Part V—sorption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products

Background, aim, and scope  Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) including antibiotics, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and veterinary pharmaceuticals are emerging pollutants, and their environmental risk was not emphasized until a decade ago. These compounds have been reported to cause adverse impacts on wildlife and human. However, compared to the studies on hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) whose sorption characteristics is reviewed in Part IV of this review series, information on PPCPs is very limited. Thus, a summary of recent research progress on PPCP sorption in soils or sediments is necessary to clarify research requirements and directions. Main features  We reviewed the research progress on PPCP sorption in soils or sediments highlighting PPCP sorption different from that of HOCs. Special function of humic substances (HSs) on PPCP behavior is summarized according to several features of PPCP–soil or sediment interaction. In addition, we discussed the behavior of xenobiotic chemicals in a three-phase system (dissolved organic matter (DOM)–mineral–water). The complexity of three-phase systems was also discussed. Results  Nonideal sorption of PPCPs in soils or sediments is generally reported, and PPCP sorption behavior is relatively a more complicated process compared to HOC sorption, such as the contribution of inorganic fractions, fast degradation and metabolite sorption, and species-specific sorption mechanism. Thus, mechanistic studies are urgently needed for a better understanding of their environmental risk and for pollution control. Discussion  Recent research progress on nonideal sorption has not been incorporated into fate modeling of xenobiotic chemicals. A major reason is the complexity of the three-phase system. First of all, lack of knowledge in describing DOM fractionation after adsorption by mineral particles is one of the major restrictions for an accurate prediction of xenobiotic chemical behavior in the presence of DOM. Secondly, no explicit mathematical relationship between HS chemical–physical properties, and their sorption characteristics has been proposed. Last but not least, nonlinear interactions could exponentially increase the complexity and uncertainties of environmental fate models for xenobiotics. Discussion on proper simplification of fate modeling in the framework of nonlinear interactions is still unavailable. Conclusions  Although the methodologies and concepts for studying HOC environmental fate could be adopted for PPCP study, their differences should be highly understood. Prediction of PPCP environmental behavior needs to combine contributions from various fractions of soils or sediments and the sorption of their metabolites and different species. Recommendations and perspectives  More detailed studies on PPCP sorption in separated soil or sediment fractions are needed in order to propose a model predicting PPCP sorption in soils or sediments based on soil or sediment properties. The information on sorption of PPCP metabolites and species and the competition between them is still not enough to be incorporated into any predictive models.     

