Microplastics (particle size <5 mm) are an emerging contaminant for aquatic environmental, which have attracted increasing attention in worldwide range. In this study, an improved fluorescent staining method for detection and quantification of microplastics was developed based on thermal expansion and contraction. This method is effective in detection of polyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene terephthalate plastic particles. In order to avoid error statistics caused by pretreatment, various characterizations of microplastics were measured after heated, such as microstructure, compositions and thermostability. The results showed that there was no significant damage to microplastics even under heating condition at 75 °C for 30 min, and the stained microplastics had strong stability for up to two months. Moreover, this method has been successfully applied to the quantification of microplastics in biological samples and result showed there were about 54 particles g⁻¹ (dry weight) microplastics in the Sipunculus nudus. This new method provides a reliable method for quantitative analysis of microplastics in environment and biological tissue.

The associations between bisphenol analogues (BPs) exposure and oxidative damage was explored in this 3-year longitudinal study of 275 school children in East China. Nine BPs in first morning urine samples were measured to assess BPs exposure, and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanosine (8-OHG) were measured as biomarkers of oxidative DNA and RNA damage. Linear mixed model (LMM) was used for repeated measures analysis. School children were mainly exposed to BPA, BPS, BPF, and BPAF (detection frequencies: 97.9%, 42.2%, 13.3%, and 12.8%) with median concentrations of 1.55, 0.355, 0.236 and 0.238 μg g⁻¹Cᵣₑ, respectively. An interquartile range (IQR) increase in urinary BPA was significantly associated with 12.9% (95% CI: 6.1%, 19.6%) increase in 8-OHdG and 19.4% (95% CI: 11.7%, 27.1%) increase in 8-OHG, and for total of BPs (the sum of BPA, BPS, BPF, and BPAF), they were 17.4% (95% CI: 8.9%, 26.0%) for 8-OHdG and 25.9% (95% CI: 16.1%, 35.7%) for 8-OHG, respectively. BPS was positively associated with 8-OHG, but not with 8-OHdG. The study found positive associations of urinary levels of BPA and total BPs with 8-OHdG and 8-OHG and indicated that BPs exposure might cause oxidative RNA damage.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the contamination of sewage sludge produced by municipal waste treatment plants in Poland by viable eggs of intestinal parasites of the genera Ascaris, Toxocara and Trichuris (ATT). Ninety-two municipal, mechanical-biological sewage treatment plants located within Poland were selected. These plants belonged to types of agglomerations: group 0 (large), group 1 (medium), group 2 (smaller) and group 3 (small). Samples were collected at the final stage of sewage treatment after the addition of flocculent to sludge, followed by dehydration. The samples were examined by a method adjusted to examine sewage sludge dehydrated using polyelectrolytes. The viability of the isolated eggs was evaluated based on incubation in a moist chamber. Live eggs of intestinal nematodes were found in 99% of samples. Most samples were contaminated by the eggs of Ascaris spp. (95%) and Toxocara spp. (96%). However, Trichuris spp. eggs were detected in 60% of samples. The mean number of eggs in 1 kg of dry mass (eggs/kg d.m.) was 5600 for Ascaris, 3700 for Toxocara and 1100 for Trichuris. The highest number of ATT eggs was detected in samples from sewage treatment plants located in south-eastern and central Poland. The highest number of ATT eggs was found in sewage sludge produced in large sewage treatment plants (agglomeration Groups 0 and 1), with mean values of 15,000 and 8900 eggs/kg d.m. The present study is the first parasitological investigation conducted on a large number of samples (92 samples) taken from various types of municipal sewage treatment plants located throughout Poland (16 regions) after the common introduction of polyelectrolytes during sewage sludge dehydration. The results of this study indicate that sludge produced in municipal sewage treatment plants is highly contaminated with parasite eggs.

