Influence of DOM and microbes on Fe biogeochemistry at a riverbank filtration site.

Riverbank filtration (RBF) constitutes an important part of the water cycle, which involves active natural filtration leading to pollution of river water being intercepted and retained. The RBF has the function of water purification, but retention of exogenous pollutants in the RBF system complicates biogeochemical processes due to the presence of primary active components. In this study, we verified the essential role of microbial mediation during the interactions between primary Fe minerals in the RBF system and dissolved organic matter (DOM) in river water based on lab-scale experiments. The results demonstrated that DOM from infiltration of river water increased the amount of iron (Fe) released from the sediment in RBF, leading to an increase in Fe concentration in groundwater by higher than one order of magnitude. In particular, the existence of Fe bacteria even made this effect more thorough and more complex. Abiotic reduction was shown to play a more significant role in increasing Fe release than microbe-mediated reduction. Increasing the amount of Fe released could change the distribution of Fe minerals at the sediment surface, thereby affecting the structure of the microbial community in the RBF system and decreasing the DOM concentration in the groundwater. Moreover, As and Mn were found to behave in a similar manner as Fe due to their close biochemical properties when interacting with primary minerals in sediment. This study not only provides mechanistic insight into the higher Fe concentrations encountered in the groundwater of nearby rivers but also has important practical implications for developing nature-based technologies for water pollution control and environmental remediation.

Coupling flow and electric fields to simulate migration and remediation of uranium in groundwater remediated by electroosmosis and a permeable reactive bio-barrier.

Combined remediation technologies are increasingly being considered to uranium contaminated groundwater, such as the joint utilize of permeable reactive bio-barrier (Bio-PRB) and electrokinetic remediation (EKR). While the assessment of uranium plume evolution in the combined remediation system (CRS) have often been impeded by insufficient understanding of multi-physical field superposition. Therefore, advanced knowledge in multi-physical field coupling in groundwater flow will be crucial to the practical application of these techniques. A two-dimensional multi-physical field coupling model was constructed for predicting the uranium degradation in CRS. The study demonstrates that the coupling model is able to predict the uranium plume evolution and rapidly evaluate the performance of CRS components. The results show that field electric direction and flow field strength are the key factors that affect the retardation and remediation performance of CRS. The reverse electric field direction significantly affected the contact reaction time of uranium in the system. The uranium residence time in the reverse electric field was 3.8 d, which was significantly greater than the original electric field (2.0 d). Depending on the voltage, the reverse electric field direction was 16%-36% more efficient than the original direction. The strength of the flow field was about two orders of magnitude higher than that of the electric field, so the groundwater flow rate dominated remediation efficiency. Reducing the flow rate by 1/2 could improve the performance of the system by approximately 66%. In addition, the coupling model can be utilized to design standard CRS for real site of uranium contaminated groundwater. To meet the optimal performance, the direction of the electric field should be set opposite to the flow field. This work has successfully used a coupling model to predict uranium contaminant-plume evolution in CRS and estimate the performance of each component.

Metal-mining-induced sediment pollution presents a potential ecological risk and threat to human health across China: A meta-analysis.

Aquatic sediment polluted by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from mining activities represents a potential health "time bomb" for humans and the local ecology, but the integrated analysis of pollution and hazards of PTEs in sediment around typical metal mines in China is limited. Presently, the associated pollution status, spatial distribution, and ecological and health hazards of Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, and As were investigated through index evaluation, spatial analysis, health risk assessment models, and Monte Carlo simulation. Overall, the sediment exhibited varying degrees of PTE contamination; notably, the level of Cd was 104.85 times higher than its background value, and it became the most enriched element in the surveyed sediment, followed in descending order by Cu, As, Zn, Pb, and Cr. Nationally, over 64.5% of metal-mining-affected sediment presented a very high ecological risk, contributed mostly by Cd (43.2%-98.7%) followed by As, Pb, and Cu; the risk contributed by both Cr and Zn was found to be negligible. The adverse health risk posed to children by most sediment was 1.72 and 6.46 times higher than that posed to adults for cancerous and noncancerous risks, respectively. The potential noncarcinogenic risks were mainly caused by As, which contributed over 78.9% of the Hazard Index values, then followed by Pb (>9.3%). For both children and adults, the carcinogenic risk of PTEs decreased in the following order: As > Cd > Cr > Pb. The investigated sediment was found seriously affected by nearby metal mines, especially those in regions with long-term and large-scale nonferrous-metal-mining activities. This study could provide a reference for policymakers to develop control strategies for PTE pollution in sediment around mining areas.

