Assessment Toxicity of Soils from Areas with Mining Activity Through the Stability of the Lysosomal Membrane and Avoidance Behavior in the Earthworm Eisenia fetida.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of soils from areas with mining activity on the stability of the lysosomal membrane and avoidance behavior in the worm Eisenia fetida. Texture, organic material, conductivity and pH were determined in soils. The total concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, As and Hg were determined in tissues of E. fetida and in soils. Neutral red retention time (NRRT) was determined in hemocytes, and behavior with the avoidance test, in the earthworm. Cu (1563 ± 58 mg kg-1) and Zn (135 ± 9 mg kg-1) had the highest mean concentrations in the soils, while Hg (0.01 ± 0.001 mg kg-1) had the lowest concentration in all the soils. The soil with the highest Cu concentration produced an avoidance of > 80%. Most of the soils produced a significant loss of the stability of the lysosomal membrane. The variables organic material and sand would facilitate habitat selection in E. fetida, In conclusion, the soils have chemical agents in bioavailable concentrations that provoke adverse cellular effects and evasion behavior. We propose the use of both response variables as early alerts in the evaluation of soils.

An Assessment of the Metal Removal Capability of Endemic Chilean Species.

In Chile, there are several abandoned mine tailing impoundments near population centers that need to be remediated. In this study, the ability of Oxalis gigantea, Cistanthe grandiflora, and Puya berteroniana to remove Zn, Ni, and Cr from mine tailings was evaluated. The plants' removal efficiency, bioconcentration, and translocation factors regarding these metals were determined to assess the ability of certain endemic species from Northern and Central Chile to extract or stabilize metals. After a period of seven months, the chemical analysis of plants and tailings, together with the statistical treatment of data, indicated the inability of all the species to translocate Ni, Cr, or Zn with a translocation factor lower than one. The results showed the stabilizing character of Oxalis gigantea, Puya berteroniana, and Cistanthe grandiflora for Zn, with a bioconcentration factor close to 1.2 in all cases, and the same ability of the latter two species for Cr, with a bioconcentration factor of 1.5 in the case of Cistanthe grandiflora and 1.7 for Puya berteroniana. Finally, a removal efficiency of 9.3% was obtained with Cistanthe grandiflora for Cr and 15% for Ni; values lower than 6.4% were obtained for Zn in all cases. Improvements in the process should be sought to enhance the performance of these species for the accumulation of the target metals.

Effect of growth conditions on cell wall composition and cadmium adsorption in Chlorella vulgaris: A new approach to biosorption research.

Biosorption of toxic metals in microalgae is a process relying on the presence of cell wall reactive groups acting as binding sites. This work studied the effect of culture conditions on the outer cell wall composition of C. vulgaris and cadmium biosorption. The experiments were conducted in continuous culture under light and nitrogen limitation at two growth rates (0.4 and 0.2 d-1). Functional groups were profiled using ATR-FTIR spectrometry, and total cadmium biosorption was assayed. Significant differences in composition were attested the most salient being the absence of carboxyl groups in the light deprived states and a larger number of carbohydrates and amino groups in the nitrogen deprived cultures, particularly amino groups from deacetylated D-glucosamine polysaccharides. Higher biosorption was obtained with the nitrogen-restricted biomass, reaching a maximum of 11.9 mgCd/gbiomass, as compared to a minimum of 8.0 mgCd/gbiomass achieved in the light-restricted states. The increased biosorption exhibited by nitrogen-restricted strains was attributed to the deacetylated amino groups that have enhanced cation affinity. This work has shown that the characteristics of the outer cell wall can be engineered by culture conditions to improve biosorption, providing a new approach that opens up new research frontiers for the biosorption of hazardous metals.

Copper Analysis by Two Different Procedures of Sequential Extraction after Electrodialytic Remediation of Mine Tailings.

