Environmental Science and Pollution Research最新文献

Land being a major constrain in metro cities like Chennai has contributed to the development of closely spaced high-rise apartment complexes which lead to poor indoor air quality. Native indoor plants serve as a natural medium in absorbing air pollution entering indoors mainly through balcony spaces and also enhance the aromatic and visual quality of indoor space. This research has been carried out as a pilot study with an aim to explore the effectiveness of a planting palette comprising native flowering, air-purifying medicinal and vertical wall plants in absorbing the air pollutants in the context of an urban apartment balcony space in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The level of absorption of pollutants such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, total volatile organic compounds, benzene, and formaldehyde was monitored in two scenarios one planted and another non-planted balcony using Internet of Things sensors for a period of 1 month. The results observed on a Thursday for carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and total volatile organic compounds for non-planted balcony are 984 ppm, 392 µg/m³, and 75 µg/m³ (highest due to STP activities) when compared to planted balcony with the values 919 ppm, 335 µg/m³, and 71 µg/m³. The selected plant palette has displayed minimal absorption of formaldehyde and benzene. But both the pollutants are found to reduce gradually within 2 h in the planted balcony and 3 h in the non-planted balcony after the floor mopping activity which contributes to formaldehyde and benzene. Hence, the study proves that plants as a natural medium are inexpensive and best in absorbing air pollutants thereby improving the quality of the indoor environment.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine-disrupting compound widely used in plastics and resins and associated with metabolic, reproductive, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Infants and toddlers are particularly vulnerable because detoxification capacity is immature and exposure occurs during sensitive developmental stages. While BPA is banned in infant feeding bottles within the European Union, its use in pacifiers remains unregulated despite frequent "BPA-free" labeling. This study quantified BPA migration from seven commercially available pacifiers and assessed potential exposure relative to the newly revised European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) tolerable daily intake (TDI; 0.2 ng kg⁻¹ bw day⁻¹) in a worst-case exposure scenario. Pacifiers were dissected into shield and teat components, cut into fragments, and analyzed separately using validated high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD). Measured BPA concentrations in the eluates (c(BPA,HPLC)) ranged from below the limit of quantification (LOQ) up to 288 µg/L. Based on these measured values, the extrapolated total BPA release per pacifier was 33 to 26,536 ng, with the highest migration observed in a "BPA-free" labeled product. Even the lowest total migration exceeded the 2023 EFSA TDI, whereas exposures would have been negligible under the former 2015 t-TDI (4 µg kg⁻¹ bw day⁻¹). These findings demonstrate that pacifiers can constitute a relevant early-life source of BPA exposure and contribute to already critical background levels. The results underline the unreliability of voluntary "BPA-free" claims and emphasize the need for harmonized EU regulation analogous to existing restrictions for feeding bottles and toys.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of synthetic chemicals characterized by a fluorinated carbon chain that confers unique physicochemical properties. Widely used in industrial and consumer products, including textiles, food packaging, and firefighting foams, PFAS are highly persistent in the environment, earning them the designation of "forever chemicals." Their stability contributes to their widespread diffusion across different environmental compartments (water, soil, air) and multiple exposure pathways (e.g., diet). These lead to PFAS bioaccumulation and biomagnification, which poses a substantial threat to both ecosystems and human health. Exposure to PFAS has been associated with a range of adverse health effects, including liver damage, thyroid disease, immunotoxicity, reproductive issues, and various cancers in both humans and animals. While regulatory efforts have led to the phase-out of long-chain PFAS such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), emerging research suggest that their short-chain replacements may also raise health concerns. This review applies a One Health framework to explore the interconnected impacts of these contaminants on human, animal, and environmental health. Furthermore, it highlights knowledge gaps that hinder comprehensive risk assessment and management, emphasizing the need for a globally coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to address the multifaceted challenges posed by PFAS.

