突发性场地污染应急控制技术研究进展

随着中国社会经济水平的加速发展,近年来各类突发性场地污染事故频发,如何有效地在第一时间对污染物进行应急控制及场地修复显得尤为重要.以突发性场地污染为研究对象,探讨了土壤及地下水中污染物的应急控制及场地修复技术的研究状况,给出了各项应急控制技术在突发性场地污染事故中适用的目标污染物及土壤类型,以便在实际运用中根据场地的污染类型和土壤性质快速做出响应.最后还指出,应急控制技术作为一种暂时性处理手段,可在场地污染事故发生后对污染物扩散进行快速控制,但不可作为一种长期处置措施.     

Limitations of reverse polyethylene samplers (RePES) for evaluating toxicity of field contaminated sediments

Passive samplers are used to measure dissolved nonionic organic contaminants (NOCs) in environmental media. More recently, reverse polyethylene samplers (RePES) have been used with spiked sediments to recreate interstitial water exposure concentrations and observed toxicity. In the present study, RePES were used with field contaminated sediments. The RePES was not capable of recreating the pattern of toxicity with the amphipod and mysid observed with intact field sediments. Decreased survival in the RePES exposures as compared to the whole sediment exposures was most likely caused by an overexposure to NOCs due to a lack of surrogate black carbon in the RePES system. As an alternative, aqueous phase studies were performed in which polyethylene was allowed to equilibrate with slurries of intact sediments for 3 weeks. Three weeks was found to be an insufficient amount of time for the polyethylene to equilibrate with the sediment. An additional study demonstrated 3 months was sufficient for lower contaminant concentrations, but might not be an adequate amount of time for more highly contaminated sediments. The aqueous phase transfer approach may be useful if equilibration is sufficiently long, although this length of time may be impractical for use in certain applications, such as toxicity identification evaluations (TIEs).     

Are exploited mangrove molluscs exposed to Persistent Organic Pollutant contamination in Senegal, West Africa?

The surface sediments, two bivalves (Arca senilis and Crassostera gasar) and three gastropods (Conus spp., Hexaplex duplex and Pugilina morio) from two Senegalese stations, Falia (Sine-Saloum Estuary) and Fadiouth (Petite Côte), were analyzed for their pollutant organic persistent contamination (polychlorinated biphenyls PCBs; organochlorinated pesticides OCPs; polybrominated diphenyl ethers PBDEs). Results revealed significant levels of PCBs, DDTs and lindane in mangrove sediments ranging from 0.3 to 19.1, 0.3 to 15.9, and 0.1 to 1.9 ng g⁻¹ d.w., respectively. Among the other POPs analysed, only hexachlorobenzene, heptachlor and trans-nonachlor for OCPs, as well as BDE47 and BDE99 congeners for PBDEs were detected at very low concentrations, generally not of concern. POP levels and patterns were in good accordance with literature data available for other tropical developing countries. A seasonal quantitative difference was highlighted with higher levels of PCBs and DDTs in sediments after the wet season, likely due to the strong wash-out of residues from inland to the marine ecosystems during the rainy season. The observed pattern of DDT and its metabolites pointed out probable recent applications of DDT for public health emergencies in Senegal. Exploited molluscs were exposed to the same POP compounds as those measured in sediments. They presented OCP levels within the same range as in sediments, while significant higher concentrations of PCBs were observed in shellfish soft tissues revealing a higher bioaccumulation potential mainly due to the lipophilicity of these compounds. Finally, the influence of the reproduction cycle on POP levels through lipid content variations was highlighted, minimizing potential differences in POP bioaccumulation between shellfish species. From an ecotoxicological and public health point of view, results from this study revealed that POPs in sediments from the Petite Côte and the Sine-Saloum Estuary would not cause toxic effects and impairments in molluscs from these regions, and that no potential risk exists for human, especially local populations, through mangrove shellfish consumption.     

Microbial growth with vapor-phase substrate

Limited information exists on influences of the diffusive transport of volatile organic contaminants (VOC) on bacterial activity in the unsaturated zone of the terrestrial subsurface. Diffusion of VOC in the vapor-phase is much more efficient than in water and results in effective VOC transport and high bioavailability despite restricted mobility of bacteria in the vadose zone. Since many bacteria tend to accumulate at solid-water, solid-air and air-water interfaces, such phase boundaries are of a special interest for VOC-biodegradation. In an attempt to evaluate microbial activity toward air-borne substrates, this study investigated the spatio-temporal interplay between growth of Pseudomonas putida (NAH7) on vapor-phase naphthalene (NAPH) and its repercussion on vapor-phase NAPH concentrations. Our data demonstrate that growth rates of strain PpG7 were inversely correlated to the distance from the source of vapor-phase NAPH. Despite the high gas phase diffusivity of NAPH, microbial growth was absent at distances above 5 cm from the source when sufficient biomass was located in between. This indicates a high efficiency of suspended bacteria to acquire vapor-phase compounds and influence headspace concentration gradients at the centimeter-scale. It further suggests a crucial role of microorganisms as biofilters for gas-phase VOC emanating from contaminated groundwater or soil.     

