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This study presents a baseline evaluation of the distribution, human and ecotoxicological risk, and the potential interactions of fluoride and boron in the water-sediment interface in 25 locations from incredible Red Sea tourist destinations. Results showed comparable levels of B and F in the water and sediments with previous literature. Significant positive correlation was found between B and F (r = 0.57; P<0.01). Based on the sediment/liquid partition coefficient (Kd), F is more likely to be released from the sediment into seawater (logKd< 3) than B (3< logKd< 4). pH and alkalinity may affect water-sediment interactions of B and F, respectively, while SO42- and Cl- ions had no significant effect on adsorption ability of F and B. The majority of minerals had average saturation Index (SI) > 1 referring to the over saturation of seawater with these minerals and their inability to dissolve. The formation of CF, FAP, and CFAP may be related to the high correlation between Fw (r = 0.928, P< 0.01; r = 0.527, P< 0.01; r = 0.608, P< 0.01) and Bw (r = 0.38, P< 0.05; r = 0.38, P< 0.05; r = 0.397, P< 0.05). Total hazard quotient (THQ) for children and adults were <1, revealing no health risks from exposure to B and F through ingestion and skin contact while swimming. The risk characterization ratio; RCRmix(MEC/PNEC) showed high short-term risks to aquatic organisms. Further investigations might emphasis on emerging mitigation strategies to address these concerns.

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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are widely used due to their unique structure and excellent performance, while also posing threats on ecosystem, especially long-chain perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). As the control of conventional PFASs, fluoroalkylether substances (ether-PFASs) as alternatives are constantly emerging. Subsequently, the three representative ether-PFASs, chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonic acid (F-53B), hexafluoropropylene oxide-dimer acid (HFPO-DA), and 4,8-Dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoicacid (ADONA) are discovered and have received more attention in the environment and ecosystem. But their security is now also being challenged. This review systematically assesses their security from six dimensions including environmental occurrence in water, soil and atmosphere, as well as bioaccumulation and risk in plants, animals and humans. High substitution level is observed for F-53B, whether in environment or living things. Like PFOS or even more extreme, F-53B exhibits high biomagnification ability, transmission efficiency from maternal to infant, and various biological toxicity effects. HFPO-DA still has a relatively low substitution level for PFOA, but its use has emerged in Europe. Although it is less detected in human bodies and has a higher metabolic rate than PFOA, the strong migration ability of HFPO-DA in plants may pose dietary safety concerns for humans. Research on ADONA is limited, and currently, it is detected in Germany frequently while remaining at trace levels globally. Evidently, F-53B has shown increasing risk both in occurrence and toxicity compared to PFOS, and HFPO-DA is relatively safe based on available data. There are still knowledge gaps on security of alternatives that need to be addressed.

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The use of reclaimed water for crop irrigation has been proposed as a suitable alternative for farmers in the coastal areas of Mediterranean countries, which suffer from greater water scarcity. In this work we study the impact on the water-soil-plant continuum of using reclaimed water for commercial crops irrigated over a long period, as well as the human risks associated with consuming the vegetables produced. Forty-four CECs were identified in the reclaimed water used for crop irrigation. Of these, twenty-four CECs were identified in the irrigated soil samples analysed. Tramadol, ofloxacin, tonalide, gemfibrozil, atenolol, caffeine, and cetirizine were the pharmaceuticals detected at the highest levels in the water samples (between 11 and 44 µg/L). The CECs with the highest average soil concentrations were tramadol (14.6 µg/kg), followed by cetirizine (13.2 µg/kg) and clarithromycin (12.7 µg/kg). In the irrigated vegetable samples analysed over the study period, carbamazepine, lidocaine, and caffeine were only detected at levels from 0.1 to 1.7 µg/kg. The CEC accumulation rate detected in the edible parts of the vegetables permanently irrigated with reclaimed water was very low (~1 %), whereas it was 33 % in the soils. The results revealed that consuming fruits harvested from plants irrigated for a long period with reclaimed water does not represent a risk to human health, opening the door to a circular economy of water. Nevertheless, for crop irrigation, future studies need to be conducted over longer periods and in other matrices to provide more scientific data on the safety of using reclaimed water.

