Production of bisphenol A (BPA) analogues such as bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol AF (BPAF) has recently increased, due to clear evidence of adverse effects of BPA on humans and wildlife. Bisphenols (BPs) have already been released into aquatic environment without previous available information about potential adverse effects of BPs and their potential risk to aquatic ecosystems. In this study, lethal and sublethal effects of BPF and BPAF to bacteria, algae, crustacea and fish embryos were investigated and the results were compared to the adverse effects obtained for BPA. We found that BPAF was the most toxic compound to Daphnia magna, Danio rerio and Desmodesmus subspicatus; the lowest 72 h EC50 (median effective concentration) and 21 d NOEC (no observed effect concentration) values were determined at 2.2 mg/L regarding zebrafish hatching success and 0.23 mg/L of BPAF obtained for growth and reproduction of water fleas, respectively. In most cases, BPA was more toxic to D. magna, D. rerio and D. subspicatus in comparison to BPF, but pigmentation of zebrafish embryos after 48 h of exposure and reproduction of water fleas after 21-day D. magna reproductive test exposure to BPF were much more impaired. Risk quotients (measured environmental concentration/21 d NOEC) showed that BPA, BPF and BPAF are recently not chronically hazardous to the survival, reproduction and growth of water fleas in surface waters. On the other hand, we importantly show that currently present BPAF concentrations in surface waters could cause a potential ecological risk to aquatic organisms. In the near future, higher concentrations of BPF and BPAF in surface waters are anticipated and for this reason further testing using test systems with various aquatic species and endpoints are needed to provide additional information about toxic impacts of BPF and BPAF on aquatic biota.

Both occupational and environmental exposure to asbestos-mineral fibres can be associated with lung diseases. The pathogenic effects are related to the dimension, biopersistence and chemical composition of the fibres. In addition to the major mineral elements, mineral fibres contain trace elements and their content may play a role in fibre toxicity. To shed light on the role of trace elements in asbestos carcinogenesis, knowledge on their concentration in asbestos-mineral fibres is mandatory. It is possible that trace elements play a synergetic factor in the pathogenesis of diseases caused by the inhalation of mineral fibres. In this paper, the concentration levels of trace elements from three chrysotile samples, four amphibole asbestos samples (UICC amosite, UICC anthophyllite, UICC crocidolite and tremolite) and fibrous erionite from Jersey, Nevada (USA) were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). For all samples, the following trace elements were measured: Li, Be, Sc, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Sr, Y, Sb, Cs, Ba, La, Pb, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Th, U. Their distribution in the various mineral species is thoroughly discussed.The obtained results indicate that the amount of trace metals such as Mn, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn is higher in anthophyllite and chrysotile samples, whereas the amount of rare earth elements (REE) is higher in erionite and tremolite samples. The results of this work can be useful to the pathologists and biochemists who use asbestos minerals and fibrous erionite in-vitro studies as positive cyto- and geno-toxic standard references.

More than a decade ago, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), one of the multilateral environmental agreements administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), entered into force. The objective of this Convention is to protect human health and the environment by controlling the releases of POPs. According to its Article 16, the effectiveness of the Stockholm Convention shall be evaluated using comparable monitoring data on the presence of POPs as well as their regional and global environmental transport. Here, we present a time series analysis on atmospheric POP concentrations from 15 monitoring stations in North America and Europe that provide long-term data and have started operations between 1990 and 2003. We systematically searched for temporal trends and significant structural changes in temporal trends that might result from the provisions of the Stockholm Convention. We find that such structural changes do occur, but they are related mostly to effects of national regulations enforced prior to the implementation of the Stockholm Convention, rather than to the enforcement of the provisions laid out in the Convention. One example is that concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls, many of which started to decrease rapidly during the 1990s. Also effects of chemical transport and fate, for instance the re-volatilization of POPs from secondary sources, are thought to be a cause of some of the observed structural changes. We conclude that a decade of air monitoring data has not been sufficient for detecting general and statistically significant effects of the Stockholm Convention. Based on these lessons, we present recommendations for the future operation of existing monitoring programs and advocate for a stricter enforcement of the provisions of the Stockholm Convention, in the current absence of proof for its effectiveness.

