Non-ferrous smelting is a primary cause of serious soil pollution. Contamination and health risks of heavy metals in soils around various types of non-ferrous smelteries in China were assessed using data from peer-reviewed papers published between 2000 and 2019. Development in the relevant environmental policy in China was discussed. The studied non-ferrous smelting sites were mainly located in provinces that produced non-ferrous metals on a large scale. The average concentrations of the heavy metals in soils around the non-ferrous smelteries (in mg per kg of soil) were as follows: Cd, 19.8; Cu, 265; Pb, 1536; and Zn, 1371; the concentrations greatly exceeded their corresponding background values. The smelting sites with high soil contamination in terms of metal concentrations, geo-accumulation (Igₑₒ), and pollution index (PI) were mainly distributed in several provinces of China, including Guangxi, Gansu, Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, and Liaoning. Soils near smelteries that processed copper were the most polluted based on Igₑₒ and PI. The accumulation of Cd and Pb in soils around non-ferrous smelteries would pose potentially high risks to residents. A series of environmental policies have proven successful in lowering the emissions of contaminants from the non-ferrous in China. The findings of the study suggested that the strategies to control soil pollution around non-ferrous smelteries should primarily focus on Cd and Pb.

Phosphogypsum (PG) is disposed worldwide in large stacks usually placed in coastal zones, as in the case of Huelva (SW of Spain), where around 100 Mt of PG are stored on the salt marshes of the Tinto River estuary covering a surface of about 1000 ha. This management generates the weathering of PG, and due to its high acidity (pH ≈ 2) and pollutant load can provoke significant emissions into their surroundings. In this work were evaluated by laboratory experiments the effects of pH increase in the behaviour of heavy metals and natural radionuclides during the mixing of phosphogypsum leachates with seawater.The acidic phosphogypsum leachates showed concentrations of heavy metals from two to three orders of magnitude higher than natural continental waters, and natural radionuclides (U-isotopes and ²¹⁰Po) from four to five orders of magnitude higher than unperturbed aquatic systems. Major elements and some heavy metals as Mn, Ni, Cd, As, Sb and Co showed a conservative behaviour during the neutralisation of the leachates with seawater, remaining in the liquid phase, while other ones as Al, Fe, Cr, Zn, Cu, Pb precipitated and/or were adsorbed onto the solid phase. The U-isotopes and ²¹⁰Po showed a clear non-conservative behaviour probably due to coprecipitation/adsorption processes onto the formed precipitates, but while ²¹⁰Po reached a total removal at pH ≈ 7, U- isotopes after a total removal at pH ≈ 5 returned into the liquid phase due to redissolution/desorption processes at near neutral pH.The formed precipitates, mainly composed by iron phosphates particles, showed heavy metal and natural radionuclide concentrations from one to three orders of magnitude higher than unperturbed soils. All these facts demonstrate the serious environmental impact produced by the PG stacks into their surroundings and the urgency of effective restoration measures.

Mecoprop-P (MCPP-P) is an auxin herbicide which has been used against dicotyledonous weed plants since the 1980s. While fate and monitoring data of MCPP-P in the aquatic environment revealing concentrations up to 103 μg/L in freshwaters are well documented, only very few toxicity data and no studies with dicotyledonous macrophytes have been published in open literature so far. To fill up this essential data gap, a microcosm study was conducted in order to test the sensitivity of nine dicotyledonous and one Ceratophyllales macrophyte species. The plant species were exposed to seven MCPP-P concentrations ranging from 8 to 512 μg/L for 21/22 days in one microcosm per concentration, and two further microcosms served as controls. Plant preparation was adapted to each species and endpoints were measured to calculate growth rates. Data were generated to obtain effect concentrations (ECX) which then were used to construct species sensitivity distribution curves (SSD). Eight species proved to be sensitive to MCPP-P in the tested concentration range with EC₅₀ values ranging from 46.9 μg/L for Ranunculus aquatilis to 656.4 μg/L MCPP-P for Ludwigia repens. Taking the EC₅₀ values of this study and published data for autotrophic organisms into account, a hazard concentration (HC₅) of 2.7 μg/L was derived from the SSD curve, while an SSD curve without dicotyledonous macrophytes resulted in an about 100 times higher HC₅ (360.8 μg/L MCCP-P). This confirms that a re-evaluation for old auxin herbicides by including dicotyledonous test species into the environmental risk assessment may be indicated. Furthermore, the use of MCPP-P in bitumen felts as protection against rooting by plants is not in the focus of any risk regulation so far. This application, however, can lead to high run-off concentrations that can enter surface waters easily, exceeding the new regulatory acceptable concentration values.

