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.

Pharmaceutical compounds are now considered as emerging contaminants of environmental concern. The overall objective of this study was to evaluate the uptake and translocation of clofibric acid (CA) by the macrophyte Scirpus validus growing hydroponically. A set of the three replicates was established for each exposure time and for each CA concentration. Plants were grown in 4 L vessels (four plants per vessel corresponding to the three exposure period studies, i.e., 7, 14, 18, and 21 days) which contained an aerated modified Hoagland nutrient solution that was spiked with CA at concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg L⁻¹. At each exposure period, CA concentration was measured in the nutrient solutions. A sea sand disruption method was employed for the extraction of CA from plant tissues. The determination of the pharmaceutical concentration was carried out using solid phase extraction (SPE) followed by chromatographic analysis. The quantification of CA concentrations in both nutrient solutions (after SPE) and plant tissues (after extraction) was conducted by chromatographic analysis. CA concentrations of 5.4–26.8 μg g⁻¹(fresh weight) were detected in the roots and 7.2–34.6 μg g⁻¹(fresh weight) in the shoots after 21 days. Mass balance calculations showed that S. validus uptake alone accounted for a significant contribution (6–13 % for the roots and 22–49 % for the shoots) of the total loss of CA. The bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) based on fresh weight for the roots ranged from 6.6 to 23.2, while values for the shoots ranged from 9.5 to 32.1. All the BAFs for the shoots were greater than those in the roots, implying that CA has greater tendency to be translocated to the shoots, rather than the roots of S. validus. All the shoot-to-root concentration ratios were more than 1, denoting that the shoots of S. validus do preferentially accumulate CA. We demonstrated that CA can be actively taken up, subsequently translocated and accumulated by aboveground tissues of S. validus. Since S. validus could account for the removal of 28–62 % of the total mass loss of CA from the system, such phytoremediation technology has great potential for the removal of pharmaceuticals such as CA from inflowing waters.

With the widespread use of reclaimed water all over the world, there is a clear need to optimise its management in order to guarantee water safety. Model microorganisms (with either indicator or index function) are commonly used to assess risks related to the presence of enteric pathogens in water. Samples from five water reclamation plants located in Northeastern Spain were analysed to validate the use of three model microorganisms (Escherichia coli, somatic coliphages and spores of sulphite-reducing clostridia) as surrogates of Cryptosporidium total or infectious oocysts (TOO and IOO, respectively) in reclaimed water. Probability plots, simple and multiple linear regression and discriminant analyses were performed to assess their relationships. Results show that the detection of E. coli alone is not useful to model either the behaviour or concentrations of Cryptosporidium. However, discriminant analyses showed a high rate of correctly classified samples (91.9 %) when E. coli and somatic coliphages data were used together to predict the presence/absence of IOO. Spores of sulphite-reducing clostridia (SRC) showed parallel reduction patterns and high correlation values (r = 0.76) with reductions in TOO. Furthermore, simple regression analyses of SRC and TOO in reclaimed water showed high correlation values (r = 0.85). Therefore, at the treatment plants studied, SRC can be considered to have good indicator and index functions for TOO. From the point of view of health protection, the use of SRC together with E. coli (which is mandatory in the current Spanish regulations) would satisfy the need for improved reclaimed water management.

Cryogenic time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy was successfully used to identify uranium binding forms in selected German mineral waters of extremely low uranium concentrations (<2.0 μg/L). The measurements were performed at a low temperature of 153 K. The spectroscopic data showed a prevalence of aquatic species Ca2UO2(CO3)3 in all investigated waters, while other uranyl-carbonate complexes, viz, UO2CO3(aq) and UO2(CO3)2 (2-), only existed as minor species. The pH value, alkalinity (CO3 (2-)), and the main water inorganic constituents, specifically the Ca(2+) concentration, showed a clear influence on uranium speciation. Speciation modeling was performed using the most recent thermodynamic data for aqueous complexes of uranium. The modeling results for the main uranium binding form in the investigated waters indicated a good agreement with the spectroscopy measurements.

Pesticide spraying operation is associated with the increased risk of adverse health effects among sprayers who do not follow safe farm work practices. A study was conducted among pesticide sprayers in North India to evaluate the clinical and subclinical variations in their vital health parameters before and after the pesticide spraying season. Blood cholinesterase levels, pulmonary function test, nerve conduction velocity and self-reported symptoms were studied among 18 eligible and consenting male sprayers. Mean acetylcholinesterase activity was reduced by 55 % in the post-exposure assessment (P < 0.001) as compared to pre-exposure levels. Mean forced expiratory volume in 1 s was 20 % lower in the post-exposure assessment as compared to the pre-exposure level (P < 0.05). No significant change was observed in the motor and sensory nerve conduction velocity in the median nerve of sprayers before and after the spraying activity. Also, no significant variation was observed with respect to self-reported symptoms except weakness in arms and legs (P < 0.05). The significant decline in lung function and acetylcholinesterase level after pesticide exposure reflects the strongly negative effect of exposure to pesticides during spraying activity. More longitudinal studies among pesticide sprayers must be undertaken to further substantiate the cause-effect relationship between pesticide exposure and its subclinical effects. There is a strong necessity to minimise the exposure through the use of personal protective equipment in pesticide sprayers.

