Urban stormwater runoff is being recognized as a major source of pollutants to receiving waters and a number of recent investigations have evaluated stormwater runoff quality and best management practices to minimize pollutant input to receiving waters. Particle-bound contaminants are widespread in the urban environment causing impairment to urban water bodies such as streams and lakes. Non-poi...

Composting is the best-known processes for biological stabilization of sewage sludge, municipal solid waste and other biodegradable wastes. Prepared compost can be used as a soil conditioner in agricultural applications. However, the presence of non-biodegradable and high level of toxic heavy metals in the compost frequently hinders agricultural land application. Uptake of heavy metals by plant...

The rate of consumption of dithiothreitol (DTT) is increasingly used to measure the oxidative potential of particulate matter (PM), which has been linked to the adverse health effects of PM. While several quinones are known to be very reactive in the DTT assay, it is unclear what other chemical species might contribute to the loss of DTT in PM extracts. To address this question, we quantify the...

BACKGROUND Heavy metals tend to bioaccumulate in living organisms, and their accumulation has been a major concern. As mammals are known to excrete heavy metals via their bile, it seems to be very promising to analyse metal burdens of parasites that infect the biliary tree such as liver flukes of the genus Fasciola. The present study was carried out to evaluate F. hepatica and F. gigantica as b...

There is a widespread repeated exposure of the population to the pesticides and heavy metals of occupational and environmental origin. Such population is forced to undergo continuous stress imposed by combined exposure of the heavy metals and different classes of the pesticides used in agricultural as well as health practices. The existing reports from several workers have indicated that heavy ...

Anthropogenic activities have resulted in the intensified use of water resources. For example, open pit bitumen extraction by Canada's oil sands operations uses an estimated volume of three barrels of water for every barrel of oil produced. The waste tailings-oil sands process water (OSPW)-are stored in holding ponds, and present an environmental concern as they are comprised of residual hydroc...

Interest in the biologic role of trace elements prompted an investigation of their renal excretion. Preliminary qualitative analysis revealed that except for cobalt the entire first transition series of metals, namely, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, nickel and copper, were detectable in most human urines. In addition the heavier transition metals, molybdenum and silver, as well ...

Children's dietary exposure to metals has received limited attention in Australia. This study undertook a market basket survey and analysed 253 food and beverages for metals. These data were used in conjunction with recent average diet data for children in Western Australia to model dietary metals exposure, with mean metals intakes calculated for boys and girls aged 8, 12, 13 and 16 years. Resu...

In order to investigate the behavior, distribution, and characteristics of heavy metals including rare earth elements (REEs), thorium (Th), and uranium (U) in sludge, the total and fractional concentrations of these elements in sludge collected from an industry water treatment plant were determined and compared with those in natural soil. In addition, the removal/recovery process of heavy metal...

Previous studies have demonstrated increased functions of osteoblasts (bone-forming cells) on nanophase compared to conventional ceramics (specifically, alumina, titania, and hydroxyapatite), polymers (such as poly lactic-glycolic acid and polyurethane), carbon nanofibers/nanotubes, and composites thereof. Nanophase materials are unique materials that simulate dimensions of constituent componen...