River Contamination Research Articles

Natural disasters and infectious disease in Europe: a literature review to identify cascading risk pathways.

BackgroundNatural disasters are increasing in their frequency and complexity. Understanding how their cascading effects can lead to infectious disease outbreaks is important for developing cross-sectoral preparedness strategies. The review focussed on earthquakes and floods because of their importance in Europe and their potential to elucidate the pathways through which natural disasters can lead to infectious disease outbreaks.MethodsA systematic literature review complemented by a call for evidence was conducted to identify earthquake or flooding events in Europe associated with potential infectious disease events.ResultsThis review included 17 peer-reviewed papers that reported on suspected and confirmed infectious disease outbreaks following earthquakes (4 reports) or flooding (13 reports) in Europe. The majority of reports related to food- and water-borne disease. Eleven studies described the cascading effect of post-disaster outbreaks. The most reported driver of disease outbreaks was heavy rainfall, which led to cross-connections between water and other environmental systems, leading to the contamination of rivers, lakes, springs and water supplies. Exposure to contaminated surface water or floodwater following flooding, exposure to animal excreta and post-disaster living conditions were among other reported drivers of outbreaks.ConclusionsThe cascade effects of natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods, include outbreaks of infectious disease. The projection that climate change-related extreme weather events will increase in Europe in the coming century highlights the importance of strengthening preparedness planning and measures to mitigate and control outbreaks in post-disaster settings.

Sulfonamides-induced oxidative stress in freshwater microalga Chlorella vulgaris: Evaluation of growth, photosynthesis, antioxidants, ultrastructure, and nucleic acids

Sulfadiazine (SD), sulfamerazine (SM1), and sulfamethazine (SM2) are widely used and disorderly discharged into surface water, causing contamination of lakes and rivers. However, microalgae are regard as a potential resource to alleviate and degrade antibiotic pollution. The physiological changes of Chlorella vulgaris in the presence of three sulfonamides (SAs) with varying numbers of –CH3 groups and its SA-removal efficiency were investigated following a 7-day exposure experiment. Our results showed that the growth inhibitory effect of SD (7.9–22.6%), SM1 (7.2–45.9%), and SM2 (10.3–44%) resulted in increased proteins and decreased soluble sugars. Oxidative stress caused an increase in superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase levels but decreased catalase level. The antioxidant responses were insufficient to cope-up with reactive oxygen species (hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anion) levels and prevent oxidative damage (malondialdehyde level). The ultrastructure and DNA of SA-treated algal cells were affected, as evident from the considerable changes in the cell wall, chloroplast, and mitochondrion, and DNA migration. C. vulgaris-mediated was able to remove up to 29% of SD, 16% of SM1, and 15% of SM2. Our results suggest that certain concentrations of specific antibiotics may induce algal growth, and algal-mediated biodegradation process can accelerate the removal of antibiotic contamination.

NANOPARTICLES IN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS – FROM PRODUCTION TO WATER TREATMENT: A REVIEW

Investments in nanotechnology are increasing together with its application in daily products. The use of nanomaterials leads to their release in the environment and the contamination of rivers, which can cause toxicity to the aquatic biota and human beings. Nanomaterials are present in rivers of several countries. However, the detection of nanomaterials in river samples is difficult, so probabilistic methods are being developed to determine their concentration in aquatic environments. Fortunately, water treatments have proven to be effective in removing these nanomaterials. Therefore, the present study aimed to describe the many pathways that nanoparticles can follow from their production to their final destination, along with their possible detection and toxicity, based on the search of manuscripts from ScienceDirect, Wiley Online Library, and Periódicos Capes databases.

Evaluation of Geochemical Characteristics of Groundwater in Parts of Ghataprabha Sub-basin Using DRASTIC Indices

