Detection of DDT and its metabolites in two estuaries of South China using a SPME-based device: First report of p,p′-DDMU in water column

A solid-phase microextration-based sampling method was employed to determine the concentrations of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) and its metabolites, 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDD), 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethene (DDE) and 1-chloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethene (DDMU), in two estuarine bays, Daya Bay and Hailing Bay, of South China. Six DDT components including p,p′-DDT, o,p′-DDD, p,p′-DDD, o,p′-DDE, p,p′-DDE, and p,p′-DDMU were detected in Hailing Bay, while only p,p′-DDD was found in Daya Bay. p,p′-DDD was the most abundant DDT component in both bays, sharply different from the previous finding in the water column of the Palos Verdes Shelf, California, USA that p,p′-DDE was prevalent. In addition, the occurrence of p,p′-DDMU (with a range of 0.047-0.21 ng/L in Hailing Bay) has not been reported around the globe, and its presence in our study region appeared to stem from dehydrochlorination of p,p′-DDD, favored under aerobic conditions, but further investigations are clearly needed to confirm the mechanism for generation of DDMU in estuarine environments.     

Toxic masking and synergistic modulation of the estrogenic activity of chemical mixtures in a yeast estrogen screen (YES)

Background, aim and scope

Estrogenic and non-estrogenic chemicals typically co-occur in the environment. Interference by non-estrogenic chemicals may confound the assessment of the actual estrogenic activity of complex environmental samples. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether, in which way and how seriously the estrogenic activity of single estrogens and the observed and predicted joint action of estrogenic mixtures is influenced by toxic masking and synergistic modulation caused by non-estrogenic chemical confounders.

Materials and methods

The yeast estrogen screen (YES) was adapted so that toxicity and estrogenicity could be quantified simultaneously in one experimental run. Mercury, two organic solvents (dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and 2,4-dinitroaniline), a surfactant (LAS-12) and the antibiotic cycloheximide were selected as toxic but non-estrogenic test chemicals. The confounding impact of selected concentrations of these toxicants on the estrogenic activity of the hormone 17ß-estradiol was determined by co-incubation experiments. In a second step, the impact of toxic masking and synergistic modulation on the predictability of the joint action of 17ß-estradiol, estrone and estriol mixtures by concentration addition was analysed.

Results

Each of the non-estrogenic chemicals reduced the apparent estrogenicity of both single estrogens and their mixtures if applied at high, toxic concentrations. Besides this common pattern, a highly substance- and concentration-dependent impact of the non-estrogenic toxicants was observable. The activity of 17ß-estradiol was still reduced in the presence of only low or non-toxic concentrations of 2,4-dinitroaniline and cycloheximide, which was not the case for mercury and DMSO. A clear synergistic modulation, i.e. an enhanced estrogenic activity, was induced by the presence of slightly toxic concentrations of LAS-12. The joint estrogenic activity of the mixture of estrogens was affected by toxic masking and synergistic modulation in direct proportion to the single estrogens, which allowed for an adequate adaptation of concentration addition and thus unaffected predictability of the joint estrogenicity in the presence of non-estrogenic confounders.

Discussion

The modified YES proved to be a reliable system for the simultaneous quantification of yeast toxicity and estrogen receptor activation. Experimental results substantiate the available evidence for toxic masking as a relevant phenomenon in estrogenicity assessment of complex environmental samples. Synergistic modulation of estrogenic activity by non-estrogenic confounders might be of lower importance. The concept of concentration addition is discussed as a valuable tool for estrogenicity assessment of complex mixtures, with deviations of the measured joint estrogenicity from predictions indicating the need for refined analyses.

Conclusions

Two major challenges are to be considered simultaneously for a reliable analysis of the estrogenic activity of complex mixtures: the identification of known and suspected estrogenic compounds in the sample as well as the substance- and effect-level-dependent confounding impact of non-estrogenic toxicants.

Recommendations and perspectives

The application of screening assays such as the YES to complex mixtures should be accompanied by measures that safeguard against false negative results which may be caused by non-estrogenic but toxic confounders. Simultaneous assessments of estrogenicity and toxicity are generally advisable.     

不同类型填料的三维电极/Fenton试剂法处理苯酚废水

采用不同类型填料对三维电极/Fenton试剂法处理苯酚模拟废水进行研究.结果表明.不同类型活性炭填料对苯酚去除率有很大影响,粒炭不适合做粒子电极,采用5.0 mm柱炭处理效果较好;采用石英砂与活性炭混合填料的处理效果比单一活性炭填料好,但苯酚去除率提高不明显;电解槽反应器中按比例投加涂膜活性炭和活性炭混合填料能明显提高苯酚去除率;当涂膜活性炭与活性炭体积比为1,2时,苯酚去除率最高,达96.8%.     

负载TiO2浮石对污水处理厂二沉池出水的矿化与灭菌研究

城市污水处理厂第二沉淀池出水的污染物浓度较低,经过矿化及灭菌等深度处理后可以回用,从而减轻对淡水资源的需求。本实验采用溶胶-凝胶法制备了负载TiO2的浮石光催化剂,对城市污水处理厂第二沉淀池出水进行了矿化及灭菌处理研究。采用低压汞灯对处理水样照射2h,有机物降解率可以达到50％,灭菌效率达到100％。处理后的水可以作为农作物灌溉、城市绿化和娱乐用水。负载在浮石表面的TiO2薄膜经过10次的光催化循环实验后,没有明显破损,可以再次循环使用。TiO2浮石具有质轻、机械性能好和价格低等优点,该方法处理废水的适用浓度低,可以广泛应用于微污染水和城市污水处理厂出水的深度处理。     

