Black carbon (BC), characterized by high microporosity and high specific surface area (SSA), has been demonstrated to have substantial contributions to the sorption of hydrophobic organic chemicals in soils and sediments. Other naturally occurring organic matters provide soft and penetrable sorption domains while may cling to BC and affect its original surface properties. In this work, we studied the sorption sites of a Yangtze River sediment sample with organic carbon (OC) content of 3.3 % and the preheated sediment (combusted at 375 °C) with reduced OC content (defined as BC) of 0.4 % by gas and pyrene sorption. The SSA and microporosity of the pristine and preheated sediments were characterized by N2 and CO2 adsorption. The results suggest that the adsorption of N2 was hindered by amorphous organic carbon (AOC) in the pristine sediment but CO2 was not. Instead, the uptake of CO2 was higher in the presence of AOC, likely due to the partition of CO2 molecules into the organic matter. The pyrene adsorptions to BC in pristine and preheated sediments show a similar adsorption capacity at high concentration, suggesting that AOC of ca. 2.9 % in the pristine sediment does not reduce the accessibility to the sorption sites on BC for pyrene.

The objectives of this study were to survey elementary school students regarding the environmental conditions of their elementary schools and to assess the relationship between air pollution and allergic disease using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. Therefore, this study was designed as a cross-sectional study. In this study, seven elementary schools were selected and they were classified into three categories. The selection included one school with no traffic-related or other pollutants, three with traffic-related pollutants, and three with traffic-related and other pollutants from industrial and filling station sources. The ISAAC questionnaire survey was given to all of the students except to those in the 1st grade who were presumed to be less likely to be exposed to the school environment than the remainder of the students attending those seven schools. The assessment of allergic disease was conducted on a total of 4,545 students. Three school zones with critical exposure were selected within each school and they were evaluated based on the levels of black carbon (BC), PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂, and O₃. There was a significant increase in the risks based on the odds ratios of treatment experiences (within 1 year) for allergy-related diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis (a) in the school group with traffic-related pollutants and the school group with complex pollutants were 2.12 (1.41–3.19) and 1.59 (1.06–2.37), respectively, in comparison to the school groups with no exposure to pollutants. This was determined based on the odds ratio of symptoms and treatment experiences for allergy-related diseases by group based on the home town zone as a reference. Also, in the case of atopic dermatitis, the odds ratio of treatment experiences (within 1 year) was 1.42 (1.02–1.97), which indicated elevated risks compared to the students in the S1 school. A regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between the substances and the symptomatic experiences within the last year. There were significant increases in the odds ratio of the symptoms associated with allergic rhinitis and the BC and SO₂in the complex pollution areas. The results of the assessment of the relationship between atopic dermatitis-associated symptoms and O3 showed that the odds ratio increased with statistical significance.

The modification of MCM-41 was performed with 3-aminopropropyltrimethoxysilane. The structural order and textural properties of the synthesized materials were studied by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry/differential thermogravimetry, nitrogen adsorption, and desorption analysis. The adsorption capacity of NH₂-MCM-41 was studied with Remazol Red dye. The following parameters were studied in the adsorption process: pH, temperature, adsorbent dosage, and initial concentration. The desorption process was studied in different concentrations of NaOH solutions. The Freundlich isotherm model was found to be fit with the equilibrium isotherm data. Kinetics of adsorption follows the modified Avrami rate equation. The maximum adsorption capacity was estimated to be 45.9 mg g⁻¹, with removal of the dye of 99.1 %. The NH₂-MCM-41 material exhibited high desorption capacity with 98.1 %.

The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China has created a major reservoir in which the water level fluctuates annually by about 30 m, generating a drawdown zone of up to 350 km(2) in summer. Since construction of the dam, there has been scientific and public interest in how to use the drawdown zone resources in environmentally sustainable ways. To this end, and with government support, an international conference was held in Chongqing Municipality (China) in October 2011 on the subject of conservation and ecofriendly utilization of wetlands in the Three Gorges Reservoir. The conference proceedings were subsequently published in the Journal of Chongqing Normal University. The proceedings reports are reviewed here in the context of other relevant literature. The proceedings included papers on ecology, ecodesign and ecological engineering, erosion control, plant production and carbon sequestration, phytoremediation of pollution, hydrosystem management, and others. Several of the reports derive from experimental work conducted at a research field station on the Three Gorges Reservoir situated in Kaixian County, Chongqing Municipality. Plant communities in the drawdown zone are declining in diversity and evolving. Experimental plantings of flood-tolerant edible hydrophytes in a dike-pond system reveal their potential to provide economic returns for farmers, and flooding-tolerant trees, such as cypresses, also show promising results for stabilizing soils in the drawdown zone. Flood-tolerant natural plant communities vary strongly with depth and their composition provides useful indicators for revegetation strategies. In the region surrounding the reservoir, remnant natural broad-leaved evergreen forests are most effective in sequestering carbon, and within the drawdown zone, carbon is mostly stored below ground. There is strong interest in the potential of aquatic plants for removal of pollutants, notably N and P, from the reservoir water by means of floating beds. Other examples of applying ecodesign and ecological engineering strategies for restoration and management of rivers and lakes are also given. Scientific studies have provided valuable advice for ecofriendly utilization of the reservoir drawdown zone and further studies of the evolving condition of the reservoir can be expected to pay additional practical dividends.

