High Concentrations Of Several Elements Research Articles

Anthropogenic contamination leads to changes in mineral composition of soil- and tree-growing mushroom species: A case study of urban vs. rural environments and dietary implications

Because wild-growing edible mushroom species are frequently consumed, a knowledge of their mineral composition is essential. The content of elements in mushrooms and their possible beneficial or harmful effect may be influenced by the human-impacted environment. Thus, the aim of the study was to analyse the mineral composition of the soil, trees, and especially soil- and tree-growing mushroom species collected from within a city and from rural areas. Due to potentially higher pollution in urban areas, we assumed that mushrooms from a city environment will contain higher levels of mineral elements than those from rural areas and that the high content will be attributed to greater contamination of city soils. Significantly higher concentrations of several elements in soils (Ca, Ba, Bi, Hg, Pb, Sb, Sr, W and Zr) and trees (Ag, Bi, Ce, Co, Mn, Mo, Nd, Pr, Ta, Tm and W) were observed from the samples collected in the city. Additionally, significantly higher contents of Ag, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Sr, Y and Zn in soil-growing, and Al, As, Ba, Cr, Fe, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sr, Ta and Zn in tree-growing mushroom species were recorded from the urban area. These differences formed the basis for the observation that the content of elements in urban mushrooms is generally higher than in those from rural areas. However, a higher content of several soil elements does not necessarily mean that there will be a significantly higher content in fruit bodies. There was also no real risk of consuming soil-growing mushroom species collected in recent years from the city, suggesting that this practice may still be continued.

Basins, beaver ponds, and the storage and redistribution of trace elements in an industrially impacted coastal plain stream on the Savannah River Site, SC, USA

Accumulation of eleven trace elements in sediment was evaluated throughout an industrially disturbed headwater stream on the Savannah River Site, SC, USA. Sampling began at upstream sedimentation basins at the margins of industrial areas, continued longitudinally downstream to a beaver pond representing a potential sink in the mid-reaches, and ended in downstream reaches. Additionally, sediment from beaver impacted areas in another industrially disturbed stream and a reference stream were analyzed to assess the natural tendency of these depositional features to settle out trace elements. We further compared trace element accumulation in sediment and biota from downstream reaches before and after an extreme rainy period to evaluate the potential redistribution of trace elements from sink areas. Trace elements accumulated in the headwater basins from which elements were redistributed to downstream reaches. The mid-reach beaver affected area sediments accumulated elevated concentrations of most analyzed elements compared to the free-flowing stream. The elevated accumulation of organic matter in these sink areas illustrated the effectiveness of reduced water velocity areas to settle out materials. The natural tendency of beaver ponds to accumulate trace elements and organic matter was further illustrated by sediments from the reference beaver pond accumulating higher concentrations of several elements than sediments from the free flowing section the stream impacted by industrial activity. However, concentrations in sediment from sedimentation basins and the beaver impacted area of the disturbed stream were highest. Trace elements and organic matter appeared to be redistributed from the sinks after the record rainy period resulting in increased trace element concentrations in both sediment and biota. These data suggest that assessments of contaminants in stream systems should include such slow-water, extreme depositional zones such as beaver impacted areas or basins to verify what contaminants may be pulsing through the stream.

Edible weeds: Are urban environments fit for foraging?

Foraging wild-growing edible plants (WEPs) is a re-emerging practice with increasing popularity worldwide, including in urban areas. However, in cities, this practice raises questions about the safety of foraging these plants for human consumption, due to the potential exposure of plants to higher levels of pollutants. In this study, the concentration of 12 elements (Al, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Zn, As, Rb, Cd, Ba and Pb) in three different WEPs (Amaranthus spp., Plantago tomentosa and Taraxacum officinale) were determined according to different traffic categories in the municipality of São Paulo. Additionally, plants were sampled within the inner areas of three municipal parks in the same study region. Different gradients of elemental concentrations were obtained according to the traffic categories. Freeways presented higher concentrations of several elements than local roads or parks. For the WEPs collected along freeways and some plants along arterial roads, the concentrations of Pb exceeded safety levels for human consumption. Our data suggest that foraging in large urban centres should be performed preferentially in low-traffic areas.

