Occurrence of emerging and persistent organic pollutants in the rivers Cam, Ouse and Thames, UK.

The widespread occurrence of new and emerging and persistent organic pollutants (NEPs and POPs) in surface water poses a risk to drinking water supply and consequently human health. The aim of this work was to investigate the occurrence and potential transport of 42 target NEPs and POPs (including per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), pharmaceuticals, pesticides and bisphenols) along the rural and urban environments of three rivers in England. The type and concentrations of pollutants varied between the sampling days and points.

Rapid and selective quantitative colourimetric analysis of nitrite in water using a S-Nitrosothiol based method.

This study introduces a novel S-nitrosothiol based method for the rapid and highly selective detection of nitrite in complex water matrices. Sodium 3-mercapto-1-propanesulfonate forms a distinctive pink S-nitrosothiol compound upon interaction with nitrite in acidic media, allowing both visual and quantitative detection. Various factors affecting the absorbance of the final product were investigated, including pH, reaction time, acid type, and sodium 3-mercapto-1-propanesulfonate concentration.

Effect of short-term sample storage and preparatory conditions on losses of 18 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to container materials.

There is a lack of agreement on a suitable container material for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) analysis, particularly at trace levels. In this study, the losses of 18 short- and long-chain (C4-C10) PFAS to commonly used labware materials (high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polypropylene co-polymer (PPCO), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and glass were investigated. The influence of sample storage and preparation conditions, i.

Speciation of toxic metals in metal finishing filter cake by X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

The speciation of Cr, Zn, Cu and Pb in two metal finishing filter cakes (TX and ST) was investigated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) complemented by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). XRF showed that concentrations of Cr, Zn, Cu and Pb were 1.4%, 0.

Disposable surgical/medical face masks and filtering face pieces: Source of microplastics and chemical additives in the environment.

The production and consumption of disposable face masks (DFMs) increased intensely during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a high amount of them being found in the terrestrial and aquatic environment. The main goal of this research study is to conduct a comparative evaluation of the water-leachability of microplastics (MPs) and chemical additives from various types of disposable surgical/medical face masks (MM DFMs) and filtering face pieces (FFPs). Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy was used for MPs analysis.