Tangfu Xiao

Environmental concerns related to high thallium levels in soils and thallium uptake by plants in southwest Guizhou, China

Thallium (Tl) contamination in soils poses a significant threat to human health due to the high toxicity of Tl and its ready assimilation by crops. This study is focused on high concentrations of Tl in soils in the Lanmuchang area of southwest Guizhou, China, which is related to natural processes of Tl-rich sulfide mineralization. Thallium contents range from 40 to 124 mg/kg in soils originating from the mining area, from 20 to 28 mg/kg in slope wash materials, from 14 to 62 mg/kg in alluvial deposits downstream, from 1.5 to 6.9 mg/kg in undisturbed natural soils and <0.2 to 0.5 mg/kg Tl in soils from the background area. These values indicate that both the erosion of natural soils from the Tl mineralized area and the mining activity are responsible for the distribution of high Tl concentrations in soils. Two other important toxic metals of interest, mercury and arsenic, also show high contents in soils, and are generally higher than Tl concentrations. Thallium concentration in plants exhibit species-dependent preferences. Thus, the enrichment of Tl in the edible parts of crop species decreases in the following order: green cabbage>carrot>chili>Chinese cabbage>rice>corn. The highest level of Tl in green cabbage is up to 500 mg/kg as dry wt., surpassing the values of Tl in the soils in which the green cabbages grow. In contrast, Hg and As are relatively less concentrated in local plants. The average daily uptake of Tl by the villagers of the Lanmuchang area through consumption of locally planted crops has been estimated to be 1.9 mg/person, which is 50 times the daily ingestion of individuals from the Tl-free background area. The daily ingestion of As and Hg from the study area are 0.03 and 0.01 mg, respectively. This indicates that Tl in the contaminated soils related to the natural Tl mineralization is being readily transferred to the human body through the food chain, and poses a significant threat to the health of the local villagers. Arsenic may pose a lesser health hazard, but mercury has an insignificant health risk. This study illustrates a real environmental concern related to land use and human health in areas containing high contents of Tl in soils associated with the natural occurrence of Tl-rich sulfides and coals, with or without mining activities. Thallium contamination in soils should be a critical parameter for proper land use and health related environmental planning and regulations.

Thallium pollution in China: A geo-environmental perspective

It is well known that thallium (Tl) is a non-essential and toxic metal to human health, but less is known about the geo-environmentally-induced Tl pollution and its associated health impacts. High concentrations of Tl that are primarily associated with the epithermal metallogenesis of sulfide minerals have the potential of producing Tl pollution in the environment, which has been recognized as an emerging pollutant in China. This paper aims to review the research progress in China on Tl pollution in terms of the source, mobility, transportation pathway, and health exposure of Tl and to address the environmental concerns on Tl pollution in a geo-environmental perspective. Tl associated with the epithermal metallogenesis of sulfide minerals has been documented to disperse readily and accumulate through the geo-environmental processes of soil enrichment, water transportation and food crop growth beyond a mineralized zone. The enrichments of Tl in local soil, water, and crops may result in Tl pollution and consequent adverse health effects, e.g. chronic Tl poisoning. Investigation of the baseline Tl in the geo-environment, proper land use and health-related environmental planning and regulation are critical to prevent the Tl pollution. Examination of the human urinary Tl concentration is a quick approach to identify exposure of Tl pollution to humans. The experiences of Tl pollution in China can provide important lessons for many other regions in the world with similar geo-environmental contexts because of the high mobility and toxicity of Tl.

