Plutonium isotopes concentration in seawater and bottom sediment off the Pacific coast of Aomori sea area during 1991-2005

A radioactivity survey was launched in 1991 to determine the background levels of ^239+240Pu in the marine environment off a commercial spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant before full operation of the facility. Particular attention was focused on the ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu atom ratio in seawater and bottom sediment to identify the origins of Pu isotopes. The concentration of ^239+240Pu was almost uniform in surface water, decreasing slowly over time. Conversely, the ^239+240Pu concentration varied markedly in the bottom water and was dependent upon the sampling point, with higher concentrations of ^239+240Pu observed in the bottom water sample at sampling points having greater depth. The ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu atom ratio in the seawater and sediment samples was higher than that of global fallout Pu, and comparable with the data in the other sea area around Japan which has likely been affected by close-in fallout Pu originating from the Pacific Proving Grounds. The ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu atom ratio in bottom sediment samples decreased with sea depth. The land-originated Pu is not considered as the reason of the increasing ^239+240Pu concentration and also decreasing the ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu atom ratio with sea depth, and further study is required to clarify it.     

An integrated approach to the toxicity assessment of Irish marine sediments: validation of established marine bioassays for the monitoring of Irish marine sediments

This paper describes the ecotoxicological evaluation of marine sediments from three sites around Ireland representative of a range of contaminant burdens. A comprehensive assessment of potential sediment toxicity requires the consideration of multiple exposure phases. In addition to the evaluation of multi-exposure phases the use of a battery of multi-trophic test species has been advocated by a number of researchers as testing of single or few organisms may not detect toxicants with a specific mode of action. The Microtox(R) solid phase test (SPT) and the 10-d acute amphipod test with Corophium volutator were used to assess whole sediment toxicity. Porewater and elutriates were assessed with the Microtox(R) acute test, the marine prasinophyte Tetraselmis suecica, and the marine copepod Tisbe battagliai. Solvent extracts were assayed with the Microtox(R) and T. battagliai acute tests. Alexandra Basin was identified as the most toxic site according to all tests, except the Microtox(R) SPT which identified the Dunmore East site as being more toxic. However, it was not possible to correlate the observed ecotoxicological effects with a specific and/or class of contaminants based on sediment chemistry alone. Therefore porewaters found to elicit significant toxicity (Dunmore East and Alexandra Basin) with the test battery were selected for further TIE assessment with T. battalgiai and the Microtox(R) system. The results of this study have important implications for risk assessment in estuarine and coastal waters in Ireland, where, at present the monitoring of sediment and water quality is predominantly reliant on chemical analysis alone.     

阳宗海表层沉积物磷、氟、硫的分布与污染状况

对阳宗海表层沉积物中磷、氟、硫的含量进行了调查,并用单指标标准指数法对污染水平进行了评价.结果表明,阳宗海表层沉积物磷、氟、硫含量的平均值依次为1 041 mg/kg、1 075 mg/kg、2 743 mg/kg.生活、生产污水、工业废气,以及机动船只、网箱养鱼等活动是阳宗海表层沉积物中磷、氟、硫的主要来源.磷、氟、...     

渭河干流(宝鸡段)表层沉积物Cu、Zn、Pb污染特征与评价

对渭河干流（宝鸡段）表层沉积物中重金属Cu、Zn、Pb含量进行了调查,用潜在生态危害系数法对其污染水平进行了评价,并与松花江（吉林市段）、淮河（江苏段）、长江（下游）、苏州河、珠江（广州段）5条河流表层沉积物中Cu、Zn、Pb的含量做了对比研究。结果表明,3种重金属元素平均含量均超出相应的土壤背景值,出现了一定程度上的富集;生态危害系数均〈40,属轻微生态危害。重金属含量水平在国内诸河中处于中间位置。     

玄武湖沉积物中磷的形态分布特征

利用分级提取法分析了玄武湖的沉积磷形态,在玄武湖沉积物中,铝结合态磷的含量较低,平均值为64 mg/kg,其余形态磷中,铁结合态磷为241 mg/kg,有机磷为335 mg/kg,钙结合态磷为394 mg/kg.在环境变化的条件下,铁结合态磷可以释放到间隙水和上层水体中,是湖泊产生富营养化的重要因素;铝结合态磷由于含量少,对湖泊富营养化影响很小;钙结合态磷相对稳定且很难被生物利用,对湖泊富营养化影响不大;有机磷对水体有机负荷影响较大,并影响水体富营养化程度.     