Biogeography and diversity patterns of antibiotic resistome in the sediments of global lakes.

Lakes act as one of the reservoirs and dispersal routes of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and pathogenic resistant bacteria in aquatic environments. Previous studies reported the occurrence and distribution of ARGs in lakes worldwide; however, few investigated the biogeography and diversity patterns of antibiotic resistome in the environment. To fill this gap, a large-scale data set of sediment metagenomes was collected from globally distributed lakes and characterized comprehensively using metagenomic assembly-based analysis, aiming to shed light on the biogeography and diversity patterns of ARGs in lake ecosystems from a global perspective. Our analyses showed that abundant and diverse ARGs were found in the global lake sediments, including a set of emerging ARGs such as mcr-type and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae related genes. Most of the identified ARGs were generally associated with the commonly used antibiotics, suggesting the role of increasing antibiotic consumptions on the resistome prevalence. Spatially, the composition and diversity of ARGs varied across geographical distances and exhibited a scale-dependent distance-decay relationship. Notably, the composition of ARGs was largely shaped by bacterial community structure, and their diversities were co-governed by stochastic process (∼48%) and deterministic process (∼52%). Findings provide a valuable insight to better understand ecological mechanisms of ARGs in lake ecosystems and have important implication for the prevention and control of resistome risk.

Theoretical and experimental investigations of enhanced uranium(VI) adsorption using a nitrogen doping strategy.

With the ongoing development and utilization of nuclear energy, uranium pollution has become an increasingly serious issue. Although many adsorbents are able to remove hexavalent uranium (U(VI)) from aqueous solution, the development of a high capacity adsorbent exhibiting superior stability would be beneficial. Grafting poly(amidoxime) (PAO) onto reduced graphene oxide (rGO) provides suitable U(VI) adsorption performance but the PAO is prone to agglomeration. The present work used density functional theory calculations to predict that PAO would bond with pyrrolic N atoms in nitrogen-doped rGO (N-rGO). To confirm this, PAO-grafted rGO (PAO-rGO) and PAO-grafted N-rGO (PAO-N-rGO) were prepared and characterized and the successful grafting of PAO on N-rGO was demonstrated. Adsorption experiments demonstrated that PAO-N-rGO exhibit superb U(VI) adsorption performance compared with the original PAO-rGO under acidic conditions. As for competing metal ions, Cu2+, Al3+, and Ca2+ have a greater impact on U(VI) adsorption than Na+, Mg2+, and K+ both for PAO-rGO and PAO-N-rGO. The maximum adsorption capacities of PAO-rGO and PAO-N-rGO for U(VI) were calculated to be 1500.26 and 1545.95 mg g-1, respectively. The mechanism of nitrogen doping promoting uranium(VI) adsorption can be attributed to enhanced PAO grafting and improvement of adsorption performance of the rGO. This work demonstrates that nitrogen doping is a viable strategy for enhancing the U(VI) adsorption performance of PAO-rGO.

Spatiotemporal distribution and risk assessment of organophosphorus pesticides in surface water and groundwater on the North China Plain, China.

