Journal ArticleEnvironmental Research: Health · September 1, 2024
AbstractArtisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is the largest global anthropogenic mercury (Hg) source and is widespread in the Peruvian Amazon. Consuming Hg-laden foods exposes people to this potent n ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · February 2024
Acid mine drainage (AMD) from inactive coal mines can be enriched in rare earth elements (REEs) and has gained much attention as an alternative source for these technology-critical metals. However, AMD is a relatively low-grade REE resource in which the ab ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · January 2024
Mercury (Hg)-impaired aquatic ecosystems often receive multiple inputs of different Hg species with varying potentials for transformation and bioaccumulation. Over time, these distinct input pools of Hg homogenize in their relative distributions and bioacc ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science. Processes & impacts · November 2023
Lead (Pb2+) is an important developmental toxicant. The mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) imports calcium ions using the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and also appears to mediate the influx of Pb2+ into the mitochondria. ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives · September 2023
BackgroundFew birth cohorts in South America evaluate the joint effect of minerals and toxic metals on neonatal health. In Madre de Dios, Peru, mercury exposure is prevalent owing to artisanal gold mining, yet its effect on neonatal health is unkn ...
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Journal ArticleACS ES and T Engineering · August 11, 2023
Low-grade residuals such as mine wastes and combustion ash are potential sources of critical metals such as rare-earth elements (REEs). Major challenges in the efficient recovery of REEs are the matrix interferences in the waste extracts that impede subseq ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · August 2023
Liquid elemental mercury (Hg0L) pollution can remain in soils for decades and, over time, will undergo corrosion, a process in which the droplet surface oxidizes soil constituents to form more reactive phases, such as mercury oxide (H ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science. Nano · July 2023
Coal combustion byproducts are known to be enriched in arsenic (As) and selenium (Se). This enrichment is a concern during the handling, disposal, and reuse of the ash as both elements can be harmful to wildlife and humans if mobilized into water and soils ...
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Journal ArticleACS ES and T Water · April 14, 2023
The release of leachates from intact coal ash impoundments is a concern due to the enrichment and mobilization of toxic elements such as arsenic (As) and selenium (Se). This study aims to explore the intrinsic properties of coal fly ash that correlate with ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science. Processes & impacts · March 2023
At mercury (Hg)-contaminated sites, streambank erosion can act as a main mobilizer of Hg into nearby waterbodies. Once deposited into the waters, mercury from these soils can be transformed to MeHg by microorganisms. It is therefore important to understand ...
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Journal ArticleMinerals · September 1, 2022
Four suites of fly ash, all generated at the same power plant, were selected for the study of the distribution of rare earth elements (REE). The fly ashes represented two runs of single-seam/single-mine coals and two runs of run-of-mine coals representing ...
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Journal ArticleLancet regional health. Americas · August 2022
BackgroundStudies have shown elevated blood lead levels (BLL) in residents of remote communities in the Amazon, yet sources of lead exposure are not fully understood, such as lead ammunition consumed in wild game.MethodsData was collected ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental technology · March 2022
Micelle enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) is a surfactant-based membrane separation process that may be used to separate target ions from mixed metal aqueous solutions, such as leachates of coal ash and other geological wastewaters. The ability of MEUF to se ...
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Journal ArticleChemistry of Materials · February 22, 2022
Ligand exchange reactions are commonly employed to modify the surfaces of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs), yet multiple reaction pathways induced by the introduction of thiols to NCs have been proposed in the literature to occur independently of ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · February 2022
Mercury is a risk in aquatic ecosystems when the metal is converted to methylmercury (MeHg) and subsequently bioaccumulates in aquatic food webs. This risk can be difficult to manage because of the complexity of biogeochemical processes for mercury and the ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · January 2022
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are extensively used in consumer products and biomedical applications, thus guaranteeing both environmental and human exposures. Despite extensive research addressing AgNP safety, there are still major knowledge gaps regarding ...
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Journal ArticleNature communications · January 2022
Mercury emissions from artisanal and small-scale gold mining throughout the Global South exceed coal combustion as the largest global source of mercury. We examined mercury deposition and storage in an area of the Peruvian Amazon heavily impacted by artisa ...
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Journal ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health · December 2021
Total mercury content (THg) in hair is an accepted biomarker for chronic dietary methylmercury (MeHg) exposure. In artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) communities, the validity of this biomarker is questioned because of the potential for contamina ...
