Vol 86, No 13 (2016)

A series of publications on the studies of phytotoxicity of chemicals (pollutants, ecotoxicants), carried out by the author and his research group, have been reviewed. Tests (bioassays) based on experiments with many higher plant species, both terrestrial and aquatic ones (macrophytes), were used in these studies. Among the chemicals tested there were various organic (synthetic detergents, surfactants, and pesticides) and some inorganic (e.g., metal oxide nanoparticles) compounds. New methods for bioassay using plant species never used before have been developed by the author. New facts of phytotoxicity of a synthetic detergent have been discovered and reported. Specifically, an aqueous solution of liquid detergent Frosch (Werner & Mertz, FRG) at a concentration of 0.25 mL/L (and higher concentrations) inhibited the elongation rate of seedlings of Lens culinaris higher plant species. Also, phytotoxicity of synthetic cationic surfactant dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide has been reported for the first time. This surfactant at a concentration of 4 mg/L inhibited the elongation of Lens culinaris plant seedlings. The phytotesting methods contribute to the development of alternative approaches to studying the toxicity of chemicals through non-animal testing.

A procedure has been proposed for express assessment of the degree of pollution of melt and snow waters with volatile aromatic compounds using a set of chemical sensors. The number of measuring units has been minimized to 2 for the yes/no detection (alarm system) of volatile aromatic toxicants in natural waters of different salinities. An algorithm has been developed for the extraction of analytical information on the presence of volatile compounds or salts in meltwater by the sorption efficiency parameters A_ij and their profiles (petal diagrams) or by cluster analysis.

Standard monitoring data on the concentration of metals in precipitation and lake water in 2000s have been analyzed. All monthly average concentrations of Pb in Cd in precipitation were lower than the corresponding maximum allowable concentrations (MACs), whereas the concentrations of Cu, Zn, and Fe in lake surface waters were similar to or exceeded MACs for fishery reservoirs. The peak concentration of Pb in precipitation in June indicated increased dust content of air in late spring and early summer due to soil exposure and plowing. Increased concentration of Zn in the Kubenskoe Lake surface water in spring is likely to result from the peak discharge of anthropogenic pollutants on melting of snow and ice.

Changes in the concentration of the aluminum ions in water of experimental systems (microcosms) have been studied. The Al ion concentration was measured by the fluorescent method. As macrophytes for microcosm incubation served hornwort Ceratophyllum demersum and stonewort Chara fragilis, with the latter hydrobiont used for the first time in similar experiments. It has been convincingly proven that, in the microcosms with the aquatic plants tested, the Al ion concentration decreased much faster than in the macrophyte-free control microcosms. The data obtained suggest that Ceratophyllum demersum and Chara fragilis are promising candidates for phytoremediation applications.

Data on PCB and OCP distributions in atmospheric air, snow cover, and soil in Usol’e-Sibirskoe and its suburbs are presented. It is shown PCBs and OCPs are continuing to accumulate in soil as a result of their volatilization from polluted soil at the industrial area, atmospheric transport, and deposition on adjacent territories.

A series of aryl substituted derivatives of xylose have been synthesized. Biological tests have revealed high fungicidal activity of the resulting compounds against various phythopathogenic fungi. Additional biological studies have demonstrated high plant growth regulatory activity of the compounds synthesized.

The study of comprehensive assessment of the state of environmental objects in the zone of influence of the third tailing dam of former Khrustalnenskii miming enterprise (Fabrichnii section, Primorsky Krai) is presented. The means for ensuring its environmental and social safety have been proposed.

Dynamics of acidity of atmospheric precipitates in St. Petersburg during 1984–2014 has been analyzed. Statistically significant correlations between the precipitates pH and atmospheric emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from stationary sources have been revealed.