Soil amendment-assisted phytoremediation with ryegrass offers a promising approach to mitigate environmental health concerns.

This study aimed to examine the potential of soil amendment-assisted phytoremediation using ryegrass in reclaiming abandoned gold mine soil in southwestern Ghana, with a specific focus on the soil contamination hazards associated with metals and metalloids. A pot experiment lasting 60 days was carried out to assess the efficacy of soil amendments, such as compost, iron oxide, and poultry manure, in mitigating environmental hazards. Three soil contamination indices (soil contamination = CF, enrichment factor = ER, and pollution load index = PLI) were used to calculate the extent of soil contamination, enrichment, and pollution of the sites with Co, Hg, Ni, Mo, Se, Sb, and Pb. The findings show that Hg made the greatest contribution (with a maximum soil CF of 18.0) to the overall PLI, with a maximum value of 74.4. The sites were averagely and consequently enriched with toxic elements in the decreasing order: Ni (ER = 33.3) > Mo (20.5) > Sb (14.1) > Pb (11.0) > Hg (7.9) > Se (2.1). The bioaccumulation factor (BCF > 1) suggests that ryegrass has the ability to phytostabilize Co, Hg, Mo, and Ni. This means that the plant may store these elements in its roots, potentially decreasing their negative effects on the environment and human health. Ultimately, the addition of combined manure with iron oxides might have augmented the sequestration of these metals in the root. The elements may have accumulated through sorption on manure or Fe surfaces, dissolution from watering the plants in the pot, or mineralization of organic manure. Thus, ryegrass has shown potential for phytostabilisation of Co, Hg, Mo, and Ni when assisted with a combination of manure and iron oxides; and can consequently mitigate the environmental and human health impacts.

Gold mining in Ghana has caused significant environmental damage and political unrest. Research on environmentally friendly solutions to land degradation is crucial for restoring degraded lands, preserving ecosystem integrity, restoring livelihoods, and protecting public health in gold mining hotspots. However, previous studies have often overemphasized the use of trees in improving soil quality. Other past studies have merely collected plant species for heavy metal analysis without concrete pots or field experiments. Ryegrass has only been limited to arsenic remediation, and its phytoremediation ability for other toxic elements like Co, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Se has not been investigated. This work reports for the first time the phytostabilisation ability of ryegrass for potentially toxic elements in a Ghanaian context. Consequently, recommendations are made for reclaiming gold-mine-affected sites while at the same time providing evidence for widening the choice of plant species available for restoring mine-derelict lands. Ultimately, the study fills the gap in phytoremediation research within the global scientific community and Ghana in particular.

Occurrence and ecotoxicological impacts of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in electronic waste (e-waste) in Africa: Options for sustainable and eco-friendly management strategies.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are persistent contaminants used as flame retardants in electronic products. PBDEs are contaminants of concern due to leaching and recalcitrance conferred by the stable and hydrophobic bromide residues. The near absence of legislatures and conscious initiatives to tackle the challenges of PBDEs in Africa has allowed for the indiscriminate use and consequent environmental degradation. Presently, the incidence, ecotoxicity, and remediation of PBDEs in Africa are poorly elucidated. Here, we present a position on the level of contamination, ecotoxicity, and management strategies for PBDEs with regard to Africa. Our review shows that Africa is inundated with PBDEs from the proliferation of e-waste due to factors like the increasing growth in the IT sector worsened by the procurement of second-hand gadgets. An evaluation of the fate of PBDEs in the African environment reveals that the environment is adequately contaminated, although reported in only a few countries like Nigeria and Ghana. Ultrasound-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, and Soxhlet extraction coupled with specific chromatographic techniques are used in the detection and quantification of PBDEs. Enormous exposure pathways in humans were highlighted with health implications. In terms of the removal of PBDEs, we found a gap in efforts in this direction, as not much success has been reported in Africa. However, we outline eco-friendly methods used elsewhere, including microbial degradation, zerovalent iron, supercritical fluid, and reduce, reuse, recycle, and recovery methods. The need for Africa to make and implement legislatures against PBDEs holds the key to reduced effect on the continent.

