The Effects Of Heavy Metal Decontamination Of Sluil

vulgaris plants, via the formation of a standard curve prepared using varying concentrations of bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution. Following absorbance readings of the various BSA solutions, they were plotted against their concentrations providing an indirect measure for determining protein concentrations of the plant samples within the assay tubes, and through further calculations the sample protein concentration. The mean protein concentration for the control group was calculated to be 3.34 ± 1.30 mg/mL, while the mean treated group concentration was 2.01 ± 1.26 mg/mL. These results similarly like the chlorophyll results correlate with the literature articles, as a reduced protein content within the Paraquat treated plants can be expected to some extent (Chia et al., 1981). This reduction in protein concentration is the result of those superoxide anions produced by Paraquat, disrupting the chloroplast membranes and allowing for intracellular components including some proteins to leak out, hence the decrease in protein concentration in comparison to the non-treated plants (Qian et al., 2009). A slight outlier may exist within the treated groups protein concentrations as one of the groups provided a negative value for protein concentration which is not valid, but even after exclusion of that data value, results are still supportive of the expected outcome. Though these results support the claim of Paraquat toxicity causing membrane deterioration and leakiness, protein concentration values are rather more purposeful when used to analyze malondialdehyde (MDA) values on per mg of protein

Bioremediators need to be able to grow in order to remediate the soil of pollutants. The purpose of this research is to determine whether the presence of Stropharia rugoso-annulata in the soil will support and accelerate the growth of ryegrass in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship. If the growth of the ryegrass is accelerated and supported, the combination of the two bioremediators could potentially accelerate the degradation of PAHs in the soil. Techniques such as soil washing, soil flushing, vitrification, etc., exist to remediate contaminated soil. Although, these techniques are effective, they also disturb the natural environment to some degree. Bioremediation is often accomplished in situ resulting in minimal environmental disturbance. This study is being performed because healthy soil is a limited resource that needs to be preserved and replenished. The state of soil can impact the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems, therefore, it’s important to be able to monitor and control the pollutants in

Available resources during this course includes two textbooks; “Introduction to ecotoxicology,” and “A textbook of modern toxicology.” Additional resources include various videos, complimentary transcripts to the videos, supplemental readings, the UOP online Library, and web searches.

Most people are surprised to learn that their bodies are contaminated with heavy metals. This is a little-known problem that has grown into a widespread issue. There are many different ways your body becomes contaminated with heavy metals, such as through the type of cookware you use, the tap water you drink and the fillings you have in your teeth. Fortunately, there are natural ways to cleanse your body of these harmful toxins, such as with chlorella. This is an algae found in nature and is oftentimes used in integrative medicine by naturopathic doctors in Arizona.

In 24 h incubation period, Cr (VI) reduction was followed by (38%) at pH 3, (68%) at pH 5, (82%) at pH 7 and (48%) at pH 9. Such increase of Cr (VI) reduction at pH 5, 7 and decrease in removal at pH 3 and 9, can be attributed on the basis of changes in metal speciation, bacterial growth and number of metal binding sites under highly acidic and alkaline pH conditions. Formation of high hydronium ion concentration at low pH, results in protonation of negative sites on bacteria cells, decreasing the adsorption of metals (Shin et al., 2012). The high Cr (VI) concentration having the negative effect over microbial growth mostly associated with oxidative stress as well as with DNA and protein damage (Liu et al.,

Another common remediation technique is stabilization or solidification which aims to alter the contaminants into a less soluble or mobile form (Wuana and Okieimen, 2011; Mulligan, Yong, and Gibbs, 2001; United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1991). In both methods water and a site-specific chemical solution is mixed into the soil to either alter its physical - make it less soluble - or chemical - reduce mobility - properties to make it less likely that the contaminants will move into other locations or be inhaled (Wuana and Okieimen, 2011; Mulligan, Yong, and Gibbs, 2001). Chemical treatment can also fall under the umbrella term of stabilization. Chemical treatment is add chemical solutions to the soil to detoxify the soil and can be used as a pre-treatment for other techniques such as solidification (Wuana and Okieimen, 2011; Mulligan, Yong, and Gibbs, 2001). These techniques are typically preferred due to lower costs but other physical elements of the soil, such as boulders, can make mixing the soil difficult and the process can volatilize and release volatile compounds (Mulligan, Yong, and Gibbs, 2001; United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1991). Mobility of contaminants can also be reduced by using the technique of vitrification through the process of heating up the soil (Wuana and Okieimen, 2011; United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1991). This method results

During rain events, a combination of contaminants from roadways, parking lots, manufacturing facilities and industrial sites enter storm drains [2]. This runoff is a major contributor to oil contamination in public water domains and if left untreated, it leads to greater pollution of our oceans, lakes, and rivers. Runoff can also contain heavy metals, such as potassium (K + ) , zinc (Zn 2+ ), lead (Pb 2+ ), copper (Cu 2+ ), and chromium (Cr 3+ ), all of which in large quantities are extremely toxic to biological environments [3]. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Clean Water Act (CWA) 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 122 indicates that facilities are required to obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems

Mixed contamination of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) is a major environmental and human health concern. The mixture toxicity data on these co-contaminants are important for their risk assessment. In this study, we have determined the mixture toxicity of As, Cd and Pb and B[a]P with As, Cd or Pb in HepG2 cells. The binary mixtures of Cd + As, Cd + Pb and As + Pb and B[a]P + metals (B[a]P + As, B[a]P + Cd and B[a]P + Pb) were evaluated for their interaction on the cytotoxicity using the MTS assay. A full factorial design (4 × 5) was used to determine the interaction toxicity and all the six mixtures showed significant interaction on the cytotoxicity. We further investigated the role of oxidative stress (reactive

