Ganga-Meghna-Bramhaputra basin is one of the major arsenic-contaminated hotspot in the world. To assess the level of severity of arsenic contamination, concentrations of arsenic in irrigation water, soil, rice, wheat, common vegetables, and pulses, intensively cultivated and consumed by the people of highly arsenic affected Nadia district, West Bengal, India, were investigated. Results revealed that the arsenic-contaminated irrigation water (0.318-0.643 mg l⁻¹) and soil (5.70-9.71 mg kg⁻¹) considerably influenced in the accumulation of arsenic in rice, pulses, and vegetables in the study area. Arsenic concentrations of irrigation water samples were many folds higher than the WHO recommended permissible limit for drinking water (0.01 mg l⁻¹) and FAO permissible limit for irrigation water (0.10 mg l⁻¹). But, the levels of arsenic in soil were lower than the reported global average of 10.0 mg kg⁻¹ and was much below the EU recommended maximum acceptable limit for agricultural soil (20.0 mg kg⁻¹). The total arsenic concentrations in the studied samples ranged from <0.0003 to 1.02 mg kg⁻¹. The highest and lowest mean arsenic concentrations (milligrams per kilogram) were found in potato (0.654) and in turmeric (0.003), respectively. Higher mean arsenic concentrations (milligrams per kilogram) were observed in Boro rice grain (0.451), arum (0.407), amaranth (0.372), radish (0.344), Aman rice grain (0.334), lady's finger (0.301), cauliflower (0.293), and Brinjal (0.279). Apart from a few potato samples, arsenic concentrations in the studied crop samples, including rice grain samples were found not to exceed the food hygiene concentration limit (1.0 mg kg⁻¹). Thus, the present study reveals that rice, wheat, vegetables, and pulses grown in the study area are safe for consumption, for now. But, the arsenic accumulation in the crops should be monitored periodically as the level of arsenic toxicity in the study area is increasing day by day.

In this report, the toxic effect of TCE (trichloroethylene), PCE (tetrachloroethylene), and potassium dichromate on P. subcapitata was investigated. The test was conducted at different concentrations of pollutants, starting from the European Community limit values defined for each analysed contaminant. Mixtures of pollutants were also tested to verify the combined effect of algae cells. Results suggest that both TCE and PCE were able to reduce P. subcapitata growth and metabolism starting from 0.05 and 0.02 mg L⁻¹ of contaminant, respectively. PCE seems to be substantially more toxic than TCE. Chromium produces a clear effect on algae growth and esterase activity only starting from 1 mg L⁻¹ of potassium dichromate; this result confirms the suitability of EU limit value. AFLP analysis showed that all tested pollutants produce DNA mutations probably due to oxygen radicals. Generally, chromium, at high concentrations, is more toxic and genotoxic that TCE or PCE. Test performed with a mixture of pollutants showed a synergic effect of chromium and organic compounds suggesting that the membrane damage induced from organic substances should increase the chromium cellular access.

Ambient aerosol concentrations have been implicated in human health effects, in visibility reduction in urban and regional areas, in acid deposition and in perturbing the Earth’s radiation balance. The main concern of the air quality managers is to achieve compliance to the established air quality standards (AQS). As AQS are exceeded in numerous sites worldwide, it is essential to reduce the emissions. Having decided which statistical distribution fits well to the PM10 parent distribution, it is feasible to estimate the reduction in emissions that is required in order to meet AQS. In this study, it is verified that the PM10 concentration distribution can be adequately simulated by lognormal distribution, a conclusion drawn by the calculation of several statistical indexes. The study area is the city of Volos in central Greece, which is experiencing an unpleasant situation concerning the levels of PM10 pollution. The probability density function of lognormal distribution is capable to predict the number of days when the European Union (EU) AQS for PM10 concentration are exceeded in Volos area. Furthermore, the minimum reduction in current emission sources of PM10 required in order to meet the air quality regulations that are established by the EU is calculated for the study area and is found to be ~33%. The results could be utilized as reference for air pollution control strategy.