Long-term Industrial Pollution Research Articles

Influence of DOM and its subfractions on the mobilization of heavy metals in rhizosphere soil solution

Long-term industrial pollution, wastewater irrigation, and fertilizer application are known factors that can contribute to the contamination of heavy metals (HMs) in agricultural soil. In addition, dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays key roles in the migration and fate of HMs in soil. This study investigated the effects of amending exogenous DOM extracted from chicken manure (DOMc), humus soil (DOMs), rice husk (DOMr), and its sub-fractions on the mobilization and bio-uptake of Cd, Zn, and Pb. The results suggested that the exogenous DOM facilitate the dissolution of HMs in rhizosphere soil, and the maximum solubility of Zn, Cd, and Pb were 1264.5, 121.3, and 215.7 μg L−1, respectively. Moreover, the proportion of Zn-DOM and Cd-DOM increased as the DOM concentration increased, and the highest proportions were 97.5% and 86.9%. However, the proportion of Pb-DOM was stable at > 99% in all treatments. In addition, the proportion of hydrophilic acid (Hy) and Pb/Cd in the rhizosphere soil solution were 17.5% and 8.3%, respectively. This finding suggested that the Hy-metals complex has a vital influence on the mobilization of metals, besides its complexation with fulvic acid and humic acid. Furthermore, the elevated DOM addition contributed to an increment of HMs uptake by Sedum alfredii, in the following order, DOMc > DOMs > DOMr. This study can provide valuable insights to enhance the development of phytoremediation technologies and farmland manipulation. Since the risk that exogenous DOM would increase the uptake of HMs by crops, it is also needed to evaluate this case from an agricultural management perspective.

Does Long-Term Industrial Pollution Affect the Fine and Coarse Root Mass in Forests? Preliminary Investigation of Two Copper Smelter Contaminated Areas

Does Long-Term Industrial Pollution Affect the Fine and Coarse Root Mass in Forests? Preliminary Investigation of Two Copper Smelter Contaminated Areas

Monitoring of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons content in chernozem soils under longterm industrial pollution

Studies of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) content in soils adjacent to power plants is essential to determine the environmental risks. The monitoring was carried out over 3 years on the territory under the emissions of Novocherkassk Power Station (NPS). A significant excess in the PAHs content (up to 84-86%) in the soils under long-term industrial pollution was found compared to the background soil. The total PAHs content in the NPS emissions zone soils increased from 3553.1±25.4 to 4137.0±37.6 μg kg-1 at the most contaminated area located 2.1 km away from the enterprise in the prevailing wind direction. The increment was mostly observed in the content of high molecular weight (HMW) PAHs near the territories used for agricultural production. The LMW PAHs/HMW PAHs ratio of more than 1 indicates PAHs natural origin in the reference area soil. Moreover, it was found that in the NPS emissions zone soils the LMW PAHs/HMW PAHs ratio was 0.12-0.34 on the average, which is less than 1, that shows an anthropogenic origin of PAHs. The increase of this ratio with distance from NPS indicates lower anthropogenic pressure on the soil with longer distance from the emission source.

Source Apportionment and Ecological Risk Assessment of Potentially Toxic Elements in Cultivated Soils of Xiangzhou, China: A Combined Approach of Geographic Information System and Random Forest