Cavity nesting bees are proficient and important pollinators that can augment or replace honey bee pollination services for some crops. Relatively little is known about specific pesticide concentrations present in cavity nesting insect reed matrices and associated potential risks to cavity nesting bees. Nesting substrates (Phragmites australis reeds in bundles) were deployed in an agriculturally intensive landscape to evaluate colonization and agrochemical exposure among cavity nesting pollinators over two consecutive field seasons. Composition of insect species colonizing reeds within nest bundles varied considerably; those placed near beef cattle feed yards were dominated by wasps (93% of the total number of individuals occupying reed nest bundles), whereas nest bundles deployed in cropland-dominated landscapes were colonized primarily by leaf cutter bees (71%). All nesting/brood matrices in reeds (mud, leaves, brood, pollen) contained agrochemicals. Mud used in brood chamber construction at feed yard sites contained 21 of 23 agrochemicals included in analysis and >70% of leaf substrate stored in reeds contained at least one agrochemical. Moxidectin was most frequently detected across all reed matrices from feed yard sites, and moxidectin concentrations in nonviable larvae were more than four times higher than those quantified in viable larvae. Agrochemical concentrations in leaf material and pollen were also quantified at levels that may have induced toxic effects among developing larvae. To our knowledge, this is the first study to characterize agrochemical concentrations in multiple reed matrices provisioned by cavity-nesting insects. Use of nest bundles revealed that cavity nesting pollinators in agriculturally intensive regions are exposed to agrochemicals during all life stages, at relatively high frequencies, and at potentially lethal concentrations. These results demonstrate the utility of nest bundles for characterizing risks to cavity nesting insects inhabiting agriculturally intensive regions.

In the context of global climate change, far less is known about the impact of long-term temperature variability (TV), especially in developing countries. The current study aimed to estimate the effect of long-term TV on the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in China. A total of 23,721 individuals with a mean age of 56.15 years were enrolled at baseline from 2012 to 2016 and followed up during 2017–2019. TV was defined as the standard deviation of daily temperatures during survey years and was categorized into tertiles (lowest≤ 8.78 °C, middle = 8.78–10.07 °C, highest ≥ 10.07 °C). The Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) between TV and CVD. During the median follow-up of 4.65 years, we ascertained 836 cases of incident CVD. For per 1 °C increase in TV, there was a 6% increase of CVD (HR = 1.06 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01–1.11]). A significant positive trend was observed between CVD risk and increasing levels of TV compared to the lowest tertile [HR = 1.34 (95% CI: 1.13–1.59) for the medium tertile, HR = 1.72 (95% CI: 1.35–2.19) for the highest tertile, Pₜᵣₑₙd < 0.001]. Exposure to high TV would lose 2.11 disease-free years for the population aged 35–65 years and 66 CVD cases (or 7.95% cases) could been attributable to TV higher than 8.11 °C in the current study. The current findings suggested that long-term TV was associated with a higher risk of CVD incidence, it is needed to reduce the TV-related adverse health effect.