Samples of gas- and particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were collected at three sampling stations (Xiaomai Island, Laohutan, and Zhangzi Island) in the north Yellow Sea, China during November 2008 and September 2009 to study their atmospheric transport potential and the gas/particle distributions. The composition of PAHs was dominated by gaseous compounds. The percentages of the particle-phase PAHs to the total concentrations were found to be higher during the heating period than the non-heating period. The ratios of naphthalene and acenaphthene to phenanthrene, chrysene and dibenzo(a,h)anthracene showed an increasing trend from Xiaomai Island to Zhangzi Island, which can be called as the local atmospheric distillation of PAHs. Gas/particle partitioning coefficients (K ₚ) and their relationship with the sub-cooled liquid vapor pressures (pºL) of PAHs were investigated. The regressions of logK ₚ versus logpºL gave significant correlations for all samples of the three sites with r ² values in the range 0.56–0.66 (p < 0.01). Both Junge–Pankow adsorption model and octanol–air partition coefficient absorption model tended to underestimate the sorption for most PAHs, but the absorption model appeared to be more suitable for predicting the particle fraction of PAHs than the Junge–Pankow model.

An event-driven, urban, drinking water quality early warning and control system (DEWS) is proposed to cope with China’s urgent need for protecting its urban drinking water. The DEWS has a web service structure and provides users with water quality monitoring functions, water quality early warning functions, and water quality accident decision-making functions. The DEWS functionality is guided by the principles of control theory and risk assessment as applied to the feedback control of urban water supply systems. The DEWS has been deployed in several large Chinese cities and found to perform well insofar as water quality early warning and emergency decision-making is concerned. This paper describes a DEWS for urban water quality protection that has been developed in China.

Pharmaceutical compounds were increasingly detected in environmental matrices but little is known whether these compounds would transport to coastal zones via watersheds. Three typical tidal rivers in southeastern China were selected and 15 surface sediment samples (0-10 cm) were collected along a 50-km tidal section of each river. Surface sediment samples were frozen-drying and then extracted for pharmaceutical compounds by an accelerated solvent extraction system. The pharmaceutical compounds in extracts were scanned using a high-performance liquid chromatography/tandern mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Three hundred and thirty compounds from nine pharmaceutical groups were detected with signal-to-noise above three (detectable level) in the surface sediments, of which 186 compounds were with a signal-to-noise above ten (measurable level). Of all, 291 and 80 compounds were detectable and measurable in all the three rivers, respectively. The Jiulong River showed a high load of pharmaceutical compounds in surface sediment than other two rivers. Of the nine pharmaceutical groups, the antihistamines and detoxification group and anti-infective drug group contributed five dominant compounds in the surface sediments in all the three rivers. Natures of pharmaceutical compounds rather than the sediment properties (pH, EC, and total carbon content) might influence their residues. The incredible number and intensity of pharmaceutical residues were detected in tidal surface sediments of the three rivers indicating that the pharmaceutical contamination should be strongly considered in China. Source identification and eco-toxicity assessment should be taken into account in the future study. Therapeutic medicine managements need to be strictly improved at a watershed scale to reduce loads of pharmaceuticals into aquatic ecosystems.

Owing to the extensive use of artificial turfs worldwide, over the past 10 years there has been much discussion about the possible health and environmental problems originating from styrene-butadiene recycled rubber. In this paper, the authors performed a Tier 2 environmental-sanitary risk analysis on five artificial turf sports fields located in the city of Turin (Italy) with the aid of RISC4 software. Two receptors (adult player and child player) and three routes of exposure (direct contact with crumb rubber, contact with rainwater soaking the rubber mat, inhalation of dusts and gases from the artificial turf fields) were considered in the conceptual model. For all the fields and for all the routes, the cumulative carcinogenic risk proved to be lower than 10(-6) and the cumulative non-carcinogenic risk lower than 1. The outdoor inhalation of dusts and gases was the main route of exposure for both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic substances. The results given by the inhalation pathway were compared with those of a risk assessment carried out on citizens breathing gases and dusts from traffic emissions every day in Turin. For both classes of substances and for both receptors, the inhalation of atmospheric dusts and gases from vehicular traffic gave risk values of one order of magnitude higher than those due to playing soccer on an artificial field.

The objective of this study was to investigate the impacts of exogenous nitrogen on a microbial community inoculated with the atrazine-degrading Arthrobacter sp. in soil amended with a high concentration of atrazine. Inoculated and uninoculated microcosms for biodegradation tests were constructed. Atrazine degradation capacity of the strain DAT1 and the strain's atrazine-metabolic potential and survival were assessed. The relative abundance of the strain DAT1 and the bacterial community structure in soils were characterized using quantitative PCR in combination with terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism. Atrazine degradation by the strain DAT1 and the strain's atrazine-metabolic potential and survival were not affected by addition of a medium level of nitrate, but these processes were inhibited by addition of a high level of nitrate. Microbial community structure changed in both inoculated and uninoculated microcosms, dependent on the level of added nitrate. Bioaugmentation with the strain DAT1 could be a very efficient biotechnology for bioremediation of soils with high concentrations of atrazine.