Health risk assessment of heavy metal pollution in groundwater of a karst basin,SW China

To investigate the presence of metal elements and assess their health risk for the populace in the Nandong Underground River Basin(NURB),we conducted an analysis of eleven common heavy metals in the water body.A Health risk assessment(HRA)model was employed to analyze 84 water samples from the NURB.The detection results revealed the following order of heavy metals concentrations:Fe>Al>Mn>Zn>As>Cd>Pb>Cr>Ni>Cu>Hg.Correlation analysis indicated a certain similarity in material source and migration transformation among these eleven metal elements.Our study identified that the health risks for local residents exposed to metal elements in the water of NURB primarily stem from carcinogenic risk(10^(−6)–10^(−4)a^(−1))through the drinking water pathway.Moreover,the health risk of heavy metal exposure for children through drinking water was notably higher than for adults.The maximum health risks of Cr in both underground and surface water exceeded the recommendation standard(5.0×10^(−5)a^(−1))from ICRP,surpassing the values recommended by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency,the Dutch Ministry of Construction and Environment and the British Royal Society(5.0×10^(−6)a^(−1)).The results of the health risk assessment indicate that Cr in the water of NURB is the primary source of carcinogenic risk for local residents,followed by Cd and As.Consequently,it is imperative to control these three carcinogenic metals when the water was used as drinking water resource.

Quantitative Evaluation of Heavy Metal Pollution and Its Influencing Factors in Water Bodies of Karst Areas

At present, there is relatively little research on the synergistic effects of heavy metals in soil, sediment, and bedrock on heavy metal pollution in water bodies. In this paper, heavy metals in soil, sediment, bedrock, and water of a typical karst watershed in southwest China were investigated. The results indicated that the average values of heavy metals in soil and sediment were relatively higher than those in bedrock except for Ni and As. During the research period, As and Cd were the main heavy metal elements polluting the soil and sediment in the study area, while water bodies were mainly polluted by Ni, As, and Cd. The pollution assessment indicated that there were instances of poor or very poor water quality in the study area during the study period;the soil as a whole was slightly polluted by Cd and As;sediment was subject to moderate Cd pollution and mild As pollution. Analysis of geochemical form for heavy metals showed that heavy metals in soil and sediment were mainly in residual form, and the proportions of exchangeable As and Cd were relatively high. Multiple statistical analysis showed that heavy metals in sediment, soil, and bedrock explained 23.8%, 16.8%, and 16.2% of the changes in heavy metals of water, respectively. The research results can provide scientific basis for the prevention and control of heavy metal pollution in water bodies.

Pollution and health risk assessment of heavy metals in waters around mine sites of Elazig(Eastern Turkey)

Turkey’s Eastern Anatolia Region is the oldest known mineral mining area of Maden and Alacakaya.Chromite production in the Alacakaya field constitutes 50% of the country’s exports,and copper mines in the Maden region account for approximately 12% of the country’s copper production.There is a risk of water pollution due to significant mine waste which affects the Inci and Maden rivers.The water needs of many settlements are met from these streams,which run through these two mine sites.This study investigated the water pollution in the rivers.25 water samples were collected during the dry and rainy periods,and the Al,Cr,Cu,Fe,Li,Mn,Ni,Pb,Sr and Zn contents of these samples were examined in terms of health.Evaluation of element concentrations and creation of spatial distribution maps were performed using ArcGIS software.Spatial distribution maps,correlation and cluster analysis indicate that the source of heavy metals observed in waters is mine fields.The heavy metal content of the samples is higher in the dry period,the high concentration values are obtained from the mine sites,the decrease in the concentrations throughout the flow during the rainy period,are indicators of the effect of the mines on the water pollution.As a result of the comparison from the analysis results of water samples with World Health Organization(WHO),Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)and European Commission(EC)standards,the element values of Al,Cr,Fe,Mn,Ni and Pb exceeded the permissible values for health.The concentrations of these elements for dry period samples are:0-6.411 mg L^(-1),0.006-0.235 mg L^(-1),0-13.433 mg L^(-1),0-0.316 mg L^(-1),0-0.495 mg L^(-1),0-0.065mg L^(-1),and for rainy period samples are 0-1.698mg/L,0-0.2 mg L^(-1),0-9.033 mg L^(-1),0-0.173 mg L^(-1),0-0.373 mg L^(-1),0-0.034 mg L^(-1),respectively.Although the waters in the region are polluted by heavy metals,it has been determined that there is no noncarcinogenic hazard as a result of the calculation of the hazard index(HI<1)by ingestion and dermal contact within the scope of human health risk assessment.This study will be beneficial as it draws attention to the prevention of the negative effects of water pollution,which may cause serious health problems in the future as a result of mining activities in the region.

