Baoshan Zheng

Chinese Academy of Sciences | CAS · Institute of Geochemistry

Fluorine is in the dynamic balance of two geochemical processes, enrichment and leaching, reflecting the adsorption and desorption of fluoride by clay minerals, respectively. The two geochemical processes of fluorine in soil are influenced by factors including geochemical characteristics of soil and clay minerals, pH and sanity of soil solutions, c...

Low specific contact resistivity (7E-9 Ohm.cm2) was achieved for contacts with TiSix to in-situ epitaxially doped Si:P n-SD regions by use of Se implantation prior to Ti deposition. The key to this achievement is the optimization of implant energy and dose, and use of millisecond laser anneal to heal the implant damage, while allowing sufficient in...

Groundwater in sedimentary deposits in China, Southern, and Southeast Asia down gradient from the Tibetan plateau contain elevated As concentrations on a regional scale. To ascertain the possibility of source region As enrichment, samples of water (n=86), stream sediment (n=77) and soil (n=73) were collected from the Singe Tsangpo (upstream of the...

The continuing reduction of contact resistivity (ρC) is a critical challenge for device performance. In this paper the ρC reduction for n-SD (source/drain) is demonstrated using post-silicide implantation of Se or P into Ni(Pt) silicide, with various energies/doses and laser anneal conditions. The improvement of ρC is achieved without sacrificing j...

A suite of 305 raw coal samples and 22 washed coal samples were collected from 24 provinces and autonomous regions and 2 municipalities of China in 2000. The run-of-mine samples were primarily collected from the larger coal mines and are believed to represent about 80% of China's coal production at that time. Detailed chemical analysis of the sampl...

Several Se-bearing minerals have been identified in Se-rich stone coal, spoils, and their adjacent organic-rich soils in Yutangba of Enshi, China, where human Se toxicity occurred in the 1960s. These minerals mainly include native Se (Se0), krutaite (CuSe2), klockmannite (CuSe), mandarinoite (Fe2(SeO3)3·6H2O), Se-bearing chalcopyrite (CuFe(Se, S)2)...

This research was aimed on studying the arsenic distribution of water in Yarlung Zangbo and Singe Zangbo basins in Tibet. Results showed that arsenic concentrations were different in different types of the water. The sequence of arsenic concentration from high to low was hot spring water (4920 microg x L(-1) +/- 1520 microg x L(-1), n =2), salt lak...

Within the range of 0.01 km mini-landscape in Yutangba, Enshi, Hubei Province, the content of Se in corn is very high. The average Se contents in root, stem, leaf and seed of corn were estimated to be 4.36±3. 27mg/kg, 3.08±2.24 mg/kg, 9.74±7.62mg/kg, and 8.07±5.02mg/kg, respectively. The research results show that there is a significantly positive...

Three hundred and six coal samples were taken from main coal mines of twenty-six provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China, according to the resource distribution and coal-forming periods as well as the coal ranks and coal yields. Nitrogen was determined by using the Kjeldahl method at U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which exhibit a...

It is well known that thallium (Tl) is a non-essential and toxic metal to human health, but less is known about the geo-environmentally-induced Tl pollution and its associated health impacts. High concentrations of Tl that are primarily associated with the epithermal metallogenesis of sulfide minerals have the potential of producing Tl pollution in...

Arsenic (As), selenium (Se) and thallium (Tl) are three trace metals (metalloids) of high concern in China because deficiency or excess expose can cause a range of endemic diseases, such as endemic arsenism, selenosis, Keshan disease (KD), Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) and thallotoxicosis. These specific endemic diseases were attributable for overabund...

Objective: To determine the distribution and influencing factors (dehydration method, storage time and chili varieties) of arsenic contents in chilies from southwest China, and the relationship between arsenic content and selenium content in chilies. Methods: There were 272 dried chili samples, 76 groups of fresh chili samples and its corresponding...

Abstract This report describes the first occurrence of the rare mineral mandarinoite (Fe3+2Se3O9 · 6H2O) in China. It occurs in the Lower Permian Maokou Formation carbonaceous shale in Yutangba Village east of Enshi City in southwestern Hubei Province. The shale is selenium-rich and contains native selenium, V-Mo-Cr-bearing iron oxide, clay and qua...

