The contamination with organic and inorganic pollutants changes significantly soil microbial community structure. These shifts indicate anthropogenic pressure and help to discover new possibilities for soil remediation. In this study, the microbial community structure of Spolic Technosols formed at the territory of a former industrial sludge reservoir near the Kamensk-Shakhtinsky (Southern Russia)

Mining activities are well-known sources of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) pollution, which often jeopardize the biosphere, pedosphere, and hydrosphere. However, the soil and groundwater pollution caused by active private mining activities has long been neglected. This study investigated the occurrence of PTEs and cyanide (CN) in agricultural soils, mine tailings, and groundwater nearby the cyanide

This paper represents the first result of an active collaboration between the University of Sannio and the San Pio Hospital (Benevento, Italy), started in the 2018, that aims to a detailed mineralogical investigation of urinary stones of patients from Campania region. Herein, selected human bladder stones have been deeply characterized for clinical purposes and environmental biomonitoring, focusing

Plant redox homeostasis governs the uptake, toxicity and tolerance mechanism of toxic trace elements and thereby elucidates the remediation potential of a plant. Moreover, plant toxicity/tolerance mechanisms control the trace element compartmentation in edible and non-edible plant organs as well as the associated health hazards. Therefore, it is imperative to unravel the cellular mechanism involved

Food production in areas contaminated by industrial wastes poses a serious risk to farmers and consumers. Here, we evaluate Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb concentrations in the soils and the edible parts of lettuce, chives, tomatoes, pepper, and cassava plants grown by small farmers in areas contaminated by slag from an abandoned steel plant in Havana, Cuba. The total, environmentally available, and bioavailable

The contamination of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), is the most studied environmental issue. In 2020, a total of sixty soil samples collected from ten locations in Guiyang were analyzed to assess the presence of four DDTs and HCHs and sixteen PAHs. The concentrations of total

The arsenic-contaminated groundwater has attracted attention in much south and southeast Asian deltas, however, mainly on the deep aquifers. Here, arsenic (As) concentration and its fractionation of the sediment cores in a shallow aquifer in Bangladesh were investigated using ICP-MS, FE-EPMA, XRD and 14C-AMS chronology techniques. The results of the present study indicated that the peak concentrations

Bottled natural mineral waters from an andesitic aquifer in Slovenia are enriched in magnesium (1.1 g/l), sulphate (2.2 g/l) and dissolved inorganic carbon (204 g/l). We analysed major ions, trace elements, tritium activity, 14C, δ18OH2O, δ2HH2O, δ13CDIC, gas composition and noble gases in six wells. In addition, 87Sr//86Sr, δ34SSO4 and δ11B were analysed here for the first time. Stable isotopes with

The Lavreotiki-Lavrion area, situated in the south-eastern tip of mainland Hellas, has one of the longest mining, ore beneficiation and smelting legacies worldwide. With a history of over 5000 years of argentiferous Pb–Zn ore exploitation, Lavrion is a place that shaped human civilisation by being a major wealth producing centre of the ancient world but also represents one of the few significant industrial

Portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) was recognized as an efficient and promising tools to study the contents of chemical elements in various media including soils under the impact of anthropogenic activities. However, the quality of data and the equality of chemical elements with other common analytical methods such as aqua-regia extraction vary depending on site, sample conditions, and

Microplastic pollution has been considered as a global environmental issue that potentially threatens human health. However, research about microplastic pollution in urban rivers is still insufficient. This study analyzed the abundance and distribution of microplastics in surface water of the Nanfei River in Hefei, China. Microplastic concentrations ranged from 0.8 to 27 items/L along the studied river

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs), such as Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cr, and Co, can accumulate in vineyard soils due to repeated uses of inorganic pesticides and chemical or organic fertilizers. In sloping vineyards, PTEs can also be moved by soil erosion resulting in their accumulation in low-energy zones within the landscape, adversely affecting the soil environment. Our study evaluated the ecological risk