Level of Bacteriological and Physicochemical Pollution of Surface Waters in Rural Area: The Case of Mbankomo Municipality (Center Region, Cameroon)

A study aimed at evaluating the physicochemical and bacteriological quality of surface water was therefore carried out in a few watercourses in the municipality of Mbankomo, located in the Center Region (Cameroon). The physico-chemical parameters were measured according to the standard method. The organic pollution index (OPI) was determined from the contents of nitrates, phosphates, and ammoniacal nitrogen to characterize the level of organic pollution of the water. The microorganisms sought were total flora, indicators of faecal contamination like total coliforms, faecal coliforms, feacal streptococci and Escherichia coli, as well as the species Clostridium perfringens. The organic pollution index indicates a high-level organic pollution level during the small rainy season and high to moderate during the small dry season. High concentrations of the total and fecal coliforms, streptococci fecal, Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens respectively of 1712 × 105 CFU/100mL;82 × 105 CFU/100mL;10 × 105 CFU/100mL;27 × 105 and 40 × 103 CFU/100mL, all higher than WHO standards, indicate that the waterways of Mbankomo are subject to feacal pollution and harbor pathogenic microflora. The cell densities of main bacteria were significantly correlated with main abiotic parameters, such as Escherichia coli, which was significantly correlated with the pH of the water (r = 0.35;p < 0.05). The variation of organic pollution index category means correspond to a high level of organic pollution during the small rainy season and a high to moderate level during the small dry season. The deterioration of the quality of these waters is favored by their proximity to sources of pollution (toilets, plantation), the runoff of the waters contaminated, the use of detergents and wrong maintenance. These waters without any treatment are not recommendable for human consumption according to standards of the World Health Organization.

The Fulfillment of Government Responsibilities in the Collaborative Governance of Rural Water Pollution

Rural environmental pollution is becoming more and more serious, which has become an important problem to be solved urgently in our country under the background of the new era. Protecting the ecological environment is one of the important functions of the government, and protecting the rural water environment is the unshirkable responsibility of the local governments. As the main body of rural water pollution control, how to define and fulfill the local governments’ responsibilities is of great significance to the advancement of the overall governance work. This paper starts from the local governments, which are the important main body of rural environmental governance. By comparing the similarities and differences between the performance of government responsibilities under the traditional governance model and the collaborative governance model, clarifies the governance responsibilities of the local governments. And further explores the effective measures for the government to play the main role, fulfill the main responsibilities, and participate in the collaborative governance of rural water pollution.

Water Pollution Situation and Impacts in Rural China

With the development of national economics, water pollution is becoming a critical problem in rural China. This research presented a brief view of water pollution situation in rural areas of China in terms of water shortage, water-pollutant sources, eutrophication of water bodies and pollution development in temporal scale. Analysis was conducted on the negative effects of water pollution on human health, agricultural plantation and animal husbandry. Subsequently, some suggestions were proposed for wastewater treatment in rural areas.

Pollution of Environmental Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals(EDCs) in Water and Its Adverse Reproductive Effect on Fish

Environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals （EDCs）, commonly found in the environment, come from industry and agriculture, including pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, herbicides, and other chemicals. Nowadays, more and more EDCs were released into the environment. EDCs go into water body via atmosphere sedi-mentation, surface runoff, soil eluviation, etc., so water body becomes the main place for existing. In order to attract scientific and public attention worldwide and to prevent EDCs pol ution, in this study we reviewed the classification of EDCs and their concentrations in natural water bodies, drinking water sources and water plants, and the reproductive toxicity of EDCs to fish were reviewed. EDCs could disturb the endocrine system and make reproductive organs and reproduction abnor-mal, resulting in fertility descending, reproduction function damage, community quan-tity decrease and even species extinction. In addition, EDCs could disrupt the homeostasis maintained by hormones, which would result in defects of neural de-velopment and abnormalities of the endocrine and reproductive systems. The exact molecular mechanisms have not been completely reported, but researches have suggested that multiple mechanisms were involved in the action of EDCs. Although there have been researches on the biohazard of EDCs, there stil exist problems of weakness in fundamental researches, difficulties in recognizing and identifying EDCs and high cost, which restraint the knowledge on them.