In China, as the economy is developing and the population is expanding, some underground buildings have been used as supermarkets, restaurants and entertainment places. Tunnels in mountains are one type of underground building, and the radon ((222)Rn) level in tunnels is an important issue. Radon levels in different type tunnels appear to differ, a...

In this study, the author determined fluorine in drinking water and urine of residents who are divided into four age groups (5, 12, 35–44, 65–74 aged), living in Huangling City, Shaanxi Province and at 6 villages of Qin’an County, Gansu Province, P.R.China. Some residents are living in fluorine exposure areas. A total of 929 residents (463 females...

Corresponding author: yan.zheng@qc.cuny.edu The average soil arsenic concentration was reported to be 18.7 mg/kg based on a survey of 205 samples in Tibet. This is considerably higher than the commonly cited crustal background value of 10 mg/kg of As for soil, and is unlikely due to anthropogenic pollution. To investigate the origin of this geochem...

The purpose of this research is to investigate the fluoride contents in the chilies from southwest China and other countries in order to calculate the difference in fluoride levels in the fresh chilies. The standard method in China for analysis of fluoride in food (GB/T 5009.18-2003) was applied to determinate the fluoride content in chilies. By de...

To study the effectiveness of washing in removal of arsenic and sulfur from coals with different ranges of arsenic concentration, coal was divided into three groups on the basis of arsenic content: 0-5.5 mg/kg, 5.5 mg/kg-8.00 mg/kg, and over 8.00 mg/kg. The result shows that the arsenic in coals with higher arsenic content occurs mainly in an inorg...

The current arsenic exposure condition, arsenicosis prevalence, urinary arsenic and MDA (malondialdehyde) concentrations in people were studied. The study area, a village in Xing Ren County in Guizhou Province, PR China, is a coal-borne arsenicosis endemic area that was identified several decades ago. The residents in Xing Ren have been using coal...

Objective: To determine the fluoride contents in dried chilies in Southwest China to provide the basis for the prevention of the fluoride contamination in chili. Methods: The dried chili samples collected from the markets and farmers in 76 Counties of 9 regions in Southwest China. Their dehydration methods and storage time were investigated. These...

In order to clarify the historic academic problem of whether or not livestock poisoning in ancient Suzhou of Northwest China, recorded by Marco Polo in 1295, was selenosis, this study deals with the biogeochemistry of selenium in Sunan County in the Hexi Corridor, which is part of ancient Suzhou in China. It was found that quite a number of farm an...

To determine the I distribution in Chinese coals, a nationwide survey was undertaken based on the distribution, periods of formation, rank and production yields of various coal deposits. A total of 305 coal samples were collected and their I contents were determined by catalytic spectrophotometry with pyrohydrolysis. The geochemistry of I during co...

Objective: To investigate the distribution of fluoride content in fresh chili in southwestern China and provide the fluoride background content for the confirming fluoride contamination discrimination value for fresh chili. Methods: The method of analyzing fluoride in food as stipulated in GB/T 5009.18-2003 was adopted to determinate fluoride conte...

The coastal zone of the Pacific Rim is home for about one-third of the world's population. Disproportionate growth of Far Eastern economies has produced a disproportionate share of related environmental difficulties. As the region searches for acceptable compromises between growth and environmental quality, its influence on global environmental hea...

The use of high As-bearing coals has caused more than 3,000 cases of arsenosis patients in southwest Guizhou Province, China. The mode of occurrence of arsenic in coal is an important key role in understanding its behavior during usage and damage pathway to human health. Coal samples from endemic arsenosis areas were analyzed with INAA, EMPA, SEM-E...

To investigate the effects of arsenic exposure on porphyrins excretion profiles in human, porphyrins were measured by HPLC and total arsenic by HG-AAS in urine samples collected from arsenicosis-endemic areas and control sites in Guizhou Province. Analytical data showed that urinary uroporphyrin-III and coproporphyrin-III were significantly elevate...

There is a lack of information in the literature regarding Tl exposure from naturally occurring Tl enrichment. This paper draws attention to the potential health risk posed by high concentrations of naturally occurring Tl in the environment. The inhabitants of a rural area in SW Guizhou Province, China, reside within a natural Tl accumulated enviro...

