We modeled dissolved phytochelatin concentrations by studying its exudation from phytoplankton and its removal from seawater. Exudation rates were obtained from experiments in which a marine diatom, Thalassiosira pseudonana, was grown in Cd-containing medium. Dissolved phytochelatin in the culture medium was measured as a function of time, and a first-order model was fit to the data to derive e...

Fine atmospheric particulate PM2.5 (particles with diameters of < 2.5 microm) were sampled in an urban industrialized area--Guaynabo, Puerto Rico (Figure 1)--and in a reference less polluted site Fajardo, Puerto Rico--and analyzed for trace metals, and inorganic and organic elemental carbon. PM2.5 samples were collected from November 2000 to September 2001 using an Andersen Instruments RAAS2.5-...

Non-dispersive atomic fluorescence spectrometry (NDAFS) coupled with vapor generation (VG) sample introduction was applied to the determination of the concentrations of hazardous heavy metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, in seawater, soils and total airborne particulate matter (PM) collected around the Xiamen area in China. Almost 100% sample introduction efficiency was achieved...

Upon contact with allergen, sensitized mast cells release highly active proinflammatory mediators. Allergen-mediated mast cell activation is an important mechanism in the pathogenesis of atopic asthma. Asthmatic patients are especially susceptible to air pollution. Epidemiologic studies found a positive correlation between severity of symptoms among asthmatic patients and the level of particula...

Background, aim and scope In water systems, water quality and geochemical properties of sediments determine the speciation of trace metals, metal transport, and sediment-water exchange, influencing metal availability and its potential effects to biota. Studies from temperate climates have shown that iron-ore mining and tailing wastewaters, besides being a source of trace metals, usually show hi...

The management of Greenlandic municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash could be improved. Presently, the fly ash is disposed of in Norway as the fly ash is classified as hazardous waste. Fly ash contains high amounts of leachable heavy metals, but also resources that could be beneficial for reuse. In electrodialytic remediation a direct current is applied to a contaminated particulate ...

Suspended particles in rivers can act as carriers of potentially bioavailable metal species and are thus an emerging area of interest in river system monitoring. The delineation of bulk metals concentrations in river water into dissolved and particulate components is also important for risk assessment. Linear relationships between bulk metal concentrations in water (CW,tot) and total suspended ...

Air pollution exposures are linked to cognitive and olfaction deficits, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration including frontal hyperphosphorylated tau and diffuse amyloid plaques in Mexico City children and young adults. Mexico City residents are chronically exposed to fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)) concentrations (containing toxic combustion and industrial metals) above...

Many sediment quality assessment frameworks incorporate contaminant bioavailability as a critical factor regulating toxicity in aquatic ecosystems. However, current approaches do not always adequately predict metal bioavailability to organisms living in the oxidized sediment surface layers. The deployment of the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) probes in sediments allows labile metals pr...