Microorganisms for remediation of cadmium-contaminated soils

An alternative to the cleaning-up of agricultural soil contaminated by heavy metals is to avoid their transfer from soil to plant by inoculating soil with selected microorganisms able to biosorb heavy metals. Here, four bacteria species and a fungus isolated from contaminated soils revealed their ability to grow in the presence of high cadmium level. We tested their growth capacity related to pH and Cd concentration on synthetic and soil extract media. The comparison of their growth rate, the biosorbed cadmium rate and the specific biosorption allowed to select the most efficient microorganism to be used in bioremediation.     

Natural and anthropogenic metal inputs to soils in urban Uppsala, Sweden

Urban soils are complex systems due to human activities that disturb the natural development of the soil horizons and add hazardous elements. Remediation projects are common in urban areas and guideline values are set to represent a desired level of elements. However, the natural content of trace elements may not always equal the desired levels. In this study, an attempt is made to distinguish between metals that are present in the soil due to natural origins and to anthropogenic origins. Seventy-five soil samples of the 0–5, 5–10 and 10–20 cm layers were collected from 25 sites in urban areas of Uppsala City and analysed for aluminium (Al), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), mercury (Hg), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), tungsten (W) and zinc (Zn) using aqua regia for digestion. In order to highlight elements of geological origin, the results were compared to a similar study carried out in Gothenburg City, which has about three times as many inhabitants as Uppsala and has a more industrial history. A cluster analysis was also performed to distinguish between elements of natural and anthropogenic origin. Contents of As, Al, Fe, Cr, Ni, Mn and W in Uppsala were concluded to be of mainly geological origin, while contents of Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb and Hg seemed to have been impacted upon by mainly urban activities.     

Risk assessment of heavy metal contamination in shrimp farming in Mai Po Nature Reserve, Hong Kong

An ecological survey was carried out to determine the sediment concentrations of nutrients and heavy metals and bioaccumulation of heavy metals in fish and shrimp including tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus×O. nilotica), grey mullet (Mugil cephalus), gei wai shrimp (Metapenaeus ensis) and caridean shrimp (Macrobrachium nipponensis) in the traditional tidal shrimp ponds (gei wais) of Mai Po Nature Reserve, Hong Kong. The sediments collected from the landward sites contained higher nutrient contents, as well as zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) and cadmium (Cd) than those collected from the seaward sites, but vice versa for lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg). However, the concentrations of all metals were exceptionally high in the two sites located outside the reserve, suggesting that waters from Deep Bay might be the possible source of metal contamination affecting the reserve. All metals studied seemed to accumulate in the viscera of fish. Body size was the determining factor for the accumulation of heavy metals in caridean shrimp and gei wai shrimp but not fish. Concentrations of the metals studied in tissues of grey mullet and gei wai shrimp were found to be safe for human consumption. Concentrations of Cr in tilapia whole body (0.68–1.10 mg kg⁻¹ wet weight) were close to or over the guideline value of 1 mg kg⁻¹ set by the Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations of Hong Kong. Tilapia flesh and small caridean shrimp collected from gei wais were contaminated by Cr and Pb but still fit for human consumption. Caution is required if large caridean shrimp is to be consumed in large amounts continuously because the concentration of Pb exceeded the maximum permitted concentration (6 mg kg⁻¹). The rather high Cr concentrations in tilapia whole body should not be overlooked as the fish will serve as a food source for migratory birds visiting the site.     

