Uptake of Typical Hydrophobic Organic Contaminants in Vegetables: Evidence From Passive Samplers.

Quantifying the root uptake of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) by plants remains challenging due to the lack of data on the freely available fractions of HOCs in soil porewater. We therefore hypothesized that a passive sampler could act as a useful tool to evaluate the root uptake potential and pathways of HOCs by plants in soil. We tested this hypothesis by exploring the uptake of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and organophosphate esters (OPEs) by carrot and lettuce with the codeployment of passive samplers in a contaminated soil system.

AQUA-GAPS/MONET-Derived Concentrations and Trends of PAHs and Polycyclic Musks across Global Waters.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), released from petrogenic, pyrogenic or diagenetic sources (degradation of wood materials), are of global concern due to their adverse effects, and potential for long-range transport. While dissolved PAHs have been frequently reported in the literature, there has been no consistent approach of sampling across water bodies. Passive samplers from the AQUA/GAPS-MONET initiative were deployed at 46 sites (28 marine and 18 freshwater), and analyzed for 28 PAHs and six polycyclic musks (PCMs) centrally.

Adaptive Escape of by Application of Low-Amplitude Electric Pulses.

Marine antibiofouling using low-amplitude electric pulses (EP) is an energy-efficient and eco-friendly approach, but potential mechanisms for preventing biofouling remain unclear. In the present study, the 3D adhesion dynamics of a model microorganism─ (PAO1)─under low-amplitude cathodic EP were examined as a function of applying voltage and its duration (). The results demonstrated that adhered bacteria escaped from the electrode surface even when EP was removed.

Effects of polymer matrix and temperature on pyrolysis of tetrabromobisphenol A: Product profiles and transformation pathways.

Plastics are crucial constituents in electronic waste (e-waste) and part of the issue in e-waste recycling and environmental protection. However, previous studies have mostly focused on plastic recovery or thermal behavior of flame retardants, but not both simultaneously. The present study simulated the process of e-waste thermal treatment to explore tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) pyrolysis at various temperatures using polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and e-waste plastics as polymer matrices.

Occurrence, Spatial Distribution, and Bioaccumulation of Dissolved Synthetic Musks in Freshwaters across China.

Commercial chemicals, such as synthetic musks, are of global concern, but data on their occurrence and spatial distribution in aquatic environments of large scale are scarce. Two sampling campaigns were conducted in the present study to measure freely dissolved synthetic musks in freshwaters across China using passive samplers, along with biological coexposure at selected sites. Polycyclic musks (PCMs) dominated synthetic musks, with a detection frequency of 95%.

Use of machine learning to identify key factors regulating volatilization of semi-volatile organic chemicals from soil to air.

Volatilization from soil to air is a key process driving the distribution and fate of semi-volatile organic contaminants. However, quantifying this process and the key environmental governing factors remains difficult. To address this issue, the volatilization fluxes of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and organophosphate esters (OPEs) from soil were determined in 16 batch experiments orthogonally with six variables (chemical property, soil concentration, air velocity, ambient temperature, soil porosity, and soil moisture) and analyzed with machine learning methods.

Fluorescent Visualization of Chemical Profiles across the Air-Water Interface.

Chemical transfer across the air-water interface is one of the most important geochemical processes of global significance. Quantifying such a process has remained extremely challenging due to the lack of suitable technologies to measure chemical diffusion across the air-water microlayer. Herein, we present a fluorescence optical system capable of visualizing the formation of the air-water microlayer with a spatial resolution of 10 μm and quantifying air-water diffusion fluxes using pyrene as a target chemical.

Particle transfer mediates dermal exposure of consumers to plasticizers in eraser and pen accessories.

Dermal exposure to chemicals released from daily consumer products is a rising concern, particularly for children who are susceptible to unintentional hand-to-mouth transfer and related chemical exposure risk. However, chemical transfer induced by tiny particles of intact products has yet to be adequately addressed. The objective of the present study was to determine the potentiality of particles release from intact erasers and pen grips upon dermal contact by measuring the migration rates of the embedded plasticizers (phthalates and its alternatives).