With the use of cost-effective natural materials, biosorption is considered as an ecological tool that is applied worldwide for the remediation of pollution. In this study, we proposed Lemna gibba biomass (LGB), a lignocellulosic sorbent material, for the removal of two textile dyes, Direct Red 89 (DR-89) and Reactive Green 12 (RG-12). These azo dyes commonly used in dying operations of natural and synthetic fibres are the most important pollutants produced in textile industry effluents. For this purpose, batch biosorption experiments were carried out to assess the efficacy of LGB on dye treatment by evaluating the effect of contact time, biomass dosage, and initial dye concentration. The results indicated that the bioremoval efficiency of 5 mg L⁻¹ DR-89 and RG-12 reached approximately 100 % after 20 min of the exposure time; however, the maximum biosorption of 50 mg L⁻¹ DR-89 and 15 mg L⁻¹ RG-12 was determined to be about 60 and 47 %, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy used to explain the sorption mechanism showed that the functional groups of carboxylic acid and hydroxyl played a major role in the retention of these pollutants on the biomass surface. The modelling results using Freundlich, Langmuir, Temkin, Elovich, and Dubini Radushkevich (D-R) isotherms demonstrated that the DR-89 biosorption process was better described with the Langmuir theory (R ² = 0.992) while the RG-12 biosorption process fitted well by the D-R isotherm equation (R ² = 0.988). The maximum biosorption capacity was found to be 20.0 and 115.5 mg g⁻¹ for DR-89 and RG-12, respectively, showing a higher ability of duckweed biomass for the bioremoval of the green dye. The thermodynamic study showed that the dye biosorption was a spontaneous and endothermic process. The efficacy of using duckweed biomass for the bioremoval of the two dyes was limited to concentrations ≤50 mg L⁻¹, indicating that L. gibba biomass may be suitable in the refining step of textile effluent treatment.

Presently, many pharmaceuticals are listed as emerging contaminants since they are considered to be great potential threats to environmental ecosystems. These contaminants, thus, present significant research interest due to their extensive use and their physicochemical and toxicological properties. This review discusses a whole range of findings that address various aspects of the usage, occurrence, and potentially environmental risks of pharmaceuticals released from various anthropogenic sources, with emphasis on the aquatic systems in Vietnam. The published information and collected data on the usage and occurrence of antibiotics and synthetic hormone in effluents and aquatic systems of Vietnam is reported. This is followed by a potential ecological risk assessment of these pollutants. The extensive use of antibiotics and synthetic hormones in Vietnam could cause the discharge and accumulation of these contaminants in the aquatic systems and potentially poses serious risks for ecosystems. Vietnam is known to have extensively used antibiotics and synthetic hormones, so these contaminants are inevitably detected in aquatic systems. Thus, an appropriate monitoring program of these contaminants is urgently needed in order to mitigate their negative effects and protect the ecosystems.

Filter-feeding bivalves have been used extensively as an indicator of ecosystem condition and in management of estuarine environments. The current study aimed to determine whether sedimentary metals could predict metal concentrations in tissue of filter-feeding mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and to identify areas of the estuary where mussel consumption posed a human health risk. Mussel tissue Cu and Zn concentrations (wet weight) were below guideline values for human consumption in all parts of the waterway, whereas Pb tissue concentrations exceed these guidelines (2.0 μg g(-1) wet weight) in the upper reaches of some embayments of the estuary. Concentrations of Cu and Pb in the fine fraction (<62.5 μm) of bottom sediment reasonably predicted concentrations (dry weight) of these metals in mussel tissue (r (2) = 0.460 and p = 0.001 and r (2) = 0.669 and p < 0.0001, respectively) as these materials are resuspendable and available to filter-feeding estuarine animals, whereas total sediment and mussel tissue were poorly related. Lead concentrations (>350 μg g(-1)) in fine sediments indicated areas of this estuary where human health was at risk due to high tissue concentrations of this metal. These results give encouragement for the use of the metal concentration in fine sediments as an indicator of estuarine condition and risk to human health in this waterway. Mussels were distributed in all parts of the estuary, even in areas where metal concentrations exceeded sediment quality guidelines.

