A comparison of chromium abatement from irrigation water, by the use of two selected plant species, Phragmites australis and Helianthus annuus, planted in chromium-contaminated soil, was studied in the present work. The above plant species were irrigated, in a continuous mode, with 10 mg Crⱽᴵ/L contaminated tap water. More than 90 % of hexavalent chromium was reduced to trivalent chromium, from both plant species, as measured in the drainage water. Moreover, total chromium removal ranged from 54 % (Phragmites) to 70 % (Helianthus). After 90 days, the total chromium content of the contaminated soil dropped from 70 to 32 and 34 mg Cr/kgdᵣy ₛₒᵢₗ, for Helianthus and Phragmites, respectively. Helianthus accumulated higher amount of chromium in the roots (2,730 mg Cr/kgdᵣy ₜᵢₛₛᵤₑ) as compared to 1,800 mg Cr/kgdᵣy ₜᵢₛₛᵤₑ for Phragmites. Most of Crⱽᴵ was reduced to Crᴵᴵᴵ in all plant tissues, with Phragmites showing lower affinity for Crⱽᴵ reduction in the root tissues but higher chromium translocation potential from roots to stems, while Helianthus showed higher chromium translocation from roots to leaves. Toxicity effects, expressed as root growth rate inhibition, indicated that Phragmites were the most tolerant specie to chromium effects. Both plant species showed high potentialities to be used in phytoremediation installations for chromium removal.

Coupled Bi₂O₃/TiO₂ photocatalysts were fabricated by sol–gel and hydrothermal methods and characterized using various spectroscopy techniques. Photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) in aqueous solution, together with the synergistic effect of photodegradation of bisphenol A (BPA), was investigated using these coupled Bi₂O₃/TiO₂ under visible-light irradiation. Coupling of Bi₂O₃ inhibited the phase transformation from anatase to rutile and extended absorption region to visible light. Bi ions did not enter TiO₂ lattice and were more likely to bond with oxygen atoms to form Bi₂O₃ on the surface of TiO₂. Photovoltage signals in visible range revealed the effective interfacial charge transfer between Bi₂O₃ and TiO₂. Two percent Bi₂O₃/TiO₂ exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity of visible-light-induced reduction of Cr(VI). The addition of BPA effectively increased the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI). Simultaneously, the presence of Cr(VI) promoted the degradation of BPA, which was demonstrated by the investigation of TOC removal yield and generated intermediates. A possible mechanism of photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) and degradation of BPA in Bi₂O₃/TiO₂ system was proposed. The synergistic effect, observed between reduction of Cr(VI) and degradation of BPA, provides beneficial method for environmental remediation and purification of the complex wastewater.

In the past three decades, the fast development of economy and urbanization has caused increasingly severe pollutions of urban water bodies in China. Consequently, eutrophication and deterioration of aquatic ecosystem, which is especially significant for aquatic vegetation, inevitably became a pervasive problem across the Yangtze River Basin. To rehabilitate the degraded urban water bodies, vegetation replanting is an important issue to improve water quality and to rehabilitate ecosystem. As a case study, a representative polluted urban river, Nanfeihe River, in Hefei City, Anhui Province, was chosen to be a rehabilitation target. In October 2009 and May 2010, 13 species of indigenous and prevalent macrophytes, including seven species emergent, one species floating leaved, and five species submersed macrophytes, were planted along the bank slopes and in the river. Through 1.5 years' replanting practice, the water quality and biodiversity of the river had been improved. The concentrations of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and ammonia nitrogen (NH4 (+)-N) declined by 46.0, 39.5, and 60.4 %, respectively. The species of macrophytes increased from 14 to 60, and the biodiversity of phytoplankton rose significantly in the river (p < 0.05). The biomasses of zooplankton and benthos were also improved after the vegetation replanting. The study confirmed that vegetation replanting could alleviate the increasing water pollution and rehabilitate the degraded aquatic ecosystem. The case study would be an example for polluted urban waters restoration in the middle-downstream area of Yangtze River Base.

Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) represent a fraction of petroleum hydrocarbons and are currently one of the foremost sources of generating energy in today’s contemporary society. However, evidence highlighted in this review show that PAH pollution, as a result of oil spills, hazardous PAH-contaminated working environments and technologies which do not efficiently utilise fuels, as well as natural sources of emissions (e.g. forest fires) may have significant health implications for all taxa. The extent of damage to organisms from PAH exposure is dependent on numerous factors including degree and type of PAH exposure, nature of the environment contaminated (i.e. terrestrial or aquatic), the ability of an organism to relocate to pristine environments, type and sensitivity of organism to specific hydrocarbon fractions and ability of the organism to metabolise different PAH fractions. The review highlights the fact that studies on the potential damage of PAHs should be carried out using mixtures of hydrocarbons as opposed to individual hydrocarbon fractions due to the scarcity of individual fractions being a sole contaminant. Furthermore, potential damage of PAH-contaminated sites should be assessed using an entire ecological impact outlook of the affected area.

