Concentrations of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) were determined in surface sediments of Shanghai, China. The concentrations of total HBCD diastereoisomers (ΣHBCD) ranged from 0.01 to 13.70 ng g⁻¹ dry weight (dw) with a mean value of 3.41 ng g⁻¹ dw, which was up to several orders of magnitude lower than those reported for sediments from European countries. The ΣHBCD concentrations in sediments from chemical/textile industrial or densely populated areas were generally higher than those from rural or less chemical/textile industrialized areas in Shanghai. A high proportion of α-HBCD was observed in sediment samples and was significantly higher than that of commercial HBCD products. This might be due to thermal isomerization from γ-HBCD to α-HBCD and slower degradation rate of α-HBCD compared to γ-HBCD in anaerobic conditions. The mass inventory of ΣHBCD in surface sediments of Shanghai was estimated at 164.4 kg, representing a significant source of HBCDs to the Shanghai environment. This indicates that further study on potential transfer of HBCDs from sediments to aquatic organisms and ecological risk assessments is required.

Surface water samples from downstream and estuarine areas of Jiulong River were collected in August 2011 and May 2012 for detecting sulfonamide antibiotic residues and isolating sulfamethazine-resistant bacteria. Sulfamethazine was detected in all samples in May 2012 at an average concentration of 78.3 ng L⁻¹, which was the highest among the nine sulfonamide antibiotics determined. Sulfamethazine-resistant bacteria (SRB) were screened using antibiotic-containing agar plates. The SRB average abundance in the samples was 3.69 × 10⁴ and 2.17 × 10³ CFUs mL⁻¹ in August 2011 and May 2012, respectively, and was positively correlated to sulfamethazine concentration in May 2012. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing of all the 121 SRB isolates revealed high diversity. Furthermore, the SRB isolates exhibited multidrug resistance, with 48.7 % showing resistance to at least three antibiotics. The abundance and persistence of highly diverse SRB and their multidrug resistance are likely to demonstrate the transferable pressure from coastal environments on public health.

Elemental and isotopic analyses of carbon in environmental matrices usually highlight multiple pools of different composition and ¹³C/¹²C (δ¹³C ‰) isotopic ratio. Interpretation necessarily needs the characterization of the diverse end-members that usually are constituted by inorganic and organic components. In this view, we developed a routine protocol based on coupling of elemental and isotopic analyses that is able to discriminate the inorganic (IC) and organic (OC) contributions to the total carbon (TC) content. The procedure is only based on thermal destabilization of the different carbon pools and has been successfully applied on different environmental matrices (rocks, soils, and biological samples) with a mean C elemental and isotopic recoveries of 99.5 % (SD = 1.3 %) and 0.2 ‰ (SD = 0.2 ‰), respectively. The thermally based speciation (TBS) leads us to define precise isotopic end-members, which are unaffected by any chemical treatment of the sample, to be used for accurate mass balance calculation that represents a powerful tool to quantify the distinct carbon pools. The paper critically evaluates the method explaining the potentials and the current limits of the proposed analytical protocol.

Using data from surface observation, backward trajectories, and residence time analysis, the amounts of regional photochemical ozone buildup due to the large-scale anthropogenic sources in central eastern China (CEC, 30.5–40.5 N, 112.5–122.5 E) at Mt. Tai, Mt. Hua, and Mt. Huang in 2004 were quantified. It was found that the CEC anthropogenic sources influenced the air masses and the associated ozone production most at Mt. Tai, located at the center of CEC domain. At Mt. Hua to the west of CEC domain and at Mt. Huang to the south of CEC domain, the air masses and the associated ozone production showed less CEC anthropogenic influences on a regional scale. At Mt. Tai and Mt. Huang, the ozone mixing ratios in the air masses that passed over polluted source regions in CEC increased during the first 40–70 h after arrival and showed the highest production rate of 31.2 and 12.2 ppb/day, respectively, in May and June. It was estimated that the CEC anthropogenic sources contributed 34–42 % of ozone at Mt. Tai and 8–14 % at Mt. Huang during this ozone peak season. The large contributions from CEC sources during fall season (Sep–Nov) were also estimated as 31–44 and 17–23 % but with the lower ozone production rate of 22.6 and 8.4 ppb/day, respectively, for Mt. Tai and Mt. Huang.

