The Lake Maggiore (Northern Italy) has been recognized as an aquatic environment heavily contaminated by persistent organic pollutants, mainly organochlorine compounds, but to date limited information is available regarding another class of widespread and hazardous pollutants, such as the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The aim of this study was to investigate seasonal and temporal trends of 18 PAHs accumulated in native Dreissena polymorpha specimens during a 5-year biomonitoring program, as well as to identify the possible PAH emission sources by using isomeric diagnostic ratios. Zebra mussels were sampled both in their pre- (May) and post-reproductive (September) stage over the 2008–2012 period in eight sampling stations covering the whole lake shoreline. PAH concentrations were measured through gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. A notable PAH contamination following an increasing temporal trend was noticed in bivalves from all the sampling stations, with the benzo(α)anthracene as the predominant compound. An overall increase in PAH levels was found in the post-reproductive surveys, indicating a marked seasonality of this contamination probably due to the increase in touristic activity during spring–summer months.

In this study, the 30-day aerobic microorganism-mediated biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was investigated in four size fractions (i.e., <0.002, 0.002–0.031, 0.031–0.063 and >0.063 mm) of sand-dominated sediment S1 and mud-dominated S2 collected from intertidal zones in Bohai Bay (China). Prior to biodegradation, the total quantity of phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene comprised more than 80 % of the total quantity of 16 EPA-priority PAHs in each size fraction, with the exception of 70.33 % found in the >0.063 mm fraction of sediment S1. Among the three dominant compounds, the intermediate size fraction (0.031–0.063 mm) showed higher levels of biodegradation than other size fractions in sediment S1 and S2. After pooling data from sediment S1 and S2 for joint analysis, it was observed that the biodegraded portion of the three dominant compounds showed negative correlations with both total organic carbon (TOC) and humic coverage index (HCI) in the size fractions. The observed negative correlation with TOC was in agreement with findings in many other studies, but the negative correlation with HCI had not been observed in early studies, which only investigated aged sediment/soil samples. The findings in this study indicated that the greatest bioavailability of PAHs in intertidal surface sediment may be present in sediment particles of intermediate size and mobility, and that intertidal sediment particles are less likely to experience sufficient ageing given periodical tidal disturbance. These findings have important implications for the assessment of the environmental fate of PAHs in intertidal regions.

Acidic waters and sulphate-rich precipitates are typical by-products of mining activity such as in Rio Tinto (Huelva, SW Spain). This river drains pyrite mines situated in the Iberian Pyrite Belt which have been in operation since the Bronze Age and probably constitutes the oldest continuously operating mining activity over the world. In the present work, we have used Raman spectroscopy to study a wide range of natural mineral samples collected at Rio Tinto which origin is related to evaporation and mineral transformation processes in a wet and extreme acidic environment. In addition, we simulated the phenomenon of mineral precipitation in controlled conditions by using a simulator developed at the laboratory evaporating natural water collected at Rio Tinto. Also, a series of experiments using the same waters as small droplets have been carried out using micro-Raman technique. The droplets were placed on substrates with different chemical composition and reactivity. The results reveal that the precipitation sequence occurred in Rio Tinto mainly comprises copiapite and coquimbite group minerals followed by several other low hydrated iron sulphates. The experiments carried out on droplets allow estimating with higher accuracy the precipitation sequence.

Biologically based wastewater treatment systems are considered a sustainable, cost-effective alternative to conventional wastewater treatment systems. These systems have been used and studied for the treatment of urban sewage from small communities, and recently, it has been reported that they can also effectively remove emerging organic contaminants (EOCs). EOCs are a new group of unregulated contaminants which include pharmaceutical and personal care products, some pesticides, veterinary products, and industrial compounds among others that are thought to have long-term adverse effects on human health and ecosystems. This review is focused on reporting the ability of biologically based wastewater treatment systems to remove EOCs and the main elimination mechanisms and degradation processes (i.e., biodegradation, photodegradation, phytoremediation, and sorption) taking place in constructed wetlands, ponds, and Daphnia and fungal reactors.

The aim of our studies was to determine the efficiency of decomposition of non-ionic surfactant by the Fenton method in the presence of iron nanocompounds and to compare it with the classical Fenton method. The subject of studies was water solutions of non-ionic detergent Tergitol TMN-10 used in textile industry. Water solutions of the surfactant were subjected to treatment by the classical Fenton method and to treatment in the presence of iron nanocompounds. In the samples of liquid solutions containing the surfactant, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) were determined. The Fenton process was optimized based on studies of the effect of compounds used in the treatment, doses of iron and nanoiron, hydrogen peroxide and pH of the solution on surfactant decomposition. Iron oxide nanopowder catalyzed the process of detergent decomposition, increasing its efficiency and the degree of mineralization. It was found that the efficiency of the surfactant decomposition in the process with the use of iron nanocompounds was by 10 to 30 % higher than that in the classical method. The amounts of formed deposits were also several times smaller.

