Airborne particles containing elemental carbon (EC) are currently at the forefront of scientific and regulatory scrutiny, including black carbon, carbon black, and engineered carbon-based nanomaterials, e.g., carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, and graphene. Scientists and regulators sometimes group these EC-containing particles together, for example, interchangeably using the terms carbon black and black carbon despite one being a manufactured product with well-controlled properties and the other being an undesired, incomplete-combustion byproduct with diverse properties. In this critical review, we synthesize information on the contrasting properties of EC-containing particles in order to highlight significant differences that can affect hazard potential. We demonstrate why carbon black should not be considered a model particle representative of either combustion soots or engineered carbon-based nanomaterials. Overall, scientific studies need to distinguish these highly different EC-containing particles with care and precision so as to forestall unwarranted extrapolation of properties, hazard potential, and study conclusions from one material to another.

We present the first evidence of accumulation of organochlorine compounds (DDTs, PCBs, HCB) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Indo-Pacific humpback and Australian snubfin dolphins from the central and southern Great Barrier Reef. These dolphins are considered by the Great Barrier Marine Park Authority to be high priority species for management. Analyses of biopsy samples, collected from free ranging individuals, showed PAHs levels comparable to those reported from highly industrialized countries. DDTs and HCB were found at low levels, while in some individuals, PCBs were above thresholds over which immunosuppression and reproductive anomalies occur. These results highlight the need for ongoing monitoring of these and other contaminants, and their potential adverse effects on dolphins and other marine fauna. This is particularly important given the current strategic assessment of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area being undertaken by the Australian Government and the Queensland Government.

Ten antibiotics belonging to three groups (macrolides, fluoroquinolones and sulfonamides) were investigated in riverine runoff of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and Pearl River Estuary (PRE), South China for assessing the importance of riverine runoff in the transportation of contaminants from terrestrial sources to the open ocean. All antibiotics were detected in the eight outlets with concentrations ranging from 0.7 to 127 ng L−1. The annual mass loadings of antibiotics from the PRD to the PRE and coast were 193 tons with 102 tons from the fluoroquinolone group. It showed that antibiotics decreased from the riverine outlets to the PRE and open ocean. Risk assessment showed that most of these antibiotics showed various ecological risks to the relevant aquatic organisms, in which ofloxacin (OFL), erythromycin (ETM) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) posed high ecological risks to the studied aquatic environments.

Scientific consensus predicts that the worldwide use of engineered nanomaterials (ENM) leads to their release into the environment. We reviewed the available literature concerning environmental concentrations of six ENMs (TiO2, ZnO, Ag, fullerenes, CNT and CeO2) in surface waters, wastewater treatment plant effluents, biosolids, sediments, soils and air. Presently, a dozen modeling studies provide environmental concentrations for ENM and a handful of analytical works can be used as basis for a preliminary validation. There are still major knowledge gaps (e.g. on ENM production, application and release) that affect the modeled values, but over all an agreement on the order of magnitude of the environmental concentrations can be reached. True validation of the modeled values is difficult because trace analytical methods that are specific for ENM detection and quantification are not available. The modeled and measured results are not always comparable due to the different forms and sizes of particles that these two approaches target.

Carbon storage and sequestration by urban trees in the United States was quantified to assess the magnitude and role of urban forests in relation to climate change. Urban tree field data from 28 cities and 6 states were used to determine the average carbon density per unit of tree cover. These data were applied to statewide urban tree cover measurements to determine total urban forest carbon storage and annual sequestration by state and nationally. Urban whole tree carbon storage densities average 7.69 kg C m−2 of tree cover and sequestration densities average 0.28 kg C m−2 of tree cover per year. Total tree carbon storage in U.S. urban areas (c. 2005) is estimated at 643 million tonnes ($50.5 billion value; 95% CI = 597 million and 690 million tonnes) and annual sequestration is estimated at 25.6 million tonnes ($2.0 billion value; 95% CI = 23.7 million to 27.4 million tonnes).

