peer reviewed | The present study investigates the relationships between copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) concentrations in sediment, pore water and their bioaccumulation in the polychaete Nereis (Alitta) virens, as well as the importance of site-specific sediment characteristics in that process. Sediment, pore water and N. virens were sampled from seven sites with different pollution histories along the English Channel coast. Results showed that site-specific metal levels and sediment characteristics were important in determining the bioavailability of metals to worms. Significant correlations were found between Cu in the sediment and in the pore water and between Zn in the pore water and in N. virens. Zn from the pore water was thus more readily available from a dissolved source to N. virens than Cu. Data also showed that metal concentrations in N. virens were lower than those found in other closely related polychaetes, indicating that it may regulate tissue concentrations of Cu and Zn. | Chronexpo, 3C

Se prevé que la deposición de nitrógeno (N) tendrá un impacto en la estructura y el funcionamiento de los ecosistemas mediterráneos. En este estudio, medimos la composición de las especies de plantas, la producción y la actividad de la fosfatasa de las raíces en un experimento de campo en el que se añadió N (0, 10, 20 y 50 kg N ha-1 año-1) desde octubre de 2007 a un matorral semiárido en la zona central. España. El elemento herbáceo anual característicamente dominante respondió negativamente al N después de ~2,5 y ~3,5 años. En contraste, el elemento nitrófilo (principalmente crucíferas) aumentó con el N después de ~2.5 y ~5.5 años, una respuesta controlada por las variaciones interanuales en las precipitaciones y la distribución heterogénea de la disponibilidad de P. También describimos una jerarquía de factores que impulsan la estructura y composición de la comunidad vegetal: la fertilidad del suelo fue el factor más importante, mientras que la calcárea/acidez de los suelos y la cubierta arbustiva desempeñaron un papel secundario; finalmente, la deposición de N contribuyó a explicar una fracción menor de la varianza total y sus efectos fueron predominantemente negativos, lo que se atribuyó a la toxicidad del amonio. La actividad fosfatasa de las raíces de tres especies no respondió al N después de ~2,5 años, pero hubo una relación negativa con el P del suelo en dos de ellas. Concluimos que el aumento de la deposición de N en los ecosistemas mediterráneos semiáridos de Europa puede contribuir a provocar un cambio en las comunidades vegetales asociado con un aumento del elemento nitrófilo y con una disminución en la abundancia de diversas especies herbáceas adaptadas a las condiciones locales.

New approach to identify and categorize pesticide metabolites in soil combining suspect screening metabolomics with in silico molecular typology. 5th International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Remediation (ICEPR). 5th International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Remediation (ICEPR)

Growing edible vegetables on Technosols, Firts results of the Agrotechnosol Project. 8th Sino-French Workshop on Soil Pollution and Remediation

Posidonia oceanica is a marine angiosperm endemic from the Mediterranean. Despite their protection, its meadows are regressing. The economic valuation of ecosystem services (ES) assesses the contribution of ecosystems to human well-being and may provide local policy makers help in territorial development. To estimate the economic value of P. oceanica seagrass and the meadows that it forms to better account its presence in coastal development, identification and assessment of ES provided are first performed. Then goods and benefits (GB) and their economical values are estimated. In total, 25ES are identified and 7 GB are economically evaluated. The economic value of GB provided by P. oceanica ranges between 25.3 mil- lion and 45.9 million €/year which means 283–513 €/ha/year. Because of the lack of existing available data, only 7 GB linked to 11/25ES have been estimated. Despite this overall undervaluation, this study offers a value for coastal development policies to take into account.

International audience | Paris conurbation is a heavily urbanized but weakly industrialized catchment. Recently, it has been shown at the scale of Paris that alkylphenols (AP) and phthalates (PAE) are not rejected by the industry, but they originate from domestic wastewater at more than 95 %. However, the contribution of the different types of greywater to the pollution by alkylphenols and phthalates was not addressed. This work aims at providing new insights on this particular point. Hence, the concentration of four phthalates (diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP)) and two alkylphenols (octylphenols (OP) and isomers of nonylphenol (NP)) were followed in greywater. For each sample, analyses were carried out on both the dissolved and particulate phases. Moreover, water quality parameters were also monitored, in order to find out whether or not any correlation exists between the concentration of the investigated contaminants and the quality of water. Water quality parameters studied are pH, total suspended solids (TSS), dissolved and particular organic carbon (DOC and POC), chemical and biochemical oxygen demands (COD and BOD5), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), and anionic detergents (methylene blue active substance or MBAS). This paper presents the methodology used to monitor two greywater with the most important volumes: showers and washing machines. These greywater showed high variability with regard to water quality parameters. Moreover, AP and PAE concentrations are given for the first time for these two types of greywater. All compounds except OP were observed in almost all samples in at least one of the two monitored phases. The concentrations varied between limit of quantification for OP and 102 μg/l for DEHP. The levels measured in washing machines were higher than those for showers for all compounds. For instance, median NP concentration in washing machines was 3.59 μg/l against 1.09 μg/l in showers, DEHP was observed at 102 μg/l in washing machines against 16.6 μg/l in showers. Variability of the results was explained by habits of individuals (shower time, number of products used…) but also by differences in product composition. However, each type of water exhibited the same distribution. NP was the most abundant AP (about 85 % of the total amount) while DEHP represented the two thirds of the PAE compounds. The partition coefficients (Kd in l/kg) were evaluated. The results showed that log Kd ranged between 2.1 (DEP) and 4.8 (DEHP). Log Koc presented similar trends lying in the 2.4 (DEP)-5.0 (DEHP) range. Finally, with regard to greywater quality, the application for greywater reuse is discussed.