In this work, a sand and dust storm vulnerability mapping (SDS-VM) approach is developed to model the vulnerability of urban blocks to SDS using GIS spatial analysis and a range of geographical data. The SDS-VM was carried out in Ahvaz, IRAN, representing one of the most dust-polluted cities in West Asia. Here, vulnerability is defined as a function of three components: exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of the people in the city blocks to sand and dust storms. These components were formulated into measurable indicators (i.e. GIS layers) including: PM₂.₅, wind speed, distance from dust emission sources, demographic statistics (age, gender, family size, education level), number of building floors, building age, land surface temperature (LST), land use, percentage of literate population, distance from health services, distance from city facilities (city center, shopping centers), distance from infrastructure (public transportation, main roads and highways), distance from parks and green spaces, and green area per capita. The components and the indicators were weighted using analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Different levels of risks for the components and the indicators were defined using ordered weighted averaging (OWA). Urban SDS vulnerability maps at different risk levels were generated through spatial multi-criteria data analysis procedure. Vulnerability maps, with different risk levels, were validated against field-collected data of 781 patients hospitalized for dust-related diseases (i.e. respiratory, cardiovascular, and skin). Results showed that (i) SDS vulnerability map, obtained from the developed methodology, gives an overall accuracy of 79%; (ii); regions 1 and 5 of Ahvaz are recognized with the highest and lowest vulnerabilities to SDS, respectively; and (iii) ORness equal to 0 (very low risk) is the optimum SDS-VM risk level for decision-making to mitigate the harmful impacts of SDS in the deposition areas of Ahvaz city.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is one of the most important air pollutants that highly affect the formation of secondary fine particles and tropospheric ozone. In this study based on hourly NO₂ observations from June 2014 to May 2019 and a regional air quality model (WRF−CMAQ), we comprehensively analyzed the spatiotemporal variations of NO₂ concentrations throughout China and in 12 urban agglomerations (UAs) and quantitatively showed the anthropogenic and meteorological factors controlling the interannual variations (IAVs). The ground observations and tropospheric columns show that high NO₂ concentrations are predominantly concentrated in UAs such as Beijing−Tianjin−Hebei (BTH), the Shandong Peninsula (SP), the Central Plain (CP), Central Shaanxi (CS), and the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). For different UAs, the NO₂ IAVs are different. The NO₂ increased first and then decreased in 2016 or 2017 in BTH, YRD, CS, and Cheng−Yu, and decreased from 2014 to 2019 in Harbin−Changchun, CP, SP, Northern Slope of Tianshan Mountain, and Beibu−Gulf, while increased slightly in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and Hohhot−Baotou−Erdos−Yulin (HBEY). The NO₂ IAVs were primarily dominated by emission changes. The net wintertime decreases of NO₂ in BTH, Yangtze River Middle−Reach, and PRD were mostly contributed by emission reductions from 2014 to 2018, and the significant increase in the wintertime in HBEY was also dominated by emission changes (93%). Weather conditions also have an important effect on the NO₂ IAVS. In BTH and HBEY, the increases of NO₂ in winter of 2016 are mainly attributed to the unfavorable weather conditions and for the significant decreases in the winter of 2017, the favorable weather conditions also play a very important role. This study provides a basic understanding on the current situation of NO₂ pollution and are helpful for policymakers as well as those interested in the study of tropospheric ozone changes in China and downwind areas.

Fertilization with organic matter (farm yard manure and/or rice straw) is thought to enhance arsenic (As) mobilization into soil porewaters, with subsequent As assimilation by rice roots leading to enhanced translocation to the grain. Here, interlinked experiments (field manuring and soil batch culture) were conducted to find the effect of organic matter at a field application rate practiced in Bangladesh (5 t/ha) on As mobilization in soil for paddies impacted by As contaminated groundwater irrigation, a widespread phenomenon in Bangladesh where the experiments were conducted. Total As concentration in a paddy soil (Sonargaon) ranged from 21.9 to 8.1 mg/kg down the soil profile and strongly correlated with TOC content. Arsenic, Fe, Mn, and DOC release into soil solution, and As speciation, are intimately linked to OM amendment, soil depth and temporal variation. Organic matter amendments lead to increased mobilization of As into both soil porewaters and standing surface waters. The As speciation in the porewater was dominated by inorganic As (Asᵢ) (arsenite and arsenate), with traces amounts of methylated species (DMAⱽ and MMAⱽ) only being found with OM amendment. It was noted in field trials that OM fertilization greatly enhanced As mobility to surface waters, which may have major implications for the fate of As in paddy agronomic ecosystems.

Plastic pollution has increased significantly in the past decades and is now a major global environmental issue. Plastic objects enter the ocean and are broken down into smaller pieces, while wastewater and runoff also carry microplastics (plastics <5 mm) into the ocean. Plastic has been found in over 700 different species of marine wildlife but little research has examined fish sold for human consumption. We determined the microplastic abundance in nine commercially important, wild-caught fish species purchased from seafood markets across 4000 km of Australia (Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales). For microplastic quantification, fish gastro-intestinal tracts were chemically digested and the amount and type of microplastic identified under a microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. Across all states, an average of 35.5% of fish samples had at least one piece of microplastic in their gastro-intestinal tract. South Australia had the highest percentage of fish with plastic (49%) and Tasmania the lowest (20%). The average microplastic load was 0.94 piece per fish but ranged from 0 to 17 pieces, with polyolefin identified as the dominant polymer group. Overall, the ingestion of microplastic was widespread across species, locations, diets and habitat niches of fish species investigated, but the average plastic ingestion was less than other similar global studies. This study provides novel insights on the use of fish species from seafood markets to assess environmental contamination by microplastic, as well as an important perspective of the potential for microplastic contamination to enter the human food chain.