Abstract Ghataprabha is an auxiliary of river Krishna and flows over Chandgad taluk of Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. Bauxite mining was one of the major issues in this part of the sub-basin, in the early ’90s due to which there was a strong public protest about the quality of water. Accordingly, a survey was conducted to get the public perception on water pollution in the headwater catchment of Ghataprabha sub-basin. During the survey, a broad opinion was expressed with regard to water quality contamination of Ghataprabha river by a section of the society living in the riparian zones of the river basin. Therefore, in this paper, an effort has been done to understand the in variation in water quality with special reference to groundwater. Thirty-eight groundwater samples (nineteen each from before and after rainy season) were assembled and analysed for EC, TDS, pH, chlorine ion HCO3, SO4, PO4, Ca, Mg, Na and K. The values have shown that the density of all measured factors is broadly within the permissible limits (as per BIS Standards), before and after-monsoon. The present observations do compared with the earlier reported parameters of the year 2000. The results show that there is a betterment of water quality in the mining field as compared to previous data. This clearly demonstrates that the mining area can be reclaimed over the years by taking appropriate conservation measures. However, ionic ratios such as SAR, KR and SSP showed considerable variations indicating that there is localised impact on water quality resulting in the groundwater pollution. DRASTIC indices were computed based on hydrogeological characteristics and found that more than 30% of the observatory wells are contaminated where the nitrates are very high (more than 45mg/L) which clearly demonstrated that groundwater is getting polluted in high intense agriculture areas and also in areas close to settlements.

Effects of chronic exposure to a pharmaceutical mixture on the three-spined stickleback (gasterosteus aculeatus) population dynamics in lotic mesocosms

Pharmaceutical substances are ubiquitous in the aquatic environment and their concentration levels typically range from ng/L up to several μg/L. Furthermore, as those compounds are designed to be highly biologically active, assessing their impacts on non-target organisms is important. Here, we conducted a mesocosm experiment testing a mixture of five pharmaceuticals (diclofenac, carbamazepine, irbesartan, acetaminophen and naproxen) on fish, three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). The mixture concentration levels were chosen on the basis of the contamination of the Meuse river in Belgium which had been measured previously during a monitoring campaign undertaken in 2015 and 2016. Three nominal mixture concentration levels were tested: the lowest concentration level mixture was composed by environmentally-relevant concentrations that approximate average realistic values for each pharmaceuticals (Mx1); the two other levels were 10 and 100 times these concentrations. Although no impact on stickleback prey was observed, the mixture significantly impaired the survival of female fish introduced in the mesocosms at the highest treatment level without causing other major differences on fish population structure. Impacts on condition factors of adults and juveniles were also observed at both individual and population levels. Using a modelling approach with an individual-based model coupled to a bioenergetic model (DEB-IBM), we concluded that chronic exposure to environmentally-relevant concentrations of five pharmaceuticals often detected in the rivers did not appear to strongly affect the three-spined stickleback populations. Mechanisms of population regulation may have counteracted the mixture impacts in the mesocosms.

Spatiotemporal variation in occurrence and co-occurrence of pesticides, hormones, and other organic contaminants in rivers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, United States

Investigating the spatiotemporal dynamics of contaminants in surface water is crucial to better understand how introduced chemicals are interacting with and potentially influencing aquatic organisms and environments. Within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, United States, there are concerns about the potential role of contaminant exposure on fish health. Evidence suggests that exposure to contaminants in surface water is causing immunosuppression and intersex in freshwater fish species. Despite these concerns, there is a paucity of information regarding the complex dynamics of contaminant occurrence and co-occurrence in surface water across both space and time. To address these concerns, we applied a Bayesian hierarchical joint-contaminant model to describe the occurrence and co-occurrence patterns of 28 contaminants and total estrogenicity across six river sites and over three years. We found that seasonal occurrence patterns varied by contaminant, with the highest occurrence probabilities during the spring and summer months. Additionally, we found that the proportion of agricultural landcover in the immediate catchment, as well as stream discharge, did not have a significant effect on the occurrence probabilities of most compounds. Four pesticides (atrazine, metolachlor, fipronil and simazine) co-occurred across sites after accounting for environmental covariates. These results provide baseline information on the contaminant occurrence patterns of several classes of compounds within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of contaminants in surface water is the first step in investigating the effects of contaminant exposure on fisheries and aquatic environments.

Water quality and impacting factors on heavy metals levels in Shatt Al-Arab River, Basra, Iraq

