Evaluating pharmaceuticals and caffeine as indicators of fecal contamination in drinking water sources of the Greater Montreal region

We surveyed four different river systems in the Greater Montreal region, upstream and downstream of entry points of contamination, from April 2007 to January 2009. The studied compounds belong to three different groups: PPCPs (caffeine, carbamazepine, naproxen, gemfibrozil, and trimethoprim), hormones (progesterone, estrone, and estradiol), and triazine herbicides and their metabolites (atrazine, deethylatrazine, deisopropylatrazine, simazine, and cyanazine). In the system A, B, and C having low flow rate and high TOC, we observed the highest detection frequencies and mass flows of PPCPs compared to the other compounds, reflecting discharge of urban contaminations through WWTPs and CSOs. However, in River D, having high flow rate and low TOC, comparable frequency of detection of triazine and their by-products and PPCPs, reflecting cumulative loads of these compounds from the Great Lakes as well as persistency against natural attenuation processes. Considering large differences in the removal efficiencies of caffeine and carbamazepine, a high ratio of caffeine/carbamazepine might be an indicative of a greater proportion of raw sewage versus treated wastewater in surface waters. In addition, caffeine appeared to be a promising indicator of recent urban fecal contaminations, as shown by the significant correlation with FC (R² = 0.45), while carbamazepine is a good indicator of cumulative persistence compounds.     

Genotoxicity of sediment extracts of the Berre lagoon (France)

To evaluate the genotoxic risk that contaminated sediment could constitute for benthic organisms, three contaminated (VA, VC and VN) and one uncontaminated (RN) sediment samples were collected in the Berre lagoon (France). Potentially bioavailable contaminants in sediments were obtained using sediment extraction with synthetic seawater adjusted to pH 4 or pH 6, simulating the range of pH prevailing in the digestive tract of benthic organisms. The genotoxic activities of these extracts were evaluated by three short-term bioassays: the Salmonella mutagenicity test using the Salmonella typhimurium strain TA102, the alkaline comet assay and the micronucleus assay on the Chinese Hamster Ovary cells CHO-K1. Results of the Salmonella mutagenicity assay detected a mutagenic response for RN extract at pH 6, and for VA extract at pH 4. Results of the comet and micronucleus assays detected low genotoxic/clastogenic activities for VA and VC extracts at pH 6 and higher activities for RN, VA and VC extracts at pH 4. To identify if metals (Al, Fe, Mn, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn) were involved in these genotoxic activities, their concentrations were determined in the extracts, and their speciation was assessed by thermodynamic calculations. Results showed that extracts from sites VA, VC and VN generally presented the highest trace metal contents for both extractants, while the site RN presented lower trace metal contents but the highest Fe and Mn contents. Thermodynamic calculations indicated that Fe, Mn, As and in a lower extend Co, Ni and Zn were mainly present under free forms in extracts, and were consequently, more likely able to induce a genotoxic effect. Results globally showed no correspondence between free metal contents and genotoxic activities. They suggested that these positive results could be due to uncharacterized compounds, acting as direct genotoxic agents or enhancing the genotoxic properties of analyzed metals.     

Recent progress on application of UV excilamps for degradation of organic pollutants and microbial inactivation

Excilamps as modern mercury-free sources of narrow-band UV radiation represent an attractive alternative in environmental applications. This review focuses on recent studies on the water and surface decontamination with excilamps by means of direct photolysis and advanced oxidation processes. To date, direct photolysis and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) such as UV/H₂O₂, UV/Fenton and UV/O₃ have been applied for degradation of organic compounds (mainly, phenols, dyes and herbicides) in model aqueous solutions. Special emphasis is placed on studies combining UV irradiation (as a pre-treatment or post-treatment step) with biological treatment. In this review, the efficiencies of direct UV, UV/H₂O₂ and UV/TiO₂ processes for inactivation of a variety of pathogenic microorganisms in water and on surfaces are discussed. The analysis of the literature shows that more works need to be done on scaling up the processes, degradation/mineralization of target pollutant(s) in real effluents and evaluation of energy requirements.     

Spatial distribution of perfluoroalkyl acids in the Pearl River of Southern China

An intensive campaign was conducted in September 2012 to collect surface water samples along the tributaries of the Pearl River in southern China. Thirteen perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), including perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs, C4–C11) and perfluorosulfonates (PFSAs, C4, C6–C8, and C10), were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography/negative electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/(-)ESI–MS/MS). The concentrations of total PFAAs (ΣPFAAs) ranged from 3.0 to 52 ng L⁻¹, with an average of 19 ± 12 ng L⁻¹. The highest concentrations of ΣPFAAs were detected in the surface water of the Dong Jiang tributary (17–52 ng L⁻¹), followed by the main stream (13–26 ng L⁻¹) and the Sha Wan stream (3.0–4.5 ng L⁻¹). Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS), and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were the three most abundant PFAAs and on average accounted for 20%, 24%, and 19% of ΣPFAAs, respectively. PFBS was the most abundant PFAA in the Dong Jiang tributary, and PFOA was the highest PFAA in the samples from the main stream of the Pearl River. A correlation was found between PFBS and PFOA, which suggests that both of these PFAAs originate from common source(s) in the region. Nevertheless, the slope of PFBS/PFOA was different in the different tributaries sampled, which indicates a spatial difference in the source profiles of the PFAAs.     

