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Emerging Contaminants VS. Legacy Pollutants: Their Impacts on the Environmental Integrity and Public Health

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2018) | Viewed by 51354

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Dr. Chihhao Fan

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Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Interests: river pollution control and water quality management; assessment of carrying capacity of water bodies; strategy for TMDL (total maximum daily load) implementation; watershed management; environmental chemistry; water and wastewater treatment; advanced oxidation processes; impact of macromolecule on AOP treatment efficiency; photo-catalytic oxidation of disinfection by-products in drinking water; transport and fate of environmental contaminants; quality assurance and conservation of agro-environment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Hsiao-Yu Yang

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Institute of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, Taipei, Taiwan, No. 17 Xuzhou Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan
Interests: occupation and environmental lung diseases; health risk of non-asbestiform asbestos; earlier diagnosis of asbestos-related diseases using GC/MS and sensor-array technology; cancer risk for talc exposure; aristolochic acids; noise-induced hearing loss; occupational kidney disease and urological cancer among Chinese herbalists exposed to herbs containing aristolochic acid

Prof. Dr. Yu-Pin Lin

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Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Interests: ecological hydrology monitoring and modeling in drainage basins; global change land use modeling; landscape ecology; system dynamic modeling of wetlands; spatial analysis and modeling; blockchain; spatial dynamic modeling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the years, modern technologies have brought our society into the next millennium with the expectation of a better and sustainable environment. All these diversified achievements in societal modernization have also complicated the encountered environmental difficulties, such as the discharges of various pollutants, which impact a great deal on environmental integrity. Environmental monitoring results indicate the advent and accumulation of emerging contaminants in addition to the already-prevailing legacy pollutants. In the literature, many studies have reported on the physiochemical characteristics of these pollutants, which may pose significant threats to biological and ecological communities. Their environmental distribution and possible entrance into food chain/web could have negative influence on the public health.

Without proper pretreatment, these discharged pollutants enter and accumulate in the environment. They impair the sustainable use of natural resources and deteriorate the environmental quality, as well as the safety of public health.

To mitigate such pollution, many efforts have been undertaken in the investigation of: (1) applicable technologies for contaminant removal to assure environmental quality, (2) the transport and distribution of concerning pollutants in the environment, and (3) risk assessment and management of the sustainable use of environmental resources related to emerging contaminants and legacy pollutants.

Asbestos is an important legacy pollutant. Though asbestos minerals with asbestiform structure are well-known carcinogens, many asbestos minerals exist in compacted masses and are recognized as non-asbestiform asbestos minerals. Non-asbestiform asbestos minerals are common in the construction, stone and jewelry industries, but the hazards are inconclusive. Though asbestos is gradually being banned in many countries, the effectiveness of a global ban and the management of asbestos-exposed subjects varies in different countries. This Special Issue welcomes original research about the effectiveness of new screening methods for asbestos-related lung diseases or reviews of international comparisons for asbestos control policy.

Prof. Dr. Chihhao Fan
Dr. Hsiao-Yu Yang
Prof. Dr. Yu-Pin Lin
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Contaminant fate and transport
Environmental pollution
Public Health
Risk assessment and management
Emerging contaminants
Environmental restoration and sustainability

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 1876 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Highway-Related Pollutant on the Groundwater Quality of Turfy Swamps in the Changbai Mountain Area

by Hong Wang, Lei Nie, Yan Xu, Chao Du, Tao Zhang and Yuzheng Wang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(8), 1652; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15081652 - 3 Aug 2018

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3855

Abstract

Transportation activities such as fuel consumption, vehicle wear and road deicing can detrimentally affect the groundwater quality of fragile roadside wetland environments including. Nineteen parameters (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, Ni, Hg, As, pH, TDS, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, SO₄²⁻, Cl⁻, HCO₃⁻, NO₃⁻ and F⁻) were determined in groundwater samples from turfy swamps impacted by highway traffic from Jiangyuan (JY), Longquan (LQ), and Huangsongdian (HSD). Our results indicate that the metals Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cd, the ions Na⁺, K⁺ and Cl⁻ in groundwater were negatively affected by highway transportation, and the maximum affected distance of these pollutants varied from 15 to 100 m. The content of most of these pollutants in roadside groundwater decreased exponentially with the distance from the highway, as did the heavy metal pollution index HPI and C_d. The values of HPI and C_d in these three sites ranged from 46.8 to 78.4 and −4.9 to −2.9, respectively. The low pollution levels of heavy metals are related to the strong adsorption capacity of turfy soil towards metals. In any case, road transport activities increased the Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cd, Na⁺, K⁺ and Cl⁻ content in roadside groundwater in turfy swamp. With the increase of highway operation time, it will inevitably have a great influence on the groundwater quality of these wetlands. Therefore, the long-term monitoring is necessary to protect the sustainable development of turfy swamp. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Contaminants VS. Legacy Pollutants: Their Impacts on the Environmental Integrity and Public Health)