An indoor/outdoor monitoring programme of PM₁₀ was carried out in two sports venues (a fronton and a gymnasium). Levels always below 50 μg m⁻³ were obtained in the fronton and outdoor air. Due to the climbing chalk and the constant process of resuspension, concentrations above 150 μg m⁻³ were registered in the gymnasium. The chalk dust contributed to CO₃ ²⁻ concentrations of 32 ± 9.4 μg m⁻³ in this sports facility, which represented, on average, 18 % of the PM₁₀ mass. Here, the carbonate levels were 128 times higher than those registered outdoors. Much lower concentrations, around 1 μg m⁻³, were measured in the fronton. The chalk dust is also responsible for the high Mg²⁺ concentrations in the gym (4.7 ± 0.89 μg m⁻³), unfolding a PM₁₀ mass fraction of 2.7 %. Total carbon accounted for almost 30 % of PM₁₀ in both indoor spaces. Aerosol size distributions were bimodal and revealed a clear dependence on physical activities and characteristics of the sports facilities. The use of climbing chalk in the gymnasium contributed significantly to the coarse mode. The average geometric mean diameter, geometric standard deviation and total number of coarse particles were 0.77 μm, 2.79 cm⁻³ and 28 cm⁻³, respectively.

BOD5 dates back to 1912 when the Royal Commission decided to use the mean residence time of water in the rivers of England, 5 days, as a standard to measure the biochemical oxygen demand. Initially designed to protect the quality of river waters from extensive sewage discharge, the use of BOD5 has been quickly extended to waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) to monitor their efficiency on a daily basis. The measurement has been automatized but remains a tedious, time- and resource-consuming analysis. We have cross-validated a surrogate BOD5 method on two sites in France and in the USA with a total of 109 samples. This method uses a fluorescent redox indicator on a 96-well microplate to measure microbial catabolic activity for a large number of samples simultaneously. Three statistical tests were used to compare surrogate and reference methods and showed robust equivalence.

Using rare minnow (Gobiocypris rarus) at early-life stages as experimental models, the developmental toxicity of five widely used triazole fungicides (myclobutanil, fluconazole, flusilazole, triflumizole, and epoxiconazole) were investigated following exposure to 1–15 mg/L for 72 h. Meanwhile, morphological parameters (body length, body weight, and heart rate), enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S-transferase (GST), adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), and acetyl cholinesterase (AChE)), and mRNA levels (hsp70, mstn, mt, apaf1, vezf1, and cyp1a) were also recorded following exposure to 0.2, 1.0, and 5.0 mg/L for 72 h. Results indicated that increased malformation and mortality, decreased body length, body weight, and heart rate provide a concentration-dependent pattern; values of 72 h LC₅₀(median lethal concentration) and EC₅₀(median effective concentration) ranged from 3 to 12 mg/L. Most importantly, the results of the present study suggest that even at the lowest concentration, 0.2 mg/L, five triazole fungicides also caused notable changes in enzyme activities and mRNA levels. Overall, the present study points out that those five triazole fungicides are highly toxic to the early development of G. rarus embryos. The information presented in this study will be helpful in better understanding the toxicity induced by triazole fungicides in fish embryos.

Thirty-two topsoil samples were collected to analyze the residue levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in topsoil of arid and semiarid areas of northwest China in 2011. Results showed that DDTs were the dominant contaminants with a mean concentration of 12.52 ng/g. The spatial distribution characteristics indicated that α-hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) were mainly used in rural sites, whereas hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and endosulfan were detected mostly in urban areas. DDTs, heptachlor, and chlordane were found almost equally in both urban and rural areas. Source identification revealed that the current levels of HCHs in soils were attributable to the residues from their historical use and fresh usage of lindane (γ-HCH). DDTs were mainly from historical use and fresh usage of dicofol, and HCB was emitted from the chemical industry. It was also found that the current soil levels of heptachlor were mainly from its historical usage, endosulfan from fresh input, and chlordane from long-range atmospheric transport, respectively. The noncarcinogenic health risk assessment with a model was also conducted using USEPA standards for adults and children. Results indicated that health risk under nondietary exposure to OCPs decreased in the sequence of ΣDDT > ΣHCH > HCB > Σheptachlor > Σendosulfan > Σchlordane. According to the reference dose from the USEPA, the health risk under nondietary exposure to OCPs in the soil samples was at a relatively safe level.

Abundances and community compositions of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in unvegetated sediment and the rhizosphere sediments of three submerged macrophytes (Ceratophyllum demersum, Vallisneria spinulosa, and Potamogeton crispus) were investigated in a large, eutrophic freshwater lake, Lake Taihu. Abundances of archaeal ammonia monooxygenase alpha-subunit (amoA) gene (from 6.56 × 10⁶copies to 1.06 × 10⁷copies per gram of dry sediment) were higher than those of bacterial amoA (from 6.13 × 10⁵to 3.21 × 10⁶copies per gram of dry sediment) in all samples. Submerged macrophytes exhibited no significant effect on the abundance and diversity of archaeal amoA gene. C. demersum and V. spinulosa increased the abundance and diversity of bacterial amoA gene in their rhizosphere sediment. However, the diversity of bacterial amoA gene in the rhizosphere sediments of P. crispus was decreased. The data obtained in this study would be helpful to elucidate the roles of submerged macrophytes involved in the nitrogen cycling of eutrophic lake ecosystems.