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Moreno-Aguirre SB, Vértiz-Osores JJ, Paredes-Espinal CE, Meseth E, Vílchez-Ochoa GL, Espino-Ciudad JA, Flores del Pino L. Ecological risk of metals in Andean water resources: A framework for early environmental assessment of mining projects in Peru. Heliyon 2024; 10:e30739. [PMID: 38765175 PMCID: PMC11101854 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2024] [Revised: 05/03/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Metallic contaminants in Andean water resources influenced by mining activities poses risks to aquatic ecosystems and a challenge to regulatory agencies responsible for environmental compliance. In this study, the Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) framework was adapted to assess dissolved heavy metal concentrations at 283 surface water monitoring stations near to six mining projects during the dry and wet seasons. Reports from OEFA-Peru on Early Environmental Assessment (EEA) were used to apply various criteria and non-parametric statistical tests. They included ecological, ecotoxicological, chemical, and regulatory factors. The main goal of this research was to identify, analyze, characterize, and compare the risks present at different trophic levels. These levels were categorized as T1 (Microalgae), T2 (Zooplankton and Benthic invertebrates), and T3 (Fish). Individual risk (IR) was estimated using the quotient model, while total risk (TR) was assessed using the additive probability rule. Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), representing trophic level T3, showed the highest sensitivity to Fe and Cu. Statistical tests ranked the IR as Fe > Cu > Zn > Mn > Pb (p < 0.01). The TR was more prevalent during the wet season compared to the dry season (p < 0.01). Notably, around 50 % of the monitoring stations (n = 142) were classified as high risk, and 9 % (n = 13) showed extremely high-risk values for Cu and Fe. The adapted ERA framework demonstrated great effectiveness in identifying critical points of metal contamination in high Andean aquatic ecosystems under mining influence. However, specialized studies are suggested that allow the sources of pollution to be associated with specific regulatory actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simón B. Moreno-Aguirre
- Master's Program in Water Resources, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, UNALM, Lima, Peru
| | - Jacinto J. Vértiz-Osores
- Faculty of Engineering and Management, Universidad Nacional Tecnológica de Lima Sur, Villa El Salvador, 15834, Lima, Peru
| | - Christian E. Paredes-Espinal
- Technical Operations Functional Unit (OTEC), Organismo de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental (OEFA), Lima, Peru
| | - Enrique Meseth
- Doctoral Program in Water Resources, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, UNALM, Lima, Peru
- Research Office in Geosciences, Environment and Climate, Asociación Ingenieros para el Desarrollo - Engineers for Development INDEFOD, Paita, Piura, Peru
| | - Guillermo L. Vílchez-Ochoa
- Faculty of Engineering and Management, Universidad Nacional Tecnológica de Lima Sur, Villa El Salvador, 15834, Lima, Peru
| | - Jessica A. Espino-Ciudad
- Technical Operations Functional Unit (OTEC), Organismo de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental (OEFA), Lima, Peru
| | - Lisveth Flores del Pino
- Center for Research in Environmental Chemistry, Toxicology, and Biotechnology, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima, 15024, Peru
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Liu Q, Xu X, Lin L, Bai L, Yang M, Wang W, Wu X, Wang D. A retrospective analysis of heavy metals and multi elements in the Yangtze River Basin: Distribution characteristics, migration tendencies and ecological risk assessment. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 254:121385. [PMID: 38452525 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 02/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
The Yangtze River is the third longest river in the world with more than 6300 km, covering 0.4 billion people. However, the aquatic ecosystem of the Yangtze River has been seriously damaged in the past decades due to a rapid development of economic and industrialization along the coast. In this study, we first established a dataset of fifty elements, including nine common heavy metals (HMs) and forty-one other elements, in the Yangtze River Basin through the collection of historical data from 2000 to 2020, and then analyzed their spatiotemporal distribution characteristics. The results indicated that the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), a region formed by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD), may act as a sink for these elements from upstream regions. The concentrations of seven elements in surface water and 13 elements in sediment obviously increased from the upstream region of the TGR to the TGR. In addition, ten elements in the surface