A microarray for the detection of toxic algal species was developed in the European Union 7th Framework project MIDTAL. We initially tested all available fluorescence in situ hybridisation probes for toxic algae, which are normally designed to a length of 18 nt, and found that in most cases the signal was rather weak or all probes designed from the second half of the molecule were inaccessible in a microarray format because of secondary structure of the ribosomal RNA molecule We modified the length of the probes, the fragmentation of the rRNA, the stringency of the washing buffers and the length of the spacer molecules linking the probes to the glass surface of the microarray. Because of the secondary structure of the rRNA molecule, regions of the molecule can be difficult to access by the probes. Each of these modifications has improved probe accessibility and probe specificity to reduce false positives.

Bulk atmospheric deposition measurements for selected persistent toxic substances (PTS) were performed along environment gradients (urban–suburban–rural–background sites) in Brazil. The aim with this work is to investigate the fate of PTS and their emissions in South America, particularly along environment transects. Bulk sampler systems (polyurethane foams, 1 × 1 m²) were fixed along environment gradients (urban–suburban–rural–background) over summer and winter periods (2005–2007) at sites of different climate zones of Brazil. Organochlorine pesticides (OCs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to electron capture detector (Shimadzu 2010, 20i GC-ECD). Urban sites reported the highest deposition rates for all PTS, ranging from tens to thousands of pictograms per square meter per day. Basically, there were no obvious seasonal differences in deposition rate concentrations for PTS along the urban–suburban–rural–background gradient. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites were the OCs most frequently detected at relatively high deposition rate levels (>1,000 pg m⁻² day⁻¹). Other legacy and current-use pesticides such as hexachlorocyclohexanes, endosulfans, hexachlorcyclobenzine, dieldrin, aldrin, metoxichlor, and chlodanes were also detected at lower deposition rate levels (10–100 pg m⁻² day⁻¹). PCBs were detected at extremely high deposition rate levels (1,000–10,000 pg m⁻² day⁻¹) with highest contributions from the tetra-PCBs (PCB-52, PCB-44, PCB-66, PCB-81, and PCB-77) and penta-PCB congeners (PCB-101, PCB-105, PCB-114, PCB-118, and PCB-126). The greatest deposition rate concentrations for total PCBs were mainly detected at urban sites in connection with high population densities. The observed high deposition rate concentrations for PCBs and DDTs at urban sites are probably associated with old PTS stocks emissions. For PCBs in particular, the high levels are strongly associated with local population densities, highlighting the effect of local/regional urban sources on these target PTS. These results are important to show that even though the use of PTS is regulated, the deposition of selected PTS is still impacted by local and regional emissions in Brazil and may be related to the historical and continued emissions from old PTS stocks.

Activated carbons (ACs) were developed from bio-waste materials like rice husk and peanut shell (PS) by various physicochemical activation methods. PS char digested in nitric acid followed by treatment at 673 K resulted in high surface area up to ∼585 m²/g. The novelty of the present study is the identification of oxygen functional groups formed on the surface of activated carbons by infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and quantification by using temperature programmed decomposition (TPD). Typical TPD data indicated that each activation method may lead to varying amounts of acidic and basic functional groups on the surface of the adsorbent, which may be a crucial factor in determining the adsorption capacity. It was shown that ACs developed during the present study are good adsorbents, especially for the removal of a model textile dye methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution. As MB is a basic dye, H₂O₂-treated rice husk showed the best adsorption capacity, which is in agreement with the acidic groups present on the surface. Removal of the dye followed Langmuir isotherm model, whereas MB adsorption on ACs followed pseudo-second-order kinetics.

