There is less research on the hydrological system and its destruction processes mechanism in the mining areas, especially combined application of isotope technology and chemical signals, which is a key scientific problem that need to be solved. This study takes Jinci spring area in Shanxi as a case study. It is based on the data of hydrology and mining condition from 1954 to 2015, combining monitoring experiments, O18, D, S34 and N15 tracing, chemical and model simulation. This study investigates the hydrological regularity and impacts of mining activities on water quantity and quality, and reveals the destruction process of hydrological system. The results show that: (1) Water chemical type shows an evolutionary trend of HCO3−-Ca2+-Mg2+→SO42--HCO3--Ca2+-Mg2+→SO42--Ca2+-Mg2+, due to the influence of exploitation and fault zones. Isotope tracer shows that mine pit water is formed by a mixture of pore water, karst water and surface water. (2) Although precipitation and seepage have a certain impact on the reducing of groundwater quantity, over-exploitation of water resource is still the main reason for reducing of groundwater quantity. Under the conditions of keeping the exploitation intensity at the current level or reducing it by 10%, groundwater level shows a declining trend. Under the condition of reducing it by 30%, groundwater level starts to rise up. When reducing by 50%, groundwater level reaches its highest point. Coalmining changes the runoff, recharge and discharge paths. (3) From 1985 to 2015, Water quality in the mining area is worsening. Ca2+ increases by 35.30%, SO42− increases by 52.80%, and TDS (Total Dissolved Solid) increases by 67.50%. Nitrates come from the industrial and domestic wastewater, which is generated by mining. The percentage of groundwater coming from gypsum dissolusion is 67.51%, and the percentage from coal measure strata water is 34.49%. The water qualities of river branches are generally deteriorated.

Process-based models have been widely used for predicting environmental fate of contaminants. Nevertheless, accurate modeling of pentachlorophenol (PCP) dissipation in soils at the millimeter-scale remains a challenge due to the scarcity of observation data and uncertainty associated with model assumptions and estimation of the model parameters. To provide quantitative analysis of PCP-dissipation at the anaerobic/aerobic interface of a rhizobox experiment, this study implemented Bayesian parameter estimation for a process-based reactive chemical transport model. The model considered the main transport and transformation processes of chemicals including diffusion, sorption and degradation. The contributions of the processes to PCP dissipation were apportioned both in space and time. Using the maximum-a-posteriori (MAP) estimation of parameters, our model fitted the experimental data better compared with the previous work. Our results indicated that the most reactive zone for PCP dissipation occurred in the layer of 0–2.4 mm where degradation in solid phase dominated the PCP dissipation, while upward diffusion was the main mechanism for the reduction of PCP concentration in deeper layer (2.4–4.8 mm). By considering the coupled reactive transport of PCP and Cl⁻, the average degrees of PCP dechlorination in each layer were estimated from corresponding total concentrations of PCP and Cl⁻. The degrees of PCP dechlorination in the ponding water and the top layer of soil profile were highest, while 2,3,4,5- TeCP and 3,4,5- TCP were identified as the main dechlorination products in the soil. This study demonstrated that combining Bayesian estimation with process-based reactive chemical transport model can provide more insights of PCP dissipation at the millimeter-scale. This approach can help to understand complex dissipation mechanisms for other contaminants.

RT-qPCR allows sensitive detection of viral particles of both infectious and noninfectious viruses in water environments, but cannot discriminate non-infectious from infectious viruses. In this study, we aimed to optimize RT-qPCR-based detection of chlorine-inactivated human norovirus (NoV) and pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) in suspension by pretreatment with an optimal combination of a monoazide and a detergent that can efficiently penetrate damaged viral capsids. Four methods were compared to determine the efficacy of chlorine disinfection (at 1, 3, and 5 min mg/L): (A) RT-qPCR alone, (B) RT-qPCR assay preceded by magnetic bead separation for enrichment of viral particles (MBS-RT-qPCR), (C) MBS-RT-qPCR assay with pretreatment with propidium monoazide (PMA-MBS-RT-qPCR), and (D) PMA-MBS-RT-qPCR assay with pretreatment with sodium lauroyl sarcosinate (INCI-PMA-MBS-RT-qPCR). On the basis of a PMA optimization assay, 200 and 300 μM PMA were used in subsequent experiments for NoV GII.4 and PMMoV, respectively. Optimal INCI concentrations, having minimal influence on NoV GII.4 and PMMoV, were found to be 0.5% and 0.2% INCI, respectively. For NoV GII.4, there were significant differences (P < 0.05) in log₁₀ genome copies between the PMA-treated and the INCI + PMA-treated samples (log₁₀ genome copies differed by 1.11 and 0.59 log₁₀ for 3 and 5 min mg/L of chlorine, respectively). For PMMoV, INCI induced differences in log₁₀ genome copies of 0.92, 1.18, and 1.86, for 1, 3, and 5 min mg/L of chlorine, respectively. Overall, the results of this study indicate that an optimal combination of PMA and INCI could be very useful for evaluating disinfection methods in water treatment strategies.

