SEGH Articles

29th International Conference on Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Report from Toulouse

08 September 2013


The 29th International Conference on Environmental Geochemistry and Health was held in Toulouse from July 8th to 12th 2013. More than 160 scientists from 36 countries attended the conference and presented their work to their colleagues. Moreover more than 90 new SEGH members were made during the week. Prestigious keynote speakers such as J. Nriagu, M. Cave, A. Kappler and R. Mason contributed to the high level of the conference, most of them participating actively in our three special sessions dedicated to arsenic in the Environment, mercury biogeochemistry and metal bioaccessibility. Springer and the SEGH awarded several students for their outstanding oral and poster presentation. Follow them soon on the SEGH website to (re-) discover their work!


The social events like the icebreaker, the typical South West banquet diner, the student off events and two exciting excursions in the Pyrénées Mountains completed the French tableau for a full experience and a successful conference.

We would like to thank once again all the wonderful people who helped us realising this conference as well as the delegates whom travelled from all around the world to share with us their new discoveries.

"Follow the Toulouse SEGH members on their facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/PastEnvironmentToulouse

See you in 2014 in Newcastle!

Picture 1: Listening to keynote J. Nriagu’s keynote on the Green Revolution

Picture 2: enjoying an animated outdoor poster session

Picture 3: The conference diner: foie gras and jazz !

 By F. De Vleeschouwer

Photos by N. Markovic

 

 

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Latest on-line papers from the SEGH journal: Environmental Geochemistry and Health

  • Improving arsenopyrite oxidation rate laws: implications for arsenic mobilization during aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) 2018-04-25

    Abstract

    Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) and aquifer recharge (AR) provide technical solutions to address water supply deficits and growing future water demands. Unfortunately, the mobilization of naturally present arsenic due to ASR/AR operations has undermined its application on a larger scale. Predicting arsenic mobility in the subsurface during ASR/AR is further complicated by site-specific factors, including the arsenic mobilization mechanisms, groundwater flow conditions, and multi-phase geochemical interactions. In order to ensure safe and sustainable ASR/AR operation, a better understanding of these factors is needed. The current study thus aims to better characterize and model arsenic remobilization at ASR/AR sites by compiling and analyzing available kinetic data on arsenic mobilization from arsenopyrite under different aqueous conditions. More robust and widely applicable rate laws are developed for geochemical conditions relevant to ASR/AR. Sensitivity analysis of these new rate laws gives further insight into the controlling geochemical factors for arsenic mobilization. When improved rate laws are incorporated as the inputs for reactive transport modeling, arsenic mobilization in ASR/AR operations can be predicted with an improved accuracy. The outcomes will be used to guide groundwater monitoring and specify ASR/AR operational parameters, including water pretreatment requirements prior to injection.

  • Heavy metal exposure has adverse effects on the growth and development of preschool children 2018-04-25

    Abstract

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between levels of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and manganese (Mn) in the PM2.5 and blood and physical growth, and development parameters including birth length and weight, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), head circumference, and chest circumference in preschool children from Guiyu (e-waste exposure area) and Haojiang (the reference area). A total of 470 preschool children from Guiyu and Haojiang located in southeast coast of China were recruited and required to undergo physical examination and blood tests during the study period. Birth length and weight were obtained by birth records and questionnaire. Pb and Cd in both PM2.5 and blood were significantly higher in Guiyu than Haojiang. Remarkably, the children of Guiyu had significantly lower birth weight and length, BMI, and chest circumference when compare to their peers from the reference area (all p value < 0.05). Spearman correlation analyses showed that blood Pb was negatively correlated with height (r = −0.130, p < 0.001), weight (r = −0.169, p < 0.001), BMI (r = −0.100, p < 0.05), head circumference (r = −0.095, p < 0.05), and chest circumference (r = −0.112, p < 0.05). After adjustment for the potential confounders in further linear regression analyses, blood Pb was negatively associated with height (β = −0.066, p < 0.05), weight (β = −0.119, p < 0.001), head circumference (β = −0.123, p < 0.01), and chest circumference (β = −0.104, p < 0.05), respectively. No significant association between blood Cd, Cr, or Mn was found with any of our developmental outcomes. Taken together, lead exposure limits or delays the growth and development of preschool children.

  • Contamination characteristics of trace metals in dust from different levels of roads of a heavily air-polluted city in north China 2018-04-24

    Abstract

    Concentrations of eight trace metals (TMs) in road dust (RD) (particles < 25 μm) from urban areas of Xinxiang, China, were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The geometric mean concentrations of Zn, Mn, Pb, As, Cu, Cr, Ni and Cd were 489, 350, 114, 101, 60.0, 39.7, 31.6, and 5.1 mg kg−1, respectively. When compared with TM levels in background soil, the samples generally display elevated TM concentrations, except for Cr and Mn, and for Cd the enrichment value was 69.6. Spatial variations indicated TMs in RD from park path would have similar sources with main roads, collector streets and bypasses. Average daily exposure doses of the studied TMs were about three orders of magnitude higher for hand-to-mouth ingestion than dermal contact, and the exposure doses for children were 9.33 times higher than that for adults. The decreasing trend of calculated hazard indexes (HI) for the eight elements was As > Pb > Cr > Mn > Cd > Zn > Ni > Cu for both children and adults.