Glyphosate (GLY) is one of the most used herbicide worldwide. Considering that information concerning the impact of GLY on bivalves is scarce, in this study we evaluated for the first time the effects of environmentally realistic concentrations of GLY (10, 100 and 1000 μg/L) to the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. Mussels were exposed for 7, 14 and 21 days and several biomarkers were measured in haemocytes/haemolymph (total haemocyte counts, haemocyte diameter and volume, haemolymph pH, haemolymph lactate dehydrogenase activity, haemocyte lysate lysozyme and acid phosphatase activities), as well as in gills and digestive gland (antioxidant enzyme and acetylcholinesterase activities). The concentrations of GLY and its main metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid in the experimental tanks were also measured. The MANOVA analysis demonstrated that the experimental variables considered (exposure concentration, exposure duration, and their interaction) affected significantly biomarker responses. In addition, the two-way ANOVA analysis indicated that GLY was able to affect most of the cellular parameters measured, whereas antioxidant enzyme activities resulted to be influenced moderately. Interestingly, exposure to GLY reduced significantly acetylcholinesterase activity in gills. Although preliminary, the results of this study demonstrated that GLY can affect both cellular and biochemical parameters in mussels, highlighting a potential risk for aquatic invertebrates.

High concentrations of the fine particles (PM₂.₅) are frequently observed during all seasons over the North China Plain (NCP) region in recent years. In NCP, the contributions of regional transports to certain area, e.g. Beijing city, are often discussed and estimated by models when considering an effective air pollution controlling strategy. In this study, we selected three sites from southwest to northeast in NCP, in which the concentrations of air pollutants displayed a multi-step decreasing trend in space. An approach based on the measurement results at these sites has been developed to calculate the relative contributions of the minimal local emission (MinLEC) and the maximum regional transport (MaxRTC) to the air pollutants (e.g., SO₂, NO₂, CO, PM₂.₅) in Beijing. The minimal influence of local emission is estimated by the difference of the air pollutants' concentrations between urban and rural areas under the assumption of a similar influence of regional transport. Therefore, it's convenient to estimate the contributions of local emission from regional transport based on the selective measurement results instead of the complex numerical model simulation. For the whole year of 2013, the averaged contributions of MinLEC (MaxRTC) for NO₂, SO₂, PM₂.₅ and CO are 61.7% (30.7%), 46.6% (48%), 52.1% (40.2%) and 35.8% (45.5%), respectively. The diurnal variation of MaxRTC for SO₂, PM₂.₅ and CO shows an increased pattern during the afternoon and reached a peak (more than 50%) around 18:00, which indicates that the regional transport is the important role for the daytime air pollution in Beijing.

High levels of phthalates in name-brand cosmetics products have raised concerns about phthalate exposure and the associated risk for cosmetics sales clerks. We assessed the exposure and risk of phthalates in 23 cosmetics, 4 perfume, and 9 clothing department store sales clerks. We collected 108 urine samples pre- and post-shift and analyzed for phthalate monoesters through liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry. Phthalates in 32 air samples were collected and analyzed through gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Demographic characteristics and information on the exposure scenarios were obtained through questionnaires. Principal component analysis, cluster and risk analysis were applied to identify the exposure profile and risk of phthalate.Median post-shift levels of urinary mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP) and monomethyl phthalate (MMP) were significantly higher than the corresponding pre-shift levels in cosmetics group (53.3 vs. 30.9 μg/g-c for MEHP; 34.4 vs. 22.5 μg/g-c for MMP; both P < 0.05) and the post-shift levels of urinary MMP was significantly higher than the corresponding pre-shift levels in perfume group (26.6 vs. 14.9 μg/g-c, P < 0.05). Median levels of air diethyl phthalate (DEP) in cosmetics (1.77 μg/m³) and perfume (1.75 μg/m³) groups and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in perfume group (6.98 μg/m³) were higher than those in clothing group (DEP: 0.89; DEHP: 2.16 μg/m³). Over half of cosmetic (70%) and perfume sale clerks had exceeded cumulative risk of phthalate exposure for anti-androgenic effect. We concluded that cosmetic and perfume workers had increased risks of reproductive or hepatic effects for DBP and DEHP exposure. We suggest that not only inhalation but dermal exposure is important route of phthalate exposure for cosmetics and perfume workers.

Assessing ozone (O3) risk to vegetation is crucial for informing policy making. Soil nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availability could change stomatal conductance which is the main driver of O3 uptake into a leaf. In addition, the availability of N and P could influence photosynthesis and growth. We thus postulated that the sensitivity of plants to O3 may be changed by the levels of N and P in the soil. In this study, a sensitive poplar clone (Oxford) was subject to two N levels (N0, 0 kg N ha−1; N80, 80 kg N ha−1), three P levels (P0, 0 kg P ha−1; P40, 40 kg P ha−1; P80, 80 kg P ha−1) and three levels of O3 exposure (ambient concentration, AA; 1.5 × AA; 2.0 × AA) for a whole growing season in an O3 free air controlled exposure (FACE) facility. Flux-based (POD0 to 6) and exposure-based (W126 and AOT40) dose-response relationships were fitted and critical levels (CLs) were estimated for a 5% decrease of total annual biomass. It was found that N and P availability modified the dose-response relationships of biomass responses to O3. Overall, the N supply decreased the O3 CLs i.e. increased the sensitivity of poplar to O3. Phosphorus alleviated the O3-caused biomass loss and increased the CL. However, such mitigation effects of P were found only in low N and not in high N conditions. In each nutritional treatment, similar performance was found between flux-based and exposure-based indices. However, the flux-based approach was superior, as compared to exposure indices, to explain the biomass reduction when all nutritional treatments were pooled together. The best O3 metric for risk assessments was POD4, with 4.6 mmol m−2 POD4 as a suitable CL for Oxford poplars grown under various soil N and P conditions.