沉积物中磷负荷及其释放对水质的影响

以华东师范大学校河为研究对象，通过野调研与室内模拟实验相结合，研究了校河沉积物中磷负荷量，释放量与释放速度以及温度和水体扰动对其影响，并探讨了沉积物中磷释放对校河水质的影响，为校河的富营养化防治提供科学依据。     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations, compositions, sources, and associated carcinogenic risks to humans in farmland soils and riverine sediments from Guiyu, China

The concentrations of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) were measured in 23 farmland soil samples and 10 riverine sediment samples from Guiyu, China, and the carcinogenic risks associated with PAHs in the samples were evaluated. Guiyu is the largest electronic waste(EW) dismantling area globally, and has been well known for the primitive and crude manner in which EWs are disposed, such as by open burning and roasting. The total PAH concentrations were 56–567 ng/g in the soils and 181–3034 ng/g in the sediments.The Shanglian and Huamei districts were found to be more contaminated with PAHs than the north of Guiyu. The soils were relatively weakly contaminated but the sediments were more contaminated, and sediments in some river sections might cause carcinogenic risks to the groundwater system. The PAHs in the soils were derived from combustion sources,but the PAHs in the sediments were derived from both combustion and petroleum sources.     

Sourcing sediment using multiple tracers in the catchment of Lake Argyle,Northwestern Australia

Control of sedimentation in large reservoirs requires soil conservation at the catchment scale. In large, heterogeneous catchments, soil conservation planning needs to be based on sound information, and set within the framework of a sediment budget to ensure that all of the potentially significant sources and sinks are considered. The major sources of sediment reaching the reservoir, Lake Argyle, in tropical northwestern Australia, have been determined by combining measured sediment fluxes in rivers with spatial tracer-based estimates of proportional contributions from tributaries of the main stream entering the lake, the Ord River. The spatial tracers used are mineral particle magnetics, the strontium isotopic ratio, and the neodymium isotopic ratio. Fallout of ¹³⁷Cs has been used to estimate the proportion of the sediment in Lake Argyle eroded from surface soils by sheet and rill erosion, and, by difference, the proportion eroded from subsurface soils by gully and channel erosion. About 96% of the sediment in the reservoir has come from less than 10% of the catchment, in the area of highly erodible soils formed on Cambrian-age sedimentary rocks. About 80% of the sediment in the reservoir has come from gully and channel erosion. A major catchment revegetation program, designed to slow sedimentation in the reservoir, appears to have had little effect because it did not target gullies, the major source of sediment. Had knowledge of the sediment budget been available before the revegetation program was designed, an entirely different approach would have been taken.     

Correlations between in situ denitrification activity and nir-gene abundances in pristine and impacted prairie streams

Denitrification is a process that reduces nitrogen levels in headwaters and other streams. We compared nirS and nirK abundances with the absolute rate of denitrification, the longitudinal coefficient of denitrification (i.e., K_den, which represents optimal denitrification rates at given environmental conditions), and water quality in seven prairie streams to determine if nir-gene abundances explain denitrification activity. Previous work showed that absolute rates of denitrification correlate with nitrate levels; however, no correlation has been found for denitrification efficiency, which we hypothesise might be related to gene abundances. Water-column nitrate and soluble-reactive phosphorus levels significantly correlated with absolute rates of denitrification, but nir-gene abundances did not. However, nirS and nirK abundances significantly correlated with K_den, as well as phosphorus, although no correlation was found between K_den and nitrate. These data confirm that absolute denitrification rates are controlled by nitrate load, but intrinsic denitrification efficiency is linked to nirS and nirK gene abundances.     

Sediment-water distribution of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in Yangtze River Estuary

Analysis of Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) distribution in water and sediment in Yangtze River Estuary showed that the estuary was a sink for PFOS. Salinity was an important parameter in controlling the sediment-water interactions and the fate or transport of PFOS in the aquatic environment. As the salinity (S‰) increased from 0.18 to 3.31, the distribution coefficient (K_d) between sediment and water linearly increased from 0.76 to 4.70 L g⁻¹. The study suggests that PFOS may be carried with the river water and transported for long distances before it reaches to the sea and largely scavenged to the sediment in the estuaries due to the dramatic change in salinity.