Discussion on the Construction of Negotiation Mechanism of Cross-bounder Water Pollution Treatment in Changjiang River

In order to construct cooperation platform for the treatment of water pollution in Changjiang River,thoughts and revolution were performed from both central government and regional area two aspects.From the national level,Changjiang region water resources management cooperation counsel committee was constructed as the national cooperation platform;from the regional level,Changjiang region water resources management cooperation counsel committee was constructed as the platform of Changjiang cooperation platform.The two platforms built fine interaction mechanism to deal with the national water management and Changjiang regional water management.

Advances in Microbial Remediation on the Application of Heavy Metal Pollution in Agricultural Water Resources

Heavy metal pollution in agricultural water resources is very serious in re- cent years, resulting in large losses of the agricultural economy and endangering human life and health. Due to the advantages of low cost, high efficiency and less secondary pollution, microbial ramediation technology is widely used in the treatment of heavy metal pollution in agricultural water resources. At present, with the progress of modern biotechnology, microbial remediation of heavy metals in agricul- tural water resources has grown rapidly. The sources and status quo of heavy met- al pollution in agricultural water resources at home and aboard, and the principles of microbial remediation of heavy metals pollution in agricultural water resources were reviewed in this paper, as well as the several common microbial remediation technology of heavy metals in agricultural water resources. Additionally, the further research work of heavy metal contaminated agricultural water resources by microbial ramediation were prospected.

Research Progress of Analysis and Control Technologies against Urban Landscape Water Pollution

The root causes of urban landscape water pollution were analyzed in this study, the bio-ecological restoration technologies combing both exogenous and endogenous pollution control were put forward.

A Study on Water Pollution and Bioremediation in Hedi Reservoir

Statistical work and analysis were made based on data of monitored wa- ter quality data in Hedi Reservoir during 2000-2010 and the results show that the content of nutritive salt was higher and water was moderate or light eutrophication. Based on status quo and practical survey research of the Reservoir, the causes for eutrophication deterioration were analyzed and countermeasures were proposed, providing scientific references for sustainable development of Hedi Reservoir.

Heavy metals pollution in water,suspended matter and surface sediment in typical mountainous urban river:A case study in Qingshui Stream in Chongqing,China

Based on a detailed environmental investigation of the whole Qingshui Stream catchments,samples of water and surface sediments were collected at 15 different places from the upper to the lower reaches of Qingshui Stream,and samples of suspended matter were obtained by filtrating the water samples. The concentrations of heavy metals (Cd,Cu and Zn) were measured in filtered water,suspended matter,and surface sediment by ICP-AES. The results show that the concentrations of the three heavy metals in filtered water are 0.18,6.6 and 17.67 μg/L,lower than that of the Fresh Water Quality Criteria (US EPA) and those of the plain urban rivers,but the contents of Cd,Cu and Zn are much higher than the mean values of rivers in the world and the background value in Jialing River basin. The heavy metals concentrations in the suspended matter from Qingshui Stream are 2.08,438.14 and 1 348.05 mg/kg,much higher than the corresponding background values of soils in Chongqing city. The heavy metals concentrations in the surface sediment from Qingshui Stream are 0.84,189.75 and 838.23 mg/kg,and the values of index of geoaccumulation Igeo of Cd,Cu and Zn show that their pollution degrees are moderate. The heavy metals exist in three transferable forms such as water,suspended matter and surface sediment in Qingshui Stream. The heavy metals concentrations in water are the lowest,and those in the suspended matter are the highest,so the ecological risk in suspended matter is the highest. The distribution tendencies of three metals in water,suspended matter and surface sediment in main riverbed are different.

