Concentrations and fluxes of suspended particulate matters and associated contaminants in the Rhône River from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean Sea

The Rhône River is amongst the main rivers of Western Europe and the biggest by freshwater discharge and sediment delivery to the Mediterranean Sea. Its catchment is characterized by distinct hydrological regimes that may produce annual sediment deliveries ranging from 1.4 to 18.0 Mt y−1. Furthermore, the course of the Rhône River meets numerous dams, hydro- and nuclear power plants, and agricultural, urban or industrial areas. Thus, suspended particulate matters (SPM) have been involved in the fate of hydrophobic contaminants such as polychlorobiphenyls (PCB), mercury (Hg) and other trace metal elements (TME), and radionuclides for decades. To investigate the concentrations and the fluxes of SPM and associated contaminants, as well as their sources, a monitoring network of 15 stations (three on the Rhône River and 12 on tributaries, from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean Sea) has been set up in the past decade within the Rhône Sediment Observatory (OSR). A main purpose of this observatory is to assess the long term trend of the main contaminant concentrations and fluxes, and to understand their behavior during extreme events such as floods or dam flushing operations. The dataset presented in this paper contains the concentrations and fluxes of SPM as well as the concentrations and fluxes of several particle bound contaminants of concern (PCB, TME, radionuclides), the particle size distribution and the particulate organic carbon of SPM. Sediment traps or continuous flow centrifuges were used to collect sufficient amount of SPM in order to conduct the measurements. This observatory is on-going since 2011 and the database is regularly updated. All the data are made publicly available in French and English through the BDOH/OSR database at https://doi.org/10.15454/RJCQZ7 (Lepage et al., 2021).

Estimation of the Size Distribution of Suspended Particulate Matters in the Urban Atmospheric Surface Layer and Its Influence on Bronchopulmonary Pathology

The surface layer of the urban atmosphere significantly affects human health. Its quality depends on the level of air pollution. The aim was to determine the size distribution of suspended particulate matters (SPMs) in the atmospheric surface layer of Vladivostok city and to assess the response of the blood immune and metabolic parameters of the population with bronchopulmonary pathology. Sampling of SPMs was conducted in the continental zone of the city with a high level of technogenic pollution (138 samples) and the island part of the city with an insignificant level of technogenic pollution (132 samples). The SPM fractional composition was analyzed by laser granulometry. We examined patients with bronchopulmonary pathology living in a one-kilometer zone centered on sampling area for at least 5 years (continental territory—220 patients, island territory—176 patients). We calculated the D% index characterizing the integral response of the blood immune and metabolic parameters to the exposure of dust fractions. It was found that PM > 10 (mainly of a natural origin) predominate in the island zone with insignificant level of technogenic pollution. The PM10 fraction prevails in the area with a high level of technogenic pollution. The response of the immune and metabolic systems to the exposure to microparticles in population living in the marine and forest/park zone of the island indicates a health-improving effect of the area. Low values of D% were detected for the patients living in the area with a high air pollution level, indicating a pathogenic reaction of immune and prooxidant-oxidative systems.

Research on extracting suspended particle matter content (SPM) based VNRedSat-1 imagery for monitoring water quality

Currently, VNREDSAT 1 data have been commonly applied in studying disciplines of landscapes or socioeconomy. Nevertheless, there are limited studies using these data in water quality management. This article focuses on estimating amounts of SPM (Suspended Particulate Matters) from VNREDSAT 1 in Thi Vai river basin based on a popular formula with on - site adjustments. Results were validated by field data with an relative value R2 = 0. 79. This value represents that there is a potential of applying VNREDSAT 1 in studying SPM in water depending on certain circumstances of accuracy.

Concentrations of heavy metals in water from the Southern coast of Vietnam

Concentrations of heavy metals (As, Cd, Pb and Hg) in water collected from seven coastal provinces between December 2012 and December 2015 were evaluated. The average total concentrations (μg/L) of As, Cd, Pb and Hg in water ranged from 2.90 to 6.38, < 0.039 to 0.322, 4.26 to 10.5 and < 0.01 to 0.118, respectively. The average concentrations (μg/L) of As, Pb and Hg in suspended particulate matters (SPM) ranged from 0.392 to 7.32, 0.365 to 18.7 and < 0.01 to 0.038, respectively, whereas Cd concentrations were not detected in most of SPM samples. There were positive linear relationships between concentrations of heavy metals in water and SPM, except for Cd. The results showed that the concentrations of metals analyzed in water remained below quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life recommended by the international and Vietnamese organizations. However, As levels in 2/103 and 5/103 of water samples exceeded the QCVN 10:2015/BTNMT for maximum permitted level using for aquaculture and aquatic life protection (20 μg/L) and the Canadian water quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life (12.5 μg/L), respectively.