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Journal ArticleFuel · October 1, 2021
The distribution of Rare Earth elements (REE) in coal-derived fly ashes can have distinctive patterns when fly ashes are produced from different coals within or between basins, such as the Pennsylvanian Class F fly ashes from the Illinois and Central Appal ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · August 2021
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are well-proven antimicrobial nanomaterials, yet little is elucidated regarding the mechanism underlying cytotoxicity induced by these nanoparticles. Here, we tested the hypothesis that mitochondria are primary intracellular ta ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental Research: Health · September 1, 2024
AbstractArtisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is the largest global anthropogenic mercury (Hg) source and is widespread in the Peruvian Amazon. Consuming Hg-laden foods exposes people to this potent n ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · February 2024
Acid mine drainage (AMD) from inactive coal mines can be enriched in rare earth elements (REEs) and has gained much attention as an alternative source for these technology-critical metals. However, AMD is a relatively low-grade REE resource in which the ab ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · January 2024
Mercury (Hg)-impaired aquatic ecosystems often receive multiple inputs of different Hg species with varying potentials for transformation and bioaccumulation. Over time, these distinct input pools of Hg homogenize in their relative distributions and bioacc ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleEnvironmental science. Processes & impacts · November 2023
Lead (Pb2+) is an important developmental toxicant. The mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) imports calcium ions using the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and also appears to mediate the influx of Pb2+ into the mitochondria. ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives · September 2023
BackgroundFew birth cohorts in South America evaluate the joint effect of minerals and toxic metals on neonatal health. In Madre de Dios, Peru, mercury exposure is prevalent owing to artisanal gold mining, yet its effect on neonatal health is unkn ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleACS ES and T Engineering · August 11, 2023
Low-grade residuals such as mine wastes and combustion ash are potential sources of critical metals such as rare-earth elements (REEs). Major challenges in the efficient recovery of REEs are the matrix interferences in the waste extracts that impede subseq ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · August 2023
Liquid elemental mercury (Hg0L) pollution can remain in soils for decades and, over time, will undergo corrosion, a process in which the droplet surface oxidizes soil constituents to form more reactive phases, such as mercury oxide (H ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleEnvironmental science. Nano · July 2023
Coal combustion byproducts are known to be enriched in arsenic (As) and selenium (Se). This enrichment is a concern during the handling, disposal, and reuse of the ash as both elements can be harmful to wildlife and humans if mobilized into water and soils ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleACS ES and T Water · April 14, 2023
The release of leachates from intact coal ash impoundments is a concern due to the enrichment and mobilization of toxic elements such as arsenic (As) and selenium (Se). This study aims to explore the intrinsic properties of coal fly ash that correlate with ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleEnvironmental science. Processes & impacts · March 2023
At mercury (Hg)-contaminated sites, streambank erosion can act as a main mobilizer of Hg into nearby waterbodies. Once deposited into the waters, mercury from these soils can be transformed to MeHg by microorganisms. It is therefore important to understand ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleMinerals · September 1, 2022
Four suites of fly ash, all generated at the same power plant, were selected for the study of the distribution of rare earth elements (REE). The fly ashes represented two runs of single-seam/single-mine coals and two runs of run-of-mine coals representing ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleLancet regional health. Americas · August 2022
BackgroundStudies have shown elevated blood lead levels (BLL) in residents of remote communities in the Amazon, yet sources of lead exposure are not fully understood, such as lead ammunition consumed in wild game.MethodsData was collected ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleEnvironmental technology · March 2022
Micelle enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) is a surfactant-based membrane separation process that may be used to separate target ions from mixed metal aqueous solutions, such as leachates of coal ash and other geological wastewaters. The ability of MEUF to se ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleChemistry of Materials · February 22, 2022
Ligand exchange reactions are commonly employed to modify the surfaces of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs), yet multiple reaction pathways induced by the introduction of thiols to NCs have been proposed in the literature to occur independently of ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · February 2022
Mercury is a risk in aquatic ecosystems when the metal is converted to methylmercury (MeHg) and subsequently bioaccumulates in aquatic food webs. This risk can be difficult to manage because of the complexity of biogeochemical processes for mercury and the ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · January 2022
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are extensively used in consumer products and biomedical applications, thus guaranteeing both environmental and human exposures. Despite extensive research addressing AgNP safety, there are still major knowledge gaps regarding ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleNature communications · January 2022
