scholarly journals Capacity of honeybees to remove heavy metals from nectar and excrete the contaminants from their bodies

Apidologie ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Borsuk ◽  
Aneta Sulborska ◽  
Ernest Stawiarz ◽  
Krzysztof Olszewski ◽  
Dariusz Wiącek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Environmental Pollution ◽  
Alimentary Tract ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Water Evaporation ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
Cu And Zn

AbstractWe examined the residues of 13 elements in soil, plant parts, nectar, bee heads, thorax, and abdomens, feces from bee guts, and bee products sampled from two Polish cities (Lublin and Poznań). Our findings indicated that bees have an extraordinary ability to remove metals from nectar when converting nectar into honey. Compared to nectar, honey contained 40-fold lower Fe, 26-fold lower Zn, and eightfold lower Cu and Cd levels, indicating removal of these elements via nectar processing, during which water is evaporated and complex sugars are decomposed into simple ones. The amount of Pb remained unchanged; however, it can also be regarded as a fourfold decrease due to water evaporation from honey, compared to nectar. Some portion of the ingested Fe, Cu, and Zn was used by bees, and the excess amounts were excreted in feces. All analyzed elements were present as biocomplexes transported from the alimentary tract through the abdomen to the thorax and head. Elements transferred in the alimentary tract were partially immobilized/metabolized in the bee fat body, and their residues were excreted with feces from the gut. We postulate that honey is not a good indicator of environmental pollution, as a high amount of elements is removed by bees from their bodies.

Assessment of heavy metals in tobacco of cigarettes commonly sold in Ethiopia

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chem Int
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Trace Metals ◽  
Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Cigarette Tobacco ◽  
Absorption Spectrophotometry ◽  
Wet Digestion ◽  
Metal Contents ◽  
Cu And Zn ◽  
Significant Flux

A significant flux of heavy metals, among other toxins, reaches the lungs through smoking. This study reports Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn contents in tobacco of 11 brands of cigarette commonly sold in Ethiopia. The heavy metals were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry after wet digestion of cigarette tobacco using HNO3 and H2O2. The concentration of trace metals in the cigarettes ranged (mean) (μg/g), Cd: 1.3−7.6 (2.48±0.32), Pb: 0.50−12.50 (6.24±2.2), Cu: 2.89−25.35 (13.70±4.12) and Zn: 24.40−62.55 (36.22±7.50) while Ni was not detected in all the eleven brands of cigarettes. Comparable levels of trace metals were obtained in the tobacco of both imported and Ethiopian cigarettes. The average trace metal contents of cigarettes available in Ethiopia were Cd 1.82±0.39, Pb 4.23±0.97, Cu 10.2±3.1 and Zn 28.2±7.8 μg/cigarette and a person who smokes 20 cigarettes per day is estimated to increase his/her daily Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn retention by approximately 0.036, 0.085, 0.204, 0.564 mg/day, respectively. The results indicate that smoking and exposure to cigarette smoke is a serious problem to be taken into account when carrying out epidemiological studies on human exposure to trace metals.

HEAVY METALS IN WATER, SEDIMENTS AND MARINE FISHES FROM BULGARIAN BLACK SEA

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katya Peycheva ◽  
Katya Peycheva ◽  
Mona Stancheva ◽  
Mona Stancheva ◽  
Stanislava Georgieva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Black Sea ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Marine Fishes ◽  
Marine Water ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Sprattus Sprattus ◽  
Cu And Zn

In this study, the ecosystem marine water-sediment-biota was investigated and the pollution was assessed. The concentrations of eight elements were determined in marine water, sediments and four fish species collected from Black Sea (Varna), Bulgaria during 2013. Marine water recorded the highest concentrations of Zn (15-22 μg/L), As (1.1–1.2 μg/L) and Pb (0.7-0.8 μg/L) while Zn (31-52 μg/g), Pb (21-29 μg/g) and Cu (20-34 μg/g) and show the highest concentrations in sediments. Water and sediments showed similar spatial distribution patterns for the highest mean values of the different metals. In the analysed fish species, the highest concentration of the metals Cu and Zn were found in Trachurus Mediterrneus (0.42 mg/kg w.w) and in Sprattus Sprattus (12.7 mg/kg w.w), respectively while the heavy metals As and Hg were found with maximum values in Pseta Maxima (3.99 mg/kg w.w and 0.08 mg/kg w.w respectively). The results from this study were compared with our data for a previous period (2004-2006) and they show decrease in the levels of heavy metal.

scholarly journals The Effect of Granular Activated Carbon and Biochar on the Availability of Cu and Zn to Hordeum sativum Distichum in Contaminated Soil

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 841
Author(s):  
Marina Burachevskaya ◽  
Saglara Mandzhieva ◽  
Tatiana Bauer ◽  
Tatiana Minkina ◽  
Vishnu Rajput ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Activated Carbon ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
Granular Activated Carbon ◽  
Total Content ◽  
Metal Compounds ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
High Sorption ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Cu And Zn