Passive-Sampler-Derived PCB and OCP Concentrations in the Waters of the World─First Results from the AQUA-GAPS/MONET Network.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are recognized as pollutants of global concern, but so far, information on the trends of legacy POPs in the waters of the world has been missing due to logistical, analytical, and financial reasons. Passive samplers have emerged as an attractive alternative to active water sampling methods as they accumulate POPs, represent time-weighted average concentrations, and can easily be shipped and deployed. As part of the AQUA-GAPS/MONET, passive samplers were deployed at 40 globally distributed sites between 2016 and 2020, for a total of 21 freshwater and 40 marine deployments.

Effects of organic carbon/elemental carbon and particle size on inhalation bioaccessibility of particle-bound PAHs.

Bioaccessible fractions of particle-bound hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) are critical to evaluating human inhalation exposure risk. However, the key factors for controlling the release of HOCs into the lung fluid are not adequately examined. To address this issue, eight particle size fractions (0.

Size-resolved gas-particle partitioning characteristics of typical semi-volatile organic compounds in urban atmosphere.

Understanding particle size distribution and size-resolved gas-particle partitioning of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) is important for characterizing their fate in atmosphere. However, the size-resolved gas-particle partitioning characteristics of SVOCs has not been adequately considered. To address this issue, the present study collected gaseous and size-fractioned particulate samples both in and outside of schools, offices, and residences in three districts of different urbanization levels in a megacity, Guangzhou, South China during two seasons.

Transfer of Frictional Contact Derived Phthalates from Pad Surface Enhances Dermal Exposure.

Dermal exposure to chemicals derived from object surface contact is an important contributor to increased health risk. However, chemical transfer induced by mechanical friction between dermal and object surface has yet to be adequately addressed. To fill this knowledge gap, rubbing fabrics were used as surrogate skins to stimulate dermal mechanical friction with pad products with phthalates as target analytes.

Distribution profiles of bisphenols in school supplies and implications for human exposure.

Bisphenol compounds (BPs) are usually applied in the production of school supplies, however, little is known on the occurrence of BPs in school supplies. In this study, 15 BPs were detected in 121 samples of school supplies collected from commercial market. Among all compounds studied, BPA, BPF, and BPS were the dominant compounds in school supplies with the detection frequency of 93.

Riverine transport dynamics of PBDEs and OPFRs within a typical e-waste recycling zone: Implications for sink-source interconversion.

Despite ample evidence on spreading of e-waste derived hazardous materials, riverine transport of organic contaminants from e-waste recycling zones to surrounding areas has not been evaluated. To address this issue, passive and grab sampling methods were used to assess sediment-water diffusion and horizontal transport of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and organophosphorus flame retardant (OPFRs) at upstream and downstream sites of two rivers in a typical e-waste recycling zone. Sediment acted as a source of BDE-17 with fluxes of 0.

Utility of benzothiazoles as markers of tire-derived inputs to estuarine waters assessed by polyethylene sheets.

Tire-derived particles and polyethylene (PE) debris co-exist in estuaries and potentially deteriorate water quality. Chemicals can be emitted from tire-derived particles and resorb to PE debris. However, there was lack of information about the interaction (e.

A Novel Personal Passive Sampler for Collecting Gaseous Phthalates.

Dermal absorption of gaseous chemicals is an important contributor to increased health risk and has yet to be adequately addressed due to the lack of available sampling techniques. In the present study, a novel personal passive sampler consisting of a housing (embracing a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) disk as the sorbent phase, a membrane filter, and a stainless-steel mesh) and a watchband (traditional wristband) was constructed and used to characterize gaseous phthalates (PAEs) near the air-skin interface. In a real-life setting, the utility of the passive sampler was validated by comparing the composition profiles of PAEs in the PDMS disks and in active samples and watchbands.

