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Toxic Metal in Soil, Water and Biota Compartments: Contamination and Remediation

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 6153

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Lucia Santorufo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy
Interests: soil biodiversity; forest fires; soil fauna; microarthropods; nutrient cycle
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Metals are naturally occurring elements, but their multiple industrial, domestic, agricultural, and technological applications have led to their wide distribution in the environment. Being highly reactive and toxic even at low concentrations, metals may enter in soils and groundwater, adversely affecting biota. Bioavailable fractions of metals can easily be absorbed by organisms, compromising their cellular metabolism and activities. Because of their characteristics of duration and enrichment, metals accumulate along the food webs, causing irreparable alteration to biodiversity. For these reasons, remediation of metals requires special attention to prevent exposure of metals to organisms in order to protect the biota and the environmental quality. Recently, several techniques have been developed for metal remediation, but as remediation is a critical process depending on many factors, more efficient strategies are still needed. In recent years, ecological and global public health have been associated with metal contamination and remediation, but open challenges regarding the impacts of metals on organisms and their activities as well as their interactions remain. Therefore, research involved in the implementation of the current knowledge on these subjects is welcome in this Special Issue.

Dr. Lucia Santorufo
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • toxic metals
  • trace elements
  • soil organisms
  • acquatic organisms
  • remediation

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3036 KiB  
Article
Metal Release from Microplastics to Soil: Effects on Soil Enzymatic Activities and Spinach Production
by Giorgia Santini, Valeria Memoli, Ermenegilda Vitale, Gabriella Di Natale, Marco Trifuoggi, Giulia Maisto and Lucia Santorufo
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(4), 3106; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043106 - 10 Feb 2023
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 1867
Abstract
Microplastics (MPs) represent emergent pollutants in terrestrial ecosystems. Microplastics can cause the release of metal and damage to crop quality. The present research aimed to evaluate the effects of Mater-bi (Bio-MPs) and polyethylene (PE-MPs) MPs at different concentrations on soil properties and on [...] Read more.
Microplastics (MPs) represent emergent pollutants in terrestrial ecosystems. Microplastics can cause the release of metal and damage to crop quality. The present research aimed to evaluate the effects of Mater-bi (Bio-MPs) and polyethylene (PE-MPs) MPs at different concentrations on soil properties and on the growth of Spinacia oleracea L. Plants were grown in 30 pots filled with soil mixed with 0.5, 1 and 2% d.w. of Bio-MPs and PE-MPs and in 5 pots filled only with soil, considered as controls (K). At the end of the vegetative cycle, the spinach plants were evaluated for the epigeal (EPI) and hypogeal (HYPO) biomasses and the ratio of HYPO/EPI was calculated. In the soil, the total and the available fractions of Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb and the hydrolase (HA), β-glucosidase (β-glu), dehydrogenase (DHA) and urease (U) activities were evaluated. The results revealed that the addition of Bio-MPs increased soil total Cr, Cu and Pb and available Cu concentrations, and the addition of PE-MPs increased Pb availability. In soil contaminated by both Bio-MPs and PE-MPs, HA and β-glu activities were stimulated, whereas DHA activity was reduced. The HYPO and HYPO/EPI biomasses were reduced only in soils contaminated by the 2% Bio-MPs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxic Metal in Soil, Water and Biota Compartments: Contamination and Remediation)
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14 pages, 3607 KiB  
Article
Synthesis, Characterization and Decomposition of Potassium Jarosite for Adsorptive As(V) Removal in Contaminated Water: Preliminary Study
by Eduardo Cerecedo-Sáenz, Elías Hernández-Lazcano, Maythe J. González-Bedolla, Juan Hernández-Ávila, Raúl Rosales-Ibáñez, María del P. Gutiérrez-Amador, Ariadna Sánchez-Castillo, Alberto Arenas-Flores and Eleazar Salinas-Rodríguez
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(23), 15912; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315912 - 29 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1953
Abstract
Jarosite-type compounds precipitated in the zinc industry for iron control can also incorporate arsenic and can be used for wastewater treatment for As elimination. According with the last, this work is related to arsenic incorporation at room temperature in decomposed potassium jarosite. The [...] Read more.
Jarosite-type compounds precipitated in the zinc industry for iron control can also incorporate arsenic and can be used for wastewater treatment for As elimination. According with the last, this work is related to arsenic incorporation at room temperature in decomposed potassium jarosite. The work began with the synthesis of the compound at 75 °C for 9 h using Fe2(SO4)3 and K2SO4 at a pH of 1.1. Once jarosite was obtained, solids were subjected to an alkaline decomposition using NaOH at pH 10 for 30 min, and then As was added to the solution as HAsNaO4 and the pH modified by adding HNO3 until it reached a value of 1.1. The initial, intermediate, and final products were wholly characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in conjunction with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy (RS), and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS). The obtained results show that As(V) can be adsorbed by ionic exchange in the amorphous FeOH structure of decomposed jarosite and when pH decreased to 1.1, the compound recrystallized, incorporating up to 6% As on average, which is indicative that this process can be used to reduce As in contaminated waters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxic Metal in Soil, Water and Biota Compartments: Contamination and Remediation)
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19 pages, 2533 KiB  
Article
Quality and Health Risk Assessment of Groundwaters in the Protected Area of Tisa River Basin
by Thomas Dippong and Maria-Alexandra Resz
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(22), 14898; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192214898 - 12 Nov 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 1727
Abstract
This study was conducted in order to assess the chemistry (41 metalloids and heavy metals and 16 physico-chemical indicators) of groundwater sampled from the protected area of the Tisa River Basin during the months of 2021. Pollution indices were used in order to [...] Read more.
This study was conducted in order to assess the chemistry (41 metalloids and heavy metals and 16 physico-chemical indicators) of groundwater sampled from the protected area of the Tisa River Basin during the months of 2021. Pollution indices were used in order to determine the potential metal pollution level. Consequently, a non-carcinogenic risk assessment of metal through the ingestion of water was done. The results indicated general contamination with ammonium, chloride, iron, and manganese. The samples were rich in Cu, Mg, and Pb, but lower than the maximum limits. Significant correlations were noticed between Al-Fe, Mn-Fe, Mn-Ni, and Cr-Zn, as well as the metal content and pollution index scores. The metal pollution indices indicated three pollution levels (low, medium, and high) based on the metal content and standards regarding the water quality used for drinking purposes. The pollution indices scores ranged from 1.52–41.2. A human health risk assessment indicated no potential non-carcinogenic risk for the studied metals through the consumption of groundwater. The results of three different tools (chronic daily intake, hazard quotient, and hazard index) were below the critical value, except for the aluminium in two samples. This study is one of the first attempts to evaluate the quality of groundwater sources associated with the human health risks of the studied metals from the Tisa River Basin protected area. Based on this research, strategies for managing and controlling the risks can be developed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxic Metal in Soil, Water and Biota Compartments: Contamination and Remediation)
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