针铁矿对Pb~(2+)的吸附特征及影响因素研究

通过恒温振荡平衡法研究了Pb~(2+)在针铁矿上的等温吸附和吸附动力学特征,探讨了吸附的影响因素.结果表明:(1)随Pb~(2+)平衡浓度和pH的增大,针铁矿对Pb~(2+)的吸附量逐渐增大.(2)针铁矿对Pb~(2+)的等温吸附可用Freundlich和Langmuir方程较好地拟合.(3)在相同温度和pH下,随离子强度的提高,针铁矿对Pb~(2+)的吸附量增大.(4)在相同离子强度和pH下,针铁矿对Pb~(2+)的吸附量总体随温度升高而增大.针铁矿对Pb~(2+)的吸附是自发进行的吸热反应.(5)针铁矿吸附Pb~(2+)的过程可分为初始的快吸附和随后的慢吸附2个阶段.pH影响吸附反应快慢,随pH增大吸附速率增大;随着pH的增大,达到平衡吸附的时间缩短.吸附动力学方程用Elovich方程拟合最佳.     

Isolation and characterization of mesotrione-degrading Bacillus sp. from soil

Dissipation kinetics of mesotrione, a new triketone herbicide, sprayed on soil from Limagne (Puy-de-Dôme, France) showed that the soil microflora were able to biotransform it.Bacteria from this soil were cultured in mineral salt solution supplemented with mesotrione as sole source of carbon for the isolation of mesotrione-degrading bacteria. The bacterial community structure of the enrichment cultures was analyzed by temporal temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TTGE). The TTGE fingerprints revealed that mesotrione had an impact on bacterial community structure only at its highest concentrations and showed mesotrione-sensitive and mesotrione-adapted strains. Two adapted strains, identified as Bacillus sp. and Arthrobacter sp., were isolated by colony hybridization methods.Biodegradation assays showed that only the Bacillus sp. strain was able to completely and rapidly biotransform mesotrione. Among several metabolites formed, 2-amino-4-methylsulfonylbenzoic acid (AMBA) accumulated in the medium. Although sulcotrione has a chemical structure closely resembling that of mesotrione, the isolates were unable to degrade it.     

Satellite derived trends in NO2 over the major global hotspot regions during the past decade and their inter-comparison

We assessed satellite derived tropospheric NO₂ distribution on a global scale and identified the major NO₂ hotspot regions. Combined GOME and SCIAMACHY measurements for the period 1996-2006 have been used to compute the trends over these regions. Our analysis shows that tropospheric NO₂ column amounts have increased over the newly and rapidly developing regions like China (11 ± 2.6%/year), south Asia (1.76 ± 1.1%/year), Middle East (2.3 ± 1%/year) and South Africa (2.4 ± 2.2%/year). Tropospheric NO₂ column amounts show some decrease over the eastern US (−2 ± 1.5%/year) and Europe (0.9 ± 2.1%/year). We found that although tropospheric NO₂ column amounts decreased over the major developed regions in the past decade, the present tropospheric NO₂ column amounts over these regions are still significantly higher than those observed over newly and rapidly developing regions (except China). Tropospheric NO₂ column amounts show some decrease over South America and Central Africa, which are major biomass burning regions in the Southern Hemisphere.     

双水相气浮浮选光度法处理环境水样中痕量土霉素残留物

建立了一种新型分离方法--双水相气浮浮选光度法,使其处理环境水样中痕量土霉紊(OTC)残留物,研究了其工作原理,并用高效液相色谱法对该方法的可靠性进行了验证.利用自制的双水相气浮浮选装置,选择四氢呋喃作亲水有机溶剂、质量分数为10%的NaCl溶液作分相剂,NaOH溶液调节pH,将Cu2+与OTC形成的疏水配合物浮选至有机相,实现OTC与水样分离.浮选完毕后,经紫外-可见分光光度法分析,线性回归方程为A=1.532×105c+0.1230(其中:A为有机相的吸光度;c为水样的OTC摩尔浓度,mol/L),相关系数为0.9998,该方法的线性范围为4.8×10-7～7.3×10-5 mol/L,OTC加标回收率为99.5%～100.1%.     

CaO/SiO2对流化床焚烧飞灰熔融过程中重金属挥发的影响

对掺煤混烧的流化床焚烧飞灰熔融过程中重金属在气相(吸收率)中和固相(固定率)中的分布进行了研究,并采用HNO3-NaOH2级吸收方式对气相重金属进行了吸收.结果表明,CaO/SiO2(摩尔比)对重金属的迁移行为有重要影响,CaO/SiO2降低,Cd、Pb固定率总体呈上升趋势;2级吸收对气相重金属的吸收有限,大部分重金属主要溶解在HNO3吸收液中,但NaOH吸收液对Cr的吸收效果好于HNO3吸收液;氯对重金属的挥发有重要影响,当重金属以氯化物形式存在时,其挥发受到SiO2的限制.随着SiO2含量增加,挥发率降低.     

用H2O2/Fe^3＋处理高浓度含甲醛废水的研究

研究采用H2O2/Fe^3＋催化氧化处理高浓度含甲醛废水,探讨了双氧水和催化剂投加量、反应pH及反应温度等操作条件对处理效果的影响,并通过酸溶解回用失活催化剂。结果表明,较优的操作条件为：H2O2/COD（质量比）=2.2～2.6,Fe^3＋/H2O2（摩尔比）=0.048～0.058,反应pH1.80～2.68,反应温度50℃,反应时间40 min;在上述操作条件下,甲醛去除率达到99%以上,COD去除率达到85%以上。失活的催化剂可通过稀酸溶解后循环使用,其效果与三价铁盐作催化剂的基本相同。采用H2O2/Fe^3＋处理含甲醛废水具有比采用H2O2/Fe^2＋较优的效果。