Search results for "water pollutant"
showing 10 items of 566 documents
Benthic foraminiferal response to trace element pollution. The case study of the Gulf of Milazzo, NE Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea).
2013
The response of benthic foraminiferal assemblages to trace element pollution in the marine sediments of the Gulf of Milazzo (north-eastern Sicily) was investigated. Since the 1960s, this coastal area has been a preferred site for the development of two small marinas and a commercial harbour as well as for heavy industry. Forty samples collected in the uppermost 3-4 cm of an undisturbed layer of sediment in the littoral environment were used for this benthic foraminiferal analysis. The enrichment factors (EFs) of selected trace elements (As, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) were also calculated. Changes both in benthic foraminiferal assemblages and in some trace elements concentrations have pr…
Mercury in fishes from Augusta Bay (southern Italy): risk assessment and health implication
2013
Our study reports on the total mercury (HgT) concentrations measured in the muscles and livers of several benthic, demersal and pelagic fish species caught inside and outside of Augusta Bay (southern Italy), a semi-enclosed marine area, highly contaminated by the uncontrolled (since the 1950s to 1978s) discharge of the largest European petrochemical plant. Mercury levels in fish tissues are discussed with regard to specific habitat, size and/or age of the specimens and HgT distribution in the bottom sediments. Results suggest a still active Hg release mechanism from the polluted sediments to the marine environment. Also, the high HgT concentrations measured in fishes caught in the external …
Expanding the application of stir bar sorptive-dispersive microextraction approach to solid matrices: Determination of ultraviolet filters in coastal…
2018
This work describes a new method for the determination of organic compounds in solid samples based on the equilibrium desorption of the analytes in an aqueous phase followed by stir bar sorptive-dispersive microextraction (SBSDME). Sand samples, contaminated with UV filters due to bathing and recreational activities, were dispersed in an aqueous medium by using a coated stir bar with CoFe2O4@oleic acid magnetic nanoparticles. The UV filters were physically desorbed from the surface of the sand particles and rapidly adsorbed on the hydrophobic coating of the nanoparticles, which were retrieved by means of their magnetism after stopping the stirring. In this manner, both preconcentration of t…
Cleaning sorbents used in matrix solid-phase dispersion with sonication: Application to the estimation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at ng/g le…
2012
This study shows that ultrasonic assisted extraction is a good practise for removing impurities from sorbents used for matrix-solid phase dispersion (MSPD). A previous washing of the sorbent with an organic solvent or mixture of solvents eliminates part of the interferences, but this treatment is not enough for the quantification of PAHs at ng/g levels. It is demonstrated that the determination of traces of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in solid samples processed by matrix-solid phase dispersion (MSPD) may be severely affected by the presence of sorbent impurities. Different extraction solvents and sonication conditions have been tested, and on the basis of the results obtained a …
Use of reflectance infrared spectroscopy for monitoring the metal content of the estuarine sediments of the Nerbioi-Ibaizabal River (Metropolitan Bil…
2009
Multivariate partial least-squares (PLS) calibration models have been developed for the spatial and seasonal simultaneous monitoring of 14 trace elements (Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn, V, and Zn) in sediments from 117 samples taken in the estuary of the Nerbioi-Ibaizabal River. Models were based on the chemometric treatment of diffuse reflectance near-infrared (NIR) and attenuated total reflectance (ATR) mid infrared (MIR) spectra, obtained from samples previously lyophilized and sieved with a particle size lower than 63 microm. Vibrational spectra were scanned in both, NIR and MIR regions. Developed PLS models, based on the interaction between trace elements and organic m…
Screening of currently used pesticides in water, sediments and biota of the Guadalquivir River Basin (Spain)
2013
The occurrence of 50 currently used pesticides and their transformation products in surface and waste waters, sediment and fish in the Guadalquivir River Basin was determined in 2010 and 2011. After selective sample extraction, pesticides were identified and quantified by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The contamination profile in water and sediments is marked by the presence of organophosphorus and triazines. Transformation products were even at higher concentrations than parent pesticides. A wider range of pesticides was present in water than in sediments but none of them were detected in fish. The mean concentrations ranged from 0.2 to 13.0 ng/L in …
Toxicity Testing of Silver Nanoparticles in Artificial and Natural Sediments Using the Benthic Organism Lumbriculus variegatus
2016
The increased use of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) in industrial and consumer products worldwide has resulted in their release to aquatic environments. Previous studies have mainly focused on the effects of AgNP on pelagic species, whereas few studies have assessed the risks to benthic invertebrates despite the fact that the sediments act as a large potential sink for NPs. In this study, the toxicity of sediment-associated AgNP was evaluated using the standard sediment toxicity test for chemicals provided by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. The freshwater benthic oligochaete worm Lumbriculus variegatus was exposed to sediment-associated AgNP in artificial and natural …
Neuroendocrine indicators of allostatic load reveal the impact of environmental acidification in fish
2020
Abstract When mobilized from surrounding soils and binding to gills at moderately low pH, aluminum (Al) cations can adversely affect fish populations. Furthermore, acidification may lead to allostatic overload, a situation in which the costs of coping with chronic stress affects long-term survival and reproductive output and, ultimately, ecosystem health. The brain's serotonergic system plays a key role in neuroendocrine stress responses and allostatic processes. Here, we explored whether sublethal effects of Al in acidified water affects serotonergic neurochemistry and stress coping ability in a unique land-locked salmon population from Lake Bygelandsfjorden, in southern Norway. Fish were …
Effects of sublethal exposure to lead on levels of energetic compounds in Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852).
1994
Lead is neither essential nor beneficial to living organisms; all existing data show that its metabolic effects are adverse. Lead is toxic to all phyla of aquatic biota. Most of the lead discharged into surface water is rapidly incorporated into suspended and bottom sediments. The American red crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, lives in a wide range of environmental conditions that include highly polluted waters. Lead present in take sediments can be available to aquatic animals such as P. clarkii because it is a detritivor and burrow into the sediment. In fact, we found remarkable levels of lead in tissues of P. clarkii caught in Albufera Lake and kept 15 days in clean water (e. g. 223 [mu]g/g…
Bioaccumulation and subchronic physiological effects of waterborne iron overload on whitefish exposed in humic and nonhumic water.
1999
One-year-old whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus, were exposed to three types of iron-rich water, two dilutions for each, in a subchronic (30-day) experiment. In natural iron-rich humic water, both the bioaccumulation and physiological effects of iron exposure were negligible. In humic-free water with high amount of additional inorganic iron (nominally 8 mg Fe/L), Fe accumulated in gills, liver, and gut. This accumulation was accompanied by decreased glycogen phosphorylase activities and microsomal EROD activity in the liver as well as decreased plasma sodium and potassium concentrations. The third group of whitefish were exposed by adding inorganic iron (nominally 2 and 8 mg Fe/L) to natural ir…