Wildlife and livestock are known to visit and interact with tailings dam and other wastewater impoundments at gold mines. When cyanide concentrations within these water bodies exceed a critical toxicity threshold, significant cyanide-related mortality events can occur in wildlife. Highly mobile taxa such as birds are particularly susceptible to cyanide toxicosis. Nocturnally active bats have similar access to uncovered wastewater impoundments as birds; however, cyanide toxicosis risks to bats remain ambiguous. This study investigated activity of bats in the airspace above two water bodies at an Australian gold mine, to assess the extent to which bats use these water bodies and hence are at potential risk of exposure to cyanide. Bat activity was present on most nights sampled during the 16-month survey period, although it was highly variable across nights and months. Therefore, despite the artificial nature of wastewater impoundments at gold mines, these structures present attractive habitats to bats. As tailings slurry and supernatant pooling within the tailings dam were consistently well below the industry protective concentration limit of 50 mg/L weak acid dissociable (WAD) cyanide, wastewater solutions stored within the tailings dam posed a minimal risk of cyanide toxicosis for wildlife, including bats. This study showed that passively recorded bat echolocation call data provides evidence of the presence and relative activity of bats above water bodies at mine sites. Furthermore, echolocation buzz calls recorded in the airspace directly above water provide indirect evidence of foraging and/or drinking. Both echolocation monitoring and systematic sampling of cyanide concentration in open wastewater impoundments can be incorporated into a gold mine risk-assessment model in order to evaluate the risk of bat exposure to cyanide. In relation to risk minimisation management practices, the most effective mechanism for preventing cyanide toxicosis to wildlife, including bats, is capping the concentration of cyanide in tailings discharged to open impoundments at 50 mg/L WAD.

Anthropogenic factors resulted from the urbanization may affect the groundwater As in urbanized areas. Groundwater samples from the Guangzhou city (South China) were collected for As and other parameter analysis, in order to assess the impact of urbanization and natural processes on As distribution in aquifers. Nearly 25.5 % of groundwater samples were above the WHO drinking water standard for As, and the As concentrations in the granular aquifer (GA) were generally far higher than that in the fractured bedrock aquifer (FBA). Samples were classified into four clusters by using hierarchical cluster analysis. Cluster 1 is mainly located in the FBA and controlled by natural processes. Anthropogenic pollution resulted from the urbanization is responsible for high As concentrations identified in cluster 2. Clusters 3 and 4 are mainly located in the GA and controlled by both natural processes and anthropogenic factors. Three main mechanisms control the source and mobilization of groundwater As in the study area. Firstly, the interaction of water and calcareous rocks appears to be responsible for As release in the FBA. Secondly, reduction of Fe/Mn oxyhydroxides and decomposition of organic matter are probably responsible for high As concentrations in the GA. Thirdly, during the process of urbanization, the infiltration of wastewater/leachate with a high As content is likely to be the main source for groundwater As, while NO₃⁻contamination diminishes groundwater As.

Sorption is a fundamental process controlling the transformation, fate, degradation, and biological activity of hydrophobic organic contaminants in the environment. We investigated the kinetics, isotherms, and potential mechanisms for the sorption of two phthalic acid esters (PAEs), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and dioctyl phthalate (DOP), on aged refuse. A two-compartment first-order model performed better than a one-compartment first-order model in describing the kinetic sorption of PAEs, with a fast sorption process dominating. Both the Freundlich and Dubinin–Astakhov (DA) models fit the sorption isotherms of DBP and DOP, with the DA model being of a better fit over the range of apparent equilibrium concentrations. The values of the fitting parameters (n, b, E) of the PAEs suggest nonlinear sorption characteristics. Higher predicted partition coefficient values and saturated sorption capacity existed in refuse containing larger quantities of organic matter. The sorption capacity of DOP was significantly higher than that of DBP. PAE sorption was dependent on liquid phase pH. Desorption hysteresis occurred in PAE desorption experiments, especially for the long-chain DOP. PAEs may therefore be a potential environmental risk in landfill.