Assessment of Point and Nonpoint Sources Pollution in Songhua River Basin,Northeast China by Using Revised Water Quality Model

Individual participation of pollutants in the pollution load should be estimated even if roughly for the appropriate environmental management of a river basin.It is difficult to identify the sources and to quantify the load, especially in modeling nonpoint source.In this study a revised model was established by integrating point and nonpoint sources into one-dimensional Streeter-Phelps(S-P) model on the basis of real-time hydrologic data and surface water quality monitoring data in the Jilin Reach of the Songhua River Basin.Chemical oxygen demand(COD) and ammonia nitrogen(NH 3-N) loads were estimated.Results showed that COD loads of point source and nonpoint source were 134 958 t/yr and 86 209 t/yr, accounting for 61.02% and 38.98% of total loads, respectively.NH 3-N loads of point source and nonpoint source were 16 739 t/yr and 14 272 t/yr, accounting for 53.98% and 46.02%, respectively.Point source pollution was stronger than nonpoint source pollution in the study area at present.The water quality of upstream was better than that of downstream of the rivers and cities.It is indispensable to treat industrial wastewater and municipal sewage out of point sources, to adopt the best management practices to control diffuse pollutants from agricultural land and urban surface runoff in improving water quality of the Songhua River Basin.The revised S-P model can be successfully used to identify pollution source and quantify point source and nonpoint source loads by calibrating and validating.

Surface Water Pollution in the Yangtze River Delta:Patterns and Countermeasures

On the basis of field investigations, observations andexperimental data combined with environmental monitoring information,the status and the spatial and temporal patterns of surface waterpollution over the past ten years in the Yangtze River Delta havebeen assessed. The water quality of large rivers is still very goodbut most of the medium-sized and small rivers have been veryseriously polluted. The appearance of black and odorous conditions inrivers in the urban areas has increased due to serious pollution byorganic matter with consequent high oxygen demand. Annual increasesin N and P concentrations in lakes have accelerated eutrophication.The water quality of river sin small towns is rapidly deteriorating.The main sources of surface water pollution include industrial anddomestic sewage, animal manures, chemical fertilizers in farmland,and polluted sediments in rivers and lakes.

Model for water pollution remote sensing based on double scattering and its application in the Zhujiang River outfall

It is a valid route for quantitatively remote sensing on water pollution to build a model according to the physical mechanisms of scattering and absorbing of suspended substance, pollutant, and molecules of water. Remote sensing model for water pollution based on single scattering is simple and easy to be used, but the precision is affected by turbidity of water. The characteristics of the energy composition of multiple scattering, are analyzed and it is proposed that, based on the model of single scattering, if the flux of the second scattering is considered additionally, the precision of the model will be remarkably improved and the calculation is still very simple. The factor of the second scattering is deduced to build a double scattering model, and the practical arithmetic for the calculation of the model is put forward. The result of applying this model in the water area around the Zhujiang(Pearl) River outfall shows that the precision is obviously improved. The result also shows that the seriously polluted water area is distributed in the northeast of Lingding Sea, the Victoria Bay of Hong Kong, and the Shengzhen Bay.

Integrated Control of Agricultural Non-point Source Pollution to Provide Safe and Healthy Drinking Water for Rural Areas

Agricultural non-point source pollution has become the main part of water pollution prevention and control in China. This paper made a brief introduction to the causes and hazards of agricultural non-point source pollution and the current situation of agricultural non-point source pollution prevention and control in China. In view of the serious agricultural non-point source pollution in water environment of Guangxi and the difference in quality of drinking water between urban and rural areas,it came up with recommendations for strengthening agricultural non-point source pollution prevention and control from scientific distribution,linked operation and maintenance,popular science education,and legal system construction,to guarantee safe and healthy drinking water in rural areas.

Reservoir operation schemes for water pollution accidents in Yangtze River

After the Three Gorges Reservoir starts running, it can not only take into consideration the interest of departments such as flood control, power generation, water supply, and shipping, but also reduce or eliminate the adverse effects of pollutants by discharge regulation. The evolution of pollutant plumes under different operation schemes of the Three Gorges Reservoir and three kinds of pollutant discharge types were calculated with the MIKE 21 AD software. The feasibility and effectiveness of the reservoir emergency operation when pollution accidents occur were investigated. The results indicate that the emergency operation produces significant effects on the instantaneous discharge type with lesser effects on the constant discharge type, the impact time is shortened, and the concentration of pollutant is reduced. Meanwhile, the results show that the larger the discharge is and the shorter the operation duration is, the more favorable the result is.

