Photoneutron activation analysis and multivariate geostatistical approach to assess the spatial occurrence of trace heavy metals in Crisuri Basin

The Crisuri Basin, with its total length of 1093 km (among which 670 km in Romania), is subjected to an effective environmental monitoring system consisting of 18 water stations network. Their integrated information is used for the water assessment problem to understand the biogeochemical processes leading to significant pollution levels in some running water sectors. The goal of this research is to predict the most important factors causing the change of the geochemical measured parameters of some components of the Crisuri water resources. In the present paper, we developed a multivariate statistical model to estimate the spatiotemporal distribution of heavy metals in the field and to identify the contamination sources of Basin River waters. Two methods were deployed as an overall approach to fulfill the proposed objectives, namely the photoneutron activation analysis followed by high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry and the multivariate statistical analysis. The elements analyzed by different analytical techniques and introduced in databases were As, Cd, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Hg, Na, Ni, Pb, Zn, N-NH4, N-NO2, N-NO3, P-PO4, fixed residues, S-SO4, Cl, phenols and, additional oil compounds. By combining the spatially distributed geochemical data on trace heavy metals with the spatially distributed geophysical data, we obtained the most significant fingerprint factors and their associated uncertainty information concerning the water quality.

Assessment of Trace Heavy Metals Contamination in the Tissues and Saliva of the Medicinal Leech Hirudinaria manillensis

Concentrations of heavy metals (HMs) in the tissues and saliva extracts of leeches (Hirudinaria manillensis) collected from Cheneh Lake, Terengganu, Malaysia were investigated. Concentrations of HMs like Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Nickel (Ni), Lead (Pb), Selenium (Se) and Zinc (Zn) were revealed by utilising Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Nearly all the examined HMs concentrations in the lake water were noted to be higher compared to the Maximum Permissible Limits (MPL) as per Interim National Water Quality Standards for Malaysia (INWQS). Moreover, traces of HMs were discovered in tissues and saliva extracts of leeches. Such quantities may pose a health hazard to the patients upon an instant application of leeches on their skin. In this work, a novel technique was presented to decrease the level of metals in leech saliva by espousing a frequent washing process involving deionized or non-chlorinated water for three weeks. This process was extremely effectual in considerably decreasing HMs concentrations (P<0.05), particularly Cd level (up to 99.7%) in saliva and Pb level (up to 92.38%) in tissues. Thus, a constant washing process might aid in harmless utilization of leeches for different conventional biomedical practices.

Determination of Trace and Heavy Metals in Fruit Juices in the Romanian Market

The presence of trace, heavy metals in foodstuffs is of intense public interest. The aim of this study was to determine the metal contents in most known commercial fruit juices present on the Romanian market. The multielement analysis was made using the ICP-MS technique, after appropriate dilution, using the external standard calibration method. Multifruit, mango, and kiwi juice have recoded the highest concentration of Cu, while apple and pear juice has recoded the lowest concentration, and in the case of Zn, peach juice has recoded the highest concentration. Concerning Pb, Cd, and As concentration, apple, peach, and multifruit juices recorded the highest levels of concentration. The concentration of Zn, Cu, Co, and As generally, was higher in the juice samples packed in boxes, while Ni, Cr, Pb, and Cd recorded the highest values in the juice packed in plastic bottles.