On the face of growing pesticide contamination in the environment, non-target species of insects face serious threats in the ecosystem, ranging from species decline to behavioural changes. Social insects living in colonies are vulnerable to the multimodal effects of pesticide contamination, especially when they are relocating their nests. Nest relocation is a goal-oriented task in eusocial species, which exposes the whole colony to environmental stressors like pesticide contamination. In this context, we investigated the effect of a pyrethroid pesticide, alpha-cypermethrin, on the colony relocation of a non-target ponerine ant, Diacamma indicum. Using field-relevant cypermethrin contamination and simulating natural conditions of nest relocations, we asked if ant colonies would be able to relocate through a contaminated terrain. Furthermore, we tested the effect of prior exposure to pesticide contamination on nest choice during colony relocation using a T-maze set-up. Testing seventy naturally collected D. indicum colonies across five different relocation scenarios, we found cypermethrin impacted behaviour, relocation dynamics and nest choice. Five pesticide-induced behaviours (paralysis, trembling, appendage shaking, staggering and twitching) were identified and quantified. Although the majority of the colonies successfully relocated to the new nest, relocating through a contaminated terrain significantly delayed the process by 2.6 times compared to control colonies. Individual task performance was impaired as only half of the tandem leaders were working in treatment colonies. Interestingly, none of these leaders died, even though an average of 20% of the colony showed either paralysis or mortality a day after exposure. Colonies without prior exposure to pesticides preferred non-contaminated nests over contaminated ones, while colonies living in pesticide-contaminated environment randomly chose either the contaminated or control nest. Our results highlight the disruptive role of pesticide contamination on colony relocation and nest choice in a non-target ant species, and highlight the need to understand the effects of pesticides on aspects of life history other than foraging in both target and non-target species for a comprehensive understanding.

The need to find a more sustainable and environment friendly biofuel has driven a lot of experimental studies in past few decades. But, the cost of physical testing and resource constraint has limited the capability to find better and low emission fuels. This study aims to bridge this gap by developing an artificial neural networks (ANNs) model that can predict the emission (i.e., nitrogen oxide (NOx), carbon oxides (COx), hydrocarbons (HC)) of biodiesel and its blends based on the composition of feedstock and its additives, physiochemical properties and engine working conditions. The ANN model used a comprehensive dataset of 424 variation of biodiesel based on 17 input variables. The final optimised ANN model is configure to have data division ratio of 60/20/20, learning rate of 0.005, batch size 64, hidden neuron of 25 and run up to 200 epochs. The Scaled Conjugate Gradient (SCG) algorithm provided better result in comparison to the Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm with remarkable overall coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.977 and mean squared error (MSE) in the range of ~ 10^-7. The predictive capability of model for feedstock alone, showed R² of 0.980 with MSE of 2.34 × 10^-7, while for blended biodiesel slightly less R² of 0.911 with MSE of 5.29 × 10^-5 is achieved due to unstandardised condition of data present in the literature. Finally, the developed ANN model can help pave the path to discover novel biodiesel and its blended versions with less emissions at low cost.

The management of metallurgical tailings from the zinc process (MTZP) involves a series of hazards due to the presence of heavy metals and sulfates in its composition. An alternative to overcome these difficulties is the use of the solidification/stabilization technique associated with the disposal in dry stacks. For this purpose, it was evaluated the environmental, microstructural, and mechanical properties of compacted metallurgical tailings from the zinc process stabilized with quicklime, Portland cement, and a mixture of both to reduce the potential contamination and increase the mechanical properties, under 7 and 28 days of curing. Analyses such as X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy were conducted. Complementarily, mechanical response (unconfined strength and initial shear modulus) and batch leaching tests were executed to provide a complete understanding of treated material behavior. Stabilization with Portland cement reduced the leaching of heavy metals and was not effective in stabilizing the sulfates. The quicklime, due to the common ion effect, provided a reduction in the leaching of sulfates and some heavy metals and a better mechanical response compared to Portland cement. The use of both stabilizers produced the best combination of encapsulation of heavy metals, reduction in the leaching of sulfates, and enhancement of the mechanical properties.

The recovery of phosphorus from human urine via struvite precipitation has emerged as a promising strategy for sustainable nutrient management. However, limited understanding of the materials' physicochemical properties, phosphorus speciation, and potential contamination by tracing heavy metals continues to hinder their safe application. This study addresses these gaps by systematically characterizing struvite precipitated from source-separated human urine collected from dry toilet facilities and stored at ambient temperature for six months, representing a scarcely explored effluent matrix in nutrient recovery research. The precipitation was driven by natural microbial urease activity and by the addition of magnesium oxide (MgO) without pH adjustment (Mg:P molar ratio of 1.71:2.21). The resulting solids were analyzed via X-ray diffraction (XRD), solid-state phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance ³¹P NMR, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and the Measurement and Standard Testing (MTP) protocol. Struvite (MgNH₄PO₄∙6H₂O) was identified as the dominant crystalline phase (79.54%), with minor presence of newberyite (MgHPO₄∙3H₂O) revealed by ³¹P NMR. Heavy metals, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, chromium, and mercury, were detected at concentrations well below regulatory thresholds established by Brazilian legislation. Phosphorus speciation analysis showed a predominance of inorganic forms (70.0 mg∙g⁻¹ IP) within the product, which contained 10.2% P. Additionally, 61% of the total phosphorus content was solubilized within 10 days at neutral pH, with the kinetics excellently described by the Elovich model. These findings support the feasibility of converting human urine into a safe, phosphorus-rich fertilizer, advancing circular economy principles towards sustainable sanitation practices.

