Uptake and Dupuration of Petroleum Hydrocarbons By the Backwater Clam,Meretrix Casta Chemnitz

Meretrix casta were experimentally exposed to water soluble fractions of refined and crude oil and their rate of accumulation of the petroleum hydrocarbons including total and individual aromatics viz., naphthalene, methylnaphthalene and dimethylnaphthalene, was studied. Subsequent transfer to clean waters in the laboratory and field resulted in depuration of the accumulated hydrocarbons from tissues. in general, the rate of discharge was found to be dependent on the concentration that the animals had been earlier exposed to and also the alkylation of aromatic hydrocarbons. Occasional increases were observed in the hydrocarbon values of clams which were placed in the field, compared to their laboratory counterparts, suggesting an intermittent source of petroleum hydrocarbon input into the environment. the influence on the rate of uptake, release and retention of hydrocarbons in the clams is discussed.     

Modeling toxic endpoints for improving human health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – parent compounds and simple mixtures

Risk assessments for mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are problematic due to the lack of available potency and toxicity data on individual compounds and mixtures. This article examines the toxicity of parent compounds and designed mixtures of PAH in order to bridge the gap between component assessment and mixture assessment for this class of ubiquitous compounds. The objective for this study was to test seven parent PAH compounds and four PAH mixtures in a set of three bioassays to evaluate the toxicity of parent compound PAH and binary mixtures of PAH. PAH and mixtures were examined in the Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity assay, a Gap Junction Intercellular Communication assay, and the 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase assay. These assays were chosen for their ability to measure specific toxic endpoints related to the carcinogenic process (i.e. initiation, promotion, and progression). Two compounds similar in structure, benzo(a) pyrene (BAP) and benzanthracene, consistently produced positive results in all three bioassays. Conversely, a linear PAH, anthracene, produced negative results in all three bioassays. An antagonistic response was observed for the mixtures in all three bioassays. Chemical structure was important in explaining the observed responses. Using chemical structure–activity relationships with the steps of the carcinogenic process may be used to improve estimates of toxicity for compounds and mixtures for human health risk assessments.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in different forest humus types

The behavior of 20 PAH in the organic layers of a L mull, an Of mull and a mor was assessed by a combined approach of a soil profile study, and the analysis of particle-size separates. Increasing PAH concentrations with depth in the mor profile (L, 866 μg kg⁻³; Of, 2902 μg kg⁻¹; Oh, 10489 ug kg⁻¹) were assigned to selective enrichment during organic matter decomposition. PAH were further highly enriched within the finer separates. For the L horizons, significant positive correlations were established between the enrichment of individual PAH (as observed from the decomposition gradient between the >2-mm fraction and the < 0.05-mm fraction), and the K_OW for each compound. The slope of the regression line, m, described the degree of differentiation between low- and high-molecular PAH during litter decomposition. Since m was greatest in the most biologically active humus type (L mull, 0.33) and smallest in the most inactive (mor, 0.20), microbial breakdown was assumed as the dominating process for this differentiation. The results also indicated that decomposition processes had already taken place in the L horizons, leading to morphological and chemical changes of organic matter, and to an enrichment of high molecular PAH.     

DOC和CDPF对柴油公交车颗粒物组分影响

以一辆柴油公交车为试验样车,在重型底盘测功机上运行中国典型城市公交循环(CCBC),收集尾气颗粒物以分析柴油车安装不同后处理装置的颗粒物组分排放特性.结果表明,原机颗粒物总碳组分中元素碳(EC)比有机碳(OC)多,测得有机组分中,脂肪酸占60.9%,直链烷烃占32.4%,藿烷和PAHs较少.脂肪酸主要是C16:0,C18、C14和C18:1也较多,直链烷烃主要分布于C18~C24,C21H44和C22H46最多.PAHs质量排放以中小分子量为主,Pyr最多,FL和PA也较多,毒性则以中高分子量为主,Ba P毒性最强,B(b+k)F、Ba A以及Icd P也是主要毒性组分.DOC后PAHs总毒性降低2.7%,不同CDPF后总毒性进一步降低89.6%~93.8%.DOC和CDPF对总碳组分的减排率分别为18.9%和70.5%~72.5%,但对不同组分的减排效果差别较大,不同贵金属负载量的CDPF对各组分减排效果无明显影响.