Cd and Pb concentrations were measured in water, sediment and plant organs collected from selective sites located along the Bogdanka river (Poznań, Poland) in the 2012 growing season. The aim of the investigations was to monitor changes in heavy metal (HM) concentrations in different media over the periods, as well as to evaluate potential of two littoral plants, Phragmites australis and Typha angustifolia, for phytoremediation under natural conditions. Investigations revealed differences in HM concentrations in water and sediments. Higher values were observed in sediments than in water. The decrease in concentrations of both HMs in sediments was noted in two of the three selected water reservoirs during growing seasons, which suggests the possibility of their adsorption and accumulation by aquatic plants. Both investigated plant species accumulated ample amount of Cd and Pb in underground and aboveground plant tissues, however T. angustifolia revealed higher Cd translocation potential than P. australis. The latter revealed higher Pb accumulation in two lakes. Moreover, the translocation ratio was usually higher in spring, especially for Pb, in both plant species. Increasing level of pollution load index in sediment along the Bogdanka watercourse indicates accumulation of measured HMs.

This study investigates cadmium (Cd) accumulation in the plant leaves of juglans regia (walnut) and cydonia oblanga (quince) trees related to traffic emissions on the highway roadside. The plant leaf samples were collected from 20 sites on the D-100 Highway roadside and washed with deionized water before analyzed. Determination of Cd was carried out using an inductively-coupled plasma-mass spectrometer after microwave digestion of the samples. Cd concentration on the plant leaves was found to be between 0.04–0.11 mg/kg. In order to determine the traffic-based emissions, vehicles were counted and an emission inventory was prepared. 0.18 tons of Cd was found to be delivered into the atmosphere every day. Cd accumulation depends on traffic density because there were no residential area and industrial plants. The distribution of Cd accumulation caused by traffic emissions was mapped by using a geographic information system (GIS). The maps showed that the Cd accumulation was high in the areas near the highway and then gradually decreased by moving away from the highway.

The purpose of the investigation was to assess the suitability of sewage sludge, brown coal and a

mix of sewage sludge and brown coal to be used for fertilizing a light soil with an increased content of lead (I0

)

and slightly contaminated with cadmium (II0

). The subject of tests were soil and plant samples taken from a pot

experiment conducted during the years 2007-2009. The tests determined the effect of the type of fertilization

on the pH and sorption properties of the soil, the contents of heavy metals in the soil and in the plants, and the

volume of crops. The fertilization types applied had an effect of slightly increasing the soil pH. The application

of sewage sludge, brown coal and the mix of sewage sludge with brown coal to the soil resulted in an improvement of the sorption properties of the soil. In the soil treated with sewage sludge and the mix of sewage sludge

with brown coal, an increase in the contents of Cd, Zn and Pb was found. This increase was, however, small and

did not change the degree of soil contamination with heavy metals. In the above-ground parts of plants fertilized

with brown coal the concentration of heavy metals was lower than in biomass from plants cultivated on the

control combination. The application of sewage sludge and the mix of sewage sludge with brown coal generally resulted also in a reduction of metal contents in the above-ground parts of the plants. This was the effect of

enriching the soil with an organic substance that improves the sorption properties. From among the fertilization

combinations tested, the application of either sewage sludge or the mix of sewage sludge with brown coal had

the most favourable effect on the crop volume. It resulted in a twofold increase in the yield compared to the

control combination.

The aim of this work was to determine the effect of various cadmium and copper concentrations on

the activated sludge dehydrogenase activity. The investigations were carried out in six aerated chambers with

activated sludge, volume of 1L each, by the continuous culture method (one control chamber, not contaminated

with heavy metals and five with 0.5; 1; 2; 4; 8 mg L-1 Cu+2 and 0.1; 0.3; 0.9; 2.7; 8.1 mg L-1 Cd2+). Cadmium

sulfate and copper sulfate as a source of heavy metals were used. The concentrations of these metal ions, causing

50% dehydrogenase activity inhibition were determined. The particular attention was paid to the toxic effect of

metal ions, as well as the variations of the microbial respiration activity proceeded during toxins exposition. The

investigation showed that even the lowest concentration of the investigated metal ions caused significant changes of the activated sludge dehydrogenases activity. Copper ions showed to be more toxic than cadmium ions.

