Equilibrium State of PAHs in Bottom Sediment-Water-Suspended Sediment System of a Large River Considering Freely Dissolved Concentrations

Impacts of Nanobubbles in Pore Water on Heavy Metal Pollutant Release from Contaminated Soil Columns

This study investigated the release of heavy metals from polluted soil under the pore water flow containing nanobubbles (NBs) to simulate natural ebullition. Three types of NBs (CH₄, H₂, and CO₂) were generated in water and characterized, including bubble size, zeta potential, liquid density, and tension. The flow rate used in column tests was optimized to achieve proper soil fluidization and metal desorption or release. The leachate chemistries were monitored to assess the effect of NBs on conductivity, pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), and dissolved oxygen (DO). The results showed that NBs in the pore water flow were significantly more effective in releasing Pb compared to DI water, with CO₂ NB water being the most effective and H₂ NB water being the least effective. CO₂ NB water was also used to rinse column soil contaminated with four different metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, and Cr), which exhibited different leaching kinetics. Moreover, a convective-dispersion-deposition equation (CDDE) model accurately simulated the leaching kinetics and explained the effects of NBs on the key parameters, such as the deposition rate coefficient (K_d), that affect the released metal transport. The findings could provide new insights into soil pollutant release under ebullition and soil remediation using water wash containing NBs.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediment-porewater system from the East China Sea: Occurrence, partitioning, and diffusion

The distribution, partitioning behavior, and diffusion of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) within sediment-porewater system were determined in two cores obtained from the Min-Zhe coastal mud of the East China Sea (ECS). Depth profiles of apparently dissolved PAH levels exhibited greater variabilities, with their elevated levels at depth and a high abundance of two-to three-ring PAHs observed. These distribution and composition patterns were inconsistent with the corresponding sediment PAHs, indicating differences in controlling factors for PAHs present in the system. In addition to compound's hydrophobicity, low detection of heavier PAHs in porewater was possibly correlated with the sediment transport process, as indicated by a relatively high weathering ratio in southern Min-Zhe coastal mud. PAH sorption affinity to the collected core sediments exhibited a generally decreasing trend downcore, as expressed by sediment-porewater partition coefficients. This was consistent with the higher content of porewater PAHs in deep core sediment. The established sediment total organic carbon (TOC)-porewater partitioning profiles in cores were predicted with amorphous organic carbon (AOC)-, coal tar-, and TOC-based distribution models, suggesting a dominant nonlinear sorption of PAHs to AOC. Through activity determinations, PAH diffusion within porewater was elucidated, with significant upward and downward mass transfer for PAHs occurring in both cores. The upward diffusion in the core collected from northern Min-Zhe coastal mud was in significant association with sediment TOC. This suggests that sediment TOC (especially AOC)-desorption of lighter PAHs into porewater, and therefore the possibility of their participation in environmental cycling. Baseline toxicity potential and toxic unit calculations indicated a relatively low exposure risk for benthic organisms to porewater PAHs.

Antibiotics along an alpine river and in the receiving lake with a catchment dominated by grazing husbandry

The livestock breeding industries face overuse of antibiotics, which has been intensively studied in recent years. However, the occurrence and fate of antibiotics as well as their potential threats to the aquatic environments in alpine and arid regions remain unclear. This study investigated the relationship of the occurrence and concentrations of antibiotics between the Kaidu River and Bosten Lake in a typical alpine basin in China. Hot spots with antibiotic pollution source were explored. The antibiotic concentrations in river water and suspended sediment (SPS) were 2.20-99.4 ng/L and 1.03-176 ng/g. The dominant antibiotics were tetracyclines, sulphacetamide, and ofloxacin in river water and sulfonamides, clarithromycin, roxithromycin, and ofloxacin in SPS. The apparent differences in pollution sources and landscapes in different reaches led to the obvious spatial patterns of antibiotics in the Kaidu River. Higher partition coefficient of antibiotic between SPS and water phases for sulfonamides than tetracyclines was because that tetracyclines strongly responded to clay contents while sulfonamides significantly responded to organic carbon contents in SPS. There were significant differences in detected antibiotic categories between the river and the lake. Fluoroquinolones (especially ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin) were detected in the lake while sulphacetamide was only detected in the river. Therefore, the surrounding husbandry and aquaculture around the Bosten Lake was an important antibiotic pollution source in addition to inputs from the Kaidu River. This research suggested that alpine lakes could be an important sink of antibiotics in alpine dry regions, and thus impose greater threats to the aquatic ecosystem.

Suspended Particulate Matter-A Source or Sink for Chemical Mixtures of Organic Micropollutants in a Small River under Baseflow Conditions?

