Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology最新文献

Pollution from past industrial activities can remain unnoticed for years or even decades because the pollutant has only recently gained attention or been identified by measurements. Modeling the emission history of pollution is essential for estimating population exposure and apportioning potential liability among stakeholders. This paper proposes a novel approach for reconstructing the history of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) pollution from municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) with unknown past emissions. The proposed methodology relies on the search for technical and operational data on the pollution source in archives, the extraction of representative data from the scientific literature, and the use of kinetic models of the formation and decomposition of PCDD/Fs within combustion chambers. This new methodological tool allows to estimate any MSWI’s stack emission and relative profile of seventeen PCDD/F congeners over time. The approach is validated through a case study of an MSWI in Switzerland. The modeled congener profile achieved a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.98 with measurements in fly ash washwater. Additionally, the simulated soil quantity (1,115–1,419 gTEQ _WHO-2005 or 1,283–1,698 gTEQ_WHO-2022) agrees in order of magnitude with the estimated quantity from measurements (371 gTEQ _WHO-2005 or 425 gTEQ _WHO-2022).

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This study investigates airborne concentrations of six insecticides widely used on crops grown in agricultural, semi-urban, and rural areas of Bursa Province, Türkiye. Sorbent-impregnated passive air samplers (SIP-PASs), consisting of polyurethane foam (PUF) disks impregnated with XAD-2 resin, were deployed at ten strategically selected sites representing diverse agricultural and demographic profiles within the province. Analytes were quantified using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) for depuration compounds and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) for target insecticides. Although this study focused solely on insecticides, future research should expand monitoring to include herbicides and fungicides—especially those applied to fruit crops—to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of airborne pesticide exposure. Spatial and temporal concentration patterns were analyzed, alongside Clausius–Clapeyron and back-trajectory analyses to assess temperature-driven volatilization and potential source regions. Health risks were evaluated for various age groups, with emphasis on children. The results offer new insights into CUP behavior and associated inhalation risks in intensively farmed regions. Average CUP concentrations were three times higher in agricultural areas than semirural, and nine times higher than rural zones, with peak levels in Ağaköy, Kestel, Demirtaş, and Mudanya. Concentrations were significantly elevated during warm periods. Temperature effects were evaluated using the Clausius–Clapeyron equation, while cluster analysis indicated long-range transport. Inhalation risk assessment showed hazard quotients below 1 and most lifetime cancer risk values under 10⁻⁶, indicating low health risks.

Dust palliatives are used to reduce fugitive dust in areas susceptible to erosion by wind and rain. In 2015, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) temporarily approved the use of polymer-based dust palliatives during the construction and operation of a solar energy facility and, in 2019, on a mining access road in Clark County, Nevada. The areas treated with palliative are habitat to the desert tortoise. The desert tortoise consumes water opportunistically from puddles, saturated soils, or by the collection of precipitation on their carapaces. Since little is known about the toxicity of polymeric substances to the desert tortoise, the BLM is concerned with the exposure of the desert tortoise to palliative in stormwater runoff. The BLM collaborated with the US Geological Survey (USGS) to evaluate the transport of butyl acrylate vinyl acetate (BA-VA), the copolymer ingredient in the dust palliatives applied in the study, away from areas of application. BA-VA concentrations were measured in soils treated with palliative up to 90 days post-treatment, after which the copolymer became undetectable (< 0.55 mg/g). BA-VA concentrations in all stormwater samples within and outside treated areas were consistently below detection (< 0.20 mg/mL). Although stormwater and treated soils eroded from the solar facility application area were found to have BA-VA concentrations below detection (< 0.55 mg/g), it is likely that some BA-VA (parent or degradation product) was transported with suspended material. It is also likely that the amount of BA-VA transported away from areas of application was a small fraction of that applied.

This paper presents the results of a study of the physicochemical conditions and contamination of a peat deposit in a representative northern boreal bog with the persistent organic pollutants (POPs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), pentachlorobenzene (PeCB), and pentachlorophenol (PCP), as well as compounds from another organochlorine compounds, the chlorinated phenols (CPs). Despite the remoteness from the industrial sources of these compounds, a wide range of the organochlorine compounds were detected in the studied peat deposit. The maximum concentrations of HCB, PeCB, and PCP reached 9.4 ng/g, 0.5 ng/g, and 2.6 ng/g, respectively. Moreover, the total CPs content exceeded 1400 ng/g. It was established that the main pathway of the input of POPs into peat deposit was the atmospheric deposition of particulate matter (ash particulates) transported from local emission sources and sources located in low-latitude territories and adjacent regions. The low mobility of POPs, as well as the high sorption capacity of high-moor peats in relation to compounds with similar properties, lead to their concentration in the upper aerated 40 cm layer of the peat deposit, the formation of which coincides with the age of the "chloroorganic society." Factor and correlation analysis revealed that the key factor determining the distribution of these compounds in normally functioning bogs is the mineral component (ash content of peat and pore water mineralization).

