Journal of hazardous materials最新文献

Phthalate esters (PAEs) are typically released from agricultural plastic films and veterinary antibiotics introduced through livestock manure. They often accumulate in agricultural soils, posing complex ecological risks and severe biological effects that are not yet fully understood. Therefore, this study investigated the ecotoxicity and risks of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), sulfadiazine (SDZ), and their co-exposure on earthworms. DEHP, SDZ, and their co-exposure was found to significantly impair earthworm growth and reproduction, induced oxidative stress, and altered the expression of functional genes (tctp, ann, sod, cat, hsp70, er). Both DEHP and SDZ strongly bound to key earthworm proteins (SOD and TCTP), further supporting the evidence of oxidative stress and adverse effects on growth and development. Risk assessment revealed that DEHP exacerbated the reproductive and oxidative stress compared to SDZ and the co-exposure. Furthermore, histopathological and flow cytometric results suggested antagonistic interactions between DEHP and SDZ during co-exposure. Transcriptomics data demonstrated that SDZ activated pathways related to oxidative stress repair (peroxisome pathways) and detoxification (glutathione metabolism) in earthworms, which explains the relatively lower toxicity of co-exposure. Overall, these findings provide multi-level insights into the antagonistic effects of compound pollution in soil ecosystems and support the ecological risk assessment of PAEs and antibiotics.

Cylindrospermopsin (CYN) is a toxic substance produced by cyanobacteria. It has attracted much attention due to its widespread global distribution, bioaccumulation and multi organ toxicity. This study aims to explore the negative effects of environmentally relevant concentrations (0.5-2000 μg/L) of CYN using different life stages of zebrafish. We found that CYN exposure decreased the spontaneous movement of embryos, reduced the swimming distance and average speed of larvae post 6-days exposure, and interfered with the courtship performance of adult fish after 14 days exposure with effective concentration of 100 and 0.5 μg/L respectively. These behavioral changes were companied by slowed embryonic heart rate, decreased body length in hatched larvae and reduced spawning, fertilization rates, abnormal level of sex hormone in adults. Further analysis indicated a high association between inhibited courtship behaviors and reproductive effects induced by CYN. Transcriptomic analysis of zebrafish larvae showed that genes related to heart development, cytoskeletal structure in muscle cells, and energy metabolism were significantly altered after CYN exposure. These transcriptional changes are consistent with the observed phenotypic symptoms. These findings offer a comprehensive understanding of the toxic effects of CYN exposure on zebrafish from a behavioral perspective.

Acrolein is a common environmental and metabolic toxicant, and natural products that counteract its toxicity can benefit human health. This review interprets the effects of 34 miRNAs and 33 targets involved in acrolein toxicity and explores the acrolein-counteracting functions of 31 natural products. Since the natural products, miRNAs, and targets involved in acrolein toxicity have yet to be systematically evaluated, their integrated relationships are examined via the target-target interaction bioinformatics tool STRING using information retrieved from Google Scholar. Moreover, the interplay between these natural products and miRNAs is explored in detail and integrated into the STRING target network, with 169 target-target interactions. Overall, this review presents a novel natural-product-miRNA-target axis against acrolein toxicity. It sheds light on a number of viable research directions for understanding the effects of acrolein toxicity, as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying its alleviation, via a systematic analysis of natural products, miRNAs, and target interactions.

This study provides a global review of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) occurrence in industrial wastewater from six key industrial sectors and critically evaluates the performance of currently employed treatment processes for removing PFAS from wastewater. The analysis incorporates publicly available data (2006.11-2025.02) from 205 industrial sites across Asia, Europe, and North America. The dataset includes 1635 concentration records from targeted analysis (77 PFAS) and 137 records from non-targeted analysis (31 PFAS). The results revealed pronounced sectoral clustering in terms of data availability: fluorochemical, electronics, textile, and electroplating wastewater data accounted for over 85 % of the dataset, while PFAS data remaining were limited for pharmaceuticals and food processing. PFAS concentrations spanned ∼12 orders of magnitude in industrial wastewater (2.1 ×10^-3 to 1.7 ×10⁹ ng/L). Fluorochemical wastewater exhibited the highest diversity (73 PFAS), dominated by short-chain and emerging PFAS. Electronics industry wastewater showed a shift toward short- and ultrashort-chain PFAS, while textile wastewater featured overall lower PFAS concentrations but was enriched in long-chain PFAS and ether-based alternatives. Electroplating effluents contained elevated levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and its replacement (perfluoro (2-(6-chlorohexyl) oxy) ethanesulfonic acid and 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonic acid). Analysis of 734 PFAS data records from 21 full-scale industrial wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) showed that advanced processes such as adsorption, membrane technology, and the Fenton process achieved removal rates exceeding 90 % for long-chain PFAS (e.g., PFOS), which is substantially higher than the < 50 % removal typically observed for traditional processes. This study highlights the complexity and persistence of industrial PFAS pollution, calling for enhanced monitoring of PFAS and their precursors, development of effective and sustainable treatment technologies, and implementation of life-cycle-based regulatory frameworks to reduce environmental and health risks.