water and 5 elements in the sediments clearly decreased, possibly because of the interception effects of the TGD. On a timescale, Cr obviously tended to migrate from the water phase to the sediment; Pb tended to migrate from the sediment to the water phase. In the ecological risk assessment, all common HMs in surface water were supposed to have negligible risks as protecting 90 % of aquatic organisms; Cd (210.2), Hg (58.0) and As (43.1) in sediment posed high and moderate ecological risks using the methodology of the potential ecological risk index. Furthermore, Hunan Province is at considerable risk according to the sum of the potential risk index (314.8) due to Cd pollution (66.8 %). These fundamental data and results will support follow-up control strategies for elements and policies related to aquatic ecosystem protection in the Yangtze River Basin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quanzhen Liu
- National Engineering Research Center of Industrial Wastewater Detoxication and Resource Recovery, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; Yangtze Eco-Environment Engineering Research Center, China Three Gorges Corporation, Beijing 100038, China
| | - Xiong Xu
- National Engineering Research Center of Industrial Wastewater Detoxication and Resource Recovery, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Lihua Lin
- National Engineering Research Center of Industrial Wastewater Detoxication and Resource Recovery, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Lu Bai
- National Engineering Research Center of Industrial Wastewater Detoxication and Resource Recovery, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Mengru Yang
- National Engineering Research Center of Industrial Wastewater Detoxication and Resource Recovery, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Weiqing Wang
- National Engineering Research Center of Industrial Wastewater Detoxication and Resource Recovery, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xinghua Wu
- Yangtze Eco-Environment Engineering Research Center, China Three Gorges Corporation, Beijing 100038, China
| | - Donghong Wang
- National Engineering Research Center of Industrial Wastewater Detoxication and Resource Recovery, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
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Wang J, Wang Z, Dou Y, Cong J, Sun H, Wang L, Duan Z. Ecological risk assessment for typical organophosphorus pesticides in surface water of China based on a species sensitivity distribution model. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 913:169805. [PMID: 38181956 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
The ecological risks posed by widespread organophosphorus pesticide (OPs) pollution in the surface waters of China remain unclear. In this study, species sensitivity distribution (SSD) parametric statistical approaches were coupled with fully acute and chronic toxicity data to fit the sensitivity distributions of different aquatic species to five typical OPs: dimethoate, malathion, parathion-methyl, trichlorfon, and dichlorvos. Crustaceans exhibit the highest sensitivity to OPs, whereas algae are the least sensitive. The acute hazardous concentrations that affected 5 % of the species (HC5) were 0.112, 0.001, 0.001, 0.001, and 0.001 mg/L for dimethoate, malathion, parathion-methyl, trichlorfon, and dichlorvos, respectively, whereas their chronic HC5 values were 0.004, 0.004, 0.053, 0.001, and 0.0005 mg/L, respectively. Hence, dichlorvos is highly toxic and poses greater risk to non-target aquatic species. The evaluation data revealed varying geographical distribution characteristics of the ecological risks from OPs in 15 freshwater aquatic systems across different regions of China. Dichlorvos posed the highest risk in the basins of Zhejiang and Guangdong Provinces, with the highest chronic Risk Quotient (RQ) and Hazard Index (HI) at 9.34 and 9.92, respectively. This is much higher than what was collected and evaluated for foreign rivers (the highest chronic RQ and HI in foreign rivers were 1.65 and 2.24, respectively). Thus, dichlorvos in the surface waters of China poses a substantial ecological risk to aquatic organisms, and may endanger human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Wang
- School of Environmental Science and Safety Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China
| | - Zhirong Wang
- School of Environmental Science and Safety Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China
| | - Yuhang Dou
- School of Environmental Science and Safety Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China
| | - Jiaoyue Cong
- School of Environmental Science and Safety Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China
| | - Hongwen Sun
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Lei Wang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Zhenghua Duan
- School of Environmental Science and Safety Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China.