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16 pages, 2379 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in a Large, Highly Polluted Freshwater Lake, China: Occurrence, Fate, and Risk Assessment

by Jianchao Liu, Guanghua Lu, Fuhai Zhang, Matthew Nkoom, Zhenhua Yan and Donghai Wu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(7), 1529; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15071529 - 19 Jul 2018

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 5482

Abstract

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were extensively investigated in water, sediment, and biota samples collected from Chaohu Lake basin in China. The total concentrations of eight PBDEs (Σ₈PBDEs) were in the ranges of 0.11–4.48 ng/L, 0.06–5.41 ng/g, and 0.02–1.50 ng/g dry weight (dw) in the water, sediment, and biota samples, respectively. The concentrations showed wide variations in the monitoring area, while the congener profiles in all the water, sediment, and biota samples were generally characterized by only a few compounds, such as BDE-47, BDE-99, and/or BDE-209. The spatial analysis depicted a decreasing trend of PBDEs from west to east Chaohu Lake, consistent with regional industrialization degree. The distributions of PBDE congeners in the biota samples were similar to the compositional profiles in the water, which were dominated by BDE-47 and/or BDE-99. Nevertheless, BDE-47 and BDE-153 in the brain tissue showed a higher accumulative potential than PBDEs in other tissues as well as the whole body, with 96% relative contribution of Σ₈PBDEs. The noncarcinogenic risk values estimated for BDE-47, BDE-99, and BDE-153 indicated that the specific risk associated with the studied water and foodstuffs is limited. However, there is a potential mixture ecotoxicity at three trophic levels at some sampling points in the water, which should draw considerable attention. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Contaminants VS. Legacy Pollutants: Their Impacts on the Environmental Integrity and Public Health)

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14 pages, 7523 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Occurrence and Risk Assessment of PAHs in Surface Sediments from Western Arctic and Subarctic Oceans

by Fajin Chen, Yan Lin, Minggang Cai, Jingjing Zhang, Yuanbiao Zhang, Weiming Kuang, Lin Liu, Peng Huang and Hongwei Ke

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(4), 734; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15040734 - 12 Apr 2018

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 5333

Abstract

In the fourth Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition (from July to September, 2010), 14 surface sediment samples were collected from the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, and Canadian Basin to examine the spatial distributions, potential sources, as well as ecological and health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The ∑PAH (refers to the sum of 16 priority PAHs) concentration range from 27.66 ng/g to 167.48 ng/g (dry weight, d.w.). Additionally, the concentrations of ∑PAH were highest in the margin edges of the Canadian Basin, which may originate from coal combustion with an accumulation of Canadian point sources and river runoff due to the surface ocean currents. The lowest levels occurred in the northern of Canadian Basin, and the levels of ∑PAH in the Chukchi Sea were slightly higher than those in the Being Sea. Three isomer ratios of PAHs (Phenanthrene/Anthracene, BaA/(BaA+Chy), and LMW/HMW) were used to investigate the potential sources of PAHs, which showed the main source of combustion combined with weaker petroleum contribution. Compared with four sediment quality guidelines, the concentrations of PAH are much lower, indicating a low potential ecological risk. All TEQ_PAH also showed a low risk to human health. Our study revealed the important role of the ocean current on the redistribution of PAHs in the Arctic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Contaminants VS. Legacy Pollutants: Their Impacts on the Environmental Integrity and Public Health)

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12 pages, 6519 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Co-Processing Sewage Sludge in the Cement Kiln on PAHs, Heavy Metals Emissions and the Surrounding Environment

by Dong Lv, Tianle Zhu, Runwei Liu, Xinghua Li, Yuan Zhao, Ye Sun, Hongmei Wang, Fan Zhang and Qinglin Zhao

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(4), 698; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15040698 - 8 Apr 2018

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4555

Abstract

To understand the effects of co-processing sewage sludge in the cement kiln on non-criterion pollutants emissions and its surrounding environment, the flue gas from a cement kiln stack, ambient air and soil from the background/downwind sites were collected in the cement plant. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals of the samples were analyzed. The results show that PAHs in flue gas mainly exist in the gas phase and the low molecular weight PAHs are the predominant congener. The co-processing sewage sludge results in the increase in PAHs and heavy metals emissions, especially high molecular weight PAHs and low-volatile heavy metals such as Cd and Pb in the particle phase, while it does not change their compositions and distribution patterns significantly. The concentrations and their distributions of the PAHs and heavy metals between the emissions and ambient air have a positive correlation and the co-processing sewage sludge results in the increase of PAHs and heavy metals concentrations in the ambient air. The PAHs concentration level and their distribution in soil are proportional to those in the particle phase of flue gas, and the co-processing sewage sludge can accelerate the accumulation of the PAHs and heavy metals in the surrounding soil, especially high/middle molecular weight PAHs and low-volatile heavy metals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Contaminants VS. Legacy Pollutants: Their Impacts on the Environmental Integrity and Public Health)