Chronic cadmium poisoning can result in nephrotoxicity, osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases, testicular necrosis, prostatic and testicular cancers, renal failure and neurodegenerative conditions (Yu et al., 2007). Moreover, it was reported that spermatogenesis is disturbed by free radical toxicity (Aruldhas et al., 2005) . It depletes many essential metal antioxidants including selenium in the body (Sato and Takizawa, 1982). Apparently, its exposure results in decreases of glutathione (GSH) levels which causes an increase in reactive oxygen species leading to increase in lipid peroxidation, change intercellular stability, damage deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), membranes and consequently inducing cell death (Stohs et al., 2000). The metal accumulates in human body affecting negatively several organs: liver, kidney, lungs, bones, placenta, brain and central nervous system (Castro-González and Méndez-Armenta, 2008). Therefore, the maximum concentration limit for cadmium (II) ions in drinking water must be strictly regulated. The World Health Organization (WHO), set a maximum guideline concentration of 0.003 mg/L for cadmium (II) in drinking water (WHO, 2008). Hence, there is great interest regarding the removal of cadmium from wastewater streams.

Currently, knowledge of factors, whether from soils or plants, controlling Pb uptake into food crops from soils is inadequate to reliably predict Pb contamination levels in crops (Clemens and Ma, 2016; McGrath and Zhao, 2015; Sharma and Dubey, 2005; Zhao et al., 2004). Specifically, the total Pb concentration in vegetables and soils are poorly correlated under field conditions (Ding et al., 2016; Legind and Trapp, 2010;

Phytoremediation is the process by which plants and trees are used to remove or stabilize hazardous pollutants that exist in soil, sediments, surface water or groundwater. The EPA (environmental protection agency) estimates that more than 30,000 sites in the U.S. are in need of environmental treatment, and a great number of these sites are contaminated with highly toxic metals. Abandoned or under-used commercial and industrial facilities, termed as “brownfields,” are a major contributor to this environment concern. “Brownfields” pose significant health risks to nearby residential populations and threaten the plant and animal life close to them. Phytoremediation provides a very

Along with this finding, they also found that copper was accumulating in the leaves over the roots (Upadhyay and Panda, 2009) and studies have shown that copper may also affect the photosynthetic process. According to Lombardi and Sebastiani, excess copper can induce oxygen-related stress, which leads to damages of RNA and DNA in plants. Biochemical processes are interrupted by reactive oxygen leading to damage to macromolecules, negatively affecting the electron transport chain and also damaging the thylakoid membrane, which is a site for photosynthesis (Lomardi and Sebastiani, 2005). Minimal Risk Levels (MRL) are estimates for the dosage of toxic substances that give a likely chance of having adverse effects on humans over a period of time (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 2004). The minimal risk level for acute copper toxicity over 1-14 days is 0.01 mg per kilogram of weight per day. Acute copper toxicity affects primarily the gastrointestinal system, causing minor symptoms such as nausea and vomiting (Stern, 2010). There is not sufficient data to construct a minimal risk level for chronic copper toxicity since it takes years to develop (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 2004). Chronic copper toxicity in humans is a rare occurrence that causes liver damage, which can lead to cirrhosis (Fraga, 2005; Gaetke and Chow, 2003). Approximately 10-20 mg of copper taken orally will kill an adult if left untreated.

Among the different biological methods, bioaccumulation and biosorption have been demonstrated to possess good potential for the removal of metals (Volesky and Holan, 1995; Malik, 2004). Biosorption possesses certain inherent advantages over bioaccumulation processes, which are listed in Table 1. Bioaccumulation is the phenomenon of uptake of toxicants by living cells; whereas, biosorption mechanism is the passive uptake of toxicants by dead/inactive biological materials. Both living and dead microbial biomass are able to uptake metal ions and offer potential economical alternative to conventional absorbents (Knorr D, 1991; Khoo K M and Ting Y P,

Heavy metals are assimilated or incorporated in water, sediments and aquatic biota evoking pollution in water bodies since they cannot be degraded (Linnik and Zubenko, 2000; Malik et al., 2010). As the metal levels in many aquatic ecosystems increase, they raise the concern of metal bioaccumulation through the food chain and related human health hazards (Wright and Welbourn, 2002; Agah et al., 2009). Despite significant efforts to reduce trace metal loads in effluents, municipal wastewater was still found to convey large amounts into the environment (Buzier et al., (2006); Üstün, 2009; Hope et al., 2012). As a consequence, the heavy metals present in municipal wastewater are still present in the effluents and sludge (Chen et al., 2008; Chanpiwat

Beside the natural activities, almost all human activities also have potential contribution to Arsenic contamination in the environment as side effects occurs in many parts of the world and is a global problem. In many areas As level has crossed the safe threshold level. Large-scale groundwater pollution by geogenic arsenic (As) in West-Bengal and Bangladesh has recently promoted this element into an environmental pollutant of prime concern. Epidemiological studies have documented various adverse effects on the human population. Arsenic contaminated soils, sediments, and sludge are the major sources of arsenic contamination of the food chain, surface water, groundwater, and drinking water (WT Frankenberger & Arshad, 2002). Other potential sources of arsenic contamination are the chemicals used extensively in agriculture as pesticides, insecticides, defoliants, wood preservatives, and soil sterilants (AZCUE & NRIAGU, 1994). Currently available techniques for the remediation of As contaminated soil are very expensive and time-consuming, often hazardous to workers, and capable of producing secondary wastes (LOMBI, ZHAO, DUNHAM, & MCGRATH, 2000). Phytoextraction, the use of green plants to clean up contaminated soil, has attracted attention as an environmentally- friendly, low-input remediation technique. It uses plants that extract heavy metals from the soil and accumulate it in the harvestable, above ground biomass.