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Lead accumulations and toxic effects in earthworms (Eisenia fetida) in the presence of decabromodiphenyl ether

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Abstract

Lead (Pb) and decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE209) are the main contaminants at e-waste recycling sites, and their potential toxicological effects on terrestrial organisms have received extensive attention. However, the impact on earthworms of exposure to the two chemicals remains almost unknown. Therefore, indoor incubation tests were performed on control and contaminated soil samples to determine the Pb accumulations and toxic effects by earthworms in the presence of BDE209 for the first time. The results have demonstrated that BDE209 presence can affect Pb bioaccumulation efficiency compared with exposure to Pb alone. The Pb contents in earthworms had a highly positive correlation with the Pb concentrations in soils. For different Pb doses, almost contrary response trends were found for Pb uptake examined separately on day 7 or 28, and dose–effect relationships were clearly observed in the presence of BDE209. After 7 days of exposure, the earthworm bodies receiving 1-mg kg−1 BDE209 dose showed significantly lower Pb contents (average = 175.85 mg kg−1) and bioaccumulation factor (average = 0.574) than those receiving non-BDE209 treatments (217.39 mg kg−1 and 1.209, respectively). As the incubation time extended, the influence of BDE209 presence on Pb uptake gradually declined. Additionally, either single or combined exposure to both chemicals can affect the protein synthesis in earthworms (p < 0.01), while different levels of BDE209 addition barely caused visible differences. The results of these observations have provided a basic understanding on the potential toxicological effects of joint Pb and BDE209 exposure on terrestrial invertebrates.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41371467, 21307030, 41271492), the Science and Technology Committee Research Program of Shanghai (12DZ0502700), the National Environmental Protection Public Welfare Science and Technology Research Program of China (201409076, 201309047, 201309030), the Major State Basic Research Development Program of China (2011CB200904), and the Environmental Protection Science and Technology Research Program of Shanghai (2012–03).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China

    Wei Zhang, Lin Chen, Kou Liu, Lei Chen, Kuangfei Lin, Jie Guo, Lili Liu & Changzheng Cui

  2. School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China

    Wei Zhang, Lin Chen, Kou Liu, Lei Chen, Kuangfei Lin, Jie Guo, Lili Liu & Changzheng Cui

  3. Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China

    Zenguang Yan

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  1. Wei Zhang
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  2. Lin Chen
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  3. Kou Liu
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  4. Lei Chen
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  9. Zenguang Yan
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Correspondence to Wei Zhang.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Wei Zhang and Lin Chen are joint first authors.

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Zhang, W., Chen, L., Liu, K. et al. Lead accumulations and toxic effects in earthworms (Eisenia fetida) in the presence of decabromodiphenyl ether. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 3484–3490 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-2344-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-2344-z

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