The effect of in situ immobilization of lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) in soil with respectively phosphate and iron is well recognized. However, studies on combined Pb and As-contaminated soil are fewer, and assessment of the effectiveness of the immobilization on mobility and bioaccessibility is also necessary. In this study, a Pb and As-contaminated soil was collected from an abandoned lead/zinc mine in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province of China, which has been treated with three phosphates, i.e., calcium magnesium phosphate (CMP), phosphate rock, and single super-phosphate (SSP) for 6 months in a field study. The ferrous sulfate (FeSO₄) at 20 g kg⁻¹ was then amended to the soil samples and incubated for 8 weeks in a greenhouse. The solubility and bioaccessibility tests were used to assess the effectiveness of the in situ immobilization. The result showed that phosphates addition decreased the concentrations of CaCl₂-extractable Pb; however, the concentrations of water-soluble As increased upon CMP and SSP addition. With the iron addition, the water-soluble As concentrations decreased significantly, but CaCl₂-extractable Pb concentrations increased. The bioaccessibility of As and Pb measured in artificial gastric and small intestinal solutions decreased with phosphate and iron application except for the bioaccessibility of As in the gastric phase with SSP addition. Combined application of phosphates and iron can be an effective approach to lower bioaccessibility of As and Pb, but has opposing effects on mobility of As and Pb in contaminated soils.

In this work, we evaluated the effect of harmful ecotoxins, 4,5,6-trichloroguaicol (4,5,6-TCG) and tetrachloroguaiacol (TeCG), on the oxidation of the fluorescent probe dihydrorhodamine 123, the content of free phenols and the level of the total, oxidized and reduced glutathione in the leaves of reed canary grass (Phalaris arudinacea). Furthermore, the effect on the activity of guaiacol peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase was investigated. Both 4,5,6-TCG and TeCG increased the activity of guaiacol peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase, they also elevated the content of free phenols and the level of the total glutathione. A stronger effect was exerted by tetrachloroguaiacol, which strongly increased the level of the total glutathione and the content of free phenols on the 3rd and 6th day of the experiment. The activity of glutathione S-transferase was more intensively induced by trichloroguaiacol. Both 4,5,6-TCG and TeCG oxidized dihydrorodamine 123 and the effect was stronger in the presence of magnesium ions.

This study aimed to understand the seasonal and spatial variations of N₂O emissions from newly created littoral marshes in the drawdown area of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), China. We measured N₂O emissions at 10-day intervals during the growing season (early July to late September) in 2008. N₂O emissions were measured with static chambers in four typical vegetation stands. The results showed great spatial variations of N₂O emissions among the four stands. The greatest N₂O emissions (0.052 ± 0.063 mg N₂O m⁻² h⁻¹) were from Scirpus triqueter stand, while the lowest N₂O emissions (0.020 ± 0.020 mg N₂O m⁻² h⁻¹) were from Typha angustifolia stand. To such spatial variations in N₂O emissions, standing water depths and soil water content may be important explaining factors. Besides spatial variations, we also found significant temporal variations of N₂O emissions in this area. The temporal variation of N₂O emissions in the growing season was not found significantly related to any measured factor in the study. However, based on principal component analysis, we consider it partly caused by thermal conditions and the marked temporal variation of the standing water depth in the growing season, which to some degree influenced the process of denitrification and N₂O emissions. These results about TGR enable us to make a more reasonable estimate of N₂O emissions from large dam reservoirs, particularly those with a large drawdown area in the growing season in an agricultural landscape.

The main objective of this study was to find out a cost-effective treatment methodology for the treatment of palm oil effluent (POE) obtained from a food processing industry. An electro-Fenton pretreatment and biological oxidation has been suggested for the removal of recalcitrant contaminants present in POE. An initial COD of about 6,700 mg/L of POE was subjected to electrolytic degradation for 2 h and subsequently by biological oxidation. The biological oxidation was carried out using Aspergillus niger and Pseudomonas putida in anaerobic condition. Electro-Fenton process removed 48.35% of the COD. Biological oxidation subsequently decreased the COD to 86.12% and BOD to 85.23%. In the combined process, a high reduction in TOC and TN were achieved. Experimental conditions have been optimized and performances of these techniques have been discussed. The treated water can be reused for general and agricultural purposes.

The chemical dynamics at Meio Stream Basin, São Paulo State, Brazil were evaluated using major elements as natural tracers. The surface water samples from Meio Stream were collected near the mouth of Meio Stream at the confluence with the Mogi-Guaçu River on February 25, 2005, April 20, 2005, and July 8, 2005. Rainwater samples were collected (using a “bulk” collector) for 1 year at one sampling point located about 4 km from downtown Leme city and other possible sources of contamination. The analyses were performed by pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity, total solids, sulfate, nitrate, phosphate, alkalinity, chloride, sodium, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. This basin has serious environmental problems in terms of rainwater and surface water quality, which result in the negative annual flux of cations and anions at Meio Stream Basin, with the exception of chlorine. The Meio Stream, downstream from Leme city, receives several elements/compounds through anthropogenic activities, mainly related to the discharge of domestic effluents. Anthropogenic inputs (mining, fossil fuel burning, and agricultural activities) are responsible for the higher concentrations of cations and anions in the rainwater from this basin.

