Cytogenotoxicity and histopathological assessment of Lekki Lagoon and Ogun River in Synodontis clarias (Linnaeus, 1758)

The cytogenotoxicity and histopathological alterations induced by xenobiotics in Lekki Lagoon and Ogun River on Synodontis clarias were investigated. Fish from these water bodies and a fish farm (control) were examined for micronucleated, binucleated, and immature erythrocytes in both gill and peripheral blood. Also gill, liver, kidney, and ovary were processed for histopathology using hematoxylin-eosin staining. Concentrations of cadmium, zinc, lead and copper in the water were determined. There was significant (p < 0.05) increase in micronucleated, binucleated, and immature erythrocytes in both gill and peripheral blood of S. clarias from the lagoon and river compared to the reference site. Loss and disorganization of the primary and secondary lamellae, multifocal degeneration, hemorrhages, cellular infiltration, congestions, vacuolations, atresia, and necrosis were common lesions in the examined tissues of fish from the lagoon and river. Cd, Zn, Pb, and Cu in water samples from the lagoon and river were higher than the reference site. Xenobiotics in Lekki Lagoon and Ogun River, mostly metals, induced deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and pathological damage in S. clarias.     

Contamination and vertical distribution of As,Cd, Cr,Cu, Pb,Tl, and Zn in paddy soil irrigated with untreated leachate from tailings retention ponds

The contamination and vertical distribution of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Tl, and Zn in paddy soil irrigated with untreated leachate from the tailings retention pond were investigated. As, Cr, Cu, and Zn were slightly contaminated in the surface soil and hence their vertical distribution was not obvious. However, Cd and Pb were highly contaminated in the surface soil, while their concentrations decreased with depth, being negatively correlated with pH and positively with total organic matter. Tl was considerably contaminated in the surface soil and a V-shaped vertical distribution was observed where the concentration increased to a maximum at about 30 cm depth and decreased thereafter. The findings revealed that the regular irrigation with untreated leachate from the tailings retention ponds could cause considerable contamination of Cd, Pb, and Tl, and thus tailings should be stringently treated before disposal to minimize their potential environmental impacts on the surroundings.     

太湖流域1954~2006年气候变化及其演变趋势

用Mann Kendall统计检验方法对太湖流域6个气象站点1954~2006年降水、气温、相对湿度、日照时数的变化趋势和时空特征进行了分析，结果表明：50余年来太湖流域降水量呈较弱的增加趋势，冬季和夏季降水增加显著；空间变化趋势表现为北部地区降水量呈下降趋势，东南部地区呈上升趋势。年平均相对湿度表现为微弱的下降趋势，M K倾斜度值为 -099%/10 a；春、秋季相对湿度都显著减小，而夏季减小幅度较弱，冬季减小现象不显著。年平均气温呈现明显上升趋势，并表现出最低气温比最高气温增高趋势显著的特点，冬、春季增温显著；空间分布变化趋势为以平湖和溧阳为中心的两个地区上升趋势最小，以上海为中心地区上升幅度较大。年日照时数的下降趋势幅度较大，以溧阳为中心的西部地区最为明显，四个季节日照时数都呈减少的趋势；空间分布变化趋势表现为全流域呈减少趋势，由西向东减少幅度依次减小。气候变暖，降水将进一步增加，必然导致径流也呈增加趋势，在一定程度上加大了太湖流域洪涝灾害发生的可能性。分析成果有助于进一步研究气候变化对太湖流域水资源和防洪安全的影响，也将为太湖流域未来气候变化情景的构建提供科学依据。     

The NICE-Whyco technologies partnership: saving energy, dollars, and the environment in the metal plating industry

In partnership with the US Department of Energy’s Office of Industrial Technology, Whyco Technologies, Inc., has developed an innovative perforated plating barrel used in the plating of metal parts. This new technology employs a thin-walled construction, differing from the traditional thick-wall design required to provide adequate structural integrity. The thicker walls lowered the efficiency of transferring plating solution into and out of the barrel and diminished the electrical current pushed through the holes and onto the parts being plated. By machining pockets out of the traditional thick-walled perforated structure, Whyco produced a ‘honeycomb’ of staggered cells, allowing for the greatest number of holes per open area while maintaining structural integrity. Hydrodynamic pumping occurs during barrel rotation to create greater solution transfer than in traditional barrels. The Whyco barrel has higher current density plating, which leads to faster plating cycles, reduced bath concentration, and better plating of difficult chemistries such as in alloys. This new technology has helped the company reduce energy use by 16%, eliminate more than 480 tons/year of solid waste, and reduce wastewater by more than 17 000 gallons/day. The resulting cost savings total more than $500 000 annually. The company has manufactured and sold more than 275 of these barrels to other electroplating companies that are reporting up to a 40% increase in plating productivity and similar energy and environmental impacts.     

EFFECTS OF MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER DISCHARGES ON AQUATIC COMMUNITIES,BOISE RWER,IDAHO1

ABSTRACT: Aquatic communities in the Boise River were examined from October 1987 to March 1988 to determine whether they were adversely affected by trace elements in effluents from two Boise wastewater treatment facilities. Trace-element concentrations in the Boise River were less than or near analytical-detection levels and were less than chronic toxicity criteria when detectable. Insect communities colonizing artificial substrates upstream and downstream from the wastewater treatment facilities were strongly associated, and coefficients of community loss indicated that effluents had benign enriching effects. The distributions of trace-element-intolerant mayflies indicated that trace-element concentrations in effluents did not adversely affect intolerant organisms in the Boise River. Condition factor of whitefish was significantly increased downstream from the Lander Street wastewater treatment facility and was significantly decreased downstream from the West Boise wastewater treatment facility.     

