Exposure to trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) has been individually associated with adverse male reproductive effects; however, their joint male reproductive toxicity is largely unknown. This study aimed to explore the joint effects of THMs and trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) on semen quality in a Chinese population. A total of 337 men presenting to the Reproductive Center of Tongjing Hospital, in Wuhan, China to seek semen analysis were included this study. Baseline blood THMs [chloroform (TCM), bromodichloromethane (BDCM), dibromochloromethane (DBCM), and bromoform (TBM)] and urinary TCAA were analyzed and dichotomized at their median levels. The joint effects of THMs and TCAA on below-reference semen quality parameters were evaluated by calculating the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI). After adjusting for potential confounders, we found a suggestive synergistic effect between Br-THMs (sum of BDCM, DBCM, and TBM) and TCAA for below-reference sperm count (RERI = 2.14, 95% CI: −0.37, 4.91) (P = 0.076); men with high Br-THMs and TCAA levels (above the median) had 3.31 times (95% CI: 1.21, 9.07) elevated risk of having below-reference sperm count than men with low Br-THMs and TCAA levels (below the median). No apparent joint effects were observed between THMs and TCAA for other semen quality parameters. Our results suggest that co-exposure to Br-THMs and TCAA is associated with additive effects on decreased semen quality. However, further studies in a larger sample size and mechanistic studies are needed to confirm the findings.

Classical laboratory-based single-species sediment bioassays do not account for modifications to toxicity from bioturbation by benthic organisms which may impact predictions of contaminated sediment risk to biota in the field. This study aims to determine the effects of bioturbation on the toxicity of zinc measured in a standard laboratory bioassay conducted with chironomid larvae (Chironomus tepperi). The epi-benthic chironomid larvae were exposed to two different levels of sediment contamination (1600 and 1980 mg/kg of dry weight zinc) in the presence or absence of annelid worms (Lumbriculus variegatus) which are known to be tolerant to metal and to have a large impact on sediment properties through bioturbation.Chironomids had 5–6x higher survival in the presence of L. variegatus which shows that bioturbation had a beneficial effect on the chironomid larvae. Chemical analyses showed that bioturbation induced a flux of zinc from the pore water into the water column, thereby reducing the bioavailability of zinc in pore water to the chironomid larvae. This also suggested that pore water was the major exposure path for the chironomids to metals in sediment. During the study, annelid worms (Oligochaetes) produced a thin layer of faecal pellets at the sediment surface, a process known to: (i) create additional adsorption sites for zinc, thus reducing its availability, (ii) increase the microbial abundance that in turn could represent an additional food source for opportunistic C. tepperi larvae, and (iii) modify the microbial community’s structure and alter the biogeochemical processes it governs thus indirectly impact zinc toxicity.This study represents a contribution in recognising bioturbating organisms as “ecological engineers” as they directly and indirectly influence metal bioavailability and impact other sediment-inhabiting species. This is significant and should be considered in risk assessment of zinc levels (and other metals) in contaminated sediment when extrapolating from laboratory studies to the field.

Methane emissions in oil sands tailings ponds are sustained by anaerobic biodegradation of unrecovered hydrocarbons. Naphtha (primarily C6–C10; n- iso- and cycloalkanes) is commonly used as a solvent during bitumen extraction process and its residue escapes to tailings ponds during tailings deposition. To investigate biodegradability of hydrocarbons in naphtha, mature fine tailings (MFT) collected from Albian and CNRL tailings ponds were amended with CNRL naphtha at ∼0.2 wt% (∼2000 mg L−1) and incubated under methanogenic conditions for ∼1600 d. Microbial communities in both MFTs started metabolizing naphtha after a lag phase of ∼100 d. Complete biodegradation/biotransformation of all n-alkanes (except partial biodegradation of n-octane in CNRL MFT) followed by major iso-alkanes (2-methylpentane, 3-methylhexane, 2- and 4-methylheptane, iso-nonanes and 2-methylnonane) and a few cycloalkanes (derivatives of cyclopentane and cyclohexane) was observed during the incubation. 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing showed dominance of Peptococcaceae and Anaerolineaceae in Albian MFT and Anaerolineaceae and Syntrophaceae in CNRL MFT bacterial communities with co-domination of Methanosaetaceae and “Candidatus Methanoregula” in archaeal populations during active biodegradation of hydrocarbons. The findings extend the known range of hydrocarbons susceptible to methanogenic biodegradation in petroleum-impacted anaerobic environments and help refine existing kinetic model to predict greenhouse gas emissions from tailings ponds.