90 groundwater samples and 14 surface water samples were collected in wet season (summer) and dry season (winter) in the North China Plain (NCP), and analyzed for 11 organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs). The results showed that the main types of OPPs in surface water and groundwater were dimethoate, dichlorvos, methyl-parathion, malathion in both summer and winter. The OPP concentrations in groundwater and surface water were higher in summer than in winter. In the vertical direction, the distribution characteristics of different four types of groundwater sampling points are different. In the horizontal direction: farmland adjacent to a river (FAR) > central farmland (CF) > nonfarm area adjacent to a river (NFAR) > central nonfarm area (CNF). The OPPs concentrations in surface water adjacent to farmland were higher than that in surface water adjacent to nonfarm area. The main factors influencing the distribution of OPPs in the groundwater and surface water were the interaction process between them, the groundwater flow field and the OPPs used in agricultural activities. The ecological risk of OPPs to surface water was greater in summer than in winter. Water Flea was at medium risk, and malathion had the greatest influence on Water Flea in both summer and winter. The non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of the four main OPPs in surface water were higher than in groundwater, and were higher in summer than in winter, but they would not lead to adverse health effects on local residents.

Microbial response to biogeochemical profile in a perpendicular riverbank filtration site.

Due to extensive water exchanges and abundant active biochemical compositions, active and complex hydrogeochemical processes often exist in riverbank filtration (RBF). The distribution of microbes is considered to be profoundly affected by these processes and is considered to impact the hydrogeochemical processes and the migration and transformation of water pollutants in turn and then impact the water quality. The distribution of microbes and their response to the physiochemical properties along a vertical RBF profile perpendicular to the Songhua River in Northeast China was explored by using 16 S rRNA and redundancy analysis (RDA). The results showed that various microbes were found in the vertical riparian filter (RBF) curve, including Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Firmicutes. With increasing depth (vertical) and distance from the river (lateral), the microbial community and diversity in the RBF sediment profile decreased. Nitrospirota, Pseudomonas, Gammaproteobacteria, Ochrobactrum, Acinetobacter and Desulfobacterota of the RBF core taxa were also significantly correlated with the biotransformation behavior of typical groundwater pollutants (ammonia, Fe, Mn and S). The amount of As in the RBF is too low to sustain microbial survival. Some microbes in RBF can also degrade natural organic pollutants. This study not only revealed the spatial distribution of geological microbes under the impact of hydrological processes but also lays a foundation for the further study of the hydrobiogeochemical processes of active biochemical compositions in groundwater and water quality evolution, which is of positive significance to ensure the quality safety of the drinking water supplied by RBFs.

Characteristics of resistome and bacterial community structure in constructed wetland during dormant period: A fullscale study from Annan wetland.

As a green technology, constructed wetlands (CWs) can provide a low-cost solution for wastewater treatment. Either as a standalone treatment or integrated with conventional treatment, nutrients, antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB)/antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) can be removed by CW efficiently. While, few studies have focused on characteristics of resistome and bacterial community (BC) structure in CW during dormant period. Therefore, in this study, Annan CW (a full-scale hybrid CW) was selected to characterize resistome and BC during dormant period. The profiles of bacteria / ARGs were monitored in combination of shotgun sequencing and metagenomic assembly analysis. And multidrug ARGs are the most abundant in Annan CW, and surface flow wetland had the relatively high ARG diversity and abundance compared with subsurface flow wetland and the front pond. The most dominant phylum in CW is Proteobacteria, while the other dominant phylum in three parts have different order. COD, TP, TN, ARGs, and mobile genetic genes (MGEs) were removed by subsurface flow CW with better performance, but virulent factors (VFs) were removed by surface flow CW with better performance. Based on the spatiotemporal distribution of ARGs, the internal mechanism of ARGs dynamic variation was explored by the redundancy analysis (RDA) and variation partitioning analysis (VPA). BCs, MGEs and environmental factors (EFs) were responsible for 45.6 %, 28.3 % and 15.4 % of the ARGs variations. Among these factors, BCs and MGEs were the major co-drivers impacting the ARG profile, and EFs indirectly influence the ARG profile. This study illustrates the specific functions of ARG risk elimination in different CW components, promotes a better understanding of the efficiency of CWs for the reduction of ARG and ARB, contributing to improve the removal performance of constructed wetlands. And provide management advice to further optimize the operation of CWs during dormant period.