Cadmium (Cd) contamination and soil salinity are the main environmental issues reducing crop productivity. This study aimed to examine the combined effects of salinity (NaCl) and Cd on the physiological and biochemical attributes of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.). For this purpose, 30-day-old plants of quinoa genotype “Puno” were transplanted in Hoagland's nutrient solution containing diverse concentrations

Water contamination by geogenic hexavalent chromium is an emerging issue in areas developed on ultramafic rocks and their weathering products. In this study, samples of serpentinites, soil, and laterites were collected and analyzed for the levels of Cr species, distribution into phases of different mobility, mineralogy, Cr oxidation capacity, and leaching of Cr(VI). Total chromium (2176–21,929 mg kg−1)

The fast pace of increasing human population has led to enhanced crop production, due to which a significant increase in the application of pesticides has been recorded worldwide. Following the enhancement in the utilization of pesticides, the degree of environmental pollution, particularly soil pollution, has increased. To address this challenge, different methods of controlling and eliminating such

Epidemiological studies have reported significant associations between weather situations and health. Cardiovascular disease is a serious chronic non-communicable disease which causes mortality and morbidity, bringing large economic burden to patients’ families. This study explored the relationship between cardiovascular disease (CVD) and weather conditions in Changchun, northeast China. The frequency

Air pollutants (either of natural or anthropogenic origin) represent a considerable environmental risk to human health by affecting the respiratory system and causing respiratory disorders. In this study, we investigate the effects of chronic exposure to hydrothermal emissions on the nasal cavity of mice since it is the first and the most exposed region of the respiratory system. This study, carried

Mathematical statistics, correlation analysis, Piper and Gibbs diagrams, and geographic information system- based multi-criteria decision analysis were used to study the hydrochemical characteristics and identification of hydrochemical ions affected by human activities of the springs in the south of Yanbian City, China. Four criteria were selected: land use/land cover, village density, distance to

Climate change may be associated with human morbidity and mortality through direct and indirect effects. Ahvaz is one of the hottest cities in the world. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) and non-accidental, cardiovascular and respiratory disease mortality in Ahvaz, Iran. Distributed Lag Non-linear Models (DLNM) combined with quasi-Poisson

Long-term exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their nitrated (NPAHs) and oxygenated (OPAHs) derivatives can cause adverse health effects due to their carcinogenicity, mutagenicity and oxidative potential. The distribution of PAH derivatives in the terrestrial environment has hardly been studied, although several PAH derivatives are ubiquitous in air and long-lived in soil and water

The present investigation explores the spatial and seasonal variations in potentially toxic element (PTEs) concentrations and contamination level assessment of groundwater samples in and around the Asansol industrial city, eastern India. The representative samples of groundwater from 24 different locations were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness

Fly ash is an inevitable by-product from the coal-fired power plants in many developing countries including India that needs safe, timely and productive disposal. The addition of fly ash alters physicochemical properties of soil and hence could be used as a soil conditioner or modifier along with the appropriate level of vermicompost to support plant growth. Several studies have focalized sole use

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancer types and a major cause of death. The relationship between lung cancer morbidity and exposure to air pollutants is of particular concern. However, the relationship and difference in lung cancer morbidity between indoor and outdoor air pollution effects remain unclear. In this paper, the aim was to comprehensively investigate the spatial relationships between

Winter-wheat–summer-maize rotations are important cropping patterns in China, and the quality of the food produced from these systems can affect human health. However, the effects of heavy metal pollution on both crops remain unclear. We analyzed soil-wheat and soil-maize samples from eastern China for their Cd, Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, and Pb contents. The concentrations of these metals in the soils analyzed

This paper reports the hydrochemistry and activity concentration of the natural radionuclides 238U, 234U, and 210Po for three compartments of the hydrological/hydrogeological system in Araxá city, Minas Gerais State, Brazil: 1) mineral waters from the prominent springs Dona Beja (DBS) and Andrade Júnior (AJS), occurring at Barreiro area; 2) surface waters from Barreiro area and vicinity; and 3) rainwater

