This article presents a detailed analysis of a dataset consisting of 27 elements found in soils, soil eluates, and vegetables from private gardens in a region with a long history of coal mining and ...burning. With coal being one of the world's most significant energy sources, and previous studies highlighting elevated element levels in vegetables from this region, the objective of this study was to identify the factors that impact soil geochemistry and metal(loid) uptake in plants.
Total major and trace element concentrations were analyzed in soils, soil eluates and vegetables by high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The vegetable samples included six species: fennel, garlic, lettuce, parsley, onion, and radicchio. Each plant was divided into roots, stems, leaves, and/or bulbs and analyzed separately. In addition, the soil pollution status, bioavailable fractions and transfer factors from soil and soil eluates to different plant parts were determined.
The comprehensive dataset revealed that, apart from the substrate enriched with various elements (Al, As, Co, Cr, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sn, Ti, U, V, and Zn), other anthropogenic factors such as the legacy of coal mining and combustion activities, associated industries in the area, transport, and agricultural practices, also influence the elevated element concentrations (Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Se) in locally grown vegetables. The transfer factors based on element concentrations in aqueous soil eluates and element bioavailable fractions confirmed to be an effective tool for evaluating metal uptake in plants, emphazising to some extent the effects of plant species and revealing unique patterns for each pollution source within its environmental context (
, Cd, Mo, S, and Se in this case). The study highlights the crucial importance of utilizing comprehensive datasets that encompass a multitude of factors when interpreting the impacts of element uptake in edible plants.
This paper presents a comprehensive data set on rare earth elements (REE) and their distribution in soils and vegetables in an area where the soil background is enriched with these elements. The ...study examined REE distribution in six vegetables commonly grown in local residents' gardens, including fennel, garlic, lettuce, parsley, onion, and raddichio, and each plant was analyzed for REE composition in its root, stem, and leaf or bulb. In addition to total REE concentrations in soils and plants, the data set includes transfer factors and fractionation indices for REE in soils, as well as normalized curves. This dataset may be useful in the field of soil geochemistry and research on the uptake of lanthanides into plants and the food chain, as well as their potential effects on human health.
•REE in vegetables grown on substrate enriched with lanthanides•REE distribution patterns varied between different plant parts•The roots of the vegetables generally had the highest REE concentrations•In vegetables, REE decreases in the order root >> leaf > stem > bulb
Assessing the environmental quality of coastal systems is important not only for the management and protection of such areas, but also for improving the quality of water resources. Since sediment ...itself can often be a source of certain toxic elements, in addition to information on the distribution of metals in the water column and in the sediment itself, it is useful to determine the bioavailable forms of individual elements, particularly toxic ones. In this study, water and sediment geochemical data were supplemented with oxyanion mobility in sediments estimated by diffusion gradients in thin film (DGTs). The data obtained indicate that the chemical composition of the water in the Raša River estuary primarily reflects the high input of suspended sediment from the catchment, the mixing of freshwater and seawater, and to a lesser extent the effects of anthropogenic activities. Although sediment composition is primarily determined by geological and hydrodynamic conditions in the catchment, it also indicates moderate enrichment in Co, Cr, Mo and Ni. In contrast, the distribution of oxyanions in sediment pore water indicates the influence of sediment as a source of some elements in the bottom water; e.g., sediment contributes to 40% of the arsenic bottom water budget. The obtained depth profiles of the oxyanion distribution in the sediment pore water indicate an early onset of suboxic to anoxic conditions in Raša Bay, which is prone to rapid sedimentation. All this demonstrates the need to consider the bioavailable forms of elements when assessing environmental quality, as the lack of such information can lead to an incomplete assessment, especially in dynamic coastal systems such as estuaries.
Fossil fuels, coal in particular, are indispensable sources of energy necessary for today's technological and economical progress throughout the world. Their burning releases numerous environmental ...contaminants, like CO2, SO2, and a range of organic and inorganic compounds. Arguably, however, and despite the fact that these emissions have resulted in air pollution and regional acid rain problems, there is no evidence yet of their usage completely replaced by a low-CO2producing energy source. Coal, due to its unique composition and characteristics, has been actively investigated by scientists and technologists from various disciplines in a search for economically valuable metals and medically active substances. Also, coal is used universally for the fabrication of new nanomaterials in laboratories, and utilized in wastetreatment and clean-coal technologies. The aim of this paper is to focus on the latest advancements in coal research of leading international scientists from India, China, and the USA. Also, this paper is briefly presenting selected papers of several Indian and Croatian research groups addressing environmental issues and emerging waste-treatment technologies. Although the two countries are different from a geographical, historical, economical, and industrial point of view, they both have been linked with coal extraction and its usage in power generation and associated heavy industries.
