Biomagnification of persistent toxic substances (PTSs) in food chains is of environmental concern, but studies on biotransport of PTSs across aquatic and riparian food chains are still incomplete. In this study, biomagnification of several PTSs including methylmercury (MeHg), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and 1,2-bis (2,4,6-tribromophenoxy) ethane (BTBPE) was investigated in adjacent aquatic and riparian food webs. Concentrations of MeHg and PBDEs ranged from 2.37 to 353 ng/g dry weight (dw) and not detected (Nd) to 65.1 ng/g lipid weight (lw) in riparian samples, respectively, and ranged from Nd to 705 ng/g dw and Nd to 187 ng/g lw in aquatic samples, respectively. Concentrations of MeHg were significantly correlated with δ¹³C (p < 0.01) rather than δ¹⁵N (p > 0.05) values in riparian organisms, while a significant correlation was observed between concentrations of MeHg and δ¹⁵N (p < 0.01) in aquatic organisms. Biomagnification factors (BMFs) and trophic magnification factors (TMFs) of PBDE congeners were similar in riparian and aquatic food webs, while BMFs and TMFs of MeHg were much higher in aquatic food web than those in riparian food web. The results indicate the biotransport of MeHg from aquatic insects to terrestrial birds, and δ¹³C can be a promising ecological indicator for biotransport of pollutants across ecosystems.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant, mainly from the manufacture and use of plastics. The use of BPA is restricted, and its new analogs (including bisphenol AF, BPAF) are being produced to replace it. However, the effect of BPAF on the male reproductive system remains unclear. Here, we report the effect of BPAF on Leydig cell regeneration in rats. Leydig cells were eliminated by ethane dimethane sulfonate (EDS, i.p., 75 mg/kg) and the regeneration began 14 days after its treatment. We gavaged 0, 10, 100, and 200 mg/kg BPAF to rats on post-EDS day 7–28. BPAF significantly reduced serum testosterone and progesterone levels at ≧10 mg/kg. It markedly reduced serum levels of estradiol, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone at 100 and 200 mg/kg. BPAF significantly reduced Leydig cell number at 200 mg/kg. BPAF significantly down-regulated the expression of Cyp17a1 at doses of 10 mg/kg and higher and the expression of Insl3, Star, Hsd17b3, Hsd11b1 in Leydig cells at 100 and 200 mg/kg, while it induced a significant up-regulation of Fshr, Dhh, and Sox9 in Sertoli cells at 200 mg/kg. BPAF induced oxidative stress and reduced the level of SOD2 at 200 mg/kg. It induced apoptosis and autophagy by increasing the levels of BAX, LC3B, and BECLIN1 and lowering the levels of BCL2 and p62 at 100 and 200 mg/kg. It induced autophagy possibly via decreasing the phosphorylation of AKT1 and mTOR. BPAF also significantly induced ROS production and apoptosis at a concentration of 10 μM, and reduced testosterone synthesis in rat R2C Leydig cells at a concentration of 10 μM in vitro, but did not affect cell viability after 24 h of treatment. In conclusion, BPAF is a novel endocrine disruptor, inhibiting the regeneration of Leydig cells.

Traffic source–dominated volatile organic compound (VOC) samples were collected during four time-intervals in a day (Ⅰ: 7:30–10:30, Ⅱ: 11:00–14:00, Ⅲ: 16:30–19:30, and Ⅳ: 20:00–23:00) in a tunnel in summer, 2019, in Xi’an, China. The total measured VOC (TVOC) in periods Ⅰ and Ⅲ (rush hours, 107.2 ± 8.2 parts per billion by volume [ppbv]) was 1.8 times that in periods Ⅱ and Ⅳ (non-rush hours, 58.6 ± 13.8 ppbv), consistent with the variation in vehicle numbers in the tunnel. The considerably elevated ethane and ethylbenzene levels could have been attributed to emissions from compressed natural gas vehicles and the rapid development of methanol-fueled taxis in Xi’an in 2019. The mixing ratios of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) contributed 9.4%–12.7% to TVOCs, and the contributions were nearly 40% higher in periods Ⅰ and Ⅲ than in Ⅱ and Ⅳ, indicating that BTEX levels were strongly affected by vehicle emissions. The indicators of motor vehicle emission, namely ethylene, propylene, toluene, m/p-xylenes, o-xylene, and propane, contributed to more than half of the ozone formation potential in this study. The noncarcinogenic risks of VOCs in this study were within the international safety standard, whereas the carcinogenic risks exceeded the standard by 2.3–4.6 times, suggesting that carcinogenic risks were more serious than noncarcinogenic risks. VOCs presented 2.2 and 1.4 times noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks during rush hours than during non-rush hours, respectively. Notably, the carcinogenic risk in period Ⅳ was comparable with that in period Ⅲ; however, the vehicle numbers and VOC mixing ratios were the lowest at night, which may have attributed to the increasing number and proportion of methanol M100-fueled vehicles in the tunnel. Therefore, VOCs emitted by new energy vehicles should also be seriously considered while evaluating fossil fuel vehicle emissions.