Total and cytosolic concentrations of twenty metals/metalloids in the liver of brown trout Salmo trutta (Linnaeus, 1758) from the karstic Croatian river Krka

Total and cytosolic concentrations of twenty metals/metalloids in the liver of brown trout Salmo trutta (Linnaeus, 1758) were studied in the period from April 2015 to May 2016 at two sampling sites on Croatian river Krka, to establish if river water contamination with metals/metalloids downstream of Knin town has influenced metal bioaccumulation in S. trutta liver. Differences were observed between two sites, with higher concentrations of several elements (Ag, As, Ca, Co, Na, Se, Sr, V) found downstream of Knin town, whereas few others (Cd, Cs, Mo, Tl) were, unexpectedly, increased at the Krka River spring. However, total metal/metalloid concentrations in the liver of S. trutta from both sites of the Krka River were still mainly below previously reported levels for pristine freshwaters worldwide. The analysis of seasonal changes of metal/metalloid concentrations in S. trutta liver and their association with fish sex and size mostly indicated their independence of fish physiology, making them good indicators of water contamination and exposure level. Metal/metalloid concentrations in the metabolically available hepatic cytosolic fractions reported in this study are the first data of that kind for S. trutta liver, and the majority of analyzed elements were present in the cytosol in the quantity higher than 50% of their total concentrations, thus indicating their possible availability for toxic effects. However, the special attention should be directed to As, Cd, Cs, and Tl, which under the conditions of increased exposure tended to accumulate more within the cytosol. Although metal/metalloid concentrations in S. trutta liver were still rather low, monitoring of the Krka River water quality and of the health status of its biota is essential due to a trend of higher metal/metalloid bioaccumulation downstream of Knin town, especially taking into consideration the proximity of National Park Krka and the need for its conservation.

Isolation and quantitative analysis of road dust nanoparticles

Nanoparticles are capable of preconcentrating various elements, including toxic ones; they have high mobility in the environment and can easily penetrate into a human body. The study of the chemical composition and properties of road dust nanoparticles is an urgent task of analytical chemistry, which needs to be addressed in the monitoring of the anthropogenic load on the environment and the assessment of the potential danger of pollution to human health. In the present paper, we propose a new approach for the isolation, characterization, and quantitative elemental analysis of road dust nanoparticles. Conditions are selected for the separation of nanoparticles from Moscow dust samples by field-flow fractionation in a rotating coiled column; the resulting fractions are characterized by independent methods (using static light scattering and electron microscopy); the method for calculating the concentration of elements in the nanoparticle fraction according to inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and mass spectrometry is improved; elements in a water-soluble form are isolated and determined; and the role of soluble organic matter in the binding of trace elements is discussed. It is shown that the total concentration of most elements in the samples of Moscow dust is comparable to the average values for urban soils. Abnormally high concentrations of several elements (Cu, Zn, Ag, Cd, Sn, Sb, Hg, Pb, Tl, and Bi) are revealed in the fraction of nanoparticles; the enrichment factor with respect to the total concentration ranges from 10 to 450. The source of contamination of road dust nanoparticles with copper, zinc, antimony, and cadmium is highly probable wearing-off of brake pads and car tires. The developed procedure of separation, characterization, and analysis of nanoparticles can be used for other polydisperse environmental samples (for example, volcanic ash).

Preliminary report on arsenic and heavy metals contents in soils and stream bed sediments of Cornia, Bruna and Alma coastal plains (Southern Tuscany)

The Department of Earth Sciences of University of Florence has conducted over the past ten years, numerous studies about the distribution of arsenic and heavy metals in mineralized areas of Tuscany, particularly in the Pecora basin. The area hosts several polymetallic ore bodies and a pyrite ore deposit. The studies have identified several geochemical anomalies (As, Cu, Pb, Zn…) both in the areas which host the ore bodies and in the coastal plain (Scarlino Plain). To increase the knowledge concerning the distribution of As and heavy metals in other Tuscan coastal plains, research is under way in the alluvial plains of the Bruna, Cornia and Alma rivers. The preliminary analysis have focused on soils and stream sediments, to better understand the correlations between the downstream transport of rivers and the soils. We have made physic-chemical analysis, particle size analysis, mineralogical analysis for X-ray powder diffraction, chemical analysis for the determination of major element (X-ray Fluorescence) and for the determination of 35 minor elements and traces (AAS and ICP).Preliminary data show high concentrations of several elements (As, Zn, Co…). The concentrations of these elements in soils and stream bed sediments are not always consistent; in particular we have found higher concentrations in soils than in stream bed sediments in Cornia Plain, while the opposite happens in the Bruna basin. Therefore the natural processes of rocks weathering does not seem to have affected uniformly. The distribution of As and heavy metals in soils and stream bed sediments of the all three basins of interest are still under investigation.

