Fungi of the Ascomycota phylum were isolated from oil-soaked sand patties collected from beaches following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. To examine their ability to degrade oil, fungal isolates were grown on oiled quartz at 20°C, 30°C and 40°C. Consistent trends in oil degradation were not related to fungal species or temperature and all isolates degraded variable quantities of oil (32–65%). Fungal isolates preferentially degraded short (<C18; 90–99%) as opposed to long (C19–C36; 7–87%) chain n-alkanes and straight chain C17- and C18-n-alkanes (91–99%) compared to their branched counterparts, pristane and phytane (70–98%). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds were also degraded by the fungal isolates (42–84% total degraded), with a preference for low molecular weight over high molecular weight PAHs. Overall, these findings contribute to our understanding of the capacity of fungi to degrade oil in the coastal marine environment.

Sixty years of air pollution from two Cu-Ni smelting plants (“Pechenganikel” and “Severonikel”) in the Kola region in northwest Russia have posed a severe threat for water quality, specifically acidification, in subarctic lakes. In the last two decades, emissions of SO2, Cu and Ni from the smelters have declined with 33 %, 40 % and 36 %, respectively. The 75 lakes in Kola Peninsula were sampled with 5-year intervals for the period 1990 to 2010. In addition, were analysed for major anions and cations, DOC and heavy metals. The lakes were grouped according to geology and distance to emission sources into 6 subregions. The most acid-sensitive lakes are located on granites, quartz sands or in highlands. Since 1990, ANС has increased, which is connected to the reduction of the contents strong acids in water (sulphate, chloride) while base cations concentrations have been almost unchanged. Despite the reduction of sulphate, concentrations of alkalinity have not increased in lake water. We have found an increase in concentration of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nutrients in Kola lake waters over a 20-year period. We suggest this phenomenon can be explained by two mechanisms: a reduction in deposition of strong acids and warming climate. Concentrations of Ni and Cu have decreased 5-10-fold over the last 20 years. We conclude that reduced emissions from Cu-Ni smelting plants has led to improved water quality in the Kola region.

The Bureau Commun de Référence (BCR) sequential extraction scheme and micro-synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence (μ-SXRF) analysis were used to determine the Cu fractionation in a calcareous vineyard soil and a synthetic soil (mixture of seven constituents: calcite, birnessite, ferrihydrite, goethite, lignocellulosic residue, kaolinite, and quartz) at different Cu contamination rates (190, 1270, and 6350 mg kg⁻¹of Cu) and aging times (1, 30, 92, and 181 days). The Cu distribution in the spiked vineyard and synthetic soils was different from the original vineyard one and was influenced by the loading level. The newly added Cu was preferentially present in the acid soluble fraction. Aging of the contaminated vineyard and synthetic soils during 6 months led to the redistribution of Cu from the weakly bound acid soluble fraction to the strongly bound reducible one. The evolution with time could satisfactorily be simulated by the Elovich diffusion model for the synthetic soils. It was less significant as less marked in the contaminated vineyard soil than in the synthetic one, even though the trends observed in both were similar. This study supported the hypothesis that “simple” synthetic models could be used to approach the Cu fractionation and its evolution with time in vineyard soils.

Atmospheric particles were collected in several cities in Japan (Sapporo, Sagamihara, Kanazawa, and Kitakyushu), Korea (Busan), and China (Beijing) using a high-volume air sampler equipped with a quartz fiber filter. The summer and winter samples were analyzed using gas chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry for Dechlorane Plus (DP). Decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) was also analyzed for the samples from Kanazawa and Beijing. DP was detected in all samples. The mean total DP (ΣDP) concentration was highest (6.7 pg/m³) and lowest (0.87 pg/m³) in the winter samples from Sagamihara and Busan, respectively. The seasonal variation of DP concentrations varied by sampling site in this study. BDE-209 was detected in all the analyzed samples except for one of the Kanazawa winter samples. BDE-209 concentration was considerably higher in Beijing than in Kanazawa. Significant correlations were found between the concentrations of ΣDP and BDE-209 in the winter samples from Kanazawa and in both summer and winter samples from Beijing. This similarity in the atmospheric behavior of DP and BDE-209, especially in winter, is assumed to reflect a common end usage and release mechanism.