Construction, application and validation of a new algorithm for determining light nonaqueous-phase liquid fluxes in unsaturated zones.

An analytical algorithm coupling free-phase migration, precipitation, and natural attenuation through volatilization and biodegradation (FPVB) was developed to calculate the flux of light nonaqueous-phase liquid (LNAPL) leaking from unsaturated zone to groundwater. Sandbox and soil column experiments were performed to identify the LNAPL migration characteristics and states to provide data to establish and verify FPVB algorithm. For free-phase migration, the Kinematic Oily Pollutant Transport (KOPT) model was used to determine LNAPL movement velocity and leakage time. The correlations of water saturation, residual LNAPL saturation and the cumulative dissolution ratio of residual LNAPL were described using an empirical formula for the precipitation leaching process. Equations for diesel volatilization kinetics and first order degradation were used to describe the natural attenuation processes. Coupling the algorithms for the different stages gave the final FPVB algorithm. The FPVB algorithm was used to describe the pollution situation at a real site, and the results were consistent with the actual situation. The FPVB algorithm could be used to quickly assess the scale and degree of pollution with little information on the parameters for the actual LNAPL leakage event.

Integrating Metagenomic and Bayesian Analyses to Evaluate the Performance and Confidence of CrAssphage as an Indicator for Tracking Human Sewage Contamination in China.

Recently, crAssphage has been proposed as a human-specific marker for tracking fecal contamination. However, its performance has always been validated in a limited number of host samples, which may obscure our understanding of its utility. Furthermore, few studies have quantified confidence of fecal contamination when using crAssphage. Here, we evaluate the performance and confidence of crAssphage by analyzing a large panel of metagenomic data sets combined with Bayesian analyses. Results demonstrate that crAssphage exhibits superior performance with high host sensitivity and specificity, indicating its suitability for tracking human fecal sources. With the marker, a high confidence (>90%) can be obtained and particularly, multiple samples with positive results provide a near certainty of confidence. The application of crAssphage in the sediments of three Chinese urban rivers shows a high confidence of >97% of human fecal contamination, suggesting the serious challenge of sewage pollution in these environments. Additionally, significant correlation is observed between crAssphage and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), expanding the utilization of crAssphage for pollution management of ARGs. This study highlights the benefit of using metagenomic-based analysis for evaluating the performance and confidence of microbial source tracking markers in the coming era of big data with increasing resources in available metagenomic data.

Spatiotemporal evolution of groundwater nitrate nitrogen levels and potential human health risks in the Songnen Plain, Northeast China.

As one of the most widespread pollutants worldwide, nitrogen has long been a concern in the environment, including groundwater. However, due to the limitations of investigations and study progress, there is still a poor understanding of groundwater nitrogen pollution and its potential effects on human health in many areas, particularly in developing countries. The spatiotemporal evolution of groundwater nitrate nitrogen levels and potential human health risks in the Songnen Plain, Northeast China were comprehensively studied based on both our own test data and available published data that were collected by us over a study period from 1995 to 2015. Groundwater nitrate nitrogen concentrations exhibited significant temporal and spatial differences: there was an increasing trend with time; and the distribution of high concentration areas expanded from the central and western areas to the east with time. The similar pattern existed in the potential health risks posed to the residents considering the two exposure pathways including drinking water and dermal contact. The effects of groundwater nitrate nitrogen on human health depend on the nitrate concentration but there were also age differences, namely, in the order of infants > children > adult females ≈ adult males, according to the hazard quotient (HQ) used in the human health risk assessment (HHRA) model. The spatiotemporal evolution of groundwater nitrate nitrogen levels and potential human health risks indicate that the issue of nitrogen pollution in groundwater in the study area is worsening and needs further attention. The drivers that increased nitrate nitrogen concentrations in the groundwater of the study area were the increased fertilizer use due to the increased cultivated land area and implementation of a land fertility policy by the local government. It should be acknowledged that the results have uncertainties that not only come from the layout of sampling points and selection of spatial interpolation methods but also come from the parameter settings in the assessment model and assumptions of drinking water scenarios. However, the conclusions still have important reference value for groundwater pollution control and management and human health risk supervision and early warning.

