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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 Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 10734

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Dr. Remigio Paradelo Núñez

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Guest Editor

Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain
Interests: urban soil; compost; trace elements; soil contamination; soil remediation; waste management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. María Teresa Barral Silva

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Guest Editor

Departamento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain
Interests: soil quality; soil pollution; sediment pollution; heavy metals in the environment; arsenic; river biofilms; waste reutilization; compost; urban soils
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The environmental functions of soils and sediments are being increasingly threatened by the presence and accumulation of a diversity of pollutants derived from anthropic activities. Much progress has been made regarding the knowledge of the various types of pollutants present in these environments and their characterization. Nevertheless, there are new fields to be explored, derived from the emergence of new pollutants such as xenobiotic organic substances, microplastics, and other emerging contaminants, for which it is necessary to develop new methodologies for detection and characterization. It is also imperative for progress in the evaluation of the potential negative effects of pollutants on soil and sediment organisms. Based on this knowledge, new limits have to established for the declaration of contaminated soils and sediments in addition to techniques for the eventual restoration of these degraded environments.

This Special Issue seeks research papers on the various environmental aspects of soil and sediment pollution, with special emphasis on new research methods, analysis of emergent contaminants, and detection of microplastics, contaminant sources, and transfer from soil to sediments. Submissions on the effect of pollutants on living organisms in soil and sediment environments are also welcome, including those covering the bioaccessibility of contaminants, transfer through the food chain, accumulation processes, and ecotoxic responses. Regulatory issues and legal considerations are also of interest. Submissions reporting results from different regions around the world are particularly welcome to ensure a worldwide perspective on this subject.

Dr. Remigio Paradelo Núñez
Prof. Dr. María Silva
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

soil pollution
sediment pollution
emergent contaminants
bioaccessibility
pollution sources
analytical methods
ecotoxicity
risk assessment
threshold values
regulatory issues
remediation techniques

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2596 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of the Chronic Toxicity and Interactions between Arsenic and Riverbed Biofilms

by María Teresa Barral, Diego Rodríguez-Iglesias, Diego Martiñá-Prieto and Remigio Paradelo

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12689; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912689 - 4 Oct 2022

Viewed by 1247

Abstract

The toxic effect of exposure to arsenic, As(V), at concentrations of 0 to 30 mg L⁻¹, for 49 days, on epipsammic biofilms, was evaluated in a microcosm experiment. The growth and composition of biofilms developed on sediments containing As concentrations of 31 mg kg⁻¹ and 85 mg kg⁻¹ were compared, using photosynthetic parameters and Live/Dead stains as end points. A toxic effect of arsenic could not be demonstrated; however, biofilm growth was higher over the sediment with higher arsenic concentrations, suggesting the development of pollution-induced community induced tolerance (PICT). Nevertheless, PICT was not observed after exposure to high arsenic concentration in the laboratory, as there were no differences in algal growth between the previous 0 and 30 mg L⁻¹ systems exposed to new 30 mg As L⁻¹ dissolution over 29 days. The algal composition was affected by the added arsenic, and brown algae were the most tolerant compared to green algae and cyanophyceae, as their percentage increased from 25 and 33% in the control samples to 57 and 47% in the samples with the highest added As concentration. In turn, the biofilm development influenced arsenic redistribution and speciation. Arsenic concentration in water decreased with time during the incubation experiment, retained by the sediment particles and the biofilm. In the biofilm, extracellular As was significantly higher (up to 11 times) than intracellular arsenic. As(V) was the predominant species in water and in the biofilm, but products of biotic transformation, namely As(III), DMA(V) and MMA(V), were also found in the solution and in the biofilm in some systems, demonstrating reduction and methylation by the organisms. As a conclusion, a toxic effect was not detected for the concentrations evaluated. Biofilms naturally exposed in the river system to high As concentrations acquire pollution-induced tolerance; however, tolerance was not acquired by exposure to 30 mg L⁻¹ for 29 days in the laboratory. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Soil and Sediment Pollution)

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7 pages, 1503 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Bacillus subtilis Zeolite Used for Sediment Remediation on Sulfide, Phosphate, and Nitrogen Control in a Microcosm

by Maheshkumar Prakash Patil, Ilwon Jeong, Hee-Eun Woo, Seok-Jin Oh, Hyung Chul Kim, Kyeongmin Kim, Shinya Nakashita and Kyunghoi Kim

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(7), 4163; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19074163 - 31 Mar 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1636

Abstract

Eutrophication is an emerging worldwide issue concerning the excessive accumulation of various pollutants in sediments, owing to the release of industrial or household wastewaters to coastal areas. The coastal sediment of Goseong Bay in the Republic of Korea is organically enriched with pollutants, including heavy metals, sulfide, phosphate, and ammonia. Microbial remediation and capping techniques have been suggested as effective routes for sediment remediation. In this study, Bacillus subtilis zeolite (BZ) was used as a sediment capping material, and effective remediation of coastal sediment was observed in a 40-day laboratory microcosm experiment. A significant decrease in the sediment water content and reduced concentration of acid volatile sulfide were observed in the BZ-capped sediment. In the overlying water and pore water, significant decreases in phosphate and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN; NO₂-N + NO₃-N and NH₄-N) concentrations were observed in the BZ-treated experiment. Based on our findings, we conclude that BZ could be an effective capping material for coastal sediment remediation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Soil and Sediment Pollution)

