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The Zha Long Wetland, the first water bird conservation area in China, lies on the northern bank of the Song Nen Plain with an area of 2,100 km(2). In many areas of the Zha Long Wetland, water pollution has led to a decrease in the wetland's ecological function, vegetation degradation, a decrease in the number of bird species, and the depletion of fish resources.The sediments used in this study were collected from the surface sediment of seven sites and from different depths in three types of marshes in the Zha Long Wetland in northeast China in late October 2006. The levels and distribution patterns of 17 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs; α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, δ-HCH, p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDT, endosulfan I, endosulfan II, endosulfan sulfate, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, endrin aldehyde, and methoxychlor) in surface sediments as well as hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) in vertical sediments were investigated.The concentrations of HCHs, DDTs, endosulfans, heptachlors, aldrin, and methoxychlor in surface sediments ranged from 10.44 to 41.97 ng/g, nd (undetectable levels) to 211.88 ng/g, nd to 69.89 ng/g, nd to 28.10 ng/g, 9.81 to 623.83 ng/g, and from nd to 3.99 ng/g, respectively. The highest levels of OCPs were detected in Tangtugangzi at a total concentration of 727.72 ng/g, where the dominant compound was endrin at a concentration of 483.04 ng/g. In the vertical sediments, the HCHs and DDTs were in the ranges of nd-136.00 and nd-214.06 ng/g, respectively.Different distributions of HCHs, DDTs, and other OCPs indicated that they originated from different contamination sources. Composition analyses in surface sediments indicated recent OCP usage or discharge at some sample sites in the Zha Long Wetland.

Recently, a new type of organic pollution derived from pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) is gradually on the rise. Wastewater treatment to remove PPCPs was investigated using an aerobic granular sludge sequencing bioreactor (GSBR). After optimization of influent organic load, hydraulic shear stress, sludge settling time, etc., aerobic granular sludge was analyzed for its physiological and biochemical characteristics and tested for its efficacy to remove PPCPs wastewater. The granular sludge effectively removed some but not all of the PPCPs tested; removal correlated with the microbial profiles in the granules, as assessed using Solexa sequencing technology. Sequencing revealed the presence of five phylogenetic groups: Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Betaproteobacteria, an unclassified genus, and Zoogloea. The results demonstrated changes in the microbial profiles with time in response to the presence of PPCPs. The effects of PPCPs on microbial communities in granular sludge process are discussed.

A bench scale study was performed to assess the effectiveness of the solidification of chromite ore processing residue (COPR) by blast furnace slag and calcium hydroxide, and investigate the enhancement effect of pre-reduction using zero-valent iron (ZVI) on the solidification treatment. The degree of Cr immobilization was evaluated using the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) as well as the solid waste-extraction procedure for leaching toxicity–sulfuric acid & nitric acid method (Chinese standard HJ/T299-2007). Strength tests and semi-dynamic leaching tests were implemented to investigate the potential for reusing the final treatment product as a readily available construction material. The experimental results showed that the performance of pre-reduction/solidification (S/S) was superior to that of solidification alone. After pre-reduction, all of the S/S treated COPR samples met the TCLP limit for total Cr (5 mg L −1 ), whereas the samples with a COPR content below 40% met the pollution control limit of bricks and building block products (Chinese standard HJ/T 301-2007) produced with COPR for total Cr (0.3 mg L −1 ). At the same time, all of the S/S treated specimens tested were suitable for utilization at certain levels.

In this paper, the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in biota (reed, grass, mussel, fish, and red-crowned crane) and sediments collected from seven locations in the Zha Long Wetland. PAHs were recovered from the sediments and biota by ultrasonic extraction and then analyzed by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The total PAH concentrations were 244–713 ng/g dw in sediments, 82.8–415 ng/g dw in plants and 207–4,780 ng/g dw in animals. The total sediment PAH concentrations were categorized as lower to moderate contamination compared with other regions of China and the world. In the plant samples, the accumulation abilities of reed roots and stems for PAHs were higher than those of grass roots. In addition, the concentration of individual PAHs in mussel muscles was the highest in all of the animal samples, followed by fish, feeding crane fetuses, and wild crane fetuses. Compositional analysis suggests that the PAHs in the sediments from the Zha Long Wetland were derived from incomplete biomass combustion. Risk assessment shows that the levels of PAHs in sediments are mostly lower than the effects range mean value (effects range mean), whereas only naphthalene in all sample sites was higher than the effects range low value. It is worthwhile to note that benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene and benzo(ghi)perylene were detected in crane fetal, which have potential carcinogenicity for organisms from the Zha Long Wetland.