Article
Engineering, Chemical
Stefan Petrache, Timur Chis, Ancaelena Eliza Sterpu, Olga Valerica Sapunaru
Summary: This article discusses the oil industry in Romania and the rehabilitation of polluted land. By studying the radioactivity of abandoned oil fields, attention is drawn to the presence of radioactive elements in land affected by oil pollution.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Arturo Reyes, Jacqueline Cuevas, Barbara Fuentes, Edgardo Fernandez, Wilson Arce, Madeleine Guerrero, Maria Victoria Letelier
Summary: A soil pollution assessment was conducted in Taltal, Northern Chile, revealing significant contamination with toxic elements like arsenic, copper, lead, and cadmium exceeding safety limits, posing potential health risks for residents. Abandoned mining waste sites are identified as the main source of soil pollution, indicating the urgent need for remediation efforts to mitigate ecological and human health risks.
JOURNAL OF GEOCHEMICAL EXPLORATION
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Lingling He, Chenglong Tu, Shouyang He, Jiulai Long, Ya Sun, Yan Sun, Changhu Lin
Summary: The study found that in an area within 10 kilometers of an abandoned aluminium plant, the fluoride content in most agricultural products exceeded the Chinese Maximum Levels of Contaminants in Foods and was higher than in other regions, indicating that fluoride emissions from the plant still significantly accumulated in vegetables. The total fluorine content in the surrounding surface soil was similar to the soil fluorine background in nearby uncontaminated areas, but the soil water-soluble fluorine content was very high, suggesting that the fluoride pollutants emitted by the aluminium plant had been gradually diluted by the original soil, but the high solubility of these pollutants continued to pose a threat to the safety of agricultural products in the region.
ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY AND HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lorene Tosini, Manuel Cartereau, Yoann Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Isabelle Laffont-Schwob, Pascale Prudent, Anne-Marie Farnet Da Silva, Nicolas Montes, Yoan Labrousse, Laurent Vassalo, Helene Folzer
Summary: This study investigated the effects of soil multi-contamination on plant biodiversity, microbial communities, and ecosystem functioning in Mediterranean scrublands. The results showed that plant biodiversity had an overall positive effect on ecosystem multifunctionality, mediated by microbial communities, and mitigated the negative impacts of soil multi-contamination on soil water holding capacity and nitrogen content. The diversity of distant plant lineages played a key role in promoting ecosystem multifunctionality, while subordinate species richness affected ecosystem functioning.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mirelys Rodriguez Alfaro, Olegario Muniz Ugarte, Luiz Henrique Vieira Lima, Josevaldo Ribeiro Silva, Fernando Bruno Vieira da Silva, Simone Aparecida da Silva Lins, Clistenes Williams Araujo do Nascimento
Summary: This study evaluated the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb in the soil and vegetables grown in areas contaminated by slag from an abandoned steel plant in Havana, Cuba. It found that Cd, Cr, and Pb concentrations exceeded safe levels set by international standards, posing potential health risks to humans. Vegetable consumption was identified as a significant source of Cr, Cd, and Ni intake, while accidental ingestion of contaminated soil was the main exposure route for Pb.
ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY AND HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jose Alvarez-Rogel, Antonio Penalver-Alcala, Francisco J. Jimenez-Carceles, M. Carmen Tercero, M. Nazaret Gonzalez-Alcaraz
Summary: This study highlights the importance of spontaneous colonization by native vegetation for managing abandoned metal mine tailings. Different stages of colonization show changes in soil indicators, with similarities in ecological indexes between colonized sites and pine forests nearby or far from the tailings.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Huihui Du, Yang Li, Dan Wan, Chuanqiang Sun, Jing Sun
Summary: The study revealed that tungsten has higher mobility in soils compared to arsenic, primarily binding to aluminosilicates while arsenic predominantly binds to iron oxides. Soil organic matter can retain tungsten in deep soils by binding through carboxyls.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Eleni Prifti, Helen Kaberi, Vasiliki Paraskevopoulou, Panagiotis Michalopoulos, Christina Zeri, Stylianos Iliakis, Manos Dassenakis, Michael Scoullos
Summary: The Saronikos Gulf is facing a lot of anthropogenic pressure, with heavy metal pollution being a major environmental problem. Sedimentary cores from Elefsis Bay and the Inner Saronikos Gulf were analyzed to study the temporal evolution and chemical speciation of eleven elements, revealing extensive pollution from the 1910s and 1960s. While there has been a decrease in sediment enrichment since 2000, a toxicity assessment showed that most trace elements still pose a moderate to high risk of toxicity to benthic ecosystems. This study highlights the urgent need for research and management of trace element inputs in the Inner Saronikos Gulf.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Maria Rosario Calabro, Gonzalo Roqueiro, Raul Tapia, Diana Cristina Crespo, Martha Fidela Bargiela, Brian Jonathan Young
Summary: Abandoned mines with untreated waste can cause environmental pollution, particularly in soil and plants. This study assessed the chronic toxicity of a contaminated soil from an abandoned gold mine on lettuce, and investigated the relationship between toxicity endpoints, bioavailability, and bioaccumulation of Zn, Cu, and Pb. The findings contribute valuable information to future ecotoxicological risk assessments and remediation plans.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Mert Guney, Zhanel Akimzhanova, Aiganym Kumisbek, Symbat Kismelyeva, Almira Guney, Ferhat Karaca, Vassilis Inglezakis
Summary: Former industrially contaminated sites still pose environmental risks and need to be evaluated for pollution by Hg and other selected PTEs, especially in the vicinity of Lake Balkyldak where persistent Hg pollution is present.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zhaohui Guo, Yunxia Zhang, Rui Xu, Huimin Xie, Xiyuan Xiao, Chi Peng
Summary: This study developed a machine learning model to investigate the vertical distribution and prediction of metal(loid)s in a typical abandoned Pb/Zn smelter site. The results demonstrated that the model was effective in identifying key factors influencing contamination distribution and predicting metal(loid)s contents in subsurface soil. Arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) were found to be the primary pollutants with migration depths of 4-6 m.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yafen Wang, Tao Liu, Jincan Tang, Zhiwei Xiong, Liangchu Song, Teng Ma
Summary: The study found that HCB, HCHs, and DDTs were the dominant OCP classes in the sediments from the abandoned oxidation pond of Ya-Er lake, China, with potential ecological risks. The sources of OCPs were identified as persistent residues, recent agricultural input, and historical industrial input through principal component analysis and microbial EL-FAME profiles analysis.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jose alvarez-Rogel, Antonio Penalver-Alcala, M. Nazaret Gonzalez-Alcaraz
Summary: This study evaluated the consistency of soil improvement caused by natural vegetation colonization in abandoned metal(loid) mine tailings in semiarid areas throughout seasons. The results showed that the improvement in soil conditions induced by vegetation colonization was consistent throughout seasons, especially in more complex vegetation patches. However, bare soils and simpler soil-plant systems exhibited stronger seasonal variability in temperature, moisture content, salinity, and water-soluble metals.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lie Xiao, Guobin Liu, Peng Li, Sha Xue
Summary: The study investigated the ecological stoichiometric interactions among plants, soils, and enzymes in the rhizosphere and their effects on secondary plant succession. Results indicated that rhizosphere stoichiometry is a powerful tool for evaluating plant-soil interactions in terrestrial ecosystems.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Lei Tang, Xuqiang Zhao, Xuwen Chen, Yi Jiang, Fredrick Gudda, Yunhao Wang, Wanting Ling
Summary: This study reported the variation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) residues and the bacterial community at different depths in an aged-abandoned site. The results showed that a large proportion of PAH residues were sequestrated in humin, especially high molecular weight bound-PAH (BP) residues. The stresses of PAH and soil depth enhanced the associations between bacteria, and PAH degradation bacteria (PDB) were enriched and cultured from the sampling site.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2023)