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14 pages, 3967 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Removal and Biodegradation of 17β-Estradiol and Diethylstilbestrol by the Freshwater Microalgae Raphidocelis subcapitata

by Weijie Liu, Qi Chen, Ning He, Kaifeng Sun, Dong Sun, Xiaoqing Wu and Shunshan Duan

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(3), 452; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15030452 - 5 Mar 2018

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 5199

Abstract

Natural steroidal and synthetic non-steroidal estrogens such as 17β-estradiol (E2) and diethylstilbestrol (DES) have been found in natural water, which can potentially endanger public health and aquatic ecosystems. The removal and biodegradation of E2 and DES by Raphidocelis subcapitata were studied in bacteria-free cultures exposed to single and mixture treatments at different concentrations for 96 h. The results showed that R. subcapitata exhibited a rapid and strong ability to remove E2 and DES in both single and mixture treatments by biodegradation. At the end of 96 h, the removal percentage of single E2 and DES achieved 82.0%, 80.4%, 74.6% and 89.9%, 73.4%, 54.1% in 0.1, 0.5, and 1.5 mg·L⁻¹, respectively. With the exception of the 0.1 mg·L⁻¹ treatment at 96 h, the removal capacity of E2 was more efficient than that of DES by R. subcapitata. Furthermore, the removal percentage of mixture E2 and DES achieved 88.5%, 82.9%, 84.3% and 87.2%, 71.8%, 51.1% in 0.1, 0.5, and 1.5 mg·L⁻¹, respectively. The removal percentage of mixed E2 was significantly higher than that of the single E2. The presence of DES could accelerate the removal of E2 from the mixture treatments in equal concentrations. In addition, the removal was mainly attributed to the biodegradation or biotransformation process by the microalgae cells rather than simple sorption and accumulation in the cells. The microalgae R. subcapitata demonstrated a high capability for the removal of the E2 and DES indicating future prospects for its application. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Contaminants VS. Legacy Pollutants: Their Impacts on the Environmental Integrity and Public Health)

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12 pages, 3164 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Feasibility Study of Ammonia Recovery from Coking Wastewater by Coupled Operation of a Membrane Contactor and Membrane Distillation

by Po-Hsun Lin, Ren-Yang Horng, Shu-Fang Hsu, Shiao-Shing Chen and Chia-Hua Ho

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(3), 441; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15030441 - 3 Mar 2018

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 6036

Abstract

More than 80% of ammonia (NH₃) in the steel manufacturing process wastewater is contributed from the coking wastewater, which is usually treated by biological processes. However, the NH₃ in the coking wastewater is typically too high for biological treatment due to its inhibitory concentration. Therefore, a two-stage process including a hollow fiber membrane contactor (HFMC) and a modified membrane distillation (MD) system was developed and applied to reduce and recover NH₃ from coking wastewater. The objectives of this paper are to evaluate different membrane materials, receiving solutions, and operation parameters for the system, remove NH₃ from the coking wastewater to less than 300 mg N/L, which is amenable to the biological process, and recover ammonia solution for reuse. As a result, the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) HFMC using sulfuric acid as a receiving solution can achieve a maximum NH₃-N transmembrane flux of 1.67 g N/m²·h at pH of 11.5 and reduce NH₃ in the coking wastewater to less than 300 mg N/L. The NH₃ in the converted ammonium sulfate ((NH₄)₂SO₄) was then recovered by the modified MD using ice water as the receiving solution to produce ≥3% of ammonia solution for reuse. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Contaminants VS. Legacy Pollutants: Their Impacts on the Environmental Integrity and Public Health)

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10 pages, 1676 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Degradation Investigation of Selected Taste and Odor Compounds by a UV/Chlorine Advanced Oxidation Process

by Jingyun Fang, Jiajian Liu, Chii Shang and Chihhao Fan

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(2), 284; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15020284 - 7 Feb 2018