The aim of this study was to evaluate the water quality of Shatt Al-Arab River (SAR) and investigate the influences on the variations of heavy metals levels. The surface water and bed sediments samples at four stations have been collected (4 months) during 2017–2018, and seven heavy metals (Ni2+, Cr3+, Pb2+, As3+, Hg2+, U4+ and Cd2+), as well as 11 parameters including total dissolved solids, the concentration of hydrogen ions, dissolved oxygen, nitrate, chlorides, turbidity, total hardness, electrical conductivity and alkalinity were investigated. The results indicated that the water quality in the SAR depend on the combined effects of natural and anthropogenic factors. The variation of water quality of SAR influenced by the chemical ions inflow from the Tigris River and the marine salt from Arabian Gulf. The highest value of TDS was in S4 it reached to 42,844 mg/l. The results showed that most of the ions increase their concentration by more than 200%, especially in summer season at Fao area due to the effect of the seawater intrusions. In comparison to the sediments, low concentrations and a uniform distribution of most metals were observed in the river water. The river sediments were polluted with heavy metals, while pollution levels in the water were still within permissible limits for drinking, irrigation and aquatic life. These findings indicated that the major sources of river contamination with heavy metals were the atmospheric deposit of gaseous emissions from oil production and electric generators and the surface runoff from agricultural areas after rainfall. Additionally, the tide greatly controls the distribution heavy metals in the river.

Evaluating a parsimonious watershed model versus SWAT to estimate streamflow, soil loss and river contamination in two case studies in Tietê river basin, São Paulo, Brazil

Study regionThe Atibaia and Jacaré-Guaçu watersheds from the Tietê river basin, São Paulo, Brazil. Study focusThis study aims to compare estimates of flow, sediment yield and nutrients loads obtained from two distinct models with different structures and degree of complexity. The Generalized Watershed Loading Function (GWLF) and the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). We are particularly interested in understanding under which conditions the use of each model is to be recommended, namely when does the addition effort required to run the SWAT model leads to effective better results. As SWAT’s calibration procedure is cumbersome, the advantage of using a more detailed and distributed model fails to materialize when detailed data are not available or when monthly estimates are enough. GWLF model provides useful results with a reduced data gathering and calibration effort. New hydrological insights of the regionThe joint calibration of both models to two watersheds offered a robust set of parameter values for prevalent conditions of Tiête river basin given the existing data set, although not all modelled variables are reproduced accurately. The performance of both models is adequate when estimating streamflow at a monthly time, but decreases when estimating daily flow, sediment yield, and nutrients loads. The poor monitoring of sediments and nutrients concentration hinders the ability to fully calibrate the model’s water quality component.

Impact of anthropogenic activities on the occurrence and distribution of toxic metals, extending-spectra β-lactamases and carbapenem resistance in sub-Saharan African urban rivers

The occurrence and dissemination of toxic metals, antibiotic resistant bacteria and their resistance genes (ARGs) in the aquatic ecosystems of sub-Saharan African countries are still understudied, despite their potential to threat human health and aquatic organisms. In this context, the co-contamination and seasonal distribution of toxic metals and ARG in river sediments receiving untreated urban sewages and hospital effluents from Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo were investigated. ARGs including β-lactam resistance (blaCTX-M and blaSHV), carbapenem resistance (blaVIM, blaIMP, blaKPC, blaOXA-48 and blaNDM) and total bacterial load were quantified by using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in total DNA extracted from sediment. The amount of toxic metals in sediments was quantified using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results highlight high abundance of 16S rRNA and ARGs copy numbers in sediment samples. Strong pollution of rivers by toxic metals was found, with max values (mg kg−1) of 81.85(Cr), 5.09(Co), 33.84(Ni), 203.46 (Cu), 1055.92(Zn), 324.24(Pb) and 2.96(Hg). Results also highlight the high abundance of bacterial markers (8.06 × 109-2.42 × 1012 16S rRNA/g−1 DS) as well as antibiotic resistance genes (up to 4.58 × 108 ARG. g−1 DS) in the studied rivers. Significant correlations were observed between (i) metals (except Cd and Hg) and organic matter (R > 0.60, p < 0.05); and (ii) ARGs (except blaNDM) and 16S rRNA (R > 0.57, p < 0.05) suggesting a tight link between (i) metal contamination and anthropogenic pressure and (ii) microbial contamination of river and dissemination of antibiotic resistance. Results demonstrated that multi-diffuse pollution originating from human activity contribute to the spread of toxic metals and ARGs into the aquatic ecosystems.

Phytodepuration of Pyroligneous Liquor: A Case Study

Wastewaters generated by the pyrolytic process require treatments to reduce the risks of contamination in rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. Utilizing constructed wetlands is one of the possible approaches according to a Circular Economy System. Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria (PGPB) and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) can improve plant growth and enhance the bioremediation of wastewater. Two experiments were set up: in the first, a pilot mesocosm was designed to evaluate the effects of a consortium of AM fungi and a PGPB strain on Phragmites australis. After 60 days, the highest plant growth was obtained after inoculation with the combination of microorganisms. In the second experiment, a constructed wetland was built to remediate wastewaters from gasification plant. The plants were efficient in scavenging biological oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total fat and oils, hydrocarbons, phenols, aldehydes, surfactants, fluorides, sulfites, sulfates, nitrate, and phosphorus. These data suggest that inoculation of P. australis with AMF and PGPB strains significantly improve the depuration process of wastewaters from gasification plants via constructed wetlands.

Heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants contamination in river, estuary, and marine sediments from Atlantic Coast of Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The pollution assessment and the evaluation of potential risks in the Atlantic Coastal Region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are still very limited. Consequently, the present study investigates for the first time the concentrations of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)) in river, estuary, and marine sediments from this area. The results highlighted high concentrations of Cr, Zn, As, and Pb exceeding the probable effect level (PEL) on aquatic life. Zn was the most dominant element detected at a range of 180-480mgkg-1 in marine sediment, 132-382mgkg-1 in estuary sediment, and 121-687mgkg-1 in river sediment. Total PCBs (∑7 × 4.3) ranged from 1995 to 20,156μgkg-1, 2013-12,058μgkg-1, and 1861-36,417μgkg-1 in marine, estuary, and river sediments, respectively. Total PCBs (∑7 × 4.3) were above PEL for all sediments, suggesting potential adverse effects on benthic organisms. The OCP, PBDE, and PAH levels were low to moderate for all sediments. Taking into consideration, the concentrations of Zn, Pb, PCBs, and DDTs, probable environmental risks, are present.

An investigative study on the ecological risk associated with the release of industrial effluents containing anionic contaminants in Chitrapuzha river, Kerala

An investigative study on the ecological risk associated with the release of industrial effluents containing anionic contaminants in Chitrapuzha river, Kerala

Entrevistas e análise de metais pesados ao longo do rio Doce

Given a panorama of few studies that paralleled the perceptions of people affected by the Fundao dam rupture in Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and the concentrations of heavy metals present in the affected areas along the Doce River, this study aimed to identify this relationship. The methods used were semi-structured interviews with affected people and collection of water and sediment samples from the river along the Rio Doce basin to measure the concentration of heavy metals.The sediment was processed according to EPA 3051-16 (Environmental Protection Agency) method. Heavy metals in the water and sediment were analyzed with ICP-AES (Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectrometry) and AAS (Atomic Absorption Spectrometry) at IGC / UFMG (Institute of Geosciences / Federal University of Minas Gerais) and COPASA (Minas Gerais Sanitation Company). Water samples showed excessive concentrations for Al (aluminum), Fe (iron) and Mn (manganese) in a Class II river according to CONAMA (National Environmental Council, 2009). Sediment samples contained Zn (zinc), Cr (chrome), Cu (copper) and Pb (lead) reversibly connected above the quality reference value according to CETESB (Sao Paulo State Environmental Company, 2005). The interviews were analyzed by the Content Analysis method and pointed to the misinformation of those affected in relation to the heavy metals in the Doce River. The study showed that the mud contributed to the contamination of heavy metals in the affected rivers, mainly by relocation and release of contaminants already existing in sediments. Affected persons should be informed about heavy metal contamination in rivers and soils and about the change in heavy metal concentration over the years

Biochemical and genotoxicity assessment of a polluted urban river using the native fish Astyanax altiparanae Garutti &amp; Britski (Teleostei, Characidae)

Agriculture residues and domestic effluents are contaminants that reach aquatic ecosystems leading to toxic effects to environment and human health. These contaminants impacting mainly developing countries, due to precarious treatment of effluents and lack of legislation in the use of pesticides. Perequê River (South of Brazil) is impacted by pesticides (mainly glyphosate) and domestic effluents. The aims of this study were to analyze the concentration of glyphosate in water and sediments of Perequê River; and to evaluate the sublethal effects of the river contamination in Astyanax altiparanae using biomarkers. A sampling of water, sediment and fish were carried out in Perequê River (November/2016). The samples were collected in two sites, site 1 (S1) that is located on agriculture area and water catchment point; and site 2 (S2) located on the area with a domestic effluents influence. Water and sediment samples were used to glyphosate quantification. Fish were collected and tissues (brain, muscle, liver) were used to biochemical and genetic biomarkers. Glyphosate were quantified in S1, which is impacted by agriculture. Alterations in the liver biomarkers were not observed between the sites. However, the decrease in the AChE activity was observed in the S2, showing that the mixture of contaminants (urban and agriculture contaminants) can lead to anticholinesterasic effects. The sublethal effects observed can be a threat of environmental and human health.

