Yaqin Ji

Diversities of phthalate esters in suburban agricultural soils and wasteland soil appeared with urbanization in China

The distribution of six priority phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in suburban farmland, vegetable, orchard and wasteland soils of Tianjin were obtained with gas chromatography-mass spectrometer analysis in 2009. Results showed that total PAEs varied from 0.05 to 10.4 μg g(-1), with the median value as 0.32 μg g(-1). Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and di-n-butyl phthalate are most abundant species. PAEs concentrations for the four types of soils exhibited decreasing order as vegetable soil > wasteland soil > farmland soil > orchard soil. PAEs exhibited elevated levels in more developed regions when compared with other studies. The agricultural plastic film could elevate the PAEs contents in soils. Principal component analysis indicated the emission from cosmetics and personal care products and plasticizers were important sources for PAEs in suburban soils in Tianjin. The higher PAEs contents in wasteland soils from suburban area should be paid more attention owing to large amounts of solid wastes appeared with the ongoing urbanization.

Characterization of PM10 fraction of road dust for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from Anshan, China

Nineteen road dust samples were collected during 2005 in different parts of the urban area of Anshan, Liaoning Province, China, and 11 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) species were quantitatively analyzed using GC-MS. The results indicated that the total average concentration of PAHs over the investigated sites ranged from 48.73 to 638.26 microg/g, with a mean value of 144.25 microg/g, higher than the concentrations measured in previous studies. PAHs concentrations were higher with high molecular weight homologues (4-6 rings PAHs), accounting for 83.24-96.98%, showing combustion of petroleum fuels was a potential source. Organic carbon in road dust was considered one of the important factors that influenced the concentrations of PAHs in this study, and it was found that concentrations of total PAHs were correlated with those of organic carbon in road dust. The results of diagnostic ratios analysis showed traffic emission (gasoline or diesel) was one of the most important sources of road dust PAHs. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the major sources of road dust PAHs might be emission from traffic, steel industry, cooking and coal combustion.

Risk assessment of heavy metals in road and soil dusts within PM2.5, PM10 and PM100 fractions in Dongying city, Shandong Province, China

15 road and 14 soil dust samples were collected from an oilfield city, Dongying, from 11/2009-4/2010 and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) for V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb within PM(2.5), PM(10) and PM(100) fractions synchronously. Metal concentrations, sources and human health risk were studied. Results showed that both soil and road dust exhibited higher values for Mn and Zn and lower values for Co and Cd for the three fractions. Mass concentration ratios of PM(2.5)/PM(10) and PM(10)/PM(100) for metals in road and soil dust indicate that most of the heavy metals tend to concentrate in fine particles. Geoaccumulation index and enrichment factors analysis showed that Cu, Zn and Cd exhibited moderate or heavy contamination and significant enrichment, indicating the influence of anthropogenic sources. Vanadium, Cr, Mn and Co were mostly not enriched and were mainly influenced by crustal sources. For Ni, As and Pb, they ranged from not enriched to moderately enriched and were influenced by both crustal materials and anthropogenic sources. The conclusions were confirmed by multivariate analysis methods. Principle component analysis revealed that the major sources were vehicle emission, industrial activities, coal combustion, agricultural activities and crustal materials. The risk assessment results indicated that metal ingestion appeared to be the main exposure route followed by dermal contact. The most likely cause for cancer and other health risks are both the fine particles of soil and road dusts.

A comprehensive assessment of human exposure to phthalates from environmental media and food in Tianjin, China.

A total of 448 samples including foodstuffs (rice, steamed bun, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, milk and fruits), ambient PM10, drinking water, soil, indoor PM10 and indoor dust samples from Tianjin were obtained to determine the distribution of six priority phthalates (PAEs) and assess the human exposure to them. The results indicated that DBP and DEHP were the most frequently detected PAEs in these samples. The concentrations of PAEs in environmental media were higher than those in food. We estimated the daily intake (DI) of PAEs via ingestion, inhalation and dermal absorption from five sources (food, water, air, dust and soil). Dietary intake was the main exposure source to DEP, BBP, DEHP and DOP, whereas water ingestion/absorption was the major source of exposure to DBP, DEHP and DOP. Although food and water were the overwhelmingly predominant sources of PAEs intake by Tianjin population, contaminated air was another important source of DMP, DEP and DBP contributing to up to 45% of the exposure. The results of this study will help in understanding the major pathways of human exposure to PAEs. These findings also suggest that human exposure to phthalate esters via the environment should not be overlooked.

A land use regression model incorporating data on industrial point source pollution

Advancing the understanding of the spatial aspects of air pollution in the city regional environment is an area where improved methods can be of great benefit to exposure assessment and policy support. We created land use regression (LUR) models for SO2, NO2 and PM10 for Tianjin, China. Traffic volumes, road networks, land use data, population density, meteorological conditions, physical conditions and satellite-derived greenness, brightness and wetness were used for predicting SO2, NO2 and PM10 concentrations. We incorporated data on industrial point sources to improve LUR model performance. In order to consider the impact of different sources, we calculated the PSIndex, LSIndex and area of different land use types (agricultural land, industrial land, commercial land, residential land, green space and water area) within different buffer radii (1 to 20 km). This method makes up for the lack of consideration of source impact based on the LUR model. Remote sensing-derived variables were significantly correlated with gaseous pollutant concentrations such as SO2 and NO2. R2 values of the multiple linear regression equations for SO2, NO2 and PM10 were 0.78, 0.89 and 0.84, respectively, and the RMSE values were 0.32, 0.18 and 0.21, respectively. Model predictions at validation monitoring sites went well with predictions generally within 15% of measured values. Compared to the relationship between dependent variables and simple variables (such as traffic variables or meteorological condition variables), the relationship between dependent variables and integrated variables was more consistent with a linear relationship. Such integration has a discernable influence on both the overall model prediction and health effects assessment on the spatial distribution of air pollution in the city region.

Mycotoxins, trace elements, and phthalates in marketed rice of different origin and exposure assessment

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to determine levels of 11 mycotoxins, 10 trace elements, and 6 phthalates in rice samples from Serbian and Chinese market. Mycotoxins were not detected in any of the analysed rice samples. Results revealed similar median levels for following elements: Mn, 17.5 and 15.7 mg kg−1; Fe, 2.47 and 2.12 mg kg−1; Cu, 1.95 and 1.59 mg kg−1 in marketed samples from Serbia and China, respectively. Median concentration of Ni in Serbian marketed samples was 1.9 times higher than in Chinese ones. The median levels (µg kg−1) of phthalates ranged from 1.2 (benzylbutyl phthalate [BBP]) – 566 (di(2-ethyl-hexyl) phthalate [DEHP]) and 1.7 (BBP) – 348 (DEHP) in Serbian and Chinese marketed samples, respectively. The results were used to assess daily exposure of Serbian and Chinese adult consumers. The calculated target hazard quotients indicated that the potential risk attributable to the analysed contaminants in rice samples should not be of concern neither for the Serbian nor the Chinese consumers.