Pesticide pollution from agricultural field run-off or spray drift has been documented to impact river ecosystems worldwide. However, there is limited data on short- and long-term effects of repeated pulses of pesticide mixtures on biotic assemblages in natural systems. We used reported pesticide application data as input to a hydrological fate and transport model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) to simulate spatiotemporal dynamics of pesticides mixtures in streams on a daily time-step. We then applied regression models to explore the relationship between macroinvertebrate communities and pesticide dynamics in the Sacramento River watershed of California during 2002–2013. We found that both maximum and average pesticide toxic units were important in determining impacts on macroinvertebrates, and that the compositions of macroinvertebrates trended toward taxa having higher resilience and resistance to pesticide exposure, based on the Species at Risk pesticide (SPEARpesticides) index. Results indicate that risk-assessment efforts can be improved by considering both short- and long-term effects of pesticide mixtures on macroinvertebrate community composition.

Sediment cores and soil samples were taken from nine lakes and their catchments across England with varying degrees of direct human disturbance. Mercury (Hg) analysis demonstrated a range of impacts, many from local sources, resulting from differing historical and contemporary site usage and management. Lakes located in industrially important areas showed clear evidence for early Hg pollution with concentrations in sediments reaching 400–1600 ng g−1 prior to the mid-19th century. Control of inputs resulting from local management practices and a greater than 90% reduction in UK Hg emissions since 1970 were reflected by reduced Hg pollution in some lakes. However, having been a sink for Hg deposition for centuries, polluted catchment soils are now the major Hg source for most lakes and consequently recovery from reduced Hg deposition is being delayed.

Palygorskite (PAL) is a good heavy metal adsorbent due to its high surface area, low cost, and environmentally compatibility. But the natural PAL has limited its adsorption capacity and selectivity. In this study, a cost-effective and readily-generated absorbent, l-threonine-modified palygorskite (L-PAL), was used and its performance for Cu(II) removal in simulated aquaculture wastewater was evaluated. After preparation, L-PAL was characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The impacts of pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, and initial Cu(II) concentration on the adsorption capacity of L-PAL were examined. The Cu(II) adsorption capacity on L-PAL was enhanced almost 10 times than that of raw PAL. The adsorption isotherms of Cu(II) fit the Langmuir isotherms, and the adsorption kinetics was dominated by the pseudo-second-order model. The thermodynamic parameters at four temperatures were calculated, which indicated that the adsorption was spontaneous and endothermic. The adsorption mechanism involves complexation, chelation, electrostatic attraction, and micro-precipitation. Furthermore, L-PAL is shown to have a high regeneration capacity. These results indicate that L-PAL is a cheap and promising absorbent for Cu(II) removal and hold potential to be used for aquaculture wastewater treatment.

To better understand interaction mechanism of sediment organic matter with hydrophobic organic compounds, sorption of phenanthrene (Phen) and nonylphenol (NP) by bulk sediments and their fractions was investigated. Three surface sediments were selectively fractionated into different organic fractions, including the demineralized carbon (DM), lipid free carbon (LF), lipid (LP), and nonhydrolyzable carbon (NHC) fractions. The structure and microporosity of the isolated fractions were characterized by NMR and CO2 adsorption techniques, and used as sorbents for Phen and NP. The calculated micropore volumes (Vo) and specific surface area (SSA) values are positively related to the concentrations of aromatic C and char for the DM, LF and NHC fractions, suggesting that aromatic moieties and char component significantly contribute to the microporosity. The LF fractions exhibit greater sorption affinity than the DM fractions do, indicating that the presence of LP could block the accessibility of sorption sites for Phen and NP. Significant and positive correlations among log K′FOC values for Phen and NP and aromatic carbon and char contents, and Vo and SSA values suggest the aromatic moieties and microporosity dominate their sorption of HOCs by sediment organic matter (SOM). As the NHC fractions have much stronger sorption than other fractions do, they dominate the overall sorption by the bulk samples. This study indicated that the important roles of aromatic moieties, accessibility, and microporosity in the sorption of HOCs by SOM.

