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Environmental Behavior and Effects of Pollutants in Soil

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemoenvironment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2023) | Viewed by 5317

Special Issue Editor

1. National Demonstration Center for Environmental and Planning, College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
2. Henan Engineering Research Centre for Control & Remediation of Soil Heavy Metal Pollution, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
Interests: environmental behavior and effects of pollutants; mechanism of organic and inorganic combined pollution; bioavailability of pollutants in soils; ecological remediation of contaminated soils

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soils are one of the most important reservoirs of pollutants. The varieties and concentrations of pollutants increased sharply in recent years. Moreover, pollutants in the soil could easily enter the human body via the food chain, thus posing a great threat to human health. There is a growing concern about soil pollution all over the world. Because of the inhomogeneous and multiphase characteristics of the soils, the behavior and effects of pollutants are complex in the soils. There are several important processes, i.e., adsorption/desorption, stabilization/mobilization, bio-degradation, bio-concentration, leaching, runoff, etc., influencing the bioavailability, effects, and fates of the pollutants in soils. These processes varied greatly with the type and characteristics of the soils, the concentration and characteristic of the pollutants, and the environmental factors, which increased the complexity of environmental behavior and the effects of pollutants in soils. Studies on the behavior and effects of pollutants in soils are important for pollution prevention, risk assessment, and remediation of polluted soils. However, the results from different studies might be different, even in contrast, for many kinds of pollutants. More and further studies should be carried out in this area. This Special Issue of the Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) focuses on the environmental behavior and effects of pollutants in soils. Papers addressing the presentence, bioavailability, translocation, and transformation of pollutants in the soils, and their effects on the soil environment, plants, and animals are invited for this Special Issue, especially those dealing with the emerging pollutants using new technologies and approaches.

Dr. Xuhui Li
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • soil pollution
  • environmental behavior
  • ecological risk
  • bioavailability
  • toxicity
  • translocation
  • transformation
  • emerging pollutants
  • environmental fate of pollutants in soils
  • influencing factors