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Astuti RDP, Maria R, Nurohman H, Shoedarto RM, Rusydi AF, Marganingrum D, Damayanti R, Mulyono A, Rahayudin Y, Dida EN, Yuliyanti A. Potentially toxic elements contamination in the water resources: an integrated risk assessment approach in the upper Citarum watershed area. ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY AND HEALTH 2024; 46:77. [PMID: 38367034 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-023-01818-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2024]
Abstract
The Citarum watershed is West Java Province's most important water resource; hence, harmful compounds should be monitored regularly. This study assessed pollution levels along with ecological and health risks from Cd, Pb, Mn, Fe, Cu, Cr, and Hg contamination in river water, sediment, groundwater, and soil in Citarum's upper watershed. In river water, the average amounts of Cd, Pb, Mn, Fe, Cu, Cr, and Hg were 0.002, 0.05, 0.092, 0.649, 0.022, 0.001, and 0.421 mg/L. In sediment, they were 7.4, 1175.1, 32,289.9, 37.3, 3.9, and 0.015 mg/kg. The mean concentrations of Cd, Pb, Mn, Fe, Cu, Cr, and Hg in groundwater were 0.004, 0.046, 0.567, 0.366, 0.019, 0.001, and 0.177 mg/L, and in soil, BDL, 10.2, 744.6, 50,094.1, 45.6, 5.9, and 0.015 mg/kg. The river water and groundwater were highly polluted by PTEs, with HPI values of 14,733 and 933, respectively. While PTEs pollution levels and risk in sediment and soil were low based on I-geo, CF, PLI, and M-ERM-Q values, PTEs contamination in river water may cause adverse impacts on aquatic living organisms (HQ > 1). The population doing recreational activities in river ecosystems was still safe from non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic impacts due to PTEs exposure from river water and sediment (THI < 1 and TCR value < 1E-04), while the population in the upper Citarum River was not safe from the carcinogenic risk due to PTE exposure from groundwater and soil (TCR > 1E-04). The sensitivity analysis showed that Cd concentration in groundwater is the most influential factor in cancer risk, with a total contribution of 99.9%. Therefore, a reduction in Cd concentration in groundwater is important to reduce cancer risk in the population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ratna Dwi Puji Astuti
- Research Center for Geological Resources, National Research and Innovation Agency, Bandung, 40135, Indonesia.
- Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, 60155, Indonesia.
| | - Rizka Maria
- Research Center for Geological Resources, National Research and Innovation Agency, Bandung, 40135, Indonesia.
| | - Heri Nurohman
- Research Center for Geological Resources, National Research and Innovation Agency, Bandung, 40135, Indonesia
| | | | - Anna Fadliah Rusydi
- Research Center for Limnology and Water Resources, National Research and Innovation Agency, Cibinong, 16911, Indonesia
| | - Dyah Marganingrum
- Research Center for Environmental and Clean Technology, National Research and Innovation Agency, Bandung, 40135, Indonesia
| | - Retno Damayanti
- Research Center for Geological Resources, National Research and Innovation Agency, Bandung, 40135, Indonesia
| | - Asep Mulyono
- Research Center for Environmental and Clean Technology, National Research and Innovation Agency, Bandung, 40135, Indonesia
| | - Yudi Rahayudin
- Polytechnic of Energy and Mining, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bandung, 40211, Indonesia
| | - Eki Naidania Dida
- Research Center for Geological Resources, National Research and Innovation Agency, Bandung, 40135, Indonesia
| | - Anita Yuliyanti
- Research Center for Geological Resources, National Research and Innovation Agency, Bandung, 40135, Indonesia
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El Morabet R, Barhazi L, Bouhafa S, Dahim MA, Khan RA, Khan NA. Geospatial distribution and machine learning algorithms for assessing water quality in surface water bodies of Morocco. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20599. [PMID: 37996644 PMCID: PMC10667218 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47991-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Surface waterbodies being primary source of water for human consumption are being investigated for its quality globally. This study evaluated water quality in three rivers (River Nfifikh, Hassar and El Maleh) of Mohammedia prefecture, Morocco in terms of heavy metals occurrence during two seasons of winter and spring. The heavy metals analyzed were cadmium, iron, copper, zinc, and lead. Heavy metal pollution index was derived to quantify water quality and pollution. Hazard quotient and carcinogenic risk were calculated to determine possible health risk. Modelling and prediction were performed using random forest, support vector machine and artificial neural network. The heavy metal concentration was lower in the winter season than in the spring season. Heavy metal pollution index (H.P.I.) was in the range of 1.5-2 during the winter season and 2-3 during the spring season. In the Nfifikh river, Cd2+ and Fe were the main polluting heavy metal. H.Q. was < 1 in all three rivers, which signified no adverse health effect from exposure to heavy metals. However, carcinogenic risk assessment revealed that 1 in every 100 people was susceptible to cancer during the life span of 70 years. Based on the control point reference, it was found that Mohammedia prefecture as river water was already contaminated before it entered the prefecture boundary. This was again validated with the water lagoon Douar El Marja which is located near the industrial zones of Mohammedia prefecture. Future studies are required to investigate pollution of rivers prior to their entry in Mohammedia prefecture to identify potential source and adopt mitigation measures accordingly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachida El Morabet
- LADES Lab FLSH-M, Department of Geography, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Mohammedia, Morocco
| | - Larbi Barhazi