In this study, investigations into endemic fluorosis were conducted and fluorine concentration in environmental samples determined. In an indoor coal-combustion-type fluorosis area, local clay was used to mix with coal for indoor combustion. There are two key steps in the procedure of the indoor transition of fluorine: indoor wet corns and vegetabl...

From 2003-2004, using solid state nuclear detectors, a survey of the air radon level in 234 underground buildings in 23 cities of China was carried out during spring as well as summer and winter. The annual radon concentrations in these underground buildings range from 14.9 to 2482 Bq m(-3), with an overall mean value of 247 Bqm(-3). When radon con...

The arsenic concentrations in 297 coal samples were collected from the main coal-mines of 26 provinces in China were determined by molybdenum blue coloration method. These samples were collected from coals that vary widely in coal rank and coal-forming periods from the five main coal-bearing regions in China. Arsenic content in Chinese coals range...

Total and bioavailable concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs) in the latesol of Hainan Province, China, were measured by ICP-MS, and the distribution characteristics of REEs were discussed in various latesol profiles. The results show that the total concentrations of REEs were higher than the average statistical data of the whole China. The c...

Fifty coal samples (28 anthracite and 22 lignites) were collected from both main and small coal mines in DPR Korea prioritized by resource distribution and coal production. The concentrations of 61 elements in 50 coal samples were determined by several multielement and element-specific techniques, including inductively coupled plasma atomic emissio...

In China, arsenic contents of representative coal samples, which are selected base on the reserves of coal-cumulating areas and the production of every city in 2001, were studied. Three contents of arsenic in Chinese coals can be obtained by different evaluating methods. First, the average mean of arsenic content in these coal samples can be regard...

A study of daily and seasonal variations of radon concentrations in underground buildings in major cities of China was carried out. According to the data from the Model 1027 continuous monitor, radon concentrations in the underground buildings changed through two cycles each day. The first cycle was from 12:00 to 0:00 and the highest or lowest valu...

The leaching experiment of feed coal (c) and its laboratory high-temperature ash (HA), fly ash (FA), and bottom ash (BA) from a Chinese coal-fired power plant were carried out using column leaching under different pH conditions (pH = 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, and 7.5, respectively) and different leaching durations (up to 80 h). The leaching behaviors of As, C...

In this study, fluorine concentrations in drinking water and in urine of residents from a fluorine exposure area in China were tested. DMFT (average number of decayed, missing and filled teeth) of local residents in four age groups were also determined. The results of the study indicate that in fluorine exposure areas, there is a strictly positive...

Using Model 1027 continuous radon monitor, a test of reducing radon level by ventilation in underground space was done. Four different types of ventilation, i.e. by air pump (P), by air intake blower (B), by air pump and air intake blower simultaneously (PBS), and by air pump and air intake blower in turn (PBT), were examined. We found that efficie...

By using solid-state nuclear detectors, the air radon concentrations at 87 underground working places were measured during spring, summer and winter, respectively. The survey covered 23 cities whose annual radon concentrations range from 14.9 to 246.4 Bq · m−3 with an overall arithmetic mean value of 106.7 Bq · m−3. The average annual effective dos...

The arsenic (As) content of coal relating with mineralization of gold in Southwest Guizhou Province, China is up to 35,000 ppm. The coal is burned indoors in open pits for daily cooking and crop drying. As a result, arsenic is precipitated and concentrated in corn (5-20 ppm), chili (100-800 ppm) and other foods. Arsenic concentrations in the drinki...

Coal is widely used in PR China. Unfortunately, coal from some areas in Guizhou Province contains elevated levels of arsenic. This has caused arsenicosis in individuals who use arsenic-contaminated coal for the purposes of heating, cooking and drying of food in poorly ventilated dwellings. The population at risk has been estimated to be approximate...

Tested the arsenic content of 297 coal samples which were taken from twenty six Province, municipalities and autonomous regions of China, then analyzed and saw about the distribution of arsenic in China with different geological ages, different coal ranks, different coal-cumulating areas. The results showed that the coals with moderate and low arse...

Farmlands and rivers have been seriously polluted by cyanide from a goldmine tailings dam that collapsed in early spring of 1995 in Yining County, Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. The cyanide distribution in the polluted farmland and the abandoned tailings dam was studied, three and 4years after the accident occurred. The results indicated that...

