persian gulf and its coastal areas are the world's largest source of crude oil and related industries govern the region. one of the contaminants in this area is heavy metals associated with oil spill. more importantly, vanadium, nickel and zinc can be named in this regard. in this study, the contamination of northern coasts of persian gulf is selected to investigate for trace metals of v, ni, c...

To improve its air quality, Beijing, the capital of China, has implemented high-cost pollution control measures mainly focused on shifting its energy mix. However, the effectiveness of these measures has long been questioned, especially given the recent problem of severe haze. The main study objectives are to achieve independent, although indirect, information on Beijing's air pollution by meas...

Mercury contamination is a serious problem in Chinese cities. In the present study, mercury contamination was evaluated in topsoil and subsoil samples collected in an urban area of Beijing. The level of total mercury in topsoil ranged from 12.1 to 8,487 ng g(-1), and a significant correlation (R = 0.58145, p < 0.0001) with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was observed. Higher levels were genera...

Mineral sands mining involves stripping topsoil to access heavy-mineral bearing deposits, which are then rehabilitated to their original state, commonly pasture in south-west Western Australia. Organic amendments such as biosolids (digested sewage sludge) can contribute organic carbon to the rehabilitating system and improve soil chemical fertility and physical conditions. Use of biosolids also...

In the present study, Hg bioconcentration by Puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum) mushroom was investigated. Total Hg content of fruiting bodies and topsoil (0-10 cm layer) were determined by cold-vapour atomic absorption spectroscopy. For ten geographically distant sampling sites of Poland, Hg ranged from 0.91 ± 0.28 to 2.4 ± 0.4 (overall range 0.57-4.5) μg/g dry weight in the carpophores and 0.012 ...

The Sn-W Panasqueira mine, in activity since the mid-1890s, is one of the most important economic deposits in the world. Arsenopyrite is the main mineral present as well as rejected waste sulphide. The long history is testified by the presence of a huge amount of tailings, which release considerable quantities of heavy metal(loid)s into the environment. This work assesses soil contamination and...

Soils that have been acutely contaminated by heavy metals show distinct characteristics, such as colonization by metal-tolerant plant species and topsoil enrichment in weakly degraded plant debris, because biodegradation processes are strongly inhibited by contamination. Such an organic topsoil, located downwind of an active zinc smelter and extremely rich in Zn (approximately 2%, dry weight), ...