Search results for " heavy metal"

Cadmium-induced changes in soil biochemical characteristics of oat (Avena sativa L.) rhizosphere during early growth stages

2011

A microcosm was assembled to physically separate soil from roots and was used to study both the impact of living roots on the soil–plant system during early stages of growth and plant responses to abiotic stress. Oat (Avena sativa L.) seedlings were grown in the microcosm unit for 44 days. Twenty-three days after planting, 0.154 mg CdSO4/g dry soil was added. Plants grown in Cd-treated microcosms showed considerable inhibition of shoot growth rates, and leaf chlorophyll content. Soil microbial biomass C and respiration increased with plant age, and most of the measured biochemical indicators decreased with increasing distance from the soil–root interface, thus demonstrating the rhizosphere …

Metal distribution in road dust samples collected in an urban area close to a petrochemical plant at Gela, Sicily

2006

Eight samples of road dust were collected from three different localities (industrial, urban, peripheral) of the town of Gela (Italy) to characterize their chemical composition and to assess (a) the influence of the petrochemical plant and the urban traffic on the trace element content in different grain-size fractions of street dust and (b) the solid-phase speciation of the analysed metal using sequential extraction. The samples were sieved into six particle size ranges: 500–250, 250–125, 125–63, 63–40, 40–20 and <20 μm and then analysed for 15 trace elements by ICP-MS. Sequential extraction of metals was performed on each subsample. A principal component analysis was also carried out to d…

The influence of industrial emissions from a zinc factory on the properties of Chernozem soil

2018

This article describes the influence of zinc factory emissions on soil cover and vegetation cover of the lands of East Kazakhstan. It is shown how the physical properties of water affect soil moisture. The authors consider how heavy metals destroy the composition of organic acids and how it affects the aggregate state of the soil cover.

In vivo exposure of the marine sponge Chondrilla nucula Schmidt, 1862 to cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) and its potential use for bioremedia…

2018

Abstract The study aimed to test the cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) bioaccumulation capacity of the marine sponge Chondrilla nucula and to measure the expression of metallothioneins (MTs) by a western blotting assay to explore metal tolerance and its potential use as a bioremediator in contaminated coastal areas. C. nucula was sampled in a protected marine area in order to perform experiments on organisms living in a healthy environment. Under laboratory conditions, the sponges were exposed to increasing concentrations of Cd, Cu and Pb in tanks filled with artificial seawater set up for the experiments. For each metal, three waterborne concentrations (mgL−1) of Cd (0.02–0.04-0.08),…

Comparison of stable isotope composition and inorganic and organic contaminant levels in wild and farmed bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, in the Medite…

2009

Abstract Stable isotope composition (δ13C and δ15N) and persistent pollutants, including heavy metals (Hg, Cd, Pb, As, Cu, Zn) and organochlorine compounds (PCBs, HCB and p,p′-DDE), were measured in muscle and liver tissues of wild and farmed bluefin tunas to investigate the changes occurring during the farming period and to assess the quality, in terms of contaminants, of the final product. At the end of farming, the food supplied was clearly integrated into the tuna tissues as derived from stable isotope signatures, and, contrarily to the literature findings obtained for other species, farmed tunas showed slight variations in persistent elements and chemical compounds in comparison with w…

Impact of Heavy Metals in Eggs and Tissues of C. caretta along the Sicilian Coast (Mediterranean Sea)

2022

In this study we compared the heavy metal concentration found in different tissues and eggs of the loggerhead sea turtle and evaluated the potential ecotoxicological risk for this important species. Eighteen heavy metal elements were determined in different tissues (liver, gonads, fat, kidney, heart, brain, and spleen) of nine individuals of Caretta caretta found stranded along the coasts of Messina (Sicily, Italy) and in the shell and yolk of six eggs from the island of Linosa (Sicily, Italy). For the analysis of the heavy metals, we used the analytical procedures in accordance with the EPA 200.8 method supplemented by EPA 6020b with three replicates for each measurement. The elements anal…

Seagrasses as biological barriers against anthropic input in coastal marine ecosystems

2009

ASSESSMENT OF HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATION IN TERRACES FOR PUBLIC USE RECOVERED IN THE CITY OF PALERMO AND IN AGRICULTURAL TERRACES

2017

The contamination by heavy metals in the soil is nowadays considered an indicator of environmental pollution caused by to several factors, such as waste disposal, industrial discharges and the use of irrigation water. Developed in collaboration with SO.GEST Ambiente Laboratory, in Palermo, this study had as a purpose to monitor the levels of heavy metals - Cd, Cr, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn -both in public lands and in agricultural terrains. All the soil samples collected have been subjected to an acid extraction process by using HCL and eventually to a mass spectrometer-based analysis for the quantitative/ qualitative determination, specifically by the technique of flame atomic absorption spectrophoto…

NiO@Ni core shell for electrochemical detection of Hg ions

2018

Heavy metals are considered as one of the most dangerous chemicals for human health. Among heavy metals, mercury is one of the most dangerous one: few ppb of Hg can cause serious damages to brain, heart, lungs and kidney. The Environmental Protection Agency setted the maximum concentration of Hg in water as 2 ppb [1] . Nowadays is very important to develop new and novel sensors for heavy metals that could be cheap, easy to use and for in-situ and real-time analysis and in this context electrochemical sensors are perfect candidates [2] . The more powerful electrochemical tequinique is Square Wave Anodic Strippic Voltammetry (SWASV), a two step techinique were the heavy metals are first depos…

Mercury in fish products: what’s the best for consumers between bluefin tuna and yellowfin tuna?

2017

A total of 205 bluefin and yellowfin tuna samples were examined for mercury detection in order to verify possible differences and have a detailed risk assessment of the two tuna species. The results showed significant higher mercury concentration in muscle tissue of bluefin tuna respect yellowfin tuna (p &lt; 0.001) with mean concentration of 0.84 mg/kg and maximum value of 1.94 mg/kg. These differences can be due the different biological and ecological aspects of the two tuna species and to different oceanographic aspects between Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean sea. The results obtained in this study suggest an advisable containment of the sources of pollution and further studies on the c…