We compared temporal trends of total mercury (Hg) in eggs of five seabird species breeding at Prince Leopold Island in the Canadian high Arctic. As changes in trophic position over time have the potential to influence contaminant temporal trends, Hg concentrations were adjusted for trophic position (measured as δ15N). Adjusted Hg concentrations in eggs of thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) and northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) increased from 1975 to the 1990s, followed by a plateauing of levels from the 1990s to 2014. Trends of adjusted Hg concentrations in eggs of murres, fulmars, black guillemots (Cepphus grylle) and black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) had negative slopes between 1993 and 2013. Adjusted Hg concentrations in glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus) eggs decreased by 50% from 1993 to 2003 before starting to increase again. Glaucous gull eggs had the highest Hg concentrations followed by black guillemot eggs, and black-legged kittiwake eggs had the lowest concentrations consistently in the five years compared between 1993 and 2013. Based on published toxicological thresholds for Hg in eggs, there is little concern for adverse reproductive effects due to Hg exposure in these birds, although the levels in glaucous gull eggs warrant future scrutiny given the increase in Hg concentrations observed in recent years. There is evidence that the Hg trends observed reflect changing anthropogenic Hg emissions. It remains unclear, however, to what extent exposure to Hg on the overwintering grounds influences the Hg trends observed in the seabird eggs at Prince Leopold Island. Future research should focus on determining the extent to which Hg exposure on the breeding grounds versus the overwintering areas contribute to the trends observed in the eggs.

Environmental pollution by both ambient CO2 and heavy metals has been steadily increasing, but we do not know how fluctuating CO2 concentrations influence plant nutrients under high Cd pollution, especially in crops. Here, we studied the effects of elevated CO2 and Cd accumulation on proteins and amino acids in rice under Cd stress. In this pot experiment, we analyzed the amino-acid profile of 20 rice cultivars that accumulate Cd differently; the plants were grown in Cd-containing soils under ambient conditions and elevated CO2 levels. We found that although Cd concentrations appeared to be higher in most cultivars under elevated CO2 than under ambient CO2, the effect was significant only in seven cultivars. Combined exposure to Cd and elevated CO2 strongly decreased rice protein and amino acid profiles, including essential and non-essential amino acids. Under elevated CO2, the ratios of specific amino acids were either higher or lower than the optimal ratios provided by FAO/WHO, suggesting that CO2 may flatten the overall amino-acid profile, leading to an excess in some amino acids and deficiencies in others when the rice is consumed. Thus, Cd-tainted rice limits the concentration of essential amino acids in rice-based diets, and the combination with elevated CO2 further exacerbates the problem.

The resuspension of polluted sediments by boat traffic could release substantial amounts of metals to the water column, affecting at the same time their bioavailability. In order to characterize the impact of sediment resuspensions on biota, caged amphipods have been deployed on three different channelized watercourses in Northern France. Firstly, the biological responses of transplanted freshwater gammarid amphipods, Gammarus fossarum, described by trace metal accumulation, feeding and reproduction activities were quite similar for the three water courses despite the differences of metal contamination and navigability. Secondly, the concentrations of metals accumulated in gammarids never exceeded the contamination thresholds previously defined for Co, Cu, Cr and Zn. Values were in the same order of magnitude whatever the studied site despite: (i) large differences noticed in the sediment quality and (ii) some concentrations in the overlying waters exceeding the Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) defined by the Water Framework Directive. Conversely, Pb was highly bioaccumulated with values systematically exceeding the threshold value whatever the site. Therefore, the impact of navigation cannot be proved and the difference between the 3 monitoring periods is rather attributed to environmental variability, probably linked to the seasonality. Moreover, this study also confirms that organisms sampled from a local population in the vicinity of the three studied watercourses could be used as test organisms, leading to similar results than the ones obtained with reference gammarids initially used for developing all the biological responses. This would simplify and then promote the development of studies based on gammarid amphipod, G. fossarum, as bioindicators.

Diesel combustion and solid biomass burning are the major sources of ultrafine particles (UFP) in urbanized areas. Cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, including lung cancer, are possible outcomes of combustion particles exposure, but differences in particles properties seem to influence their biological effects.Here the physico-chemical properties and biological effects of diesel and biomass particles, produced under controlled laboratory conditions, have been characterized. Diesel UFP were sampled from a Euro 4 light duty vehicle without DPF fuelled by commercial diesel and run over a chassis dyno. Biomass UFP were collected from a modern automatic 25 kW boiler propelled by prime quality spruce pellet. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of both diesel and biomass samples showed aggregates of soot particles, but in biomass samples ash particles were also present. Chemical characterization showed that metals and PAHs total content was higher in diesel samples compared to biomass ones.Human bronchial epithelial (HBEC3) cells were exposed to particles for up to 2 weeks. Changes in the expression of genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism were observed after exposure to both UFP already after 24 h. However, only diesel particles modulated the expression of genes involved in inflammation, oxidative stress and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), increased the release of inflammatory mediators and caused phenotypical alterations, mostly after two weeks of exposure.These results show that diesel UFP affected cellular processes involved in lung and cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Biomass particles exerted low biological activity compared to diesel UFP. This evidence emphasizes that the study of different emission sources contribution to ambient PM toxicity may have a fundamental role in the development of more effective strategies for air quality improvement.