The spatial distributions, fluxes, and environmental effects of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) were investigated in the Yellow Sea (YS) and the East China Sea (ECS) in spring. The average concentrations of ethane, propane, i-/n-butane, ethylene, propylene and isoprene in the seawater were 18.1 ± 6.4, 15.4 ± 4.7, 6.8 ± 2.9, 6.4 ± 3.2, 67.1 ± 26.7, 20.5 ± 8.7 and 17.1 ± 11.1 pmol L⁻¹, respectively. The alkenes in the surface seawater were more abundant than their saturated homologs and NMHCs concentrations (with the exception of isoprene) decreased with carbon number. The spatial variations of isoprene were consistent with the distributions of chlorophyll a (Chl-a) and Chaetoceros, Skeletonema, Nitzschia mainly contributed to the production of isoprene, while the others’ distributions might be related to their photochemical production. Observations in atmospheric NMHCs indicated alkanes in the marine atmosphere decreased from inshore to offshore due to influence of the continental emissions, while alkenes were largely derived from the oceanic source. In addition, no apparent diurnal discrepancy of atmospheric NMHCs (except for isoprene) were found between daytime and night. As the main sink of NMHCs in seawater, the average sea-to-air fluxes of ethane, propane, i-/n-butane, ethylene and propylene were 31.70, 29.75, 18.49, 15.89, 239.6, 67.94 and 52.41 nmol m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively. The average annual emissions of isoprene accounted for 0.1–1.3% of the global ocean emissions, which indicated that the coastal and shelf areas might be significant sources of isoprene. Furthermore, this study represents the first effort to estimate the environmental effects caused by NMHCs over the YS and the ECS and the results demonstrated contributions of alkanes to ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation were lower than those of the alkenes and the largest contributor was isoprene.

Halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) are ubiquitous in the environment, but little information is available about the bioaccumulation of HFRs in mangrove plants. In this study, three mangrove plant species were collected from Futian National Nature Reserve of Shenzhen City, South China to investigate the bioaccumulation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and several alternative halogenated flame retardants (AHFRs), including decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE), hexabromobenzene (HBB), pentabromotoluene (PBT), tetrabromop-xylene (pTBX), pentabromoethylbenzene (PBEB) and dechlorane plus (DP). The mean concentrations of PBDEs, DBDPE, BTBPE, pTBX, PBT, PBEB, HBB and DP in mangrove plant species were 2010, 1870, 36.2, 18.7, 40.1, 17.8, 9.68 and 120 pg g⁻¹ dry weight, respectively. PBDEs were the dominant HFRs in mangrove plant tissues, followed by DBDPE. The relative abundance of BDE 209 in three mangrove plant tissues were much lower than those in sediments. Significant negative relationships between log root bioaccumulation factors and log Kₒw, and between log TFᵣ₋ₛ (from root to stem) and log Kₒw were observed, indicating that HFRs with low hydrophobicity were easily absorbed by mangrove roots and stems. A positive correlation between log TFₛ₋ₗ (from stem to leaf) and log Kₒw were found, suggesting that air-leaf exchange may occur in mangrove plants. This study highlights the uptake of HFRs by mangrove plants, which can be used as remediation for HFRs contamination in the environment.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of cooking and in vitro human digestion on the changes of five insecticides—fipronil, bifenthrin, 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT), 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDD), and 2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichloroethylene (DDE)—in egg whites and yolks. Each insecticide was applied to egg whites and yolks at a concentration of 1000 μg/g. After cooking the egg whites and yolks, concentrations of bifenthrin, DDD, and DDE decreased (P < 0.05), whereas those of fipronil and DDT were unchanged (P > 0.05) in both egg whites and yolks. Next, an in vitro human digestion model that simulates all the steps of human digestion was employed. Until digestion in the small intestine, the concentrations of fipronil and DDT in the cooked egg whites and yolks were unchanged (P > 0.05), whereas those of bifenthrin, DDD, and DDE decreased (P < 0.05) at each digestion step. In the large intestinal digestion step with Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus sakei as enterobacteria, the concentrations of all the insecticides decreased (P < 0.05) in the cooked egg whites and yolks. Among the insecticides, bifenthrin showed the lowest concentration (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the use of bifenthrin as an insecticide would be comparatively less toxic than other insecticides in terms of environmental pollution and human health, because of its easy degradation.

