their maximum values of 13, 1.5 and 4.7 μg L⁻¹, respectively, and were lower than those after coagulation-IPS-filtration with the maximum detected levels of 17, 2.9 and 6.3 μg L⁻¹. However, the trichloronitromethane (TCNM) concentration after the two processes was similar, suggesting that DON may have less of a contribution to TCNM formation than DCAcAm and DCAN.     

Magnetic ion exchange treatment of stabilized landfill leachate

Stabilized landfill leachate is characterized by a high concentration of non-biodegradable organic matter, which is similar in chemistry to dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the natural aquatic environment. Magnetic ion exchange (MIEX) resin treatment is well-studied in drinking water for removal of DOM from natural waters. There are fewer studies evaluating MIEX treatment of waste waters, and there is no previous work evaluating MIEX treatment of landfill leachate. This work systematically evaluated MIEX treatment of stabilized landfill leachate and evaluated the results in the context of previous studies of MIEX treatment of natural and waste waters. Five leachates from four landfills were evaluated as a function of MIEX resin dose, mixing time, and regeneration efficiency. MIEX resin removed DOM from landfill leachate, even in the presence of a reported high background concentration of inorganic ions. MIEX resin that was exhausted with leachate DOM was effectively regenerated with a concentrated NaCl solution, and regenerated MIEX resin performed similarly to virgin resin. For a majority of the leachates, the removal trend for MIEX resin was color > UV-absorbing substances > dissolved organic carbon ≈ COD > total nitrogen. Finally, MIEX resin removed a wider range of DOM from leachate than coagulation. The most important contribution of this work is that MIEX treatment of leachate followed very similar trends as MIEX treatment of natural waters, which will allow previous MIEX data to be used to estimate the treatment efficiency of other waste waters.     

产酸内生菌荧光假单胞菌R1对东南景天生长和吸收、积累土壤中重金属锌镉的影响

研究了从东南景天（Sedum alfredii）的根系分离和纯化的内生菌荧光假单胞菌（Pseudomonas fluorescens）R1（菌株R1）在溶解氧化锌（ZnO）和氧化镉（CdO）过程中的生长代谢特征,分析了代谢产物中有机酸的组成及含量;通过盆栽实验,进一步探讨了土壤接种菌株R1对东南景天的生长、吸收和积累锌、镉的影响。结果发现,菌株R1在生长代谢过程中分泌苹果酸、琥珀酸、乙酸、柠檬酸、草酸等有机酸是导致ZnO和CdO溶解的主要原因,且反应体系中增加ZnO和CdO能够提高有机酸的分泌量,加速ZnO和CdO的溶解。菌株R1接种到未灭菌或灭菌的锌、镉污染土壤中均能在一定程度上促进东南景天的生长和吸收Zn、Cd。在未灭菌ZnO土壤上,接种菌株R1使东南景天根系和地上部的干物质质量、地上部Zn积累量分别增加了15.56%、9.74%和29.84%;在灭菌ZnO土壤上,接种菌株R1使东南景天地上部的干物质质量和Zn积累量分别增加9.56%和8.97%。在未灭菌CdO土壤上,接种菌株R1使东南景天根系和地上部的干物质质量、地上部Cd积累量分别增加30.30%、6.15%和27.21%;在灭菌CdO土壤上,接种菌株R1使东南景天根系和地上部的干物质质量、地上部Cd积累量分别增加5.08%、8.82%和26.14%。     

再生水臭氧氧化处理工艺对水质生物稳定性的影响

为了保障再生水水质生物稳定性,控制再生水在储存、输配和利用过程中微生物生长,对再生水臭氧氧化处理工艺水质生物稳定性进行了研究。研究发现,臭氧氧化对再生水厂二级出水的溶解性有机碳（DOC）去除效果有限,对UV254和荧光强度有较好的去除效果,但可导致水样AOC水平升高,水质生物稳定性降低。分析臭氧氧化后不同有机物组分的变化情况,发现臭氧氧化对分子量为0.5~20 kDa有机物有较好的去除效果,而分子量小于0.5 kDa有机物没有明显变化。     

剩余污泥厌氧共消化技术研究现状及应用趋势

污水处理厂碳中和运行目标使得剩余污泥厌氧消化产CH4途径重获新生。然而,剩余污泥量取决于进水中有机物（COD）浓度,而我国污水碳源低的特点决定了不可能仅靠剩余污泥转化能源便完全满足碳中和运行目标。研究显示,多种外源有机废弃物与剩余污泥厌氧共消化可以取得“1+1>2”的能量转化效果,这就为我国污水处理厂碳中和运行提供了一种潜在能量来源。在简述剩余污泥厌氧共消化技术特性的基础上,对7种典型外源有机废弃物与剩余污泥共消化试验研究进行了归纳,同时列举国外6个业已实现碳中和运行的污水处理厂共消化应用实例,充分说明外源有机废弃物与剩余污泥共消化的工程应用前景。虽然我国目前环境政策限制了污泥厌氧共消化的工程化进程,但污泥与餐厨垃圾、市政修剪花草/树木、旱厕粪便等几种基质共消化将会是共消化的未来研究方向,更是综合解决市政有机固体废弃物的现实需要。