Factors affecting microplastic pollution of sandboxes in urban residential areas: Simple methodology for quality control in the context of potential exposure assessment for children.

Occurrence of microplastics in the environment is well studied, but our knowledge of their distribution in specific locations, such as the sandboxes, which are integral parts of popular playgrounds for children, is limited. Pioneering research on the factors affecting the microplastic pollution of sandboxes in urban residential areas was conducted within three estates in Kielce, Poland. Sand samples (Σ27) were collected from nine sandboxes and examined for the presence of microplastics, using a simple quality control methodology proposed by the authors.

Presence and possible origin of positive Eu anomaly in shoot samples of Juncus effusus L.

Background: The rare earth elements (REE) are non-essential elements for plants. They stimulate plant growth at low doses, but at high levels are phytotoxic. There are differences in concentrations of REE in various organs of the same plant species, but the normalized REE patterns can be very similar in samples of the same species collected in different locations.

Seasonal changes in concentrations of trace elements and rare earth elements in shoot samples of Juncus effusus L. collected from natural habitats in the Holy Cross Mountains, south-central Poland.

Selected trace elements (Ag, As, Ba, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Mn, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Tl, U, Zn) and rare earth elements were determined in 13 samples of Juncus effusus collected from three investigation sites in the Holy Cross Mts., south-central Poland. Sampling was carried out four times during a vegetative season of 2014.

Intelligent Analysis of Samples by Semiquantitative Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) Technique: A Review.

Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a popular and routine analytical method that has been used for determination of trace elements since the 1980s. It provides fast quantitative analysis and allows the determination of more than 70 elements with good accuracy and very low detection limits, but requires an intricate calibration procedure. In analyses of samples for which very low detection limits are not required a semiquantitative ICP-MS analysis mode can be used.

Prospecting for hyperaccumulators of trace elements: a review.

Specific plant species that can take up and accumulate abnormally high concentrations of elements in their aboveground tissues are referred to as "hyperaccumulators". The use of this term is justified in the case of enormous element-binding capacity of plants growing in their natural habitats and showing no toxicity symptoms. An increasing interest in the study of hyperaccumulators results from their potential applications in environmental biotechnology (phytoremediation, phytomining) and their emerging role in nanotechnology.