Oil and gas extraction, refining, reforming and transport are important production activities mainly conducted in the Southern Patagonia region of Argentina. Several threats to natural ecosystems have been associated with this industry, most of them related to the increase in toxic metals and metalloids in the environment and biota. Birds of prey are widely used to assess metals and metalloids pollution in the environment. This study determined levels of selected trace elements including both essential and toxic metals in the blood of Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus) nestlings and evaluated relationships between the trace elements composition levels and the distance between nests and oil production plants and the prevailing wind in Southern Patagonia, Argentina. Pb, As, Zn, Se, Ni, Cu, Cr, Cd and V were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Two groups of trace elements were correlated according to the blood levels detected (As-V-Cr; Zn-V-Cr), suggesting a common source of exposure to these trace elements. The prevailing wind constituted a promising mechanism to explain an association between the oil pipe-derived trace elements and the exposure of nestlings. Nestlings showed elevated levels of As, Se, Cd, Ni and Zn, which were higher than reference levels reported for other raptor populations. These results indicate that nestling Crested Caracaras are exposed to toxic trace elements in Southern Patagonia. This is the first report of trace elements in the blood of Crested Caracara nestlings inhabiting Southern Continental Patagonia, Argentina, and provides baseline data of this contamination in this species.

The Province of Saskatchewan in western Canada is a global player when it comes to uranium (U) production. There are several active and decommissioned uranium mines in the northern region of the province, and new deposits continue to be discovered. Increases in U in the aquatic ecosystems surrounding uranium mining operations can lead to toxic effects on aquatic organisms. However, aquatic organisms only take up U when it is in its bioavailable form. Bioavailability of uranium is affected by such water quality variables as pH, dissolved organic carbon, and hardness and alkalinity. Hardness and alkalinity usually vary together and have often been examined in other studies in this fashion. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect alkalinity has on the toxicity of U to Daphnia pulex when hardness is kept constant and vice versa. The acute lethality effects after a 96 h exposure period were determined. The toxicity of U to D. pulex was highly dependent on hardness. At an alkalinity of 20 mg/L as CaCO₃, the 96 h LC₅₀ value for U increased from 170.1 to 4050 μg/L when the hardness increased from 20 to 180 mg/L as CaCO₃. A similar hardness effect on U toxicity was seen at higher alkalinity values. Alkalinity also had a significant effect on U toxicity as the 96 h LC₅₀ at a hardness of 20 mg/L as CaCO₃ increased from 170.1 to 1048.7 μg/L when alkalinity increased from 20 to 180 mg/L as CaCO₃. U speciation modeling using the chemical equilibrium program Visual MINTEQ revealed significant changes in U species present at different alkalinities, suggesting a possible explanation for the decrease in U toxicity.

Bats reflect environmental quality in diverse habitats, from cities to forests. This study aimed to reveal element bioaccumulation and DNA damage in the long-fingered bat (Myotis capaccinii) using non-lethal methods. Twenty-four hair samples and 15 blood samples were taken from bats caught at two locations in Eastern Serbia between July and September of 2024. Hair analysis by inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) detected As, Cr, Fe, Li, Mn, Ni, and Zn, while Cd, Co, Cu and, Pb were below detection limits. The degree of DNA damage in peripheral blood was determined using the alkaline comet assay. In M. capaccinii, there was a significant difference in element concentrations between sexes, with females having higher concentrations of Cr, Fe, and Mn, and between seasons, with samples from summer having higher concentrations of Ni and Mn. A significant difference in zinc concentration was observed between adults and juveniles. DNA damage was higher in the summer season. Significant correlations were confirmed between element concentrations in hair (Cr–Fe, Cr–Zn, Cr–Mn, Fe–Zn, and Fe–Mn) and between Cr and Zn concentrations and DNA damage in blood cells. The Cr–DNA damage link highlights hair as a marker for sustained environmental exposure. Every significant correlation that included Zn was negative. This is the first genotoxic study of bats in Serbia and of M. capaccinii globally, laying the groundwork for future research in other bat species and the wider Central Balkans. It marks an initial step toward using bats as bioindicators for noninvasive pollution monitoring.

