Levels of perfluorochemicals in water samples from Catalonia,Spain: is drinking water a significant contribution to human exposure?

Background, aim, and scope  In recent years, due to a high persistence, biomagnification in food webs, presence in remote regions, and potential toxicity, perfluorochemicals (PFCs) have generated a considerable interest. The present study was aimed to determine the levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and other PFCs in drinking water (tap and bottled) and river water samples from Tarragona Province (Catalonia, Spain). Materials and methods  Municipal drinking (tap) water samples were collected from the four most populated towns in the Tarragona Province, whereas samples of bottled waters were purchased from supermarkets. River water samples were collected from the Ebro (two samples), Cortiella, and Francolí Rivers. After pretreatment, PFC analyses were performed by HPLC-MS. Quantification was done using the internal standard method, with recoveries between 68% and 118%. Results  In tap water, PFOS and PFOA levels ranged between 0.39 and 0.87 ng/L (0.78 and 1.74 pmol/L) and between 0.32 and 6.28 ng/L (0.77 and 15.2 pmol/L), respectively. PFHpA, PFHxS, and PFNA were also other detected PFCs. PFC levels were notably lower in bottled water, where PFOS could not be detected in any sample. Moreover, PFHpA, PFHxS, PFOA, PFNA, PFOS, PFOSA, and PFDA could be detected in the river water samples. PFOS and PFOA concentrations were between <0.24 and 5.88 ng/L (<0.48 and 11.8 pmol/L) and between <0.22 and 24.9 ng/L (<0.53 and 60.1 pmol/L), respectively. Discussion  Assuming a human water consumption of 2 L per day, the daily intake of PFOS and PFOA by the population of the area under evaluation was calculated (0.78–1.74 and 12.6 ng, respectively). It was found that drinking water might be a source of exposure to PFCs as important as the dietary intake of these pollutants. Conclusions  The contribution of drinking water (tap and bottled) to the human daily intake of various PFCs has been compared for the first time with data from dietary intake of these PFCs. It was noted that in certain cases, drinking water can be a source of exposure to PFCs as important as the dietary intake of these pollutants although the current concentrations were similar or lower than those reported in the literature for surface water samples from a number of regions and countries. Recommendations and perspectives  Further studies should be carried out in order to increase the knowledge of the role of drinking water in human exposure to PFCs.     

Pollution of water in Africa: a review of contaminants and fish as biomonitors and analytical methodologies—the case of Senegal

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Environmental pollution is one of the major problems facing human health, ecosystems, and biodiversity. This is particularly the case for water...     

Titanium dioxide and graphitic carbon nitride–based nanocomposites and nanofibres for the degradation of organic pollutants in water: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The paper reviews graphitic carbon nitride–based nanostructured photocatalytic materials and nanofibres for applications in water purification....     

Study of the Kuznets environmental curve hypothesis from a global perspective 1960–2019: a semi-parametric panel data proposal

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This work uses parametric and semiparametric panel data analysis methodologies to test the hypothesis of the environmental Kuznets curve, in 186...     

Can a key boreal Calanus copepod species now complete its life-cycle in the Arctic? Evidence and implications for Arctic food-webs

The changing Arctic environment is affecting zooplankton that support its abundant wildlife. We examined how these changes are influencing a key zooplankton species, Calanus finmarchicus, principally found in the North Atlantic but expatriated to the Arctic. Close to the ice-edge in the Fram Strait, we identified areas that, since the 1980s, are increasingly favourable to C. finmarchicus. Field-sampling revealed part of the population there to be capable of amassing enough reserves to overwinter. Early developmental stages were also present in early summer, suggesting successful local recruitment. This extension to suitable C. finmarchicus habitat is most likely facilitated by the long-term retreat of the ice-edge, allowing phytoplankton to bloom earlier and for longer and through higher temperatures increasing copepod developmental rates. The increased capacity for this species to complete its life-cycle and prosper in the Fram Strait can change community structure, with large consequences to regional food-webs.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01667-y.     