Soil heavy metal pollution poses a significant threat to soil biodiversity. While extensive research has examined heavy metal impacts on soil communities and organismal health, their effects on soil fauna gut microbiota remain less explored. Here, we characterize gut microbial communities of soil nematodes across heavy metal gradients using high-throughput sequencing. The gut microbiota of soil nematodes was predominantly composed of Proteobacteria (75.97 %), Firmicutes (6.62 %), Actinobacteriota (3.79 %), etc. Remarkably, core microbial taxa (shared ASVs) represented 89.77 % of total sequences, indicating high compositional similarity across nematodes. Heavy metal pollution significantly reduced gut microbiota diversity and compositional stability (p < 0.05). RDA analysis identified cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), soil properties (TN, TP, TOC), and soil bacterial diversity as key determinants of community structure, with Cd emerging as the primary driver through Mantel tests and random forest analysis. A significant negative correlation existed between Cd levels and microbial diversity (p < 0.05). Structural equation model further delineated that Cd impacts nematode gut microbiota via both direct and indirect pathways mediated by soil properties and bacterial diversity. Network analysis demonstrated increasing complexity (interactions) and stability under pollution escalation, evidenced by rising network density (0.053→0.093→0.100) and declining modularity (0.579→0.480→0.464). Core microbiota in heavily polluted soils exhibited enhanced disturbance resistance, underscoring their role in maintaining stability under metal stress. Collectively, heavy metals drive a dual response: diminishing diversity and stability while simultaneously selecting for adaptive microbial network restructuring. This study elucidates the variations in nematode gut microbiota under heavy metal stress, advancing understanding over adaptive response of gut microbiota to contaminated environments.

Metamorphosis alters the concentration and composition of contaminants in insects; however, its effects on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are poorly understood. In this study, the bioaccumulation, bioamplification, and elimination behaviors of PFASs were compared between silkworms and locusts during metamorphosis (holometamorphosis vs paurometamorphosis). Perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids and perfluoroheptane sulfonic acid (PFHpS) were the predominant PFASs in silkworm larvae, while PFHpS, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and 6:2 chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonate (6:2 Cl-PFESA) were dominated in locust larvae. The concentration and uptake efficiency of ΣPFASs in silkworm larvae were higher than those in locust larvae (p < 0.05), indicating that silkworm has a stronger bioaccumulation potential than locust. This is mainly due to locust larvae excrete high levels of PFASs (41-51 %) through their feces and therefore absorb fewer PFASs. The bioamplification factors of most PFASs in male and female silkworm were lower than the predicted values, and exuviation (mainly E2 and E3) is an important pathway for the elimination of PFASs during holometamorphosis. The higher elimination efficiencies of PFOS, 6:2 Cl-PFESA, and sodium p-perfluorous nonenoxybenzenesulfonate were observed in silkworms, but some short-chain PFASs shown higher elimination efficiencies in locusts. Overall, the elimination efficiencies of ΣPFASs in silkworms (34-39 %) were significantly higher than those in locusts (7.6-11 %, p < 0.05) during metamorphosis. These results suggest that silkworms and locusts exhibit different coping strategies in response to PFAS pollution, due to their distinct metamorphic processes and physiological functions. Furthermore, the cocoon formation by silkworms and the emergence of locusts were both delayed by one or two days after PFAS exposure. The sex-specific, dose-dependent, and long-term toxic effects of PFASs on insects require attention.

The risks posed by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in aquatic organisms have received great concern, yet little is known about the comparison of PTE trophodynamics between marine and freshwater food webs. In this study, we characterized the bioaccumulation and trophodynamics of 9 PTEs in the organisms from Liaodong Bay and Songhua River. High concentrations of Zn, Cr, Ni and Cu were found in the organisms from both the two waters. The capacity of freshwater organisms to accumulate Cd, Li and Pb was stronger than that of marine organisms, while marine organisms had a stronger ability to accumulate Cu, Hg and Ni than freshwater organisms. The biomagnification of Hg was observed in both marine and freshwater food webs. Cd, Pb, Cu and Li exhibited biodilution in both freshwater and marine food webs. As, Cd and Pb may pose a carcinogenic risk to both adults and children, especially in SHR. This study provides the first insights into the comparison of bioaccumulation and trophodynamics of toxic elements in marine and freshwater food webs. Future management measures should focus on monitoring the accumulation of PTEs in aquatic organisms to ensure that the risks associated with human consumption of aquatic products are controllable.