The proposed research is devoted to the effects of the urbanization on the soil cover through the assessment of common organic and inorganic pollutants as well as anthropogenic microartifacts (MAs) over 20 sites characterizing different land use areas within the city of Tyumen, Russia. The analytical methods included measurements of physical–chemical properties of soils (total organic carbon content

Groundwater is a vital natural resource required to satisfy the domestic and agricultural needs. In general, human health is linked to the quality of the consumed water. For instance, long-term exposure to high nitrate levels in groundwater may cause problems. Hence, the present study was conducted to assess the nitrate contamination of groundwater as well as its related health risks for the inhabitants

The bioremediation of sewage sludge, containing potentially toxic elements (heavy metals), by the hyperaccumulator sunflower (Helianthus annus L.), was determined in greenhouse (G) and field (F) conditions in Isfahan, Iran. The soil pots, mixed with dried sewage sludge at 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 mg/kg, were planted with sunflower seedlings and kept in the greenhouse (G) and in the field (F). Different

This paper constructs data from 30 provinces in mainland China from 1997 to 2016 and mainly adopts panel data fixed effects models to investigate how the promotion pressure on local officials affects regional carbon emissions. Our empirical results show that the relationship between the promotion pressure on local officials and regional carbon emissions has a dynamic evolution characteristic during

Sulfide ores are extracted from mines at considerable depths, that having unique a physical and chemical environment. On the one hand, physical, chemical, and biological processes taken place in the rocks produce this environment; on the other hand, they form unique bacterial communities. The aim of this study was to study the native culturable aerobic bacteria present in the sulfide ores of the deposits

More than 2 billion people worldwide suffer from micronutrient malnutrition, sometimes known as hidden hunger. Zn malnutrition affects around a third of the world's population. The physicochemical features of soil, which limit the availability of Zn to plants, cause Zn deficiency. The eating habits of certain populations are more depended on Zn-deficient staple foods. Due to the high expense and certain

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) associated with atmospheric particles represent a significant risk to human health. This issue is even more relevant in environments where biomass combustion processes are considered as the major potential emission sources, such as the rural ecosystem. This study aimed to assess the levels of PM10-bound PAHs in several rural locations, their distribution along

Pot cultivation experiments were conducted to assess the phytoremediation potential of two local agronomic plants, namely Avena sativa and Vicia sativa. Several soils with long-standing contamination and different levels of Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination were used for this study. The soil samples came from different regions of Algeria and had different physico-chemical parameters. We

In this study, ambient air samples, olive tree branches (1- and 2-year-old) and their leaves (particulate and dissolved phase) were collected simultaneously between January and December months at a suburban site of Bursa-Turkey. Total polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations, sampled by employing passive air samplers, ranged from 0.03 to 0.08 ng/m3 in the atmosphere. The average annual total PCB

The objective of the present study was to derive a Ni bioaccessibility value for screening-level risk assessment of Ni substances in ingested materials including soils where multiple Ni substances are expected but not definitively identified. Broad ranges of Ni mass loading and dissolution time of a simple gastric assay were applied to pure Ni substances (removing the confounding factors of soil constituents

Organic matter (OM) and enzymes activity can act as indicators of the time and level of soil contamination with heavy metal. The goal of this study is evaluation of the effect of chronic long-term soil contamination with Cu on OM and biological activity in Spolic Technosols. The monitoring plot is located in the zone of industrial wastewater storage and sludge reservoirs in the Seversky Donets River

The Xiong'an New Area (XA) was established as a development hub in China. Excessive exploitation of groundwater has caused a series of environmental and geological problems, restricting further development of XA. The widely distributed ponds in this area have been targeted as convenient and efficient sites of artificial groundwater recharge. However, nitrogen accumulation in the shallow vadose zone

