Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology最新文献

A monitoring survey of antifouling biocides was conducted in the Harima Nada Sea and Osaka Bay of the Seto Inland Sea, Japan to assess contamination by organotin (OT) compounds and alternative biocides. The concentrations of tributyltin (TBT) compounds in surface water ranged from 1.0 to 2.8 ng/L, and the detected TBT concentrations in the bottom water layer were higher than those in the surface water. The concentrations of TBT compounds in sediment samples ranged from 2.0 to 28 ng/g dry weight (dw), respectively. The concentrations of alternative biocides in the water and sediment were lower than those before the banning of TBT by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Although triphenyltin (TPT) compounds were not detected in water samples, TPT compounds were detected in the range of < 0.1–2700 ng/g dw in sediment samples. Their concentrations in the water samples were as follows: diuron, < 1–53 ng/L; Sea-Nine 211, < 1–1.8 ng/L; Irgarol 1051, < 1–4.0 ng/L; dichlofluanid, < 1–343 ng/L; and chlorothalonil, < 1–1 ng/L, and the ranges of these alternative compounds in sediment samples were diuron, 32–488 ng/g dw; Sea-Nine 211, 47–591 ng/g dw; Irgarol, 33–128 ng/g dw; dichlofluanid, 67–8038 ng/g dw; and chlorothalonil, 31–2975 ng/g dw. Thus, the OTs and alternative biocides have still been detected in water and sediment samples from closed sea areas.

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) was exposed through the diet to a mixture of non-ionic organic chemicals for 28 d, followed by a depuration phase, in accordance with OECD method 305. The mixture included hexachlorobenzene (HCB), 2,2′,5,5′-tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB-52), 2,2′,5,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB-153), decachlorobiphenyl (PCB-209), decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE209), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE), bis-(2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromophthalate (TBPH), perchloro-p-terphenyl (p-TCP), perchloro-m-terphenyl (m-TCP), and perchloro-p-quaterphenyl (p-QTCP), the latter six of which are considered highly hydrophobic based on n-octanol/water partition coefficients (K_OW) greater than 10⁸. All chemicals had first-order uptake and elimination kinetics except p-QTCP, whose kinetics could not be verified due to limitations of analytical detection in the elimination phase. For HCB and PCBs, the growth-corrected elimination rates (k_2g), assimilation efficiencies (α), and biomagnification factors (BMF_L) corrected for lipid content compared well with literature values. For the highly hydrophobic chemicals, elimination rates were faster than the rates for HCB and PCBs, and α’s and BMF_Ls were much lower than those of HCB and PCBs, i.e., ranging from 0.019 to 2.8%, and from 0.000051 to 0.023 (g-lipid/g-lipid), respectively. As a result, the highly hydrophobic organic chemicals were found be much less bioavailable and bioaccumulative than HCB and PCBs. Based on the current laboratory dietary exposures, none of the highly hydrophobic substances would be expected to biomagnify, but Trophic Magnification Factors (TMFs) > 1 have been reported from field studies for TBPH and DBDPE. Additional research is needed to understand and reconcile the apparent inconsistencies in these two lines of evidence for bioaccumulation assessment.

The effects of atmospheric pollution from ship emissions have been considered for several harbors worldwide. The health risk assessment and source apportionment of particle-bound metals in a fishery harbor were investigated in this study. The most abundant metal elements in particulate matter (PM) on all sampling days in three seasons were Fe (280.94 ± 136.93 ng/m³), Al (116.40 ± 71.25 ng/m³), and Zn (110.55 ± 26.70 ng/m³). The ratios of V/Ni were 1.44 ± 0.31, 1.48 ± 0.09 and 1.87 ± 0.06 in PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and PM₁, respectively. Meanwhile, the ratios higher than 1 indicated that fuel oil combustion from ship emission in fishery harbor. The highest deposits of total particle-bound metals in the human respiratory tract were in the head airway (HA), accounting for 76.77 ± 2.29% of the total particle-bound metal concentration, followed by 5.32 ± 0.13% and 2.53 ± 0.15% in the alveolar region (AR) and tracheobronchial (TB) region, respectively. The total cancer risk (CR) of inhalation exposure to local residents exceeded 10⁻⁶. Mean total CR values followed the sequence: autumn (1.24 × 10⁻⁴) > winter (8.53 × 10⁻⁵) > spring (2.77 × 10⁻⁶). Source apportionment of related metal emissions was mobile pollution emissions (vehicle/boat) (37.10–48.92%), metal fumes of arc welding exhaust (19.68–34.42%), spray-painting process (12.34–16.24%), combustion emissions (6.32–13.12%), and metal machining processes (9.04–16.31%) in Singda fishing harbor. These results suggest that proper control of heavy metals from each potential source in fishing harbor areas should be carried out to reduce the carcinogenic risk of adverse health effects.