澳门城市垃圾焚烧底灰的重金属淋溶及其遗传毒性评价

应用美国国家环境保护局推荐的毒性特性溶出程序(toxicitycharacteristicleachingprocedure,TCLP),以及ICP-MS和ICP-AES技术研究了澳门城市垃圾焚烧底灰中重金属的淋溶,并结合蚕豆根尖微核试验评价了其潜在的生态与健康风险.结果显示,该底灰淋溶出来的重金属元素:铝(Al)、锰(Mn)、钴(Co)和汞(Hg)的浓度低于0.01mg·L-1,铁(Fe)、铜(Cu)和钼(Mo)的浓度低于0.1mg·L-1,而铬(Cr)、锌(Zn)、硒(Se)、锶(Sr)、钡(Ba)和铯(Cs)的浓度在0.11mg·L-1￣2.19mg·L-1之间.需要注意的是淋溶液中铅(Pb)的浓度异常高,最高可达19.06mg·L-1,超过了美国相关标准的上限(5mg·L-1);对比不同条件下底灰中重金属的淋溶情况,表明溶解作用和淋溶液的pH值是影响其淋溶的2个重要因素.蚕豆根尖微核试验显示各淋溶液处理组根尖细胞微核率明显升高,与阴性对照组相比具有显著性差异(p<0.05),表明各淋溶液具有遗传毒性;随着淋溶液中重金属浓度的增加,蚕豆根尖细胞所表现出来的毒性效应增强,表明重金属是淋溶液具有遗传毒性的重要原因.     

Heavy-metal fractionation and distribution in soil profiles short-term-irrigated with sewage wastewater

Six soil profiles irrigated and non-irrigated with sewage wastewater were investigated for soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), and CaCO₃. The distributions and chemical fractions of Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb, and their lability were also studied. The results indicated that pH, EC, OM, and CaCO₃, as well as metal fractionation in soil profiles were affected by wastewater irrigation, especially in the surface layer. The surface layer (0-15 cm) irrigated with wastewater exhibited a 0.6 unit decrease in soil pH, a 40.6% decrease in CaCO₃, and a 200% increase in EC as compared with that of the non-irrigated soil. The soil OM increased from 0.04% to 0.35% in the surface layer. The irrigation of soil with wastewater resulted in transformation of metals from the carbonate fraction (CARB) towards the exchangeable (EXCH), Fe-Mn oxide (ERO), and organic (OM) fraction for Zn, towards the EXCH, the OM, and residual fraction for Cu, and towards the exchangeable (EXCH) fraction for Cd. It was concluded that the use of sewage wastewater led to salt accumulation and an increase in the readily labile fraction of Zn, Cu, and Cd in the surface layer. Therefore, this reason may limit the use of wastewater under arid and semi-arid conditions.     

Risk assessment for safety of soils and vegetables around a lead/zinc mine

Concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu) were determined in soils and vegetables (chrysanthemum, spinach and four cultivars of Chinese cabbage from the area adjacent to a Pb/Zn mine in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, China, and compared with the Chinese National Standards for Soil Environmental Quality. The accumulation of heavy metals in cabbage cv. Siyuegreen was investigated at different distances from the center of the mine. The vegetable plantation soils were polluted with Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn, especially by Pb and Cd. The levels of Pb and Cd were 20 and 30 times higher than the permitted standards, indicating that this Pb/Zn mining area is unsuitable for agricultural use. Chinese cabbage, chrysanthemum and spinach had different enrichment coefficients. The enrichment coefficient of Cd from soil to roots of chrysanthemum was >80% and from roots to leaves of cabbage cv. Shanghaigreen was >120%. These vegetables were polluted by heavy metals and could not be regarded as safe for human consumption. Environmental accumulation of heavy metals in the vegetable plantation soils was proportional to heavy metal accumulation in vegetables and both were inversely proportional to the distance from the lead/zinc mine.     

Heavy metals associated with reduced sulfur in sediments from different deposition environments in the Pearl River estuary, China

Distribution of acid volatile sulfur (AVS) and the simultaneously extracted metals (SEM: Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Ni) in sediment profiles has been studied at five sites in Pearl River estuary, China. Of the five sampling locations, Nos.1 and 2 are in the middle shoal, Nos.3 and 4 in the west shoal and No. 5 locates to the south of the estuary. The AVS content in the sediments of the middle shoal varies in a small range (0.25–4.06 μmol g⁻¹), while that of west shoal increases with depth from 0 to ultimately 26.09 μmol g⁻¹. The SEM concentration in the sediment profiles at location Nos. 1, 2 and 5 is generally in the range of 0.95±0.2 μmol g⁻¹ with a slight upward increase, while that in the sediment of west shallows are much higher (1.43–2.42 μmol g⁻¹) with a significant upward increase, especially in the upper layer of ca. 15 cm. The observed upward increase of SEM content at all the sites implies that heavy metal contamination of sediment in the Pearl River estuary is increasing. Calculations of the excess heavy metal content which is defined by SEM-AVS molar difference suggests that the upper sediment in the Pearl River estuary, especially on the west shallows, could be a source of heavy metal contaminants and may cause toxicity to the benthos. The site-specific distribution patterns in the AVS and SEM profiles were interpreted according to the hydrogeochemistry of deposition environments.     

