An overview on the organic pollution around the Qinghai-Tibet plateau: The thought-provoking situation

Abstract

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau plays an important role in the ecological safety and human health of the surroundings due to its unique geographical position and function. Therefore, it is necessary to study the pollution status and potential risk in this area. This study summarizes the distribution of different organic pollutants in biota and environmental media of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Moreover, it also pays attention to the potential health risks of these organic pollutants. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were the most frequently detected in different matrices. In general, the carcinogenic risks of organic pollutants were ranked in the verylow to moderate range for both children and adults. The carcinogenic risks of organic pollutants in fish, food, and water for children were 1-2 times higher than those for adults, while risks of organic pollutants in soil/sediment and in air for children were generally 10.6-16.5 and 2.6-2.8 times higher than those for adults, respectively. The maximal hazard quotient for non-carcinogenic risk was 0.95 (potential risk for children posed by organic pollutants in yak milk of Ruoergai), almost reaching an unacceptable level. Therefore, the potential health risks could not be neglected, especially for children who were more likely to be affected by the pollutants.

Influence of coastal groundwater salinization on the distribution and risks of heavy metals

“…The values of SF and RfD could be obtained from the USEPA guidelines (USEPA, 2016). The values of other parameters referred to Wu et al (2016). The values of parameters were briefly shown in Table S2.…”

Pollution, ecological-health risks, and sources of heavy metals in soil of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

“…Health risks of heavy metals in soil of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were evaluated using cancer risks and non-cancer risks through three pathways including ingestion, dermal contact, and inhalation of soil particles (Ferreira-Baptista and De Miguel, 2005;Jiang et al, 2017;Peng et al, 2017;USEPA, 2016;Wu et al, 2016b). Non-cancer risks were evaluated using hazard quotients.…”

Insights into the Occurrence, Fate, and Impacts of Halogenated Flame Retardants in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants

“…A certain fraction of HFRs can escape from consumer products during production, use, disposal, and recycling as most HFRs are not chemically bound to consumer products. Volatilization, abrasion, and weathering are the major mechanisms of HFRs migration from consumer products to the environment, which can be accelerated by fragmentation or biological and chemical transformation. − HFRs have been detected in remote regions, such as the arctic and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, ,, where anthropogenic activities are rare, indicating long-distance transport of HFRs by natural processes (e.g., by snow, rain, adhesion to aerosolized particulates, and oceanic transport). − Extensively used HFRs have also been widely detected in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) around the world. − HFRs can enter the wastewater treatment stream via disposal of cleaning fluids by manufacturing facilities, disposal of consumer products, landfill leachate, and precipitation. ,− Conventional WWTPs are not designed to remove HFRs and only minor to moderate fractions (<80%) of the HFRs entering WWTPs are biotransformed during treatment, with most being adsorbed to the wastewater treatment solids and the remainder being discharged with the effluent. , Over 300 billion tons of municipal wastewater was discharged in 2010 worldwide, much of which is introduced into soils or terrestrial and marine waters. Hence, WWTPs represent an important source of environmental HFRs contamination and the contribution of WWTPs to HFRs deposition is an issue of growing concern. ,,,− …”