Urban and industrial activities are major sources of pollution to marine environments. Sediments can act as sink and reservoir for a wide range of contaminants, including heavy metals. Environmental quality assessment in this compartment can provide useful information to control pollution in coastal areas. Lately, implementation of Environmental Legislative Frameworks within the European Community is increasing awareness about the importance of marine sediment quality in order to achieve a “Good Environmental Status.” In this work, the study of superficial marine sediments allowed assessment of source and fate of heavy metals in a semi-enclosed deep embayment that is subjected to severe anthropogenic activities. Results indicated that accumulation of heavy metals takes place mainly in proximity to anthropogenic sources (industrial area and harbors), but pollution can also spread to greater depths affecting the whole ecosystem. Multivariate statistics helped identify source and fate of several elements, showing evidence of pollutants transfer from urban wastewaters, industrial effluents, and atmospheric emissions to marine sediments. Results provided useful information for the implementation and development of Environmental Management Strategies under European Legislative Frameworks.

The vertical distribution of mercury along a weathering profile derived from a diabase was compared to the main geochemical and mineralogical characteristics of the soil and its parental rock. The sampling site was in a metropolitan area, nearby to an active quarry and relatively close to an industrial park. The samples of a 6-m-deep fresh exposure of the soil profile and also of fresh rock were collected during the dry season. Kaolinite, goethite, hematite, and residual primary minerals were identified in the soil samples. Typically, the concentrations of Hg in the soil are low. Whole samples contained between 1 (rock) and 37 μg kg−1 Hg, while the < 63-μm soil fraction had up to 52 μg kg−1 Hg. The higher values of Hg corresponded to the upper layers of A (0–10 cm) and B (200–220 cm) soil horizons. Elemental gains and losses calculated against Zr resulted in the following order: Hg>>Pb > Zr > LREE > Nb > HREE > Al > Ti > Fe > Cr. Total organic carbon in soil samples varied between 0.2 and 5.1 g dm−3, and correlation with Hg concentrations was moderate. The acid pH (4.2–5.5) of the soil samples favors the sorption Hg species by predominant secondary phases like goethite and kaolinite. The Hg concentration of the rock is insufficient to explain the large enrichment of Hg along the soil profile, indicating that exogenic Hg, via atmospheric deposition, contributed to the measured Hg concentrations of the soil.

The Nyabugogo natural wetland (Kigali City, Rwanda) receives all kinds of untreated wastewaters, including those from industrial areas. This study monitored heavy metal concentrations (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn) in all environmental compartments of the swamp: water and sediment, the dominant plant species Cyperus papyrus, and fish (Clarias sp. and Oreochromis sp.) and Oligochaetes. Cr, Cu, and Zn concentrations in the water were generally below the WHO (2008) drinking water standards, whereas Cd and Pb were consistently above these limits. Except Cd, all metal concentrations were below the threshold levels for irrigation. The highest metal accumulation occurred in the sediment with up to 4.2 mg/kg for Cd, 68 mg/kg for Cu, 58.3 mg/kg for Pb, and 188.0 mg/kg for Zn, followed by accumulation in the roots of C. papyrus with up to 4.2 mg/kg for Cd, 45.8 mg/kg for Cr, 29.7 mg/kg for Cu, and 56.1 mg/kg for Pb. Except Cu and Zn, other heavy metal (Cd, Cr, and Pb) concentrations were high in Clarias sp., Oreochromis sp., and Oligochaetes. Therefore, there is a human health concern for people using water and products from the swamp.

A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted in Agrinion, Greece, in 2009, using a Randomized Block Design. Treated Municipal Wastewater (TMWW) in five levels was applied to Brassica oleracea var. Capitata (cabbage) in four replications. The experiment aimed at investigating the effect of TMWW on: (a) the interrelationships of cabbage plant parts (roots, stems, leaves, and heads) heavy metal content, with the respective dry matter yield. (b) The relationship between each individual soil bioavailable diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA extractable) heavy metal, with the dry matter (dm) yield of the abovementioned cabbage plant parts. The heavy metals of cabbage plant parts dry matter were significantly related negatively and statistically with the respective dry matter yield. Similarly, the soil available DTPA-extractable heavy metals were generally negatively affecting the dry matter yield of roots, stems, leaves, and heads. Conversely, Co, Cr, and Cd were found to be positively associated with the dry matter yield increase of the aforementioned plant parts. This effect was indirect, probably being due to contribution in essential elements by the synergistic interactions of these heavy metals with plant nutrients, such as Ca, Mg, Fe, and Mn.

Mature landfill leachate contains some macromolecular organic substances that are resistant to biodegradation. The photocatalytic process helps to enhance biodegradability of landfill leachate. Batch experiments were employed to determine the optimum conditions for removal of organic matter by UV-TiO2 photocatalysis. Under optimum conditions, the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), biological oxygen demand (BOD), and color was determined. Moreover, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to analyze the organic matter in the treated leachate before and after treatment by the photocatalysis. The experimental results indicated that the removal of COD, DOC, and color by UV-TiO2 photocatalysis could reach above 60%, 70% and 97%, respectively. Under optimal conditions, the ratio of biological oxygen demand (BOD)/chemical oxygen demand (COD) was elevated from 0.09 to 0.39, representing substantial improvement in biodegradability. GC/MS analysis revealed that 37 out of 72 kinds of organic pollutants in the leachate remained after 72 h treatment. Esters were produced during photocatalytic process and ketones, hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, hydroxybenzenes, and acids were easier to be degraded during photocatalytic oxidation processes. The UV-TiO2 photocatalysis systems proposed may be a cost-effective approach for pre-treatment of landfill leachate.