Former studies on human oral bioaccessibility of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from natural soil samples using human in vitro digestive tract models (physiologically based extraction tests, PBET) show highly variable results (0–100 % of mobilized PAH). Apart from other factors, the type and amount of present geosorbents are assumed to be significant for the degree of desorption/release of PAH into the digestive juice. Therefore, in this study, the reference geosorbents pure quartz sand, Na-montmorillonite clay, Pahokee peat, and charcoal “Sommerhit” were spiked with selected deuterated PAH and employed as single materials in a PBET. Lowest bioaccessibility was determined in charcoal, representing black carbon (0.1 ± 0.1 % for ∑10 PAH-d) in contrast to higher bioaccessibility in peat (6.4 ± 2.2 %) and clay (4.8 ± 1.1 %). Highest bioaccessibility was determined in sand (26.9 ± 7.5 %). The results show a systematic impact of heterogeneous geosorbents on human oral bioaccessibility of PAH and particularly black carbon acting as a very strong geosorbent that reduces human health risk.

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC) utilizing a flow modulator was applied to study particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and n-alkanes in the urban atmosphere. Samples were collected onto quartz fiber filters using a PM2.5 sampler at Megacity Shanghai, China. Sample preparation included extraction into n-hexane-dichloromethane mixture and cleanup on silver-impregnated silica column. Analyses were performed well with GC × GC-FID and GC × GC-TOFMS equipment. Average particulate PAHs and n-alkane concentrations were in the range of 40–100 ng/m³and 120–500 pg/m³, respectively. It is alarming to note that PAHs and n-alkane concentrations were increasing with urban PM2.5 values and exceeded the air quality standards in many sampling events. Among them, 2-ring, 3-ring, and 4-ring PAHs accounted for the majority of total PAHs, and C10–15 accounted for the majority of particulate n-alkanes. Potential sources of PAHs in PM2.5 were identified using the diagnostic ratios between PAHs. Local emission sources such as combustion from gasoline and diesel engines were the main contributors of particulate-associated PAHs, while long-range transport had minor contribution to the particulate PAHs. Additionally, we determined the overall carcinogenicity of the samples based on PAH concentrations by a dose addition model and found that the overall carcinogenicity during polluted period was obviously higher than during good air quality period.

An intensive measurement campaign was undertaken to characterize eight fractions of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in particulate matter (PM) at four urban sites with different pollution characteristics during summer, post-monsoon, and winter at Kanpur, India. Speciation samplers were used to collect particulate samples on quartz filters followed by analysis of OC and EC using Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE)-based thermal/optical reflectance (TOR) method. Based on 24-h average results at each site, the highest levels of OC and EC were observed during winter as 96.7 ± 26.9 and 31.8 ± 9.8 μg/m³ at residential site and traffic site, respectively. The levels of OC at residential sites during winter appeared to be more than twice of that during summer. The site close to the road traffic had the least value of OC/EC, as 1.77 ± 0.28 during post-monsoon, and the site influenced by emissions of domestic cooking and heating had the highest value of OC/EC, as 4.05 ± 0.79 during winter. The average abundances of OC1, OC2, OC3, OC4, OP, EC1, EC2, and EC3 in total carbon (TC) at all sites for three seasons were 10.03, 19.04, 20.03, 12.32, 10.53, 33.39, 3.21, and 1.99 %, respectively. A sharp increase in levels of OC1 and EC1-OP during winter at two residential sites revealed that biomass burning could be a significant contributor to carbonaceous aerosols. From the application of EC-tracer method, it was observed that contribution of secondary organic carbon (SOC) to PM mass increased from 5 % during post-monsoon to 16 % during winter at residential sites and from 2 % during post-monsoon to 7 % during winter at traffic sites. Therefore, it could be inferred that increase in primary emissions coupled with unfavorable meteorological conditions could cause particle agglomeration and hygroscopic growth, leading to unpleasant pollution episode during winter.

