Determination of phytotoxicity and cytogenotoxicity due to exposure to particles originating from sugarcane burning using test systems Lactuca sativa L. and Allium cepa L.

The honeybee is a good biological indicator that quickly reflects chemical impairment of the environment by its high mortality and the presence of pollutants in its body or in beehive products. In this work the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and honey were used to detect the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in several areas with different degrees of environmental pollution. All sampling sites showed the presence of PAHs. Benzo(a)pyrene was never detected. Fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, benz(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, and benzo(k)fluoranthene were the PAHs detected in bees, whereas the honey contained only phenanthrene, anthracene, and chrysene. Phenanthrene showed the highest mean values in honeybees and honey. Independent from the season and location the pattern of PAHs in honeybees and honey was dominated by the presence of the lowest molecular weight PAHs. Furthermore, the mean PAH concentrations in honey samples were lower than those reported in honeybees, and no positive correlation was found between the compounds detected in bees and those in honey.

Occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in smoked cheese.

ABSTRACTDue to concerns about adverse health effects associated with inhalation of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 30 ambient air samples were obtained at an air quality monitoring station in Palm Beach County, Florida, from March 2013 to March 2014. The ambient PAH concentration measurements and fractional emission rates of known sources were incorporated into a chemical mass balance model, CMB8.2, developed by EPA, to apportion contributions of three major PAH sources including preharvest sugarcane burning, mobile vehicles, and wildland fires. Strong association between the number of benzene rings and source contribution was found, and mobile vehicles were identified to be the prevailing source (contribution ≥56%) for the observed PAHs concentration with lower molecular weights (four or fewer benzene rings) throughout the year. Preharvest sugarcane burning was the primary contributing source for PAHs with relatively higher molecular weights (five or more benzene rings) during the sugarcane burning season (from October to May of the next year). Source contribution of wildland fires varied among PAH compounds but was consistently lower than for sugarcane burning during the sugarcane harvest season. Determining the major sources responsible for ground-level PAHs serves as a tool to improving management strategies for PAH emitting sources and a step toward better protection of the health of residents in terms of exposure to PAHs. The results obtain insight into temporal dominance of PAH polluting sources for those residential areas located near sugarcane burning facilities and have implications beyond Palm Beach County, in areas with high concerns of PAHs and their linked sources.Implications: Source apportionment of atmospheric polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Palm Beach County, Florida, meant to estimate contributions of major sources in PAH concentrations measured at Belle Glade City of Palm Beach County. Number of benzene rings was found to be the key parameter in determining the source with the prevailing contribution. Mobile vehicle sources showed a higher contribution for species with four or fewer benzene rings, whereas sugarcane burning contributed more for species with five or more benzene rings. Results from this study encourage more control for sugarcane burns and help to better manage authorization of the sugarcane burning incidents and more restrictive transportation plans to limit PAH emissions from mobile vehicles.

Pre-harvest sugarcane burning emission inventories based on remote sensing data in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

A method for determining the possible presence of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum waxes is based o n the maximum absorbance within four wavelength ranges of an extract prepared by chromatography. The procedure involves chromatography on silica gel and partition of the adsorbate between cyclohexane and nitromethane, followed, if necessary, by a second chromatography on silica gel impregnated with nitromethane.

Effects on the composition and structural properties of the humified organic matter of soil in sugarcane strawburning: A chronosequence study in the Brazilian Cerrado of Goiás State

Speciation and source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) in sediments of the largest salt water lake of Australia.

Assessing phytotoxicity and cyto-genotoxicity of two insecticides using a battery of in-vitro biological assays.

The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in medicinal plants may result in health risk to consumers, which are generally hoping that a natural remedy may be helpful in the healing process. Contamination of herbal teas with PAHs can occur as a result of environmental pollution as well as during processing (in some drying or preservation stages that allow combustion products to come into contact with medicinal plants). This research fits into current concerns directed towards establishing the PAHs’ contamination level of plant resources, the focus being on the priority PAHs as established by the US Environmental Protection Agency’s and by the European Union. In this study, the PAHs’ content of several commercial herbal teas brands (basil, chamomile, mulberry, plantain, dandelion, mint, St. John's wort, black locust, common elder, lime, marigold and fennel) was assessed by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using an Agilent 1100 system with fluorescence and photodiode array detectors. The obtained data revealed that: 1) the maximum overall PAH’s contamination in the studied herbal teas was recorded for dandelion (131.15 mg/ kg), mulberry (27.78 mg/ kg) and St.John’s wort (18.28 mg/ kg), all of these exposing high surface area of leaves; 2)from the 15 tracked PAHs, only three were present in all samples (acenaphthene, fluorene and benzo(b)fluoranthene), while anthracene and benzo(g,h,i)perylene were quantified in only two samples; 3) the maximum levels of individual PAHs were recorded in dandelion: 30.79 ppb naphthalene, 28.91 mg/ kg pyrene, 23.79 mg/ kg phenanthrene and 10.28 mg/ kg benzo(b)fluoranthene. 4) the lowest PAHs concentrations were recorded in basil and fennel (1,96 and 2.20 mg/ kg), these being the least contaminated also in terms of PAH’s range (only 7 from the 15 studied PAHs).