- LADES Lab FLSH-M, Department of Geography, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Mohammedia, Morocco
| | - Soufiane Bouhafa
- LADES Lab FLSH-M, Department of Geography, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Mohammedia, Morocco
| | | | - Roohul Abad Khan
- Department of Civil Engineering, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
| | - Nadeem A Khan
- Interdisciplinary Research Center for Membranes and Water Security (IRC-MWS), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
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6
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Wei H, Zhang L, Wang Z. Four antibiotics and copper interactive effects on the growth and physiological characteristics of Hydrilla verticillata (L.f.) Royle. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2023; 30:117531-117544. [PMID: 37872331 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-30415-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Co-pollution of antibiotics and heavy metal copper (Cu) is common in freshwater environments because of their wide use as antimicrobial agents, especially in aquaculture. However, the toxic effects of coexisting antibiotics and heavy metals on aquatic plants remain unclear. This study investigated the effect of four antibiotics (i.e., enrofloxacin, ENR; tetracycline, TC; sulfamethoxazole, SMX; erythromycin, ERY), Cu, and their mixture on the growth and physiological responses of Hydrilla verticillata (L.f.) Royle. Results showed that the four antibiotics exhibited toxic effects on the growth and physiological indicators of H. verticillata, and root elongation was the most sensitive endpoint of the phytotoxicity test. The median effect concentration (EC50) of root elongation indicated that TC (EC50 = 10.05 mg/L) has the highest level of growth toxicity, and the toxicity of ENR to aquatic plants was close to TC (EC50 = 10.44 mg/L), followed by SMX (EC50 = 20.08 mg/L). However, there was no significant toxic effect of 20 mg/L ERY on the root elongation. Hydrophobicity may be a key factor affecting the phytotoxicity of antibiotics. Moreover, antagonistic toxic effects were observed under ENR + Cu, TC + Cu, SMX + Cu, and ERY + Cu co-exposures at all the experimental concentrations (0.01-20 mg/L). Due to the concentrations of antibiotics in natural waters usually with ng/L levels, our results suggested that environmental antibiotic concentrations probably pose low ecological risk to aquatic plants and indicated the H. verticillata could be used as phytoremediation candidate to remove antibiotic or antibiotic-Cu pollutions in general nature water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huimin Wei
- Key Laboratory for Environment and Disaster Monitoring and Evaluation of Hubei, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430077, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Lu Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Environment and Disaster Monitoring and Evaluation of Hubei, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430077, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Zhi Wang
- Key Laboratory for Environment and Disaster Monitoring and Evaluation of Hubei, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430077, China.
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Pinto R, Zanette J. Integrative ecotoxicity evaluation of Cd, Cu, Zn and Ni in aquatic animals reveals high tolerance of Artemia franciscana. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 341:140059. [PMID: 37673183 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
Heavy metals pose a significant threat to animals in aquatic environments due to the adverse effects they exert. Species of the genus Artemia have been described as heavy metal tolerant, but the sensitivity/tolerance range for these species has not been established. In the present study, the toxicity of Cd, Cu, Zn and Ni as reported in the ECOTOX and Web of Science databases was examined for Artemia franciscana and compared with other species and taxonomic groups using an integrative ecotoxicity evaluation. The hazard concentration for 5% of the species (HC5) of acute toxicity tests (24-96 h), obtained through a species sensitivity distribution (SSD) indicated that Cu (0.02 mg/L) and Cd (0.03 mg/L) were the metals with the highest toxicity to aquatic animals followed by Zn (0.15 mg/L) and Ni (0.23 mg/L). In addition to the higher hazard of Cu and Cd to aquatic animals, the comparison of acute LC50 values for A. franciscana indicates lower toxicity of Cd followed by Cu, Zn, and Ni (200.0, 14.5, 9.5, and 0.6 mg/L, respectively). Using the SSD and physiological sensitivity (S) approaches, it was demonstrated that A. franciscana is relatively tolerant to Cd (SSD= HC99; S = 2.21), Cu (SSD= HC97; S = 2.00), Zn (SSD= HC90; S = 1.29) and Ni (SSD= HC83; S = 0.96) compared with other species and taxonomic groups. It appears that tolerance to the metals Cd, Cu, Zn and Ni is unique to the family Artemiidae within the order Anostraca, as the families Streptocephalidae and Thamnocephalidae are not tolerant (have negative S values). Our study confirmed that as expected, A. franciscana presents higher tolerance to Cd, Cu, Zn, and Ni than other aquatic animals. Our findings confirm that A. franciscana can be used as a model organism to understand mechanisms involved in tolerance to heavy metals, mainly Cd and Cu, which are considered highly toxic to other animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Pinto
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Oceanografia Biológica, Instituto de Oceanografia (IO), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Av. Itália Km 8, Rio Grande, RS, 96203-900, Brazil
| | - Juliano Zanette
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Oceanografia Biológica, Instituto de Oceanografia (IO), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Av. Itália Km 8, Rio Grande, RS, 96203-900, Brazil; Instituto de Ciências Biológicas (ICB), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Av. Itália Km 8, Rio Grande, RS, 96203-900, Brazil.