In-situ electrochemical measurements of total concentration and speciation of heavy metals in acid mine drainage (AMD): assessment of the use of anodic stripping voltammetry

We assessed the use of anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) for in-situ determinations of both total concentration and speciation of dissolved heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) in acid mine drainage (AMD). In the Kwangyang Au–Ag mine area of South Korea, different sites with varying water chemistry within an AMD were studied with a field portable anodic stripping voltammeter. Anodic stripping voltammetry after wet oxidation (acidification) was very sensitive enough to determine total concentration of dissolved Cd because Cd was dominantly present as ‘labile’ species, whilst the technique was not so effective for determining total Cu especially in the downstream sites from the retention pond, due to its complexation with organic matter. For dissolved Pb, the concentrations determined by ASV after wet oxidation generally agreed with those by ICP-AES. In the downstream samples (pH>5), however, ASV data after wet oxidation were lower than ICP-AES data because a significant fraction of dissolved Pb was present in those samples as ‘inert’ species associated with colloidal iron oxide particles. The determination of total dissolved Zn by ASV after wet oxidation appeared to be unsatisfactory for the samples with high Cu content, possibly due to the interference by the formation of Zn–Cu intermetallic compounds on the mercury coated electrode. In AMD samples with high dissolved iron, use of ultraviolet irradiation was not effective for determining total concentrations because humate destruction by UV irradiation possibly resulted in the removal of a part of dissolved heavy metals from waters through the precipitation of iron hydroxides.     

Investigating the quantitative and qualitative status of effluent in the wastewater treatment plant in Iran Central Iron Ore

The aim of present study was to investigate the quality of the produced effluent from different units of the Iran Central Iron Ore in Bafq city and comparison of effluent with the standards. This study presents the physicochemical and biological parameters data of effluent of three Sequencing batch reactors (SBR) with a capacity of 160 m³?d^?1. Most common parameters include pH, total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅), chemical oxygen demand (COD), heavy metals, and total coliforms and fecal coliforms as biological indicators. Then, for each SBR system, the average of each parameter was determined, and results were compared with the standard recommended by the Iranian Environmental Protection Agency. Based on the results, some of the parameters, including BOD₅, COD, and TSS in the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent, are higher than the permitted amount for discharge to the surface water. Considering the BOD₅, COD, and TSS concentration in WWTPs, the treated wastewater is only suitable for agricultural and irrigation use. Therefore, wastewater produced by Iran Central Iron Ore Co. will need additional treatment to achieve standard quality of water before discharge in surface water and adsorbent well.     

Cadmium and Lead Levels in Fish (Tilapia Nilotica) Tissues as Biological Indicator for Lake Water Pollution

Cadmium and lead were determined in different tissues (muscle,gill, stomach, intestine, liver, vertebral column and scales) of Tilapia nilotica from the High Dam Lake, Aswan (Egypt) to assess the lake water pollution with those toxic metals. Fish samples were chosen from different ages and weights to be analyzed along with samples of the aquatic plant(Najas armeta), sediment and lake water.The results showed that cadmium and lead concentrations were higher in fish scales and vertebral column than in the other parts of the fish. Cadmium and lead levels in High Dam lake water and fish (Tilapia nilotica) were a result of the pollution which uptakes from aquatic plants, sediments andgasoline containing lead that leaks from fishery boats. Tilapia nilotica fish was used as a good bio-assay indicator for the lake pollution with cadmium and lead. The fish musclesin this study were in the safety baseline levels for man consumption.