Atmospherically deposited major and trace elements in the winter snowpack along a gradient of altitude in the Central Pyrenees: The seasonal record of long-range fluxes over SW Europe

The chemistry of high mountain snowpacks is a result of the long-range atmospheric transport and deposition of elements. Pyrenean snowpacks contain information about the fluxes of elements over SW Europe in winter. Here we analysed Al, Ti, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd and Pb in the 2004–05 winter snowpack in the Central Pyrenees, at an altitude range of 1820–3200 m a.s.l. Ni, As, Se and Cd were not detected in most cases. The concentrations of the remaining elements were comparable to those found in other high mountain areas in Europe and North America considered representative of regional background of atmospheric deposition in populated areas. In contrast, our measurements were higher than those of polar areas, which represent the global background. Single measurements of concentrations and snow accumulation were subject to considerable spatial variability, which may be attributable to strong wind drift and other post-depositional processes. The major ions chemistry of the snow indicated three possible origins for the solutes: terrigenous dust, sea salt spray and polluting S and N aerosols. We found no association between Cu, Zn and Pb and any of these possible sources. This observation therefore indicates that these elements were not preferentially bound to any particular kind of aerosol. Snow collected at altitudes of up to 2050 m a.s.l. presented higher concentrations of several elements than snow above this altitude, thereby indicating a local influence. Snow collected above 2300 m a.s.l. was therefore more representative of broad regional inputs. At these higher altitudes, snow was not enriched in Al, Ti, Mn, Fe or As compared with the composition of the upper continental crust and the local lithology, and these elements (except Mn) appeared almost exclusively in the particulate fraction. This observation indicates that Al, Ti, Mn, Fe and As were present mainly as part of dust particles of terrigenous origin. In contrast, Cu, Zn, and Pb presented medium to high enrichment factors and showed a higher proportion of soluble forms, thereby indicating their polluting character.

The use of fish parasites as bioindicators of heavy metals in aquatic ecosystems: a review

Parasites are attracting increasing interest from parasite ecologists as potential indicators of environmental quality due to the variety of ways in which they respond to anthropogenic pollution. In environmental impact studies certain organisms provide valuable information about the chemical state of their environment not through their presence or absence but instead through their ability to concentrate environmental toxins within their tissues. Free living invertebrates, notably bivalve molluscs, are commonly employed in this role as `sentinel organisms' to monitor the concentrations of bioavailable metals in aquatic ecosystems. Also certain parasites, particularly intestinal acanthocephalans of fish, can accumulate heavy metals to concentrations orders of magnitude higher than those in the host tissues or the environment. The comparison of metal accumulation capacities between acanthocephalans and established free living sentinel organisms revealed significantly higher concentrations of several elements in Acanthocephalus lucii (Muller) than in the Zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas) which is a commonly used bioindicating organism in Europe. In contrast to the high heavy metal concentrations recorded in adult acanthocephalans, the larval stages in their respective crustacean intermediate hosts show little tendency to accumulate metals. A number of experimental studies demonstrate a clear time dependent accumulation of lead for acanthocephalans in their final hosts. These investigations provide evidence that the extremely high metal concentrations in intestinal acanthocephalans of fish are not the result of a slow process of accumulation but instead a relatively rapid uptake to a steady-state level. Thus, metal concentrations in adult acanthocephalans respond rapidly to changes in environmental exposure of their hosts. The value of parasites for environmental monitoring will be discussed in detail in the present article.

