This article provides an overview of heavy metal contamination in rivers and assessment methods of their contamination and effects. According to literature, rivers with heavy metal contamination in surface water are mainly found in developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean area, while rivers with heavy metal contamination in sediments are mostly found in Europe. The increase in heavy metal contamination in rivers has led to the adoption of individual and synergistic assessment methods. Individual methods are useful in assessing the contamination and effects for a single heavy metal, while synergistic methods assess the combined contamination and effects of several heavy metals present in surface water and sediments. These two approaches have been commonly used together in recent studies to overcome the limitations of each other and provide a more comprehensive assessment. The developments, equations, advantages, limitations, and future perspectives of these methods are discussed in this review. Calculating indexes are simple, easy-to-implement, and effective methods to provide early alerts for the environmental changes and the adverse impacts on ecosystems and human health. However, calculating indexes still have limitations due to the lack of background concentrations of heavy metals in the study area. Therefore, this issue should be addressed to overcome the limitations of these methods in the future. This review provides a useful reference for future studies on heavy metal contamination in global rivers and the assessment methods for heavy metal contamination and effects.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Workplace noise negatively impacts health, and noise-induced hearing loss is the most common work-related disease in many countries. Occupational noise may also cause cardiovascular disease, and there is epidemiologic evidence on the non-auditory effects of noise. This paper aims to briefly present and summarize the latest evidence on the auditory and non-auditory health effects of occupational noise exposure from the last 5 years. RECENT FINDINGS: Two systematic reviews assessing the cardiovascular effects of occupational noise exposure were published in the last year. Our own recent review found convincing evidence of an association between occupational noise exposure > 80 dB(A) and hypertension and a dose-response relationship between noise exposure and hypertension risk. Another review of cardiovascular disease conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) found an increased risk of incident ischemic heart disease at noise exposures ≥ 85 dB(A). Recent reviews on work-related injuries, diabetes, acoustic neuroma, and pregnancy outcomes also find noise-related associations. Evidence of an association between occupational noise and cardiovascular outcomes was recently evaluated. We found the risk of hypertension increases with a clear dose-response relationship at noise levels > 80 dB(A). The WHO/ILO review highlights the lack of quality research including women. Additional high-quality research on epigenetic effects, oxidative stress, work-related injuries, diabetes, acoustic neuroma, and pregnancy outcomes is also needed. Urgently needed (increased) measures of workplace noise reduction will reduce the incidence of noise-induced hearing loss and help prevent cardiovascular diseases, especially hypertension.

Identifying trophic status shift and developing nutrient criteria were considered important for controlling coastal eutrophication. Based on data from 1980 to 2018, we used sequential t-test analysis of regime shifts and assessment of coastal trophic status models to detect regime shifts in trophic status in Bohai Bay (China). We identified four distinct periods: unimpaired (1980–1984), minimally impacted (1985–1994), tipping point (1995–1999) and severely degraded (2000–2018). Using the reference conditions at different trophic status, a frequency distribution analysis was performed to develop candidate nutrient criteria. By considering other factors, such as the quantity and quality of data and long-term nutrient variations, we determined recommended criteria for dissolved inorganic nitrogen (15.3 μmol L⁻¹) and phosphorus (0.42 μmol L⁻¹) in Bohai Bay. This study provides a novel and feasible approach to determine reference conditions for the determination of nutrient criteria for coastal waters.

Driftwood originating from natural and anthropogenic sources is abundant in coastal regions and plays an important role in ecosystems, providing habitat, structure, nutrients, and carbon storage. Conversely, large accumulations of driftwood can litter coastal zones, negatively impact coastal ecosystems and pose hazards to navigation, infrastructure and communities. Knowledge of the processes underlying the fate and transport of coastal driftwood is therefore needed to inform sustainable management practices. The present state of understanding is limited, and predominantly founded on studies of rivers and tsunamis, where the spatio-temporal scales and driving processes are significantly different from typical climatic or storm conditions in coastal waters. The authors critically review research on fate and transport of driftwood in coastal waters, and identify research needs and opportunities. Key knowledge gaps relate to: interactions between driftwood, littoral zone hydrodynamics and geomorphology; mechanisms of driftwood rafting and accumulation; and influence of weathering and degradation on mobility.

Every year, during the pre-monsoon season, tropical storms form in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and hit the eastern coast of India, affecting the lives of people living in the coastal region. On 3 May 2019, deadly cyclone Fani impacted coastal areas of Odisha (eastern province) causing large scale damage and the impact was observed up to the Eastern Himalayan region. Detailed analyses of satellite, ground, and Argo data have provided information about the changes on land due to floods caused by heavy precipitation, weather conditions, atmospheric, and ocean parameters. Pronounced changes in ocean and atmospheric parameters were observed at the time of the formation of the cyclone and its movements towards the land, especially along its track. Changes in ocean parameters such as chlorophyll concentration, dissolved oxygen, salinity, and sea surface and sub-surface temperature are found to be associated with the cyclone Fani. Our analysis shows a strong coupling between the land-ocean-atmosphere associated with the cyclone Fani.