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Wang W, Lin C, Wang L, Jiang R, Huang H, Liu Y, Lin H. Contamination, sources and health risks of potentially toxic elements in the coastal multimedia environment of South China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 862:160735. [PMID: 36493820 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Coastal ecosystems are vulnerable to the accumulation of potentially toxic elements (PTEs), which pose a threat to marine ecosystems and human health. In this study, the concentrations of eight PTEs in a typical area of South China were analysed, and their distributions, seasonal variations, pollution degrees, potential health risks and sources in seawater, sediment and organisms were evaluated. The comprehensive pollution index (CPI), pollution load index (PLI), potential ecological risk index (PERI) and target hazard quotient (THQ) were applied to assess seawater, sediment and organism quality, respectively. The annual mean concentrations of Zn, Hg, Cr and As in the bottom seawater were higher than those in the surface water while those of Pb, Mn and Cu were higher in the surface seawater. The mean content of Hg was higher than the corresponding background value of that in China Shelf Sea sediment. Marine organisms have a high enrichment capacity for Cu, Zn, Cr, Hg, As and Mn in seawater. Based on CPI, the seawater was generally not polluted by PTEs. The PLI and PERI results demonstrated that Hg was the main contamination element in surface sediment. The total target hazard quotient (TTHQ) analysis illustrated that long-term consumption of some fish by children poses a noncarcinogenic health risk, while that risk to adults is negligible. Natural sources, agricultural activity sources, coal burning and industrial emission sources were the main sources of the PTEs in surface sediments according to positive matrix factorization (PMF) model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weili Wang
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Cai Lin
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China.
| | - Lingqing Wang
- Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Ronggen Jiang
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Haining Huang
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Yang Liu
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Hui Lin
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
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9
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Silva C, Cachada A, Gonçalves FJM, Nannou C, Lambropoulou D, Patinha C, Abrantes N, Pereira JL. Chemical characterization of riverine sediments affected by wastewater treatment plant effluent discharge. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 839:156305. [PMID: 35636541 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Revised: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This study was aimed at assessing the contribution of wastewater treatment effluents to the contamination profile of the sediments of receiving waterways. Three wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) were addressed, encompassing different population equivalent sizes, urbanization degrees and treatment methods translating differences in expected contamination patterns. Within each WWTP system, the assessment targeted the effluent and sediment samples collected upstream and downstream the effluent discharge point; contaminants belonging to several concerning chemical classes (metals and metalloids; pesticides; pharmaceuticals and personal care products, PPCPs; and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs) were quantified both in effluent and sediment samples. Clear associations between contaminants present in the effluent and corresponding sediment samples were not always verified. In fact, a noticeable difference between the number or abundance of contaminants detected in effluents and in sediments, suggesting that effluents are not always the most likely source (e.g. PAHs). However, sediment contaminants that were likely sourced by the effluents were also identified (e.g. PPCPs). Sediment analysis offers an important historical view of contamination, especially in flowing recipient ecosystems where any characterization over the water matrix is ephemeral and linking exclusively to the moment of sampling. Hence, sediments should be considered for the establishment of WWTP operational benchmarks regulating the emission of contaminants, which is currently focused mostly on effluent composition thus potentially over/underestimating the longer-term impact of effluent discharge in the recipient waterways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Silva
- CESAM - Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Portugal; Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Anabela Cachada
- CIIMAR-UP, Novo Edifício Do Terminal de Cruzeiros Do Porto de Leixões, Matosinhos, Portugal
| | - Fernando J M Gonçalves
- CESAM - Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Portugal; Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Christina Nannou
- Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Balkan Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Dimitra Lambropoulou
- Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Balkan Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Carla Patinha
- Department of Geosciences & GEOBIOTEC, University of Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Nelson Abrantes
- CESAM - Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Portugal; Department of Environment and Planning, University of Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Joana Luísa Pereira
- CESAM - Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Portugal; Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Portugal.