In order to better understand the exposure of aquatic systems to halogenated flame retardant contaminants, the present study investigated a variety of legacy and emerging flame retardants in common carp and largemouth bass collected from 58 stations across Illinois (United States). The data revealed that polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) generally dominated the flame retardant residues in Illinois fish. Concentrations of ΣPBDEs (including all detectable PBDE congeners) ranged from 24.7 to 8270 ng/g lipid weight (median: 135 ng/g lw) in common carp and 15–3870 ng/g lw (median: 360 ng/g lw) in largemouth bass. In addition to PBDEs, Dechlorane analogues (i.e. Dec-603, Dec-604, and Chlordane Plus) were also frequently detected. Median concentrations of ΣDechloranes (including all detected Dechlorane analogues) were 34.4 and 23.3 ng/g lw in common carp and largemouth bass, respectively. Other emerging flame retardants, including tetrabromo-o-chlorotoluene (TBCT), hexabromobenzene (HBBZ), 2-ethylhexyltetrabromobenzoate (EH-TBB), and bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromo-phthalate (BEH-TEBP), were also detected in 40–78% of the fish at the monitored stations. Spatial analysis revealed significantly greater PBDE concentrations in fish living in impaired urban streams and lakes compared to those from the impaired agricultural and unimpaired agricultural/urban waters, demonstrating a significant urban influence on PBDE contamination. Future studies and environmental monitoring are recommended to focus on temporal trends of PBDEs and alternative flame retardants, as well as human exposure risks via edible fishes, in the identified Areas of Concern within Illinois.

The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in biochars hinders their environmental use. The aim of this study was to determine the freely dissolved (Cfree) PAH content in soil amended with biochar in a long-term (851 days) field experiment. Biochar was added to the soil at a rate of 30 and 45 t/ha. The addition of biochar to the soil resulted in a decrease in Σ13 Cfree PAHs by 25 and 22%, in the soil with the addition of biochar at the rate of 30 and 45 t/ha, respectively. As far as individual PAHs are concerned, in most cases a reduction in Cfree was also observed (from 3.6 to 66%, depending on the biochar rate). During the first 105 days of the experiment, the content of Σ13 Cfree in the biochar-amended soil significantly decreased by 26% (30 t/ha) and 36% (45 t/ha). After this period of time until the end of the experiment, no significant changes in Cfree were observed, regardless of the biochar rate. However, the behavior of individual PAH groups differed depending on the number of rings and experimental treatment. Ultimately, after 851 days of the experiment the content of Σ13 Cfree PAHs was lower by 29% (30 t/ha) and 35% (45 t/ha) compared to the beginning of the study as well as lower by 40% (30 t/ha) and 42% (45 t/ha) than in the control soil. The log KTOC coefficients calculated for the biochar-amended soils were higher immediately after adding biochar and subsequently they gradually decreased, indicating the reduced strength of the interaction between biochar and the studied PAHs. The obtained results show that the addition of biochar to soil does not create a risk in terms of the content of Cfree PAHs.

Pb tolerant mechanisms, plant physiological response and Pb sub-cellular localization in the root cells of Iris halophila were studied in sand culture and the Pb mine tailings. Results showed that the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) in the underground parts and the activity of catalase (CAT) in the aboveground and underground parts increased as Pb level was enhanced. Glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid (AsA) contents increased by Pb treatments. Pb deposits were found in the middle cell walls or along the inner side of epibiotic protoplasm of some cells which accumulated a large quantity of Pb and died. The dry weights (DWs) of aboveground parts under all Pb tailings treatments decreased insignificantly, while the DW of the underground parts growing in the pure Pb tailings decreased significantly. Pb, Cu, Cd, and Zn contents increased significantly as the levels of Pb tailings were enhanced and Pb contents in the aboveground and underground parts reached 64.75 and 751.75 μg/g DW, respectively, at pure Pb tailings treatment. The results indicated that I. halophila is a promising plant in the phytoremediation of Pb contaminated environment. Some antioxidant enzymes, antioxidants and compartmentalization of Pb were played major roles in Pb tolerance of I. halophila.

