Honeybee Bioaccumulation as a Tool for Assessing the Environmental Quality of an Area Affected by the Activity of a Municipal Waste Sorting Facility (Central Italy)
Source abstract
Abstract
The management of municipal solid waste presents a significant challenge for cities. Facilities dedicated to sorting, treating, and recycling waste (including plastic, glass, metals, aluminium, and wood) play a crucial environmental role in urban areas, contributing to sustainable development. Since combustion processes are not involved, any potential chemical impact of the facility on the surrounding area are likely to result from the emissions of metals and metalloids. In this study, the bioaccumulation of Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn in the tissues of honeybees (Apis mellifera ligustica) was employed as a reference to assess the environmental quality of the area near a municipal waste sorting and storage facility located in Ponte Rio, Perugia (Umbria, Central Italy), which serves as the case study here. No higher contamination levels were found in the facility area compared to the suburban territory of Perugia, where the bioaccumulation levels of these elements in honeybees frequently exhibited higher values. The application of the Honeybee Contamination Index (HCI) confirmed these results. Therefore, the operation of this waste sorting facility is sustainable concerning environmental contamination by chemicals.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Insect and Pesticide Research · Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior · Plant and animal studies
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Dipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università Degli Studi di Perugia, Via Elce Di Sotto 8, 06123 Perugia, Italy
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università Degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX 8 Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy
Independent Researcher, 05100 Perugia, Italy
Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerca sull’Inquinamento e sull’Ambiente “M: Felli”, Università Degli Studi di Perugia, Via G. Duranti, 63, 06125 Perugia, Italy
Funding
GESENU s.p.a.
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