Mercury emissions from artisanal and small-scale gold mining throughout the Global South exceed coal combustion as the largest global source of mercury. We examined mercury deposition and storage in an area of the Peruvian Amazon heavily impacted by artisa ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health · December 2021
Total mercury content (THg) in hair is an accepted biomarker for chronic dietary methylmercury (MeHg) exposure. In artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) communities, the validity of this biomarker is questioned because of the potential for contamina ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleFuel · October 1, 2021
The distribution of Rare Earth elements (REE) in coal-derived fly ashes can have distinctive patterns when fly ashes are produced from different coals within or between basins, such as the Pennsylvanian Class F fly ashes from the Illinois and Central Appal ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · August 2021
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are well-proven antimicrobial nanomaterials, yet little is elucidated regarding the mechanism underlying cytotoxicity induced by these nanoparticles. Here, we tested the hypothesis that mitochondria are primary intracellular ta ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleEnviron Sci Process Impacts · May 26, 2021
All cells produce extracellular vesicles (EVs). These biological packages contain complex mixtures of molecular cargo and have a variety of functions, including interkingdom communication. Recent discoveries highlight the roles microbial EVs may play in th ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · May 2021
Scandium (Sc) has great potential for use in aerospace and clean energy applications, but its supply is currently limited by a lack of commercially viable deposits and the environmental burden of its production. In this work, a biosorption-based flow-throu ...
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Journal ArticleFuel · April 1, 2021
This study examined rare earth element (REE) trends for Illinois Basin coal-sourced fly ashes, with the goal of understanding the elemental composition and resource potential for various fly ash fractions. Illinois Basin coals have a high volatile C throug ...
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Journal ArticleJournal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · February 2021
Human exposure to mercury is a leading public health problem. Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is a major source of global mercury emissions. Although occupational mercury exposure to miners (via mercury vapor inhalation) is known, chronic merc ...
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Journal ArticleAnn Glob Health · 2021
BACKGROUND: In-utero exposure to mercury and other trace metals pose a significant threat to child health and development, but exposures and health impacts in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) environments are poorly defined. OBJECTIVES: We desc ...
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Journal ArticleACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering · December 14, 2020
Coal byproducts could be a promising feedstock to alleviate the supply risk of critical rare earth elements (REEs) due to their abundance and REE content. Herein, we investigated the economic and environmental potential of producing REEs from coal fly ash ...
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Journal ArticleBiogeochemistry. · August 2020
Coal is naturally enriched in trace elements, including mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se). Alkaline mine drainage from mountaintop mining valley fill (MTM-VF)—the dominant form of surface coal mining in Appalachia, USA—releases large quantities of Se into str ...
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Journal ArticleAnnals of global health · August 2020
BackgroundIn Peru, anemia has been a persistent health problem that is known to lead to irreversible cognitive and developmental deficits in children. The Peruvian government has recently made anemia a primary health concern by passing legislation ...
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Journal ArticleInternational Journal of Coal Geology · July 1, 2020
Coal combustion ash and pre-combustion coal refuse are currently under consideration as potential sources of rare earth elements. One of the early steps in recovering REEs from coal by-products is often acid leaching, which can result in low pH leachates w ...
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Journal ArticleSeparation and Purification Technology · June 15, 2020
Coal byproducts represent an abundant and untapped potential source of critical rare earth elements (REEs). In this study, we tested the efficacy of a biosorption-based approach to recover REEs from leachate solutions derived from North Dakota lignite coal ...
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Journal ArticleAquatic toxicology (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · May 2020
Multiple mechanisms for plastic consumption by marine animals have been proposed based on the feeding cues and behavior of the animal studied. We investigated plastic consumption in sea anemones. We found that anemones readily consumed pristine National In ...
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Journal ArticleGeoHealth · May 2020
Children living near artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) are at risk of exposure to mercury, a neurotoxicant. It is not certain whether such exposures are harming development, as they occur in underresourced contexts entwined with other stressors, ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental research · April 2020
BackgroundMercury exposure related to artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has raised environmental and public health concerns globally. Exposure to mercury, a potent neurotoxin that bioaccumulates in fish, is especially of concern to wome ...