Pesticide contamination of the upper Elbe River and an adjacent floodplain area

PurposePesticide contamination of river waters is a global problem, and therefore, authorities regularly monitor the water quality status. Especially, flood events might transport large pesticide loads downstream and impact adjacent areas such as sensible floodplain environments by deposing particle bound pesticides or by contaminating the environments by dissolved substances directly. Unfortunately, only little attempts were made to quantify the pesticide pollution of such environments, as the monitoring of soil and sediment contamination is by far more time consuming and complicated compared to the analysis of water samples.Materials and methodsIn the study presented, we therefore used a holistic approach starting with the reconstruction of the inundation characteristics of a floodplain located in the upper part of the river Elbe, Germany, by using nearby gauging data, screened databases for pesticide concentrations and calculated pesticide loads, and finally, sampled the floodplain soils along an elevation (inundation) gradient.ResultsAs expected, the reconstructed inundation characteristics showed that the low-lying areas of the backwater inflow of the floodplain were flooded more frequently compared to the areas at higher elevation, whereby even the highest elevations sampled were at least flooded during each decade. Furthermore, pesticide concentrations of the river waters and calculated pesticide loads revealed that 13 pesticides can be found regularly, whereby atrazine, terbuthylazine, metazachlor, metolachlor, isoproturon, and chlorotoluron are the main contaminants.ConclusionConcluding, a spatial pattern in the contamination could be detected. High residues of simazine and ethofumesate were associated with areas of less and more frequent inundations, respectively. The transformation products of atrazine and terbuthylazine (2-hydroxy-atrazine and 2-hydroxy-terbuthylazine) were detected, whereby the quantity could be well explained by the inundation characteristics and pesticide loads of the river water.

Correlation appraisal of antibiotic resistance with fecal, metal and microplastic contamination in a tropical Indian river, lakes and sewage

The present study compares the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) in the urban water of Ahmedabad (India), to understand the correlation of ARB with the fecal, metal, and microplastic contamination. Eleven samples, i.e., three locations of Sabarmati River along with one sample each from two (Chandola and Kankaria) lakes, and influents and effluents from three Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) were analyzed in this study. E. coli isolated from the samples were subjected to three fluoroquinolones (Levofloxacin (LVX), Ciprofloxacin (CIP), and Norfloxacin (NFX)) and three non-fluoroquinolones (Kanamycin Monosulphate (KM), Tetracycline (TC), and Sulfamethoxazole (ST)) antibiotics for resistance quantification. Prevalence of the E. coli in the Sabarmati River (19,467–76,600 cfu mL−1) was higher than the lakes and STP(s), except the influent sample at Juhapura STP. Among the lake samples, Kankaria Lake (KL) exhibited 0% resistance towards all six antibiotics despite 5× prevalence of E. coli than that of Chandola Lake (CL) exhibiting up to 60% resistance for non-fluoroquinolones and 40% resistance to NFX. Multivariate statistical analyses suggest that resistance for ST, KM, and TC is more prevalent and correlated with electrical conductivity (EC), finer size microplastic, manganese (Mn), and nickel (Ni), whereas the resistance for fluoroquinolones (LVX, CIP, and NFX) seems highly influenced by seasonal temperature variation. Larger size microplastic clustered with salinity, ORP, and Pb. Further, fecal contamination and antibiotic resistance seem to be governed by the same source and processes, yet it does not show good correlation except for the river samples. This result may be attributed to the dynamic river–human interface, substantial wastewater discharge into the river, stagnant water flow, and urbanization-related discharge conditions rather than the upstream condition.

Removal of Arsenic Contamination from Gomti River Water by using Activated Charcoal Absorbent Integrated with Solar Distillation Unit

Arsenic is a ubiquitous and short-term poisoning element, which affects living things. In this study, the removal of arsenic from Gomti river water, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh integrated modified double slope solar still with activated adsorption bed has been applied. Arsenic contamination in Gomti river at five places were found in the river water in the range of 55.70 ppb to 681.60 ppb, which exceed the maximum permissible limit of 10 ppb as recommended by WHO. Maximum concentration of arsenic in water was found in Mohan Maekins (681.60 ppb). However, mean arsenic concentration in water followed the order: Gaughat (115.37 ppb) &lt; Hanuman setu (297.80 ppb) &lt; Barrage (302.62 ppb) &lt;Kukrail (336.27 ppb) &lt; Mohan Maekins (481.89 ppb). The amount of adsorbed arsenic was increased with increasing initial concentration of arsenic. The aim of this study is to develop a low-cost process for the removal of arsenic effectively including the production of potable water. After results, data were analyzed with ICP-MS method and also verified with Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models.