The analysis of Cu distribution in pre-treated mine tailings after electrodialytic remediation was carried out by using two methods of sequential extraction. The initial content of copper in the tailings was 1109 mg Cu/kg of dry tailing, where close to 40% of the sample in weight corresponded to a soluble fraction. The tailing was treated with a leaching solution for 24 h. Three different solutions were tested: H2SO4 + HNO3 with pH = 1.9; H2SO4 + HNO3 with pH = 4.2; and NH4Cl 0.8 mol/L with pH = 5.5. After that, electrodialytic remediation experiments were carried out using an electric field of 2.7 V/cm for 15 days. The best performance for the complete cell was obtained with H2SO4 + HNO3 solutions, with a copper removal efficiency in the range of 62% to 67% and a current efficiency between 6% and 9%. The results of the remaining copper concentration between anode and cathode, from both procedures of sequential extraction, showed similar trends. The differences were mainly attributed to the use of different extractant solutions and extraction times. Soluble and exchangeable fractions were easily removed, with efficiencies higher than 80%. The lowest copper removal efficiency was obtained with NH4Cl 0.8 mol/L.

Distribution of Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn in Liver, Gills and Muscle of Early Life Stages of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar).

The aim of this study was to determine metal distribution in different tissues in early life stages of Atlantic salmon. The concentrations of the metals Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn in liver, gills, muscle of fish and water from a salmon farm in the Region de los Lagos of southern Chile were determined. Results show that Cd and Pb had the lowest concentrations, while Zn the highest concentration, followed by Cu, Fe and Mn. Cu and Fe had the highest concentrations in liver, while Mn and Zn were the highest in gills. Cu and Fe in liver were higher in pre-smolts than in fingerlings. Cu had the highest bioaccumulation factor in pre-smolts, both in liver and gills. In conclusion the metals tend to bioaccumulate selectively in different tissues of Salmo salar. Liver is the most relevant for Cu and Fe, and liver and gills for Zn.

Sb(V) and Sb(III) distribution in human erythrocytes: speciation methodology and the influence of temperature, time and anticoagulants.

In this research a new method was developed and optimized for the determination of Sb(V) and Sb(III) in human erythrocytes fractions (plasma and cytoplasm) by high performance liquid chromatography with hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The method considers the first step of samples cleaning by protein precipitation by salting out followed by C18 solid phase extraction, EDTA elution, and finally a chromatographic separation by using anion exchange PRPX-100 (100 mm × 4.1mm) and EDTA 20 mmol L(-1) as mobile phase. The method was optimized by experimental design with a recovery of 90% for Sb(V) and 55-75% for Sb(III) approximately. The analytical method was applied to study the distribution of Sb(V) and Sb(III) in human erythrocytes considering temperature and time of incubations and with special attention about the influence of the anticoagulant. Results showed that both Sb(V) and Sb(III) are capable to enter the red blood cell in a proportion of approximately 40-60%. On the other hand, both species are then excreted from the interior of the cell, where the percentage considerably decreased from approximately 60 to less than 30% within the cell. An increase in the culture temperature increases the capacity of Sb(V) and Sb(III) to penetrate the membrane barrier and reach the cytoplasm. In order to preserve the original distribution of Sb in blood, heparin seems to be the best anticoagulant for sample preservation.

Heavy weight vehicle traffic and its relationship with antimony content in human blood.

Brake pads systems are nowadays considered as one of the most important sources of antimony in airborne particulate matter. One way that antimony can enter the body is through the lungs and specially by the interaction of antimony with -SH groups present in erythrocyte membrane cells. In spite of that, there are no studies about antimony enrichment in blood of workers exposed to high vehicle traffic. Port workers are generally exposed to heavy weight vehicle traffic. In Chile the biggest marine port is found in Valparaíso City. In this study antimony in whole blood and its fractions (erythrocytes-plasma and erythrocytes membranes-cytoplasm) of 45 volunteers were determined. The volunteers were port workers from Valparaíso city, and two control groups, one from Valparaíso and another from Quebrada Alvarado, the latter being a rural area located about 100 Km away from Valparaíso. The results demonstrate that port workers are highly impacted by antimony emissions from heavy weight vehicle traffic showing an average concentration of 27 +/- 9 ng Sb kg(-1), 5-10 times higher than the concentration of antimony in the blood of control groups. These are the highest antimony levels in blood ever reported in the literature. The highest antimony percentages (>60%) were always found in the erythrocyte fractions. However, the exposure degree to vehicle traffic is significant over antimony distribution in plasma, erythrocytes and cytoplasm. This results shows that the antimony mass in the erythrocyte membranes, was approximately constant at 1.0 +/- 0.1 ng Sb g(-1) of whole blood in all blood samples analyzed.