Hydrocarbons found in the environment are typically characterized by gas chromatography (GC). The shape of the GC chromatogram has been used to identify the source of petroleum contamination. However, the conventional practice of simply comparing the peak patterns of source products to those of environmental samples is dependent on the subjective decisions of individual analysts. We have developed and verified a quantitative analytical method for interpreting GC chromatograms to distinguish refined petroleum products in contaminated soils. We found that chromatograms for gasoline, kerosene, and diesel could be divided into three ranges with boundaries at C₆, C₈, C₁₆, and C₂₆. In addition, the relative peak area (RPAGC) of each range, a dimensionless ratio of the peak area within each range to that of the total range (C₆–C₂₆), had a unique value for each petroleum product. An identification index for GC chromatograms (IDGC), defined as the ratio of RPAGC of C₈–C₁₆ to that of C₁₆–C₂₆, was able to identify diesel and kerosene sources in samples extracted from artificially contaminated soils even after weathering. Thus, the IDGC can be used to effectively distinguish between refined petroleum products in contaminated soils.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the mutagenic and carcinogenic potential of a volatile organic compound (VOC) mixture with references to the response of D.melanogaster using selected antioxidant gene expressions, RAPD assay and base-pair change of ribosomal 18S, and the internal transcribed spacer, ITS2 rDNA gene sequences. For this purpose, Drosophila melanogaster Oregon R, reared under controlled conditions on artificial diets, were treated with the mixture of thirteen VOCs, which are commonly found in water in concentrations of 10, 20, 50, and 75 ppb for 1 and 5 days. In the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) assay, band changes were clearly detected, especially at the 50 and 75 ppb exposure levels, for both treatment periods, and the band profiles exhibited clear differences between the treated and untreated flies with changes in band intensity and the loss/appearance of bands. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis of Mn-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione-synthetase (GS) expressions demonstrated that these markers responded significantly to VOC-induced oxidative stress. Whilst CAT gene expressions increased linearly with increasing concentrations of VOCs and treatment times, the 50- and 75-ppb treatments caused decreases in GS expressions compared to the control at 5 days. Treatment with VOCs at both exposure times, especially in high doses, caused gene mutation of the 18S and the ITS₂ ribosomal DNA. According to this research, we thought that the permissible maximum-contamination level of VOCs can cause genotoxic effect especially when mixed.

Links between environmental chemicals and human health have emerged over the last few decades, but the effects on oral health have been less studied. Therefore, it was aimed to study the relationships of different sets of urinary chemical concentrations and adult oral health conditions in a national and population-based setting. Data was retrieved from the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2011–2012 including demographics, self-reported oral health conditions and urinary environmental chemical concentrations (one third representative sample of the study population). Chi-square test, t test, and survey-weighted logistic and multi-nominal regression modeling were performed. Of 4566 American adults aged 30–80, 541 adults (11.9 %) reported poor teeth health while 1020 adults (22.4 %) reported fair teeth. Eight hundred fifty-five people (19.1 %) claimed to have gum disease, presented with higher levels of urinary cadmium, cobalt and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Six hundred three adults (13.3 %) had bone loss around the mouth, presented with higher levels of cadmium, nitrate, thiocyanate, propyl paraben and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Eight hundred forty-five adults (18.5 %) had tooth loose not due to injury, presented with higher level of cadmium, thiocyanate and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Eight hundred forty-five adults (18.5 %) with higher levels of lead, uranium, polyaromatic hydrocarbons but lower level of triclosan noticed their teeth did not look right. Three hundred fifty-one adults (7.7 %) often had aching in the mouth and 650 (14.3 %) had it occasionally, presented with higher levels of phthalates, pesticides and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Benzophenone-3 and triclosan elicited protective effects. Regulation of environmental chemicals in prevention of adult oral health might need to be considered in future health and environmental policies.