In 2018, the dietary exposure bioaccumulation fish test of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Test Guideline No. 305 was introduced into Japan’s Chemical Substances Control Law. The Japanese government has adopted a single definitive testing criterion for the absence of high bioaccumulation: the growth-corrected kinetic dietary magnification factor (BMF_Kg) must be less than 0.007. The aim of this study was to decrease regulatory restrictions in order to increase newly developed chemical substances and their subsequent approval of their manufacture and import, i.e., the present study was motivated by concerns over the criterion being too restrictive, rather than scientific concerns, such as uncertainty in criterion. We used statistical post-processing to assess the possibility of expanding the criteria for not being highly bioaccumulative. Based on our results, we proposed the criterion that the test substance should be considered not highly bioaccumulative if the following two conditions are met: (1) The ratio of the maximum to the minimum measured 5% lipid-standardized biomagnification factor at the end of the uptake phase (BMF_5%, n = 5) for the test substance and reference substance should be less than 3.0, and (2) For the measured BMF_5% of the test substance (n = 5), the probability that the next (the sixth) BMF_5% is below 0.0334 should exceed 95% based on statistical post-processing. It is worth noting that the BMF_5% values should only be applied for non-ionizable lipid soluble compounds. Application of our suggested approach to Japan implies that the criterion for chemical substances that are not highly bioaccumulative in the dietary exposure bioaccumulation fish test would be increased from 0.007 to 0.0149.

Tenax extraction, a measure of chemical desorption rates from sediments, was used to evaluate the bioaccessibility of bifenthrin in two different sediments exposed to three temperatures aged over a 56-d holding period. A 24-h single-point Tenax extraction was used and parent ¹⁴C-bifenthrin and polar metabolites were quantified in the sediment and Tenax. Bioaccessibility of bifenthrin was inversely related to the organic carbon (OC) content in the sediment, holding time, and temperature. Sequestration of the bifenthrin into slowly desorbing fractions within the sediment appears to have decreased degradation of the parent compound into metabolites and decreased the amount of parent compound bioaccessible for uptake by the Tenax. These results suggest that the environmental risk of bifenthrin to aquatic species is greatest immediately after the pesticide enters a waterbody after runoff, for low-OC content sediments, and in areas or seasons where water temperatures are colder.

Chemical activation of waste materials, to form activated carbon, (AC) is complicated by the large amounts of chemical activating agents required and wastewater produced. To address these problems, we have developed an optimized process for producing AC, by phosphoric acid activation of construction waste. Waste wood from construction sites was ground and treated with an optimized phosphoric acid digestion and activation that resulted in high surface areas (> 2000 m²/g) and a greater recovery of phosphoric acid. Subsequently the phosphoric acid activated carbon (PAC), was functionalized with iron salts and evaluated for its efficacy on the adsorption of selenite and selenate. Total phosphoric acid recovery was 96.7% for waste wood activated with 25% phosphoric acid at a 1:1 ratio, which is a substantially higher phosphoric acid recovery, than previous literature findings. Post activation impregnation of iron salts resulted in iron(II) species adsorbed to the PAC surface. The iron(II) chloride impregnated AC removed up to 11.41 ± 0.502 mg selenium per g Iron-PAC. Competitive ions such as sulfate and nitrate had little effect on selenium adsorption, however, phosphate concentration did negatively impact the selenium uptake at high phosphate levels. At 250 ppm, approximately 75% of adsorption capacity of both the selenate and the selenite solutions was lost, although selenium was still preferentially adsorbed. Peak adsorption occurred between a pH of 4 and 11, with a complete loss of adsorption at a pH of 13.