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Journal ArticleInternational Journal of Coal Geology · April 1, 2020
Coal ash is one of the largest industrial waste streams in the United States and contains elevated concentrations of hazardous elements that could pose environmental and human health risks. Due to the relatively high strontium concentrations in coal ash an ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · February 2020
Reliable predictions of the environmental fate and risk of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) require a better understanding of ENM reactivity in complex, biologically active systems for chronic low-concentration exposure scenarios. Here, simulated freshwater ...
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Journal ArticleChemico-biological interactions · January 2020
The extensive use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in manufactured products will inevitably increase environmental exposure, highlighting the importance of accurate toxicity assessments. A frequent strategy to estimate AgNP cytotoxicity is to use absorbance ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · January 2020
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is a significant contributor of mercury (Hg) contamination and deforestation across the globe. In the Colorado River watershed in Madre de Dios, Peru, mining and deforestation have increased exponentially since ...
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Journal ArticleEcotoxicology (London, England) · November 2019
Sites along the Elizabeth River are contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from historical creosote production and other industrial processes. Previous studies have demonstrated that Atlantic killifish collected from sites throughout the ...
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Journal ArticleJournal of hazardous materials · October 2019
Bioremediation is a sustainable treatment strategy which remains challenging to implement especially in heterogeneous environments such as soil and sediment. Herein, we present a novel precision bioremediation framework that integrates amplicon based metag ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · July 2019
The potential for inorganic mercury (Hg) to be converted to methylmercury depends, in part, on the chemical form of Hg and its bioavailability to anaerobic microorganisms that can methylate Hg. In anaerobic settings, Hg can be associated with sulfide phase ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · April 2019
Coal combustion residues and other geological waste materials have been proposed as a resource for rare earth elements (REEs, herein defined as the 14 stable lanthanides, yttrium, and scandium). The extraction of REEs from residues often generate acidified ...
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Journal ArticleMinerals · April 1, 2019
Fly ash from the combustion of eastern Kentucky Fire Clay coal in a southeastern United States pulverized-coal power plant was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SA ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental and molecular mutagenesis · March 2019
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number (CN) and damage in circulating white blood cells have been proposed as effect biomarkers for pollutant exposures. Studies have shown that mercury accumulates in mitochondria and affects mitochondrial function and integ ...
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Journal ArticleInt J Environ Res Public Health · February 21, 2019
Background: Poor nutritional status combined with mercury exposure can generate adverse child health outcomes. Diet is a mediator of mercury exposure and evidence suggests that nutritional status modifies aspects of mercury toxicity. However, health impact ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental Science: Nano · January 1, 2019
Complex subsurface contamination domains and limited efficacy of existing treatment approaches pose significant challenges to site remediation and underscore the need for technological innovation to develop cost-effective remedies. Here, we discuss opportu ...
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Conference36th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference: Clean Coal-Based Energy/Fuels and the Environment, PCC 2019 · January 1, 2019
• Extraction from coal ash: Produces a highly heterogeneous liquid feedstock (impurities of Al, Si, Fe, Ca) • REE separations via supported liquid membranes: o 103- to 105-fold selectivity for REEs o preference for heavy REEs • Product purity depends on Fe ...
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Journal ArticleChemical Engineering Journal · October 1, 2018
This work evaluated nanofiltration (NF) as a potential step in the recovery process of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) from leachates of coal combustion fly ashes. A pre-treatment step, by pH adjustment and microfiltration (MF), has been studied to separate REE ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science. Processes & impacts · October 2018
Coal combustion ash is a promising alternative source of rare earth elements (REE; herein defined as the 14 stable lanthanides, yttrium, and scandium). Efforts to extract REE from coal ash will depend heavily on the location and speciation of these element ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · September 2018
Trace metals associated with nanoparticles are known to possess reactivities that are different from their larger-size counterparts. However, the relative importance of small relative to large particles for the overall distribution and biouptake of these m ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · September 2018
Mercury is a global pollutant released into the biosphere by varied human activities including coal combustion, mining, artisanal gold mining, cement production, and chemical production. Once released to air, land and water, the addition of carbon atoms to ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · August 2018
Mercury-contaminated sediment and water contain various Hg species, with a small fraction available for microbial conversion to the bioaccumulative neurotoxin monomethylmercury (MeHg). Quantification of this available Hg pool is needed to prioritize sites ...