Microplastics on beaches and mangrove sediments along the coast of South China.

Accumulation of microplastics (MPs) data on a global scale is key to supporting plastic waste management for protecting ecosystems. To respond this call, a sampling campaign was conducted in the summer and winter seasons of 2018 to collect beach and mangrove sediment samples from 32 sites along the coastline of South China. The MPs concentrations in the intertidal zone along the coast of South China were comparable to those in other regions around the world.

Development of an in vitro model to simulate migration of organic contaminants from pad products to human sweat and enhance dermal exposure risk assessment.

Dermal sorption is an important route for human exposure to organic chemicals embedded in consumer products, but the related chemical migration from consumer products to sweats was often overlooked in assessing skin exposure risk. To address this issue, the present study selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalic acid esters (PAEs), and benzothiazoles (BTs) as the target compounds and developed an in vitro simulation model with two artificial sweats (i.e.

Determination of low-density polyethylene-water partition coefficients for novel halogenated flame retardants with the large volume model and co-solvent model.

The partition coefficient (K) of an analyte between low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film and water is a critical parameter for measuring freely dissolved concentrations of the analyte with PE passive sampling devices. Measuring log K for super hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) have been proven extremely difficult. The present study developed a large volume model for measuring log K of super HOCs, i.

Plastics Are an Insignificant Carrier of Riverine Organic Pollutants to the Coastal Oceans.

Global rivers act as a dominant transport pathway for land-based plastic debris to the marine environment. Organic pollutants (OPs) affiliated with riverine plastics can also enter the global oceans, but their amounts remain unknown. Microplastic (MP) samples were collected in a one-year sampling event from the surface water of the eight main riverine outlets in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China, and analyzed for OPs affiliated with MPs, including 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), eight polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and 14 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Effects of cooking on oral bioaccessibility of PBDEs, MeO-PBDEs, and OH-PBDEs in fish (tilapia) and chicken egg.

Human health concerns are rising with polybrominated diphenyl ethers' (PBDEs) analogues, methoxylated and hydroxylated PBDEs (MeO-PBDEs and OH-PBDEs), due to their occurrences in foods and greater potential toxicological effects than PBDEs. While the oral bioaccessibilities (BA%) of PBDEs in foods are available, such information on MeO-PBDEs and OH-PBDEs, and the effects of cooking on them have not been adequately addressed. The present study was conducted with fish and chicken egg as typical foods to assess the bioaccessibility (BA%) of PBDEs, MeO-PBDEs, and OH-PBDEs using the colon extended physiologically based extraction test and examine the effects of cooking processes (boiling, frying, and steaming) on them.

Response of rice (Oryza sativa L.) roots to nanoplastic treatment at seedling stage.

Potential adverse effects of nanoplastics (NPs) on marine organisms have received increased attention in recent years. In contrast, few data are available on terrestrial plants, especially on the mechanisms for transport of NPs in plants and phytotoxicity (at both phenotypic and molecular levels) of plants induced by NPs. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a microcosm study in which hydroponically-cultured rice (Oryza sativa L.

Global Riverine Plastic Outflows.

Global marine plastic pollution, which is derived mainly from the input of vast amounts of land-based plastic waste, has drawn increasing public attention. Riverine plastic outflows estimated using models based on the concept of mismanaged plastic waste (MPW) are substantially greater than reported field measurements. Herein, we formulate a robust model using the Human Development Index (HDI) as the main predictor, and the modeled riverine plastic outflows are calibrated and validated by available field data.

Selected antibiotics and current-use pesticides in riverine runoff of an urbanized river system in association with anthropogenic stresses.

Antibiotics and current-use pesticides are ubiquitous in the environment. It is important to figure out their spatial distribution under the influences of anthropogenic activities and transport from rivers to coastal oceans. To address this knowledge gap, the present study conducted quarterly sampling in eight main runoff outlets of the Pearl River, South China, and obtained total concentrations of antibiotics and current-use pesticides at 24-296 ng L.