²¹⁰Po (polonium), one of the most toxic naturally occurring radionuclides, is well-known as a common natural radionuclide in fish species. Human consumption of ²¹⁰Po-contaminated fish could result in a significant internal dose. This study determined by alpha spectrometry the ²¹⁰Po activity in sixteen selected fish species with different living behaviors (pelagic, demersal), trophic positions (herbivores, carnivores, omnivorous), and masses in Dong Thai Lake, Hanoi, Vietnam. The min, max, and average of the ²¹⁰Po concentration of sixteen fish species were 0.80 ± 0.44, 12.7 ± 0.20, and 3.54 ± 0.31 Bq kg⁻¹, respectively. Regarding the different living behaviors, trophic positions, and masses, the results showed trending of ²¹⁰Po_pelagic > ²¹⁰Po_demersal; ²¹⁰Po_herbivores < ²¹⁰Po_carnivores < ²¹⁰Po_omnivorous and ²¹⁰Po_<0.2 kg > ²¹⁰Po_0.2-1 kg > ²¹⁰Po_>1 kg, respectively. The ²¹⁰Po concentrations in muscle tissue were greater in fish species with a small mass, omnivorous trophic position, and pelagic living behavior relative to demersal fish with a larger mass that were herbivores or carnivores. In addition, the results showed an uneven distribution of ²¹⁰Po activities in atmospheric aerosols, terrestrial soils, surface waters, and lake sediments in the study area. The primary source of ²¹⁰Po could be supplied from atmospheric aerosols and/or terrestrial soils in the study area. The ²¹⁰Po annual effective dose for adults due to fish consumption has been calculated with a range from 20 to 400 µSv y⁻¹ and 111 µSv. y⁻¹ on average, and it is far below the allowable limits of 1000 µSv y⁻¹.

Cadmium-109 whole-body and internal biokinetics were experimentally investigated in critically endangered diamond sturgeon Acipenser gueldenstaedtii after uptake from water or food, in fresh (FW) and brackish (BW; 9‰) salinities typical of the Caspian Sea. Whole-body rates of uptake of ¹⁰⁹Cd from water and subsequent depuration were quantified over 14 and 28 days, respectively. Uptake was greater in FW than BW by a factor of 2.4, but depuration rates were similar in both salinities. In contrast, for the dietary (chironomid) exposure pathway ¹⁰⁹Cd assimilation efficiencies (AEs) were higher in BW (13%) compared to FW (9.5%). Head (including gills) or digestive tract were major repositories of ¹⁰⁹Cd following aqueous and dietary exposures, respectively, including both uptake and depuration phases. The point-of-entry of ¹⁰⁹Cd into the body was also a major and persistent determiner of its subsequent internal distribution. For aqueous exposures, the internal distributions of ¹⁰⁹Cd changed appreciably during depuration with increased activity concentrations in some body components, which again varied with salinity. Increased salinity appreciably enhanced the percentage distributions and activity concentrations of ¹⁰⁹Cd in the liver, kidney and digestive tract, which are typically most pathologically altered by elevated Cd exposure. For dietary exposure, increased salinity also enhanced ¹⁰⁹Cd activity concentrations in most body components. The results repeatedly indicate the important role of salinity in the whole-body and internal biokinetics of ¹⁰⁹Cd in A. gueldenstaedtii, a representative of both a phylogenetically distinct and most endangered family of fishes.

The aim of this work was to study the distribution of relevant inorganic contaminants in environmental samples from Ciudad de la Costa, the second most populated city of Uruguay. For this task aluminum (Al), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni) and lead (Pb) levels were determined in sand, water, and plant material from six beaches that are located in the area. Analytical methods were successfully validated. Accuracy was ensured by using certified reference materials and spiking procedures. Average metal concentrations in sand and water samples were compared with the maximum limits established by international or national regulations (when available), being far below these limits in all cases. This may indicate that the inorganic contamination in the studied area is rather low, despite the rapid increase in anthropic activities in recent years. To give a deeper characterization of the ecosystem, metal accumulation and mobility within a common plant of the zone, Ammophila arenaria, were studied. Results showed that concentrations in roots were one order of magnitude higher in comparison to aerial parts. In addition, the bioaccumulation coefficient (BAC) showed that the plant accumulates Cd, Cr and Ni, while a low accumulation for Pb was observed. Finally, a Cr(VI) speciation analysis in Ammophila arenaria was performed, showing Cr(VI) percentages below 4.6%, which is relevant from the (eco)toxicological point of view due to the high environmental mobility and bioavailability of this valence state. This work constitutes the first environmental surveillance report of this kind, regarding this populated area of the country.