Structured photocatalytic systems: photocatalytic coatings on low-cost structures for treatment of water contaminated with micropollutants—a short review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The persistence of many micropollutants in water and wastewater is of great concern to the contemporary scientific community. Several types of...     

Allergy from perspective of environmental pollution effects: from an aspect of atopic dermatitis,immune system,and atmospheric hazards—a narrative review of current evidences

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Environmental pollution has become more diversified in recent years as technologies for urbanization is increasingly more advanced. Several...     

Research on China’s embodied carbon transfer network in 2012 from the perspective of provinces and sectors

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Resource endowment and economic development of different provinces in China vary greatly, resulting in large amount of CO2 transfers. We need further...     

Toxicity of water and sediment in a small urban river (Store Vejleå, Denmark)

The urban stream Store Vejle? (Denmark), which receives discharges of urban runoff, was investigated using a combination of biological toxicity tests and chemical analysis. The urban stormwater and road runoff gave low, but statistically significant, effects on the reproduction of the alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata. In all pre-concentrated water samples toxic effects were found and differences in toxicity depending on time and location of sampling were identified. Undiluted pore water samples from sediments collected in the stream were all toxic towards the algae and dilutions from 4 to 14 times were needed compared to a pore water sample from an unpolluted stream where a dilution factor of only 1.6 was required. A qualitative correlation between the toxicity of the pore water and the degree of pollution as evidenced by the metal concentration was observed, but statistically significant correlations could not be established by ranking procedures of, e.g. metal content or PAH-concentrations versus the observed toxicity.     

Optimal water and land resource allocation in pastoral areas based on a water–land forage–livestock balance: a case study of Otog Front Banner,Inner Mongolia,China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Natural grasslands provide important land resources in pastoral areas, and greatly contribute to ecological functioning. Overgrazing and other...     

Research trends and areas of focus on water rights: a bibliometric analysis 1971–2020

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study investigated the research trends, key areas, and directions of water rights (WRs) using bibliometric data based on the Science Citation...     

Eco-efficiency in China’s Loess Plateau Region and its influencing factors: a data envelopment analysis from both static and dynamic perspectives

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - China’s Loess Plateau Region (LPR) plays a significant role in national ecological security and development. Due to the advantage that relates...     

Characteristics of dissolved organic matter in surface water and sediment and its ecological indication in a typical mining-affected river—Le’an River,China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays an important role in the cycling and toxicity of heavy metals in aquatic systems. However, most studies have...     

Iron oxide nanoparticles embedded in organic microparticles from Yerba Mate useful for remediation of textile wastewater through a photo-Fenton treatment: Ilex paraguariensis as a platform of environmental interest – Part 1

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Seven composites of iron oxide nanoparticles embedded in organic microparticles mediated by Cu(II) were synthesized using yerba mate (Ilex...     

Deposition and regional distribution of HCHs and p,p′-DDX in the western and southern Tibetan Plateau: records from a lake sediment core and the surface soils

Tibetan Plateau is the world’s highest plateau, which provides a unique location for the investigation of global fractionation of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). In this study, deposition and regional distribution of HCHs and p,p′-DDX in the western and southern Tibetan Plateau were investigated by the records from a sediment core of Lake Zige Tangco and 24 surface soils. Concentration of ΣHCHs in the surface soils of the western Tibetan Plateau was much higher than that of the southern part. Maximum fluxes of α-, β-, and δ-HCH in the sediment core were 9.0, 222, and 21 pg cm^?2 year^?1, respectively, which appeared in the mid-1960s. Significant correlations were observed between concentrations of α- and β-HCH in both the surface soils and the sediment core. Concentrations of both α- and β-HCH increased with the inverse of the average annual temperature of these sites. γ-HCH became the dominant isomer of HCHs after the late 1970s, and reached the maximum flux of 160 pg cm^?2 year^?1 in the early 1990s. There were no significant correlations between concentrations of γ-HCH and the other isomers in both the surface soils and the sediment core. The results suggested that there was input of Lindane at scattered sites in this area. In contrast to ΣHCHs, concentration of Σp,p′-DDX in the surface soils of the southern part was much higher than that of the western part. Maximum flux of Σp,p′-DDX was 44 pg cm^?2 year^?1, which appeared in the mid-1960s. Local emission of p,p′-DDT was found at scattered sites. This study provides novel data and knowledge for the OCPs in the western and southern Tibetan Plateau, which will help understand the global fractionation of OCPs in remote alpine regions.     