The remediation of a genuinely PAH-contaminated soil was performed, for the first time, through a new and complete investigation, including PAH extraction followed by advanced oxidation treatment of the washing solution and its recirculation, and an analysis of the impact of the PAH extraction on soil respirometry. The study has been performed on the remediation of genuine PAH-contaminated soil, in the following three steps: (i) PAH extraction with soil washing (SW) techniques, (ii) PAH degradation with an electro-Fenton (EF) process, and (iii) recirculation of the partially oxidized effluent for another SW cycle. The following criteria were monitored during the successive washing cycles: PAH extraction efficiency, PAH oxidation rates and yields, extracting agent recovery, soil microbial activity, and pH of soil. Two representative extracting agents were compared: hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD) and a non-ionic surfactant, Tween® 80. Six PAH with different numbers of rings were monitored: acenaphthene (ACE), phenanthrene (PHE), fluoranthene (FLA), pyrene (PYR), benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), and benzo(g,h,i)perylene (BghiP). Tween® 80 showed much better PAH extraction efficiency (after several SW cycles) than HPCD, regardless of the number of washing cycles. Based on successive SW experiments, a new mathematical relation taking into account the soil/water partition coefficient (Kd*) was established, and could predict the amount of each PAH extracted by the surfactant with a good correlation with experimental results (R² > 0.975). More HPCD was recovered (89%) than Tween® 80 (79%), while the monitored pollutants were completely degraded (>99%) after 4 h and 8 h, respectively. Even after being washed with partially oxidized solutions, the Tween® 80 solutions extracted significantly more PAH than HPCD and promoted better soil microbial activity, with higher oxygen consumption rates. Moreover, neither the oxidation by-products nor the acidic media (pH approximately 3) of the partially oxidized solution inhibited the general soil microbial activity during the washing cycle.

Ultra-fine-ZnO showed low toxicity in complex water matrix containing multiple components such as PBS buffer and the toxic mechanism of ultra-fine-ZnO has not been clearly elucidated. In present study, enhanced antibacterial activity of 200 nm diameter ultra-fine-ZnO in PBS buffer against Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli were observed in the presence of several organic acids in comparison with ultra-fine-ZnO in PBS buffer alone. These findings indicated that the toxic effects of the ultra-fine-ZnO was dependent on the concentration of released Zn2+ which was affected by organic acids. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) did not responsible to the toxic mechanism of ultra-fine-ZnO which was tested using the antioxidant N-Acetylcysteine (NAC). Indeed, ultra-fine-ZnO induced bacteria cell membrane leakages and cell morphology damages that eventually led to cell death, which were confirmed using propidium monoazide (PMA) in combination with PCR and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). All data gathered herein suggested that released Zn2+ played a major role in the microbial toxicity of ultra-fine-ZnO.

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) were determined in sediment/soil profiles to a depth of 30 cm from three different wetlands (i.e., ditch wetlands, riparian wetlands and reclaimed wetlands) of the Pearl River Estuary to elucidate their levels, distribution and toxic risks along a 100-year chronosequence of reclamation. All detected PCB congeners and the total 15 PCBs (∑15 PCBs) decreased with depth along sediment/soil profiles in these three wetlands. The ∑15 PCBs concentrations ranged from 17.68 to 169.26 ng/g in surface sediments/soils. Generally, old wetlands tended to have higher PCB concentrations than younger ones. The dominant PCB congeners at all sampling sites were light PCB homologues (i.e., tetra-CBs and tri-CBs). According to the sediment quality guideline, the average PCB concentrations exceeded the threshold effects level (TEL, 21.6 ng/g) at most of the sampling sites, exhibiting possible adverse biological effects, which were dominantly caused by light PCB congeners. The total toxic equivalent (TEQ) concentrations of 10 dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs) detected at all sampling sites ranged from 0.04 to 852.7 (10−3 ng/g), mainly affected by PCB126. Only DL-PCB concentrations in ditch and riparian wetland sediments with 40-year reclamation histories (i.e., D40 and Ri40) exhibited moderate adverse biological effects according to SQGQ values. Principal component analysis indicated that PCBs in three wetland sediments/soils mainly originated from Aroclor 1016, 1242, and 1248. Correlation analysis showed that sediment/soil organic carbon content had a significant correlation with the concentrations of several PCB congeners (P < 0.05), whereas no significant correlations were observed between any PCBs congeners and grain size or aggregate content (P > 0.05).