The rise of glyphosate and new opportunities for biosentinel early‐warning studies

Glyphosate has become the most commonly used herbicide worldwide and is reputedly environmentally benign, nontoxic, and safe for use near wildlife and humans. However, studies indicate its toxicity is underestimated and its persistence in the environment is greater than once thought. Its actions as a neurotoxin and endocrine disruptor indicate its potential to act in similar ways to persistent organic pollutants such as the organochlorines dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and dioxin. Exposure to glyphosate and glyphosate‐based herbicides for both wildlife and people is likely to be chronic and at sublethal levels, with multiple and ongoing exposure events occurring in urban and agricultural landscapes. Despite this, there has been little research on the impact of glyphosate on wildlife populations, and existing studies appear in the agricultural, toxicology, and water‐chemistry literature that may have limited visibility among wildlife biologists. These studies clearly demonstrate a link between chronic exposure and neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, cell damage, and immune suppression. There is a strong case for the recognition of glyphosate as an emerging organic contaminant and substantial potential exists for collaborative research among ecologists, toxicologists, and chemists to quantify the impact of glyphosate on wildlife and to evaluate the role of biosentinel species in a preemptive move to mitigate downstream impacts on people. There is scope to develop a decision framework to aid the choice of species to biomonitor and analysis methods based on the target contaminant, spatial and temporal extent of contamination, and perceived risk. Birds in particular offer considerable potential in this role because they span agricultural and urban environments, coastal, inland, and wetland ecosystems where glyphosate residues are known to be present.     

Human milk contamination by nine organochlorine pesticide residues (OCPs)

Abstract

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are widely used around the world as insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, nematicides, and rodenticides. Despite banned in Brazil, the usage remains occurring in many countries. The persistence and extreme mobility of OCPs contribute to the contamination of the environment and the human body. The OCPs bioaccumulation in adipose tissue triggers the excretion into human milk during breastfeeding. Hence, the present study determined eighteen OCPs residues in the breast milk of mothers from the Western Region of Bahia State, Brazil. Nine different residue species were found, including beta-Hexachlorocyclohexane (9.24?±?0.00?ng g^?1 fat), delta- Hexachlorocyclohexane (22.15?±?10.48?ng g^?1 fat), Heptachlor (58.08?±?74.13?ng g^?1 fat), Aldrin (142.65?±?50.65?ng g^?1 fat), Dieldrin (774.62?±?472.68?ng g^?1 fat), Endosulfan I (408.44?±?245.51?ng g^?1 fat), Dichloro-diphenyl-dichloro-ethylene (29.17?±?22.42?ng g^?1 fat), Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane (28.87?±?0.00?ng g^?1 fat) and Methoxychlor (1699.67?±?797.43?ng g^?1 fat). The Methoxychlor presence in all samples may reveal a recent exposure, while Dieldrin and Endosulfan I analyses can point to distant past exposure.     

Quantum chemical investigation on photodegradation mechanisms of sulfamethoxypyridazine with dissolved inorganic matter and hydroxyl radical

Sulfamethoxypyridazine(SMP) is one of the commonly used sulfonamide antibiotics(SAs).SAs are mainly studied to undergo triplet-sensitized photodegradation in water under natural sunlight with other coexisting aquatic environmental organic pollutants.In this work,SMP was selected as a representative of SAs.We studied the mechanisms of triplet-sensitized photodegradation of SMP and the influence of selected dissolved inorganic matter,i.e.,anions(Br~-,Cl~-,and NO~-_3) and cations ions(Ca~(2+),Mg~(2+),and Zn~(2+)) on SMP photodegradation mechanism by quantum chemical methods.In addition,the degradation mechanisms of SMP by hydroxyl radical(OH·) were also investigated.The creation of SO_2 extrusion product was accessed with two different energy pathways(pathway-1 and pathway-2) by following two steps(step-I and step-II) in the tripletsensitized photodegradation of SMP.Due to low activation energy,the pathway-1 was considered as the main pathway to obtain SO_2 extrusion product.Step-II of pathway-1 was measured to be the rate-limiting step(RLS) of SMP photodegradation mechanism and the effect of the selected anions and cations was estimated for this step.All selected anions and cations promoted photodegradation of SMP by dropping the activation energy of pathway-1.The estimated low activation energies of different degradation pathways of SMP with OH·radical indicate that OH·radical is a very powerful oxidizing agent for SMP degradation via attack through benzene derivative and pyridazine derivative ring.     