Waterborne metal uptake has been extensively studied and dietary metal assimilation is increasingly recognized in fish, whilst the interaction between the two uptake routes is largely overlooked. This study compared the waterborne Cu bioaccumulation (⁶⁵Cu as tracer) in a juvenile rabbitfish at different feeding regimes (starvation (SG), feeding normal diet (NDG) or diet supplemented with extra Cu (DCG)) to test the hypothesis that feeding can influence waterborne metal uptake in marine fish. NDG and DCG diet was fed as a single meal and then all fish were exposed to waterborne ⁶⁵Cu for 48 h, during which the time course sampling was conducted to determine ⁶⁵Cu bioaccumulation, chyme flow and dietary Cu assimilation. The results revealed that SG fish accumulated the highest ⁶⁵Cu, followed by NDG (61% of SG), whilst DCG fish accumulated the lowest ⁶⁵Cu (34% of SG). These results suggested a protective effect of feeding against waterborne Cu bioaccumulation. This effect was most notable between 10 min and 16 h when there was chyme in gastrointestinal tract (GT). Dietary Cu assimilation mainly occurred before 16 h after feeding. Waterborne ⁶⁵Cu influx rate in the GT was positively correlated with ⁶⁵Cu contents of chyme in NDG, whereas it was largely negatively correlated with ⁶⁵Cu contents of chyme in DCG. The waterborne Cu uptake in the GT was mainly influenced by the chyme flow and dietary Cu assimilation. Overall, our findings suggested that feeding has an important effect on waterborne metal uptake and that both the feeding status of the fish and the relative metal exposure through water and food should be considered in prediction of the metal bioaccumulation and biomonitoring programs.

Estuarine environment is complex and receives different contaminants from numerous sources that are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic. The distribution, source, contamination and ecological risk status of heavy metals in sediment of Brisbane River, Australia were investigated. Sediment samples were analysed for major and minor elements using LA-ICP-MS. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis identified three main sources of metals in the samples: marine sand intrusion, mixed lithogenic and sand intrusion as well as transport related. To overcome inherent deficiencies in using a single index, a range of sediment quality indices, including contamination factor, enrichment factor, index of geo-accumulation, modified degree of contamination, pollution index and modified pollution index were utilised to ascertain the sediment quality. Generally, the sediment is deemed to be “slightly” to “heavily” polluted. A further comparison with the Australian Sediment Quality Guidelines indicated that Ag, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn had the potential to rarely cause biological effects while Hg could frequently cause biological effects. Application of potential ecological risk index (RI) revealed that the sediment poses moderate to considerable ecological risk. However, RI could not account for the complex sediment behaviour because it uses a simple contamination factor. Consequently, a modified ecological risk index (MRI) employing enrichment factor is proposed. This provides a more reliable understanding of whole sediment behaviour and classified the ecological risk of the sediment as moderate to very high. The results demonstrate the need for further investigation into heavy metal speciation and bioavailability in the sediment to ascertain the degree of toxicity.

The internal loading of P is reported to be the main factor initiating algal blooms. However, there are only a few reports on the dynamic variation of labile P in the sediment and overlying water during the decomposition of algal. In addition, the widely perceived relationship between labile P and Fe was not supported by in situ obtained values in freshwater. Consequently, the in situ simultaneous measurement of diffusion gradients in thin-film techniques (DGT) was applied on a large scale to detect the mechanisms of labile P and Fe in a typical shallow lake (Lake Hongze). The newly developed ZrO-DGT and ZrO-Chelex DGT were combined to obtain the concentration of labile P and Fe. Results showed that decomposition of algal might be the main contributor for the concentration dots and peaks of labile P in sediment profiles, as well as for the high values on the horizontal heterogeneity index of labile P at the depth of 0–30 mm of the sediment. Moreover, there existed significant difference between the apparent diffusion fluxes of labile P and Fe across the sediment–water interface which obtained from June sampling and October sampling. The results of apparent diffusion flux in two periods indicated the sediments changed from “sink” to “source” for labile P, especially at Sites 4–8, 10, 13–14, and 18. However, the role of the labile Fe has no significantly variation in the values of the diffusion flux. This phenomenon also contributed to the poor relationship between labile P and Fe in the sediment which obtained from the October sampling. Accordingly, we conclude that algal decomposition might be essential for internal loading of P in this aquatic ecosystem, and that also be the reason for vicious circle of algal occurrence in the following year in the center of Lake Hongze.