Dust is a significant environmental concern due to its pervasive nature and potential health risks, particularly from heavy metals. This is exacerbated in urban areas, where dust can act as a reservoir for pollutants, posing risks to human health through various exposure pathways. This study aims to explore and compare the distribution of heavy metals in road dust from two distinct cities in the UAE: Dubai, a commercial hub, and Khor Fakkan, a coastal town with industrial activities. Road dust samples were collected from 29 locations in both cities, including areas with varying traffic density, residential settings, and industrial zones. Findings reveal notable levels of Cd exceeding background levels across both regions, with a slightly higher range (18.05–47.99 mg/kg) in Khor Fakkan compared to (13.96–44.03 mg/kg) in Dubai. Similarly, Zn levels peak at 587.88 mg/kg in certain samples in Dubai and reach 1802.02 mg/kg in Khor Fakkan. Principal Component Analysis highlights Co, Fe, Cd, and Zn as primary pollutants in Dubai, while Ni, Cr, Cu, and Co are predominant in Khor Fakkan. Overall, pollution index analyses, including the geoaccumulation index, pollution index, and enrichment factor, underscore Cd, Zn, and Ni as key pollutants across both regions, with hotspots associated with industrial and vehicular emissions. Representative series of the EFs are also presented, emphasizing the average extent of pollution with various heavy metals. Future work should focus on source attribution analyses and risk mitigation strategies to reduce heavy metal pollution in urban environments and protect public health and ecosystems.

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Water scarcity can intensify streamflow reduction, alter hydromorphology, increase chemical pollution, and disrupt resource exchange between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. However, the effects of streamflow reduction on pesticide concentrations in sediment, and how these changes influence aquatic insect emergence and riparian spider communities, remain poorly understood. We conducted a 39-day mesocosm experiment in Southwest Germany using 12 artificial stream mesocosm with adjacent riparian areas, randomly assigned to low-flow (0.4 L s⁻¹) treatment or control (1 L s⁻¹) to simulate flow alteration. We sampled water daily (47 days), sediment (weeks 4 and 6), emerging insects (weekly for 5 weeks), and riparian spiders (week 6). Our results show that under low-flow conditions, the mean sediment pesticide concentrations increased slightly stronger from week 4 to week 6, compared to the control. However, the high variability within treatments resulted in no significant differences between the treatments. Low flow caused a 2.9-fold reduction in the total abundance of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT), while total emerging insects (abundance and biomass) and spider abundance were not affected significantly. However, the web-building spider Tetragnatha sp. was 2.6-fold less abundant under low-flow conditions, likely due to vegetation–habitat-related responses and reduced EPT abundance, while the ground-hunting Lycosidae were unaffected, owing to their active hunting behavior and generalist strategy. These findings highlight the need to consider cross-ecosystem effects when assessing the ecological impacts of hydrological alterations in contaminated aquatic ecosystems.

Aquatic insect larvae in high mountain streams reflect natural changes in water chemistry, making them effective bioindicators of ecosystem health. Changes in element accumulation in the bodies of larvae from the functional feeding groups scrapers and predators were monitored over a 5-year period (2019–2023). We aimed to evaluate long-term and seasonal trends in the accumulation of selected elements and to assess whether these patterns were linked to hydrological conditions or reflected post-disturbance recovery. Element concentrations were measured using ED-XRF spectrometry. Principal component analysis was used to identify accumulation patterns and their relationships with water flow rate and total dissolved solids (TDS). In scrapers, principal component (PC) 1 indicated general element accumulation, which varied significantly by year and season. PC2 showed increased in iron, copper, zinc, and lead with decreased in phosphorus and sulphur, with significant seasonal variation. PC3 linked an increase in iron and barium with higher flows and reduced chlorine and TDS, showing notable variation across years and seasons. In predators, PC1 also represented general element accumulation but involved fewer elements than scrapers. PC2 showed increased chromium and copper with higher flows and lower TDS, and PC3 indicated increased sulphur with higher flow and decreased zinc. Unlike scrapers, predators did not exhibit significant interannual variation, though seasonal variations were evident. These findings suggest that scrapers are more responsive to long-term environmental changes, while seasonal accumulation patterns in both groups are influenced by stream flow, food availability, and physiological changes during ontogeny.