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Journal ArticleInternational Journal of Coal Geology · August 1, 2018
Coal fly ash is a promising alternative source for rare earth elements (REE), which are critical materials in many technologies. REEs are entrained in the aluminosilicate glass of the fly ash particles, hindering their ability to solubilize during acid lea ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental engineering science · July 2018
The chemical composition of coal ash is highly heterogeneous and dependent on the origin of the source coal, combustion parameters, and type and configuration of air pollution control devices. This heterogeneity results in uncertainty in the evaluation of ...
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Journal ArticleInternational Journal of Coal Geology · July 1, 2018
The recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) from coal combustion fly ash has recently gained attention as a possible beneficial reuse application that could provide an alternative, low-grade source of REEs in an unstable global supply market. To economicall ...
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Journal ArticleInternational Journal of Coal Geology · March 15, 2018
The Kentucky State University heating plant stoker ash, with over 1000 μg/g Rare earth elements + yttrium (REY), was previously shown to be more resistant to acid-extraction than pulverized-coal fly ashes of similar bulk composition. In this study, the pet ...
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Journal ArticleAmbio · March 2018
The environmental cycling of mercury (Hg) can be affected by natural and anthropogenic perturbations. Of particular concern is how these disruptions increase mobilization of Hg from sites and alter the formation of monomethylmercury (MeHg), a bioaccumulati ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · February 2018
Petroleum, natural gas, and natural gas condensate can contain low levels of mercury (Hg). The speciation of Hg can affect its behavior during processing, transport, and storage so efficient and safe management of Hg requires an understanding of its chemic ...
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Journal ArticleWater research · January 2018
The increasing occurrence of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) in the environment is raising questions about its potential environmental health impacts as it has been shown to cause various deleterious effects in humans. The fact that the highest concentration ...
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Journal ArticleElementa · January 1, 2018
The largest source of global mercury (Hg) anthropogenic inputs to the environment is derived from artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) activities in developing countries. While our understanding of global Hg emissions from ASGM is growing, there is ...
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Journal ArticleThe American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · December 2017
Anemia has been widely studied in global health contexts because of severe nutritional deficiency, and more recently, inflammatory status, but chemical exposures are rarely considered. Until recently, "anemia" was used synonymously with "iron deficiency an ...
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Journal ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health · December 2017
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is a primary contributor to global mercury and its rapid expansion raises concern for human exposure. Non-occupational exposure risks are presumed to be strongly tied to environmental contamination; however, the ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · February 2017
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The toxicity of soluble metal-based nanomaterials may be due to the uptake of metals in both dissolved and nanoparticulate forms, but the relative contributions of these different forms to overall metal uptake rates under environmental conditions are not q ...
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Journal ArticleFuel · January 1, 2017
The feed coal and corresponding ash from a series of stoker boilers burning Pennsylvania anthracite were investigated for their petrographic and chemical characteristics. The coals have low-S and moderate-ash contents with similar major oxide and minor ele ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science. Processes & impacts · November 2016
Featured Publication
Mercury (Hg) associated with coal ash is an environmental concern, particularly if the release of coal ash to the environment is associated with the conversion of inorganic Hg to methylmercury (MeHg), a bioaccumulative form of Hg that is produced by anaero ...
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Journal ArticleNanotoxicology · September 2016
We used the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to study the roles of endocytosis and lysosomal function in uptake and subsequent toxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) in vivo. To focus on AgNP uptake and effects rather than silver ion (AgNO3) effects, we us ...
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Journal ArticleSci Total Environ · August 15, 2016
Potosí, Bolivia, is the site of centuries of historic and present-day mining of the Cerro Rico, a mountain known for its rich polymetallic deposits, and was the site of large-scale Colonial era silver refining operations. In this study, the concentrations ...
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Journal ArticleEcotoxicology (London, England) · August 2016
The influence of salinity on Ag toxicity was investigated in Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) early life-stages. Embryo mortality was significantly reduced as salinity increased and Ag(+) was converted to AgCl(solid). However, as salinity continu ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · June 2016
Featured Publication
Rare earth elements (REEs) are critical and strategic materials in the defense, energy, electronics, and automotive industries. The reclamation of REEs from coal combustion fly ash has been proposed as a way to supplement REE mining. However, the typical R ...
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Journal ArticleApplied Geochemistry · April 1, 2016
Featured Publication
The unintended release of coal ash to the environment is a concern due to the enrichment of contaminants such as arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) in this solid waste material. Current risk assessments of coal ash disposal focus on pH as the primary driver of ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · April 2016
Mercury (Hg) occurs as a myriad of species in environmental media, each with different physicochemical properties. The influence of Hg speciation on its transport in unsaturated soils is not well studied. Transport of four Hg species (dissolved inorganic H ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · March 2016
The relationship between mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) toxicity is complex, with coexposure reported to reduce, increase, and have no effect on toxicity. Different interactions may be related to chemical compound, but this has not been systematically exam ...