This work reports on cadmium and lead contaminations in the edible snail Helix pomatia harvested in Poland. One hundred and 24 samples of Helix pomatia meat collected from seven provinces (voivodeships) of Poland were analyzed for their trace metal levels by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). The research was conducted in 2 stages. The 1st stage analyzed snail meat prior to any further technological treatment (raw meat). In the 2nd stage, the trace element levels were measured in meat subjected to technological treatment (processed meat). The trace element contents in raw meat samples ranged from 0.06 mg kg-1 to 0.22 mg kg-1 for Cd and from 0.06 mg kg-1 to 0.18 mg kg-1 for Pb. The analyses revealed an increase in the cad- mium content from 0.12 mg kg-1 to 0.18 mg kg-1 in thermally treated snail meat and no changes in lead concentration during the two-stage heat treatment. Regulation (EC) 1881/2006 does not specify the Cd and Pb residue limits in meat of terrestrial edible snails. The limits are set for in- vertebrate aquatic organisms meat (i.e. shellfish, mollusc, cephalopod) and range from 0.5 mg/kg to 1.5 mg/kg of tissue fresh weight for Pb and from 0.5 mg kg -1 to 1 mg kg-1 for Cd (EU Commis- sion 2006). The results demonstrate that the land snail Helix pomatia has a tendency to bioaccu- mulate trace elements, and the cooking process is likely to affect (increase) the Cd content in the snail meat.

Heavy metals like cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are pollutants that are toxic, difficult to decompose and accumulate in biota. One of the biota that lives in the waters is mullet fish. This fish is demersal, has a relatively long life period, has a specific tolerance to the aquatic environment and highly consumable in Indonesia. Therefore need to know the metal content of Cd and Pb in water, sediments and mullet fish and their relationship in Indonesia. The study used a survey method with purposive random sampling at four stations, three replications. The study was conducted from June to November 2019. Analysis of data was descriptive, F-test and correlation. The results showed that the heavy metal content of Cd and Pb between stations in the water media, sediment and in mullet fish there was a significant difference. The highest Cd and Pb were showed in station III, coming from the oil industry, domestic waste and transportation activities. The heavy metal content of Cd and Pb in water, sediment and mullet fish (Planiliza subviridis) in the Donan River, Cilacap shows results exceeding the allowed threshold and danger to human health.

The phytoextraction is a process that uses living plants for cleaning up the heavy metals from contaminated soil. The cadmium and lead contamination of soils results from the application of sludge or urban composts, fertilizers, pesticides, motorization, metallurgy, and different technological processes. In industrial terrain the content of cadmium and lead in soils has increased in the recent years. This study was undertaken to evaluate the potential of Amaranthus caudatus L. ‘Atropurpureus’ and Ricinus communis L. ‘Sanguineus Apache’ for phytoextraction of cadmium and lead. Two species of ornament plants, i.e. Amaranthus caudatus L. ‘Atropurpureus’ and Ricinus communis L. ‘Sanguineus Apache’, were planted in drainless containers in a substrate artificially polluted with cadmium and lead in order to evaluate their suitability for phytoremediation of soils or substrates contaminated with these metals. Cadmium was applied at increasing rates of 0, 1, 5 and 10 mg Cd∙dm-3 in the form of cadmium sulfate 3CdSO4∙8H2O, while lead was used at 0, 100, 500 and 1000 mg Pb∙dm-3 in the form of lead acetate (CH3COO)2Pb∙3H2O. The applied doses of cadmium and lead in the experiment reflected different degrees of soil pollution. After five months of growth it was found that Amaranthus caudatus L. accumulated the biggest concentrations of cadmium and lead in leaves and the lowest concentrations in inflorescences. Ricinus communis L. accumulated the highest concentrations of cadmium in stems, while the lowest concentrations in inflorescences, whereas the biggest concentration of lead was accumulated in inflorescences and the least lead was accumulated in leaves. The biggest reduction of cadmium and lead concentrations after the completion of the experiment was found in substrates, in which Amaranthus caudatus L. was grown. The tested species of ornamental plants may be used in the phytoextraction of cadmium and lead from soils contaminated.

Water mint (Mentha aquatica L.) belongs to the arsenic tolerant plant species suitable for cultivation

in Central European climate conditions. Therefore, its possible application for remediation of contaminated soil

was investigated in pot and field experiments. Two M. aquatica plants of different origin, i) commercially market-available mint plants, and ii) plants habituated at the arsenic contaminated former mining area in southern

Tuscany (Italy) were tested for their arsenic uptake, transformation, and speciation. The total arsenic concentrations in the experimental soils varied from 21 to 1573 mg As kg-1, the mobile fractions did not exceed 2% of total

soil arsenic. The mint plants originating from the contaminated area were able to remove ~400 µg of arsenic

per pot, whereas the commercial plant removed a significantly lower amount (~300 µg of arsenic per pot). Only

arsenite and arsenate, but no organoarsenic compounds were identified in both stems and leaves. Arsenate was

the predominant arsenic compound and reached up to 80% regardless of the origin of the mint plants. Although