The bait-marker iophenoxic acid (IPA) and its derivatives are increasingly used for evaluating and optimizing the cost-effectiveness of baiting campaigns on wildlife, particularly on game species such as the wild boar. We aimed to determine whether concentrations of the three main IPA derivatives ethyl, methyl and propyl-IPA measured on thoracic liquid extracts (TLE) of hunted wild boars may be representative of two exposure doses, 40 and 200 mg, from 20 to 217 days after ingestion. Then we developed a method of detection of the three IPA derivatives by LC/ESI-MS-MS in muscle and liver to evaluate the suitability of these two other tissues for monitoring the marked bait consumption and for measuring available residues in the meat of marked animals. Three semi-captive wild boars received 40 mg of each IPA derivative, three received 200 mg, and three, as controls, did not receive IPA. Blood serum was sampled 20, 197 or 217 days after IPA exposure according to animals and to the derivative. Wild boars were shot by gun after the different times of serum sampling times, and TLE, muscle and liver were sampled. Our results suggest that TLE is not a relevant tissue for quantitatively expressing IPA exposure. Due to interference, no analytical method was validated on TLE containing digestive material. On the other hand, quantifications in the muscle and particularly in the liver could discriminate wild boars that had ingested the two IPA doses from 20 days until 7 months after exposure, especially for the two long term markers ethyl and propyl-IPA. So IPA quantifications in the liver sampled on hunted animals appear to be a reliable tool for monitoring bait consumption in the field at a large scale. Nevertheless, whatever the ingested dose, ethyl- and propyl-IPA concentrations measured in the muscle and the liver of tested animals until 217 days after exposure, remained higher than 0.01 mg/kg, the Maximal Residue Limit (MRL) is recommended for molecules for which no toxicological data are available. Based on the range of IPA residues available in these two tissues, implications for humans consuming marked animals are discussed.

This study deals with the evaluation of water quality of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) in order to assess its suitability as a raw water source for drinking water production. Therefore, water samples from (1) surface water, (2) tap water, and (3) wastewater treatment plant effluents were taken randomly by 2011-2012 in the area of the TGR and were analyzed for seven different organic contaminant groups (207 substances in total), applying nine different analytical methods. In the three sampled water sources, typical contaminant patterns were found, i.e., pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in surface water with concentrations of 0.020-3.5 μg/L and 0.004-0.12 μg/L, disinfection by-products in tap water with concentrations of 0.050-79 μg/L, and pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment plant effluents with concentrations of 0.020-0.76 μg/L, respectively. The most frequently detected organic compounds in surface water (45 positives out of 57 samples) were the pyridine pesticides clopyralid and picloram. The concentrations might indicate that they are used on a regular basis and in conjunction in the area of the TGR. Three- and four-ring PAH were ubiquitously distributed, while the poorly soluble five- and six-ring members, perfluorinated compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers, were below the detection limit. In general, the detected concentrations in TGR are in the same range or even lower compared to surface waters in western industrialized countries, although contaminant loads can still be high due to a high discharge. With the exception of the two pesticides, clopyralid and picloram, concentrations of the investigated organic pollutants in TGR meet the limits of the Chinese Standards for Drinking Water Quality GB 5749 (Ministry of Health of China and Standardization Administration of China 2006) and the European Union (EU) Council Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption (The Council of the European Union 1998), or rather, the EU Directive on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy (The European Parliament and The Council of the European Union 2008). Therefore, the suggested use of surface water from TGR for drinking water purposes is a valid option. Current treatment methods, however, do not seem to be efficient since organic pollutants were detected in significant concentrations in purified tap water.

Recently, great attention has been paid to the environmental problems in mining industry. At present there are different ways of mineral processing, as well as various methods of wastewater treatment, most of them are expensive. Work is ongoing to find low-cost treatments. In this article, low-cost adsorbents, potentially useful for wastewater treatment on mining and metallurgical plants, are reviewed; their characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of their application are compared. Also adsorption of different metals and radioactive compounds from acidic environment similar to composition of mining and metallurgical wastewaters is considered.

In order to evaluate the water quality at the surface/groundwater interface (hyporheic zone), the pattern of microcrustacean assemblages in response to environmental stress caused by urban industrial contamination was studied in the Jarama River basin (central Spain) during high water discharges (March and April 2011). The clustering of biological variables and the concentration of urban contaminants in hyporheic waters showed that pristine hyporheic waters have moderate species diversity (two to seven species) and dominance of k strategist stygobites, whereas excessively contaminated sites are devoid by crustaceans. An intermediate level of disturbance in hyporheic waters is associated with a peak of species taxonomic diversity (four to nine species) and proliferation of r strategist more tolerant species. Typical species found in hyporheic zone, e.g., Paracyclops imminutus (Copepoda, Cyclopoida), Cryptocandona vavrai (Ostracoda) and Herpetocypris chevreuxi (Ostracoda), were good indicators of high concentrations of Cr, Mn, Ni, Cd, Pb and VOCs; whereas the stygobites do not show any significant correlation. The effectiveness of hyporheic crustaceans as efficient bioindicators for assessing the current ecological status of river ecosystems is emphasised.

