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Ecotoxicological Effects and Risk Assessment of Pollutants

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Ecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (4 May 2023) | Viewed by 4543

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: biogeochemistry of toxic materials; soil and groundwater contamination and prevention; environmental health; pollution ecotoxicology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
Interests: mechanisms of environmental fate; ecological toxic effects and control/remediation of hazardous pollutants

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Guest Editor
Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Science, Wuhan 430072, China
Interests: environmental behavior, toxicology, and molecular mechanisms of emerging pollutants; development of toxicity-ameliorative measures based on gut microbiota manipulation to protect the health of animals and humans
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Wuhan Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
Interests: polluted soil; leaching action; solute migration; heavy metal pollution; environmental protection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With a sharp population growth and continual human activity, an increasing number of pollutants are released to the environment, which cause severe pollution pressure. These pollutants are emerging contaminants (microplastics, antibiotic, endocrine disrupting chemicals, and persistent organic pollutants), heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and so on. Their potential toxic effects on organisms have become the focus of current research. Contaminants are transferred and accumulated in organisms including humans through the food chain and through drinking water. Hence, contaminants enriched in the environments have a high potential risk for drinking water safety, food security, and human health. Long-term exposure to polluted environments may lead to various acute and chronic diseases.

The objectives of this Special Issue are to monitor the traceability and fate of pollutants in environments; to explore the migration, transformation, and accumulation of contaminants in various environmental media, such as groundwater, surface water, drinking water, soil, sediment, and air; to evaluate the ecotoxicological effects and human health risk of pollutants; to investigate the transfer between different trophic levels; to determine the toxicity, degradation, distribution, and enrichment mechanisms of contaminants in organisms; etc.

Prof. Dr. Zuoming Xie
Prof. Dr. Zhi Wang
Prof. Dr. Lianguo Chen
Prof. Dr. Jiangshan Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • migration, transformation, and accumulation of pollutants
  • traceability and fate of pollutants
  • emerging contaminants
  • heavy metals
  • organic pollutants
  • microplastics
  • antibiotic
  • endocrine-disrupting chemicals
  • high arsenic groundwater
  • bioavailability
  • risk assessment
  • ecotoxicological effects

