Search results for " pollution"
showing 10 items of 1010 documents
Geochemical characterization and health risk assessment in two diversified environmental settings (Southern Italy).
2021
An integrated approach using chemical and microbial indicators has been tested in two different sites of the Campania Plain (Southern Italy) with different land use covering and different hydrogeological features in order: (1) to define the water-rock interaction processes, (2) to differentiate sources of pollution in a detailed way (3) to evaluate the degree of water quality in the studied alluvial aquifer and (4) to identify the most worrying elements for human's health. Groundwater have showed a HCO3-Ca signature for both investigated sites, and a progressive enrichment in alkali ions has been highlighted moving from the boundary of the plain toward the coastal areas, due to groundwater …
Pollution assessment of heavy metals in soils of India and ecological risk assessment: A state-of-the-art
2019
Soil is substantive component of biosphere, which is exposed to plethora of pollutants including heavy metals. These are added by natural as well as anthropogenic activities. Upsurge in heavy metal content affects all organisms by biomagnification. So, it becomes vital to create a database of heavy metals concentration in soil. This is relevant in countries where unsustainable intensive agriculture, industrial and urban development is in progress. The present review of the scientific literature from 1991 to 2018 on heavy metals in soils in India shows that Zn and Pb exceeded their limits for Indian natural soil guidelines (Zn 22.1 and Pb 13.1 μg/g), Canada (Zn 200 μg/g), Swedish (80 μg/g) a…
A multigenerational approach can detect early Cd pollution in Chironomus riparius.
2020
Abstract Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential highly toxic metal and its presence in the environment has been a concern over the years. On the present study we adopt the spiked water exposure scenario to study early Cd contamination across five generations of the model organism Chironomus riparius. Animals were, at the beginning of each generation, submitted to 0, 1, 3.2, 10, 32 and 100 μg/L of Cd. Classical endpoints like total emergence, EmT50, fertility and the integrative fitness measure, population growth rate (PGR), were calculated at each generation. Results could demonstrate that exposure to brief and low Cd concentrations can affect all the measured endpoints and, therefore, initial Cd …
Evaluation of historical atmospheric pollution in an industrial area by dendrochemical approaches
2019
International audience; We conducted a dendrochemical study in order to evaluate the exposure of territories and 19 populations to different types of pollutants and to characterise the history of pollution in one of the 20 most intensely industrialised areas of Europe: the industrial port zone of Fos, also heavily 21 urbanised. 22 To perform the study, two tree species have been selected, Pinus halepensis and Populus nigra, on arural plot located roughly 20 km away from the industrial harbor, an urban plot located in the city of Fos-sur-Mer and an industrial plot. Our study indicated that poplar was a more relevant model forthe dendrochemical studies exhibiting a higher bioaccumulation capa…
Dating of a Sediment Core by 210Pbex Method and Pb Pollution Chronology in the Palermo Gulf (Italy)
2009
Within a more general study on marine sediments in the Gulf of Palermo (Sicily, Italy), the 210Pbex dating method (using a model with constant sedimentation rate) has been applied to one sediment core. The main goal of the research was to study the Pb pollution chronology. Dating of the core has allowed evaluating the time evolution of the gulf lead concentrations. Specific activities of 137Cs have also been measured in the sediment core sections as an independent confirmation of the chronology derived by the 210Pbex method. The time scale has then been used to correlate lead concentrations in core sections to estimated lead emissions in air due to gasoline combustion. A good correlation be…
An aggregate AQI: comparing different standardizations and introducing a variability index
2012
Many studies demonstrate a strong relationship between air pollution and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. For this reason, assessing air pollution, and conveying information about its possible adverse health effects, may encourage population and policy makers to reduce those activities increasing pollution levels. In this paper a relative index of variability, to be associated with the aggregate Air Quality Index (AQI) among pollutants proposed by Ruggieri and Plaia (2011), is developed in order to better investigate air pollution conditions for the whole area of a city/region. The most widely-used and up to date pollution indices, based mainly on AQI computed by the US Environmenta…
Coupling geochemical, mineralogical and microbiological approaches to assess the health of contaminated soil around the Almalyk mining and smelter co…
2013
This study describes the impact of airborne pollution resulting from mining and smelting activities on the soils of the Almalyk mining and industrial area (NE Uzbekistan). Samples were collected along a transect downwind of the industrial area. Enriched contents of some metals were found in the upper soil layers near the metallurgical complex (Zn≤3010 mg kg(-1), Pb≤630 mg kg(-1), Cd≤30 mg kg(-1)) which suggests that these metals were derived from local stack emissions. The morphology and internal microstructure of metal-bearing spherical particles found in the heavy mineral fraction suggest that these particles were probably a result of inefficient flue gas cleaning technique of the smelter…
Heavy metals in urban soils: a case study from the city of Palermo (Sicily), Italy.
2002
Concentrations of V, Mn, Cd, Zn, Ni, Cr, Co, Cu, Pb, Hg and Sb were measured on 70 topsoil samples collected from green areas and parks in the city of Palermo (Sicily) in order to: (1) assess the distribution of these heavy metals in the urban environment; (2) discriminate natural and anthropic contributions; and (3) identify possible sources of pollution. Mineralogy, physico-chemical parameters, and major element contents of the topsoils were determined to highlight the influence of 'natural' features on the heavy metal concentrations and their distribution. Medians of Pb, Zn, Cu and Hg concentrations of the investigated urban soils are 202, 138, 63 and 0.68 mgkg(-1), respectively. These v…
Algae utilization in assessment of the large Turawa Lake (Poland) pollution with heavy metals.
2011
This investigation was undertaken to determine the applicability of algae for the assessment of contamination level of water reservoirs with heavy metals. The alga Spirogyra sp. collected in the littoral zone of the Large Turawa Lake (artificial lake in Southern Poland) was used for the study. The concentrations of heavy metals accumulated in the alga inhabiting a flow-through water basin of the Large Turawa Lake were found to correlate with sources of these metals, such as benthic sediments and contaminated watercourses. The highest concentrations of metals were found in alga samples collected at the outlet of the lake: c (Mn) = 12330 mg/kg dry mass, c (Fe) = 15059 mg/kg d.m., c (Cu) = 47.…
Incomplete degradation of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate surfactants in Brazilian surface waters and pursuit of their polar metabolites in drinking wa…
2002
In Brazil more than 90% of the population are not connected to municipal wastewater treatment plants. As a consequence, surface waters receive continuously considerable amounts of untreated domestic sewage containing surfactants as a major constituent. Such polluted waters gave rise to special interest if they are used as a source for the production of drinking water. In this work, the river Rio Macacu (State Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) was monitored for the occurrence of the most widely used anionic surfactant linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) together with its main degradative product, sulfophenyl carboxylates (SPC). In order to pursue the fate of both compounds after emission into the rive…