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Journal ArticleWater Resources Research Institute News of the University of North Carolina · March 1, 2016
Coal combustion residuals (CCRs) released by permitted effluent streams partition to sediments and sediment pore waters where they accumulate to enriched levels in organisms at the base of the food chain. The objectives of this study were (1) to measure CC ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science. Processes & impacts · February 2016
Mercury (Hg) is present in a variety of solid wastes including industrial wastes, household products, consumer electronics, and medical wastes, some of which can be disposed in conventional landfills. The presence of this neurotoxic metal in landfills is a ...
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Journal ArticleEnergy and Fuels · November 19, 2015
Fly ash was investigated with a variety of chemical, mineralogical, petrographic, and microbeam techniques from three coal-fired units at two Kentucky power plants. Two units burn high-sulfur Illinois Basin high volatile bituminous (hvb) coal, and the thir ...
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Journal ArticleChemosphere · November 2015
In the United States, aquatic mercury contamination originates from point and non-point sources to watersheds. Here, we studied the contribution of mercury in urban runoff derived from historically contaminated soils and the subsequent production of methyl ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · November 2015
Diffusive gradient in thin-film (DGT) passive samplers are frequently used to monitor the concentrations of metals such as mercury and zinc in sediments and other aquatic environments. The application of these samplers generally presumes that they quantify ...
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ConferenceEnvironmental science & technology · October 2015
The dissolution of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) is a key step of controlling their environmental fate, bioavailability, and toxicity. Rates of dissolution often depend upon factors such as interactions of NPs with natural organic matter (NOM). We e ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science. Processes & impacts · September 2015
Monomethylmercury (MeHg) is produced in many aquatic environments by anaerobic microorganisms that take up and methylate inorganic forms of Hg(II). Net methylation of Hg(II) appears to be correlated with factors that affect the activity of the anaerobic mi ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · September 2015
The distribution and enrichment of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) in coal combustion residuals (CCRs) from different coal source basins have not been fully characterized in the United States. Here we provide a systematic analysis of the o ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental engineering science · July 2015
Bioaccumulation of methylmercury in the aquatic food web is governed in part by the methylation of inorganic divalent mercury (Hg(II)) by anaerobic microorganisms. In sulfidic settings, a small fraction of total Hg(II) is typically bioavailable to methylat ...
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Journal ArticleEnviron Geochem Health · June 2015
Between 1564 and 1810, nearly 17,000 metric tons of mercury (Hg) vapor was released to the environment during cinnabar refining in the small town of Huancavelica, Peru. The present study characterizes individual exposure to mercury using total and speciate ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental geochemistry and health · April 2015
Huancavelica, Peru, a historic cinnabar refining site, is one of the most mercury (Hg)-contaminated urban areas in the world. Exposure is amplified because residents build their adobe brick homes from contaminated soil. The objectives of this study were to ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science. Processes & impacts · February 2015
Featured Publication
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is a major contributor to deforestation and the largest anthropogenic source of atmospheric mercury worldwide. Despite significant information on the direct health impacts of mercury to ASGM miners, the impact o ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · December 2014
In the U.S., coal fired power plants produce over 136 million tons of coal combustion residuals (CCRs) annually. CCRs are enriched in toxic elements, and their leachates can have significant impacts on water quality. Here we report the boron and strontium ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science. Processes & impacts · November 2014
The wide use of metal-based nanomaterials such as zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) has generated concerns regarding their environmental and health risks. For ZnO NPs, their toxicity in aquatic systems often depends on the release of dissolved zinc spec ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · August 2014
The production of methylmercury (MeHg) by anaerobic microorganisms depends in part on the speciation and bioavailability of inorganic mercury to these organisms. Our previous work with pure cultures of methylating bacteria has demonstrated that the methyla ...
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Journal ArticleEcotoxicology (London, England) · July 2014
A major contaminant of concern for mountaintop removal/valley fill (MTR/VF) coal mining is selenium (Se), an essential micronutrient that can be toxic to fish. Creek chubs (Semotilus atromaculatus), green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus), and composite insect s ...