Global economic structure transition boosts PM2.5-related human health impact in Belt and Road Initiative.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an open platform for international cooperation proposed by China to promote common global development and prosperity. The BRI can promote the optimal allocation of resources and promote in-depth cooperation in international trade. Meanwhile, it can establish a green supply chain cooperation network to help BRI countries achieve green transformation. BRI has made a notable contribution to the rapid growth of cross-border trade. However, it has also brought environmental impacts. Given that little attention has been paid to the trade-embodied particulate matter 2.5 related human health impacts (PM2.5-HHI) throughout the BRI, this study accounts for and traces the embodied PM2.5-HHI flows between the BRI countries and non-Belt and Road Initiative (non-BRI) countries. Moreover, this study also uncovers the critical socioeconomic drivers of PM2.5-HHI changes in BRI countries during 1990-2015, based on the multi-regional input-output based structural decomposition analysis (MRIO-SDA). Results show that, firstly, BRI countries had significantly increased their economic added value by exporting products to the non-BRI countries. They also have brought PM2.5-HHI to themselves. Secondly, the final demand of BRI countries was the largest potential driving force of PM2.5-HHI of BRI countries. Thirdly, the emission intensity change of BRI is the key socioeconomic factor for reducing PM2.5-HHI. While per capita final demand level change of BRI and production structure change of non-BRI are the key socioeconomic factors for increasing PM2.5-HHI. The study's findings on the one hand can help reduce the PM2.5-HHI and impacts of environmental pollution of BRI countries from a global perspective by providing scientific support. On the other hand, they can help provide relevant policy recommendations for the green transformation of BRI and the construction of green BRI.

Recent advances in remediation strategies for mitigating the impacts of emerging pollutants in water and ensuring environmental sustainability.

The proliferation of emerging pollutants (EPs), encompassing a range of substances such as phthalates, phenolics, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, personal care products, surfactants, and disinfection agents, has become a significant global concern due to their potential risks to the environment and human well-being. Over the past two decades, numerous research studies have investigated the presence of EPs in wastewater and aquatic ecosystems, with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) categorizing these newly introduced chemical compounds as emerging contaminants due to their poorly understood impact. EPs have been linked to adverse health effects in humans, including genotoxic and cytotoxic effects, as well as conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and reproductive abnormalities, often associated with their estrogenic action. Microalgae have shown promise in the detoxification of both inorganic and organic contaminants, and several large-scale microalgal systems for wastewater treatment have been developed. However, the progress of algal bioremediation can be influenced by accidental contaminations and operational challenges encountered in pilot-scale research. Microalgae employ various processes, such as bioadsorption, biouptake, and biodegradation, to effectively remediate EPs. During microalgal biodegradation, complex chemical compounds are transformed into simpler substances through catalytic metabolic degradation. Integrating algal bioremediation with existing treatment methodologies offers a viable approach for efficiently eliminating EPs from wastewater. This review focuses on the use of algal-based biological remediation processes for wastewater treatment, the environmental impacts of EPs, and the challenges associated with implementing algal bioremediation systems to effectively remove emerging pollutants.

Pesticides vs. Biopesticides: From Pest Management to Toxicity and Impacts on the Environment and Human Health.