Soil is both an important sink and a source for contaminants in the agricultural ecosystem. To research the sources and ecological risk of potentially toxic elements in Xiangzhou, China, 326 soil samples from arable land were collected and analyzed for five potentially toxic elements: cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and chromium (Cr). In this research, ecological risk assessment was used to determine the degree of contamination in the research area, the outcome of the Geographic Information System was as used to study the spatial distribution characteristics of potentially toxic elements, and random forest was used to evaluate the natural and artificial influencing factors. We surveyed the sources of potentially toxic elements through quantifying the indicators, which gave further opinions. The results were as follows: (1) The average contents of potentially toxic elements were 0.14 mg/kg (Cd), 0.05 mg/kg (Hg), 12.33 mg/kg (As), 28.39 mg/kg (Pb), and 75.21 mg/kg (Cr), respectively. The results compared with the background value of Hubei, neighboring regions, and countries for Cd, As, Pb, and Cr showed mild pollution. (2) The total evaluation of soil pollution via the comprehensive pollution index indicated slight contamination by Cd. Assessment by the potential ecological risk index indicated low ecological risk due to Cd and moderate contamination by Hg. Evaluation through the geo-accumulation index evinced the low ecological risk for Cd, As, and Pb and moderate contamination by Hg. (3) We found that in addition to natural factors (such as soil parent material, soil pH, etc.), long-term industrial pollution, mineral mining and processing, exhaust emissions from transportation, the application of manure from farms as farmyard manure, and sewage irrigation were the primary anthropogenic sources of potentially toxic element contamination in the soil.

Geochemical transformation of soil cover and vegetation in a drained floodplain lake affected by long-term discharge of effluents from rayon industry plants, lower Don River Basin, Southern Russia.

Lake Atamanskoye is one of the most polluted aquatic environments in the South of Russia. This water body was affected by long-term pollution by effluent from industrial rayon plants located in the city of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky. Accumulation of pollutants resulted in the degradation of Lake Atamanskoye, which is currently drained. This research focused on the geochemical transformation of soils and vegetation within the territory of the former water body and its surroundings. Methods of study included the evaluation of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in soils and plants by X-ray fluorescence, as well as the contents of their forms by sequential extraction and statistical processing of the data. The results revealed that Spolic Technosols and Fluvisols represent the most widespread soils within Lake Atamanskoye. The concentration of metals found in the soils of the lakebed is several orders of magnitude higher than the regional geochemical background and world soil baseline values due to long-term industrial pollution. The natural and technogenic soils were subdivided into two groups according to pH. Alkaline soils in the presence of carbonates were characterised by high levels of PTEs, while acidic soils with higher proportions of exchangeable fractions and higher potential for metal accumulation in adjacent plants had lower levels of PTEs.

Analysis on corrosion of flat steel used in grounding grid for 220 kV substation

Grounding grid plays an important role in protection of main device for power system. With the increase of power capacity and voltage level, the safety of grounding grid is particularly important. In this paper, the seriously corroded flat steel of grounding grid in 220kV substation was investigated by means of different test methods. The result showed that electrode potentials difference existed between different locations on the surface of the buried grounding electrode was the major reason to cause electrochemical corrosion. Meanwhile, higher sulphur and chlorine content of the soil around the substation caused by long-term industrial pollution, led to rapid depletion of zinc coating and acceleration of corrosion process of grounding material. Additionally, effective suggestions were presented in order to reduce the grounding resistance and improve the anti-corrosion performance.

Zooplankton of reservoirs in the upper reaches of the kenti river system (Northern Karelia) under long-term industrial pollution conditions

An assessment is given for the contemporary state of zooplankton community in the waters of the upper reaches of the Kenti River system under the conditions of long-term potash-sulfate industrial pollution. This article presents a number of structural indicators of the zooplankton community that show simplification in the structure of species diversity and its reduction, as well as the disappearance of a number of systematic groups. It is noted that the number of zooplankton taxa increases with distance from the source of pollution (Kostomukshskoe and Kento lakes), and the average quantitative indicators also increase in this case. A comparison with the results that were previously obtained for the reservoirs of the studied environment has been carried out.