The presence of heavy metals in the soil could impose serious problems on soil-plant systems due to the accumulation of heavy metals in plants. Even vital elements such as Cu and Zn have a toxic effect in the case of excessive intake by living organisms. The present work aimed to investigate the content of loosely bound (exchangeable, complexed, and specifically sorbed) compounds of Cu and Zn and their availability to spring barley (Hordeum sativum distichum) in contaminated Haplic Chernozem soil under the conditions of a model experiment (five approximate permissible concentrations (APC) and 10 APC of metal). Changes in the bioavailability of the metals upon application of carbon sorbents were observed. An increase in loosely bound metal compounds has been shown under conditions of soil contamination with metals (up to 57% of the total content). The increase in the availability of Cu in the soil was mainly due to the formation of complexed metal forms with organic matter (up to 17%). The availability of Zn was found to be associated with an increase in exchangeable (up to 21%) and specifically sorbed compounds (up to 27%). Granular activated carbon (GAC) and biochar have high sorption properties. A decrease in the content of loosely bound compounds of metals was established, especially in the most mobile forms such as exchangeable and complexed forms. The introduction of sorbents into the soil opened up a new venue for binding heavy metals in situ, eventually leading to a decrease in their bioavailability. The inactivation of Cu and Zn in the soil upon the application of sorbents led to a decrease in metal absorption by spring barley. The highest efficiency of biochar application was established at a dose of 2.5% and 5% in soil contaminations of 5 APC and 10 APC of Cu or Zn. The efficiency of the use of sorbents was more influenced by the dose of application than by the type of sorbent. There was no significant difference between biochar and GAC. Stabilization and inactivation of metals may improve soil fertility and plant growth.

Assessing Soil and Plant Pollution by Abandoned Rural Waste Dumping Sites in Ningbo, China

2011 ◽  
Vol 138-139 ◽  
pp. 1149-1155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Dong Guan ◽  
Ye Hong Du ◽  
Zhen Dong Li ◽  
An Cheng Luo
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Reference Value ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Rice Grain ◽  
Contamination Assessment ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
Metal Contents ◽  
Plant Pollution

This paper reports the concentration of heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) in the soils and rices surrounding the abandoned rural waste dumping sites in Ningbo. Igeo (geoaccumulation index) was calculated to assess the contamination degree of heavy metals in soils. The mean contents of Cr, Cu, Cd, Zn and Pb of soils were 33.3, 24.1, 1.5, 118.9 and 45.6 mg/(kg DW) (dry weight), respectively. All of them were much higher than that of the reference value (i.e. CK), but there were no coherent trend of the metal contents within 1-120m distance from the dumping site. Igeo of heavy metals reveals the order of Cd>Cu>Cr>Pb>Zn, and the contamination assessment of soils using Igeo indicate the moderate Cd pollution, while the soils were unpolluted-moderately overall by Cr, Cu, Zn as well as Pb. The heavy metal contents in root, stem & leaf and rice grains were all remarkable higher than that of the CK at 20-120 m distances, and the heavy metal contents in root were evidently much higher than other plant parts, while those in rice grain were lowest, indicating the great bioaccumulation trend of heavy metals. Although the metal contents in the rice grain were within the legislation limit, its bioaccumulation trend of heavy metals was remarkable, whose contents were 4.38-fold for Cr, 1.76-fold for Cu, 1.28-fold for Zn, 2.67-fold for Cd and 3.03-fold for Pb higher than that of reference value, respectively. Finally, we proposed a decentralized in-situ restoration approach for the dumping sites.

Research on the stability of heavy metals (Cu, Zn) in excess sludge with the pretreatment of thermal hydrolysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 890-898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huimin Wu ◽  
Meng Li ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Chao Sheng
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Chemical Speciation ◽  
Stable Form ◽  
Thermal Hydrolysis ◽  
Excess Sludge ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Cu And Zn

Thermal hydrolysis (TH) has been used to improve anaerobic digestion performance as well as the stability of heavy metals in sludge. Because the toxicity of heavy metals is closely related to both the concentration and the chemical speciation, more exhaustive studies on speciation distribution are urgently needed. This research aimed to investigate the effects of TH treatment (especially the time and temperature) on the concentration and stability of heavy metals in sludge, and to define the optimal TH conditions. The TH experiment indicated that the content of the stable form of Cu and Zn reached 83% and 47.4%, respectively, with TH at 210°C and 30 min. Compared with the raw sludge, the proportion of Cu and Zn increased by 11.88% and 7.3%, respectively. Results indicated that the heavy metals were combined with sludge in a more stable form with the pretreatment of TH, which improved the stability of heavy metals.

scholarly journals Assessment of heavy metals in soils of a vineyard region with the use of principal component analysis

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Souza Valladares ◽  
Otávio Antônio de Camargo ◽  
José Ruy Porto de Carvalho ◽  
Alessandra Maria Cia Silva
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Component Analysis ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Metal Concentrations ◽  
Zn Content ◽  
Heavy Metals In Soils ◽  
Cu And Zn

Agricultural management with chemicals may contaminate the soil with heavy metals. The objective of this study was to apply Principal Component Analysis and geoprocessing techniques to identify the origin of the metals Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni, Pb, Cr and Cd as potential contaminants of agricultural soils. The study was developed in an area of vineyard cultivation in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Soil samples were collected and GPS located under different uses and coverings. The metal concentrations in the soils were determined using the DTPA method. The Cu and Zn content was considered high in most of the samples, and was larger in the areas cultivated with vineyards that had been under the application of fungicides for several decades. The concentrations of Cu and Zn were correlated. The geoprocessing techniques and the Principal Component Analysis confirmed the enrichment of the soil with Cu and Zn because of the use and management of the vineyards with chemicals in the preceding decades.

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