To date, there is not sufficient knowledge to fully understand the occurrence, transport and fate of residual uranium (U) from uranium mill tailings (UMT). Herein this study investigated different U release behaviors from natural UMT (without grinding) under four simulated acid rain (pH = 2.0–5.0) compared with controlled scenario (pH = 6.0) for 25 weeks. The results showed that the most notable U release was observed from UMTₚH₂.₀, followed by UMTₚH₃.₀ whereas a nonlinear relationship between pH and U release was observed from UMTₚH₄.₀–₆.₀. The divergence of U release behaviors was attributed to the presence of minerals such as calcite and clinochlore. Autunite, a secondary mineral formed after leaching, might regulate U release in UMTₚH₃.₀–₆.₀. Fick theory model revealed the shift of U release mechanism from surface dissolution to diffusion transport for UMTₚH₂.₀, UMTₚH₃.₀ and UMTₚH₅.₀ at varied stage, whereas UMTₚH₄.₀ and UMTₚH₆.₀ displayed univocal dissolution and diffusion mechanism, respectively. This study highlights the necessity of performing long-term leaching tests to detect the “shift event” of leaching kinetics and to better understand the mechanism of U release influenced by mineralogy of the natural UMT under simulated acid rain conditions, which is conducive to developing UMT management strategies to minimize the risk of U release and exposure.

The application of nanoscale zero-valent iron is one of the most widely used remediation technologies; however, the potential environmental risks of this technology are largely unknown. In order to broaden the knowledge on this subject, the present work consists of a bibliometric study of all of publications related to the toxicity of zero-valent iron nanoparticles used in soil remediation available from the Scopus (Elsevier) and Web of Science (Thompson Reuters) databases. This study presents a temporal distribution of the publications, the most cited articles, the authors who have made the greatest contribution to the theme, and the institutions, countries, and scientific journals that have published the most on this subject. The use of bibliometrics has allowed for the visualization of a panorama of the publications, providing an appropriate analysis to guide new research towards an effective contribution to science by filling the existing gaps. In particular, the lack of studies in several countries reveals a promising area for the development of further research on this topic.

This work evaluates the degradation of benzoic acid, a tracer from biomass burning, by different oxidation agents (Fe (III); H₂O₂; sunlight; and combinations of the previous ones) in model solutions and in real atmospheric waters. The extent of reactions was assessed by Ultraviolet–Visible and molecular fluorescence spectroscopies. The oxidation of benzoic acid occurred with the chemical oxidants Fe (III), H₂O₂, Fe (III) and H₂O₂ simultaneously in the presence of sunlight, and with Fe (III) and H₂O₂ simultaneously in the absence of light. The decrease of the pH value from neutral to acid for atmospheric waters generally increased the extent of oxidation. Sunlight was an important oxidation agent, and its combination with chemical oxidants increased the oxidation rate of benzoic acid, possibly due to the photogeneration of hydroxyl radicals. The results also suggested the occurrence of direct and indirect photolysis of benzoic acid in atmospheric waters. Moreover, the oxidation of benzoic acid produced new and more complex chromophoric compounds, which were then degraded. In addition, the nocturnal period is not sufficient for the full degradation of benzoic acid and of the intermediates formed by Fenton-like oxidation. The diurnal period may be enough for their full degradation through photo-Fenton-like oxidation, but this depends on the composition of the atmospheric waters, namely of the chromophoric content. Thus, this study highlights that benzoic acid from biomass burning, and its derivatives, may persist in atmospheric waters for periods of longer than one day, becoming available for other reactions, and may also affect the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems through the wet depositions.

Rapid urbanization, which is closely related to economic growth, human health, and micro-climate, has resulted in a considerable amount of anthropogenic heat emissions. The lack of estimation data on long-term anthropogenic heat emissions is a great concern in climate and urban flux research. This study estimated the annual average anthropogenic heat fluxes (AHFs) in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region in China between 1995 and 2015 on the basis of multisource remote sensing images and ancillary data. Anthropogenic heat emissions from different sources (e.g., industries, buildings, transportation, and human metabolism) were also estimated to analyze the composition of AHFs. The spatiotemporal dynamics of long-term AHFs with high spatial resolution (500 m) were estimated by using a refined AHF model and then analyzed using trend and standard deviation ellipse analyses. Results showed that values in the region increased significantly from 0.15 W· m−2 in 1995 to 1.46 W· m−2 in 2015. Heat emissions from industries, transportation, buildings, and human metabolism accounted for 64.1%, 17.0%, 15.5%, and 3.4% of the total anthropogenic heat emissions, respectively. Industrial energy consumption was the dominant contributor to the anthropogenic heat emissions in the region. During this period, industrial heat emissions presented an unstable variation but showed a growing trend overall. Heat emissions from buildings increased steadily. Spatial distribution was extended with an increasing tendency of the difference between the maximum and the minimum and was generally dominated by the northeast–southwest directional pattern. The spatiotemporal distribution patterns and trends of AHFs could provide vital support on management decision in city planning and environmental monitoring.