Influence of agricultural activities, forest fires and agro-industries on air quality in Thailand

Annual and monthly-based emission inventories in northern, central and north-eastern provinces in Thailand, where agriculture and related agro-industries are very intensive, were estimated to evaluate the contribution of agricultural activity, including crop residue burning, forest fires and related agro-industries on air quality monitored in corresponding provinces. The monthly-based emission inventories of air pollutants, or, particulate matter (PM), NOx and SO₂, for various agricultural crops were estimated based on information on the level of production of typical crops: rice, corn, sugarcane, cassava, soybeans and potatoes using emission factors and other parameters related to country-specific values taking into account crop type and the local residue burning period. The estimated monthly emission inventory was compared with air monitoring data obtained at monitoring stations operated by the Pollution Control Department, Thailand (PCD) for validating the estimated emission inventory. The agro-industry that has the greatest impact on the regions being evaluated, is the sugar processing industry, which uses sugarcane as a raw material and its residue as fuel for the boiler. The backward trajectory analysis of the air mass arriving at the PCD station was calculated to confirm this influence. For the provinces being evaluated which are located in the upper northern, lower northern and northeast in Thailand, agricultural activities and forest fires were shown to be closely correlated to the ambient PM concentration while their contribution to the production of gaseous pollutants is much less.     

基于能源-环境情景模拟的北京市大气污染对居民健康风险评价研究

保护居民健康是北京市能源系统优化管理和大气污染治理的重要目标.本研究基于北京市的社会经济发展目标并结合相关节能减排和环保要求,针对全市2010-2020年间的能源消费分别设计了高、中、低3种约束情景,通过LEAP模型预测了全市至2020年的能源消费量与S02、NOx、PM10和PM2.5等4种主要大气污染物的排放强度,并采用泊松回归模型对3种情景下主城区居民受环境空气中这4种大气污染物的暴露危害所导致的健康风险进行了评估.结果显示:相对低约束情景,高约束情景至2020年可避免与S02、NOx、PM10和PM2.5污染相关的死亡危害分别为2663、6359、4720和4104人·a-1,而且在高约束情景下煤炭消费比重每下降1％,可相应地避免约1400人·a-1的污染急性死亡.由此建议北京市实施更加严格的节能和减排措施,严控煤炭消费总量,进一步优化能源结构,最大程度地降低能源消费导致的大气污染所产生的居民健康风险.     

饮用水水源地严格管理水质的对策分析——对实行严格水资源管理问题上的看法和建议

2012年1月国务院发布了《关于实行最严格水资源管理制度的意见》,这是众所关注的要事,实行了最严格水资源管理的原则精神以及确定县级以上政府负总责的规定.但对如何严格管理的技术路线和对策措施上,特针对现实中存在的主要问题提出以下3点看法和建议:①达到地面水环境质量Ⅱ类水质的饮用水水源地不一定未受污染;②保护区内企业车间排水口符合第一类污染物最高允许排放浓度规定是满足饮用水水源地要求的必要条件;③《地面水环境质量标准》(GB 3838-2002)对第一类污染物规定的Ⅱ类水质,是否体现了水环境背景值有较大存疑.     

在用车I／M制度的脆性及脆性源研究

I／M制度作为一个系统存在着脆性源,如果该制度在运行过程中控制不好脆性源,则其有效实施将受到影响。利用系统脆性理论对该制度进行分析研究找出L／M制度系统的脆性源以及解决措施是其分析研究的目的。在系统子因子中从业人员素质、仪器设备是最大的脆性源,但是其均被维修企业和检测企业所包含。综合分析研究结果显示,由于其在维修企业的脆性度比在检测企业的脆性度大,所以维修企业是该制度最重要的脆性源。用系统脆性理论分析方法分析I／M制度的脆性是一种科学、有效和实用的方法,具有较好的应用前景,为保障更好的运行I／M制度以有效的控制在用车的排放提供了理论依据。     

浦东新区“十二五”主要工业污染物排放总量预测及控制对策研究

文章以2010年污染源普查动态更新数据为基础,分析了目前浦东新区主要工业污染物的排放现状,掌握了浦东新区工业源主要能源消耗及污染物排放情况,重点工业源主要污染物行业分布和时空分布。根据浦东新区社会经济发展和环境保护的实际情况,采用情景分析法,设置三种不同工业增加值年增长率情景对浦东新区2015年主要工业污染物的排放量进行了预测,并结合浦东新区“十二五”主要污染物排放总量控制目标作了可达性分析,在此基础上,提出了浦东新区“十二五”主要工业污染物总量控制的对策措施。     

饮用水源地污染物监控与应急预警机制

为实施流域饮用水资源有效保护,从技术管理层面分析流域水资源共享过程中标准体系的构成与作用。对现阶段实施的生活饮用水卫生标准、地表水环境质量标准和排水标准中涵盖的有机污染物进行对称性分析,指出标准体系中存在的技术风险以及生活污水和工业废水混排存在的管理风险,并针对管理风险提出应急预警对策。     

风浪作用下海岸区域的酸性污染物扩散

基于风浪和水流计算模型,综合考虑风浪作用的影响,建立了计算酸性污染物的输移扩散模型。通过计算三门湾海域在常浪向情况下四个时刻的污染物排放模式,将有无风浪影响的两者结果进行对比,初步分析了风浪作用下的酸性污染物扩散规律。结果认为:潮型、排放时刻、风浪等因素都会使酸性污染物的扩散面积与污染持续时间发生变化;并且在该方向风浪影响下,扩散面积与污染持续时间都有减小的趋势。