This study investigated the prevalence and abundance of halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) in sludge samples from 5 sewage treatment plants in Guangzhou, China. Detection of 18 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), 9 alternative HFRs including Dechlorane Plus (DP), brominated alkylbenzenes, and polybrominated biphenyls, and 2 related degradation products was conducted. Decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE 209) and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) were the dominant HFRs, with concentrations ranging from 200 to 2150 ng/g and 680–27,400 ng/g, respectively. The DBDPE detected was the highest level reported so far, exceeding those previously reported by 10–100 times. PBDEs were surpassed as the dominant HFRs in sewage sludge, with mean DBDPE/BDE 209 ratio exceeding 2 in all samples. The review of earlier surveys reveals that DBDPE level was surging while BDE 209 was declining. Annual emissions of BDE 209, DP, and DBDPE were estimated to be 227.9, 10.5, and 979.3 kg/yr, respectively. Although ecological risks assessment suggested low risks for the examined sludge, the key environmental properties and transformation pathways of alternative HFRs remain largely unknown. These findings prompt for further investigations on alternative HFR and sustainable management practices for HFR-laden biosolids. The HFR emission pattern revealed in this study is likely representative of other similarly industrialized regions in the post-PBDE era.

This study aimed to apply an inverse-dispersion calculation method (IDM) to estimate the emission rate of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for the complicated industrial area sources, through a case study on a petroleum refinery in Northern China. The IDM was composed of on-site monitoring of ambient VOCs concentrations and meteorological parameters around the source, calculation of the relationship coefficient γ between the source's emission rate and the ambient VOCs concentration by the ISC3 model, and estimation of the actual VOCs emission rate from the source. Targeting the studied refinery, 10 tests and 8 tests were respectively conducted in March and in June of 2014. The monitoring showed large differences in VOCs concentrations between background and downwind receptors, reaching 59.7 ppbv in March and 248.6 ppbv in June, on average. The VOCs increases at receptors mainly consisted of ethane (3.1%–22.6%), propane (3.8%–11.3%), isobutane (8.5%–10.2%), n-butane (9.9%–13.2%), isopentane (6.1%–12.9%), n-pentane (5.1%–9.7%), propylene (6.1–11.1%) and 1-butylene (1.6%–5.4%). The chemical composition of the VOCs increases in this field monitoring was similar to that of VOCs emissions from China's refineries reported, which revealed that the ambient VOCs increases were predominantly contributed by this refinery. So, we used the ISC3 model to create the relationship coefficient γ for each receptor of each test. In result, the monthly VOCs emissions from this refinery were calculated to be 183.5 ± 89.0 ton in March and 538.3 ± 281.0 ton in June. The estimate in June was greatly higher than in March, chiefly because the higher environmental temperature in summer produced more VOCs emissions from evaporation and fugitive process of the refinery. Finally, the VOCs emission factors (g VOCs/kg crude oil refined) of 0.73 ± 0.34 (in March) and 2.15 ± 1.12 (in June) were deduced for this refinery, being in the same order with previous direct-measurement results (1.08–2.65 g VOCs/kg crude oil refined).An inverse-dispersion calculation method was applied to estimate VOCs emission rate for a petroleum refinery, being 183.5 ton/month (March) and 538.3 ton/month (June).

Following the ban of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, other halogenated flame retardants (FRs) might be used increasingly. This study has analyzed hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)-ethane (BTBPE), 2,3-dibromopropyl-2,4,6-tribromophenyl ether (DPTE) and dechlorane plus (DP) in Greenland air over the course of a year. Moreover, BTBPE, DPTE, DP, 2-ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (TBB), bis(2-ethylhexyl)tetrabromophthalate (TBPH) and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) were analyzed in samples of polar bear, ringed seal, black guillemot and glaucous gull from Greenland. HBCD in air appeared low, while mean concentrations of syn- and anti-DP were 2.3 and 5.2 pg/m3, respectively. BTBPE and DPTE were undetectable in air. Detection frequencies in biota were <50% for BTBPE, TBPH and DBDPE, but near 100% for the remaining compounds. Ringed seals from East Greenland had highest mean concentrations of TBB, DPTE, syn- and anti-DP (1.02, 0.078, 0.096 and 0.42 ng/g wet weight, respectively). Our study documents the long-range transport and, to some extent, bioaccumulation of these novel FRs.

Atmospheric concentrations of halogenated flame retardants (FRs) were monitored for approximately one year at two remote stations, namely Nam Co on the Tibetan Plateau and Alert in the Canadian High Arctic. BDE-47 and 99 were the dominant polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners at both sites. Atmospheric PBDE concentrations in Nam Co were generally lower than those at Alert. While significant seasonal variations were observed for PBDEs at Alert, the FR concentrations at Nam Co showed no significant seasonality, even though air masses originated from distinctly different regions during different seasons. This suggests that FRs in Tibet do not have regional sources, but are reflective of truly global background contamination. Three new FRs, namely 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE), 2-ethyl-1-hexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (EHTeBB) and bis(2-ethyl-1-hexyl)tetrabromophthalate (TBPH) were detected at relatively high concentrations at both sites. This is the first report of these FRs in the remote global atmosphere and suggests significant potential for long-range atmospheric transport.