Toxicity profiles of two soils (a brownfield in Legazpi and an abandoned iron mine in Zugaztieta; Basque Country) contaminated with several metals (As, Zn, Pb and Cu in Legazpi; Zn, Pb, Cd and Cu in Zugaztieta) and petroleum hydrocarbons (in Legazpi) were determined using a multi-endpoint bioassay approach. Investigated soils exceeded screening values (SVs) of regulatory policies in force (Basque Country; Europe). Acute and chronic toxicity bioassays were conducted with a selected set of test species (Vibrio fischeri, Dictyostelium discoideum, Lactuca sativa, Raphanus sativus and Eisenia fetida) in combination with chemical analysis of soils and elutriates, as well as with bioaccumulation studies in earthworms. The sensitivity of the test species and the toxicity endpoints varied depending on the soil. It was concluded that whilst Zugaztieta soil showed very little or no toxicity, Legazpi soil was toxic according to almost all the toxicity tests (solid phase Microtox®, D. discoideum inhibition of fruiting body formation and developmental cycle solid phase assays, lettuce seed germination and root elongation test, earthworm acute toxicity and reproduction tests, D. discoideum cell viability and replication elutriate assays). Thus, albeit both soils had similar SVs, their ecotoxicological risk, and therefore the need for intervening, was different for each soil as unveiled after toxicity profiling based on multiple endpoint bioassays. Such a toxicity profiling approach is suitable to be applied for scenario-targeted soil risk assessment in those cases where applicable national/regional soil legislation based on SVs demands further toxicity assessment.

Materials based on polystyrene and starch copolymers are used in food packaging, water pollution treatment, and textile industry, and their biodegradability is a desired characteristic. In order to examine the degradation patterns of modified, biodegradable derivates of polystyrene, which may keep its excellent technical features but be more environmentally friendly at the same time, polystyrene-graft-starch biomaterials obtained by emulsion polymerization in the presence of new type of initiator/activator pair (potassium persulfate/different amines) were subjected to 6-month biodegradation by burial method in three different types of commercially available soils: soil rich in humus and soil for cactus and orchid growing. Biodegradation was monitored by mass decrease, and the highest degradation rate was achieved in soil for cactus growing (81.30 %). Statistical analysis proved that microorganisms in different soil samples have different ability of biodegradation, and there is a significant negative correlation between the share of polystyrene in copolymer and degree of biodegradation. Grafting of polystyrene on starch on one hand prevents complete degradation of starch that is present (with maximal percentage of degraded starch ranging from 55 to 93 %), while on the other hand there is an upper limit of share of polystyrene in the copolymer (ranging from 37 to 77 %) that is preventing biodegradation of degradable part of copolymers.

Severe eutrophication of surface water has been a major problem of increasing environmental concern worldwide. In the present study, economic plant annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) was grown in floating mats as an economic plant-based treatment system to evaluate its potential after ion implantation for removing nutrients in simulated eutrophic water. The specific weight growth rate of L. multiflorum with ion implantation was significantly greater than that of the control, and the peroxidase, nitrate reductase, and acid phosphatase activities of the irradiated L. multiflorum were found to be greater than those plants without ion implantation. Higher total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) removal efficiencies were obtained for the L. multiflorum irradiated with 25 keV 5.2 × 10¹⁶ N⁺ions/cm²and 30 keV 4.16 × 10¹⁶ N⁺ions/cm², respectively (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the nitrogen and phosphorus contents in the plant biomass with ion implantation were also greater than those in the control and were positively correlated with TN and TP supplied. L. multiflorum itself was directly responsible for 39–49 and 47–58 % of the overall N and P removal in the experiment, respectively. The research results suggested that ion implantation could become a promising approach for increasing phytoremediation efficiency of nutrients from eutrophic water by L. multiflorum.

The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the effect of chromium on hematological and biochemical parameters in Epaulet Grouper, Epinephelus stoliczkae of Chabahar Bay and Gulf of Oman by ecological and experimental tests. Spatial evaluation of ecological test results showed these parameters had significant difference among some sampling sites. Examination of hematological and biochemical profiles on Epaulet Grouper was performed after 0.5, 1, 7, 14, and 21 days of chromium exposure (3.6, 7.31 and 14.6 mg/L). Experimental test results of chromium induce indicated the significant decrease in MCV, MCH, neutrophils, basophils, plasma protein and significant increase in MCHC, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils and a biphasic trend in Hb, Ht, RBC, WBC, and glucose (p < 0.05). Cellular and nuclear axis, cytoplasmic volume, cell and nuclear volume, and surface area were significantly different for ecological and experimental results (p < 0.05). It was concluded that these parameters are sensitive in monitoring the toxicity of chromium concentrations.