The environmental pollution that occurs in direct response to the widespread use of man-made/conventional pesticides results from many chemicals that require a long period of time, often decades, to degrade. The synthetic nature of pesticides also harms animals, beneficial insects, microorganisms, and plants, as well as humans. Fortunately, however, there are many natural pesticides, the so-called biopesticides, that are also effective against pests and more importantly, do not interfere with the well-being of ecosystems. Consequently, most biopesticides are safer for use around people and pets than man-made pesticides because, for example, they can be easily washed away from fruits and vegetables. The natural habitat is a rich resource with a wide selection of plants, many of which are also used to treat diseases in humans, animals, and plants. Out of concern for public health, environmental safety, and the stringent regulation of pesticide residues in agricultural commodities, the use of biopesticides is becoming increasingly important, but questions regarding potential pest resistance to these products may arise, just as is the case with conventional pesticides. Therefore, the performance and potential role of biopesticides in the management of plant pests should be prioritized due to their sustainability and importance to human and environmental welfare. In this review, we propose to highlight a scenario in which we discuss in detail the main constraints posed by the use of pesticides compared to biopesticides, starting with issues regarding their definition and continuing on to issues related to their toxicity and their impact on the environment and human health.

Analysis of severe ozone-related human health and weather influence over China in 2019 based on a high-resolution dataset.

Ozone pollution in 2019 in China is particularly severe posing a tremendous threat to the health of Chinese inhabitants. In this study, we constructed a more reliable and accurate 1-km gridded dataset for 2019 with as many sites as possible using the inverse distance weight interpolation method to analyze spatiotemporal ozone pollution characteristics and health burden attributed to ozone exposure from the perspective of different diseases and weather influence. The accuracy of this new dataset is higher than other public datasets, with the coefficient of determination of 0.84 and root-mean-square error of 8.77 ppb through the validation of 300 external sites which were never used for establishing retrieval methods by the datasets mentioned-above. The averaged MDA8 (the daily maximum 8 h average) ozone concentrations over China was 43.5 ppb, and during April-July, 83.9% of total grids occurred peak-month ozone concentrations. Overall, the highest averaged exceedance days (60 days) and population-weighted ozone concentrations (55.0 ppb) both concentrated in central-eastern China including 9 provinces (only 11.4% of the national territory); meanwhile, all-cause premature deaths attributable to ozone exposure reached up to 142,000 (54.9% of national total deaths) with higher deaths for cardiovascular and respiratory, and the provincial per capita premature mortality was 0.27~0.44‰. The six most polluted weather types in the central-eastern China are in order as follows: westerly (SW and W), cyclonic, northerly, and southerly (NW, N, and S) types, which accounts for approximately 73.2% of health burden attributed to daily ozone exposure and poses the greatest public health risk with mean daily premature deaths ranging from 466 to 610. Our findings could provide an effective support for regional ozone pollution control and public health management in China.

High-Resolution PM2.5 Emissions and Associated Health Impact Inequalities in an Indian District.

Health and livelihood impacts from ambient air pollution among populations in developing countries are disproportional. These disparities are often overlooked due to a lack of information on microlevel emission data, especially in smaller cities and rural areas. The current work in an Indian district, Saharanpur, proposes the use of novel data sets to estimate microlevel emissions from air-polluting infrastructure sectors in urban and rural areas for use in pollutant transport models. Health impacts estimated based on the surface PM2.5 concentration suggest that the rate of premature deaths is 158 (95% CI: 122-163) and 143 (95% CI: 65-151) deaths per 100 000 people in urban and rural areas, respectively. Sixty-eight percent of the 6372 (95% CI: 3321-6987) annual premature deaths occurs in rural areas. Depicting higher contribution-exposure disparities among socioeconomic groups, the study observed that compared to their contribution to air pollution, low socioeconomic status (SES) groups in the region experience 6,7, 7, and 26% more premature deaths from PM2.5 exposure for industries, household cooking fuel burning, open waste burning, and transportation, respectively. The majority of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in the study domain are observed in economically weaker worker categories. Reduced income due to the loss of these life years will significantly impact these groups due to their dependence on daily wages for basic life necessities. Microlevel pollution mitigation policies with a focus on these inequalities are critical for promoting environmental equity and justice.

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in freshwater resources of Pakistan: A review on occurrence, spatial distribution and associated human health and ecological risk assessment.