Water quality degradation in the Selangor River will still be present in the years to come since pollutant loads from poultry farms, municipal wastewaters, and industrial wastewaters are not envisaged to be handled effectively. This will be facing the problems of water quality status to use for multiple purposes and to provide its aquatic environment continuously. The water quality evaluation system is used to assess the water quality condition in the river. This system distinguishes two categories of water condition i.e., the water quality index and water quality aptitude. The assessment of water quality for the Selangor River from nine stations along the main stream, which concludes that water has been highly polluted (index 5) immediately downstream of station 02 Selangor River before confluence with Kubu River due to high concentration of microorganisms and immediately downstream of station 06 Selangor River before confluence with Batang Kali River due to high concentrations of microorganisms and suspended particles, was verified. Mineral micropollutants were found to gradually pollute the stream water, ranging from the unpolluted water (index 1) in the upstream to the bad quality (index 4) in the downstream area.

Electrocoagulation (EC) has been evaluated as a treatment technology for arsenic (As) removal. Experiments were developed in an electrochemical reactor with three parallel iron plates. Current densities of 15, 30, and 45 A m⁻² were used to treat model water and 45 A m⁻² to treat underground water (GW). For both types of water, the EC process was able to decrease the residual arsenic concentration to less than 10 μg L⁻¹. However, the treatment time for As removal from GW was higher. This phenomenon was attributed to the competition of dissolved species present in GW such as silica and calcium with arsenic for the adsorption sites on the ferric oxyhydroxides flocs generated during the EC process. A procedure is proposed to reduce such interference by the addition of a silica adsorption inhibitor compound into the GW achieving a reduction in the process time. The adsorption of arsenic species over adsorbent was found to follow Lagergren adsorption model.

The present study determines the source of dust particles and investigates their impact on the chemical compositions of plants and soils around a cement factory in Oman within a radius of 10 km of this disturbed ecosystem. A total number of nine samples of the species of plants (Rhazya stricta), nine samples of soils, and nine samples of dust were collected and analyzed for major ions and trace elements including rare earth elements (REEs). Principal component analysis applied to the major and trace element concentrations in the dust indicated the input of at least two sources to the dust in the study area: ophiolites and cement. The REE distribution in the plants and soils revealed that the most available elements to plants originated dominantly from ophiolites rather than from cement. The contribution of cement industry is significant only in the zone located at about 0.500 to 2 km around the cement factory, whereas the contribution of ophiolites increases with distance from the cement factory.

The influence of inoculum preparation and cell density on the efficiency of Cr(VI) removal was assessed with two chromate-resistant yeasts, Pichia jadinii M9 and Pichia anomala M10, isolated from textile wastewaters. Batch cultures in yeast nitrogen base (YNB)′ liquid medium (YNB without amino acids and ammonium sulfate plus sucrose and ammonium sulfate) containing 1-mM initial Cr(VI) concentrations revealed that heavy metal removal in both isolates was substantially affected by the inoculation procedure. Inocula with high initial density or pregrown in a nutritionally rich medium (Malt Czapek) were found to be key factors in order to achieve successful Cr(VI) decontamination. In contrast, low-density inocula and/or synthetic media-precultured cells were shown to negatively influence Cr(VI) disappearance, either by increasing the time for complete degradation or by reducing the percentage of heavy metal removed. These results emphasized the relevance of the selection of an appropriate inoculum culture medium and the positive influence of increasing one order of magnitude inoculum cell density in order to achieve successful and rapid Cr(VI) removal. Under these considerations, the selected yeasts, P. jadinii M9 and P. anomala M10, exhibited a remarkable ability to tolerate and completely remove Cr(VI) concentrations up to 1 mM, thus being candidates for potential applications in bioremediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated environments.

Covers of the nuclear waste repository are of great significance to the long-term safe storage and disposal of nuclear wastes. Capillary barriers have proven to be effective to resist the downward water seeping into the underlying nuclear wastes, especially in dry climate, and have been widely used worldwide. Infiltrating water is removed from the fine layer by evaporation or transpiration or through percolation into the coarse layer, which plays a critical role in preventing the water from further infiltration in the bulk wastes. In this paper, laboratory infiltration tests were conducted with an organic glass box, filled with fine-grained quartz sand in which a layer of coarse-grained quartz sand was emplaced horizontally or at various slopes (10° and 20°), and the capillary barrier effect under various conditions (different thickness, slop of coarse-grained quartz sand layer, and sprinkling intensity) was investigated in detail. The results show that the thickness of the underlying coarse layer plays a critical role in governing the performance of the capillary barrier. The efficiency of capillary barrier increases with increasing thickness and/or slope of the coarse layer, but decreases with increasing sprinkling intensity. For a sprinkling intensity of 20 mm/day, a 30-mm-thick coarse layer even emplaced horizontally can achieve 100% water diversion. In addition, a visible tracer test was performed with an inert red dyestuff to trace the streamlines; the results indicate that even with a 7-mm-thick coarse layer, the capillary barrier can offer marked ability to prevent water from percolating into the coarse layer. The findings could be useful for improving engineered uses of capillary barriers at waste repository sites.