Contraceptive drugs are nowadays found in aquatic environments around the globe. Particularly, 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) may act even at low concentrations, such as those recorded in natural ecosystems. We evaluated the physiological effects of EE2 on cyclopoids and calanoids, common copepods in both marine and freshwater communities. We used three EE2 concentrations and assessed its impact on activity of different physiological endpoints: Acetylcholinesterase (neurotransmission), Glutathione S-transferase (detoxifying system), and Caspase-3 (apoptosis). While EE2 exerts, distinctive effect on detoxifying and apoptotic systems, no effect on AChE was observed at environmental doses. Our results show that EE2 exposure affects differently copepod physiology endpoints, altering moulting process, adult recruitment in calanoids and calanoid to cyclopoid ratio. The ecological consequences of this underlying physiological process may affect since life history to population and community structures, and this represent a new aspects of this xenobiotic in natural systems.

The free ion approach has been previously used to calculate critical limit concentrations for soil metals based on point estimates of toxicity. Here, the approach was applied to dose–response data for copper effects on seven biological endpoints in each of 19 European soils. The approach was applied using the concept of an effective dose, comprising a function of the concentrations of free copper and ‘protective’ major cations, including H+. A significant influence of H+ on the toxicity of Cu2+ was found, while the effects of other cations were inconsistent. The model could be generalised by forcing the effect of H+ and the slope of the dose–response relationship to be equal for all endpoints. This suggests the possibility of a general bioavailability model for copper effects on organisms. Furthermore, the possibility of such a model could be explored for other cationic metals such as nickel, zinc, cadmium and lead.

Food quality affects the food consumption rate, flux through the gut, and exposure to contaminants in animals. This study evaluated the effects of food quality on cadmium exposure in the soil collembolan Folsomia candida. Animals were exposed to constant concentrations of cadmium for 38 h via artificial food consisting of an agar medium with various concentrations of sugar (glucose), total nutrients (baker's yeast), or fungal odour (1-octen-3-ol). The expression of the gene encoding a deduced metallothionein-like motif containing protein was used as a biomarker of cadmium exposure. Glucose concentrations of 2% or higher reduced the expression levels of the biomarker. Within the range of 0.1–8% yeast, medium concentrations led to higher biomarker levels. At high concentrations of 1-octen-3-ol (2000 mg/l), feeding and the biomarker response were reduced. These results suggest that even at equivalent cadmium concentrations, food quality affects cadmium exposure by altering food consumption rates.

During the last decades, awareness regarding persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), has become a cutting-edge topic, due to their toxicity, bioaccumulation and persistency in the environment. Monitoring of PCDD/Fs and PAHs in air and water has proven to be insufficient to capture deposition and effects of these compounds in the biota. To overcome this limitation, environmental biomonitoring using lichens and aquatic mosses, have aroused as promising tools. The main aim of this work is to provide a review of: i) factors that influence the interception and accumulation of POPs by lichens; ii) how lichens and aquatic bryophytes can be used to track different pollution sources and; iii) how can these biomonitors contribute to environmental health studies. This review will allow designing a set of guidelines to be followed when using biomonitors to assess environmental POP pollution.

The long-term ecological risk of micropollutants, especially endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) has threatened reclaimed water quality. In this study, estrogenic activity and ecological risk of eight typical estrogenic EDCs in effluents from sewage plants were evaluated. The estrogenic activity analysis showed that steroidal estrogens had the highest estrogenic activity (ranged from 10−1 to 103 ng-E2/L), phenolic compounds showed weaker estrogenic activity (mainly ranged from 10−3 to 10 ng-E2/L), and phthalate esters were negligible. The ecological risk of the estrogenic EDCs which was characterized by risk quotient ranged from 10−4 to 103, with an order in descending: steroids estrogens, phenolic compounds and phthalate esters. The eight estrogenic EDCs were scored and sorted based on the comparison of the estrogenic activity and the ecological risk, suggesting that 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), estrone (E1) and estradiol (E2) should be the priority EDCs to control in municipal sewage plants.