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1973 KiB  
Article
Origin and Enrichment Mechanisms of Salinity and Fluoride in Sedimentary Aquifers of Datong Basin, Northern China
by Xianguo Wang, Ranpatiyalage Nishamani Nuwandika Weerasinghe, Chunli Su, Mengzhu Wang and Jiaqi Jiang
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 1832; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031832 - 19 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1374
Abstract
The exposure of inhabitants to high fluoride and saline groundwater is the main health issue in Datong Basin, Northern China. This study aims to elucidate the spatial distribution and the mechanisms of high fluoride and salinity occurrence in the shallow sedimentary aquifers of [...] Read more.
The exposure of inhabitants to high fluoride and saline groundwater is the main health issue in Datong Basin, Northern China. This study aims to elucidate the spatial distribution and the mechanisms of high fluoride and salinity occurrence in the shallow sedimentary aquifers of the Datong Basin. Groundwater salinity and fluoride content, and their association with measured hydrochemical parameters, were conducted using multivariate statistical analyses. The analytical results revealed that the concentrations of fluoride and total dissolved solids (TDS) show dramatic variations within the study area. Around 41.4% of groundwater samples contained high-level fluoride concentration (F > 1.5 mg/L), whereas 32.8% contained elevated-level TDS (TDS > 1000 mg/L). Both fluoride and TDS concentrations had elevated trends towards the central part of the basin. Shallow groundwater was seriously affected by evaporation and evapotranspiration, which can be the critical factors responsible for rather high TDS and F concentrations in shallow aquifers. Water–rock reactions including silicate hydrolysis, dissolution–precipitation of carbonates and evaporates, adsorption, and ion exchange processes, as well as evapotranspiration, are the main governing factors for salinity and fluoride enrichment in groundwater. Solubility control of F-bearing and carbonate minerals is the dominant mechanism affecting F levels. Prevailing conditions of alkaline pH, moderate TDS and Na+, high HCO3, and lower Ca2+ content facilitate the enrichment of fluoride in the study area. Excessive evapotranspiration can be also the most influencing factor responsible for high fluoride and TDS content, due to the extended residence time of groundwater and the arid climate of the central part of the Datong Basin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecotoxicological Effects and Risk Assessment of Pollutants)
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18 pages, 2495 KiB  
Article
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Contamination in Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus Lacépède, 1803 from Lake Togo-Lagoon of Aného, Togo: Possible Human Health Risk Suitable to Their Consumption
by Kamilou Ouro-Sama, Gnon Tanouayi, Hodabalo Dheoulaba Solitoke, Narcis Barsan, Emilian Mosnegutu, Tchaa Esso-Essinam Badassan, Sadikou Agbere, Koudjo Adje, Valentin Nedeff and Kissao Gnandi
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 1666; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031666 - 17 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1287
Abstract
The Lake Togo-Lagoon of Aného is located in the coastal zone where phosphorite mining is carried out. This mining discharges all kinds of waste such as fuel oil into the surrounding environment without prior treatment. Moreover, the hydrosystem receives runoff and river inputs [...] Read more.
The Lake Togo-Lagoon of Aného is located in the coastal zone where phosphorite mining is carried out. This mining discharges all kinds of waste such as fuel oil into the surrounding environment without prior treatment. Moreover, the hydrosystem receives runoff and river inputs after having crossed and leached from mining and urban soils. This study aims to determine the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contamination in commercially consumed fish species (Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus) from that hydrosystem and the associated health risks for consumers. For that, fish sample collection was performed during the dry season. Afterwards, their muscles, gills, and livers were cut and 12 PAHs were analyzed using gas chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometer (GC-MS). The total PAHs (tPAHs) concentrations in fish tissues ranged from 5.24 to 48.40 µg/kg with average concentration of 14.51 ± 8.95 µg/kg in muscles, from 5.90 to 28.20 µg/kg averaging 14.90 ± 5.19 µg/kg in gills, and from 43.20 to 149.00 µg/kg with an average of 80.74 ± 27.08 µg/kg in livers. The average concentrations of low molecular weight PAHs (LMW PAHs) were 10.82 ± 9.61 µg/kg in muscles, 8.25 ± 5.43 µg/kg in gills, and 47.97 ± 22.56 µg/kg in livers whereas those of high molecular weight of PAHs (HMW PAHs) were 4.10 ± 2.14 µg/kg in muscles, 7.98 ± 3.96 µg/kg in gills, and 32.77 ± 8.66 µg/kg in livers. An overall trend of decreasing concentrations with increasing fish size classes was observed for some PAHs (Naphtalene, Pyrene in muscles, for Pyrene, Benzo(a)Anthracene, Chrysene in gills and for Naphtalene, Phenanthrene in livers). The PAHs in these fish might have pyrogenic and petrogenic sources, with the dominance of pyrogenic, and all of the total hazard quotients (THQ) are less than 1. This situation must not be neglected for better planning sustainable management of the target ecosystem. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecotoxicological Effects and Risk Assessment of Pollutants)
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13 pages, 2542 KiB  
Article
Effects of Sulfide Input on Arsenate Bioreduction and Its Reduction Product Formation in Sulfidic Groundwater
by Yang Yang, Xi Xie, Mengna Chen, Zuoming Xie and Jia Wang
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(24), 16987; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416987 - 17 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1168
Abstract
Microbes have important impacts on the mobilization of arsenic in groundwater. To study the effects of sulfide on As(V) bioreduction in sulfidic groundwater, Citrobacter sp. JH012-1 isolated from sediments in the Jianghan Plain was used in a microcosm experiment. The results showed that [...] Read more.
Microbes have important impacts on the mobilization of arsenic in groundwater. To study the effects of sulfide on As(V) bioreduction in sulfidic groundwater, Citrobacter sp. JH012-1 isolated from sediments in the Jianghan Plain was used in a microcosm experiment. The results showed that sulfide significantly enhanced As(V) bioreduction as an additional electron donor. The reduction rates of As(V) were 21.8%, 34.5%, 73.6% and 85.9% under 0, 15, 75 and 150 µM sulfide inputting, respectively. The main products of As(V) bioreduction were thioarsenite and orpiment and the concentration of thioarsenite reached to 5.5 and 7.1 µM in the solution with the initial 75 and 150 µM sulfide, respectively. However, under 0 and 15 µM sulfide inputting, the dominant product was arsenite with no thioarsenite accumulation. The decrease in pH enhanced the bioreduction of As(V) and promoted the formation of thioarsenite and orpiment. In addition, the percentage of thioarsenite in total arsenic decreased with the decrease in the ratio of sulfur to arsenic, indicating that the formation of thioarsenite was limited by the concentration of initial sulfide. Therefore, the presence of sulfide had a significant effect on the transformation of arsenic in groundwater. This study provides new insights into the bioreduction of As(V) and the formation of thioarsenite in sulfidic groundwater. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecotoxicological Effects and Risk Assessment of Pollutants)
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