Load of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Edible Vegetable Oils: Importance of Alkylated Derivatives

The removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from marine sediments using persulfate over a nano-sized iron composite of magnetite and carbon black activator

Cachaça may be contaminated by a remarkable presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) when the sugar cane crop used for its production is burned before harvesting. The analysis of 15 PAHs by liquid chromatography coupled to a fluorescence detector in 131 cachaça samples from burned and nonburned sugar cane crops is reported. Average contents of 21.1 and 1.91 microg L(-1) for total PAHs were observed for cachaças originating from burned and nonburned sugar cane plantations, respectively. The main difference between these two classes of cachaças is in the quantitative profile of the most potent carcinogenic PAH, benzo[a]pyrene, which is more abundant in cachaça produced from burned sugar cane crops (4.54 x 10(-2) microg L(-1)) than in cachaça produced from nonburned crops (9.02 x 10(-3) microg L(-1)). The contents of benzo[a]pyrene in both classes of cachaça are lower than the legal limit established by the European Union (EU) at 2.00 microg L(-1) for food products. In relation to the total PAH content suggested by the German Society for Fat Science, both cachaças from burned (21.1 microg L(-1)) and nonburned crops (1.91 microg L(-1)) are below the limit (25 microg L(-1)) for total PAH content. The analytical data for PAHs, when treated through the multivariate statistical methods principal component analysis and canonical discriminant analysis, provide a very good distinction between samples produced from burned and nonburned sugar cane crops with a certainty of 98.1%.

The microbiota presents in sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) straw can have benefits to produce sustainable crops, also can be used for the development of alternative processes to produce molecules of industrial interest and valorization of biomass and residues unexploited. Therefore, the objective of the present work was the isolation of the fungal microbiota present in the sugarcane straw (CP 72-2082) and its capacity to produce hydrolytic enzymes. The fungal microbiota was isolated by sampling for four months one sampling for month the straw in fields of the "El Potrero" sugar mill in the Veracruz state, Mexico, and soil was also sampled to determine the effect of straw chili on the organic matter content. Furthermore, the capacity of the strains to produce xylanases and cellulases was determined in a Petri dish using birch xylan and carboxymethylcellulose as substrates. Thirty-four strains were isolated from the samples, in all was identified the genera Trichoderma, Fusarium in three and Aspergillus and Penicillum in two. The results indicate that if sugarcane straw is reincorporated into soils where sugarcane is grown, it can have a beneficial impact, 22 isolated strains showed the ability to produce hydrolytic enzymes. The organic matter content in the soils with both shredded and unshredded crop residues showed that chili does not present a benefit to the soil but can contribute beneficial fungal microbiota for various purposes.

This work evaluates the performance of activated carbon obtained from sugarcane straw (SCAC) as an adsorbent for polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in model wastewater. Two commercial samples of activated carbons with different textural properties were also studied for comparison. The activated carbon prepared from sugarcane straw presents a well-developed porosity with a high surface area, which was comparable to that of one of the commercial samples studied. For all the studied carbons, adsorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetics, and the higher rate constants were found for the SCAC sample for the four PAHs. Sips and Hill isotherms best fitted the adsorption equilibrium data of the PAHs on all activated carbons investigated. The activated carbon obtained from sugarcane straw (SCAC) presented a higher adsorption capacity (2.08 mmol g−1 for naphthalene, 1.26 mmol g−1 for fluorene, 1.14 mmol g−1 for phenanthrene, and 0.98 mmol g−1 for fluoranthene) when compared to the commercial carbon samples studied in this work as well as for those related in the literature. It confirms that its use of SCAC as an adsorbent for PAHs is a promising application for the valorization of this biomass waste.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in indoor air and dust samples of different Saudi microenvironments; health and carcinogenic risk assessment for the general population