Medical geology of arsenic, selenium and thallium in China

Arsenic (As), selenium (Se) and thallium (Tl) are three trace metals (metalloids) of high concern in China because deficiency or excess expose can cause a range of endemic diseases, such as endemic arsenism, selenosis, Keshan disease (KD), Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) and thallotoxicosis. These specific endemic diseases were attributable for overabundance or deficiency (mainly referring to selenium) of these three elements in the local environment as a result of natural geochemical processes and/or anthropologic activities. The geochemistry and human health impacts of these three trace elements have been intensively studied since the 1970s in China, in terms of geochemical sources, distribution, transportation, health impact pathways, and prevention/remediation measures. Endemic arsenism in China are induced from the exposures of high As in either drinking water or domestic combustion of As-rich coals. Both endemic selenium deficiency and selenosis occurred in China. The KD and KBD were related to the deficiency of Se in the low-Se geological belt with Se contents in soil less than 0.125mg/kg stretching from northeast to southwest of China. Endemic selenosis occurred in areas with high Se concentrations in soils derived from the Se-enriched black carbonaceous siliceous rocks, carbonaceous shale and slate. Endemic Tl poisoning occurred in southwestern China due to Tl contamination in local drinking water and vegetables surrounding the Tl-rich sulfide mineralized areas. Some measures have been taken to control and remedy the endemic diseases with significant effects in reducing health risk and damage of As, Se and Tl. However, the states of the endemic diseases of As, Se and Tl in China are still serious in some areas, and substantial research efforts regarding the health impacts of these elements are further required. This paper reviews the progress of medical geology of As, Se and Tl in China, and provides with some outlooks for future research directions.

Groundwater-related thallium transfer processes and their impacts on the ecosystem: southwest Guizhou Province, China

Abstract The small karstic watershed of Lanmuchang, in a Hg–Tl mineralized area in SW Guizhou Province, China, exhibits an enrichment of toxic Tl in groundwater and related stream water. This affords an excellent demonstration of the natural processes of Tl dispersion, and the resultant impact on the local ecosystem. The distribution of Tl in the water system follows a decreasing concentration pattern from deep groundwater to stream water to shallow groundwater. Tl shows high levels (13–1100 μg/L) in deep groundwater within the Tl-mineralized area, decreasing with distance away from the mineralized area to background levels (0.005 μg/L). The distribution of Tl in the water system is constrained by Tl mineralization, water–rock interactions and hydrogeological conditions. Tl concentrations in waters generally correlate with concentrations of total dissolved solids, sulphate, Ca and pH values, suggesting the contribution of water-rock interactions to water geochemistry. Water–rock interactions are driven by weathering of Tl-bearing sulfides which decreases pH values in groundwater, and by dissolution of limestone enhanced by acid fluids. Tl in stream water in both the base-flow and flood-flow regimes shows higher concentrations than it does in shallow groundwater that serves as the streams source (mainly springs, dug-well flows and karstic cave waters). Concentrations of Tl in stream water in the flood-flow regime are generally lower than in the base-flow regime due to dilution effects, but those in the waters of mid-stream are almost the same as in the base-flow regime, probably due to contribution from Tl-rich soil water seepage or from acid mine drainage (AMD). Unexpectedly, Tl concentrations in stream water in both regimes are remarkably higher (2–30 fold) downstream than up- and mid-stream. These pronounced increases of Tl concentration are likely caused by unidentified discharges of deep groundwater through fractured zones to the downstream trace. The groundwater-related Tl transfer processes affect the ecosystem through contamination of water supply and arable soil and ultimately the food chain with undoubted risks to human health. Therefore, the results of this study are important for environmental planning and regulations, and will also serve as baseline data for future research on Tl natural dispersion processes.

Microbial community analysis in rice paddy soils irrigated by acid mine drainage contaminated water

Five rice paddy soils located in southwest China were selected for geochemical and microbial community analysis. These rice fields were irrigated with river water which was contaminated by Fe–S-rich acid mine drainage. Microbial communities were characterized by high-throughput sequencing, which showed 39 different phyla/groups in these samples. Among these phyla/groups, Proteobacteria was the most abundant phylum in all samples. Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, Nitrospirae, and Bacteroidetes exhibited higher relative abundances than other phyla. A number of rare and candidate phyla were also detected. Moreover, canonical correspondence analysis suggested that pH, sulfate, and nitrate were significant factors that shaped the microbial community structure. In addition, a wide diversity of Fe- and S-related bacteria, such as GOUTA19, Shewanella, Geobacter, Desulfobacca, Thiobacillus, Desulfobacterium, and Anaeromyxobacter, might be responsible for biogeochemical Fe and S cycles in the tested rice paddy soils. Among the dominant genera, GOUTA19 and Shewanella were seldom detected in rice paddy soils.

