Metal pollution biomonitoring in mining areas using perennial ryegrass (lolium perenne)

The uptake of metals (Pb, Cu, Cd, Zn, Ni, Cr) by perennial ryegrass (Loliumperenne), grown on tailings situated in Central and NW Romania, was investigated by calculating the transfer factors (TFs). The mean TFs decreased as follows: TFPb>TFCd>TFZn>TFNi>TFCr>TFCu. The metal concentrations in tailings ranged between 19.9-2640 mg/kg Cu, 11.4-5156 mg/kg Pb, 9.10-5328 mg/kg Zn, 0.200-89.6 mg/kg Cd, 3.15-77.6 mg/kg Cr, 1.90-58.9 mg/kg Ni and in ryegrass between 2.25-58.6 mg/kg Cu, 0.129-4815 mg/kg Pb, 5.12-174 mg/kg Zn, 0.010-3.50 mg/kg Cd, 0.410-6.20 mg/kg Cr and 0.440-3.71 mg/kg Ni. The linear relationship between the metal content in ryegrass and tailings indicated a significant correlation for Pb and Zn. Metal concentrations in ryegrass differ in the three areas (Certej, Baia Mare and Aries) and can be used as a biomonitor forPb, Zn pollution

Temporal Trend of PM10 and Associated Human Health Risk over the Past Decade in Cluj-Napoca City, Romania

The human health risk associated with PM10 exposure was assessed for the residents of Cluj-Napoca city, Romania, for a best case-scenario based on the monthly average PM10 and for a worst-case scenario based on the monthly 90th percentile of PM10 concentration. As no toxicity value for PM10 was available, for the calculation of the hazard quotient, the toxicity value was considered to be equal to the annual limit value (40 µm/m3) set in the European Union (EU), and to air quality guidelines (20 µm/m3) set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The daily PM10 concentrations for the period 2009–2019, at the four monitoring stations existing in Cluj-Napoca, were obtained from the National Air Quality Monitoring Network. The annual PM10 values ranged between 20.3 and 29.5 µg/m3, and were below the annual limit value (40 µg/m3) set by European and national legislation, but above the annual air quality guideline (20 µg/m3) set by WHO. Generally, the monthly PM10 concentrations were higher from October to March than in the rest of the year. The monthly air quality index (AQI) showed the good to moderate quality of the air during the whole decade; however, there were days when the air quality was unhealthy for sensitive population groups. The air quality was more or less constant during the warm months, and improved significantly for the cold months from 2009 to 2019. In the best-case scenario, calculated using the EU annual limit value for PM10, the potential non-carcinogenic chronic health risk was present only in 2009 and 2010, but in the worst-case scenario, in each year there were periods, especially in the cold months, in which health risk was present. When considering the WHO air quality guidelines in the calculation of the health risk, the potential non-carcinogenic chronic health risk was present between October and March in each year in the best-case scenario, and in most of the months in the worst-case scenario

Use of Black Poplar Leaves for the Biomonitoring of Air Pollution in an Urban Agglomeration

Trees are considered to be an effective tool for metal pollution biomonitoring. In the present study, the concentration of metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Co, Ni, Fe, Mn, and Al) in black poplar leaves (Populus nigra L.), together with the concentration of PM10, PM2.5, PM1, and total suspended particles (TSP), was used for the air pollution biomonitoring in 12 sites from various areas of Cluj-Napoca city, Romania. The concentration of PM10 in the air was high, but their metal content was low. However, Cu, Pb, and Zn were moderately enriched, while Cd was highly enriched in PM10 due to anthropogenic sources. The average metal concentration in leaves decreased in the order Zn>>Fe>Mn>Al>Pb>Ni>Cu>Co>Cd and increased with the increase of PM10 concentration, indicating that poplar leaves are sensitive to air pollution. The principal component analysis indicated that traffic, waste burning, road dust resuspension, and soil contamination are the main anthropogenic sources of metals in poplar leaves. The results indicated that black poplar leaves are a suitable biomonitoring tool for metal pollution, in urban environments

Zeolites Reduce the Transfer of Potentially Toxic Elements from Soil to Leafy Vegetables

The ability of natural zeolite amendment to reduce the uptake of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) by lettuce, spinach and parsley was evaluated using pot experiments. PTE concentrations in roots and shoots, as well as the pseudo total (PT), water soluble (WS) and bioavailable (BA) PTE fractions in the amended soils, were assessed. Although the PT PTE concentration was high, the WS fraction was very low (<0.4%), while the BA fraction varied widely (<5% for Cr, Mn and Co, <15% for Ni, Pb and Zn, >20% for Cd and Cu). PTE concentration decreased in both roots and shoots of all leafy vegetables grown on zeolite amended soils, especially at high amendment dose (10%). The uptake of PTEs mainly depended on plant species, PTE type and amendment dose. With the exception of Zn in spinach, the bioaccumulation factor for roots was higher than for shoots. Generally, lettuce displayed the highest PTE bioaccumulation capacity, followed by spinach and parsley. Except for Zn in spinach, the transfer factors were below 1 for all PTEs, all plant species and all amendment doses. Our results showed that the natural zeolites are promising candidates in the reclamation of contaminated soils due to their ability to immobilize PTEs