Particulate organic matter (POM) acts as a metals sink in soil, but only a few studies focused on the interaction of POM and heavy metals in paddy soil. The aim of this study is to investigate the interaction between POM and Copper (Cu)/Zinc (Zn). Two levels of Cu (100, 400 mg kg⁻¹) and Zn (250, 500 mg kg⁻¹) were used in a soil culture experiment. Our results showed that POM was porous structure and varied in size. Hydroxyl and carboxyl involved in POM adsorption of Cu and Zn. Rhizosphere effects roughen the surface of POM and enhanced the capacity of POM on heavy metals absorption. Cu-humic (26.2–33.9%) and Cu-citrate (38.5–42.4%) were dominated in POM, and Cu-goethite (41.7–57.7%), Cu-sulphide (6.6–27.6%) was dominated in soil. Rhizosphere effects decreased the proportion of organic-bond Cu along with the increasing the proportion of Cu-sulphide in POM. Addition of Cu and Zn inhibited the degradation of POM but rhizosphere effects promoted. Carbon content was increased in POM by heavy metal and rhizosphere effects. Our findings indicated that POM tended to retain the heavy metals in soil and heavy metals inhibited the degradation of POM, however, rhizosphere effects decreased the stability of POM-metals interactions.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and related substances are widely used in various industrial and commercial applications in China that ultimately discharge sufficient quantities of PFOS to the environment. It remains unclear how emissions of PFOS ultimately affect its concentrations as well as its fate in the environment. In this study, an improved Berkeley-Trent (BETR) multimedia model is developed to predict the PFOS levels with spatial and temporal distributions on unsteady state mode from 1981 to 2050, by taking the Bohai Rim of China as a case. The results showed that the modeled concentrations agreed well with the measured data. According to the model, PFOS concentrations in fresh water peaked in some months after the peak emission (2008 or 2009), whereas in urban soil the concentrations increased to peak slightly later (around 2014). Among the selected regions, Beijing and Tianjin were simulated with higher PFOS levels in the past and present because of their higher urbanization and industrialization since the 1980s, while in the future, Shandong and Liaoning are expected to have higher concentrations of PFOS than those in Beijing. The water system including coastal water, fresh water and sediment was the biggest sink for PFOS for coastal regions. Among the chemical inputs, direct primary emissions played a more important role, whereas for chemical removal processes, inter-regional advection and background outflow were the predominant pathways. The results would be useful to control the PFOS releases in China and will help the management agencies to implement the “Stockholm Convention” effectively.

In this study, concentrations of NOₓ, SO₂, O₃ and fine particles (PM₂.₅) were measured at three monitoring stations in Beijing during 2015. For extreme haze episodes during 25 Nov. - 3 Dec. 2015, observation data confirmed that high concentrations of NOₓ promoted the conversion of SO₂ to sulfate. Annual data confirmed that this is an important mechanism for the occurrence of heavy haze during winter in Beijing. Furthermore, in situ perturbation experiments in a potential aerosol mass (PAM) reactor were carried out at Shengtaizhongxin (STZX) station during both clean and polluted days. The concentrations of SO₄²⁻, NH₄⁺, NO₃⁻ and organic aerosol were positively related to the concentration of added NO₂. These results provide definitive evidence that NO₂ can promote the conversion of SO₂ to sulfate. At the same time, we found that NO₂ can promote the formation of NH₄⁺ and organic compounds in the aerosols. Our results illustrate that strengthened controls of nitrogen oxides is a key step in reducing the fine particles level in China.

Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) has been widely used as a plasticizer in industry. DEHP can cause testicular atrophy, yet the exact mechanism remains unclear. In this study, male mice were intragastrically (i.g.) administered with 0, 100, 200 or 400 mg DEHP/kg/day for 21 days. We found that DEHP caused disintegration of the germinal epithelium and decreased sperm density in the epididymis. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the levels of cleaved Caspase-8, cleaved Caspase-3 and Bax proteins and a decrease in Bcl2 protein. The results indicated that DEHP could induce apoptosis of the testis tissue. Meanwhile, DEHP significantly induced autophagy in the testis tissues with increases in LC3-II, Atg5 and Beclin-1 proteins. The serum testosterone concentration decreased in the DEHP-treated group, implying that DEHP might lead to Leydig cell damage. Furthermore, oxidative stress was induced by DEHP in the testis. To further investigate the potential mechanism, mouse TM3 Leydig cells were treated with 0–80 μM DEHP for 48 h. DEHP significantly inhibited cell viability and induced cell apoptosis. Oxidative stress was involved in DEHP-induced apoptosis as N-Acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), an inhibitor of oxidative stress, could rescue the inhibition of cell viability and induction of apoptosis by DEHP. Similar to the in vivo findings, DEHP could also induce cell autophagy. However, inhibition of autophagy by 3-Methyladenine (3-MA) significantly increased cell viability and inhibited apoptosis. Taken together, oxidative stress was involved in DEHP-induced apoptosis and autophagy of mouse TM3 Leydig cells, and autophagy might play a cytotoxic role in DEHP-induced cell apoptosis.

Soil is a heterogeneous porous media that is comprised of a variety of organo-mineral aggregates. Sorption of heavy metals onto these composite solids is a key process that controls heavy metal mobility and fate in the natural environment. Pollution from a combination of heavy metals is common in soil, therefore, understanding the competitive binding behavior of metal ions to organo-mineral composites is important in order to predict metal mobility and fate. In this study, batch experiments were paired with spectroscopic studies to probe the sorption characteristics of ternary CdNiCu sorbates to a binary organo-goethite composite made with Bacillus cereus cells. Scanning electron microscopy shows that goethite nano-sized crystals are closely associated with the bacterial surfaces. Sorption experiments show a larger adsorptivity and affinity for Cu than Cd/Ni on goethite and B. cereus, and the goethite–B. cereus composite. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that carboxylate and phosphate functional moieties present on the bacterial cell walls are primarily responsible for metal sorption to the goethite–B. cereus composite. Synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence shows that Cu and Ni are predominately associated with the bacterial fraction of the goethite–B. cereus composite, whereas Cd is mainly associated with the goethite fraction. The findings of this research have important implications for predicting the mobility and fate of heavy metals in soil multi-component systems.

The generation of HONO and NO₂ by the photolysis of nitrates in the presence of humic acids (HA) was measured under various conditions. The photolysis experiments of HA, KNO₃ and KNO₃/HA under simulated sunlight was carried out by a flow tube reactor at ambient temperature and pressure. HONO and NO₂ were major products by the photolysis of KNO₃. By contrast, the photolysis of HA and KNO₃/HA mainly generated HONO. HA significantly enhanced the formation of HONO during the photolysis process of KNO₃. With increasing the KNO₃ mass, the HONO formation rate (RHONO) on KNO₃/HA increased while the photolysis rate normalized by the KNO₃ mass exhibited an opposite trend. RHONO on KNO₃/HA linearly increased with irradiation intensity (88–262 W/m²) and relative humidity (7–70%), whereas it linearly decreased with the pH (pH = 2–12). In addition, the reaction paths of the HONO formation by the photolysis of nitrates in the presence of HA were proposed according to experimental results. Finally, atmospheric implications of the enhanced HONO formation by the photolysis of nitrates in the presence of HA were discussed.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient of the commercial formulation Roundup®, which is used worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the toxic effects of pure glyphosate or Roundup® on pregnant mice and their fetuses during pregnancy. From gestation days (GDs) 1–19, ICR mice were orally administered distilled water, 0.5% glyphosate solution or 0.5%-glyphosate Roundup® solution. The ovaries and serum were collected at GD19. The results showed decreases in body weight gain and, ovary and liver weight in glyphosate-treated mice. Additionally, histopathological alterations in the ovary including increased atretic follicles, interstitial fibrosis and decreased mature follicles were observed in the groups treated with glyphosate. The serum concentrations of both progesterone and estrogen were markedly altered after glyphosate exposure, and there were also changes in the expression of GnRH, LHR, FSHR, 3β-HSD and Cyp19a1 genes at the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. Furthermore, oxidative stress was observed in the treated mice, increasing the activity of T-AOC, CAT and GSH-Px, as well as the MDA content in both the serum and ovary. With regard to litters, the sex ratio was significantly altered by pure glyphosate. These results show that glyphosate is able to cause several effects on pregnant mice, such as ovarian failure, interference with hormone secretion by affecting the steroidogenesis-related gene expression, and oxidative stress. The sex ratio of litters was also influenced by prenatal exposure to pure glyphosate.