Potential health risk in areas with high naturally-occurring cadmium background in southwestern China.

In various parts of the world, high cadmium (Cd) concentrations in environment are not related to anthropogenic contamination but have natural origins. Less is known about health risks that arise under these conditions. This study aimed to discuss the pollution of Cd with natural sources, and to investigate the concentration of Cd in food crops and the urine of inhabitants in an area of southwestern China. The results showed that the arable soils are moderately contaminated by Cd (I(geo)=1.51) relative to the local background, with a high ecological risk (Er=218). The chemical fractions of Cd in soils with natural sources are probably controlled by parent materials and mostly in residual phase. The average Cd concentrations were 0.68 mg kg(-1) (fresh weight) in local vegetables, 0.04 mg kg(-1) in rice, and 0.14 μg L(-1) in water. Leafy vegetable tends to accumulate more Cd than the other crops. The calculated Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) had a much higher value (4.33) for Cd, suggesting that Cd represents a significant potential risk to the local population. The urinary Cd concentrations (mean at 3.92 μg L(-1) for male and 4.85 μg L(-1) for female) of inhabitants in the study area were significantly higher (p<0.05) than those from the control area (mean at 0.8 μg L(-1) for male and 0.42 μg L(-1) for female). Male and female test subjects had similar urinary Cd levels (p>0.05), but age seemed to lead to an increase in Cd in the urine. These findings show that naturally-occurring Cd in local soils is taken up appreciably by local food crops, and that dietary exposure of Cd through vegetable ingestion is a major exposure pathway for local populations, and a potential risk to public health in the study area.

Thallium at the interface of soil and green cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L.): Soil-plant transfer and influencing factors

Thallium (Tl) is a non-essential and toxic trace metal found in many plants, but it can accumulate at particularly high concentration in green cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L.). The aim of this study is to explore the transfer and accumulation of Tl at the interface of rhizospheric soil and green cabbage from a long-term Tl contaminated site in southwestern Guizhou Province, China. Influencing factors such as Tl distribution in various soil fractions and physical-chemical characteristics of rhizospheric soil were also investigated. Our results demonstrated that green cabbage had high accumulation of Tl, with most bioconcentration factor (BF) values exceeding 1, and up to a maximum level of 11. The enrichment of Tl in the green cabbage tissues followed a descending order, i.e. old leaves>fresh leaves>stems≈roots. The stems functioned as a channel for Tl transportation to the leaves, where most of the Tl (greater than 80%) was found to accumulate. In the rhizospheric soils, 62-95% of Tl existed in the residual fraction, while lower concentrations of Tl (on average, 1.7% of total T1 in rhizospheric soil) were found in the water and acid soluble fractions. The major fraction of labile Tl was located in the reducible fraction (9%). Our results also suggested that the uptake and enrichment of Tl in green cabbage were affected by Tl concentrations, soil water content, soil pH, soil organic material (SOM) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) in rhizospheric soil.

Profiling microbial community in a watershed heavily contaminated by an active antimony (Sb) mine in Southwest China.