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This study comparing the expected pollution status of phenol along with heavy metals in sediments of two economic regions on the Mediterranean Sea coast using equilibrium partitioning method (EPM) as well as exposure of fishermen and populations to these sediments through ingestion and skin contact while swimming. El-Dekhila (ED) and Abu Talat (AT) regions were different in sediment texture and pollution sources. The expected ecological hazards of phenol in the studied areas were carried out using the equilibrium partitioning method (EPM) by which the partition coefficient of organic carbon-water, KOC (logKOC> 0.95-3.49), octanol-water coefficient, KOW (logKOW> 1.46-1.48) and sediment/liquid partition coefficient, Kd (log Kd < 3) detected high availability amounts of phenol in seawater. Risk quotient (RQ) for phenol in ED region ranged from high to moderate risk, while for AT region was low risk (<0.1); whereas, RQ values of heavy metals in sediments of two studied areas reflected the overall low risk without human hazards (HQ & HI < 1). RQAcute and RQChronic values were above 1 for phenol and heavy metals (Cu and Zn) reflecting that fish were the most sensitive to them in the two regions. Interestingly, this current investigation predicts future contamination of the studied areas especially phenol contamination and its relationship to heavy metals using some reasonable information and allowing the managers to manage how they decide on and protect these two areas. Thus, there is a constant need to use relatively simple tools capable of ensuring protection objectives with a quantity of information with realistic feasibility.

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Mining activities are well-known sources of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) pollution, which often jeopardize the biosphere, pedosphere, and hydrosphere. However, the soil and groundwater pollution caused by active private mining activities has long been neglected. This study investigated the occurrence of PTEs and cyanide (CN) in agricultural soils, mine tailings, and groundwater nearby the cyanide baths from a private gold mine in Hainan Province, southern China. Results indicated that concentrations of Pb, As, Cd, Hg, and CN in different soil depths and mine tailings were up to ten thousand mg/kg, and relatively higher content of As and Pb was detected in groundwater. The chemical forms of Cd, Pb, As, and Hg varied greatly in different soil depths; over 80% of Cd distributed in the water-soluble fraction, suggesting its higher mobility in soils, while approximately 60-90% of Pb, As, and Hg distributed in other chemical fractions, indicating relatively lower mobility in soils. The pollution indices also revealed the serious pollution and deterioration of site quality in this area. Human risk assessments also reflected a high non-carcinogenic/carcinogenic health risk in this area. The framework of integrated management strategies for private metal mines was proposed to mitigate PTEs pollution and reduce health risks.

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RESUMEN La bioseguridad juega un papel importante en las investigaciones biomédicas. Es preciso conocer las medidas recomendadas para el control de enfermedades en los entornos laborales donde los trabajadores corren el riesgo de contraer enfermedades y convertirse en fuente de infección para los pacientes. El objetivo de este trabajo es contribuir con la divulgación de las medidas de bioseguridad en los laboratorios biomédicos. Se realizó una revisión sistemática de los principales artículos publicados en inglés y español en PubMed, SciELO y MEDLINE. Resulta de gran importancia la divulgación de las medidas de bioseguridad, a fin de garantizar su conocimiento por parte de los profesionales de los diferentes tipos de laboratorios. Ellos están obligados a desarrollar o adoptar un manual de operaciones o de bioseguridad que identifique los riesgos que se encontrarán o puedan producirse, y especifique las prácticas y procedimientos destinados a minimizar o eliminar las exposiciones a estos (AU).

ABSTRACT Biosecurity plays an important role in biomedical research. It is necessary to know the recommended measures for disease control in work environments where workers are at risk of contracting diseases and becoming a source of infection for patients. The aim of this work is to contribute to the dissemination of biosafety measures in biomedical laboratories. A systematic review of the main articles published in English and Spanish in PubMed, SciELO and MEDLINE was carried out. The dissemination of biosafety measures is of great importance in order to ensure their knowledge by professionals in the different types of laboratories. They have to develop or adopt a manual of operations or biosecurity that identifies the risks that will be found or may occur, and specifies the practices and procedures to minimize or eliminate exposures to them (AU).

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The derelict Remance gold mine is a possible source of pollution with potentially toxic elements (PTEs). In the study area, diverse mine waste has been left behind and exposed to weather conditions, and poses risks for soil, plants and water bodies, and also for the health of local inhabitants. This study sought to perform an ecological and health risk assessment of derelict gold mining areas with incomplete remediation, including: (i) characterizing the geochemical distribution of PTEs; (ii) assessing ecological risk by estimating the pollution load index (PLI) and potential ecological risk index (RI); (iii) assessing soil health by dehydrogenase activity; and iv) establishing non-carcinogenic (HI) and carcinogenic risks (CR) for local inhabitants. Soil health seems to depend on not only PTE concentrations, but also on organic matter (OM). Both indexes (PLI and RI) ranged from high to extreme near mining and waste accumulation sites. As indicated by both the HI and CR results, the mining area poses a health risk for local inhabitants and particularly for children. For this reason, it will be necessary to set up environmental management programs in the areas that are most affected (tailings and surrounding areas) and accordingly establish the best remediation strategies to minimize risks for the local population.