Total and extractable concentrations of Cu, Pb, and Zn were determined in surface sediments of west Chaohu Lake (China) by HCl-HNO₃-HF-HClO₄digestion and an optimized BCR sequential extraction procedure, respectively. The metal pollution was evaluated by the enrichment factor approach, and the potential eco-risk was evaluated by the sediment quality guideline (SQG) and risk assessment code (RAC) assessments. The results indicated that both total and extractable metal concentrations were highly variable and were affected by sediment properties, even though the sediments were predominantly composed of <63-μm particles (>89 %). Enrichment factors of the metals based on the total and extractable concentrations all showed higher values in the northern lake area and decreasing values towards the south. This distribution indicated an input of anthropogenic metals via the Nanfei River. Anthropogenic Cu, Pb, and Zn in surface sediments showed comparable values for each metal based on the total and extractable concentrations, suggesting that anthropogenic Cu, Pb, and Zn resided predominantly in the extractable fractions. Sediment Cu had low eco-risk, and Pb and Zn had medium eco-risk by the SQG assessment, whereas the eco-risk rankings of Cu, Pb, and Zn were medium, low, and low–high, respectively, by the RAC assessment. Referencing to the labile (dilute acid soluble) metal concentrations, we deduced that the eco-risk of Cu may be largely overestimated by the RAC assessment, and the eco-risk of Pb may be largely overestimated by the SQG assessment. Overall, sediments Cu and Pb may pose low eco-risk, and Zn may pose low–high eco-risk.

Substance flow analysis (SFA) is applied to a case study of chlorine metabolism in a chlor-alkali industrial chain. A chain-level SFA model is constructed, and eight indices are proposed to analyze and evaluate the metabolic status of elemental chlorine. The primary objectives of this study are to identify low-efficiency links in production processes and to find ways to improve the operational performance of the industrial chain. Five-year in-depth data collection and analysis revealed that system production efficiency and source efficiency continued increasing since 2008, i.e., when the chain was first formed, at average annual growth rates of 21.01 % and 1.01 %, respectively. In 2011, 64.15 % of the total chlorine input was transformed into final products. That is, as high as 98.50 % of the chlorine inputs were utilized when other by-products were counted. Chlorine loss occurred mostly in the form of chloride ions in wastewater, and the system loss rate was 0.54 %. The metabolic efficiency of chlorine in this case was high, and the chain system had minimal impact on the environment. However, from the perspectives of processing depth and economic output, the case study of a chlor-alkali industrial chain still requires expansion.

Copper (Cu) is one of the essential elements for plant growth, while excessive Cu in soils has potential environmental risks. There is little information on spatial variation of Cu in practical paddy fields. This is now important for appropriate agricultural management. The spatial patterns of Cu, its fractions in soils, and its concentrations in rice were investigated in a typical rice production region—Wenling of southeastern China. A total of 96 pairs of rice grain and soil samples (0–15 cm) were collected. The total concentration of Cu and its fractions were very variable, with large skewness, kurtosis, and coefficient of variation (CV) values. Compared to the guideline value (50 mg kg⁻¹), Cu pollution in paddy fields was observed in the study area. All the measured Cu concentrations in rice were lower than 10 mg kg⁻¹, suggesting that they remained at a safe level. Spatial analyses including Moran’s I index and geostatistics results indicated that high-high spatial patterns for both Cu in soils and rice were found in the northwest part, which was mainly related to industrial and E-waste dismantling activities. The low-low spatial patterns of Cu in the soil-rice system were located in the south part of study area. The cross-correlogram results indicated that Cu concentration in rice was significantly spatially correlated with total Cu in soils, its fractions, and soil organic matter (SOM), but significantly negatively correlated with pH and electrical conductivity (EC). Most of the selected variables had a clear spatial correlation range with Cu in rice. The ranges of significant spatial correlation (p < 0.05) could be obtained and further used for dividing agricultural management zones.

Based on the enhancing effect of chitosan (CS) on luminol-dissolved oxygen chemiluminescence (CL) reaction, a flow injection (FI) luminol–CS CL system was established. It was found that the increase of CL intensity was proportional to the concentrations of CS ranging from 0.7 to 10.0 μmol l⁻¹. In the presence of chlortoluron (CTU), the CL intensity of luminol–CS system could be obviously inhibited and the decrements of CL intensity were linearly proportional to the logarithm of CTU concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 70.0 ng ml⁻¹, giving the limit of detection 3.0 pg ml⁻¹ (3σ). At a flow rate of 2.0 ml min⁻¹, the whole process including sampling and washing could be accomplished within 36 s, offering a sample throughput of 100 h⁻¹. The proposed FI–CL method was successfully applied to the determination of CTU in soil samples with recoveries ranging from 95.0 % to 105.3 % and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of less than 4.0 %.