Influence of surface-water irrigation on the distribution of organophosphorus pesticides in soil-water systems, Jianghan Plain, central China.

Surface-water irrigation is one of the most important irrigation methods in areas with abundant surface water. Although this method of irrigation is both economical and convenient, many contaminants are also introduced into the soil-water systems such as organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs). To study the influence of surface-water irrigation on the distribution of OPPs in soil-water systems, 42 water samples (38 groundwater and four surface water) and 85 soil samples (78 profile soil samples and seven topsoil samples) were taken from Shahu in the Jianghan Plain, China. Shahu is a typical Chinese surface-water irrigation district. During sampling, three types of areas were considered: surface-water irrigated areas, groundwater-irrigated areas away from rivers, and non-irrigated areas adjacent to rivers. The results showed that the concentrations of OPPs in the groundwater and soil in the surface-water irrigated farmland were higher than those in groundwater-irrigated farmland. The groundwater flow field and surface-water irrigation were responsible for the OPPs. Thus, it is clear that the surface-water irrigation had a strong influence on the distribution of OPPs in soil-water systems. Principal component analysis for OPPs content in groundwater showed that the key influencing factors on the distribution of OPPs in groundwater were the groundwater flow field and current pesticide use.

Application of percarbonate and peroxymonocarbonate in decontamination technologies.

Sodium percarbonate (SPC) and peroxymonocarbonate (PMC) have been widely used in modified Fenton reactions because of their multiple superior features, such as a wide pH range and environmental friendliness. This broad review is intended to provide the fundamental information, status and progress of SPC and PMC based decontamination technologies according to the peer-reviewed papers in the last two decades. Both SPC and PMC can directly decompose various pollutants. The degradation efficiency will be enhanced and the target contaminants will be expanded after the activation of SPC and PMC. The most commonly used catalysts for SPC activation are iron compounds while cobalt compositions are applied to activate PMC in homogenous and heterogeneous catalytical systems. The generation and participation of hydroxyl, superoxide and/or carbonate radicals are involved in the activated SPC and PMC system. The reductive radicals, such as carbon dioxide and hydroxyethyl radicals, can be generated when formic acid or methanol is added in the Fe(II)/SPC system, which can reduce target contaminants. SPC can also be activated by energy, tetraacetylethylenediamine, ozone and buffered alkaline to generate different reactive radicals for pollutant decomposition. The SPC and activated SPC have been assessed for application in-situ chemical oxidation and sludge dewatering treatment. The challenges and prospects of SPC and PMC based decontamination technologies are also addressed in the last section.

Fast determination of peroxymonosulfate by flow injection chemiluminescence using the Tb(III) ligand in micelle medium.

Based on the chemiluminescence (CL) phenomenon of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and Tb(III) enhanced by its ligand in a micelle microenvironment, a fast and sensitive flow injection CL method for PMS detection was proposed and applied to the analysis of different samples and PMS decomposition. Under the optimized conditions, a linear range was obtained from 4.0 × 10-6  mol L-1 to 2.0 × 10-4  mol L-1 with a high correlation coefficient (r = 0.9997), detection limit of 5.0 × 10-7  mol L-1 (S/N = 3) and relative standard deviation of 2.4% for 1.0 × 10-5  mol L-1 PMS (n = 9). This was successfully applied to the determination of PMS in Virkon powder, tap water, and swimming pool water samples with satisfactory recoveries from 94.8% to 104.8%. In particular, the analytical frequency could be as fast as five samples per minute because there was no reaction step before analysis and the CL phenomenon was instantaneous. Therefore, this CL method has also been successfully applied to investigate the PMS decomposition profiles in carbon material (carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibres, activated carbon and graphene oxide) catalysis systems, which followed pseudo-first-order kinetics with good correlation coefficients (r > 0.9305). Quenching experiments and electron spin resonance spectra verified that the CL phenomenon was due to the formation of singlet oxygen, and that hydroxyl and sulfate radicals might be important in the generation of singlet oxygen. Tb(III) is the luminescent emitter according to the characteristics emission bands of the fluorescence and CL spectra in different media.