Located in Southwest China, the Chahe watershed has been severely contaminated by upstream active antimony (Sb) mines. The extremely high concentrations of Sb make the Chahe watershed an excellent model to elucidate the response of indigenous microbial activities within a severe Sb-contaminated environment. In this study, water and surface sediments from six locations in the Chahe watershed with different levels of Sb contamination were analyzed. Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA amplicons revealed more than 40 phyla from the domain Bacteria and 2 phyla from the domain Archaea. Sequences assigned to the genera Flavobacterium, Sulfuricurvum, Halomonas, Shewanella, Lactobacillus, Acinetobacter, and Geobacter demonstrated high relative abundances in all sequencing libraries. Spearmans rank correlations indicated that a number of microbial phylotypes were positively correlated with different speciation of Sb, suggesting potential roles of these phylotypes in microbial Sb cycling. Canonical correspondence analysis further demonstrated that geochemical parameters, including water temperature, pH, total Fe, sulfate, aqueous Sb, and Eh, significantly structured the overall microbial community in Chahe watershed samples. Our findings offer a direct and reliable reference to the diversity of microbial communities in the presence of extremely high Sb concentrations, and may have potential implications for in situ bioremediation strategies of Sb contaminated sites.

Tracing anthropogenic thallium in soil using stable isotope compositions

Thallium stable isotope data are used in this study, for the first time, to apportion Tl contamination in soils. In the late 1970s, a cement plant near Lengerich, Germany, emitted cement kiln dust (CKD) with high Tl contents, due to cocombustion of Tl-enriched pyrite roasting waste. Locally contaminated soil profiles were obtained down to 1 m depth and the samples are in accord with a binary mixing relationship in a diagram of Tl isotope compositions (expressed as ε(205)Tl, the deviation of the (205)Tl/(203)Tl ratio of a sample from the NIST SRM 997 Tl isotope standard in parts per 10(4)) versus 1/[Tl]. The inferred mixing endmembers are the geogenic background, as defined by isotopically light soils at depth (ε(205)Tl ≈ -4), and the Tl emissions, which produce Tl-enriched topsoils with ε(205)Tl as high as ±0. The latter interpretation is supported by analyses of the CKD, which is also characterized by ε(205)Tl ≈ ± 0, and the same ε(205)Tl value was found for a pyrite from the deposit that produced the cocombusted pyrite roasting waste. Additional measurements for samples from a locality in China, with outcrops of Tl sulfide mineralization and associated high natural Tl backgrounds, reveal significant isotope fractionation between soils (ε(205)Tl ≈ +0.4) and locally grown green cabbage (ε(205)Tl between -2.5 and -5.4). This demonstrates that biological isotope fractionation cannot explain the isotopically heavy Tl in the Lengerich topsoils and the latter are therefore clearly due to anthropogenic Tl emissions from cement processing. Our results thus establish that isotopic data can reinforce receptor modeling for the toxic trace metal Tl.

Diversity of the Sediment Microbial Community in the Aha Watershed (Southwest China) in Response to Acid Mine Drainage Pollution Gradients

ABSTRACT Located in southwest China, the Aha watershed is continually contaminated by acid mine drainage (AMD) produced from upstream abandoned coal mines. The watershed is fed by creeks with elevated concentrations of aqueous Fe (total Fe > 1 g/liter) and SO4 2− (>6 g/liter). AMD contamination gradually decreases throughout downstream rivers and reservoirs, creating an AMD pollution gradient which has led to a suite of biogeochemical processes along the watershed. In this study, sediment samples were collected along the AMD pollution sites for geochemical and microbial community analyses. High-throughput sequencing found various bacteria associated with microbial Fe and S cycling within the watershed and AMD-impacted creek. A large proportion of Fe- and S-metabolizing bacteria were detected in this watershed. The dominant Fe- and S-metabolizing bacteria were identified as microorganisms belonging to the genera Metallibacterium, Aciditerrimonas, Halomonas, Shewanella, Ferrovum, Alicyclobacillus, and Syntrophobacter. Among them, Halomonas, Aciditerrimonas, Metallibacterium, and Shewanella have previously only rarely been detected in AMD-contaminated environments. In addition, the microbial community structures changed along the watershed with different magnitudes of AMD pollution. Moreover, the canonical correspondence analysis suggested that temperature, pH, total Fe, sulfate, and redox potentials (Eh) were significant factors that structured the microbial community compositions along the Aha watershed.