One of the aims of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/CE is to assess the ecological status of water bodies in Europe in relation to priority contaminants, including some persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Recognizing the benefits of measuring hydrophobic compounds in biota tissues rather than in water, we used the European eel Anguilla anguilla in the present study as a bioindicator species for monitoring POPs in freshwater/brackish environments. We present the results of a contamination analysis of eels carried out in three Italian sites representative of different pollution levels: the last part of Tevere River, which flows through a very urbanized and industrialized area, Caprolace Lake and Lesina Lagoon, inside two different protected national parks. A very high pollution variability was recorded within each group of eels, in particular for those caught at Caprolace Lake. Due to this high variability, inter-population comparisons were carried out only between eels collected in Tevere River and Lesina Lagoon. PCBs values in Lesina Lagoon were two orders of magnitude lower than those measured in Tevere River, while no significant differences were found for levels of DDT compounds. Our results confirm the suitability of the eel as an indicator of persistent bioaccumulative pollutants in brackish environments and rivers where it can be easily caught, but we are sceptical of its use in deep lakes where its capture might be problematic considering standard operation procedures for fish sampling.

This paper investigates the role of plants and sediment in removing nutrients from wastewater being treated in a representative integrated constructed wetland (ICW). It discusses the role of plants and sediment in removing nutrients from an ICW treating agricultural wastewater for more than 7 years. More nitrogen and phosphorus were stored in wetland soils and sediments than in plants. The first cell had the highest depth of sediment accumulation (45 cm). Over the 7-year operation period, the accretion rate was approximately 6.4 cm/year. With respect to maintenance, desludging of the first wetland cell of the ICW system appears to be necessary in 2011. An average of 10,000 m3 per year of wastewater entered the ICW. Approximately 74% (780 kg) of the phosphorus and 52% (5,175 kg) of the nitrogen that entered the wetland system was stored in the wetland soils and sediments. Plants stored a small fraction of nutrients compared to soils (<1% for both nitrogen and phosphorus). This study demonstrates that soils within a mature wetland system are an important and sustainable nutrient storage component.

Hydrochemical impacts of shallow rock industrial-scale mining activities close to sensitive constructed and natural wetlands were investigated. The shallow surficial groundwater and surface water in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) were characterized. The chemical composition of sulfate and chloride in groundwater increased with depth. The average concentration of chloride averaged 182 mg L−1 at 6 m deep and increased gradually to 1,010 mg L−1 at 15 m deep, 1,550 mg L−1 at 30 m deep to reach 7,800 mg L−1 at 60 m deep. Comparatively, the surface water chemical composition in the surrounding areas showed much lower cationic and anionic charge. The specific conductivity and total dissolved solids of surface water in canals (close to the mining operations) are <900 μS cm−1 and <600 mg L−1, respectively, which should be compared to groundwater quality in wells from the EAA area (>2,000 μS cm−1 and >1,000 mg L−1, respectively). A steady-state groundwater fluid flow and transient solute transport modeling exercise was conducted to estimate surface/groundwater interactions. The modeled solute in surface water was transported downgradient through groundwaters, migrated approximately 30 m from the source area (after 5 years of operation), and needed more than 116 years to dissipate. An upward transport was also identified whereby chloride and sulfate, naturally present in deeper groundwaters, migrated approximately 200 m (after 1 year of mining) into the pristine shallower aquifer and reached the surface water with a concentration equaling 80% of that in the rock mining pit.

Poly(acrylamide-acrylic acid-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) P(AAm-AA-DMAEMA) resin was prepared by the template copolymerization. PAAm was used as a template for the copolymerization of DMAEMA and AA in aqueous solution using gamma rays. The adsorption of indigo carmine and eriochrome black-T anionic dyes from aqueous media on P(AAm-AA-DMAEMA) has been investigated. The adsorption behavior of this resin has been studied under different adsorption conditions: dye concentrations (50–500 mg l−1), contact times, temperature (30–55°C), and pH values (2–7). The amount of dye adsorbed increased with increasing resin content, but it had a little change with temperature and decreased slightly with increasing pH. Adsorption data of the samples were modeled by the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic equations in order to investigate dye adsorption mechanism. It was found that the adsorption kinetics of the resin followed a pseudo-second-order model with rate constant (k 2) of 2.5 × 10−3 and 1.8 × 10−2 g (mg−1 min−1) for indigo carmine and eriochrome black-T, respectively. Equilibrium isotherms were analyzed using the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. It was seen that the Freundlich model fits the adsorption data better than the Langmuir model.

The 137Cs and 40K activities and transfer factors from soil to vegetables, grass, and milk from villages located around Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS) were determined using high-resolution gamma spectrometry. A total of 32 soil, 21 vegetable, 23 dry paddy grass, and 23 milk samples were collected from 23 different agricultural farms from various villages around TAPS to determine transfer factors for natural environment. The mean concentration values for 137Cs and 40K in soil, grass, and milk were 2.39 ±â€‰0.86 Bq kg−1, 0.31 ±â€‰0.23 Bq kg−1, and 12.4 ±â€‰5.7 mBq L−1 and 179 ±â€‰31 Bq kg−1, 412 ±â€‰138 Bq kg−1, and 37.6 ±â€‰9.3 Bq L−1, respectively, for soil–grass–milk pathway. In the soil–vegetation pathway, the mean concentrations values for 137Cs and 40K were 2.15 ±â€‰1.04 Bq kg−1, 16.5 ±â€‰7.5 mBq kg−1, and 185 ±â€‰24, 89 ±â€‰50 Bq kg−1, respectively. The evaluated mean transfer factors from soil–grass, grass–milk, and soil–vegetation for 137Cs were 0.14, 0.0044, and 0.0073 and that of 40K were 2.42, 0.0053, and 0.49, respectively. Only 15 out of total 44 milk and vegetable samples were detected positive for 137Cs, indicating a very low level of bioavailability.