Suspended particulate matter (SPM) plays an important role in the fate of organic micropollutants in rivers during rain events, when sediments are remobilized and turbid runoff components enter the rivers. Under baseflow conditions, the SPM concentration is low and the contribution of SPM-bound contaminants to the overall risk of organic contaminants in rivers is assumed to be negligible. To challenge this assumption, we explored if SPM may act as a source or sink for all or specific groups of organic chemicals in a small river. The concentrations of over 600 contaminants and the mixture effects stemming from all chemicals in in vitro bioassays were measured for river water, SPM, and the surface sediment after solid-phase extraction or exhaustive solvent extraction. The bioavailable fractions of chemicals and mixture effects were estimated after passive equilibrium sampling of enriched SPM slurries and sediments in the lab. Dissolved compounds dominated the total chemical burden in the water column (water plus SPM) of the river, whereas SPM-bound chemicals contributed up to 46% of the effect burden even if the SPM concentration in rivers was merely 1 mg/L. The equilibrium between water and SPM was still not reached under low-flow conditions with SPM as a source of water contamination. The ratios of SPM-associated to sediment-associated neutral and hydrophobic chemicals as well as the ratios of the mixture effects expressed as bioanalytical equivalent concentrations were close to 1, suggesting that the surface sediment can be used as a proxy for SPM under baseflow conditions when the sampling of a large amount of water to obtain sufficient SPM cannot be realized.

Can the hydrophobic organic contaminants in the filtrate passing through 0.45 μm filter membranes reflect the water quality?

In the traditional water quality assessment, the concentration of total dissolved hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) passing through 0.45 μm filter membranes is usually used to evaluate the influence of HOCs on water quality. However, the bioavailability of dissolved organic matter (DOM)-associated and particle-associated HOCs is not considered. In the present work, pyrene, fulvic acid, and natural suspended particles (SPS) were used to simulate natural water (raw water). The immobilization and pyrene content in the tissues of D. magna caused by total pyrene in the raw water and those caused by freely dissolved pyrene with the concentration equal to the total dissolved pyrene in the filtrate of raw water were compared to determine whether the total dissolved pyrene concentration can reflect the water quality. The results indicated that when the DOM concentration was 5 mg C L^-1 and the SPS concentration was higher than 0.2-0.4 g L^-1, the bioavailability of pyrene was underestimated by the traditional water quality assessment because of the SPS-associated pyrene, and it was underestimated by 23.6-63.9% when SPS concentration was higher than 0.6 g L^-1 due to the neglection of SPS-associated pyrene. Furthermore, the threshold value of SPS concentration was related to the SPS size and composition, and the effects of SPS and DOM on water quality were influenced by the concentration, size, and composition of SPS as well as the molecular weight of DOM. This study suggests that the traditional water quality assessment should be improved by comprehensively considering concentrations and characteristics of SPS and DOM.

Behavioural toxicity studies of Cyclope neritea and Nassarius mutabilis exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

The objective of the work was to study behavioural change of Cyclope neritea (sea snail) and Nassarius mutabilis (land snail) upon exposure to different levels of PAHs. Snail's behaviour was translated and expressed in Behavioural State Score (BSS) where the score ranged from "0" to "5" points refers to the ascending level of locomotion of a snail. A significant difference was found in snail's behaviour in 25.0 mg/L than in 0.5 mg/L with p value smaller than 0.01. BSS scores appear most frequent on the treatment and control group were 5 (61.5-64.5%) and 2 (41.0-45.0%), respectively. Intersex behaviour was found in all species (i.e. the same sex was grouped together) regardless of PAH concentrations. This is the first reported to study the behavioural change of snail sampled in Hong Kong area when exposed to PAHs. Further studies should be carried on the impact of snail's behaviour exposure on each congener in the family of PAHs.

Characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in small craft harbour (SCH) sediments in Nova Scotia, Canada

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been widely studied in sediments due to their ubiquity and persistence in aquatic environments and potential for impairment to biota. Small craft harbour (SCH) sediments in Nova Scotia (NS), Canada, have yet to be studied comprehensively. SCHs are essential to the fishing industry, which is important for the Canadian economy. This spatiotemporal characterization study evaluated thirty-one SCHs across NS between 2001 and 2017 by analyzing sediment reports (secondary data). Sediment PAH concentrations varied widely across all SCHs. Few SCHs exhibited sediment PAH concentrations likely to impair biota based on comparison to sediment quality guidelines. Sediments in the Gulf region of NS were least impacted by PAHs, while the Southwest region was most impacted. Distribution of individual PAHs in sediments follows global trends, with high molecular weight PAHs dominating samples.