Contaminants in settled indoor dust are potentially health hazardous to human. Thus, identification and quantification of toxic chemicals in settled indoor dust is of great concern. In this study, the levels of major anions ([Formula: see text]), trace metals (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, As and Pb) and polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in settled office and home dust were determined and correlations between the contaminants investigated. Depending on the available materials in both microenvironments, the most possible sources were identified. The results showed that the settled office dusts (n = 6 pooled samples from 85 offices) were more contaminated than home dusts (n = 8 homes). For anions, [Formula: see text] and Cl(-) accounted for 87 and 97 % of the total office and home dust contaminants, respectively. For trace metals, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn, accounted for 98 % of the contaminants in both office and home dust samples. Fe exhibited the highest percentage of 76.7 and 87.3 % in office and home dust samples, respectively. For PBDEs, the mean concentrations detected in office and home dust ranged between 5.8-86.3 and 1.5-20.6 ng g(-1), respectively. The log-transformed correlation between the total concentrations of trace metals and major anions detected in offices and homes was positive for offices and negative for homes with a statistically significant values (r = 0.73, p < 0.01; r = -0.22, p < 0.01, respectively). The daily exposure rates determined for the most hazardous such as As, Cd, Pb and PBDEs congeners, relative to the individual concentrations reported in the literature in settled indoor dust, were found very lower. Therefore, maybe it is possible to expect less potential health risk. Investigation of formation of coordination compounds between trace metals and PBDEs congeners is possible; however, this requires further study.

Dissolved and particulate Ag concentrations (AgD and AgP, respectively) were measured in surface water and suspended particulate matter (SPM) along the salinity gradient of the Gironde Estuary, South West France, during three cruises (2008–2009) covering contrasting hydrological conditions, i.e. two cruises during intermediate and one during high freshwater discharge (~740 and ~2,300 m³/s). Silver distribution reflected non-conservative behaviour with 60–70 % of AgP in freshwater particles being desorbed by chlorocomplexation. The amount of AgP desorbed was similar to the so-called reactive, potentially bioavailable AgP fraction (60 ± 4 %) extracted from river SPM by 1 M HCl. Both AgP (0.22 ± 0.05 mg/kg) and AgP/ThP (0.025–0.028) in the residual fraction of fluvial and estuarine SPM were similar to those in SPM from the estuary mouth and in coastal sediments from the shelf off the Gironde Estuary, indicating that chlorocomplexation desorbs the reactive AgP. The data show that desorption of reactive AgP mainly occurs inside the estuary during low and intermediate discharge, whereas expulsion of partially AgP-depleted SPM (AgP/ThP ~0.040) during the flood implies ongoing desorption in the coastal ocean, e.g. in the nearby oyster production areas (Marennes-Oléron Bay). The highest AgD levels (6–8 ng/L) occurred in the mid-salinity range (15–20) of the Gironde Estuary and were decoupled from freshwater discharge. In the maximum turbidity zone, AgD were at minimum, showing that high SPM concentrations (a) induce AgD adsorption in estuarine freshwater and (b) counterbalance AgP desorption in the low salinity range (1–3). Accordingly, Ag behaviour in turbid estuaries appears to be controlled by the balance between salinity and SPM levels. The first estimates of daily AgD net fluxes for the Gironde Estuary (Boyle’s method) showed relatively stable theoretical AgD at zero salinity (Ag D ⁰ = 25–30 ng/L) for the contrasting hydrological situations. Accordingly, AgD net fluxes were very similar for the situations with intermediate discharge (1.7 and 1.6 g/day) and clearly higher during the flood (5.0 g/day) despite incomplete desorption. Applying Ag D ⁰ to the annual freshwater inputs provided an annual net AgD flux (0.64–0.89 t/year in 2008 and 0.56–0.77 t/year in 2009) that was 12–50 times greater than the AgD gross flux. This estimate was consistent with net AgD flux estimates obtained from gross AgP flux considering 60 % desorption in the estuarine salinity gradient.

The purpose of this study was to investigate ozone, variations, and its correlation with meteorological parameters at a remote location on the Mali Lošinj Island, which has been a tourist and health resort area in the northern Adriatic. The measured data are discussed in relation to the EU guidelines (Directive 2002/3/EC; Directive 2008/50/EC). In order to characterize ambient air with respect to ozone vegetation injury and photochemical pollution, we calculated accumulated dose over a threshold of 40 parts per billion index and two photochemical pollution indicators. The influence of local meteorological parameters on the measured ozone volume fractions was also investigated. We used the multivariate technique principal component analysis to trace correlations between measured ozone concentration and meteorological parameters.