This study reports the annual average inner air radon (²²²Rn) levels, as well as the variation in seasonal ²²²Rn levels in different subterranean subway tunnels (STs) in and around Kolkata, West Bengal, India using the AlphaGuard PQ2000 PRO (SaphymoGmbH/Germany) portable radon monitor. For these purposes, an air radon (²²²Rn) survey was carried out at three different inner points, namely, end point 1 (EP1), the middle point (MP), and end point 2 (EP2) of different subterranean subway tunnels (STs) in three locally prominent seasons namely monsoon23 (August to September 2023), winter24 (January to February 2024), and summer24 (April to May 2024). The year-over-year average ²²²Rn level in the STs was found to be 46.7 ± 1.3 Bq/m³, which is higher than the world average ²²²Rn level. Results show that none of the STs have a higher average radon level than the international reference level set by the EPA or even the WHO. The background ²²²Rn level measurement at an open place nearby each measured subway entrance was also carried out for each ST. While considering seasonal variation, the ²²²Rn level was found to be highest in the summer24 compared to monsoon23 and winter24. An attempt has been made to establish any correlations between the ²²²Rn level and the captured meteorological parameters. Finally, established formulae were used to assess the annual effective dose for the security guards staying or performing their daily duties and for occasional commuters in different subterranean STs in the study area.

Illicit drugs and their metabolites are increasingly detected in aquatic environments, yet their ecotoxicological impacts remain poorly understood, particularly in South America. This study assessed the environmental risks of cocaine (COC), benzoylecgonine (BENZ), and 11-nor-9Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol carboxylic acid (THCCOOH) in the Biobío Region, Chile, by integrating measured concentrations from influents of 26 wastewater treatment plants with in silico toxicity predictions from OECD Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) Toolbox, VEGA, and Ecological Structure-Activity Relationship (ECOSAR). Seasonal trends were evaluated using dry- (Sep 2022-Mar 2023) and wet-season (Apr-Aug 2023) datasets, alongside a permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) to test for significant seasonal differences, and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) to visualize patterns in illicit drug occurrence. BENZ was the most frequently detected compound (>90% of samples in both seasons), while COC detections dropped to 48.6% in the dry season. COC/BENZ ratios were significantly higher in the dry season, suggesting possible direct disposal or seasonal consumption shifts. QSAR predictions indicated limited experimental data availability, with THCCOOH generally predicted as most toxic across aquatic trophic levels. Risk quotient (RQ) analyses identified "Acute High Risk" and "Chronic Risk" scenarios primarily for Daphnia magna, with notable seasonal variation. COC and BENZ exhibited parallel seasonal patterns, whereas THCCOOH displayed inverse trends, likely linked to its higher log K_ow. Findings highlight the role of seasonality in modulating environmental concentrations and risks of illicit drugs, the utility and limitations of computational tools in ecological risk assessment, and the need for targeted monitoring to mitigate emerging contaminant impacts in freshwater ecosystems.

Coal combustion remains an important energy source in Brazil, particularly in the southern region, where the country's largest coal reserves are located. However, the disposal of coal and ash residues raises environmental and public health concerns due to the accumulation of potentially toxic elements (PTE). This study investigates the chemical and mineralogical composition of coal, fly ash, and bottom ash from the Candiota (RS) and Figueira (PR) power stations, focusing on PTE enrichment and the associated human health risks. Elemental and mineral compositions were determined using ED-XRF and XRD, respectively. Human health risks were assessed through the Hazard Index (HI) and Carcinogenic Risk (CR). High PTE concentrations were identified in both coal and ash samples, with notably elevated mean levels of As (579.26 mg kg⁻¹), Cr (198.47 mg kg⁻¹), and Pb (154.11 mg kg⁻¹). Ashes exhibited significant enrichment ratios of As, Sr, Zn, and Pb (1.52 - 24.26), especially in the fly fraction. Quartz was the predominant mineral phase, while hematite and anhydrite were also detected in ash samples. The HI indicated potential non-carcinogenic effects from As, Cd, Pb, and Cr, mainly for children (HI = 0.10 - 48.96), whereas CR values for As, Cd, and Cr through ingestion (2.32E-04 - 2.20E-02 for children; 1.05E-04 -2.36E-03 for adults) exceeded recommended safety thresholds. These findings highlight the need for improved management of coal combustion residues to mitigate human exposure and health risks in coal-based energy production areas.