Dissolved organic matter affects both bioconcentration kinetics and steady-state concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is ubiquitous in natural aquatic ecosystems. The association of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs), such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), with DOM may have a large impact on HOC fractions in water and their bioconcentration in fish. However, the effects of DOM on HOC bioconcentration in fish are not well understood, especially whether DOM will affect the bioconcentration steady-state concentrations of HOCs in fish is still confusing. Thus, this study investigated the effects of three DOM including gallic acid (GA), tannic acid (TA), and humic acid (HA) with molecular weights ranging from 170 Da to about 10 kDa at different concentrations (1, 5, and 15 mgOC L^-1) on the bioconcentration of PAHs including phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, and pyrene in zebrafish (Danio rerio), with the PAH freely dissolved concentrations maintained constant by passive dosing systems. The results revealed that the presence of DOM generally increased the bioconcentration steady-state concentrations of the PAHs in zebrafish (C_b-ss), with the increase ranging from 28.1% to 204.0%, and the increase of C_b-ss promoted by TA with middle molecular weight (1700 Da) was the highest among the studied DOM. Moreover, the C_b-ss increased with the concentrations of GA with low molecular weight and TA with middle molecular weight in water, whereas decreased with increasing concentrations of HA with high molecular weight. The uptake rate constants of the PAHs in zebrafish with DOM were higher than that without DOM. Ingestion of DOM and direct accumulation of PAHs associated with DOM might be primary influencing mechanisms of DOM on the C_b-ss, and whether the facilitated diffusive mass transfer by DOM will affect the C_b-ss needs to be further studied. This study suggested that DOM-associated HOCs should be considered in future HOC risk assessment in addition to the freely dissolved HOCs.

Bioavailability of Pyrene Associated with Different Types of Protein Compounds: Direct Evidence for Its Uptake by Daphnia magna

The protein-like dissolved organic matter (DOM) is ubiquitous in aquatic environments. However, the bioavailability of protein-like DOM-associated hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) is not well-understood, and in particular, the direct evidence of their uptake by organisms is scarce. In the present work, tryptone (2000 Da), bovine serum albumin (BSA; 66 000 Da), and phycocyanin (120 000 Da) were chosen as model protein-like DOM, which were labeled by commercial fluorescein (cy5) to investigate the uptake mechanisms of protein compound-associated pyrene (a typical HOC) by Daphnia magna. The pyrene concentration in the tissues except the gut and immobilization of D. magna were detected to calculate the bioavailable fraction of protein compound-associated pyrene when the freely dissolved pyrene concentration was controlled through passive dosing devices. The results demonstrated that the tryptone could permeate cellular membrane and directly enter the tissues of  D. magna from the exposure solutions, whereas BSA and phycocyanin might indirectly enter the tissues from the gut. A part of pyrene associated with protein compounds was bioavailable to D. magna; the order of their bioavailable fractions was trypone (54.6-58.1%) > phycocyanin (21.6-32.8%) > BSA (17.7-26.8%). The difference was principally related to the uptake mechanisms of pyrene associated with different types of protein. This work suggests that the protein compound-associated HOCs should be considered to evaluate the bioavailability and eco-environmental hazard of HOCs in natural waters.

Land-use-based sources and trends of dissolved PBDEs and PAHs in an urbanized watershed using passive polyethylene samplers

Narragansett Bay is a temperate estuary on the Atlantic coast of Rhode Island in the north-eastern United States, which receives organic pollutants from urban and industrial activities in its watershed, though detailed knowledge on sources and fluxes is missing. Twenty-four polyethylene passive samplers were deployed in the surface water of the watershed around Narragansett Bay during June-July of 2014, to examine the spatial variability and possible sources of priority pollutants, namely dissolved polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Dissolved ∑₂₂PAH concentrations ranged from 3.6 to 340 ng L^-1, and from 2.9 to 220 pg L^-1 for ∑₁₂PBDE. The spatial variability of the concentrations was correlated to land use pattern and population distribution, in particular with human activities within 2 km of sampling sites. River discharges derived from the concentrations of PAHs and PBDEs measured here were 10-20 times greater than their previously measured concentrations in the open waters of Narragansett Bay. These results imply that river waters are the main source of PAHs and PDBEs to the Bay and that major sink terms (e.g., sedimentation, degradation) affect their concentrations in the estuary. Predicted PAH and PBDE toxicity based on dissolved concentrations did not exceed 1 toxic unit, suggested that no toxicity occurred at the sampling sites.

