燃煤电厂周围渔业养殖行为对水生生态环境中汞形态变化的影响

为研究燃煤电厂周围渔业养殖行为对水生生态环境中汞形态变化的影响,以浙江省象山港渔业养殖区为研究对象,对养殖区和对照区海水样品中不同形态汞浓度进行了测定.结果表明,燃煤电厂周围海域上覆水总汞浓度达到83.0 pmol·L-1±97.1 pmol·L-1.沉积物表层孔隙水中总溶解态汞随深度的下降而下降,并且10cm以上孔隙水中溶解态汞浓度显著高于10cm以下溶解态汞含量(P0.001),以上结果表明象山港海域水体中较高的汞浓度很有可能源于燃煤电厂的烟气释放.养殖区水体总汞浓度(96.5 pmol·L-1±133 pmol·L-1)高于对照区(69.5 pmol·L-1±39.4 pmol·L-1),主要源于养殖行为过程中从业人员生活污水的排放以及鱼饲料等物质在沉积物中的积累,进而向上覆水中释放.渔业养殖区孔隙水表层甲基汞(24.0pmol·L-1±16.7 pmol·L-1)浓度高于对照区(6.60 pmol·L-1±5.11 pmol·L-1),说明渔业养殖行为造成了沉积物中有机质积累,促进了汞的甲基化.     

接种丛枝菌根真菌对蜈蚣草吸收铀的影响

采用盆栽土壤实验,模拟铀(uranium,U)污染土壤,以蜈蚣草(Pteris vittata L.)为研究材料,每盆接种丛枝菌根真菌地表球囊霉(Glomus versiforme,Gv)30 g,探索蜈蚣草菌根对U污染土壤不同时间段的修复效果.结果表明,蜈蚣草菌根侵染率2013年9月最低为57.14%,2014年3月最高为75.20%,呈先上升后下降的年周期变化规律;同一时期蜈蚣草的生物量(干重)Gv组显著高于CK组,根系最为明显;接种Gv组蜈蚣草各器官总U含量均显著高于CK组,且被吸收的U主要固定在根部,Gv组根部总U含量均高于同一时期CK组;接种Gv组基质中总U含量小于CK组,其中接种Gv后蜈蚣草对铁锰氧化态和硫化物态U的吸收效果最好;基质中各形态U随培养时间的延长含量均呈下降趋势.接种Gv组比CK组富集系数大,且均大于1;菌根侵染率与富集系数呈显著正相关关系.以上结果说明接种Gv促进蜈蚣草对U的吸收,因此,蜈蚣草丛枝菌根真菌共生体对治理U污染土壤有良好的应用前景.     

三峡库区消落带土壤中硫酸盐还原菌对汞甲基化作用的影响

为探究三峡水库这一特殊的周期性干湿交替环境中,硫酸盐还原菌(sulfate-reducing bacteria,SRB)是否在汞的生物甲基化过程中起主导作用,本文以库区消落带原土为研究对象,以灭菌土+接种硫酸盐还原菌Desulfovibrio africanus(D.africanus,DSM-2603)为对照(试验A),在每公斤土壤分别添加0、1、5 mg汞浓度条件下,模拟研究原土(试验B)中总汞(THg)和甲基汞(MeHg)含量的动态变化、总硫酸盐还原菌(SRB)数量变化,以及影响土壤中甲基汞含量的环境因子分析.结果表明,淹水状况有利于THg从土壤中释放,且Hg含量越高,释放越快;菌株D.africanus对汞具生态适应性,其菌数与MeHg含量显著正相关:在5 mg·kg~(-1)Hg条件下,D.africanus菌数可达3.65×10~4cfu·g~(-1),MeHg含量也高达7.60×10~4ng·kg~(-1).值得注意的是,试验B处理中,一方面消落区原土中SRB菌数较少,平均仅193 cfu·g~(-1);另一方面,土壤MeHg含量较低:在5mg·kg~(-1)Hg条件下,MeHg含量仅为5.54×10~3ng·kg~(-1),且总SRB菌数与MeHg含量无显著相关性.由此可以推测,在三峡水库消落区这种非严格厌氧土壤环境中,SRB并非优势菌群,其中还存在着其它对生物汞甲基化起主导作用的好氧或兼性厌氧微生物种群.     

Preliminary study on health risk from mercury exposure to residents of Wujiazhan town on the Di’er Songhua river, Northeast China

Mercury concentrations in hair are typically used as a biomarker to assess exposure to mercury. A total of 108 hair samples were collected from residents (age range 5–73 years) of Wujiazhan town, northeast China, to determine total mercury concentrations. Hair mercury concentrations ranged from 0.16 to 199 mg kg^–1 with an average value of 3.41 mg kg⁻¹. The relationships between mercury concentration and gender and between hair mercury concentration and age were not significant. Overall, 16.7% of all samples were above the RfD value published by the United States Environmental Protection agency. The results indicate that there may be some been health risk from mercury exposure to the residents in the study area.     

Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, and Mercury in surface soils, Pueblo, Colorado: implications for population health risk

Decades of intensive industrial and agricultural practices as well as rapid urbanization have left communities like Pueblo, Colorado facing potential health threats from pollution of its soils, air, water and food supply. To address such concerns about environmental contamination, we conducted an urban geochemical study of the city of Pueblo to offer insights into the potential chemical hazards in soil and inform priorities for future health studies and population interventions aimed at reducing exposures to inorganic substances. The current study characterizes the environmental landscape of Pueblo in terms of heavy metals, and relates this to population distributions. Soil was sampled within the city along transects and analyzed for arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb). We also profiled Pueblo’s communities in terms of their socioeconomic status and demographics. ArcGIS 9.0 was used to perform exploratory spatial data analysis and generate community profiles and prediction maps. The topsoil in Pueblo contains more As, Cd, Hg and Pb than national soil averages, although average Hg content in Pueblo was within reported baseline ranges. The highest levels of As concentrations ranged between 56.6 and 66.5 ppm. Lead concentrations exceeded 300 ppm in several of Pueblo’s residential communities. Elevated levels of lead are concentrated in low-income Hispanic and African-American communities. Areas of excessively high Cd concentration exist around Pueblo, including low income and minority communities, raising additional health and environmental justice concerns. Although the distribution patterns vary by element and may reflect both industrial and non-industrial sources, the study confirms that there is environmental contamination around Pueblo and underscores the need for a comprehensive public health approach to address environmental threats in urban communities.     

Concentrations of long-lived artificial radionuclides in the moss-lichen cover of mountain plant communities

Specific features of⁹⁰Sr and¹³⁷Cs accumulation in individual lichen species and in the moss-lichen cover of plant communities were studied in some mountain ranges of the Polar and Northern Urals. The results showed that the amounts of radionuclides in lichens and mosses of mountain plant communities are at the level characteristic of the moss-lichen cover of flat ecosystems, and their accumulation depends on⁹⁰Sr and¹³⁷Cs input with the global radioactive fallout. The radionuclide contents in lichens and mosses sampled from different mountain rocks, slopes, and elevations fluctuate around this level. The differences depend both on the structural and functional properties of plants and on the climatic and ecological features of their environment.     

CENTRIFUGE MODELING OF ONE-DIMENSIONAL SUBSURFACE CONTAMINATION1

ABSTRACT: One-dimensional contaminant transport through a saturated soil is modeled using a 1.2-m radius geotechnical centrifuge. Small-scale physical modeling in the centrifuge is achieved in relatively short time, at stress distributions that are similar to those experienced in the prototype (actual site). A 0.05 mol/l of sodium chloride solution is used as a contaminant and conductivity cells measure the concentration of the contaminant throughout the porous medium. Scaling analysis for centrifuge modeling and 1-g modeling are briefly discussed and it is concluded that centrifuge modeling simulates the effect of molecular diffusion; however, scaling of the effect of mechanical dispersion may be violated in the centrifuge if the interstitial fluid velocity is high. Centrifuge test results show good agreement with the predicted relationship between the coefficient of hydrodynamic dispersion and the Peclet number using column tests. Centrifuge modeling can be used as a complement of numerical modeling although the effect of mechanical dispersion may be overestimated in the former.     

CO-KRIGING TO INCORPORATE SCREENING DATA: HUDSON RIVER SEDIMENT PCBs1

ABSTRACT: Kriging methods of geostatistical analysis provide valuable techniques for analysis of sediment contamination problems, including interpolation of concentration maps from point data and estimation of global mean concentrations. Sample collection efforts frequently include preliminary screening data of considerably more extensive coverage than the laboratory analyses on which estimation is usually based. How should these be incorporated in kriging? Screening and laboratory analysis constitute two separate estimates of the same spatial field but of very different characteristics. A modified version of co-kriging is developed to include the imprecise screening information in the analysis of contaminant distribution. Use of the method is demonstrated on a data set of sediment PCB samples from the Upper Hudson River, for which preliminary categorical mass spectrometry screening was used to select a smaller set of samples for gas chromatograph analysis. The method is widely applicable to many situations of contaminant and natural resource estimation.     

VARIABLES INDICATING NITRATE CONTAMINATION IN BEDROCK AQUIFERS,NEWARK BASIN,NEW JERSEY1

ABSTRACT: Variables that describe well construction, hydrogeology, and land use were evaluated for use as possible indicators of the susceptibility of ground water in bedrock aquifers in the Newark Basin, New Jersey, to contamination by nitrate from the land surface. Statistical analyses were performed on data for 132 wells located throughout the Newark Basin. Concentrations of nitrate (as nitrogen) did not exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level of 10 milligrams per liter (mg/L) in any of the water samples (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1991). Variables that describe hydrogeology and well construction were found not to be statistically significant in relation to concentrations of nitrate. This finding can be attributed to the complex nature of flow in bedrock aquifers and mixing of water from shallow and deep water-bearing zones that occurs within these wells, which are constructed with long open intervals. Distributions of nitrate concentrations were significantly different among land-use groups on the basis of land use within both a 400 and an 800-m radius zone of the well. The median concentrations of nitrate (as N) in water from wells in predominantly urban-residential (2.5 mg/L) and agricultural areas (1.8 mg/L) were greater than the median concentration of nitrate in water from wells in predominantly undeveloped areas (0.5 mg/L).