Chen-Chou Wu

Association of soil polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels and anthropogenic impacts in a rapidly urbanizing region: Spatial distribution, soil–air exchange and ecological risk

The occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and surrounding areas was examined on a basis of six land-use types and four geographic regions, from which the impacts of anthropogenic events on the terrestrial environment were evaluated. No significant difference in the concentrations of Σ28PAH and Σ15PAH (sums of 28 and 15 PAHs, respectively) was found among the land-use types of industry, landfill and residency. On the other hand, higher soil PAH concentrations occurred in the central PRD characterized by dense population and high urbanization level, compared to other geographic regions. Source diagnostics implicated the combustions of coal and refined petroleum as the major input sources of anthropogenic PAHs. Furthermore, low molecular weight PAHs tended to volatilize from soil to air while the opposite was prevailing for high molecular weight PAHs. The mean annual diffusive flux of Σ15PAH (852 μg m(-2)yr(-1)) from the soil to the atmosphere in the central PRD was greater than those in the PRDs periphery (195 μg m(-2)yr(-1)), West region (322 μg m(-2)yr(-1)) and East region (84.9 μg m(-2)yr(-1)), suggesting that the central PRD may have become a secondary source of PAHs to the surrounding areas. Finally, ecological risk assessment based on the classification from Maliszewska-Kordybach showed that 3.5% of soil within the central PRD was heavily contaminated by PAHs and 5.2 million residents may be subjected to high health risk.

Dermal Uptake from Airborne Organics as an Important Route of Human Exposure to E-Waste Combustion Fumes

Skin absorption of gaseous organic contaminants is an important and relevant mechanism in human exposure to such contaminants, but has not been adequately examined. This article demonstrates that dermal uptake from airborne contaminants could be recognized as a significant exposure route for local residents subjecting to combustion fume from e-waste recycling activities. It is particularly true for organic pollutants which have high dermal penetration rates and large skin-air partition coefficients, such as low molecular weight plasticizers and flame retardants.

Barbecue Fumes: An Overlooked Source of Health Hazards in Outdoor Settings?

Barbecuing or charcoal-grilling has become part of popular outdoor recreational activities nowadays; however, potential human health hazards through outdoor exposure to barbecue fumes have yet to be adequately quantified. To fill this knowledge gap, atmospheric size-fractioned particle and gaseous samples were collected near an outdoor barbecuing vendor stall (along with charcoal-grilled food items) in Xinjiang of Northwest China with a 10-stage micro-orifice uniform deposit impactor and a polyurethane foam (PUF) sampler and were analyzed for particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Exposure to PAHs through inhalation and dermal contact by adult consumers who spent 1 h per day near a charcoal-grilling vendor for a normal meal (lunch or dinner) amounted to a BaP equivalent (BaPeq) dosage of 3.0-77 ng day(-1) (inhalation: 2.8-27 ng day(-1) of BaPeq; dermal contact: 0.2-50 ng day(-1) of BaPeq), comparable to those (22-220 ng day(-1) of BaPeq) from consumer exposure through the consumption of charcoal-grilled meat, assumed to be at the upper limit of 50-150 g. In addition, the potential health risk was in the range of 3.1 × 10(-10) to 1.4 × 10(-4) for people of different age groups with inhalation and dermal contact exposure to PAHs once a day, with a 95% confidence interval (7.2 × 10(-9) to 1.2 × 10(-5)) comparable to the lower limit of the potential cancer risk range (1 × 10(-6) to 1 × 10(-4)). Sensitivity analyses indicated that the area of dermal contact with gaseous contaminants is a critical parameter for risk assessment. These results indicated that outdoor exposure to barbecue fumes (particularly dermal contact) may have become a significant but largely neglected source of health hazards to the general population and should be well-recognized.

Mediated distribution pattern of organic compounds in estuarine sediment by anthropogenic debris

Natural organic matter and grain size are considered as important parameters dictating the transport and fate of organic compounds in sediment. However, increasing evidence suggested that manufactured debris may alter the underlying mechanisms for biogeochemical cycling of organic compounds. To examine this assumption, estuarine sediment and embedded debris were collected from a fishery base in Guangdong Province of South China and analyzed for organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs), phthalates (PAEs), organotin compounds (OTs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs). Coarse-size debris (>200μm) were heterogeneously distributed in sediment, and most abundant near the boat maintenance facilities, aquaculture zone and shipping channel. The median concentrations of OPFRs, OTs, PAEs and DDTs in debris were 11, 0.2, 11 and 3.9μgg(-1) dry sample weight(-1), respectively, 1 to 3 orders of magnitude greater than those in bulk sediment (19, 60, 240 and 570ngg(-1) dry sample weight(-1), respectively). Furthermore, OPFRs, OTs and PAEs were mostly (>99%) enriched in coarse-size (63-2000μm) sediment, and there was no significant correlation (p>0.05) between the concentrations of OPFRs, OTs and PAEs in bulk and size-fractioned sediment samples and total organic carbon or grain size, similar to the distribution pattern of DDTs reported previously. When distinct debris were removed from the light-density (<1.7gcm(-3)) fraction of coarse-size (200-2000μm) sediment, the concentration levels of OPFRs, OTs, PAEs and DDTs declined by 84%, 59%, 55% and 7%, respectively. Obviously, debris irregularly distributed in sediment can alter the sediment sorption capacity for OPFRs, OTs and PAEs, and thus may undermine the significance of organic matter and grain size to the distribution of organic chemicals in sediment. Finally, commonly used procedures for preparing sediment samples and screening of debris may disturb the grain size distribution or underestimate the abundance of heavy-density debris, resulting in flawed sediment quality assessment.

Impact of Polymer Colonization on the Fate of Organic Contaminants in Sediment

Plastic pellets and microbes are important constitutes in sediment, but the significance of microbes colonizing on plastic pellets to the environmental fate and transport of organic contaminants has not been adequately recognized and assessed. To address this issue, low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyoxymethylene (POM) and polypropylene (PP) slices were preloaded with dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and incubated in abiotic and biotic sediment microcosms. Images from scanning electron microscope, Lysogeny Broth agar plates and confocal laser scanning microscope indicated that all polymer slices incubated in biotic sediments were colonized by microorganisms, particularly the LDPE slices. The occurrence of biofilms induced higher dissipation rates of DDTs and PAHs from the LDPE slice surfaces incubated in the biotic sediments than in the abiotic sediments. Plastic colonization on LDPE slice surfaces enhanced the biotransformation of DDT and some PAHs in both marine and river sediments, but had little impact on PCBs. By comparison, PP and POM with unique properties were shown to exert different impacts on the physical and microbial activities as compared to LDPE. These results clearly demonstrated that the significance of polymer surface affiliated microbes to the environmental fate and behavior of organic contaminants should be recognized.