M. aquatica seems to be able to grow in contaminated soils without symptoms of phytotoxicity, its efficiency to

remove arsenic from the soil is limited as can be demonstrated by total elimination of As from individual pots

not exceeding 0.1%. Moreover, the application of plants originating from the contaminated site did not result in

sufficient increase of potential phytoextraction efficiency of M. aquatica. Although not suitable for phytoextraction the M. aquatica plants can be used as vegetation cover of the contaminated soil at the former mining areas

It has long been observed that toxic heavy metals at different concentrations can induce root hair development in plants. In oilseed rape we studied ethylene levels and root hair initiation under Cd2+ stress. Growth of the primary root was inhibited but close to root tips the development of subapical root hairs was significantly stimulated by Cd2+ at 30 μM. Versus the control, the distance between the root tip and the root hair zone and the length of the epidermal cell in the elongation zone were significantly reduced by Cd2+ at the same concentration. Exogenous application of Cd2+ and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) to roots had similar effects on subapical root hair development. Hair density increase and hair elongation in the presence of Cd2+ were reduced by the ethylene inhibitors CoCl2 at 15 μM and aminooxyacetic acid (AOA) at 10 μM. Exposing roots to Cd2+ caused a rapid increase in superoxide radical (O2 ·-) production in the root hair differentiation zone, and at the tips of emerging and newly formed root hairs. Cd2+-induced O2 ·- production at the growing hair tips was blocked in the presence of AOA. Our findings suggest that Cd2+-induced ethylene signaling may act upstream of O2 ·-. Cd2+ promotion of O2 ·- production may operate through an ethylene signaling pathway, and O2 ·- itself may stimulate root hair elongation.

Sludge from cardboard mill is most commonly landfilled, but it could also be recycled on-site into production or reused in some other way. In this study the use of sludge from cardboard mill as stabilizing agent in the stabilization treatment of cadmium polluted sediment was examined. The effectiveness of treatment and long-term leaching behavior of cadmium was evaluated by determining the cumulative percentage of cadmium leached, diffusion coefficients (De) and by applying different leaching tests (semi-dynamic test, toxicity characteristic leaching procedure, waste extraction test). In order to simulate the “worst case” leaching conditions, the semi-dynamic leaching test was modified using 0.014 M acetic acid (pH = 3.25) and humic acids solution (20 mg l-1 TOC) as leachants instead of deionized water. A diffusion-based model was used to elucidate the controlling leaching mechanisms. Applied treatment was effective in immobilizing cadmium irrespective of high availability in the untreated sample. The controlling leaching mechanism appeared to be diffusion, which indicates that a slow leaching of cadmium could be expected when the cardboard mill sludge as stabilization agent is applied.

The presented article is a report on progress in photovoltaic devices and material processing. A cadmium telluride solar cell as one of the most attractive option for thin-film polycrystalline cell constructions is presented. All typical manufacturing steps of this device, including recrystalisation and junction activation are explained. A new potential field of application for this kind of device - the BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaic) is named and discussed. All possible configuration options for this application, according to material properties and exploitation demands are considered. The experimental part of the presented paper is focused on practical implementation of the high- temperature polymer foil as the substrate of the newly designed device by the help of ICSVT (Isothermal Close Space Vapour Transport) technique. The evaluation of the polyester and polyamide foils according to the ICSVT/CSS manufacturing process parameters is described and discussed. A final conclusion on practical verification of these materials is also given.

Allium cepa var. agrogarum L. seedlings grown in nutrient solution were subjected to increasing concentrations of Cd2+ (0, 1, 10, 100 μM). Variation in tolerance to cadmium toxicity was studied based on chromosome aberrations, nucleoli structure and reconstruction of root tip cells, Cd accumulation and mineral metabolism, lipid peroxidation, and changes in the antioxidative defense system (SOD, CAT, POD) in leaves and roots of the seedlings. Cd induced chromosome aberrations including C-mitoses, chromosome bridges, chromosome fragments and chromosome stickiness. Cd induced the production of some particles of argyrophilic proteins scattered in the nuclei and even extruded from the nucleoli into the cytoplasm after a high Cd concentration or prolonged Cd stress, and nucleolar reconstruction was inhibited. In Cd2+-treated Allium cepa var. agrogarum plants the metal was largely restricted to the roots; very little of it was transported to aerial parts. Adding Cd2+ to the nutrient solution affected mineral metabolism. For example, at 100 μM Cd it reduced the levels of Mn, Cu and Zn in roots, bulbs and leaves. Malondialdehyde content in roots and leaves increased with treatment time and increased concentration of Cd. Antioxidant enzymes appear to play a key role in resistance to Cd under stress conditions.