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 5414

Abstract

Taste- and odor-causing (T&O) compounds are a major concern in drinking water treatment plants due to their negative impacts on the safety and palatability of water supply. This study explored the degradation kinetics and radical chemistry of four often-detected T&O compounds, geosmin (GSM), 2-methylisoborneol (MIB), benzothiazole (BT), and 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (IBMP), in the ultraviolet/chlorine (UV/chlorine) advanced oxidation process. All experiments were carried out in a 700 mL photoreactor and the process effectively degraded the investigated T&O compounds in a slightly acidic environment. The degradation of T&O decreased with increasing pH but slightly with decreasing chlorine dosage. When the pH increased from 6 to 8, the pseudo-first-order rate constants of GSM, MIB, BT, and IBMP dropped from 2.84 × 10⁻³, 2.29 × 10⁻³, 3.64 × 10⁻³, and 2.76 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹ to 3.77 × 10⁻⁴, 2.64 × 10⁻⁴, 6.48 × 10⁻⁴, and 6.40 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹, respectively. Increasing the chlorine dosage slightly accelerated the degradation of the investigated T&O compounds, but excessive hypochlorous acid and hypochlorite scavenged the HO• radicals and reactive chlorine species (RCS). Generally, HO• primarily contributed to the degradation of all of the investigated T&O compounds as compared to RCS. The degradation by RCS was found to be structurally selective. RCS could not degrade GSM, but contributed to the degradation of MIB, BT, and IBMP. The results confirmed that the proposed oxidation process effectively degraded typical T&O compounds in aqueous phase. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Contaminants VS. Legacy Pollutants: Their Impacts on the Environmental Integrity and Public Health)

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7 pages, 505 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Asbestos Consumption in Mongolia: 1996–2014

by Naransukh Damiran and Arthur Frank

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(1), 136; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010136 - 15 Jan 2018

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5395

Abstract

Asbestos is still used in Mongolia in the energy and construction sectors, among others. However, limited data is available on asbestos consumption and asbestos-related disease in Mongolia. The purpose of this paper is to present the available information on the importation of asbestos into Mongolia. We used data on annual asbestos imports between 1996 and 2014 from Mongolian Customs Statistics and the National Council on Toxic and Hazardous Substances Affairs. The uses of this material are also presented with respect to chrysotile alone. Most asbestos is used for construction. Mongolia started using asbestos in the energy and construction industries as thermal insulation in 1961. Asbestos is still allowed for use in Mongolia under the Law on Toxic and Hazards Substances. There are no asbestos mines in Mongolia, and the manufacture of asbestos-containing materials does not take place there. Thus, asbestos is mainly imported from China and Russia. Mongolia used 44,422 metric tons of asbestos-containing materials between 1996 and 2014. In Mongolia, with the current use of asbestos, there will be a continuing risk of developing asbestos-related diseases from past use, and proper oversight of asbestos-involving activities and the safe removal and disposal of asbestos must be considered. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Contaminants VS. Legacy Pollutants: Their Impacts on the Environmental Integrity and Public Health)

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1286 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Acute Toxicity and Ecological Risk Assessment of Benzophenone-3 (BP-3) and Benzophenone-4 (BP-4) in Ultraviolet (UV)-Filters

by Yang Du, Wen-Qian Wang, Zhou-Tao Pei, Fahmi Ahmad, Rou-Rou Xu, Yi-Min Zhang and Li-Wei Sun

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(11), 1414; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14111414 - 19 Nov 2017

Cited by 80 | Viewed by 8277

Abstract

Ultraviolet (UV)-absorbing chemicals (UV filters) are used in personal care products for the protection of human skin and hair from damage by UV radiation. Although these substances are released into the environment in the production and consumption processes, little is known about their ecotoxicology effects. The acute toxicity and potential ecological risk of UV filters benzophenone-3 (BP-3) and benzophenone-4 (BP-4) on Chlorella vulgaris, Daphnia magna, and Brachydanio rerio were analyzed in the present study. The EC₅₀ values (96 h) of BP-3 and BP-4 on C. vulgaris were 2.98 and 201.00 mg/L, respectively. The 48 h-LC₅₀ of BP-3 and BP-4 on D. magna were 1.09 and 47.47 mg/L, respectively. The 96 h-LC₅₀ of BP-3 and BP-4 on B. rerio were 3.89 and 633.00 mg/L, respectively. The toxicity of a mixture of BP-3 and BP-4 on C. vulgaris, D. magna, and B. rerio all showed antagonistic effects. The induced predicted no-effect concentrations of BP-3 and BP-4 by the assessment factor method were 1.80 × 10⁻³ and 0.47 mg/L, respectively, by assessment factor (AF) method, which were both lower than the concentrations detected in the environment at present, verifying that BP-3 and BP-4 remain low-risk chemicals to the aquatic ecosystem. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Contaminants VS. Legacy Pollutants: Their Impacts on the Environmental Integrity and Public Health)

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