Relationship between metabolic enzyme activities and bioaccumulation kinetics of PAHs in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Many studies have investigated bioaccumulation and metabolism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aquatic organisms. However, lack of studies investigated both processes simultaneously, and the interaction between these two processes is less understood so far. This study investigated the bioaccumulation kinetics of PAHs and metabolic enzyme activities, including total cytochrome P450 (CYPs) and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), in zebrafish. Mature zebrafish were exposed to the mixture of phenanthrene and anthracene under constant concentration maintained by passive dosing systems for 16days. The results showed that PAH concentrations in zebrafish experienced a peak value after exposure for 1.5days, and then decreased gradually. The bioaccumulation equilibrium was achieved after exposure for 12days. Both of the uptake rate constants (k_u) and the elimination rate constants (k_e) decreased after the peak value. The variation of PAH concentrations and metabolic enzyme activities in zebrafish had an interactive relationship. The activities of CYPs and T-SOD increased initially with the increase of PAH concentrations, but decreased to the lowest state when PAH concentrations reached the peak value. When the bioaccumulation equilibrium of PAHs was achieved, CYPs and T-SOD activities also reached the steady state. In general, CYPs and T-SOD activities were activated after exposure to PAHs. The decrease of PAH concentrations in zebrafish after the peak value may be attributed to the great drop of k_u and the variation of CYPs activities. This study suggests that an interactive relationship exists between bioaccumulation kinetics of PAHs and metabolic enzyme activities in aquatic organisms.

Effect of water-sediment regulation of the Xiaolangdi reservoir on the concentrations, characteristics, and fluxes of suspended sediment and organic carbon in the Yellow River

Water-sediment regulation (WSR) of the Xiaolangdi Reservoir in the Yellow River is different from other water conservancy projects, with sediment resuspending along the river downstream of the reservoir during water regulation while some suspended sediment depositing during sediment regulation. In this study, samples were collected before, during, and after WSR to investigate the effect of WSR on the suspended sediment and organic carbon downstream of the reservoir. The suspended sediment concentration ([SPS]) increased with the river flow velocity (V) as a power function ([SPS]=1.348V(2.519)) during the three periods. The suspended sediment grain size decreased along the river during water and sediment regulations and after WSR; they were generally below 200μm with the fine particles (<50μm) of 68.0%-93.7% and positively correlated with the flow velocity. The black carbon content in suspended sediment elevated along the river during both water and sediment regulations, and it increased with 2-50μm fraction during water regulation and with <2μm fraction during sediment regulation, suggesting that black carbon mainly exists in fine particles and is influenced by both suspended sediment source and characteristics. There was no significant difference in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration during water regulation, sediment regulation, and after WSR, inferring that the effect of sediment resuspension/deposition on DOC concentration was insignificant. The contribution of DOC flux (27.3%) during WSR period to the annual flux was comparable to that (22.6%) of water, but lower than the sediment (32.5%) and particulate organic carbon (POC) (49.5%). This study suggests that WSR will exert significant influence on the concentrations, characteristics and fluxes of POC (p<0.05) and sediment (p<0.05) but have no significant influence on DOC (p>0.1) of the Yellow River.

Importance of suspended sediment (SPS) composition and grain size in the bioavailability of SPS-associated pyrene to Daphnia magna

Hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) tend to associate with suspended sediment (SPS) in aquatic environments; the composition and grain size of SPS will affect the bioavailability of SPS-associated HOCs. However, the bioavailability of HOCs sorbed on SPS with different compositions and grain sizes is not well understood. In this work, passive dosing devices were made to control the freely dissolved concentration of pyrene, a typical HOC, in the exposure systems. The effect of pyrene associated with amorphous organic carbon (AOC), black carbon (BC), and minerals of SPS with grain sizes of 0-50 μm and 50-100 μm on the immobilization and enzymatic activities of Daphnia magna was investigated to quantify the bioavailability of pyrene sorbed on SPS with different grain sizes and compositions. The results showed that the contribution of AOC-, BC-, and mineral-associated pyrene to the total bioavailability of SPS-associated pyrene was approximately 50%-60%, 10%-29%, and 20%-30%, respectively. The bioavailable fraction of pyrene sorbed on the three components of SPS was ordered as AOC (22.4%-67.3%) > minerals (20.1%-46.0%) > BC (9.11%-16.8%), and the bioavailable fraction sorbed on SPS of 50-100 μm grain size was higher than those of 0-50 μm grain size. This is because the SPS grain size will affect the ingestion of SPS and the SPS composition will affect the desorption of SPS-associated pyrene in Daphnia magna. According to the results obtained in this study, a model has been developed to calculate the bioavailability of HOCs to aquatic organisms in natural waters considering both SPS grain size and composition.