Environmental contamination of Zn,Cd, Ni,Cu, and Pb from industrial areas in Hamadan Province,western Iran

Eleven surface soil samples from calcareous soils of industrial areas in Hamadan Province, western Iran were analyzed for total concentrations of Zn, Cd, Ni, Cu and Pb and were sequentially extracted into six fractions to determine the bioavailability of various heavy metal forms. Total Zn, Cd, Ni, Cu and Pb concentrations of the contaminated soils were 658 (57–5,803), 125.8 (1.18–1,361), 45.6 (30.7–64.4), 29.7 (11.7–83.5) and 2,419 (66–24,850) mg kg⁻¹, respectively. The soils were polluted with Zn, Pb, and Cu to some extent and heavily polluted with Cd. Nickel values were not above regulatory limits. Copper existed in soil mainly in residual (RES) and organic (OM) fractions (about 42 and 33%, respectively), whereas Zn occurred essentially as RES fraction (about 69%). The considerable presence of Cd (30.8%) and Pb (39%) in the CARB fraction suggests these elements have high potential biavailability and leachability in soils from contaminated soils. The mobile and bioavailable (EXCH and CARB) fractions of Zn, Cd, Ni, Cu, and Pb in contaminated soils averaged (7.3, 40.4, 16, 12.9 and 40.8%), respectively, which suggests that the mobility and bioavailability of the five metals probably decline in the following order: Cd = Pb > Ni > Cu > Zn.     

海三棱藨草(Scirpus mariqueter)根系低分子量有机酸对根际沉积物重金属生物有效性的影响

应用等离子光谱仪(ICP)与高效液相色谱仪(HPLC)分别对海三棱藨草根际沉积物中重金属(Cu、Pb、Zn和Cd)不同化学形态含量和植物根系分泌物中常见低分子量有机酸进行了季节跟踪测定,分析了有机酸(柠檬酸、草酸、酒石酸、苹果酸、甲酸和乳酸)含量与重金属化学形态(可交换态、碳酸盐结合态、铁锰氧化物结合态、有机结合态和残渣态)的季节相关性。结果表明,柠檬酸、草酸和苹果酸含量与Cu和Pb的除残渣态外的其它4种形态含量呈正相关性,表明其能提高Cu和Pb生物有效性,与Zn的所有形态含量呈负相关性,降低了生物有效性;酒石酸、甲酸和乳酸含量与Cu和Pb的可交换态含量呈负相关性,而与其它形态含量相关性不明显,降低了生物有效性。与Zn的除残渣态外的其它4种形态含量呈正相关性,提高其生物有效性。而上述所有有机酸与Cd的各种化学形态相关性不明显。表明其对Cd的生物有效性影响不大。     

海三菱藨草(Scirpus mariqueter)根际沉积物中重金属生物有效性的影响因素

采用野外连续调查和实验分析方法,连续3年研究了海三菱藨草根际沉积物重金属（Cu、Zn、Pb和Cd）生物有效性的主要影响因素（生长季节、pH、P、Eh和DO等）。结果表明,植物不同生长季节的变化影响根际沉积物生物有效性的季节变化。具体表现为：Cu和Pb均在春、夏季可交换态含量较高,生物有效性较高,而秋、冬季可交换态较低,生物有效性较低,但碳酸盐结合态和铁锰氧化态二者之和也比较高,具有一定的潜在生物有效性;Zn在任何季节的可交换态比例均不高,以有机结合态和残渣态的形态为主,生物有效性较低;Cd一般以残渣态为主,基本不具有生物有效性。pH值下降,春、夏季可交换态和铁锰氧化物结合态增加,而有机结合态和碳酸盐结合态减少,提高了生物有效性,而秋、冬季正好相反;磷对重金属生物有效具有直接影响的为无机磷,春、夏季随着无机磷的减少,pH值下降,提高了生物有效性。春、夏季根际Eh和溶解氧含量增加,降低了其生物有效性。     

Bioremediation perspective of historically contaminated sediment with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

The purpose of the current study is to compare the influence of different aerobic conditions(biostimulation(BS),bioaugmentation(BA),and a combination of biostimulation and bioaugmentation(BB))on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAH)degradation and compare the degraded amount with single step XAD-4 extraction as a new tool for bioavailability assessment for chronically contaminated sediment samples obtained from territory of Autonomous Province Vojvodina of Serbia(S1,S2,and S3).A great number of papers dealing with biodegradation of PAHs in spiked sediment or soil have been published,but to the authors’knowledge,a limited number of papers studied aged,historically polluted sediment and a sum of chosen U.S.Environmental Protection Agency(USEPA)PAHs.A significant reduction(up to67%)in PAH concentration was observed,while the percentage of reduction varied depending on the sediment sample and treatment used.BS treatment successfully stimulated growth of indigenous bacteria.Further,PAH-degrading strain Sphingomonas paucimobilis F8 inoculated in BA and BB treatment survived for up to 7 weeks after it was suppressed by unfavorable conditions or native microbes.Degraded amounts generally showed good correlation with results obtained from XAD-4 extraction.Results obtained in the current study represent a good start for standardizing a XAD-4 extraction technique as a simplified,easier,and lower cost method for bioavailability assessment.     