Accumulation of Biophilic Elements in the Needles of Picea Species in Natural and Urbanized Ecosystems of Siberia and Central Asia in Relation to the Assessment of Environmental Quality

Variation in the content of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe has been analyzed in the needles of 19 spruce species growing in the natural and urbanized ecosystems of Siberia and Central Asia. The results have shown that similarity in the content of biophilic elements in one-year-old needles of different species is conditioned by biochemical processes, which confirms the status of these species as passive bioindicators of environmental quality. The contents of trace elements in perennial needles, except color variations of chlorophyll, deserve further study as prospective indicators of environmental quality.     

Concurrent Chemical and Histological Analyses: Are They Compatible?

Bivalves are often used as sentinel organisms in monitoring programmes for trace organic contaminants. the animal's physiological state may be important in interpreting trends in contaminant body burden. Simultaneous evaluation of physiological state and organic contaminant concentration in bivalves typically involves removal of a lipid-rich cross-section of the body mass for histopathological and/or gonadal analysis.

In this study, the bias introduced by this technique in the final trace organic concentrations, e.g. of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls, are evaluated on five different size groups of oysters. As a test case, we evaluated the use of this method in the NOAA's Status & Trends Mussel Watch (NS&T) Programme. the average biases introduced by this technique in the final trace organic concentrations in Gulf of Mexico oysters have been increasing since 1986 as a consequence of a continuous decrease in the size of the individuals sampled.     

碧水岩地下河中微量金属元素对降雨的响应特征及来源分析

在降雨条件下,利用自动采样器对广西碧水岩地下河出口进行高频采样,分析了碧水岩地下河出口水体中Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd等微量金属元素的水化学动态变化特征,探讨了地下河水中微量金属来源及其对降雨的响应机制.结果表明,地下河水化学组分表现出了较明显的规律,其中主要元素Ca~(2+)、Mg~(2+)、HCO-3等在降雨过程中稀释作用明显,而Al、Mn、TFe、Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd等金属元素对降雨响应敏感,其质量浓度在降雨过程中有所升高,相应质量浓度曲线均表现出多峰值特点,且在最大降雨发生后第9 h达到最大峰值.推断水岩作用、河底沉积物再释放和水土流失是导致河水金属元素浓度增高的原因,金属元素不同来源及地下河双入口的结构特征是形成金属元素质量浓度曲线多峰值的原因,其中水岩作用引起的水化学变化较河底沉积物再释放和水土流失更敏感,而后者是导致河水重金属元素增加的主要原因.监测期间,溶质在地下河中的平均迁移速度约为0.47 km·h~(-1),污染物运移速度较快,因此,通过对岩溶地下河水化学动态的监测,掌握微量金属组分来源及迁移特性,对于地下河水环境污染治理具有重要意义.     

Response of the sediment geochemistry of the Changjiang River (Yangtze River) to the impoundment of the Three Gorges Dam

Based on the measurement of major and trace elements in suspended sediments in the low reaches of the Changjiang River during throughout a whole hydrologic year, the origins, seasonal variations, and fluxes of multielements and the human impacts on multielements transport processes have been analyzed along with the influence of weathering in the Changjiang River basin. The results show that most element contents were high in both autumn and winter and low in summer, which was largely caused by the dilution of discharge. Weathering detritus in the Changjiang River basin is the main source of most elements in suspended sediments. However, riverine pollution could bring more loadings of Cd, Pb, As and Zn into river water than it did a few decades ago. The annual average fluxes of Cd, Pb and Zn, which are major contamination elements, to the sea were 179 ± 21 tons/year, 7810 ± 675 tons/year, and 12,000 ± 1320 tons/year,respectively, in which approximately 8.7%, 11.9% and 2.7% of their loadings, respectively,were contributed by pollution inputs. Element exports mainly occurred in the summer(44.4%–57.4%) in the lower part of the Changjiang River. A general relationship between sediment retention and element content suggests a positive feedback mechanism for the decreased number of particles, in which element riverine loadings are reduced due to the enhanced trapping effect by the Three Gorges Dam(TGD). Compared to those in 1980,current element shares of the Changjiang River compared to the global budget have declined due to the construction of the TGD.     

水泥工业区内土壤剖面金属元素量特征及其指示意义

为了研究水泥工业区内污染土壤中金属元素含量变化特征,对安徽省凤阳县水泥工业区内一条土壤剖面中金属元素(Al、Fe、Ca、Mg、K、Na、Cr、Ba、Mn、Zn)含量进行了测量。结果显示,土壤剖面分2层,第一层(0～20 cm)为污染层,该层Al、Fe、Mg、Na、Ba、Mn、Cr元素主要来源于自然土壤,没有富集,Ca、K、Zn元素主要来源于水泥粉尘的输入,存在富集,其中0～2 cm土壤的富集因子最大,Ca和Zn含量最高,指示0～2 cm土壤被污染的程度最深。第二层(20 cm以下)为土壤母质层,该层各金属元素含量相对比较稳定。由于0～2 cm土壤中Ca、Zn元素还没有大量向下淋溶,导致第一层土壤中Ca、Zn含量随采样深度的增加而减少。土壤剖面中Ca和Zn的含量能指示水泥粉尘对工业区土壤环境的污染,土壤母质层的Ca、Zn含量可以作为参考的警戒值。