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Microplastic (MP) pollution was investigated, for the first time, in six commercial molluscs collected from the lagoon of Bizerte during March 2018. The objective of this study was to determine the bioavailability of MPs to marine organisms and their risk for consumers of seafood. MP concentrations varied from 703.95 ±â€¯109.80 to 1482.82 ±â€¯19.20 items kg-1 wet weight. Three types of coloured MPs, including fibres, fragments and films were recovered. Fibres were the most common MP type isolated in each species. The most common size class was 0.1-1 mm. The FTIR-ATR analysis confirmed the presence of two polymer types polyethylene and polypropylene. Our results suggest that MP pollution was widespread and exhibited a relatively high level in commercial molluscs collected from Bizerte lagoon, suggesting trophic transfer in the food web and human exposure risks by diet. More investigations on MPs should be conducted in seafood and other marine organisms.

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Results of this research focuses on microplastic contents (levels, type, size, colour) in maricultured and natural mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from different Italian stocks. No significant differences were found among maricultured and natural stocks. All recovered MPs are filaments ranging within 750-6000 µm of maximum length (average values 1150-2290 µm). Feeding raw mussel could produce median MP intakes of 6.2-7.2 items/g w.w. Concerning human exposure by diet, both raw and cooked values are important. Some preliminary tests performed in this study evidenced that the cooking process determined lower MPs levels (-14%) in cooked tissues compared to raw ones, MPs were recorded in cooking water and were characterized by a lower size than in raw mussels. Results obtained by this study represent an important baseline on MPs level to evaluate environmental and human exposure risks by diet.

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Abandoned mines and mining activities constitute important sources of toxic metals and Rare Earth Elements (REEs) affecting surrounding environmental compartments and biota. This study investigates the contamination degree and distribution of toxic metals and REEs in contrasting sediment, soil and plant samples surrounding rivers in the African copperbelt area characterized by the presence of numerous abandoned mines, artisanal and industrial mining activities. ICP-MS results highlighted the highest concentration of Cu, Co and Pb in sediments reaching values of 146,801, 18,434 and 899 mg kg-1, respectively. In soil, the values of 175,859, 21,134 and 1164 mg kg-1 were found for Cu, Co and Pb, respectively. These values are much higher than the sediment guidelines for the protection of aquatic life and international soil clean-up standards. Enrichment factor and geoaccumulation index results indicated important contribution of mining activities to the study sites pollution in addition to natural background. Highest metal accumulation in leaves of Phalaris arundinacea L., was observed, reaching values of 34,061, 5050 and 230 mg kg-1 for Cu, Co, and Pb, respectively. The ∑REE concentration reached values of 2306, 733, 2796 mg kg-1 in sediment, soil and plant samples, respectively. The above results were combined with geographical information including satellite imagery, hydrography and mining concessions. Maps were produced to present the results in a comprehensive and compelling visual format. The results will be disseminated through an innovative mapping online platform to simplify access to data and to facilitate dialogue between stakeholders.

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Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, has been increasing exponentially across the United States, which holds the largest known shale gas reserves in the world. Studies have found that the high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing process (HVHFP) threatens water resources, harms air quality, changes landscapes, and damages ecosystems. However, there is minimal research focusing on the spatial study of environmental and human risks of HVHFP, which is necessary for state and federal governments to administer, regulate, and assess fracking. Integrating GIS and spatial kernel functions, we study the presently operating fracking wells across the state of Pennsylvania (PA), which is the main part of the current hottest Marcellus Shale in US. We geographically process the location data of hydraulic fracturing wells, 2010 census block data, urbanized region data, railway data, local road data, open water data, river data, and wetland data for the state of PA. From this we develop a distance based risk assessment in order to understand the environmental and urban risks. We generate the surface data of fracking well intensity and population intensity by integrating spatial dependence, semivariogram modeling, and a quadratic kernel function. The surface data of population risk generated by the division of fracking well intensity and population intensity provide a novel insight into the local and regional regulation of hydraulic fracturing activities in terms of environmental and health related risks due to the proximity of fracking wells.

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