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Abstract New scientific discoveries for new applications of materials (e.g., metals) lead to extensive industrial use of these materials, which in turn, has significant negative health and environmental impacts. Governments use legislation as a management tool to control the usage of certain materials to lower contamination. This study investigates the level of metal contamination over a period of 12 years to observe the dynamic changes in response to new legislation or industrial improvements. Metals (i.e., Pb, Zn, Co, Cu) associated with urban roadside dust in 21 sites in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were analyzed during the period of 2001–2013. Three main conclusions were drawn from this study: 1) Phasing out leaded gasoline was an effective tool to control Pb contamination. The average Pb concentration in the city was 37 times higher in 2001 compared to that in 2013. Twenty-nine percent of the investigated sites were at a significant health risk in 2001 compared to none in 2013. 2) The new substitutes of Zn oxides and new limitations of the Zn content in the rubber industry were effective at controlling the Zn contamination in the urban environment. The average Zn concentration of the city was 8 times higher in 2001 compared to that in 2013. Eighty-one percent of the investigated sites in 2001 were considered to be very highly contaminated (CF > 6) compared to none in 2013. 3) The lack of legislation regarding the Co-content in fossil fuels was probably the main reason for the enhancement of the Co contamination in the whole city, with an increase in the average Co concentration >3 times in 2013 compared to that in 2001. Likewise, the health risk index was increased by ∼3 times from 2001 to 2013. For Cu, the average Cu concentration in 2001 was almost twice that in 2003 and 2013. Legislation has been observe to be an effective management tool for controlling metal contamination. Highlights • Phasing out leaded gasoline was an effective tool to control Pb contamination. • Reducing Zn content in the rubber industry justifies the dramatic drop of Zn in the city. • The average Pb concentration in the city was 37 times higher in 2001 compared to 2013. • The average Zn concentration of the city was 8 times higher in 2001 compared to 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stakeholder engagement is a vital sustainable remediation practice for obtaining useful feedback and identifying societal needs. Evaluating and integrating risk perception of stakeholders into remediation and outreach efforts allows for greater insight, increases the likelihood of success and ultimately, benefits the community by protecting its members from environmental hazards. In this study, we identified risk perception factors that influenced residents' level of concern for mitigating their exposure to elevated concentrations of lead in household paint and historic fill material. Risk perception factors were assessed by an in-person survey conducted in public green spaces. The analysis of survey participants’ responses indicated that their perception of risk to exposed lead was mostly influenced by the presence of hazardous materials in close proximity to their residence, the ability to address pollution, and awareness, interest, and individual accountability in mitigating environmental risks. Responses also revealed that residents considered risk of lead and soil pollution as less menacing than the presence of more immediate and perceptible risks posed by factors such as air and water pollution. In addition, the community seemed to exhibit “optimism bias” and did not identify itself at high risk to susceptible and immediate hazards, including lead exposure. This lack of concern over lead exposure created a significant obstacle to community participation in state-led education and outreach programs. By integrating risk perception analysis and increasing stakeholder engagement, we can bring more attention to this issue, educate the public about the threat of lead pollution, and efficiently use financial resources to implement a more sustainable solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of its precision and accuracy, Pb-Fire assay is the most employed method for gold analysis in geological materials. At the second stage of the method, namely cupellation, lead is oxidized to PbO which is absorbed by the cupel, leading to metallic gold as a tiny bend at the bottom of the recipient. After cupellation, cupel becomes highly contaminated with lead, making its disposal a serious risk of environmental contamination. In the present work, a leaching process for removing lead from cupel waste is proposed, which allowed for removing 96% of PbO by weight. After a precipitation step, 92.0% of lead was recovered from leachates in the form of PbSO 4 . Lead in the solid wastes left by the extraction was above the limit established by Brazilian legislation and these were classified as non-hazardous. Finally, secondary