Impact of Atrazine Exposure on the Microbial Community Structure in a Brazilian Tropical Latosol Soil.

Atrazine is a triazine herbicide that is widely used to control broadleaf weeds. Its widespread use over the last 50 years has led to the potential contamination of soils, groundwater, rivers, and lakes. Its main route of complete degradation is via biological means, which is carried out by soil microbiota using a 6-step pathway. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether application of atrazine to soil changes the soil bacterial community. We used 16S rRNA gene sequencing and qPCR to elucidate the microbial community structure and assess the abundance of the atrazine degradation genes atzA, atzD, and trzN in a Brazilian soil. The results obtained showed that the relative abundance of atzA and trzN, encoding triazine-initiating metabolism in Gram-negative and -positive bacteria, respectively, increased in soil during the first weeks following the application of atrazine. In contrast, the abundance of atzD, encoding cyanuric acid amidohydrolase—the fourth step in the pathway—was not related to the atrazine treatment. Moreover, the overall soil bacterial community showed no significant changes after the application of atrazine. Despite this, we observed increases in the relative abundance of bacterial families in the 4th and 8th weeks following the atrazine treatment, which may have been related to higher copy numbers of atzA and trzN, in part due to the release of nitrogen from the herbicide. The present results revealed that while the application of atrazine may temporarily increase the quantities of the atzA and trzN genes in a Brazilian Red Latosol soil, it does not lead to significant and long-term changes in the bacterial community structure.

Tretman otpada u Republici Srbiji

Waste management is a universal topic that applies to every living being on the planet. Decision makers create policies that affect everyday issues such as health, cleanliness, food and water, the environment in which we live. Poor waste management leads to the contamination of rivers, soil, air, and thus leads to infections, respiratory infections, cancer, heart and blood vessel diseases, and causes harm to animals that consume waste substances. Poor waste management also affects the economy, the exploitation of natural raw materials, tourism. For these reasons, it is necessary to initiate urgent actions and increase the awareness of individuals and society as a whole through education and understanding. Inadequately disposed of waste creates emissions of greenhouse gases. Also emitted into the atmosphere are hexavalent chlorine, polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, furans, powdered substances and thousands of other chemicals that are carcinogenic, teratogenic and mutagenic. Industrial waste management requires much more engagement because such waste also contains more substances that negatively affect the environment. Therefore, a thorough analysis of the amount of waste generated in Serbia and the capacities of the country to treat this waste is necessary. Also needed are changes in legislation which would benefit both citizens and industry, the strengthening of administrative capacities within the waste management system and information sharing.

Identification of dissolved metal contamination of major rivers in the southeastern hilly area, China: distribution, source apportionment, and health risk assessment.

Metal pollution has been a serious problem facing river systems worldwide, which can adversely affect human health through food chain. The goal of this study was to determine the distribution, sources, and health risk of dissolved metals (Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb, Al, Sb, V, Co, Mo) in major rivers located in the hilly area of southeastern China (namely, Jiulongjiang River (JL), Minjiang River (MJ), Oujiang River (OJ), Qiantangjiang River (QT), Raohe River (RR), Fuhe River (FR), Xinjiang River (XR), Ganjiang River (GR), Xiushui River (XS), Xiangjiang River (XJ), Zishui River (ZR), Yuanjiang River (YR), Lishui River (LR)) during dry and wet seasons. Results indicated that metal concentrations were spatially and temporally distinct. Metals of Mn, Ni, Cu, Cd, Sb were significantly higher in specific rivers than other metals. And metals of Cr, Ni, As, and Al concentrations were obviously higher in dry season than in wet season. The comparison with drinking water guidelines of China and other countries indicated that waterbodies were polluted higher by Al than other metals at most sites. Metals in JL and XJ may have health risk to local adults with hazard index (HI) > 1. While special attention should be paid to As, which had a potential carcinogenic risk to adults in study area with CR higher than the critical value. Source analysis with statistical method indicated that point and non-point pollutants from anthropogenic activities are the main sources of metals, with the exception of Al, Ni, V, Cr, and Mo that were mainly from natural processes. This study could be useful for the management and protection of the China's Southern hilly area river systems.