Mercury Contamination of Biota from Acadia National Park, Maine: A Review

We reviewed literature reporting both total and methylmercury from biota from Acadia National Park, Maine, USA. Our review of existing data indicates that 1) mercury contamination is widespread throughout the Park’s various aquatic ecosystems; 2) mercury pollution likely represents a moderate to high risk to biota inhabiting the Park; and 3) biota at all trophic levels possess elevated concentrations of both total and methylmercury. Watershed fire history and the resulting post-fire forest succession patterns are an important landscape attribute governing mercury cycling at Acadia National Park. Therefore, park service personnel should consider these factors when planning and implementing Hg biomonitoring efforts. Additional baseline funding from the National Park Service for Hg research and biomonitoring will likely be required in order to further evaluate the spatial and temporal patterns of mercury contamination in the park’s biota. An erratum to this article can be found at     

On the origin of elevated levels of persistent chemicals in the environment

In general, contamination levels tend to be highest close to sources of a chemical and decline with increasing distance as a result of dilution, dispersion and degradation. However, contrary to this, circumstances have been described when contamination levels are higher further away from sources than at the sources themselves. Examples are elevated levels of persistent, hydrophobic, organic chemicals in the Arctic, in mountain regions and in forest soils. In order to address the questions of why and when such an inversion of environmental levels is occurring, this paper seeks to identify, name and categorise principles of general validity leading to such behaviour. By compiling and analysing various causes of elevated contamination levels in the environment, three main categories became apparent, 1. equilibrium partitioning effects, 2. effects resulting from changes in phase composition, volume or temperature, and 3. dynamic or kinetic effects. These principles are illustrated with several examples. The case can be made that understanding, quantifying and predicting these causes could provide a general conceptual framework for studying the fate of chemicals in the environment.     

微生物选育技术在废水生物处理中的应用进展

通过对微生物特别是细菌进行筛选和培育 ,可以得到降解能力强的高效菌株 ,将这些菌株应用于废水生物处理 ,能够增强废水处理工艺去除难降解有机污染物及削减其毒性的能力 ,本文对此进行了评述与展望。     

外来污染物对土壤磷酸酶影响的研究进展

磷酸酶在磷循环中占有重要地位 ,对植物有着非常重要的意义。根据几十年的国内外资料 ,本文概述了重金属、农药、酸沉降以及其他各种外来污染物对土壤磷酸酶的影响 ,并探讨了磷酸酶作为表征土壤污染程度的指标的可行性。土壤磷酸酶与各种污染物的相互作用关系在环境中的应用方面还需进一步研究。     

Risk Assessment of Physico-Chemical Contaminants in Groundwater of Pettavaithalai Area, Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu – India

A study was carried out in Pettavaithalai area to evaluate the current status of physico-chemical contaminants and their sources in groundwater. Groundwater samples collected from pettavaithalai area in 15 different stations were analyzed every alternative months over a period of two years from August 2000 to June 2002. A sugar mill is situated at the heart of the study area. Three profiles (profile A, B and C) were selected based on the direction in which the sugar mill effluent flows. In each profile five samples were collected from five different station at a regular distance of about 1 Km. The physico-chemical parameters such as pH, EC TDS, TH, NO₃, SO₄, PO₄, Na, K, Ca, Mg, DO, BOD and COD have been analyzed. The results showed that among the three profiles, many of the estimated physico-chemical parameters of profile C were very high when compared to profile B and A which indicates the poor quality of the groundwater around this area.     

Rapid method for on-site determination of phenolic contaminants in water using a disposable biosensor

A disposable biosensor was fabricated using single-walled carbon nanotubes, gold nanoparticles and tyrosinase (SWCNTs-AuNPs-Tyr) modified screen-printed electrodes. The prepared biosensor was applied to the rapid determination of phenolic contaminants within 15 minutes. The SWCNTs-AuNPs-Tyr bionanocomposite sensing layer was characterized with scanning electron microscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry methods. The characterization results revealed that SWCNTs could lead to a high loading of tyrosinase (Tyr) with the large surface area and the porous morphology, while AuNPs could retain the bioactivity of Tyr and enhance the sensitivity. The detection conditions, including working potential, pH of supporting electrolyte and the amount of Tyr were optimumed. As an example, the biosensor for catechol determination displayed a linear range of 8.0 × 10^-8 to 2.0 × 10^-5 mol·L^-1 with a detection limit of 4.5 × 10^-8 mol·L^-1 (S/N = 3). This method has a rapid response time within 10 s, and shows excellent repeatability and stability. Moreover, the resulting biosensor could be disposable, low-cost, reliable and easy to carry. This kind of new Tyr biosensor provides great potential for rapid, on-site and cost-effective analysis of phenolic contaminants in environmental water samples.