Based on the analysis of 15 raw coals and washed coals collected from Southwestern, the washing rate of arsenic, sulfur and ash from raw coals was studied. The average washing rate of arsenic in raw coal is 38%. Arsenic of raw coals is mainly associated with pyrite and sulfide. However, arsenic of some raw coals is mainly or wholly associated with...

The Ili River is a very important river to the northwest of China and Kazakhstan. The Axi Goldmine is located in the upstream of a branch of the Ili River. The cyanide from the goldmine effluent is a threat to the downstream areas. According to our study, the natural degradation of cyanide conforms to a negative exponential equation in the tailings...

Nationwide sampling program is designed according to the resources distribution and coal-forming periods as well as coal rank and yield of coal in China, and 305 coal samples were collected from 26 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. Fluorine in coal is determined by pyrohydrolysis / fluoride-ion selective electrode method. Fluorine i...

Four experiments have been done on the influence of times of infusion, temperature, time and ratio of tea to water on the dissolving characteristics of fluoride and aluminum in brick tea. According to the results, the behaviors of F and Al which found their way into tea liquor were analyzed and the conclusions have been drawn: the dissolution of F...

A quick and inexpensive method of relative high iodine determination from coal samples was evaluated. Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) provided a detection limit of about 14 ppm (3 times of standard deviations of the blank sample), without any complex sample preparation. An analytical relative standard deviation of 16% was readily attai...

Objective: To study dissolving characteristics of fluoride and aluminium in brick tea. Methods: F-ion selective electrode method was used for the detection of fluoride (F), flame atomic absorption spectrometry for that of aluminium (Al). Results: Along with different experiments the dissolutions of F and Al presented respective characteristics. In...

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between dental caries in the residents exposed to fluorine in Bazhou region and the fluorine in local drinking water to determine the appropriate fluorine in drinking water of this region. Method: In four fluorine exposure villages in Bazhou city, fluorine concentration in drinking water, urine of 16-to-19-ye...

In this project, the relationship between fluorine content in drinking water and dental health of residents in some large cities in China was evaluated. The concentration of fluorine in tap water and in urine of local subjects of 28 cities and 4 high fluorine villages in China shows a strong positive correlation (r(2)=0.96, S.E.=0.9881). Our studie...

In this study, the relationship between fluorine in drinking water and that in urine of urban residents in China is assessed. Fluorine concentrations in tap water and those in urine show a good correlation with a linear regression coefficient of 0.9798, indicating that the fluorine concentrations in big cities under investigation are extremely low,...

The publisher regrets that in the above article, two references, Xiao et al., 2003b,c, were incorrectly printed. The correctreferences now follow.Xiao T, Guha J, Boyle D. Adverse environmental impact of high thallium content in rocks associated with Au–As–Hg–Tland coal mineralization in southwest Guizhou, China. Geochem: Explor, Environ, Anal 2003b...

This paper illustrates a real environmental concern and draws attention to the fact that natural processes can mobilize thallium (Tl), a highly toxic metal, which may enter the food chain as a "hidden health killer" with severe health impacts on local human population. Natural processes may be exacerbated by human activities such as mining and farm...

: Three hundred and five coal samples were taken from the main coal mines of twenty-six provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities of China. The method of pyrohydrolysis was applied to measure the fluorine content in the samples, which exhibit logarithmic normal frequency distributions. The range of fluorine content in dry coal varies from 2...

Rare native Se has been discovered in Yutangba, Enshi City, Hubei Province, China, where a sudden incidence of Se poisoning occurred in the early 1960s. It was first found in a small area where native Se was produced on a large scale and was diverse in forms due to different formation mechanisms. Genetically, native Se can be divided into 3 categor...

: The very high prevalence of dental and skeletal fluorosis in relation to the fluorine content of local coal and clay was investigated in two rural re-gions with low water fluoride (Hualuo Village and Majianzhuang Village) of Guizhou Province, China. The fluorine content of coal in the two regions is con-siderably lower than the total fluorine con...

Mineralogy, coal chemistry and 21 potentially hazardous trace elements (PHTEs) of 44 coal samples from the Qianxi Fault Depression Area (QFDA) in southwestern Guizhou province, China have been systematically studied. The major minerals in coals studied are quartz, kaolinite, illite, pyrite, calcite, smectite, marcasite and accessory minerals, inclu...