Anticoagulants are biocides widely used as pest control agents in agriculture, urban infrastructures, and domestic applications for the control of rodents. Other anticoagulants such as warfarin and acenocoumarol are also used as drugs against thrombosis. After use, anticoagulants are discharged to sewage grids and enter wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Our hypothesis is that WWTP effluents can be a source of anticoagulants to receiving waters and that these can affect aquatic organisms and other nontarget species. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine the occurrence of 11 anticoagulants in WWTPs receiving urban and agricultural wastewaters. Warfarin was the most ubiquitous compound detected in influent waters and was partially eliminated during the activated sludge treatment, and low nanograms per liter concentration were found in the effluents. Other detected compounds were coumatetralyl, ferulenol, acenocoumarol, flocoumafen, brodifacoum, bromadiolone, and difenacoum at concentrations of 0.86–87.0 ng L⁻¹. Considering water volumes of each WWTP, daily emissions were estimated to be 0.02 to 21.8 g day⁻¹, and thus, WWTPs contribute to the loads of anticoagulants to receiving waters. However, low aquatic toxicity was observed using Daphnia magna as a model aquatic organism.

Guangzhou is a metropolitan in south China with unique pollutants and geographic location. Unlike those in western countries and the rest of China, the appearance of haze in Guangzhou is often (about 278 days per year on average of 4 years). Little is known about the influence of these hazes on health. In this study, we investigated whether short-term exposures to haze and air pollution are associated with hospital admissions in Guangzhou. The relationships between haze, air pollution, and daily hospital admissions during 2008–2011 were assessed using generalized additive model. Studies were categorized by gender, age, season, lag, and disease category. In haze episodes, an increase in air pollutant emissions corresponded to 3.46 (95 % CI, 1.67, 5.27) increase in excessive risk (ER) of total hospital admissions at lag 1, 11.42 (95 % CI, 4.32, 18.99) and 11.57 (95 % CI, 4.38, 19.26) increases in ERs of cardiovascular illnesses at lags 2 and 4 days, respectively. As to total hospital admissions, an increase in NO₂was associated with a 0.73 (95 % CI, 0.11, 1.35) and a 0.28 (95 % CI, 0.11, 0.46) increases in ERs at lag 5 and lag 05, respectively. For respiratory illnesses, increases in NO₂was associated with a 1.94 (95 % CI, 0.50, 3.40) increase in ER at lag 0, especially among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Haze (at lag1) and air pollution (for NO₂at lag 5 and for SO₂at lag3) both presented more drastic effects on the 19 to 64 years old and in the females. Together, we demonstrated that haze pollution was associated with total and cardiovascular illnesses. NO₂was the sole pollutant with the largest risk of hospital admissions for total and respiratory diseases in both single- and multi-pollutant models.

Soil contamination with anthropogenic metals resulting from biosolid application is widespread around the world. To better predict the environmental fate and mobility of contaminants, it is critical to study the capacity of biosolid-amended soils to retain and release metals. In this paper, nickel adsorption onto a calcareous soil, a lime-stabilized biosolid, and soil–biosolid mixtures (30, 75, and 150 t biosolid/ha) was studied in batch experiments. Sorption experiments showed that (1) Ni adsorption was higher onto the biosolid than the calcareous soil, and (2) biosolid acted as an adsorbent in the biosolid–soil mixtures by increasing Ni retention capacity. The sorption tests were complemented with the estimation of Ni adsorption reversibility by successive applications of extraction solutions with water, calcium (100 mg/L), and oxalic acid (equivalent to 100 mg carbon/L). It has been shown that Ni desorption rates in soil and biosolid-amended soils were lower than 30 % whatever the chemical reagent, indicating that Ni was strongly adsorbed on the different systems. This adsorption/desorption hysteresis effect was particularly significant at the highest biosolid concentration (150 t/ha). Finally, an adsorption empirical model was used to estimate the maximum permissible biosolid application rate using French national guideline. It has been shown that desorption effects should be quantitatively considered to estimate relevant biosolid loadings.