Biogenic C5 VOCs: release from leaves after freeze–thaw wounding and occurrence in air at a high mountain observatory

During investigations of the formation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in leaves, we observed C5 VOCs during leaf drying, senescence, and following freeze–thaw damage. VOCs were quantified by proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). In freeze-damaged leaves, VOC products were verified with a gas chromatography PTR-MS system, showing that a variety of plants produced 1-penten-3-ol and 1-penten-3-one with smaller amounts of 2(Z)-penten-1-ol and pentenals; similar VOCs have been detected in soybean seed homogenates (Gardner et al., J. Agric. Food Chem. 44 (1996) 882). Most plants wounded in this way also released hexenals and hexanal, and clover also released methylbutanals. The formation of the C5 products was oxygen–dependent, consistent with the involvement of the enzyme lipoxygenase, and pentenone appeared to form independent of an alcohol dehydrogenase reaction; the latter is apparently disrupted by the freeze–thaw treatment. In parallel with these laboratory experiments, on-line PTR-MS measurements of ambient air were conducted at the Sonnblick Observatory in the Austrian Alps (3106 m a.s.l.). Following a hard freeze in central Austria, substantial amounts of C5 VOCs, ranging from 300 pptv to 6 ppbv and including 1-penten-3-ol, methylbutanals and probably pentenone, were detected at this site for several days peaking after midnight. Factor analysis supported their biogenic origin. We speculate that these VOCs were derived from freeze-damaged local vegetation by processes similar to those seen in laboratory freezing studies. If confirmed, these results suggest that leaf-freezing events in forests will give rise to the release of substantial levels of reactive C5 and C6 VOCs that can contribute to regional tropospheric chemistry.     

Concentrations,bioaccumulation, and health risk assessments of heavy metals in fishes from Nigeria’s freshwater: a general overview

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Heavy metals (HMs) have attracted global attention due to their toxicity, persistence, and accumulation in aquatic fish in the polluted water...     

Lessons from farmers’ adaptive practices to climate change in China: a systematic literature review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Due to the vulnerability and exposure of agriculture, farmers’ adaptive strategies to climate change are important to food security and...     

Fe(III)–EDDS complex in Fenton and photo-Fenton processes: from the radical formation to the degradation of a target compound

The present work compares the efficiency of homogenous Fenton and photo-Fenton processes in the presence of Fe(III)–EDDS complex under different experimental conditions. 4-tert-Butylphenol (4-t-BP), which is one of the endocrine disrupting chemicals, was used as a model pollutant to investigate the Fenton and photo-Fenton application. The efficiency of homogenous photo-Fenton process was significantly much higher than homogenous Fenton process, which is due to the rapid formation of Fe²⁺ under UV irradiation of the iron complex and the photochemical formation of HO^? from the photolysis of the complex Fe(III)–EDDS. Through the degradation of 4-t-BP, the effect of Fe(III)–EDDS concentration, H₂O₂ concentration, pH, and oxygen was investigated in both processes. Such trend was also correlated with pH calculating the polychromatic Fe²⁺ quantum yield formation at pH 4.0, 6.0, and 8.6. The results showed that at high Fe(III)–EDDS and H₂O₂ concentrations, a negative effect was found. By the way, the Fenton process was found to be enhanced at basic pH. These results can be very useful for the use and optimization of such iron complex in water treatment process as function of different physico-chemical conditions.