Network design for water quality monitoring of surface freshwaters: a review

To date, many water quality monitoring networks for surface freshwaters have been rather haphazardly designed without a consistent or logical design strategy. Moreover, design practices in recent years indicate a need for cost-effective and logistically adaptable network design approaches. There are many variables that need to be included in a comprehensive yet practical monitoring network: a holistic appraisal of the monitoring objectives, representative sampling locations, suitable sampling frequencies, water quality variable selection, and budgetary and logistical constraints are examples. In order to investigate the factors which affect the development of an effective water quality monitoring network design methodology, a review of past and current approaches is presented.     

Global fallout Pu recorded in lacustrine sediments in Lake Hongfeng, SW China

Studies on the distribution and isotope compositions of fallout Pu are important for source characterization of possible future non-fallout Pu contamination in aquatic environments, and useful for dating of recent sediments to understand the pollution history of environmental contaminants. We present the historical record of atmospheric Pu fallout reconstructed from a sediment core from Lake Hongfeng, China. The Pu activity profile was in agreement with the 137Cs profile. Inventories were 50.7 Bq m(-2) for 239+240Pu and 1586 Bq m(-2) for 137Cs. The average 240Pu/239Pu atom ratio was 0.185+/-0.009, indicating that Pu originated from global stratospheric fallout rather than from direct tropospheric or close-in fallout from the Chinese nuclear testing conducted in the 1970s. Our data suggested that Lake Hongfeng would be an ideal setting for monitoring atmospheric fallout and environmental changes in this region.     

黄河水体沉积物对敌百虫和甲拌磷的吸附

对敌百虫和甲拌磷在黄河水体沉积物中的吸附特性进行了研究,观察了ｐＨ值和离子强度等因素对吸附的影响．结果表明,敌百虫的吸附过程为一级动力学规律;敌百虫的吸附符合Ｌａｎｇｍｕｉｒ等温式,甲拌磷的吸附可用Ｆｒｅｕｎｄｉｃｈ等温式较好地描述．ｐｈ值降低或离子强度增加使敌百虫和甲拌磷在沉积物中的吸附程度明显减小．敌百虫在黄河水体沉积物中的吸附以表面吸附为主,而甲拌磷则表现为表面吸附和在有机碳中的分配作用两种吸附方式．     

对硝基苯酚在沉积物上的吸附特性1

研究了沉积物吸附对硝基苯酚的作用机理及影响因素.结果表明,对硝基苯酚在沉积物上的吸附由其中的有机质含量和结构决定,体系的pH值对对硝基苯酚的吸附有较大的影响,其主要原因是体系的pH值控制着沉积物中有机质的溶出量.在实验浓度范围内,分配作用在沉积物吸附对硝基苯酚中占主导地位.     

ICP-MS法同时测定地表水中18种金属元素

以115In-103Rh为双内标校正系统,采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法同时测定地表水中铜、锌、硒、砷、汞、镉、铅、铁、锰、钼、钴、铍、锑、镍、钡、钒、钛、铊等18种金属元素,优化了测量同位素、内标元素等试验条件。18种金属元素在0μg/L～100μg/L范围内线性良好,检出限为0.006μg/L～0.123μg/L,标准样品的测定值均在保证值范围内,平行测定的RSD为1.7%～4.2%,实际水样加标回收率为89.0%～100%。     

重点流域水系沉积物中多环芳烃标准样品制备

环境标准样品是监测过程中重要的质量控制手段,中国受天然基体标准样品制备技术的制约,尚未拥有自己的沉积物中多环芳烃标准样品。为制备符合中国重点流域沉积物类型及多环芳烃浓度水平的沉积物标准样品,对中国6个重点流域的沉积物进行了采样,获得了制备多环芳烃标准样品的原料。分析常温及冷冻2种干燥方式对多环芳烃的影响,为制备大批量多环芳烃标准样品提供数据支持。对11个点位样品采用气相色谱质谱法测定16种优控多环芳烃化合物浓度,结果表明,样品均匀性良好,样品中多环芳烃检出率在99%以上,江河沉积物样品中多环芳烃浓度区间为664~2.91×103μg/kg,湖泊样品最高值达到1.25×105μg/kg,其主要污染源是化学燃料的燃烧。为中国制备水系沉积物中多环芳烃标准样品积累了技术基础。