The extensive use of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) has resulted in the widespread contamination of different environmental matrices in Pakistan. Freshwater bodies are also prone to OCPs contamination as they receive agricultural and industrial runoff from different sources. In the present study, the data regarding OCPs' fate and distribution in freshwater resources of Pakistan was reviewed and associated risks to human and ecological health were assessed. Among all the OCPs, DDTs were more prevalent with the highest mean concentration of 2290 ng/L observed in River Ravi (Lahore and Sahiwal District). Human health risk assessment showed a higher risk to the children with high Hazard Quotient (HQ) values ranging between 4.1 × 10-9- 295 for Aldrin. The River Ravi (Lahore and Sahiwal District), the River Sutlej (Kasur & Bahawalpur District), and the River Kabul (Nowshehra District) were categorized as high-risk water bodies based on Hazard Index (HI) and Non-Cancer Risk (CRI) index values > 10. Ecological risk assessment revealed a higher risk posed to invertebrate species from DDT exposure. In summary, this review highlights the occurrence and distribution of OCPs and their associated human health and ecological risks in freshwater bodies of Pakistan and also contributes to signifying the need for proper management and regulation of banned pesticides and future research perspectives.

Environmental impacts of the widespread use of chlorine-based disinfectants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chlorinated disinfectants are widely used in hospitals, COVID-19 quarantine facilities, households, institutes, and public areas to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus as they are effective against viruses on various surfaces. Medical facilities have enhanced their routine disinfection of indoors, premises, and in-house sewage. Besides questioning the efficiency of these compounds in combating coronavirus, the impacts of these excessive disinfection efforts have not been discussed anywhere. The impacts of chlorine-based disinfectants on both environment and human health are reviewed in this paper. Chlorine in molecular and in compound forms is known to pose many health hazards. Hypochlorite addition to soil can increase chlorine/chloride concentration, which can be fatal to plant species if exposed. When chlorine compounds reach the sewer/drainage system and are exposed to aqueous media such as wastewater, many disinfection by-products (DBPs) can be formed depending on the concentrations of natural organic matter, inorganics, and anthropogenic pollutants present. Chlorination of hospital wastewater can also produce toxic drug-derived disinfection by-products. Many DBPs are carcinogenic to humans, and some of them are cytotoxic, genotoxic, and mutagenic. DBPs can be harmful to the flora and fauna of the receiving water body and may have adverse effects on microorganisms and plankton present in these ecosystems.

Dynamics of airborne microplastics, appraisal and distributional behaviour in atmosphere; a review.

The use of plastics is common across all aspects of human life owing to its durable and versatile nature. The generation and utilization of plastics are directly related to the anthropogenic activities. The extensive use of plastics and adoption of inappropriate waste-management frameworks has resulted in their release into the environment, where they may persist. Different environmental factors, such as, photochemical, thermo-oxidation, and biological degradation, can lead to the degradation of plastics into micro- (MPs) and nano-plastics (NPs). The behaviour and concentration of MPs in the terrestrial environment can depend on their size, density, and local atmospheric conditions. Microplastics and nanoplastics may enter the food web, carrying various organic pollutants, which bio-accumulate at different trophic levels, prompting organism health concerns. Microplastics being airborne identifies as new exposure route. Dietary and airborne exposure to MPs has led researchers to stress the importance of evaluating their toxicological potential. The primary goal of this paper is to explore the environmental fate of MPs from sources to sink in the terrestrial environment, as well as detail their potential impacts on human health. Additionally, this review article focuses on the presence of airborne microplastics, detailed sample pre-processing methods, and outlines analytical methods for their characterization.

Environmental, human health, and economic implications of landfill leachate treatment for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance removal.