[Departement_IRSTEA]Eaux [TR1_IRSTEA]BELCA | International audience | This study focuses on spatiotemporal variations in the type of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and copper binding ability both upstream and downstream of Paris. It also compares the relative influence of both natural DOM upstream of Paris and effluent dissolved organic matter (EfDOM) output from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) on trace metal speciation and bioavailability in aquatic systems. In addition to the typical high- and low-affinity binding sites, a third family of very high-affinity binding sites has been highlighted for EfDOM. In receiving waters downstream of Paris during low-flow periods, the percentage of high- and very high-affinity sites originating from EfDOM reaches nearly 60 %. According to the speciation computation, the free copper concentration upstream of Paris exceeds the downstream Paris concentration by a factor of 2 to 4. As regards copper bioavailability, the highest EC50<inf>tot</inf> values were observed for EfDOM and downstream DOM, with a very low aromaticity and low UV absorbance. This finding suggests that specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) is unlikely to be useful in assessing metal speciation and toxicity in aquatic systems subject to strong urban pressures. These results also highlight that the copper speciation computation for surface water exposed to considerable human pressures should include not only the humic and/or fulvic part of dissolved organic carbon but more hydrophilic fractions as well, originating for example from EfDOM. © 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

[Departement_IRSTEA]Eaux [TR1_IRSTEA]BELCA | International audience | This study focuses on spatiotemporal variations in the type of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and copper binding ability both upstream and downstream of Paris. It also compares the relative influence of both natural DOM upstream of Paris and effluent dissolved organic matter (EfDOM) output from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) on trace metal speciation and bioavailability in aquatic systems. In addition to the typical high- and low-affinity binding sites, a third family of very high-affinity binding sites has been highlighted for EfDOM. In receiving waters downstream of Paris during low-flow periods, the percentage of high- and very high-affinity sites originating from EfDOM reaches nearly 60 %. According to the speciation computation, the free copper concentration upstream of Paris exceeds the downstream Paris concentration by a factor of 2 to 4. As regards copper bioavailability, the highest EC50<inf>tot</inf> values were observed for EfDOM and downstream DOM, with a very low aromaticity and low UV absorbance. This finding suggests that specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) is unlikely to be useful in assessing metal speciation and toxicity in aquatic systems subject to strong urban pressures. These results also highlight that the copper speciation computation for surface water exposed to considerable human pressures should include not only the humic and/or fulvic part of dissolved organic carbon but more hydrophilic fractions as well, originating for example from EfDOM. © 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

The authors investigated sediment quality in Bizerte Lagoon (Tunisia) focusing on geochemical characteristics, metal sediment fractionation and elutriate toxicity assessment. Nickel, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr and Cd partitioning in sediments was studied; accumulation and bioavailability were elucidated using enrichment factors, sequential extractions, redox potential, acid volatile sulfide and biotest procedures in toxicity evaluation. Results revealed an accumulation for Pb and Zn, reaching 99 and 460 mg kg−1 respectively. In addition, the acid volatile sulfide values were high in both eastern and western lagoon areas, thus affecting metal availability. Mean enrichment factor values for Pb and Zn were 4.8 and 4.9, respectively, with these elements as the main contributors to the lagoon's moderate enrichment level. Toxicity levels were influenced by accumulation of Zn in different surface sediment areas. Core sediments were investigated in areas with the highest metal concentrations; metal fractionation and biotest confirmed that Zn contributes to sediment toxicity.

We propose three estimation strategies (local, remote and mixed) for ultrafine particles (UFP) at three sites in an urban air pollution monitoring network. Estimates are obtained through Gaussian process regression based on concentrations of gaseous pollutants (NOx, O3, CO) and UFP. As local strategy, we use local measurements of gaseous pollutants (local covariates) to estimate UFP at the same site. As remote strategy, we use measurements of gaseous pollutants and UFP from two independent sites (remote covariates) to estimate UFP at a third site. As mixed strategy, we use local and remote covariates to estimate UFP. The results suggest: UFP can be estimated with good accuracy based on NOx measurements at the same location; it is possible to estimate UFP at one location based on measurements of NOx or UFP at two remote locations; the addition of remote UFP to local NOx, O3 or CO measurements improves models' performance.