Compound-specific isotope analysis has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool for the assessment of in situ pollutant degradation. Enrichment factor, an essential and prerequisite parameter, could be determined under simulated control laboratory in advance. However, different microbial community composition and substrate availability may significantly affect the accuracy of simulated enrichment factor

In recent decades, antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been regarded as emerging pollutants. In Taihu Lake, as a typical representative of freshwater system in China, the ARGs occurrence and abundance was of great importance for ecological risk control and public health protection. In this research, high-throughput sequencing and metagenomics technique were used to investigate the

To investigate the health effects of fine particulate matter (≤ 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter; PM2.5)-bound heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) before and after the implementation of the Urban Natural Gas Heating Project (UNGHP), the lifetime cancer risks, hazard quotients (HQs) of heavy metals and PAHs were calculated. Seven kinds of heavy metals (Al, As, Cd, Cr, Mn, Ni and Se)

The consumption of vegetables grown in Pb-polluted soils causes serious threats to human health around the globe. In this study, we evaluated the Pb toxicity alleviation in water spinach grown of pot experiments in Pb-spiked soil treated with biochar and exogenous calcium. The results showed that both biochar and exogenous calcium alleviated Pb stress in water spinach, which was mainly manifested on

Over the past few decades, several techniques have been applied to identify the geographical origins of rice products. In this study, the chemical characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was carefully conducted by analysing PAHs in rice samples collected from private sector planting areas located in Bali and Yogyakarta, Indonesia (i.e. ID; n = 20), west sides of Malaysia (i.e. MY;

As a well-known human carcinogen, arsenic (As) could pose various detrimental health effects to humans mainly through the exposure pathway of food ingestion. In comparison with other foods, rice can accumulate more arsenic due to its tissue specificity. Thus, it is of great significance to assess the health risk of As due to rice ingestion. However, the study on risk assessment from exposure to As

There are few well-established risk factors for childhood leukemias. While the frequency of childhood leukemias might be partially attributable to some diseases (accounting for a small fraction of cases) or ionizing radiation, the role of heavy metals has not been assessed. The objective of our study was to assess the potential association between levels of cadmium (Cd) and lead (PB) in soil and childhood

This study aimed to determine the transfer of metals (Cd, Pb and Zn) and As to a Mediterranean forest close to five tailings ponds in Cartagena-La Union mining district (SE Spain). In addition, the effect of the rhizosphere of two native plant species, Olea europaea (OE) and Pistacia lentiscus (PL), on soil properties and chemical speciation of metal(oid)s was evaluated. Results showed there was no

The pollution of waterbodies with trace metals is of concern throughout the world due to their high toxicity. One of the main anthropogenic sources of trace metals entering natural waters is the mining and processing of minerals. Intensive development of the mining industry on the Kola Peninsula (the Murmansk region, Russia), exploration and development of new mineral resources have led to a sharp

Excessive Cd content and high Cd/Zn ratio in rice grains threaten human health. To study the reduction effects of combined soil amendments on Cd content and Cd/Zn ratio in rice planting in soils with different Cd contamination levels, we conducted field trials in three regions of Hunan province, China. Six field treatments were designed in each study area, including control (CK), lime alone (L), lime

Environmental exposure to trace elements has been widely suspected as an etiological factor for the emergence of chronic kidney disease of undetermined origin (CKDu) that prevails in certain districts of the dry zone areas of Sri Lanka. Contaminated rice can be act as a host for potentially toxic trace elements that ultimately led to health hazards; thus, rice soils were investigated in detail, giving

Humic substances, including humin fraction, play a key role in the fate of organic and inorganic xenobiotics contaminating the environment. Humin is an important fraction of humic substances, which has been the least studied to date. This is due to the difficulties connected with its isolation that pose a number of methodological problems. Methods of humin fraction isolation can be divided into following