Selenium (Se) is an essential element for human health in trace amounts but is harmful in excess. Most plants contain a fairly low Se and crop Se supplements ensure adequate levels for human ...nutritional needs. Food is the primary source of Se for humans and due to differences in eating habits, its intake varies considerably. In the human body, selenium deficiency can lead to diseases of the endocrine, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, reproductive, nervous and immune systems. Selenium is an important ingredient in glutathione peroxidase, the main cellular antioxidant enzyme, which can convert free radicals into peroxides, while vitamin E removes free radicals and neutralizes their potentially harmful effects. Excessive amounts of selenium in the human diet are considered toxic, causing liver and kidney damage, blood clotting, heart and liver necrosis, skin lesions, nausea, vomiting, and loss of hair and nails. Semiconducting properties of Se make it of special value for industry. Selenium is a rare element on the planet, and is a non-renewable resource due to its non-efficient and difficult recycling. Except of coal, which is commonly enriched in Se, there are no ores which could be mined for it. Herewith, the world's scarce Se resources need a careful management, monitoring, recycling, and stockpiling for future generations. The first part of this review outlines selenium concentrations in soil, water, and plants in terms of essential and toxicological effects on animals and humans, while the second part briefly overviews novel biotechnological methods of bioremediation of environmental selenium.
Coal is a vital carbon-based raw material which is used in the production of various advanced nanomaterials. This particularly holds true for the relevant research and development trends in India. ...New more environmentally friendly processes are under development with respect to metallurgical coke making and quality enhancement of high-ash Indian coal. Compared with chemical and physical methods, beneficiation of high-ash coal and its combustion by-products with organic liquids (various natural oils) are much more superior in terms of costs, efficiency, and environmental implications. Nanodiamonds have emerged as a key platform for nanoscience and nanotechnology developments. Indian scientists have applied eco-friendly and cost-effective ultrasonic assisted wet-chemical method to low-quality NE Indian coal and the resulting nanodiamond particles could have a wide range of applications in the field of microelectronics, optoelectronics, and biosensing. Also, Indian scientists have been working on ultrasonic-assisted chemical synthesis of activated carbon from low-quality subbituminous coal and its preliminary evaluation towards supercapacitor applications. This article shows that coal is a versatile and valuable raw material which should be saved for future generations at all costs.
The mining and burning of Croatian Raša coal had resulted in release of various contaminants into the local environment. They have remained in the local soil, water, and plants, and became available ...to animals through their consumption. In this study, tissue samples from a total of 12 birds from the Raša area and 8 birds from a control area were subjected to multi-element analysis (Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Mo, Cd, Pb) by ICP-MS. The obtained results showed increased Se and Cd concentrations in some bird tissue samples compared to the control area. The highest concentrations of Cu, Zn, and Se were found in the liver, while the highest concentrations of Cd and Pb were found in the kidneys. Although some hazardous trace elements were elevated in the tissues of game species, the risk of consuming meat and offal of such species has been found to be very low.
The Raša Bay (North Adriatic, Croatia) has been receiving various pollutants by inflowing streams laden with untreated municipal and coalmine effluents for decades. The locality was a regional center ...of coalmining (Raša coal), coal combustion, and metal processing industries for more than two centuries. As local soil and stream water were found to be contaminated with sulfur and potentially toxic trace elements (PTEs) as a consequence of weathering of Raša coal and its waste, some clean-up measures are highly required. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test the remediating potential of selected microorganisms and synthetic zeolites in the case of soil and coal-mine water, respectively, for the first time. By employing bacterial cultures of Ralstonia sp., we examined removal of sulfur and selected PTEs (As, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Rb, Se, Sr, U, V, and Zn) from soil. The removal of sulfur was up to 60%, arsenic up to 80%, while Se, Ba, and V up to 60%, and U up to 20%. By applying synthetic zeolites on water from the Raša coalmine and a local stream, the significant removal values were found for Sr (up to 99.9%) and Ba (up to 99.2%) only. Removal values were quite irregular (insignificant) in the cases of Fe, Ni, Zn, and Se, which were up to 80%, 50%, 30%, and 20%, respectively. Although promising, the results call for further research on this topic.
The Istrian coal mines, located in the eastern part of the Istrian Peninsula (Northern Adriatic Sea, Croatia) had by far the most important and economically the most valuable deposits of the ...anthracite coal reserves in Croatia since the 18th century until the year 1999, when their excavation and use in the coal-fired power plant Plomin ceased. The coal is found within the Palaeocene Kozina limestone beds. Four coal basins, Karojba, Sveti Martin, Pican, and the Labin basin, hosted seven coal mines, e.g. Tupljak, Potpican, Kozljak, Strmac, Rasa, Ripenda, and Krapan. The coal has been generally known under the name of Rasa coal. It is exceptional in world terms due to its high content of organic sulphur, which can be up to 14%. Herewithin, this paper reviews Croatian scientific publications devoted to various aspects of Rasa coal, along with the most important publications on either similar coals or relevant subjects worldwide. A brief introduction deals with the role of coal in electricity production, and the history of coal mining in Istria. The following chapter summarises current knowledge of the coal sulphur geochemistry, with several examples of high-sulphur coals from India and China. It is followed by the geological, geochemical, and physical characterisation of Rasa coal. Since perturbations to ecosystems caused by coal combustion have been documented in numerous papers from a number of countries, Croatian studies carried out to determine the impact of Rasa coal combustion on the local environment are also presented.
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