Influences of dissolved humic acid on Zn bioavailability and its consequences for thyroid toxicity.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of dissolved humic acid (dHA) on Zn bioavailability and the subsequent influence on the Zn-induced thyroid toxicity. Zn toxicity was assessed using a yeast bioassay in the presence and absence of dHA. With increasing concentration of dHA, the toxic effects decreased, and the free Zn concentrations detected by the anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) method also decreased. The high correlation (R = 0.92, p < 0.001) between toxic effects and free Zn concentrations indicated that Zn thyroid toxicity largely comes from the free Zn fraction. Water samples from the Qing River in Beijing were also assayed for thyroid toxicity. The results revealed that the metals might contribute to the toxicity. The known thyroid hormone-disrupting metals, namely, Zn, Cd and Hg, were analyzed. The cause-effect relationship between the observed thyroid toxicity and free Zn concentrations as well as their dose-effect relationships were examined. Our results showed that Zn might be the major contributor to the observed thyroid toxicity caused by metals. These results suggest that the ASV method and the identified major contributor (Zn) may be used in lieu of conventional environmental analyses to follow the progression of a risk assessment or remediation strategy.

Groundwater nitrate pollution and human health risk assessment by using HHRA model in an agricultural area, NE China.

In order to learn the pollution circumstance of groundwater nitrate detailedly in Songnen Plain of Northeast China and estimate its potential risk to human health of local residents, a total of 389 groundwater samples were collected in 2014 and studied from residential areas and public water supply wells in 11 cities and counties in southeastern of Songnen Plain. The analysis results showed that the spatial distributions of main chemical components in groundwater had great variations with statistical concentrations in the order of TDS> HCO3> Ca> NO3> Cl> Na> SO4> Mg> K> NH4> NO2. As for NO3, it ranged from less than 0.02mg/L to 497mg/L with an average value of 39.46mg/L indicating an obviously anthropogenic pollution. Even more than 32% of the samples exceeded the Grade III threshold (20mg/L of N) according to China's standard. The results obtained from principal component analysis showed that high NO3 concentration could be attributed to human activities, especially the excessive use of chemical fertilizers in agriculture. Further, a human health risk assessment (HHRA) model derived from the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) was applied to estimate the potential health risk of groundwater nitrate considering both drinking water and dermal contact pathways. The results indicated that potential health risks of adult males and females within about 60% of the area were at the acceptable level, while those within about 40% were beyond the acceptable level. The area at the acceptable level for children covered 49% of the total area while the same value for infants was 37%. The NO3 concentration in southeast and northeast of the study area was the highest so that residents in these regions were at the highest health risk. In conclusion, risk levels for different crowds in the study area varied obviously, generally in the order of infants> children> adult females> adult males, and the potential health risks of residents, especially minors and rural residents, should cause enough attention both from the society and the academic community.

Contamination characteristics, ecological risk and source identification of trace metals in sediments of the Le'an River (China).