This study introduces a novel in situ remediation strategy for soils contaminated with dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs), focusing on trichloroethylene (TCE), using solid-stabilized (Pickering) emulsions. Beyond mechanical displacement, these emulsions are engineered to capture TCE via compositional ripening-a spontaneous, entropically driven mass transfer process that occurs when oil phases with differing chemical compositions come into contact or are separated by a continuous aqueous phase enabling molecular diffusion. Silica-stabilized emulsions with adjustable rheological properties (oil volume fraction from 0.01 to 0.21) were formulated and injected in water-wet micromodels containing TCE at its residual saturation, revealing a unique dual mechanism for TCE removal: shear-driven penetration into the pore network followed by gradual uptake of TCE into the emulsion droplets. Droplets swelling and phase redistribution confirmed the occurrence of compositional ripening, resulting in continued reduction of residual TCE saturation, even under static conditions. The proof of concept was done in batch experiments by monitoring the droplet size distribution of mixtures of TCE and emulsion. Micromodel tests confirmed high efficiency, with near-complete capture of capillary-trapped TCE. This dual-action process, combining physical displacement of the TCE with delayed physico-chemical capture under no-flow conditions, makes compositional ripening with Pickering emulsions a promising soil remediation approach.

Given global concerns over antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), constructed wetlands (CWs) have emerged as a cost-effective strategy to remove nitrogen (N) and mitigate ARG-related ecological risks. The occurrence and dissemination of ARGs are mainly driven by microorganisms. Although nitrogen transformation is a key process in CWs, the relationship between nitrogen-transforming bacteria (NTB) and ARG dynamics remains unclear. In this study, metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses were employed to comprehensively examine the associations between N transformation and the abundance, hosts, and ecological risks of ARGs in full-scale CWs. NTB, particularly dissimilatory nitrate reducers and bacteria involved in N organic degradation and synthesis, were identified as the primary hosts of ARGs. Furthermore, CWs substantially reduced ARG-related ecological risks, achieving decreases of 79.5 % in ARG expression, 94.9 % in mobile genetic elements, and 88.0 % in antibiotic-resistant pathogens, and identified NTB as key contributors to these risks. Both the decline in NTB abundance and adaptive fitness costs were identified as key mechanisms driving ARG reduction and mitigating ecological risk. This study highlights the critical role of N transformation in shaping ARG dynamics from a microbial perspective, providing a theoretical foundation for engineering practice in the co-control of ARGs and nitrogen removal in CWs.

With the growth of the selenium product market, the development and utilization of selenium resources have attracted widespread attention. Electroadsorption has emerged as an innovative method for adsorbing Se(IV) from saline systems. In this study, an electric potential was directly applied to the active material electrode to facilitate the adsorption and desorption of Se(IV) ions. Magnesium aluminum layered double hydroxide (LDH) is a cost-effective material with high selectivity and excellent adsorption performance. Herein, magnesium aluminum LDHs intercalated with SO₄^2- (MgAl-SO₄^2--LDHs) were synthesized via a hydrothermal reaction. The electrochemical and adsorption properties of MgAl-SO₄^2--LDHs were evaluated in a simulated brine containing 100 mg Se/L and natural selenium-containing brine from Daba Songnuo Salt Lake (Xinjiang, China).The results demonstrated that, compared with static adsorption, the Se(IV) adsorption capacity of MgAl-SO₄^2--LDHs increased by 60.82 % when a positive voltage of 1.0 V was applied. Furthermore, the MgAl-SO₄^2--LDHs electrode retained 93.51 % of its adsorption efficiency after five adsorption-desorption cycles. The adsorption mechanism of MgAl-SO₄^2--LDHs was analyzed using electrochemical measurements combined with characterization techniques including XRD, XPS, TGA, and FTIR. Theoretical calculation results revealed that a large number of Se(IV) adsorption sites within the interlayers of MgAl-SO₄^2--LDHs remain unutilized. It is anticipated that the Se(IV) adsorption capacity of MgAl-SO₄^2--LDHs can be further enhanced by adjusting their interlayer spacing.This study presents a novel method for the electrochemical adsorption of Se(IV) using magnesium aluminum LDH as an adsorbent and provides new insights into its underlying adsorption mechanism.