Each year, tons of various types of molecules pollute our environment, and their elimination is one of the major challenges human kind is facing. Among the strategies to eliminate these pollutants is their biodegradation by microorganisms. However, many pollutants cannot be used efficiently as growth substrates by microorganisms. Biodegradation of such molecules by cometabolism has been reported, which is the ability of a microorganism to biodegrade a pollutant without using it as a growth-substrate (non-growth-substrate), while sustaining its own growth by assimilating a different substrate (growth-substrate). This approach has been used in the field of bioremediation, however, its potential has not been fully exploited yet. This review summarises the work carried out on the cometabolism of important recalcitrant pollutants, and presents strategies that can be used to improve ways of identifying microorganisms that can cometabolise such recalcitrant pollutants.

Novel brominated (BFRs) and organophosphorus (OPFRs) flame retardants were monitored in river water using the ceramic dosimeter passive sampling device with HLB (hydrophilic–lipophilic balance) as sorbent. Laboratory calibrations were performed to determine sampling rates for each compound using the Archie's law exponent. The passive sampling device was used to determine the presence of 6 BFRs in the River Aire (United Kingdom), selected according to their ubiquitous presence in the River Aire. Passive sampling integrated river water concentrations ranged from 0.010 to 5.6 μg L−1 for all OPFRs, while BFRs were not detected with this specific passive sampler configuration. Decreased sampling rates were evidenced after 3 weeks of deployment, probably due to fouling. Good agreement between integrated and snapshot water concentrations was obtained, indicating the efficiency of the passive sampler for the monitoring of OPFRs in river water.

This study investigated the relationship between contaminant body burden and the oxidative stress status of the gills and livers of two wild fish species in the Furnas Hydroelectric Power Station (HPS) reservoir (Minas Gerais, Brazil). Gills and livers presented similar pathways of metals and organochlorine bioaccumulation. During June, organochlorines were associated with lipid peroxidation (LPO), indicating oxidative stress due to the inhibition of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase. In the most polluted areas, metal concentrations in the liver were associated with metallothionein. During December, contaminants in the gills and liver were associated with catalase activity and LPO. Aldrin/dieldrin was the contaminant most associated with oxidative damage in the livers of both species. This integrated approach shed light on the relationship between adverse biological effects and bioaccumulation of contaminants inputted by intensive agricultural practices and proved to be a suitable tool for assessing the environmental quality of man-made reservoirs.

The fate of fuel releases largely depends on the poorly-understood response in microbial community structure and function. Here, we evaluate the impacts to the microbial community resulting from a pilot-scale continuous release (10 months) of a 10% v:v ethanol solution mixed with benzene and toluene (50 mg/L each). Microbial population shifts were characterized by pyrosequencing-based 16S rRNA analysis and by quantitative PCR targeting Bacteria, Archaea, and functional genes for methanogenesis (mcrA), acetogenesis (fhs) and aerobic degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons (PHE), which could occur in hypoxic micro-environments. The release stimulated microbial growth, increased species richness and diversity, and selected for genotypes involved in fermentative degradation (the relative abundance of mcrA and fhs increased 18- and 6-fold, respectively). The growth of putative hydrocarbon degraders and commensal anaerobes, and increases in microbial diversity and in degradation rates suggest an adaptive response that increases the potential for natural attenuation of ethanol blend releases.

The increased use of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nano-TiO2) in consumer products such as sunscreen has raised concerns about their possible risk to human and environmental health. In this work, we report the occurrence, size fractionation and behavior of titanium (Ti) in a children's swimming pool. Size-fractionated samples were analyzed for Ti using ICP-MS. Total titanium concentrations ([Ti]) in the pool water ranged between 21 μg/L and 60 μg/L and increased throughout the 101-day sampling period while [Ti] in tap water remained relatively constant. The majority of [Ti] was found in the dissolved phase (<1 kDa), with only a minor fraction of total [Ti] being considered either particulate or microparticulate. Simple models suggest that evaporation may account for the observed variation in [Ti], while sunscreen may be a relevant source of particulate and microparticule Ti. Compared to diet, incidental ingestion of nano-Ti from swimming pool water is minimal.

The environmental effects and bioavailability of nanoparticulate iron (Fe) to plants are currently unknown. Here, plant bioavailability of synthesized hematite Fe nanoparticles was evaluated using Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana) as a model. Over 56-days of growing wild-type A. thaliana, the nanoparticle-Fe and no-Fe treatments had lower plant biomass, lower chlorophyll concentrations, and lower internal Fe concentrations than the Fe-treatment. Results for the no-Fe and nanoparticle-Fe treatments were consistently similar throughout the experiment. These results suggest that nanoparticles (mean diameter 40.9 nm, range 22.3–67.0 nm) were not taken up and therefore not bioavailable to A. thaliana. Over 14-days growing wild-type and transgenic (Type I/II proton pump overexpression) A. thaliana, the Type I plant grew more than the wild-type in the nanoparticle-Fe treatment, suggesting Type I plants cope better with Fe limitation; however, the nanoparticle-Fe and no-Fe treatments had similar growth for all plant types.

The adverse health effects of high concentrations of ground-level ozone are well-known, but estimating exposure is difficult due to the sparseness of urban monitoring networks. This sparseness discourages the reservation of a portion of the monitoring stations for validation of interpolation techniques precisely when the risk of overfitting is greatest. In this study, we test a variety of simple spatial interpolation techniques for 8-h ozone with thousands of randomly selected subsets of data from two urban areas with monitoring stations sufficiently numerous to allow for true validation. Results indicate that ordinary kriging with only the range parameter calibrated in an exponential variogram is the generally superior method, and yields reliable confidence intervals. Sparse data sets may contain sufficient information for calibration of the range parameter even if the Moran I p-value is close to unity. R script is made available to apply the methodology to other sparsely monitored constituents.

People typically spend most of their time indoors. We modeled the daily indoor PM10 concentrations of outdoor origin using a set of exposure parameters, including the fraction of residences with air conditionings (AC), the fraction of time that windows are closed when cooling occurs for buildings with AC, the fractions of time that windows are open or closed for buildings with or without AC, the particle penetration factors, air change rates, and surface removal rate constant of PM10. We calculated the time-weighted average of the simulated indoor PM10 concentration of outdoor origin and the original recorded outdoor PM10 concentration. We then evaluated the acute effects of PM10 using traditional and amended exposure metrics in 16 Chinese cities. Compared with the original estimates, the new effect estimates almost doubled, with improved model fit and attenuated between-city heterogeneity. Conclusively, this proposed exposure assessment approach could improve the effect estimates of ambient particles.

Many phenols are known to mimic or antagonize hormonal activities and may adversely affect fetal growth. A study of 567 pregnant women was conducted to investigate the relationship between prenatal phenol exposure and birth outcomes, including birth weight, length, and gestational age. We measured the concentrations of bisphenol A, benzophenone-3, 4-n-octylphenol and 4-n-nonylphenol in maternal urine and examine their association with birth outcomes. Categories of urinary benzophenone-3 concentration were associated with decreased gestational age in all infants (p for trend = 0.03). Between middle and low exposure groups, we also found bisphenol A was negatively associated with gestational duration (βadjusted = −0.48 week; 95% confidence interval: −0.91, −0.05). After stratification by gender, we found the consistent results in infant boys with those in all infants, but we did not observe significant association for girls. In conclusion, we found prenatal phenol exposure was sex-specifically related to birth outcomes.

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.