Attic dust reflects long-term airborne contamination of an industrial area: A case study from Ajka, Hungary

Recent research suggests that airborne pollutants, deposited in the urban environment, can be efficiently studied by attic dust analysis. Here, an attic dust study was carried out to determine the long-term airborne contamination load in the industrial town of Ajka, Hungary, by attic dust analysis. The spatial distribution of trace element contamination in airborne attic dust samples was to be mapped in order to relate spatial distribution to potential sources. The sampling strategy followed a grid-based stratified random design and samples were collected in 27 houses in the 64km2 project area. Houses with attics intact for at least 30–40years were chosen to represent long-term industrial pollution. The concentrations of six trace elements (As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) were measured with ICP-OES, whereas Hg content was analyzed by CV-AAS. Measured concentrations above the environmental standards were encountered. The univariate distribution analysis shows that Pb, Hg, Zn and Cd distribution is dominated by anthropogenic sources, and characterized by high extreme values, such as elevated Hg-concentrations around the lignite-fired power plant. Arsenic and Cu-distributions seem equally influenced by background and anthropogenic processes. Nickel shows lower concentrations and variability, and its major source is the natural geochemical background. To study the geochemical element behavior, a correlation analysis was performed to estimate the metal sorption to Fe-oxy-hydroxide phases. Results show a good spatial correlation of contamination and sources such as lignite mines, lignite-fired power plant and traffic. Attic dust appears to be an efficient and cheap sampling medium to study and map long-term airborne contamination and possibly associated human health risks in an industrial setting.

Ilgalaikės pramoninės taršos įtaka skirtingu atstumu nuo gamyklos esančio lapuočių miško dirvožemio mikroorganizmams 3. Mikromicetų gausa ir rūšinė dirvožemio bendrijų struktūra

Ilgalaikės pramoninės taršos įtaka skirtingu atstumu nuo gamyklos esančio lapuočių miško dirvožemio mikroorganizmams 3. Mikromicetų gausa ir rūšinė dirvožemio bendrijų struktūra

Effect of individual trees on the pH and the content of heavy metals in forest litters upon industrial contamination

The influence of individual spruce and birch trees on the distribution of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Cd, and Zn) and hydrogen ions in the forest litter is considered in a territory subjected to long-term industrial pollution by emissions of the Ural copper smelter (town of Revda, Sverdlovsk oblast, southern taiga). In the background territory, the content of the elements regularly decreases from the tree trunks to the canopy gaps, whereas, in the contaminated territory, this relationship is either not traced at all (for the metal concentrations) or more weakly pronounced (for the metal reserves and pH values). The influence of trees on the spatial distribution of metals in the litter is specific for various elements and differs in coniferous and deciduous biotopes.

Effect of long-term industrial pollution on microorganisms in soil of deciduous forests situated along a pollution gradient next to a fertilizer factory 2. Abundance and diversity of soil fungi

Effect of long-term industrial pollution on microorganisms in soil of deciduous forests situated along a pollution gradient next to a fertilizer factory 2. Abundance and diversity of soil fungi

Effect of long-term industrial pollution on soil microorganisms in deciduous forests situated along a pollution gradient next to a fertilizer factory 1. Abundance of bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi

Effect of long-term industrial pollution on soil microorganisms in deciduous forests situated along a pollution gradient next to a fertilizer factory 1. Abundance of bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi

Recent Developments in the Law Regarding the “Absolute” and “Total” Pollution Exclusions

This article traces the development of the so-called “absolute” and “total” pollution exclusions. Focussing on the statements the insurance industry made when seeking approval of these exclusions—specifically, their expressed intent that such exclusions be limited in application to typical, long-term, industrial pollution of the environment—this article then explores the treatment of these exclusions by courts in contexts other than pollution of the natural environment of the type addressed by typical environmental statutes. The results of this survey demonstrate than approximately half of the courts nationwide, and a majority of recent decisions and decisions of state high courts, have rejected the application of the so-called “absolute” and “total” pollution exclusions in these contexts. Finally, after exploring both the rationales of these holdings, and attempting to categorize them by type of exposure, this article concludes that the insurance industry should be estopped from asserting an interpretation of the absolute and total pollution exclusions different from that presented to regulators: the exclusions' application is limited to typical, long-term industrial pollution of the environment.