Elemental Concentrations of Stored Whole and Fractionated Broiler Litter

Broiler (poultry) litter consists of excreta, bedding material (used to cover floor of broiler houses and absorb excreta), soil, feathers, and other components generated during broiler production. The objective of this study was to determine concentrations of 20 elements in whole litter and coarse and fine size fractions of whole litter exposed to single flocks and multiple flocks of broilers as well as to determine any significant differences or changes in concentrations of these elements during 4 months of litter storage. During storage for up to 4 months, whole litter and its fractions were analyzed for concentrations of Al, As, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Ni, P, Pb, Si, Sr, and Zn. No consistent significant differences in litter elemental concentrations were found among samples taken at 0, 2, 4, 8, and 16 wk. Significantly higher concentrations of several elements were found in multi-flock litter than in single-flock litter. No consistent significant differences in elemental concentrations were found among whole litter and coarse and fine whole litter fractions. This research shows that while size fractionation of litter facilitates re-use of litter, litter exposed to multiple flocks of broilers contains significantly higher concentrations of several elements, so recycling of multi-flock litter may be limited.

Particle size and element concentration in ground plant material

Abstract Two different mills were tested for their effect on grinding quality of stem and leaf of soybean (Glycine max. L.) and concentrations of several elements in the ground plant material. Particle size distribution in the ground powders was dependent on the kind of tissue and the mill used. In both leaf and stem powders, small (<90 μm) particles showed higher percent ash, absorbed more water vapor upon storage, and contained higher concentrations of several elements than the larger (90–250 or >250 μm) particles. Concentrations of P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu were significantly higher (in cases, 6‐fold) in the smaller particles than in the larger ones. Nitrogen and Na concentrations (in most cases) were the same in particles of different size. The differences in percent ash and the element concentrations in powders with different particle size could not be solely attributed to contamination from atmospheric or soil dusts or to abrasion of elements from the mill parts coming in contact with the plant powder. Uneven distribution of elements in the original fresh plant tissue or some redistribution of elements during the drying or grinding processes are postulated to be possible causes of the differences observed in the concentrations of elements in ground powders with different particle size.

The biogeochemical expression of deeply buried uranium mineralization in Saskatchewan, Canada

Ten kilometres from the eastern edge of the Athabasca Sandstone, near McClean Lake, uranium mineralization (locally up to 27% U 3O 8) lies 150 m beneath the surface at the unconformity between the Athabasca and crystalline basement. A biogeochemical survey of the area sampled A H and B F soil horizons, peat moss, and plant organs from the dominant species, viz. black spruce ( Picea mariana), jack pine ( Pinus banksiana), labrador tea ( Ledum groenlandicum), and leather leaf ( Chamaedaphne calyculata). Uranium concentrations in the ash of various media are surprisingly high: spruce twigs up to 154 ppm U; labrador tea and leather leaf stems around 100 ppm U. Conversely, labrador tea roots yield < 5 ppm U and spruce trunk wood usually < 1 ppm U. Soils give values of 1–3 ppm U. Contoured U values reveal that highest concentrations occur in plants growing above, but laterally displaced from the mineralization. Track-Etch data show a similar pattern. Upward migration of ions along steeply inclined fractures is invoked to explain the phenomenon. Other elements are present in varying concentrations, depending upon the plant species and the plant organ. High concentrations of several elements are recorded, most notably Cd and Ag in the conifers.

The study of elements in organisms by neutron activation analysis. III. The distribution of trace elements in various organs of normal rat and in cell fractions of rat liver.

The use of standard reference materials (SRM's) i. e. NBS orchard leaves and bovine liver, as multielemental irradiation standards in NAA is discussed. This technique was applied to the analysis of trace elements in various organs of the rat and in cell fractions of the rat liver. Nondestructive neutron activation analysis was carried out to determine 13 elements (As, Br, Co, Cr, Cs, Fe, K, Mn, Na, Rb, Sc, Se and Zn) in each sample. High concentrations of several elements were found in some organs of the rat. In particular, the testes contained many elements at high concentrations, while the contents of all elements were highest in the liver. The mean concentrations of elements in various organs of the rat were classified roughly, and the elemental concentrations in cell fractions of the rat liver are discussed. The cytosol contained the greatest quantities of the elements, with the exception of Mn.