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Journal ArticleGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · May 15, 2014
Mercuric sulfide species are likely the predominant forms of mercury (Hg) in anoxic environments where the bioavailability of Hg is a key factor for the production of methylmercury (MeHg) by microorganisms. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is known to affect ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · March 2014
Significant progress has been made in understanding the toxicity of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) under carefully controlled laboratory conditions. Natural organic matter (NOM) is omnipresent in complex environmental systems, where it may alter the behavio ...
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Journal ArticleJournal of hazardous materials · January 2014
Mercury emissions from coal combustion have become a global concern as growing energy demands have increased the consumption of coal. The effective implementation of treatment technologies requires knowledge of mercury speciation in the flue gas, namely co ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · December 2013
Selenium (Se) in coal ash spills poses a threat to adjacent ecosystems because of its potential to mobilize and bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms. Given that the mobility and bioavailability of Se is controlled by its valence states, we aimed to define Se ...
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Journal ArticleEnviron Sci Technol · March 19, 2013
Featured Publication
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin for humans, particularly if the metal is in the form of methylmercury. Mercury is widely distributed in aquatic ecosystems as a result of anthropogenic activities and natural earth processes. A first step toward bioaccumulati ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · February 2013
The Tennessee Valley Authority Kingston coal ash spill in December 2008 deposited approximately 4.1 million m(3) of fly ash and bottom ash into the Emory and Clinch River system (Harriman, Tennessee, U.S.A.). The objective of this study was to investigate ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · February 2013
Mercury stable isotope abundances were used to trace transport of Hg-impacted river sediment near a coal ash spill at Harriman, Tennessee, USA. δ(202)Hg values for Kingston coal ash released into the Emory River in 2008 are significantly negative (-1.78 ± ...
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Journal ArticlePLoS One · 2013
This is the first study of adobe brick contamination anywhere in the world. Huancavelica, Peru is the site of historic cinnabar refining and one of the most mercury (Hg) contaminated urban areas in the world. Over 80% of homes in Huancavelica are construct ...
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Journal ArticleSci Total Environ · June 1, 2012
Detailed Spanish records of cinnabar mining and mercury production during the colonial period in Huancavelica, Peru were examined to estimate historical health risks to the community from exposure to elemental mercury (Hg) vapor resulting from cinnabar ref ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · April 2012
Transformations and long-term fate of engineered nanomaterials must be measured in realistic complex natural systems to accurately assess the risks that they may pose. Here, we determine the long-term behavior of poly(vinylpyrrolidone)-coated silver nanopa ...
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Journal ArticleAtmospheric Environment · January 1, 2011
Detailed Spanish records of mercury use and silver production during the colonial period in Potosí, Bolivia were evaluated to estimate atmospheric emissions of mercury from silver smelting. Mercury was used in the silver production process in Potosí and ne ...
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Journal ArticleAtmospheric Environment · November 2010
Detailed Spanish records of mercury use and silver production during the colonial period in Potosí, Bolivia were evaluated to estimate atmospheric emissions of mercury from silver smelting. Mercury was used in the silver production process in Potosí and ne ...
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Journal ArticleEnviron Sci & Technol · November 2010
A year and a half investigation of the environmental impacts of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) coal ash spill in Kingston, Tennessee has revealed that leachable coal ash contaminants (LCACs), particularly arsenic, selenium, boron, strontium, and bari ...
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Journal ArticleEnviron Sci Technol · August 15, 2009
An investigation of the potential environmental and health impacts in the immediate aftermath of one of the largest coal ash spills in U.S. history at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston coal-burning power plant has revealed three major findings. ...
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Journal ArticleProceedings - Frontiers in Education Conference, FIE · December 1, 2008
The existing gender disparities in the sciences, especially in the field of engineering, underscore the need for outreach programs to engage young women in such areas. Many programs exist for high school students, but girls may be turned away from engineer ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · June 2005
Municipal wastewater effluent contains ligands that form Hg(II) complexes that are inert in the presence of glutathione (GSH) during competitive ligand exchange experiments. In this study, the strong ligands in wastewater effluent were further characterize ...
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Journal ArticleEnvironmental science & technology · June 2003
The speciation of mercury(II) in the aquatic environment is greatly affected by the presence of ligands capable of forming extremely strong complexes with Hg(II). In this study, a novel competitive ligand exchange (CLE) technique was used to characterize H ...
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