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Guan Q, Liu Z, Shao W, Tian J, Luo H, Ni F, Shan Y. Probabilistic risk assessment of heavy metals in urban farmland soils of a typical oasis city in northwest China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 833:155096. [PMID: 35398134 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies lacked quantitative evaluation studies of the probability of ecology and human health risks from soil heavy metals. This study assessed heavy metal risk level by collecting topsoil samples from a typical oasis city (Wuwei) in northwest China and then quantitatively evaluating the ecological risk from heavy metals by incorporating the uncertainty of health risk model parameters into the risk assessment. This study found that anthropogenic activities have influenced the accumulation of heavy metals in the study area and that the risk of contamination of soil heavy metals was characterized as light to moderate contamination and low ecological risk. On this basis, the species sensitivity distribution curves of heavy metals were constructed using species acute toxicity data, the predicted no effect concentrations of heavy metals were derived, and a probabilistic ecological risk evaluation was conducted. The results show that the current soil environmental quality standards in China are not effective in protecting species diversity. In addition, the probability of ecological risk for Cr, Ni and As in the study area was 63.3%, 23.8% and 7.1%, however, traditional pollution assessment methods underestimate the hazard of Cr. Monte Carlo simulations have shown that the probability of the carcinogenic risk of Cr (adults: 79.4%; children: 94.5%) and As (adults: 78.9%; children: 94.0%) is high, the probability of the total carcinogenic risk exceeding 1E-06 is 99.0%, the probability of the non-carcinogenic risk is low, and the slope factor and reference dose can significantly affect the evaluation of human health risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingyu Guan
- Gansu Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Prediction and Control, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
| | - Zhan Liu
- Gansu Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Prediction and Control, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Wenyan Shao
- Gansu Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Prediction and Control, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Jing Tian
- Gansu Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Prediction and Control, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Haiping Luo
- Gansu Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Prediction and Control, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Fei Ni
- Gansu Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Prediction and Control, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Yuxin Shan
- Gansu Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Prediction and Control, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
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Arambawatta-Lekamge SH, Pathiratne A, Rathnayake IVN. Sensitivity of freshwater organisms to cadmium and copper at tropical temperature exposures: Derivation of tropical freshwater ecotoxicity thresholds using species sensitivity distribution analysis. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2021; 211:111891. [PMID: 33485013 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.111891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Revised: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Tropical freshwater ecosystems are increasingly influenced by chemical stressors including heavy metals posing threats to biodiversity. Adequate ecotoxicity data are not available for native tropical freshwater species for deriving water quality guidelines and for conducting ecological risk assessments. Objectives of this study were (i) to generate freshwater ecotoxicity data for cadmium (Cd) and copper (Cu) for tropical temperature exposures using standard laboratory bioassays with selected freshwater species and (ii) to derive ecotoxicity thresholds (protection concentrations, PC) for tropical freshwater life based on 'tropical temperature-specific exposure' ecotoxicity data. Estimated final chronic toxicity values of the six species tested in the study indicate that the most sensitive species was the crustacean, Moina macrocopa for both metals while the algae Chlorella vulgaris and the plant Lemna perpusilla showed highest tolerance to Cd and Cu respectively. Tropical temperature-specific exposure (25-30 °C) was used as the decision criterion for deriving ecotoxicity thresholds of Cd and Cu for protection of tropical freshwater life based on species sensitivity distribution analysis of the final chronic toxicity data sets which included published toxicity data of selected species in addition to the six species tested in this study. The derived PC99, PC95, PC90 and PC80 values for protection of tropical freshwater life under chronic exposure are 0.5, 1.2, 1.9 and 3.5 μg/L for Cd and 0.34, 0.84, 1.4 and 2.6 μg/L for Cu respectively. These derived threshold chronic values (PC99 and PC95) indicate that the established freshwater quality guidelines based on temperate species for Cu may not provide sufficient protection of the freshwater species in the tropics while the available freshwater guidelines for Cd would provide adequate protection for the tropical freshwater species. The tropical freshwater ecotoxicity thresholds derived in this study may be used with some caution as reference points for site specific ecological risk assessments in the tropics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Asoka Pathiratne
- Department of Zoology and Environmental Management, University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya 11600, Sri Lanka.