Landfill leachate is commonly treated offsite with municipal wastewater. This offsite leachate treatment may be limited or no longer applicable due to the increasingly stringent regulations and concerns related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) discharge into the environment, resulting in development of full-scale, onsite leachate treatment facilities. To help landfills prepare for the potential shift from offsite to onsite leachate treatment for PFAS compliance, this study analyzed and compared the environmental, human health, and economic performances of a typical onsite and a typical offsite leachate treatment alternative through life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) using a landfill site located in Zhuzhou, China as a testbed. Two distinct functional units (FUs) were investigated: 1 m3 of leachate treated and 1 g of PFAS removed. Our results show that the onsite scenario offered benefits from human health and economic perspectives, while the offsite scenario generally performed better from the environmental perspective when a leachate PFAS concentration of 150,704 ng/L was assumed. The extent of this tradeoff varied when different functional units were adopted. The onsite scenario will not be competitive from all three perspectives when PFAS concentration in the raw leachate is less than 1666 ng/L.

Catastrophic Health Impacts of Spiraling Climate Change: How Certain Can We Be About Their Magnitudes?

Recently, there has been a strong interest in the climate emergency and the human health impacts of climate change. Although estimates have been quoted, the modeling methods used have either been simplistic or opaque, making it difficult for policy makers to have confidence in these estimates. Providing central estimates of health impacts, without any quantification of their uncertainty, is deficient because such an approach does not acknowledge the inherent uncertainty in extreme environmental exposures associated with spiraling climate change and related health impacts. Furthermore, presenting only the uncertainty bounds around central estimates, without information on how the uncertainty in each of the model parameters and assumptions contribute to the total uncertainty, is insufficient because this approach hides those parameters and assumptions which contribute most to the total uncertainty. We propose a framework for calculating the catastrophic human health impacts of spiraling climate change and the associated uncertainties. Our framework comprises three building blocks: (A) a climate model to simulate the environmental exposure extremes of spiraling climate change; (B) a health impact model which estimates the health burdens of the extremes of environmental exposures; and (C) an analytical mathematical method which characterizes the uncertainty in (A) and (B), propagates the uncertainty in-between and through these models, and attributes the proportion of uncertainty in the health outcomes to model assumptions and parameter values. Once applied, our framework can be of significant value to policy makers because it handles uncertainty transparently while taking into account the complex interactions between climate and human health.

Assessing the health impacts of peatland fires: a case study for Central Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The conversion of Indonesian tropical peatlands has been associated with the recurring problems of peatland fires and smoke affecting humans and the environment. Yet, the local government and public in the affected areas have paid little attention to the impacts and costs of the poor air quality on human health. This study aims to analyse the long-term health impacts of the peat smoke exposure to the local populations. We applied the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model to determine the smoke dispersion and the associated PM2.5 concentrations of the resulted plumes from the fire hotspots in the deep and shallow peatlands in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, that occurred during a 5-year period (2011-2015). We subsequently quantified the long-term health impacts of PM2.5 on the local people down to the village level based on the human health risk assessment approach. Our study shows that the average increase in the annual mean PM2.5 concentration due to peatland fires in Central Kalimantan was 26 µg/m3 which is more than twice the recommended value of the World Health Organisation Air Quality Guidelines. This increase in PM2.5 leads to increased occurrence of a range of air pollution-related diseases and premature mortality. The number of premature mortality cases can be estimated at 648 cases per year (26 mortality cases per 100,000 population) among others due to chronic respiratory, cardiovascular and lung cancer. Our results shed further light on the long-term health impacts of peatland fires in Indonesia and the importance of sustainable peatland management.

Health risk assessment from exposure to particles during packing in working environments.