The potential impact of exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on the health and survival of cetaceans continues to be an issue for conservation and management, yet few quantitative approaches for estimating population level effects have been developed. An individual based model (IBM) for assessing effects on both calf survival and immunity was developed and tested. Three case study species (bottlenose dolphin, humpback whale and killer whale) in four populations were taken as examples and the impact of varying levels of PCB uptake on achievable population growth was assessed. The unique aspect of the model is its ability to evaluate likely effects of immunosuppression in addition to calf survival, enabling consequences of PCB exposure on immune function on all age-classes to be explored. By incorporating quantitative tissue concentration-response functions from laboratory animal model species into an IBM framework, population trajectories were generated. Model outputs included estimated concentrations of PCBs in the blubber of females by age, which were then compared to published empirical data. Achievable population growth rates were more affected by the inclusion of effects of PCBs on immunity than on calf survival, but the magnitude depended on the virulence of any subsequent encounter with a pathogen and the proportion of the population exposed. Since the starting population parameters were from historic studies, which may already be impacted by PCBs, the results should be interpreted on a relative rather than an absolute basis. The framework will assist in providing quantitative risk assessments for populations of concern.

The partitioning behavior of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) between gaseous and particulate phases from coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) is critically important to predict PAH removal by dust control devices. In this study, 16 US-EPA priority PAHs in gaseous and size-segregated particulate phases at the inlet and outlet of the fabric filter unit (FFs) of a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler were analyzed. The partitioning mechanisms of PAHs between gaseous and particulate phases and in particles of different size classes were investigated. We found that the removal efficiencies of PAHs are 45.59% and 70.67–89.06% for gaseous and particulate phases, respectively. The gaseous phase mainly contains low molecular weight (LMW) PAHs (2- and 3-ring PAHs), which is quite different from the particulate phase that mainly contains medium and high molecular weight (MMW and HMW) PAHs (4- to 6-ring PAHs). The fractions of LMW PAHs show a declining trend with the decrease of particle size. The gas-particle partitioning of PAHs is primarily controlled by organic carbon absorption, in addition, it has a clear dependence on the particle sizes. Plot of log (TPAH/PM) against logDp shows that all slope values were below −1, suggesting that PAHs were mainly adsorbed to particulates. The adsorption effect of PAHs in size-segregated PMs for HMW PAHs is more evident than LMW PAHs. The particle size distributions (PSDs) of individual PAHs show that most of PAHs exhibit bi-model structures, with one mode peaking in the accumulation size range (2.1–1.1 μm) and another mode peaking in coarse size range (5.8–4.7 μm). The intensities of these two peaks vary in function of ring number of PAHs, which is likely attributed to Kelvin effect that the less volatile HMW PAH species preferentially condense onto the finer particulates. The emission factor of PAHs was calculated as 3.53 mg/kg of coal burned, with overall mean EFPAH of 0.55 and 2.98 mg/kg for gaseous and particulate phase, respectively. Moreover, the average emission amount of PAHs for the investigated CFPP was 1016.6 g/day and 371073.6 g/y, respectively.

Environment pollution often occurs as an obvious combined effect involving two (or more) elements, and this effect changes with the concentrations of the different elements. The effects on barley root elongation were studied in hydroponic systems to investigate the toxicity of Cu–Ni combined at low doses and at a fixed concentration ratio. For low doses of Cu–Ni, the addition of Ni (<0.5 μM) to Cu significantly decreased Cu toxicity for barley, but the addition of Cu (<0.25 μM) had no significant effect on Ni toxicity. At a fixed concentration ratio, according to the single effective concentration (EC) (barley root elongation inhibitory concentration) values of Cu and Ni, five sets of Cu–Ni fixed ratios were used: ECn(Cu)+ECm(Ni) (n + m = 100) (ECn and ECₘ indicate toxicity unit value for n% and m% inhibition of barley root length, respectively). The calculated toxicity unit value for 50% inhibition of root length ranged from 0.44 to 0.98 (i.e., <1), indicating a synergistic effect. To consider the interactions between the metal ions, the extended concentration addition model (e-CA) was established by integrating the Cu–Ni interaction into the concentration addition model (CA), and the data of two groups (the low doses of Cu–Ni and at a fixed concentration ratio) were respectively fitted. The e-CA accurately predicted the root length of barley under the Cu–Ni combined action. The correlation coefficient (r) and the root-mean-square error (RMSE) between predicted and observed values were 0.97 and 6.6 (low-dose group) and 0.96 and 8.12 (fixed-ratio group), respectively, and e-CA significantly improved the prediction accuracy compared to the traditional CA model without consideration of the Cu–Ni competition (r = 0.89, RMSE = 14.16). The results provided a theoretical basis for evaluation and remediation of soil contaminated with heavy metal composites.