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Umbría-Salinas K, Valero A, Martins SE, Wallner-Kersanach M. Copper ecological risk assessment using DGT technique and PNEC: A case study in the Brazilian coast. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2021; 403:123918. [PMID: 33264970 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Estuarine systems are vulnerable to metals stress, such as copper (Cu). Thus, the development of applicable tools to improve routine monitoring programs is increasingly necessary. In the present work a comprehensive Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) was implemented by coupling the Measured Environmental Concentration (MEC), based on labile Cu (DGT) and the total dissolved Cu concentration. Additionally, toxicity data related to site-specific Predicted No Effect Concentration (PNEC) were used. As case study, estuarine areas were selected on Brazilian coast, previously reported as Cu release in shipyard areas. The results indicated an increase in concentrations of dissolved and labile Cu during the application of antifouling paints. In locations where more vessels in maintenance were found, the concentration of Cu-DGT exceeded the PNEC value (0.16 μg.L-1) and represented an important part of the total dissolved fraction (>93 %). The MEC/PNEC quotients, showed that shipyard areas represent a high ecological risk. Thus, it is highlighted the need for site-specific environmental assessments to manage complex ecosystems and set in environmental legislation. Consequently, the novel coupling of DGT technique and the derivation of a site-specific PNEC represent an easily applicable tool as an alternative to classical ERAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karelys Umbría-Salinas
- Laboratório de Hidroquímica, Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade Federal de Rio Grande, 96203-000, Brazil; Biology Centre CAS, Soil and Water Research Infrastructure, 370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Astolfo Valero
- Laboratório de Hidroquímica, Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade Federal de Rio Grande, 96203-000, Brazil; Biology Centre CAS, Soil and Water Research Infrastructure, 370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Samantha Eslava Martins
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Rio Grande, 96203-000, Brazil; Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), NO-0349, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Mônica Wallner-Kersanach
- Laboratório de Hidroquímica, Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade Federal de Rio Grande, 96203-000, Brazil
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Kanwar VS, Sharma A, Srivastav AL, Rani L. Phytoremediation of toxic metals present in soil and water environment: a critical review. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2020; 27:44835-44860. [PMID: 32981020 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-10713-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Heavy metals are one of the most hazardous inorganic contaminants of both water and soil environment composition. Normally, heavy metals are non-biodegradable in nature because of their long persistence in the environment. Trace amounts of heavy metal contamination may pose severe health problems in human beings after prolonged consumption. Many instrumental techniques such as atomic absorption spectrophotometry, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, X-ray fluorescence, neutron activation analysis, etc. have been developed to determine their concentration in water as well as in the soil up to ppm, ppb, or ppt levels. Recent advances in these techniques along with their respective advantages and limitations are being discussed in the present paper. Moreover, some possible remedial phytoremediation approaches (phytostimulation, phytoextraction, phyotovolatilization, rhizofiltration, phytostabilization) have been presented for the removal of the heavy metal contamination from the water and soil environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Varinder Singh Kanwar
- Chitkara University School of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, 174103, India
| | - Ajay Sharma
- Chitkara University School of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, 174103, India
| | - Arun Lal Srivastav
- Chitkara University School of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, 174103, India.
| | - Lata Rani
- School of Basic Sciences, Chitkara University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, 174103, India
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Wang Z, Shen Q, Hua P, Jiang S, Li R, Li Y, Fan G, Zhang J, Krebs P. Characterizing the anthropogenic-induced trace elements in an urban aquatic environment: A source apportionment and risk assessment with uncertainty consideration. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2020; 275:111288. [PMID: 32866925 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The spatial distribution of water quality status, especially in water bodies near intensively urbanized areas, is tightly associated with patterns of human activities. For establishing a robust assessment of the sediment quality in an urban aquatic environment, the source apportionment and risk assessment of Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Hg, and Pb in sediments from an anthropogenic-influenced lake were carried out with considering uncertainties from the analysis methods, random errors in the sample population and the spatial sediment heterogeneity. The distribution analysis of the trace metals with inverse distance weighting-determined method showed that the pollutants were concentrated in the middle and southern areas of the lake. According to the self-organizing map and constrained positive matrix factorization receptor model, agricultural sources (24.8%), industrial and vehicular sources (42.5%), and geogenic natural sources (32.7%) were the primary contributors to the given metals. The geogenic natural had the largest random errors, but the overall result was reliable according to the uncertainty analysis. Furthermore, the stochastic contamination and ecological risk models identified a moderate/considerable contamination level and a moderate ecological risk to the urban aquatic ecosystem. With consideration of uncertainties from the spatial heterogeneity, the contamination level of Hg, and the ecological risk of Cd in had a 20-30% probability of the increase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenyu Wang
- SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Environmental Theoretical Chemistry, South China Normal University, 510006, Guangzhou, China; School of Environment, South China Normal University, University Town, Guangzhou 510006, China; Institute of Urban and Industrial Water Management, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | - Qiushi Shen
- Institute of Urban and Industrial Water Management, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany; State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China; Department of Lake Research, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Magdeburg, 39114, Germany; Sino-Africa Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430074, China; East Africa Great Lakes and Urban Ecosystem Joint Research Station, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dar es Salaam P.O. Box, 9750, Tanzania
| | - Pei Hua
- SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Environmental Theoretical Chemistry, South China Normal University, 510006, Guangzhou, China; School of Environment, South China Normal University, University Town, Guangzhou 510006, China.