Packing of raw materials in work environments is a known source of potential health impacts (respiratory, cardiovascular) due to exposure to airborne particles. This activity was selected to test different exposure and risk assessment tools, aiming to understand the effectiveness of source enclosure as a strategy to mitigate particle release. Worker exposure to particle mass and number concentrations was monitored during packing of 7 ceramic materials in 3 packing lines in different settings, with low (L), medium (M) and high (H) degrees of source enclosure. Results showed that packing lines L and M significantly increased exposure concentrations (119-609 µg m-3 respirable, 1150-4705 µg m-3 inhalable, 24,755-51,645 cm-3 particle number), while non-significant increases were detected in line H. These results evidence the effectiveness of source enclosure as a mitigation strategy, in the case of packing of ceramic materials. Total deposited particle surface area during packing ranged between 5.4 and 11.8 × 105 µm2 min-1, with particles depositing mainly in the alveoli (51-64%) followed by head airways (27-41%) and trachea bronchi (7-10%). The comparison between the results from different risk assessment tools (Stoffenmanager, ART, NanoSafer) and the actual measured exposure concentrations evidenced that all of the tools overestimated exposure concentrations, by factors of 1.5-8. Further research is necessary to bridge the current gap between measured and modelled health risk assessments.

Microplastics in Seafood and the Implications for Human Health.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We describe evidence regarding human exposure to microplastics via seafood and discuss potential health effects. RECENT FINDINGS: Shellfish and other animals consumed whole pose particular concern for human exposure. If there is toxicity, it is likely dependent on dose, polymer type, size, surface chemistry, and hydrophobicity. Human activity has led to microplastic contamination throughout the marine environment. As a result of widespread contamination, microplastics are ingested by many species of wildlife including fish and shellfish. Because microplastics are associated with chemicals from manufacturing and that sorb from the surrounding environment, there is concern regarding physical and chemical toxicity. Evidence regarding microplastic toxicity and epidemiology is emerging. We characterize current knowledge and highlight gaps. We also recommend mitigation and adaptation strategies targeting the life cycle of microplastics and recommend future research to assess impacts of microplastics on humans. Addressing these research gaps is a critical priority due to the nutritional importance of seafood consumption.

Climate Change, Drought and Human Health in Canada.

Droughts have been recorded all across Canada and have had significant impacts on individuals and communities. With climate change, projections suggest an increasing risk of drought in Canada, particularly in the south and interior. However, there has been little research on the impacts of drought on human health and the implications of a changing climate. A review of the Canadian, U.S. and international literature relevant to the Canadian context was conducted to better define these impacts and adaptations available to protect health. Drought can impact respiratory health, mental health, illnesses related to exposure to toxins, food/water security, rates of injury and infectious diseases (including food-, water- and vector-borne diseases). A range of direct and indirect adaptation (e.g., agricultural adaptation) options exist to cope with drought. Many have already been employed by public health officials, such as communicable disease monitoring and surveillance and public education and outreach. However, gaps exist in our understanding of the impacts of short-term vs. prolonged drought on the health of Canadians, projections of drought and its characteristics at the regional level and the effectiveness of current adaptations. Further research will be critical to inform adaptation planning to reduce future drought-related risks to health.

Assessing burden of disease as disability adjusted life years in life cycle assessment.

Disability adjusted life years (DALYs) have been used to quantify endpoint indicators of the human burden of disease in life cycle assessment (LCA). The purpose of this paper was to examine the current use of DALYs in LCA, and also to consider whether DALYs as used in LCA have the potential to be compatible with DALYs as used in quantitative risk assessment (QRA) to facilitate direct comparison of the results of the two approaches. A literature review of current usage of DALYs in LCA was undertaken. Two prominent methods were identified: ReCiPe 2008 and LIME2. The methods and assumptions used in their calculations were then critically reviewed. The assumptions used for the derivation of characterization factors in DALYs were found to be considerably different between LCA methods. In many cases, transparency of these calculations and assumptions is lacking. Furthermore, global average DALY values are often used in these calculations, but may not be applicable for impact categories where the local factors play a significant role. The concept of DALYs seems beneficial since it enables direct comparison and aggregation of different health impacts. However, given the different assumptions used in each LCA method, it is important that LCA practitioners are aware of the differences and select the appropriate method for the focus of their study. When applying DALYs as a common metric between LCA and QRA, understanding the background information on how DALYs were derived is crucial to ensure the consistency of DALYs used in LCA and QRA for resulting DALYs to be comparable and to minimize any double counting of effects.