Research Publications (Food Safety)

Intensified vehicular traffic causes increased heavy metal contamination of the environment. We investigated the heavy metal chemistry of soils located under silver fir stands in the vicinity of Poland’s S7 roadway. Three sampling sites were located in fir stands in central Poland. Fieldwork included soil sampling of the organic (O) horizon and mineral (A) topsoil.

Decachlorobiphenyl (DCB) is one of the 209 polychlorinated biphenyls congeners characterized by its high toxicity and chemical stability. It is produced by industrial activities. A possible strategy to eliminate DCB is by bacterial degradation. The main objective of this study was to define the optimal conditions for biodegradation and bioaccumulation of DCB by Pseudomonas extremaustralis ADA-5 isolated from a worm intestine.

Abstract

The elemental analysis of road dust can be used to determine the contribution of traffic-related metal emissions to the local environment. Previous studies have shown that brake wear, tire wear, and lead wheel weights release significant amounts of metals that lead to decreased biodiversity and degradation of urban streams. Highway pavement has not previously been considered as a source of metal inputs into the environment.

Phosphate (PO43−) and nitrate (NO3−) contamination causes the threatening issue of eutrophication. A major waste from seafood industries of various seashells including Anadara inaequivalvis, Saccostrea commercialis, Perna viridis, Tegillarca granosa, Filopaludina martensi, Babylonai areolate and Meretrix lusoria was thermally modified and investigated for PO43− and NO3− removal from synthetic and domestic wastewater.

The research aims to analyse the treatment possibility of Cd-polluted soil using electrokinetics driven by solar power in comparison with driving by direct current power. Meanwhile, the effects of electrolyte on electrokinetics were investigated. Five runs of electrokinetics were carried out using different electrolytes and energy sources.

Abstract

Plastic debris sized from 0.33 to 5 mm or so-called microplastic is an abundant environmental pollutant found worldwide in various ecosystems. The contamination has been threatening animals such as fish, wild birds, domesticated poultry, and waterfowls. This preliminary research aimed to reveal the evidence of microplastic contamination in domesticated duck to prove that plastic contamination has spread massively and depicts how far the local duck ingests microplastic.

Abstract

At present, water pollution becomes a very significant environmental issue. Heavy metals and organic dyes present at higher concentrations in water are dangerous for aquatic life and humanity. Chitosan nanocomposites have been used for the adsorptive removal of heavy metals and dyes due to their improved chemical activity. This paper encompassed the synthesis of chitosan-nSiO2 nanocomposites and was used to examine Cu(II) ion removal capability.

The effectiveness of water management in reducing cadmium (Cd) accumulation in rice grain has mainly been investigated in slightly and moderately contaminated soils but seldom in heavily contaminated soils. In addition, how soil physicochemical properties influence the effectiveness of water management merits investigation. In this study, a pot experiment was performed using six soils of slight (S1), moderate (S2–S5), and heavy (S6) Cd contamination levels and of different properties.

World’s food production relies on crops grown in irrigated land to feed an increasing population. In the long term, irrigation agriculture may cause environmental deterioration to the area (soil degradation, aquifer contamination) and its surroundings (greenhouse gas emission, eutrophication) to compromise crop production.

Abstract

As a tool for assessing water quality in the Arctic Basin, a new technology is proposed based on the coupling of spectral observations of multi-channel optical sensors and mathematical model estimates for the qualitative and quantitative distribution of water pollutants. Adaptive spectrophotometer and spectroellipsometer structures are used to carry out the observations, the operation of which is described in detail.

Due to the inadequate removal rates of drug residues in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), the transition of these compounds into the environment has become a serious environmental problem for ecosystems and public health.

In this study, basic erythrocyte sizes in P. ridibundus individuals inhabiting a polluted area (heavy metals, nitrates, nitrites, and ammonium) in southern Bulgaria were evaluated. The erythrocyte cells’ parameters, erythrocyte length (EL), erythrocyte width (EW), length/width ratio (EL/EW), and erythrocyte size (ES), and nuclear parameters, nucleus length (NL), nucleus width (NW), NL/NW ratio, nucleus size (NS) and NS/ES ratio were either measured or calculated.

This research analyzes the behavior of different diatomite from Peru, and their potential use for the removal of heavy metals from contaminated effluents. Seven different diatomites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy, specific surface area, and cation exchange capacity.

Application of organics in soil can reduce uptake of arsenic (As) in food crops grown on soil spiked with As. However, the results may be different if the crop is grown with As-contaminated irrigation water. In this study, a modest initiative has been undertaken to assess the organo-arsenic equilibria using the fulvic and humic extracted from paddy husk (PH), vermicompost (VC), and soil. The fulvic and humic acids were found to be polyprotic in nature.

Sugarcane is a major crop in Brazil as well as other tropical areas. The rise of green cane systems that maintain straw on the soil surface after mechanical harvesting alongside extreme precipitation has changed the use and environmental fate of pesticides, mainly herbicides.

The input of heavy metals in agricultural systems depresses the soil quality and compromises the food safety owing to crop contamination. Metals also affect the structure, morphology, function, and activity of microorganisms in soils and substrates. Heavy metals can inhibit basic processes of microbial metabolism such as respiration.

Organic amendments can improve soil quality which has knock-on environmental and agronomic benefits. However, the use of new and emerging organic amendments such as biochar and brown coal waste (BCW) in soil systems requires continuous holistic assessments for robust consensus building in their environmental and agricultural applications.

Petroleum hydrocarbons have been worldwide concern contaminants because of their mutagenicity and carcinogenicity. The potential biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons at low temperatures is important for petroleum contamination remediation in cold region. In this study, a mixed cold-adapted bacteria flora JY, including seven petroleum-degrading strains (B1, H1, H2, H3, R1, R2, and S), was isolated from Alpine Meadow soil.

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Abstract

Stormwater harvesting and reuse is an attractive option to lower the demand placed on other sources of water supply. However, it contains a wide range of pollutants that need to be removed before it can be reused or even discharged to the waterways and receiving waters.