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2441 KiB  
Article
A New Sight of Influencing Effects of Major Factors on Cd Transfer from Soil to Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.): Based on Threshold Regression Model
by Zhifan Chen, Wencai Geng, Xingyuan Jiang, Xinling Ruan, Di Wu and Yipeng Li
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12363; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912363 - 28 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1313
Abstract
Due to the high toxicity and potential health risk of cadmium (Cd), the influencing effects of major factors (like pH, OM, and clay, etc.) on Cd bioaccumulation and transfer from soil to crop grains are highly concerned. Multiple linear regression models were usually [...] Read more.
Due to the high toxicity and potential health risk of cadmium (Cd), the influencing effects of major factors (like pH, OM, and clay, etc.) on Cd bioaccumulation and transfer from soil to crop grains are highly concerned. Multiple linear regression models were usually applied in previous literature, but these linear models could not reflect the threshold effects of major factors on Cd transfer under different soil environmental conditions. Soil pH and other factors on Cd transfer in a soil–plant system might pose different or even contrary effects under different soil Cd exposure levels. For this purpose, we try to apply a threshold regression model to analyze the effects of key soil parameters on Cd bioaccumulation and transfer from soil to wheat. The results showed that under different soil pH or Cd levels, several factors, including soil pH, organic matter, exchangeable Cd, clay, P, Zn, and Ca showed obvious threshold effects, and caused different or even contrary impacts on Cd bioaccumulation in wheat grains. Notably, the increase of soil pH inhibited Cd accumulation when pH > 7.98, but had a promotional effect when pH ≤ 7.98. Thus, threshold regression analysis could provide a new insight that can lead to a more integrated understanding of the relevant factors on Cd accumulation and transfer from soil to wheat. In addition, it might give us a new thought on setting regulatory limits on Cd contents in wheat grains, or the inhibitory factors of Cd transfer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Behavior and Effects of Pollutants in Soil)
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11 pages, 1953 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Cd Pollution in Paddy Soil–Rice System in Silver Mining-Affected Areas: Pollution Status, Transformation and Health Risk Assessment
by Lv Lv, Zhiqiang Jiao, Shiji Ge, Wenhao Zhan, Xinling Ruan and Yangyang Wang
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12362; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912362 - 28 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1645
Abstract
Mining activities are one of the main contamination sources of Cd in soil. However, the information about the influence of silver mining on Cd pollution in soil in mining-affected areas is limited. In the present study, sixteen paired soil and rice grain samples [...] Read more.
Mining activities are one of the main contamination sources of Cd in soil. However, the information about the influence of silver mining on Cd pollution in soil in mining-affected areas is limited. In the present study, sixteen paired soil and rice grain samples were collected from the farmland along the Luxi River nearby a silver mine in Yingtan City, Jiangxi Province, China. The total, bioavailable, and fraction of Cd in soil and Cd content in rice grain were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The transformation of Cd in the soil–rice system and potential health risk via consumption of these rice grains were also estimated. The results showed that Cd concentration in these paddy soils ranged from 0.21 to 0.48 mg/kg, with the mean Cd concentration (0.36 mg/kg) exceeded the national limitation of China (0.3 mg/kg, GB 15618-2018). Fortunately, all these contaminated paddy soils were just slightly polluted, with the highest single-factor pollution index value of 1.59. The DTPA- and CaCl2-extractable Cd in these paddy soils ranged from 0.16 to 0.22 mg/kg and 0.06 to 0.11 mg/kg, respectively, and the acid-soluble Cd occupied 40.40% to 52.04% of the total Cd, which was the highest among different fractions. The concentration of Cd in rice grain ranged from 0.03 to 0.39 mg/kg, and the mean Cd concentration in rice grain (0.16 mg/kg) was within the national limitation of China (0.2 mg/kg, GB 2762-2017). The bioaccumulation factor of Cd in rice grain ranged from 0.09 to 1.18, and its correlation with various indicators was nonsignificant (p < 0.05). Health risk assessment indicated that the noncarcinogenic risk for local rice consumers was within the acceptable range, but the carcinogenic risk (CR) was ranging from 1.24 × 10−2 to 1.09 × 10−3 and higher than the acceptable range (1.0 × 10−4), indicating that the local rice consumers suffered serious risk for carcinogenic diseases. The results of the present study can provide reference for safety production of rice in silver mining-affected areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Behavior and Effects of Pollutants in Soil)
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15 pages, 2082 KiB  
Article
Pollution, Ecological Risk and Source Identification of Heavy Metals in Sediments from the Huafei River in the Eastern Suburbs of Kaifeng, China
by Bingyan Jin, Jinling Wang, Wei Lou, Liren Wang, Jinlong Xu, Yanfang Pan, Jianbiao Peng and Dexin Liu
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(18), 11259; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811259 - 7 Sep 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2012
Abstract
Rivers in urban environments are significant components of their ecosystems but remain under threat of pollution from unchecked discharges of industrial sewage and domestic wastewater. Such river pollution, particularly over the longer term involving heavy metals, is an issue of worldwide concern regarding [...] Read more.
Rivers in urban environments are significant components of their ecosystems but remain under threat of pollution from unchecked discharges of industrial sewage and domestic wastewater. Such river pollution, particularly over the longer term involving heavy metals, is an issue of worldwide concern regarding risks to the ecological environment and human health. In this study, we investigate the long-term pollution characteristics of the Huafei River, an important urban river in Kaifeng, China. River sedimentary samples were analyzed, assessing the degree and ecological risk of heavy metal pollution using the geo-accumulation index and potential ecological risk index methods, whilst Pearson’s correlation, principal component and cluster analyses were used to identify the sources of pollution. The results show that heavy metal concentrations are significantly higher than their corresponding fluvo-aquic soil background values in China, and the geo-accumulation indexes indicate that of the eight heavy metals identified, Hg is most prevalent, followed in sequence by Cd > Zn > Cu > Pb > Ni > As > Cr. The potential ecological risk index of the Huafei River is very high, with the potential ecological risk intensity highest in the midstream and downstream sections, where it is recommended that pollution control is carried out, especially concerning Hg and Cd. Long-term sequence analysis indicates that Cu and Pb dropped sharply from 1998 to 2017, but rebounded in 2019, and that Zn shows a continuous decreasing trend. Four main sources for the heavy metal contaminants were identified: Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn and Hg derived mainly from industrial activities, traffic sources and natural sources; Cd originated mainly from industrial and agricultural activities; whilst As was mainly associated with industrial activities. Thus, special attention should be paid to Hg and Cd, and measures must be taken to prevent further anthropogenic influence on heavy metal pollution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Behavior and Effects of Pollutants in Soil)
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