This study aims to establish the relative importance of sediment organic phosphorus (Po) to the total P and the major classes of organic molecules that contribute to sediment Po, determined by measuring their susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis, across a suite of lakes ranging from oligotrophic to eutrophic status. The results showed that Po accounted for 21–60% of total P, and bioavailable Po accounted for 9–34% of Po in the sediments. The bioavailable Po includes mainly labile (H2O-Po) and moderately labile (NaOH-Po) P forms. For H2O-Po (accounting for only1.4% of Po), 53% (average) was labile monoester P, 28% was diester P and 17% was phytate-like P. For NaOH-Po (accounting for 9–33% of Po), 32% was labile monoester P, 33% was phytate-like P and 18% was diester P. The composition of bioavailable Po, determined by enzyme assays, was related to the lake nutrient levels, which implies that sediment bioavailable Po could act as an effective indicator for lake eutrophic status. With the increase of lake nutrient levels, bioavailable Po content and alkaline phosphatase activity in the sediment all increased, indicating that Po represents an important and bioavailable source of P that increases with eutrophication, and could contribute to internal loading and resistance of eutrophic lakes to remediation. This implies that eutrophic lakes would maintain long-term eutrophic status and algal bloom phenomena even after the external input of P was controlled and the total P concentration of water has declined. Thus, in order to reduce the release risk of sediment P more efficiently and effectively, sediment P control technique should focus not only on reducing the total P and inorganic P, but should also pay close attention to the removal of bioavailable Po.

Surface sediment in eutrophic lakes is both a destination and a habitat for overwintering cyanobacteria. The resuspension and recovery of viable, overwintering cyanobacteria from the surface sediment during warm spring weather is usually the primary stage of cyanobacterial blooms (CBs) in shallow eutrophic lakes. Therefore, the elimination of overwintering cyanobacteria in sediment is vital to control CBs. In the present study, sediment plow-tillage (PT) was introduced as an innovative technique for eliminating overwintering cyanobacteria in sediments from Lake Chaohu. Four depths of PT (2, 5, 10, and 15 cm) were tested during the 42-day experiment. The results showed that rapid cell death during the first 0–7 d after PT was accompanied by high oxygen uptake rates. The viable cells in deeper sediment died more quickly and at a higher rate after PT. A PT depth of >10 cm effectively eliminated viable cyanobacteria (with a removal rate of 82.8%) from the sediment and prevented their resuspension. The activity of the viable cyanobacteria also decreased quickly as cyanobacteria were eliminated. It appears that the dark, anoxic environment of the deeper sediment after PT was responsible for the elimination of viable cells. Although high release rates of nitrogen and phosphorus were found to accompany the dying and decomposition of cyanobacteria during days 0–7 of the experiment, greater depth of PT was found to decrease nutrient concentrations in the overlying water. In conclusion, we recommend sediment PT as a new technique for eliminating overwintering algae in sediments. However, the release of nutrients from the sediment and the in situ control of CBs in lakes after PT should be further studied.

PBDEs and heavy metals are two major contaminants at e-waste disposal sites, but their combined effects remain largely unexplored. In the present study, the transcriptomic profiles of zebrafish larvae were examined after acute exposure of embryos to 200 μg/L BDE-209, 20 μg/L lead (Pb) or their mixture (Mix). Stimulation of steroidogenic pathway and vitellogenesis in the BDE-209 and Mix treatments indicated the estrogenic activities of BDE-209, while Pb antagonized those estrogenic effects in the Mix treatment. Increased heart rates were observed in zebrafish exposed to the Pb and Mix treatments. The cardiac dysfunction probably resulted from the promotion of angiogenesis, increased adrenergic drive and induction of the formation of blood clot. Furthermore, the Pb and Mix treatments activated neuroendocrine regulation of the pituitary in a positive feedback loop, via the thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor, thus increasing thyroid hormone production self-adaptively. Overall, the interaction between BDE-209 and Pb led to synergistic and antagonistic effects on gene transcriptions, with concerted contribution from their individual toxicological properties.