Reported here is the first evidence of plastic ingestion by freshwater fishes in the Amazon. Plastic bags, bottles, fishing gear, and other products are entering Amazonian water bodies and degrade into meso- and micro-plastic particles that may be ingested, either directly or indirectly via food chains, by fishes. Examination of stomach contents from 172 specimens of 16 serrasalmid species from lower Xingu River Basin revealed consumption of plastic particles by fishes in each of three trophic guilds (herbivores, omnivores, carnivores). Overall, about one quarter of specimens and 80% of species analyzed had ingested plastic particles ranging from 1 to 15 mm in length. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated 12 polymer types, including 27% identified as polyethylene, 13% polyvinyl chloride, 13% polyamide, 13% polypropylene, 7% poly(methyl methacrylate), 7% rayon, 7% polyethylene terephtalate, and 13% a blend of polyamide and polyethylene terephtalate. Dimensions of ingested plastic particles varied among trophic guilds, even though the frequency and mass of ingested particles were not significantly different among fishes with different feeding habits.

Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) is an important reservoir of atmospheric nitrogen, modulating reactive nitrogen cycle and ozone (O3) formation. To understand the origins of PAN, a field measurement was conducted at Tung Chung site (TC) in suburban Hong Kong from October to November 2016. The average level of PAN was 0.63 ± 0.05 ppbv, with a maximum of 7.30 ppbv. Higher PAN/O3 ratio (0.043–0.058) was captured on episodes, i.e. when hourly maximum O3 exceeded 80 ppbv, than on non-episodes (0.01), since O3 production was less efficient than PAN when there was an elevation of precursors (i.e. volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxide (NOx)). Model simulations revealed that oxidations of acetaldehyde (65.3 ± 2.3%), methylglyoxal (MGLY, 12.7 ± 1.2%) and other oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) (8.0 ± 0.6%), and radical cycling (12.2 ± 0.8%) were the major production pathways of peroxyacetyl (PA) radical, while local PAN formation was controlled by both VOCs and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Among all VOC species, carbonyls made the highest contribution (59%) to PAN formation, followed by aromatics (26%) and biogenic VOCs (BVOCs) (10%) through direct oxidation/decomposition. Besides, active VOCs (i.e. carbonyls, aromatics, BVOCs and alkenes/alkynes) could stimulate hydroxyl (OH) production, thus indirectly facilitating the PAN formation. Apart from primary emissions, carbonyls were also generated from oxidation of first-generation precursors, i.e., hydrocarbons, of which xylenes contributed the most to PAN production. Furthermore, PAN formation suppressed local O3 formation at a rate of 2.84 ppbv/ppbv, when NO2, OH and hydroperoxy (HO2) levels decreased and nitrogen monoxide (NO) value enhanced. Namely, O3 was reduced by 2.84 ppbv per ppbv PAN formation. Net O3 production rate was weakened (∼36%) due to PAN photochemistry, so as each individual production and loss pathway. The findings advanced our knowledge of atmospheric PAN and its impact on O3 production.

Evaluate the relationship between arthritis diagnosis in those over 50 and exposure to extreme air pollution in utero or infancy (<1 year of age).Compare rates of arthritis diagnosis between groups that experienced differential air pollution exposure in early-life due to quasi-random variation in birth location and date relative to the 1952 Great Smog in London. We use regression-estimated difference-in-differences analyses based on English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA) data.In the 2816 respondent sample, aged 51–62, the arthritis diagnosis rate is 22.8%, with 16.4% reporting osteoarthritis and 4.6% reporting rheumatoid arthritis. We estimate that exposure to the Great Smog in infancy increases the arthritis diagnosis rate by 23.4 percentage points (95% CI: 1.97 to 44.8). Decomposing these results by type of arthritis reveals that the rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis rate increases due to infant exposure are larger and more significant than those for osteoarthritis: 14.9 percentage points (95% CI: 0.495 to 29.4) versus 9.5 percentage points (95% CI: −11.9 to 30.8). In utero exposure is not associated with significant increases in arthritis diagnosis rates.Our results are the first to link early-life air pollution exposure to later-life arthritis diagnoses, and suggest a particularly strong link for RA. These findings are consistent with those of shorter-term, correlational studies, and indicate that health effects of air pollution exposure can span decades and extend beyond cardiopulmonary systems.