In this study, the influence of the heavy-metal-resistant rhizobacterial inoculant Rhodococcus ruber N7 on the growth and enzyme activity of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. under cadmium stress was investigated in quartz sand pot experiments. The effect of cadmium and bacterium on the plant biomass accumulation, photosynthetic pigments, protein content, and the activities of plant-tissue enzymes such as peroxidase, laccase, and tyrosinase were estimated. It was shown that the presence of cadmium in the sand influenced the roots to a greater extent than it influenced the aerial parts of sorghum. This is manifested as increased protein content, reduced activity of peroxidase, and increased activity of laccase. Compared with cadmium stress, inoculation of plants with rhizobacterium R. ruber N7 has a stronger (and often opposite) effect on the biochemical parameters of sorghum, including a decrease in the concentration of protein in the plant, but increased the activity of peroxidase, laccase, and tyrosinase. Under cadmium contamination of sand, R. ruber N7 successfully colonizes the roots of Sorghum bicolor, survives in its root zone, and contributes to the accumulation of the metal in the plant roots, thereby reducing the concentration of the pollutant in the environment.

It is known that an increase of COD/N ratio can result in an enhanced removal of nutrients in membrane bioreactors (MBRs); however, impacts of doing so on membrane filtration performance remain unclear. In this work, comparison of membrane filtration performance, microbial community, and microbial products under low temperature was carried out in anoxic/oxic (A/O) MBRs with COD/N ratios of 9.9 and 5.5 g COD/g N in influent. There was no doubt that an improvement of nitrogen removal under high COD/N ratio was observed; however, severer membrane fouling was found compared to the MBR fed with low COD/N ratio wastewater. The increase of COD/N ratio resulted in an elevated production of humic acids in soluble microbial product (SMP) and carbohydrates, proteins, and humic acids in loosely bound extracellular polymeric substance (LB-EPS). Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) analysis showed that the adsorption capability of SMP and LB-EPS was higher in the MBR with higher COD/N ratio. Four hundred fifty four high-throughput pyrosequencing revealed that the higher COD/N ratio led to the enrichment of Bacteroidetes at phylum level and Azospira, Thauera, Zoogloea, etc. at genus level. Bacteroidetes are considered to potentially release EPS, and Azospira, Thauera, and Zoogloea, etc. have denitrification activity. The change in microbial communities is consistent with MBR performance.

Daily PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ samples were collected between April 2009 and July 2010 at a rural site (Sinop) situated on the coast of the Central Black Sea. The concentrations of PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ were 23.2 ± 16.7 and 9.8 ± 6.9 μg m⁻³, respectively. Coarse and fine filters were analyzed for Cl⁻, NO₃ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻, C₂O₄ ²⁻, PO₄ ³⁻, Na⁺, NH₄ ⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, and Ca²⁺ by using ion chromatography. Elemental and organic carbon content in bulk quartz filters were also analyzed. The highest PM₂.₅ contribution to PM₁₀ was found in summer with a value of 0.54 due to enhanced secondary aerosols in relation to photochemistry. Cl⁻, Na⁺, and Mg²⁺ illustrated their higher concentrations and variability during winter. Chlorine depletion was chiefly attributed to nitrate. Higher nssCa²⁺ concentrations were ascribed to episodic mineral dust intrusions from North Africa into the region. Crustal material (31 %) and sea salt (13 %) were found to be accounted for the majority of the PM₁₀. The ionic mass (IM), particulate organic matter (POM), and elemental carbon (EC) explained 13, 20, and 3 % of the PM₁₀ mass, correspondingly. The IM, POM, and EC dominated the PM₂.₅ (~74 %) mass. Regarding EU legislation, the exceeded PM₂.₅ values were found to be associated with secondary aerosols, with a particular dominance of POM. For the exceeded PM₁₀ values, six of the events were dominated by dust while two and four of these exceedances were caused by sea salt and mix events, respectively.