Oil shale ash contains mineral ingredients of agricultural importance and could be used for treatment of soils. However, the ash contains several hazardous ingredients, i.e. toxic trace metals which could be mobile and create environmental concerns. Beneficial use of the oil shale ash in agriculture and forestry requires better knowledge of leaching characteristics of soil-ash systems. In this ...

Preformed crowns for restoration of primary teeth are used in various treatments and are essential for restoring the crowns of primary molars. However, there are concerns that mechanical, chemical, and thermal stimulation may cause release of components of such crowns. We examined systemic accumulation of heavy metals associated with preformed crowns (3M Stainless Steel Primary Molar Crowns) us...

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...

in order to better understand the extent of soil pollution by heavy metals and its effect on ecosystem, spatial information on ecological impacts of heavy metals would be necessary. therefore, in the present study, the spatial pattern of ecological risk of heavy metals (cadmium, lead, copper, nickel and zinc) have been identified in surface soils of golestan province. to this end, over 346 surf...

This paper describes a study of the trace element distribution in sediments, marine water and mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis of the Venetian Lagoon around the Island of Murano, an island with a long tradition of glassmaking. Trace elements analysed include Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb, Ni, Ag and As. Sediments are contaminated with Zn, Cu, Ag, As and Pb, with levels in the <2 m fraction that are li...

The aim of the research was to determine the effect of the season and the breeding region on the content of selected minerals (Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe, Pb, Cd) in the hair of dairy cows. The research material covered 114 Holstein-Friesian breed cows from three breeding centres in Poland, hereafterreferred to as A, B and C. Breeding centre A is located in Opolskie province, breeding centre B in Podlaskie...

The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of brewing time on the content of select trace elements (Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn) and heavy metals (Pb, Cd) in homogeneous and mixed herbs used in therapy of digestive system diseases and in regulation of digestive processes. The study involved 10 types of preparations of herbal teas (monoand multi-component sachets) acting on the gastrointestinal tract...

Various studies have revealed high concentrations of contaminants such as organochlorines (OCs) and heavy metals in Mediterranean cetaceans. A geographical trend of contamination (PCBs and DDTs) has been found for striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba). In this study we used a non-lethal approach (skin biopsy) to investigate bioaccumulation of OCs, including polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), DDTs, p...

The atmospheric deposition of heavy metals in Albania was investigated by using a carpet-forming moss species (Hypnum cupressiforme) as bioindicator. Sampling was done in the dry seasons of autumn 2010 and summer 2011. Two different sampling schemes are discussed in this paper: a random sampling scheme with 62 sampling sites distributed over the whole territory of Albania and systematic samplin...

An integrated molecular and physiological investigation of the fundamental mechanisms of heavy metal accumulation was conducted in Thlaspi caerulescens, a Zn/Cd-hyperaccumulating plant species. A heavy metal transporter cDNA, ZNT1, was cloned from T. caerulescens through functional complementation in yeast and was shown to mediate high-affinity Zn(2+) uptake as well as low-affinity Cd(2+) uptak...