Surfactants are high production volume chemicals used in numerous domestic and industrial applications and, after use, the most abundant organic contaminants in wastewater. Their discharge might jeopardize the receiving aquatic ecosystems, including sediments, where they tend to accumulate. This is the first comprehensive study on their distribution and fate in this environmental compartment as we performed simultaneous analysis of the three main classes of surfactants (anionic: LAS; nonionic: NPEO and AEO; cationic: DTDMAC, DADMAC, BAC, and ATMAC) and some of their transformation products (SPC, NP, NPEC, and PEG). To account for spatial and time trends, surface sediments and dated cores were collected from Jamaica Bay, a heavily sewage-impacted estuary in New York City. The concentrations of surfactants in surface sediments were between 18 and > 200 μg g⁻¹ and showed slight variation (<10%) over different sampling years (1998, 2003 and 2008). Cationic surfactants were found at the highest concentrations, with DTDMAC accounting for between 52 and 90% of the total sum of target compounds. Vertical concentration profiles in dated cores from the most contaminated station, in the vicinity of the biggest local sewage treatment plant (STP), indicated two sub-surface surfactant peaks in the mid-1960s (469 μg g⁻¹) and late 1980s (572 μg g⁻¹) coinciding with known STP upgrades. This trend was observed for most target compounds, except for DADMAC, C22ATMAC, and PEG, which showed a continuous increase towards the top of the cores. In-situ degradation was studied by comparing sediment core samples taken 12 years apart (1996 and 2008) and revealed a net decrease in PEG and specific surfactants (BAC, ATMAC, NPEO, and AEO) accompanied by growing concentrations of metabolites (SPC, NP, and NPEC). DTDMAC, DADMAC, and LAS, however, remained stable over this period, suggesting recalcitrant behavior under the anaerobic conditions in Jamaica Bay sediments.Chronology of major synthetic surfactants are illustrated in the dated sediment cores, as well as their different diagenetic fates.

Total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MMHg) were investigated in 259 wild plants belonging to 49 species in 29 families that grew in heavily Hg-contaminated wastelands composed of cinnabar ore mine tailings (calcines) in the Wanshan region, southwestern China, the world's third largest Hg mining district. The bioconcentration factors (BCFs) of THg and MMHg from soil to roots ([THg]ᵣₒₒₜ/[THg]ₛₒᵢₗ, [MMHg]ᵣₒₒₜ/[MMHg]ₛₒᵢₗ) were evaluated. The results showed that THg and MMHg in both plants and soils varied widely, with ranges of 0.076–140 μg/g THg and 0.19–87 ng/g MMHg in roots, 0.19–106 μg/g THg and 0.06–31 ng/g MMHg in shoots, and 0.74–1440 μg/g THg and 0.41–820 ng/g MMHg in soil. Among all investigated species, Arthraxon hispidus, Eremochloa ciliaris, Clerodendrum bunge, and Ixeris sonchifolia had significantly elevated concentrations of THg in shoots and/or roots that reached 100 μg/g, whereas Chenopodium glaucum, Corydalisedulis maxim, and Rumex acetosa contained low values below 0.5 μg/g. In addition to the high THg concentrations, the fern E. ciliaris also showed high BCF values for both THg and MMHg exceeding 1.0, suggesting its capability to extract Hg from soils. Considering its dominance and the tolerance identified in the present study, E. ciliaris is suggested to be a practical candidate for phytoextraction, whereas A. hispidus is identified as a potential candidate for phytostabilization of Hg mining-contaminated soils.

Ants accumulate heavy metals and respond to pollution with modification in species composition, community structure, altered behaviour and immunity. However, the levels of heavy metals in ants’ nests and explicit individual-level responses towards heavy metals have not been revealed. We found that red wood ants Formica lugubris accumulate high and correlated values of such heavy metals as Al, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn both in ants and nest material near cobalt smelter in Finland. Relative differences in metal concentrations were higher in nests than in ants. The highest values were obtained for elements such as Co (36.6), Zn (14.9), Cd (9.7), Pb (8.5), Cu (7.4), Ni (6.4), As (4.7), Cr (2.9) and Fe (2.4) in nest material, and Co (32.7), Cd (6.3), Pb (6), Fe (2.8), Ni (2.9) and Zn (2.1) in ants. In industrial and reference areas, ants have no differences in size, but differed in dry and residual body mass. In polluted areas, F. lugubris had less melanised heads, but not thoraxes. The sensitivity of cuticular colouration in red wood ants subjected to heavy metal pollution might be related to metal-binding properties of melanins. The overall results are useful for the improvement of biomonitoring techniques using ants as indicators of industrial contamination and for further discovery of novel ecotoxicological biomarkers.