Microplastic pollution in surface water and sediments of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: Current status and causes

To study the current status and causes of the microplastic pollution in surface water of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,this paper compared the average microplastic abundance in sediments and surface water of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the results are as follows.First,the average microplastic abundance in surface water of the independent rivers and the whole area is 247−2686 items/m^(3) and 856 items/m^(3),respectively.The average microplastic abundance in sediments of independent rivers or lakes and the whole area is 0−933 items/m^(2) and 362 items/m^(2),respectively.Meanwhile,the degree of microplastic pollution in river sediments is higher than that in lake sediments,and the rivers suffering from microplastic pollution mainly include the Brahmaputra River,Tongtian River,and Nujiang River.Second,compared with the microplastic pollution in other areas of the world,the levelof microplastic pollution in the lakes and rivers of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau is not lower than that of well-developed areas with more intensive human activities.Finally,this study suggests that relevant government departments of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau should strengthen waste management strategies while developing tourism and that much attention should be paid to the impacts of microplastics in the water environment.

Sources and health risks of nitrate pollution in surface water in the Weihe River watershed,China

Owing to the significant reductions in streamflow and an increase in human activities in recent years,the quality of surface water in Weihe River continues to pose environmental health concerns.We utilized hydrochemistry and nitrogen and oxygen isotopes to elucidate the status and identify sources of nitrate pollution in the south and north banks for three seasons(flood,dry,and mean-flow periods)in the Weihe River watershed.A Bayesian isotope mixing model was applied to estimate the contributions of four potential NO_(3)-sources to river pollution(manure and sewage,soil nitrogen,inorganic fertilizer,and nitrate in precipitation).The U.S.Environmental Protection Agency(USEPA)evaluation model was implemented to evaluate the health risks associated with nitrate pollution in the surface water.Nitrate pollution was most severe during the dry period because the river flow was small.Due to the influence of the topography and land use type of the Weihe River,the pollution in the main stream was greater than that of the tributaries,and the pollution of the south bank was greater than that of the north bank.During the flood and mean-flow periods,δ^(15)N and δ^(18)O were mainly distributed in the NH_(4)^(+) of the fertilizer and soil nitrogen.During the dry period,δ^(15)N and δ^(18)O were mainly distributed in domestic sewage and manure regions.According to the Stable Isotope Analysis in R(SIAR)model,manure and sewage were the major nitrate sources during the dry period(73%).However,a decrease in the contribution from domestic sewage and manure was observed during the flood period(45%)compared to the dry period,but with a significantly increased contribution from soil nitrogen(23%)and inorganic fertilizer(21%).The health risk value in the dry period was higher than that in the wet and mean flow periods,and children are more susceptible to nitrate pollution than adults.Therefore,reducing the discharge of domestic sewage and manure and improving the utilization rate of nitrogen fertilizers may be effective measures to improve water quality in the watershed.

Water Pollution and Environmental Governance of the Tai and Chao Lake Basins in China in an International Perspective

The Tai and Chao Lake basins are currently facing a serious water pollution crisis associated with the absence of an effective environmental governance system. The water pollution and the water governance system of the two basins will be compared. The reasons for water pollution in both basins are similar, namely the weak current water environmental governance system cannot deal with the consequences of the rapidly growing economy. China’s water governance system is a complicated combination of basin management with both departmental management and regional management. There is an absence of legal support and sound coordination mechanisms, resulting in fragmented management practices in the existing water environmental governance system. A comparison is made for the Tai and Chao Lake basins and Canada, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. Based on China’s present central-local governance structure and departmental system, an integrated reform of basin level and water environmental governance in China should learn from international experiences. The reforms could consist of improved governance structures, rebuilding authoritative and powerful agencies for basin management, strengthening the organizational structure of the basin administrations, improving legislation and regulatory systems for basin management and enhancing public participation mechanisms.