The performance and temporal variation of hybrid vertical-subsurface flow constructed wetlands (VFCWs) in response to two-stage combinations of vertical upflow (VUF) and vertical downflow (VDF) were analyzed in this research. The results of high carbon (C) treatment and high nitrogen (N) treatment were similar. The Lythrum salicaria treatment showed higher removal efficiency than CWs planted with Acorus calamus. Under high C- and N-loading treatments, the optimum two-stage combination was VDF-VUF VFCWs planted with A. calamus. Furthermore, the highest nutrient removal efficiencies were achieved in late summer (July and August) and early autumn (September). The chemical oxygen demand and total nitrogen removal efficiencies were significantly affected (P < 0.05) by season, system, and wetland plant.

Cadmium (Cd) toxicity in plants leads to serious disturbances of physiological processes, such as inhibition of chlorophyll synthesis, oxidative injury to the plant cells and water and nutrient uptake. Response of Matricaria chamomilla L. to calcium chloride (CaCl₂) enrichment in growth medium for reducing Cd toxicity were studied in this study. Hydroponically cultured seedlings were treated with 0, 0.1, 1, and 5 mM CaCl₂, under 0, 120, and 180 μM CdCl₂ conditions, respectively. The study included measurements pertaining to physiological attributes such as growth parameters, Cd concentration and translocation, oxidative stress, and accumulation of phenolics. Addition of CaCl₂ to growth media decreased the Cd concentration, activity of antioxidant enzymes, and reactive oxygen species accumulation in the plants treated with different CdCl₂, but increased the growth parameters. Malondialdehyde and total phenolics in shoots and roots were not much affected when plants were treated only with different CaCl₂ levels, but it showed a rapid increase when the plants were exposed to 120 and 180 CdCl₂ levels. CaCl₂ amendment also ameliorated the CdCl₂-induced stress by reducing oxidative injury. The beneficial effects of CaCl₂ in ameliorating CdCl₂ toxicity can be attributed to the Ca-induced reduction of Cd concentration, by reducing the cell-surface negativity and competing for Cd²⁺ ion influx, activity enhancement of antioxidant enzymes, and biomass accumulation.

The copper production in Bor (East Serbia) during the last 100 years presents an important source of the pollution of environment. Dust, waste waters, tailing, and air pollutants influence the quality of soil, water, and air. Over 2,000 ha of fertile soil have been damaged by the flotation tailing from Bor’s facilities. The goal of the present work has been to determine the content of Pb, Cu, and Fe in wild plants (17 species) naturally growing in the damaged soil and in fodder crops (nine species) planted at the same place. The content of Pb, Cu, and Fe has been analyzed in damaged soil as well. This study has also searched for native (wild) and cultivated plants which are able to grow in contaminated soil in the area of the intense industrial activity of copper production in Bor, which means that they can accumulate and tolerate heavy metals in their above-ground tissues. It has been found out that the content of all metals in contaminated soil decreases considerably at the end of the experiment. As it has been expected, all plant species could accumulate investigated metals. All tested plants, both wild-growing and cultivated plants, seem to be quite healthy on the substrate which contained extremely high concentrations of copper.

A pot trial was conducted to assess the efficiency of sepiolite-induced cadmium (Cd) immobilization in ultisoils. Under Cd concentrations of 1.25, 2.5, and 5 mg kg⁻¹, the available Cd in the soil after the application of 1–10 % sepiolite decreased by a maximum of 44.4, 23.0, and 17.0 %, respectively, compared with no sepiolite treatments. The increase in the values of soil enzyme activities and microbial number proved that a certain metabolic recovery occurred after sepiolite treatment. The dry biomass of spinach (Spinacia oleracea) increased with increasing sepiolite concentration in the soil. However, the concentration (dry weight) of Cd in the spinach shoots decreased with the increase in sepiolite dose, with maximum reduction of 92.2, 90.0, and 84.9 %, respectively, compared with that of unamended soils. Under a Cd level of 1.25 mg kg⁻¹, the Cd concentration in the edible parts of spinach at 1 % sepiolite amendment was lower than 0.2 mg kg⁻¹ fresh weight, the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of Cd in vegetable. Even at higher Cd concentrations (2.5 and 5 mg kg⁻¹), safe spinach was produced when the sepiolite treatment was up to 5 %. The results showed that sepiolite-assisted remediation could potentially succeed on a field scale by decreasing Cd entry into the food chain.

This study examined the effects of three widely used pesticides that have been previously detected in aquatic systems neighbouring agricultural fields on the early-life stages of the zebrafish Danio rerio. Tests involving single exposures and binary combinations of the s-triazine herbicides (atrazine and terbuthylazine) and the organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos were performed. Several endpoints, such as swimming behaviour, morphological abnormalities and mortality, were studied. In addition, the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity was investigated in order to evaluate the mode of action and toxicity of chlorpyrifos in the presence of these herbicides. Results indicate that both binary mixtures elicited synergistic responses on the swimming behaviour of zebrafish larvae. Moreover, although the herbicides were not effective inhibitors of the AChE on their own, a synergistic inhibition of the enzyme activity was obtained by exposure to mixtures with chlorpyrifos. We observed a correlation between impairment of swimming behaviour of the larvae and inhibition of AChE activity. This study supports previous studies concerning the risk assessment of mixtures since the toxicity may be underestimated when looking only at the single toxicants and not their mixtures.