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16 pages, 3042 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Accumulation and Transformation of Heavy Metals in Sediments of Liujiang River Basin in Southern China and Their Threatening on Water Security

by Xiongyi Miao, Mian Song, Gaohai Xu, Yupei Hao and Hucai Zhang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(3), 1619; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031619 - 31 Jan 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2431

Abstract

Heavy metal (HM) pollution in sediments is tightly related to the security of water quality in rivers, but the accumulation and conversion of HMs are poorly researched, so that a field study was conducted as an example in the Liujiang River Basin. Seven HMs were analyzed to determine between the overlying water and sediments. Moreover, the regulation of HMs speciation and environmental factors in their accumulation and conversion were identified. The obtained results suggested the HM concentrations in water are far below the primary standard of water quality, but in sediments, the contents of Cd and Zn are significantly higher than their corresponding baseline of soil. Only Cd and Pb are dominantly in non-residual form (carbonate-bound fraction and reducible fraction, respectively). The non-significant correlations suggested pH and Eh may be hard to influence HMs in water, while the significant correlations highlighted the regulations of Eh, organic matter and mean grain size on the accumulation of metals in sediments. The opposite correlations between EC, TDS, pH and Cd confirmed the emission of acid wastewater contributed to the accumulation of Cd in sediment. The conversion of metals between water and sediments were found to be significant only in specific forms of Cd, As, Cu, Zn and Pb, suggesting the conversion of HMs in sediments should be largely regulated by their specific forms. The very high risk disclosed by the higher values of

E_{r}^{i}

and RI are only found upstream, while the higher risk of Cd should be treated as a critical environmental threat. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Soil and Sediment Pollution)

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15 pages, 5162 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Trends, Sources and Ecological Risks of Heavy Metals in the Surface Sediments of Weitou Bay, China

by Qiuming Chen, Faming Huang and Anran Cai

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(18), 9562; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189562 - 10 Sep 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1745

Abstract

Heavy metals are extremely harmful materials to marine ecosystems and human health. To determine the anthropogenic contributions and ecological risks in Weitou Bay, China, the spatiotemporal variations in the concentrations of heavy metals in surface sediment were investigated during spring 2008 and 2017. The results indicated that high concentrations of pollutants were generally located near the river mouths and along the coast of industrial areas. Principal component analysis indicated that heavy metal contents were mainly affected by industrial waste drainage, urban development, natural weathering and erosion, and interactions between organic matter and sulfides. The potential ecological risk assessment demonstrated that, in 2008, 82% of the sampling sites were at low risk, while 18% were at moderate risk. The situation had deteriorated slightly by 2017, with 73%, 18%, and 9% of stations in Waytou Bay at low, moderate, and very high risk, respectively. Cd was the most harmful metal, followed by Hg. These two elements accounted for more than 80% of the potential ecological risk index (RI) value. The present work analyzed the source of heavy metals, identified the major pollution elements and high risk areas, and provides guidance for pollution control and ecological restoration in Weitou Bay. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Soil and Sediment Pollution)

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26 pages, 2557 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Integrated Assessment of Affinity to Chemical Fractions and Environmental Pollution with Heavy Metals: A New Approach Based on Sequential Extraction Results

by Yuri Vodyanitskii and Dmitry Vlasov

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(16), 8458; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168458 - 10 Aug 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2515

Abstract

To assess the affinity degree of heavy metals (HMs) to geochemical phases, many indices with several limitations are used. Thus, this study aims to develop a new complex index for assessing contamination level and affinity to chemical fractions in various solid environmental media. For this, a new integrated approach using the chemical affinity index (CAF) is proposed. Comparison of CAF with %F on the literature examples on fractionation of HMs from soils, bottom sediments, atmospheric PM₁₀, and various particle size fractions of road dust proved a less significant role of the residual HMs fraction and a greater contribution of the rest of the chemical fractions in the pollution of all studied environments. This fact is due to the normalization relative to the global geochemical reference standard, calculations of contribution of an individual element to the total pollution by all studied HMs, and contribution of the particular chemical fraction to the total HMs content taken into account in CAF. The CAF index also shows a more significant role in pollution and chemical affinity of mobile and potentially mobile forms of HMs. The strong point of CAF is the stability of the obtained HM series according to the degree of chemical affinity and contamination. Future empirical studies are necessary for the more precise assessment of CAF taking into account the spatial distribution of HMs content, geographic conditions, geochemical factors, the intensity of anthropogenic impact, environmental parameters (temperature, humidity, precipitation, pH value, the content of organic matter, electrical conductivity, particle size distribution, etc.). The combined use of CAF along with other indices allows a more detailed assessment of the strength of HMs binding to chemical phases, which is crucial for understanding the HMs’ fate in the environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Soil and Sediment Pollution)

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