Recognizing the pollution characteristics of trace metals in river sediments and targeting their potential sources are of key importance for proposing effective strategies to protect watershed ecosystem health. In this study, a comprehensive investigation was conducted to identify the contamination and risk characteristics of trace metals in sediments of Le'an River which is a main tributary of the largest freshwater lake in China, Poyang Lake. To attain this objective, several tools and models were considered. Geoaccumulation index and enrichment factor were used to understand the general pollution characteristic of trace metals in sediments. Discriminant analysis was applied to identify the spatial variability of sediment metals. Sediment quality guidelines and potential ecological risk index were employed for ecological risk evaluation. Multivariate curve resolution-alternating least square was proposed to extract potential pollution sources, as well as the application of Monte-Carlo simulation for uncertainty analysis of source identification. Results suggested that the sediments in Le'an River were considerably polluted by the investigated trace metals (Cd, Cr, As, Hg, Pb, Cu, Zn and Ni). Sediment concentrations of these metals showed significant spatial variations. The potential ecological risk lay in high level. Comparatively speaking, the metals of Cd, Cu and Hg were likely to result in more harmful effects. Mining activities and the application of fertilizers and agrochemicals were identified as the main anthropogenic sources. To protect the ecological system of Le'an River and Poyang Lake watershed, industrial mining and agricultural activities in this area should to be strictly regulated.

Evaluation and characterization of thyroid-disrupting activities in soil samples along the Second Songhua River, China.

In this study, a recombinant thyroid receptor (TR) gene yeast assay combined with Monte Carlo simulation were used to evaluate and characterize soil samples collected from Jilin (China) along the Second Songhua River, for their ant/agonist effect on TR. No TR agonistic activity was found in soils, but many soil samples exhibited TR antagonistic activities, and the bioassay-derived amiodarone hydrochloride equivalents, which was calculated based on Monte Carlo simulation, ranged from not detected (N.D.) to 35.5µg/g. Hydrophilic substance fractions were determined to be the contributors to TR antagonistic activity in these soil samples. Our results indicate that the novel calculation method is effective for the quantification and characterization of TR antagonists in soil samples, and these data could provide useful information for future management and remediation efforts for contaminated soils.

Environmental distribution and associated human health risk due to trace elements and organic compounds in soil in Jiangxi province, China.

The government of China launched its first national soil quality and pollution survey (NSQPS) during April 2006 to December 2013. Data gathered in several earlier soil surveys were rarely used to understand the status of pollution. In this study, the dataset collected at the provincial level was analyzed for the first time. Concentrations, distribution, diversity, and human health risks of trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, V and Zn) and organic pollutants (benzene hexachloride (BHCs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), phthalic acid esters (PAEs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs)) in surface soil samples collected across Jiangxi province,China were presented. The results showed that, the proportion of contaminants with concentrations higher than their corresponding regulatory reference value ranged from 0.12% to 17%. It is worth note that, the local residents are exposed to moderate non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks at some sites. The comprehensive analysis of soil pollutants provide baseline information for establishing a long-term soil environmental monitoring program in Jiangxi province, China.

Heavy metal pollution and ecological risk assessment of the paddy soils near a zinc-lead mining area in Hunan.

Soil pollution by Cd, Hg, As, Pb, Cr, Cu, and Zn was characterized in the area of the mining and smelting of metal ores at Guiyang, northeast of Hunan Province. A total of 150 topsoil (0-20 cm) samples were collected in May 2012 with a nominal density of one sample per 4 km(2). High concentrations of heavy metals especially, Cd, Zn, and Pb were found in many of the samples taken from surrounding paddy soil, indicating a certain extent of spreading of heavy metal pollution. Sequential extraction technique and risk assessment code (RAC) were used to study the mobility of chemical forms of heavy metals in the soils and their ecological risk. The results reveal that Cd represents a high ecological risk due to its highest percentage of the exchangeable and carbonate fractions. The metals of Zn and Cu pose a medium risk, and the rest of the metals represent a low environmental risk. The range of the potential ecological risk of soil calculated by risk index (RI) was 123.5~2791.2 and revealed a considerable-high ecological risk in study area especially in the neighboring and surrounding the mining activities area. Additionally, cluster analyses suggested that metals such as Pb, As, Hg, Zn, and Cd could be from the same sources probably related to the acidic drainage and wind transport of dust. Cluster analysis also clearly distinguishes the samples with similar characteristics according to their spatial distribution. The results could be used during the ecological risk screening stage, in conjunction with total concentrations and metal fractionation values to better estimate ecological risk.