In the present study, potential of Eisenia fetida to recycle the different types of fresh water weeds (macrophytes) used as substrate in different reactors (Azolla pinnata reactor, Trapa natans reactor, Ceratophyllum demersum reactor, free-floating macrophytes mixture reactor, and submerged macrophytes mixture reactor) during 2 months experiment is investigated. E. fetida showed significant variation in number and weight among the reactors and during the different fortnights (P <0.05) with maximum in A. pinnata reactor (number 343.3 ± 10.23 %; weight 98.62 ± 4.23 % ) and minimum in submerged macrophytes mixture reactor (number 105 ± 5.77 %; weight 41.07 ± 3.97 % ). ANOVA showed significant variation in cocoon production (F4 = 15.67, P <0.05) and mean body weight (F4 = 13.49, P <0.05) among different reactors whereas growth rate (F3 = 23.62, P <0.05) and relative growth rate (F3 = 4.91, P <0.05) exhibited significant variation during different fortnights. Reactors showed significant variation (P <0.05) in pH, Electrical conductivity (EC), Organic carbon (OC), Organic nitrogen (ON), and C/N ratio during different fortnights with increase in pH, EC, N, and K whereas decrease in OC and C/N ratio. Hierarchical cluster analysis grouped five substrates (weeds) into three clusters-poor vermicompost substrates, moderate vermicompost substrate, and excellent vermicompost substrate. Two principal components (PCs) have been identified by factor analysis with a cumulative variance of 90.43 %. PC1 accounts for 47.17 % of the total variance represents "reproduction factor" and PC2 explaining 43.26 % variance representing "growth factor." Thus, the nature of macrophyte affects the growth and reproduction pattern of E. fetida among the different reactors, further the addition of A. pinnata in other macrophytes reactors can improve their recycling by E. fetida.

The aim of the study was to determine if an As-contaminated soil, stabilized using zerovalent iron (Fe(0)) and its combination with gypsum waste, coal fly ash, peat, or sewage sludge, could be used as a construction material at the top layer of the landfill cover. A reproduction of 2 m thick protection/vegetation layer of a landfill cover using a column setup was used to determine the ability of the amendments to reduce As solubility and stimulate soil functionality along the soil profile. Soil amendment with Fe(0) was highly efficient in reducing As in soil porewater reaching 99 % reduction, but only at the soil surface. In the deeper soil layers (below 0.5 m), the Fe treatment had a reverse effect, As solubility increased dramatically exceeding that of the untreated soil or any other treatment by one to two orders of magnitude. A slight bioluminescence inhibition of Vibrio fischeri was detected in the Fe(0) treatment. Soil amendment with iron and peat showed no toxicity to bacteria and was the most efficient in reducing dissolved As in soil porewater throughout the 2 m soil profile followed by iron and gypsum treatment, most likely resulting from a low soil density and a good air diffusion to the soil. The least suitable combination of soil amendments for As immobilization was a mixture of iron with coal fly ash. An increase in all measured enzyme activities was observed in all treatments, particularly those receiving organic matter. For As to be stable in soil, a combination of amendments that can keep the soil porous and ensure the air diffusion through the entire soil layer of the landfill cover is required.

The particle formation and growth events observed at a semirural background site in Denmark were analyzed based on particle number size distribution data collected during the period from February 2005 to December 2010. The new particle formation (NPF) events have been classified visually in detail according to 3D daily plots in combination with an automatic routine. A clear seasonal variation was found in the way that events occurred more frequently during the warm season from May to September and especially in June. The mean values of the apparent 6 nm particle formation rates, the growth rate and the condensation sink were about 0.36 cm⁻³ s⁻¹, 2.6 nm h⁻¹, 4.3 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹, respectively. A positive relationship of oxidation capacity (OX = O₃ + NO₂) of the atmosphere and the appearance of NPF events was found indicating that the oxidation of the atmosphere was linked to the formation of new particles. An analysis of a 3-day backward trajectories revealed that NW air masses from the North Sea were giving the highest probability of NPF events, namely between 20 and 40 %.