In this work, pigeon feathers, a kind of totally waste by-product from the poultry industry, were utilized to fabricate a highly porous keratin sponge in a very simple way by freeze-drying treatment of the dissolved keratin solution, and applied for the first time as an oil adsorbent. An improved method was proposed to dissolve the feather keratin using the inexpensive sodium disulfite as the reducing reagent for sulfitolysis reaction, with a much lower concentration of all involving reaction regents. Moreover, the regenerated keratin sponges obtained a high oil adsorption capacity of above 30 g/g for both liquid paraffin and soybean oil, as well as a good oil holding ability, suggesting that this keratin sponge might be a potential for use as oil adsorbent.

Seasonal variations in response of spinach to elevated ultraviolet-B (UV-B) during summer and winter were assessed with respect to growth, biomass, yield, NPK uptake and NPK use efficiencies at varying NPK levels. The nutrient amendments were recommended NPK (RNPK) and 1.5 times recommended NPK (1.5 RNPK). Season significantly affected the measured parameters except the number of leaves. Under ambient UV-B, the growth performance of summer spinach was better in both the NPK levels, higher being at 1.5 RNPK leading to higher nutrient uptake. However, more reduction in biomass under elevated UV-B in 1.5 RNPK was recorded during summer, while during winter in RNPK. Reduction in biomass under elevated UV-B was accompanied by the modification in its partitioning with more biomass allocation to root during summer compared to winter at both the NPK levels. NPK uptake was higher in summer, while NPK use efficiencies were higher during winter. At higher than recommended NPK level, better NPK use efficiencies were displayed during both the seasons. Increased NPK supply during winter enabled spinach to capitalize light more efficiently and hence increased biomass accumulation. Strategies for surviving elevated UV-B in winter differ from those that provided protection from the same stress when it occurs in summer.

Candle composition is expected to influence the air pollutants emissions, possibly leading to important differences in the emissions of volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In this regard, the purity of the raw materials and additives used can play a key role. Consequently, in this work emission factors for some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, aromatic species, short-chain aldehydes and particulate matter have been determined for container candles constituted by different paraffin waxes burning in a test chamber. It has been found that wax quality strongly influences the air pollutant emissions. These results could be used, at least at a first glance, to foresee the expected pollutant concentration in a given indoor environment with respect to health safety standards, while the test chamber used for performing the reported results could be useful to estimate the emission factors of any other candle in an easy-to-build standardised environment.

Tai Lake (Ch: Taihu), which is the largest lake in Jiangsu province, China, has been affected by human activities. As part of a concerted effort to improve water quality to protect the integrity of the Tai Lake ecosystem, a water quality criterion (WQC) was developed for copper (Cu) II. The acute WQC was based on 440 values for acute toxicity of Cu to 24 species from 6 phyla, 16 families, and 20 genera. In addition, 255 values for chronic toxicity of Cu to 10 species from 5 phyla, 8 families, and 9 genera were used to derive chronic WQC. Instead of using a traditional approach based species sensitivity distributions (SSD), a weighted species sensitivity distribution (WSSD) approach was used to calculate the cumulative probability based on endemic species to Tai Lake. Acute and chronic WQC developed by use of the WSSD were 5.3 and 3.7 μg Cu/L, respectively. While the WQC values were comparable to those of other countries, there were slight differences due to variability in species composition of different regions. The site-specific criteria indicated that the current standard set for surface water by the Chinese government might not be protective of aquatic organisms in Tai Lake.

Due to the long time in vehicular cabins, people have high exposure to the airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCS), which will lead to negative effects on human health. In order to analyze the influencing factors of in-car VOCSpollution concentrations, 38 taxis were investigated on the static and closed conditions. The interior air of taxis was collected through activated Tenax adsorption tubes, and the air samples were analyzed with thermally desorbed gas chromatograph. The average concentrations of in-car benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, styrene, butyl acetate, undecane, and total VOCS(TVOC) were 82.7, 212.3, 74.7, 182.3, 24.7, 33.5, 61.3, and 1,441.7 μg/m³, respectively. Furthermore, the VOCSand TVOC concentrations increase with the rise of in-car temperature and relative humidity, and decrease with the increase of car age and total mileage. In addition, the VOCSand TVOC concentrations are higher in vehicles with small cabins than in ones with big cabins, and change with different sampling sites and various vehicular grades. Finally, according to the multiple linear regression analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis, car age is the most important factor influencing airborne VOCSand TVOC pollution concentrations in vehicular cabins, followed by interior temperature and total mileage.