Mining activities have caused serious environmental problems including acid mine drainage (AMD), the dispersion of mine tailings and dust, and extensive mine waste. In particular, AMD contaminates soil and water downstream of mines and generally contains mainly valuable metals such as Cu, Zn, and Ni as well as Fe and Al. In this study, we investigated the selective recovery of Fe, Al, Cu, Zn, and Ni from AMD. First, the speciation of Fe, Al, Cu, Zn, and Ni as a function of the equilibrium solution pH was simulated by Visual MINTEQ. Based on the simulation results, the predicted pHs for the selective precipitation of Fe, Al, Cu, and Zn/Ni were determined. And recovery yield of metals using simulation is over 99 %. Experiments using artificial AMD based on the simulation results confirmed the selective recovery of Fe, Al, Cu, and Zn/Ni, and the recovery yields of Fe/Al/Cu/Zn and Fe/Al/Cu/Ni mixtures using Na₂CO₃were 99.6/86.8/71.9/77.0 % and 99.2/85.7/73.3/86.1 %, respectively. After then, the simulation results were applied to an actual AMD for the selective recovery of metals, and the recovery yields of Fe, Al, Cu, and Zn using NaOH were 97.2, 74.9, 66.9, and 89.7 %, respectively. Based on the results, it was concluded that selective recovery of dissolved metals from AMD is possible by adjusting the solution pH using NaOH or Na₂CO₃as neutralizing agents.

Biomonitoring offers a valuable tool to estimate the genetic risk as of exposure to genotoxic agents. Here, we intend to assess the potential cytogenetic damage related with occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by evaluating the genetic damages in exfoliated buccal epithelial cells of foundry workers via counting micronucleus (MNs) and other nuclear abnormalities (NAs). This was a cross-sectional study and all study subjects were male . Exfoliated buccal mucosal cells were obtained from 100 subjects involved in either foundry molding or melting processes, and 100 controls matched for sex, age, and smoking from the area of Coimbatore city, Southern India. For each individual, 2000 exfoliated buccal cells were analyzed. Significantly, there was a higher frequency of MN in the exposed workers than in the controls (P < 0.05). Smoking was associated with the increased frequencies of micronuclei and NAs in the buccal epithelium of both the control and the exposed groups. Smoking represented significant factors in terms of increasing the production of MN when the control and the exposed groups were compared (P < 0.05). The results specify that buccal cells of foundry workers display increased levels of genotoxicity and these biomarker responses may be related to the increased cancer risk. These results conclude that the studied individuals are at a risk group and they require periodical biological monitoring and proper care which is essential for them.

The discharge of textile effluents into the environment without appropriate treatment poses a serious threat for the aquatic organisms. The present study was undertaken to investigate biochemical response of crayfish Astacus leptodactylus exposed to textile wastewater (TW) treated by indigenous white rot fungus Coriolus versicolor. Glutathione S-transferase (GST), cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1), and acetylcholinesterase (AchE) levels in hepatopancreas and abdomen tissues of crayfish exposed to untreated, treated, and diluted rates (1/10) in both TW during 24 and 96 h were tested. Physiochemical parameters (electrical conductivity (EC), chemical oxygen demand (COD), pH, and total dissolved solid (TDS)) of TW were determined before and after treatment. Physiochemical parameters of TW decreased after treatment. The GST activity and AchE were generally increased, but CYP1A1 activity was decreased in hepatopancreas tissue of crayfish exposed to different kinds of untreated TW. After treatment by indigenous white rot fungus (C. versicolor), GST and CYP1A1 activities were returned to control values, while AchE activities were increasing further. In this study, only GST and CYP1A1 activities of A. leptodactylus confirmed the efficiency of TW treatment with C. versicolor.