Bioconcentration of heavy metals in aquatic environments: the importance of bioavailability

The importance of heavy metal bioavailability on the bioconcentration in aquatic biota is examined. To this purpose, mono- and multivariate statistical techniques are applied to develop correlations between heavy metal bioconcentration factor and sediment characteristics, that are expected to affect bioavailability, using a database of heavy metal concentrations in biota and sediment along with the available physicochemical characteristics. The statistical analysis shows that satisfactory correlations are obtained only when factors that affect bioavailability, such as metal oxides concentration and organic carbon content in the sediment, are taken into account.     

Dissolved Carbohydrate Concentration,Composition, and Bioavailability to Microbial Heterotrophs in Stream Water

Dissolved total carbohydrates (DTCH), dissolved free monosaccharides (DFMS), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), biodegradable DOC (BDOC), and humic substances (HS) were measured in White Clay Creek (WCC), a stream in southeastern Pennsylvania Piedmont, USA. Samples were collected over different seasons and under baseflow and stormflow conditions. DOC concentrations ranged from 1.0 to 12.8 mg/L C with the highest concentrations associated with stormflows. Carbohydrates ranged from 0.42 to 12.4 μM and accounted for 2.9 to 12.7% of the DOC. Humic substances represented the major DOC fraction, accounting for 55 to 72% of the DOC pool under all flow conditions. The humic fraction had a lower carbohydrate content (4.4%) than the non-humic fraction of DOC (7.2%). Stormflow DOC was enriched in carbohydrates relative to baseflow DOC, but the percentage of humic-C changed little. Carbohydrates were primarily present as dissolved polysaccharides (55%), but a significant fraction was bound to humic substances (40%), while a small proportion was present as monosaccharides (5%). The major monosaccharides in stream water, listed in order of decreasing concentration, included glucose, galactose, rhamnose, xylose, arabinose, mannose, and fucose. On average (30.6 ± 7.4)% (n = 44) of the stream water DOC was biodegradable, and carbohydrates accounted for 9.9 to 17.7% of the BDOC.     

Assessment of the impact of pore-scale mass-transfer restrictions on microbially-induced stable-isotope fractionation

Stable-isotope fractionation has become an established method for the assessment of contaminant biodegradation in groundwater. At the pore scale however, mass-transfer processes can limit the bioavailability of chemical species and therefore affect the observed fractionation. This can challenge the application of stable-isotope analysis in practice. A linear-exchange model provides a computational link between the microbially-induced isotope fractionation, determined under ideal conditions, and the fractionation observed under conditions of limited bioavailability. This simplifying conceptual approach allows for accurately estimating the mass-transfer limited degradation rates but its applicability for stable-isotope fractionation at the pore scale has not been evaluated yet. In this study, we perform high-resolution numerical simulations of microbial degradation and stable-isotope fractionation of a chemical species in a pore-scale model. The numerical results are compared to theoretical predictions derived from the linear-exchange model. Our results show an overall good agreement between numerical simulations and theoretical predictions, which confirms the applicability of the theoretical approach and of the value for the mass-transfer coefficient previously derived from the geometry of the pore space. In addition we provide a quantitative link between the value of the observable fractionation factor and the effective bioavailability of a biodegradable contaminant.     

Bioavailability and toxicity of aluminium in a model planktonic food chain (Chlamydomonas-Daphnia) at neutral pH

Dissolved aluminium (Al) is generally at low concentrations in neutral freshwater due to its insolubility. However, a fall in pH resulting from acid deposition and mining alters the mobility of Al and so entry to adjacent neutral waters. The present study examines the environmental behaviour, cell-associated surface adsorption/absorption and toxicity of Al at neutral pH to the alga Chlamydomonas gigantea in the presence and absence of the key Al-binding ligand silica. We then examined transfer of Al from C. gigantea to the planktonic crustacean Daphnia pulex. Finally, the effect of Al on the elemental composition (and hence nutritional value) of the two organisms was compared to unexposed controls. C. gigantea increased the amount of Al in the algal culture medium. Binding of Al to extracellular glycoprotein is probably the reason why only one-third of the biosorbed Al was absorbed (accumulated) by C. gigantea. Aluminium concentrations between 50 and 500 μg l⁻¹ reduced growth of C. gigantea at 16 days exposure to the metal. Silica reduced biosorption, accumulation and toxicity of Al by C. gigantea. The concentration of Al in D. pulex fed Al-contaminated C. gigantea for 16 days did not differ from those fed alga grown in the absence of added Al. C. gigantea contaminated with Al contained less sulphur, magnesium, potassium and sodium although only sulphur fell in D. pulex subsequently fed the contaminated alga. Chloride, calcium, iron and silicon were significantly higher in D. pulex.     

Incorporation of Heavy Metals Bioavailability into Risk Characterization

The bioavailability of field‐aged Cd and Cu was calculated, and compared to the total concentrations determined by acid digestion. Only 0.60–4.15% for Cd and 0.59–9.43% for Cu were found to be bioavailable when determined by stomach‐phase extraction. The incorporation of bioavailability reduced more than 90% of the calculated risk of the metals at the site of study. It should be noted that such a reduction may not be generalized and the site‐specific bioavailability needs to be determined case by case.