Integral assessment of estrogenic potentials in sediment-associated samples

Background, aim, and scope  The enzyme-linked receptor assay (ELRA) detects estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects at the molecular level of receptor binding and is a useful tool for the integrative assessment of ecotoxicological potentials caused by hormonally active agents (HAA) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC). The main advantage of the ELRA is its high sample throughput and its robustness against cytotoxicity and microbial contamination. After a methodological adaptation to salinity of the ELRA, according to the first part of this study, which increased its salinity tolerance and sensitivity for 17-β-estradiol, the optimised ELRA was used to investigate 13 native sediments characterised by different levels of salinity and chemical contamination. The applicability of the ELRA for routine analysis in environmental assessment was evaluated. Salinity is often a critical factor for bioassays in ecotoxicological sediment assessment. Therefore, salinity of the samples was additionally adjusted to different levels to characterise its influence on elution and binding processes of receptor-binding substances. Materials and methods  The ELRA was carried out with the human estrogen receptor α (ER) in a 96-well microplate format using the experimental setup known from the competitive immunoassay based on ligand–protein interaction. It is an important improvement that a physiologically relevant receptor was used as a linking protein instead of an antibody. The microplates were coated with a 17-β-estradiol-BSA conjugate, and dilution series of estradiol and of native sediment samples were added and incubated with the ER. After a washing step, a biotinylated mouse anti-ER antibody was added to each well. Receptor binding to estradiol, agonistic and antagonistic receptor binding, were determined by a streptavidin-POD-biotin complex with subsequent measurement of the peroxidase activity at the wavelength of 450 nm using a commercial ELISA multiplate reader. The sediment elutriates and pore water samples of sediments were tested in a dilution series to evaluate at which dilution step the receptor-binding potential ends. In the elution process (see Section 2.1 to 2.2), a method was developed to adjust the salinity to the levels of the reference testings, which offers an appropriate option to adjust the salinity in both directions. Statistical evaluation was made with a combination of the Mann–Whitney U test and the pT-method. Results  This part of the study characterised the environmental factor ‘salinity’ for prospective applications of the ELRA. Using reference substances such as 17-β-estradiol, the ELRA showed sigmoid concentration-effect relations over a broad range from 0.05 μg/l to 100 μg/l under physiological conditions. After methodological optimisation, both sensitivity and tolerance of the assay against salinity could be significantly raised, and the ELRA became applicable under salinity conditions up to concentrations of 20.5‰. The mean relative inter-test error (n = 3) was around 11% with reference substances and below 5% for single sediments elutriates in three replicates each. For sediment testings, the pore water and different salinity-adjusted elutriates of 13 sediments were used. A clear differentiation of the receptor-binding potential could be reached by application of the pT-method. Thereby, pT-values from one to six could be assigned to the sediments, and the deviation caused by the different salinity conditions was one pT-value. The mean standard deviation in the salinity adaptation procedure of the elutriates was below 5%. Discussion  Although the ELRA has already been used for assessments of wastewater, sludge and soil, its applicability for samples to different salinity levels has not been investigated so far. Even if the ELRA is not as sensitive as the E-screen or the YES-assay, with regard to reference substances like 17-β-estradiol, it is a very useful tool for pre-screening, because it is able to integrate both estrogenic as well as anti-estrogenic receptor-binding effects. According to the results of sediment testing, and given the integrative power to detect different directions of effects, the ELRA shows sufficient sensitivity and salinity tolerance to discriminate receptor-binding potentials in environmental samples. Conclusions  The optimised ELRA assay is a fast, cost-effective, reliable and highly reproducible tool that can be used for high-throughput screening in a microplate format in detecting both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects. Additionally, the ELRA is robust against microbial contaminations, and is not susceptible towards cytotoxic interferences like the common cell-culture methods. The general applicability and sufficient sensitivity of the ELRA was shown in freshwater environments. Marine and brackish samples can be measured up to salinity levels of 20.5‰. Recommendations and perspectives  In view of the proven sensitivity, functionality and the fastness of the ELRA, it is recommendable to standardise the test method. At the moment, no adequate in vitro test procedure exists which is standardised to DIN or ISO levels. The E-screen and the yeast estrogen/androgen screens (YES/YAS) sometimes underlie strong cytotoxic effects, as reported in the first part of this study. Further development of an ELRA assay using human androgen receptors appears to be very promising to gain information about androgenic and anti-androgenic effects, too. This would offer a possibility to use the ELRA as a fast and reliable pre-screening tool for the detection of endocrine potentials, thus minimising time and cost-expensive animal experiments.     

Air pollutant concentrations near three Texas roadways, part II: Chemical characterization and transformation of pollutants

Spatial gradients of vehicular emitted air pollutants were measured in the vicinity of three roadways in the Austin, Texas area: (1) State Highway 71 (SH-71), a heavily traveled arterial highway dominated by passenger vehicles; (2) Interstate 35 (I-35), a limited access highway north of Austin in Georgetown; and (3) Farm to Market Road 973 (FM-973), a heavily traveled surface roadway with significant truck traffic. A mobile monitoring platform was used to characterize the gradients of CO and NO_x concentrations with increased distance from each roadway, while concentrations of carbonyls in the gas-phase and fine particulate matter mass and composition were measured at stationary sites upwind and at one (I-35 and FM-973) or two (SH-71) downwind sites. Regardless of roadway type or wind direction, concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), and oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) returned to background levels within a few hundred meters of the roadway. Under perpendicular wind conditions, CO, NO and NO_x concentrations decreased exponentially with increasing distance perpendicular to the roadways. The decay rate for NO was more than a factor of two greater than for CO, and it comprised a larger fraction of NO_x closer to the roadways than further downwind suggesting the potential significance of near roadway chemical processing as well as atmospheric dilution. Concentrations of most carbonyl species decreased with distance downwind of SH-71. However, concentrations of acetaldehyde and acrolein increased farther downwind of SH-71, suggesting chemical generation from the oxidation of primary vehicular emissions. The behavior of particle-bound organic species was complex and further investigation of the size-segregated chemical composition of particulate matter (PM) at increasing downwind distances from roadways is warranted. Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) mass concentrations, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), hopanes, and elemental carbon (EC) concentrations generally exhibited concentrations that decreased with distance downwind of SH-71. Concentrations of organic carbon (OC) increased from upwind concentrations immediately downwind of SH-71 and continued to increase further downwind from the roadway. This behavior may have primarily resulted from condensation of semi-volatile organic species emitted from vehicle sources with transport downwind of the roadway.     