| | - Shanshan Jiang
- Sino-Africa Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Ruifei Li
- Institute of Urban and Industrial Water Management, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | - Yunben Li
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China; College of Civil Engineering, Fuzhou University, 350108, Fuzhou, China
| | - Gongduan Fan
- College of Civil Engineering, Fuzhou University, 350108, Fuzhou, China
| | - Jin Zhang
- Institute of Groundwater and Earth Sciences, Jinan University, 510632, Guangzhou, China
| | - Peter Krebs
- Institute of Urban and Industrial Water Management, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
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15
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Choudri BS, Al-Nasiri N, Charabi Y, Al-Awadhi T. Ecological and human health risk assessment. WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH : A RESEARCH PUBLICATION OF THE WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION 2020; 92:1440-1446. [PMID: 32568420 DOI: 10.1002/wer.1382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The literature review presented in this paper includes the ecological and human health risk assessment in the form of receptors in the environment. The main objective of this review to highlight a summary of the many studies undertaken in the year 2019. The first part of the review covers the papers published on the health risk assessment related to human and ecological health. This article focuses on methods and tools utilized for the analysis of scientific studies and the data. The review provides main issues such as interpretation of data, uncertainty, and policies related to the management of risks. The ecological and human health risk assessment is divided into two main sections. Each of these sections presents in broad the risk assessment process namely pollution studies, remediation, and tools required for the management of natural resources and the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- B S Choudri
- Center for Environmental Studies and Research, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
| | - Noura Al-Nasiri
- Center for Environmental Studies and Research, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
- Department of Geography, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
| | - Yassine Charabi
- Center for Environmental Studies and Research, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
| | - Talal Al-Awadhi
- Department of Geography, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
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Derivation of Predicted No Effect Concentrations (PNECs) for Heavy Metals in Freshwater Organisms in Korea Using Species Sensitivity Distributions (SSDs). MINERALS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/min10080697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Natural and artificial heavy metal exposure to the environment requires finding thresholds to protect aquatic ecosystems from the toxicity of heavy metals. The threshold is commonly called a predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) and is thought to protect most organisms in an ecosystem from a chemical. PNEC is derived by applying a large assessment factor (AF) to the toxicity value of the most sensitive organism to a chemical or by developing a species sensitivity distribution (SSD), which is a cumulative distribution function with many toxicity data for a chemical of diverse organisms. This study developed SSDs and derived PNECs using toxicity data of organisms living in Korea for four heavy metals: copper (Cd), cadmium (Cu), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn). Five distribution models were considered with log-transformed toxicity data, and their fitness and uncertainty were investigated. As a result, the normal distribution and Gumbel distribution fit the data well. In contrast, the Weibull distribution poorly accounted for the data at the lower tails for all of the heavy metals. The hazardous concentration for 5% of species (HC5) derived from the most suitable model for each heavy metal was calculated to be the preferred PNEC by AF 2 or AF 3. PNECs, obtained through a suitable SSD model with resident species and reasonable AF, will help protect freshwater organisms in Korea from heavy metals.
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Ranking Ecological Risk of Metals to Freshwater Organisms in Lake Taihu, China. J CHEM-NY 2020. [DOI: 10.1155/2020/2536207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to the persistence and the high toxicity of metals to many aquatic organisms, metals in aquatic ecosystems have attracted considerable attention. The objective of the present study was to rank metals in Lake Taihu based on the threat they pose to aquatic organisms. The method involved the assessment of the risks of metals to native aquatic organisms and the potential influence of concentration distributions. Both quotient and probabilistic methods were used to rank the risks of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper (Cu), mercury, manganese, nickel (Ni), lead, and zinc (Zn). Based on the probabilistic method, Cu, Ni, and Zn were the metals of great concern, with Cu posing the highest risk.
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