Water Quality issues in many Pacific countries are rising, with the increase in coastal populations and associated urban runoff but management requires contamination issues in the aquatic environment to be identified and prioritised. In Vanuatu and Solomon Islands there are few laboratories and resources to assess for the presence or impact of complex chemical contaminants. The extent and impact of chemical contamination of the marine and coastal environment is poorly described.Passive chemical samplers were used to measure a range of aquatic pollutants around the capital cities, Honiara (Solomon Islands) and Port Vila (Vanuatu). We detected a range of chemicals indicative of agricultural and industrial contamination and a few sites had concerning concentrations of specific hydrocarbons and pesticides. The rapid ecotoxicology test, Microtox, indicated toxic impacts in rivers, coastal sites and urban drains This work provides new data on chemical contamination and possible impacts of that contamination for both countries. The techniques could be applied widely across the region to generate critical data for environmental management, guide monitoring efforts and measure the impact of policy or land-use changes.

In 2008–2018, 1458 georeferenced samples of clams and 343 of mussels were harvested in Italy from classified areas along Marche coast and analyzed within food-safety monitoring plans. Pb, Cd, V, Ni, Cr, and As median levels (mg kg⁻¹) were 0.09, 0.08, 0.29, 0.77, 0.35, and 2.35 in clams and 0.16, 0.15, 0.46, 0.48, 0.25, and 3.34 in mussels. The reported levels were comparable with the published ones, and Hg always fell below LOQ (0.025 mg kg⁻¹). Pb and Cd datasets, based on quarterly results, show a decreasing trend in clams and constant baseline value for mussels. Time-trends and forecasting models represent an asset to predict emerging food safety/security risks. The metal levels in mussels and clams from the same area allow environmental safety assessment and thus enable the evaluation of contaminants in both water column and sediment. Monitoring of elements that are not regulated may help in preserving food and environmental safety.

Hemocytes are the main immunologic parameters for invertebrate organisms as a response to diseases and pollutions. This study was aimed to reveal the relations between pollution and the total and differential hemocytes numbers. The gulf of İzmir was selected as location for sampling due to its contaminated by different anthropogenic pollutants mainly industrial effects. The effects of the pollutants were investigated on the mussels that have been collected from eight stations in the Izmir Bay (1- Inciralti, 2- Göztepe 3-Konak-4- Pasaport 5-Alsancak, 6-Karşıyaka, 7-Bostanlı), which are known as the most polluted part of inner Bay of Izmir (Western Coast of Turkey) and 8-Foça, (an anthropogenically industrialized and shipping -impacted area). The pollution effects in the bay were determined on hemolymphs by biomarkers such as total hemocyte counts (THCs) and differential hemocyte counts (DHCs). Microscopic examinations have shown the statistical differences at THCs and DHCs. The highest total hemocyte number was determined in the station 7 (Bostanlı) and the lowest in the station 4 (Pasaport) (P < 0.05). The number of total hemocyte counts were not differed significantly in the Stations among 2 (Göztepe), 5 (Alsancak) and 6 (Karşıyaka), and between Stations 8 (Foça) and 1 (Inciraltı) (P > 0.05). In addition, there have been significant differences in subpopulation according to differential hemocyte numbers. The results indicate that the station 8 (reference site-Foça) has the highest agranulocyte number while station 7 (Bostanlı) and the station 1 (İnciraltı) have the lowest agranulocyte numbers (P < 0.05). As for the basophilic hemocyte numbers, this situation was reversed highest number in station 1 (Inciraltı) and 7 (Bostanlı) and lowest in the station 8 (Foça) (p < 0.05). The station 4 (Pasaport) has the highest eosinophilic hemocyte number while station 8 (Foça) has the lowest. We concluded that differential hemocytes counts are more sensitive as biomarker with the highest numbers of agranulocytes and lowest numbers of eosinophilic and basophilic hemocytes in reference site.

Paint particles are part of the increasingly important microplastics (MPs) pollution of our oceans. They contain polyurethanes, polyesters, polyacrylates, polystyrenes, alkyls and epoxies. In spite of their prevalence, paint fragments are often excluded from MP audits. This review, citing 127 references, discusses detection, characteristics, sources and ecological effects of paint fragments in our oceans, as well as the abundance of paint fragments in MP samples around the world and their colonization by marine microorganisms, which differs from that of non-paint MPs. Paint MPs arise from shipping and boating activities, road markings and external surfaces of buildings. Many paint fragments come from antifouling paints used on commercial vessels and leisure boats; these may be regarded as particular pollutants, not only containing but also leaching heavy metals and biocides. Some effects of antifouling paint particles on aquatic biota are caused by these toxins. Paint particles are an understudied portion of marine MP pollution.