载钯螯合树脂的制备、表征及其降解多溴联苯醚的初步研究

以聚丙烯醛-异烟酰腙螯合树脂为高分子载体, 利用其活性基团对钯的选择性富集分离性能, 将金属元素钯键合到高分子载体上, 制备一种含钯树脂材料(树脂1), 并进一步原位还原得到还原态的载钯树脂(树脂2)。利用红外光谱、扫描电镜和X射线衍射等对以上2种含钯树脂材料进行了分析表征,并考察了它们对持久性有机污染物(POPs)多溴联苯醚(PBDEs)的脱溴降解性能。结果表明,2种树脂对BDE₂₀₉均有降解活性, 其中树脂1的降解性能比树脂2的降解性能要高, 树脂中钯的氧化形态可能对BDE₂₀₉的催化降解起主要作用。     

大坝拦截对河流水溶解组分化学组成的影响分析——以夏季乌江渡水库为例

以乌江渡水库为主要研究对象,揭示了大坝拦截条件下的夏季水化学特征：阴离子以HCO-3,SO2-4为主,阳离子以Ca2+,Mg2+为主,其余离子含量低于10%,说明了碳酸盐岩的风化对水体化学组成起到了主要控制作用,蒸发盐岩石的风化对水体化学组成影响较小。水库水体存在温度分层现象,形成了不同层位的水体有着不同的水化学组成,即水化学分层。水化学的分层形成了溶解组分在水库垂直深度上的规律分布,比如受藻类的影响,Si和叶绿素随深度成相反的变化特征;HCO-3受光合作用和有机质降解的影响,30 m 以上随着水深的增加而递增,30 m 以下呈现相反趋势;水库泄水方式明显改变了水化学各种参数和离子在水体中的分配。乌江水库两主要支流（息烽河和偏岩河）分别对乌江渡坝前水体中的Ca2+,SO2-4,HCO-3,Mg2+和K+,Na+,Cl-有贡献。网箱养鱼、生活污水、农业施肥、酸性矿山废水以及酸雨沉降都会对水体造成不同程度的污染。     

信息可视化在化工企业水环境安全影响评价中的研究及应用

运用data system.exe技术,对水环境评价系统功能模块进行设计;提出水环境影响评价信息可视化软件的设计方法;建立水环境污染因子数据信息可视化软件,并应用该软件对石油化工企业的水环境进行了初步的风险评价。结果表明:该软件能在识别污染因子数据信息的同时生成与之相匹配的直观的模拟环境图像,有助于管理者进行及时分析与决策;通过输入水环境污染因子监测值后,系统可以自动判定环境的污染的程度,并把对应环境质量的级别、环境的安全程度以及污染对人体与生物的影响程度在图中显示出来,能够有效地提高环境影响评价的可靠度;评价示意图中的评价因子可以根据需要进行增加或更换,有助于该系统的推广应用,建立的环境污染因子数据信息可视化模型具有很强的适用性。     

我国危险化学品安全监管网络整合研究

分析我国危险化学品安全监管网络的特征,指出安全监管网络中存在的法律法规、监管部门信息共享、合作协调机制等方面存在的突出问题,提出了我国危险化学品安全监管网络整合的主要对策,包括建立监管部门之间的常态合作协调机制、无缝隙化城市安全监管平台以及跨区域合作监管机制。危险化学品安全监管网络整合,对提高我国危险化学品监管水平具有重要意义。     

基于化工园区整体风险量分析的安全规划研究

通过对园区安全容量和危险量的分析,得到园区整体的风险评估值;提出并定义园区危安比最大临界点,用其反映园区的最大可接受风险量;运用"二八法则",确定危安比上限;当危安比在3种不同值域区间下,对应的园区安全规划的重点不同;从园区整个生命周期考虑,提出包含各个阶段的园区安全规划主要内容。     

层次分析法的改进及在安全决策中应用的研究

本文根据化工行业的特点及调研资料,建立了影响安全的层次结构模型即安全指标体系。并利用改进式层次分析法（IAHP）对该体系进行分析,得出了各个因素对安全的影响系数（权重）。     

化工园区接警处警与应急值守系统的研究

本文分析了目前常用的接警处警系统,针对化工园区安全管理的工作需要,研究化工园区综合接警中心接警处警工作的特点和要求,分析化工园区接警中心工作体系和功能要求,设计开发了化工园区接警处警与应急值守系统。文中对系统体系架构、系统建设关键问题和所需的支持系统进行了详细介绍。该系统集成了地理信息系统的功能,提供化工园区事故接警、通知和处置功能,应用重大危险源监管信息系统、应急预案综合管理系统、综合监控系统等业务系统作为数据支持,为化工园区接警中心管理园区突发事件、实现事故快速反应和及时应对提供技术支持。