Search results for "Trace metal"
showing 10 items of 58 documents
Environmental effects and potential impact on human health caused by the recent Nyiragongo eruption (Democratic Republic of Congo)
2022
Volcanic activity emits large amounts of gases and particles to the atmosphere subsequently spreading contaminants to rain, surface waters and soils, negatively impacting on the environment and the human health. The recent eruption of Nyiragongo occurred on 22nd of May, injected large quantities of ash affecting the environment of the Virunga area, and more than 2 million people living between 18-25 km far from the main crater of Nyiragongo. Several studies demonstrated that drinking waters and plants may contain high contents of natural pollutants, and when ingested they become harmful to human health causing acute or chronic diseases. In this study, we investigated the impact of the recen…
Impact of historical mining assessed in soils by kinetic extraction and lead isotopic ratios.
2014
12 pages; International audience; The aim of this study is to estimate the long-term behaviour of trace metals, in two soils differently impacted by past mining. Topsoils from two 1 km(2) zones in the forested Morvan massif (France) were sampled to assess the spatial distribution of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn. The first zone had been contaminated by historical mining. As expected, it exhibits higher trace-metal levels and greater spatial heterogeneity than the second non-contaminated zone, supposed to represent the local background. One soil profile from each zone was investigated in detail to estimate metal behaviour, and hence, bioavailability. Kinetic extractions were performed using EDTA on thre…
Trace metal(loid) mobility in waste deposits and soils around Chadak mining area, Uzbekistan
2017
Abstract The assessment of potential trace metal(loid) contamination in tailing dumps and soils was characterized in the Chadak mining area (Uzbekistan). Concentrations of trace elements (V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Sb, Pb) were determined by X-ray fluorescence analysis and compared with background and intervention values (IV). The concentrations of As, Zn, Sb, and Pb were higher in the abandoned than in the active tailing dump, ranging from 42–1689 mg/kg for As, 73–332 mg/kg for Zn, 14–1507 mg/kg for Sb, and 27–386 mg/kg for Pb. Selective extractions were applied in order to assess the mobility and availability of trace metal(loid)s in samples. Oxyanion-forming elements such as As and S…
Trace metals supplementation in anaerobic membrane bioreactors treating highly saline phenolic wastewater
2017
Biomass requires trace metals (TM) for maintaining its growth and activity. This study aimed to determine the effect of TM supplementation and partitioning on the specific methanogenic activity (SMA), with a focus on cobalt and tungsten, during the start-up of two lab-scale Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors (AnMBRs) treating saline phenolic wastewater. The TM partitioning revealed a strong accumulation of sodium in the biomass matrix and a wash-out of the majority of TM in the reactors, which led to an SMA decrease and a low COD removal of about 30%. The SMA exhibits a maximum at about 6 g Na+ L−1 and nearly complete inhibition at 34 g Na+ L−1. The dose of 0.5 mg L−1 of tungsten increases the …
Biomonitoring potential of the native aquatic plant Typha domingensis by predicting trace metals accumulation in the Egyptian Lake Burullus.
2020
The ability of the native emergent macrophytes Typha domingensis for monitoring pollution with trace metals in Egyptian Lake Burullus was investigated through developing regression models for predicting their concentrations in the plant tissues. Plant samples (above-ground shoot and below-ground root and rhizome) as well as sediment samples were collected monthly during one growing season and analyzed. The association of trace metals concentration with several sediment characteristics (pH, organic matter, clay and silt) was also studied using the simple linear correlation coefficient (r). The concentration of some trace metals was significantly proportional to its values in the sediment suc…
Accumulation of trace metals in sediments in a Mediterranean Lagoon: Usefulness of metal sediment fractionation and elutriate toxicity assessment.
2015
International audience; The authors investigated sediment quality in Bizerte Lagoon (Tunisia) focusing on geochemical characteristics, metal sediment fractionation and elutriate toxicity assessment. Nickel, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr and Cd partitioning in sediments was studied; accumulation and bioavailability were elucidated using enrichment factors, sequential extractions, redox potential, acid volatile sulfide and biotest procedures in toxicity evaluation. Results revealed an accumulation for Pb and Zn, reaching 99 and 460 mg kg−1 respectively. In addition, the acid volatile sulfide values were high in both eastern and western lagoon areas, thus affecting metal availability. Mean enrichment factor …
The impact of natural and anthropogenic factors on groundwater quality in an active volcanic/geothermal system under semi-arid climatic conditions: T…
2017
Abstract A comprehensive hydrogeochemical study of the cold and thermal groundwaters of the presently quiescent volcanic system at Methana was undertaken that involved collecting 71 natural water samples. Methana is a peninsula in Peloponnesus, Greece whose arid climate and hydrological situation is similar to that of the nearby small islands of the Aegean Sea. Similarly, the chemical and isotopic compositions of its water are dominated by the mixing of seawater with meteoric water both through direct intrusion and meteoric recharge. However, the simple mixing trends at Methana are modified by water–rock interaction processes, enhanced by the dissolution of endogenous CO2, which lead to str…
Constructed Wetlands as Sustainable Technology for the Treatment and Reuse of the First-Flush Stormwater in Agriculture—A Case Study in Sicily (Italy)
2020
This paper describes a case study that was carried out on a Sicilian company (Italy) dealing with separate waste collection and recycling of glass. The aims of this study were to evaluate the overall efficiency of a vertical subsurface flow system (VSSFs) constructed wetland (CW) operating for the treatment of first-flush stormwater and the effects of treated wastewater on the morphological and aesthetic characteristics of ornamental pepper and rosemary plants. The system had a total surface area of 46.80 m2 and was planted with common reed and giant reed. Wastewater samples were taken from October 2018 to July 2019 at the CW inlet and outlet for chemical-physical and microbiological charac…
Gender as a key factor in trace metal and metalloid content of human scalp hair. A multi-site study
2016
This multi-site study discusses the content of metals and metalloids (MM) in scalp hair of children, living in different environmental contexts, with the purpose of verifying if hair level of some MM is distinctively gender-specific. A total of 943 hair samples (537 females and 406 males) from adolescents were analysed for their content of Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Se, Sr, U, V and Zn. Elemental quantification was performed by ICP-MS. The obtained data identified different metal distributions in adolescent girls which exhibited significantly higher hair concentrations of some trace metals, especially Sr, Zn and Ni, than boys. On the base of the median value, hai…
Influence of landscape composition and diversity on contaminant flux in terrestrial food webs: a case study of trace metal transfer to European black…
2012
13 pages; International audience; Although understanding the influence of the spatial arrangement of habitats and interacting communities on the processes of pollutant flux and impacts is critical for exposure and risk assessment, to date few studies have been devoted to this emergent topic. We tested the hypothesis that landscape composition and diversity affect the transfer of trace metals to vertebrates. Bioaccumulation of Cd and Pb in blood and feathers of European blackbirds Turdus merula (n=138) was studied over a smelter-impacted area (Northern France). Landscape composition (type and occurrence of the different habitats) and diversity (number of different habitat types and the propo…