effluents generated after the precipitation step presented lead content more than twenty times lower than that of leachates from cupel waste. Tons of cupel waste are annually generated from gold analysis by Pb-Fire assay. Thus, the proposed method can contribute to prevent the discharge of high amounts of lead into the environment. Also, recovery of lead can help to partially meet the industrial demand for lead compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead is not only one of heavy metals imposing environment and health risk, but also critical resource to maintain sustainable development of many industries. Recently, due to the shortage of fossil fuels, clean energy vehicles, including electric bicycle, have emerged and are widely adopted soon in the world. China became the world’s largest producer of primary lead and a very significant consumer in the past decade, which has strained the supplies of China’s lead deposits from lithosphere and boost the anthropogenic consumption of metallic lead and lead products. Here we summarize that China’s lead demand will continually increase due to the rapid growth of electric vehicle, resulting in a short carrying duration of lead even with full lead recycling. With these applications increasing at an annual rate of 2%, the carrying duration of lead resource until 2030 will oblige that recycling rate should be not less than 90%. To sustain lead utilization in China, one approach would be to improve the utilization technology, collection system and recycling technology towards closed-loop supply chain. Other future endeavors should include optimizing lead industrial structure and development of new energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study, lead bioaccumulation by the living free-floating aquatic macrophyte Eicchornia crassipes in different hydroponic conditions with variations in phosphorus and lead concentrations was investigated. A set of growth experiments in hydroponic media doped with lead and phosphorus within a wide concentration range was performed for 32 days in a greenhouse. All experiments were carried out with periodic replacement of all nutrients and lead. The concentration of lead and nutrients in biomass was determined by synchrotron radiation-excited total reflection X-ray fluorescence. By increasing the lead concentration in the medium, a reduction in biomass growth was observed, but a higher phosphorus retention in roots and leaves was shown at lower lead concentrations. In addition, an increase in the amount of bioaccumulated lead and phosphorus in roots was observed for higher lead and phosphorus concentrations in the medium, reaching saturation values of 4 mg Pb g−1 and 7 mg P g−1, respectively. Four non-structural kinetic models were tested, to represent the bioaccumulation of lead and phosphorus in roots. Pseudo-second order and irreversible kinetic models described the lead bioaccumulation data well, however, an irreversible kinetic model better fitted phosphorus uptake in roots. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The disposal of cathode ray tube (CRT) generates large quantities of leaded glass waste. The encapsulation of glass from the funnel portion of CRT in cement clinker was investigated. Samples of cement raw material containing 0 (control), 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, or 0.5 wt% of CRT funnel glass ground to less than 75 μm were heated to 1480 °C in an electric furnace for 1.5 h at a heating rate of 5 °C/min to produce cement clinker. The Pb encapsulation and chemical composition of the clinkers were analysed using X-ray techniques and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The maximum PbO encapsulation occurred in mixtures containing 0.1 wt% funnel glass. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines the potential value of phosphate solubilizing bacteria (Enterobacter cloacae) in the dissolution of rock phosphate (RP) and subsequent immobilization of lead (Pb) in both bacterial growth medium and soils. Enterobacter sp. showed resistance to Pb and the bacterium solubilized 17.5% of RP in the growth medium. Enterobacter sp. did not enhance Pb immobilization in solution because of acidification of bacterial medium, thereby inhibiting the formation of P-induced Pb precipitation. However, in the case of soil, Enterobacter sp. increased Pb immobilization by 6.98, 25.6 and 32.0% with the RP level of 200, 800 and 1600 mg P/kg, respectively. The immobilization of Pb in Pb-spiked soils was attributed to pyromorphite formation as indicated by XRD analysis. Inoculation of phosphate solubilizing bacteria with RP in soil can be used as an alternative technique to soluble P compounds which can cause eutrophication of surface water. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cross-linked metal-imprinted chitosan microparticles were prepared from chitosan, using four metals (Cu(II), Zn(II), Ni(II), and Pb(II)) as templates, and epichlorohydrin as the cross-linker. The microparticles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, solid state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. They were used for comparative biosorption of Cu(II), Zn(II), Ni(II) and Pb(II) ions in an aqueous solution. The results showed that the sorption capacities of Cu(II), Zn(II), Ni(II), and Pb(II) on the templated microparticles increased from 25 to 74%, 13 to 46%, 41 to 57%, and 12 to 43%, respectively, as compared to the microparticles without metal ion templates. The dynamic study showed that the sorption process followed the second-order kinetic equation. Three sorption models, Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin–Radushkevich, were applied to the equilibrium isotherm data. The result showed that the Langmuir isotherm equation best fitted for monolayer sorption processes. Furthermore, the microparticles can be regenerated and reused for the metal removal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study identified the levels and sources of heavy metal contamination in road dust from busy traffic areas in a typical industrial city in Korea. This study compared the total concentrations, as determined by aqua regia digestions and atomic absorption spectroscopy, of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and nickel (Ni) in the road dust from areas with different characteristics such as traffic rotaries, downtown areas, circulation roads, and asphalt and concrete highways. The contamination levels of the heavy metals in the road dust were evaluated using the contamination factor and the degree of contamination. The contamination levels of the heavy metals in the road dust were highly dependent on traffic volume and atmospheric dispersion from traffic rotaries. Industrial emissions and the frequency of brake use and vehicles coming to a complete stop were additional factors that affected the contamination levels in downtown areas. The concrete highway had higher contamination levels of the heavy metals than the asphalt highway. Vehicle speed was also a strong contributing factor to the degree of contamination of heavy metals in the road dust from the circulation roads and highways. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study investigated the removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solutions by a maize (Zea mays) stalk sponge. Equilibrium and kinetic models for Pb(II) sorption were developed by considering the effect of the contact time and concentration at the optimum pH of 6 ± 0.2. The Freundlich model was found to describe the sorption energetics of Pb(II) by Z. mays stalk sponge, and a maximum Pb(II) loading capacity of 80 mg g−1 was determined. The kinetic parameters were obtained by fitting data from experiments measuring the effect of contact time on adsorption capacity into pseudo-first and second-order equations. The kinetics of Pb(II) sorption onto Z. mays biosorbent were well defined using linearity coefficients (R 2) by the pseudo-second-order equation (0.9998). The results obtained showed that Zea may stalk sponge was a useful biomaterial for Pb(II) sorption and that pH has an important effect on metal biosorption capacity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Pine cone powder surface was treated with potassium hydroxide and applied for copper(II) and lead(II) removal from solution. Isotherm experiments and desorption tests were conducted and kinetic analysis was performed with increasing temperatures. As solution pH increased, the biosorption capacity and the change in hydrogen ion concentration in solution increased. The change in hydrogen ion concentration for lead(II) biosorption was slightly higher than for copper(II) biosorption. The results revealed that ion-exchange is the main mechanism for biosorption for both metal ions. The pseudo-first order kinetic model was unable to describe the biosorption process throughout the effective biosorption period while the modified pseudo-first order kinetics gave a better fit but could not predict the experimentally observed equilibrium capacities. The pseudo-second order kinetics gave a better fit to the experimental data over the temperature range from 291 to 347 K and the equilibrium capacity increased from 15.73 to 19.22 mg g−1 for copper(II) and from 23.74 to 26.27 for lead(II). Activation energy was higher for lead(II) (22.40 kJ mol−1) than for copper(II) (20.36 kJ mol−1). The free energy of activation was higher for lead(II) than for copper(II) and the values of ΔH* and ΔS* indicate that the contribution of reorientation to the activation stage is higher for lead(II) than copper(II). This implies that lead(II) biosorption is more spontaneous than copper(II) biosorption. Equilibrium studies showed that the Langmuir isotherm gave a better fit for the equilibrium data indicating monolayer coverage of the biosorbent surface. There was only a small interaction between metal ions when simultaneously biosorbed and cation competition was higher for the Cu-Pb system than for the Pb-Cu system. Desorption studies and the Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm and energy parameter, E, also support the ion-exchange mechanism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Chitosan-tripolyphosphate (CTPP) beads were synthesized, characterized and were used for the adsorption of Pb(II) and Cu(II) ions from aqueous solution. The effects of initial pH, agitation period, adsorbent dosage, different initial concentrations of heavy metal ions and temperature were studied. The experimental data were correlated with the Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm models. The maximum adsorption capacities of Pb(II) and Cu(II) ions in a single metal system based on the Langmuir isotherm model were 57.33 and 26.06 mg/g, respectively. However, the beads showed higher selectivity towards Cu(II) over Pb(II) ions in the binary metal system. Various thermodynamic parameters such as enthalpy (ΔH°), Gibbs free energy (ΔG°) and entropy (ΔS°) changes were computed and the results showed that the adsorption of both heavy metal ions onto CTPP beads was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. The kinetic data were evaluated based on the pseudo-first and -second order kinetic and intraparticle diffusion models. Infrared spectra were used to elucidate the mechanism of Pb(II) and Cu(II) ions adsorption onto CTPP beads. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recently, the concept of pollution-safe cultivars (PSCs) was proposed to minimize the influx of pollutants to the human food chain. Variations in lead (Pb) uptake and translocation among Chinese cabbage (Brassica pekinensis L.) cultivars were investigated in a pot-culture experiment and a field-culture experiment to screen out Pb-PSCs for food safety. The results of the pot-culture experiment showed that shoot Pb concentrations under two Pb treatments (500 and 1500mgkg−1) varied significantly (p <0.05) between cultivars, with average values of 3.01 and 6.87mgkg−1, respectively. Enrichment factors (EFs) and translocation factors (TFs) in cultivars were less than 0.50 and varied significantly (p <0.05) between cultivars. Shoot Pb concentrations in 12 cultivars under treatment T1 (500mgkg−1) were lower than 2.0mgkg−1. The field-culture experiment further confirmed Qiuao, Shiboqiukang and Fuxing 80 as Pb-PSCs, which were suitable to be cultivated in low-Pb (<382.25mgkg−1) contaminated soils and harmless to human health as foods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of a continuous free surface flow wetland for removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater, in Gadoon Amazai Industrial Estate (GAIE), Swabi, Pakistan. Industrial wastewater samples were collected from the in-let, out-let and all cells of the constructed wetland (CW) and analyzed for heavy metals such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr) and copper (Cu) using standard methods. Similarly, samples of aquatic macrophytes and sediments were also analyzed for selected heavy metals. Results indicate that the removal efficiencies of the CW for Pb, Cd, Fe, Ni, Cr, and Cu were 50%, 91.9%, 74.1%, 40.9%, 89%, and 48.3%, respectively. Furthermore, the performance of the CW was efficient enough to remove the heavy metals, particularly Cd, Fe, and Cu, from the industrial wastewater fed to it. However, it is suggested that the metal removal efficiency of the CW can be further enhanced by using proper management of vegetation and area expansion of the present CW. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this study we have worked on the evaluation of heavy metal contamination in the sediments taken from the Tisza River and its tributaries, and thereby used the sequential extraction method, geochemical normalization, the calculation of the enrichment factor (EF), and the methods of statistical analysis. The chemical fractionation of Ni, Cu, Zn, Cr, Pb, Fe, and Mn, carried out by using the modified Tessier method, points to different substrates and binding mechanisms of Cu, Zn and Pb in sediments of the tributaries and sediments of the Tisza River. The similarities in the distributions of Fe and Ni in all types of sediments are the result of geochemical similarity as well as of the fact that natural sources mainly affect the concentration levels of these elements. The calculated enrichment factors (EF, measured metal vs. background concentrations) indicated that metal contamination (Cu, Pb, Zn and Cr) was recorded in the sediments of the Tisza River, while no indications of pollution were detected in the tributaries of the Tisza River and the surrounding pools. The maximum values of the EF were close to 6 for Cu and Pb (moderately severe enrichment) and close to 4.5 for Zn (indicating moderate enrichment). It can be said that the Tisza River is slightly to moderately severely polluted with Cu, Zn, and Pb, and minorly polluted with Cr. It is concluded that sediments of the Tisza serve as a repository for heavy metal accumulation from adjacent urban and industrial areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]