The formaldehyde (FA) is a crosslinking agent that reacts with cellular macromolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids and molecules with low molecular weight such as amino acids, and it has been linked to inflammatory processes and oxidative stress. This study aimed to analyze the oxidative effects on pulmonary inflammatory response in Fischer rats exposed to different concentrations of FA. Twenty-eight Fischer rats were divided into 4 groups (N = 7). The control group (CG) was exposed to ambient air and three groups were exposed to different concentrations of FA: 1% (FA1%), 5% (FA5%) and 10% (FA10%). In the Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid (BALF), the exposure to a concentration of 10% promoted the increase of inflammatory cells compared to CG. There was also an increase of macrophages and lymphocytes in FA10% and lymphocytes in FA5% compared to CG. The activity of NADPH oxidase in the blood had been higher in FA5% and FA10% compared to CG. The activity of superoxide dismutase enzyme (SOD) had an increase in FA5% and the activity of the catalase enzyme (CAT) showed an increase in FA1% compared to CG. As for the glutathione system, there was an increase in total glutathione (tGSH), reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) in FA5% compared to CG. The reduced/oxidized glutathione ratio (GSH/GSSG) had a decrease in FA5% compared to CG. There was an increase in lipid peroxidation compared to all groups and the protein carbonyl formation in FA10% compared to CG. We also observed an increase in CCL2 and CCL5 chemokines in the treatment groups compared to CG and in serum there was an increase in CCL2, CCL3 and CCL5 compared to CG. Our results point out to the potential of formaldehyde in promoting airway injury by increasing the inflammatory process as well as by the redox imbalance.

Nitrogen deposition has been shown to have significant impacts on a range of vegetation types resulting in eutrophication and species compositional change. Data from a re-survey of 89 coastal sites in Scotland, UK, c. 34 years after the initial survey were examined to assess the degree of change in species composition that could be accounted for by nitrogen deposition. There was an overall increase in the Ellenberg Indicator Value for nitrogen (EIV-N) of 0.15 between the surveys, with a clear shift to species characteristic of more eutrophic situations. This was most evident for Acid grassland, Fixed dune, Heath, Slack and Tall grass mire communities and despite falls in EIV-N for Improved grass, Strand and Wet grassland. The increase in EIV-N was highly correlated to the cumulative deposition between the surveys, and for sites in south-east Scotland, eutrophication impacts appear severe. Unlike other studies, there appears to have been no decline in species richness associated with nitrogen deposition, though losses of species were observed on sites with the very highest levels of SOx deposition. It appears that dune vegetation (specifically Fixed dune) shows evidence of eutrophication above 4.1 kg N ha−1 yr−1, or 5.92 kg N ha−1 yr−1 if the lower 95% confidence interval is used. Coastal vegetation appears highly sensitive to nitrogen deposition, and it is suggested that major changes could have occurred prior to the first survey in 1976.

Phosphatization of ZnO nanoparticles (ZNPs) at various pHs and its influence on subsequent lead sorption were investigated. Results showed that, in presence of phosphate, both the chemical speciation and crystalline phase of ZNPs were pH dependent that most of them were converted to crystalline Zn3(PO4)2 at acidic pHs, but only little amorphous hopeites can be formed under alkaline condition. Phosphatization process significantly enhanced subsequent lead sorption with the order of acidic process > alkaline > pristine ZNPs. Spectroscopic analysis including ATR-FTIR and XPS revealed main mechanisms of lead phosphate precipitation and inner-sphere complexes for lead sorption on acidic and alkaline treatment products, respectively. The potential toxicity of ZNPs and heavy metals in eutrophic aquatic ecosystems would thus be reduced due to the ubiquitous phosphatization process. This study highlights the importance of environmental variables in exploring the environmental behavior and fate of heavy metals as well as nanoparticles in natural waters.

Thallium (Tl) is a non-essential element in humans and it is considered to be highly toxic. In this study, the contents, sources, and dispersal of Tl were investigated in surface sediments from a riverine system (the western Pearl River Basin, China), whose catchment has been contaminated by mining and roasting of Tl-bearing pyrite ores. The isotopic composition of Pb and total contents of Tl and other relevant metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, Co, and Ni) were measured in the pyrite ores, mining and roasting wastes, and the river sediments. Widespread contamination of Tl was observed in the sediments across the river, with the highest concentration of Tl (17.3 mg/kg) measured 4 km downstream from the pyrite industrial site. Application of a modified Institute for Reference Materials and Measurement (IRMM) sequential extraction scheme in representative sediments unveiled that 60–90% of Tl and Pb were present in the residual fraction of the sediments. The sediments contained generally lower 206Pb/207Pb and higher 208Pb/206Pb ratios compared with the natural Pb isotope signature (1.2008 and 2.0766 for 206Pb/207Pb and 208Pb/206Pb, respectively). These results suggested that a significant fraction of non-indigenous Pb could be attributed to the mining and roasting activities of pyrite ores, with low 206Pb/207Pb (1.1539) and high 208Pb/206Pb (2.1263). Results also showed that approximately 6–88% of Tl contamination in the sediments originated from the pyrite mining and roasting activities. This study highlights that Pb isotopic compositions could be used for quantitatively fingerprinting the sources of Tl contamination in sediments.