Diseases related to domestic coal combustion can be very difficult to separate from other factors. In China, special cultural, environmental, and geological circumstances have led to local but severely affected populations with cases of arsenosis. The incidence of arsenosis is effectively being reduced by detailed geological and geochemical analysi...

Domestic combustion of coal for heating and cooking is mostly confined to the world's developing countries and probably involves about 1 billion persons in China, India, Indonesia, and Africa. Various endemic diseases affecting millions of people involving arsenic, selenium, and fluorine poisoning have been associated with domestic coal combustion...

The Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions contain half of the world's children and are among the most rapidly industrializing regions of the globe. Environmental threats to children's health are widespread and are multiplying as nations in the area undergo industrial development and pass through the epidemiologic transition. These environmenta...

Introduction: Coal is widely used in PR China. Unfortunately, coal from some areas in Guizhou Province contains elevated levels of arsenic. This has caused arsenicosis in individuals who use arsenic-contaminated coal for the purposes of cooking, heating and drying food. Aims: Porphyrins are produced during heme biosynthetic pathways. Malondialdehyd...

The small karstic watershed of Lanmuchang, in a Hg–Tl mineralized area in SW Guizhou Province, China, exhibits an enrichment of toxic Tl in groundwater and related stream water. This affords an excellent demonstration of the natural processes of Tl dispersion, and the resultant impact on the local ecosystem. The distribution of Tl in the water syst...

We studied the effect of arsenic exposure on the haem biosynthetic pathway in the rat and humans. Significant increases in protoporphyrin IX, coproporphyrin III, coproporphyrin I were observed in the blood, liver and kidney, and in the urine of rats after a single dose of arsenic. The level of increase was dependent on the arsenic species present....

Arsenic is an environmental hazard and the reduction of drinking water arsenic levels is under consideration. People are exposed to arsenic not only through drinking water but also through arsenic-contaminated air and food. Here we report the health effects of arsenic exposure from burning high arsenic-containing coal in Guizhou, China. Coal in thi...

Coal will be a dominant energy source in both developed and developing countries for at least the first half of the 21st century. Environmental problems associated with coal, before mining, during mining, in storage, during combustion, and postcombustion waste products are well known and are being addressed by ongoing research. The connection betwe...

Arsenic is an environmental hazard and the reduction of drinking water arsenic levels is under consideration. People are exposed to arsenic not only through drinking water but also through arsenic-contaminated air and food. Here we report the health effects of arsenic exposure from burning high arsenic-containing coal in Guizhou, China. Coal in thi...

For sustainable development of mining and environmental protection in West China, we have studied the history and input and output of two typical gold mining regions, Habahe and Fuyun county and Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region. We indicated that the main reason, which hindered the sustainable development of mining and environment is the government...

Southwest Guizhou Province is one of the most important areas of disseminated, sediment-hosted-type Au deposits in China and is an important area of coal production. The chemistry of most of the coals in SW Guizhou is similar to those in other parts of China. Their As content is near the Chinese coal average, but some local, small coal mines contai...

Yutangba, where a sudden incidence Se poisoning occurred in 1963, is located in the northern part of Shuanghe Town of Enshi City in the SW of Hubei Province, China. In a small area of 0.01 km2 in Yutangba, the mean concentrations of Se in soil and corn were: soil, 4.06±1.24 μg g−1; total corn, 6.47±4.29 μg g−1; root, 4.36±3.27 μg g−1; stalk, 3.06±2...

In this study we report on the finding of monomethylarsonous acid [MMA(III)] in human urine. This newly identified arsenic species is a key intermediate in the metabolic pathway of arsenic biomethylation, which involves stepwise reduction of pentavalent to trivalent arsenic species followed by oxidative addition of a methyl group. Arsenic speciatio...

Biomethylation is the major human metabolic pathway for inorganic arsenic, and the speciation of arsenic metabolites is essential to a better understanding of arsenic metabolism and health effects. Here we describe a technique for the speciation of arsenic in human urine and demonstrate its application to the discovery of key arsenic metabolic inte...

In this study we report on the finding of monomethylarsonous acid [MMA(III)] in human urine. This newly identified arsenic species is a key intermediate in the metabolic pathway of arsenic biomethylation, which involves stepwise reduction of pentavalent to trivalent arsenic species followed by oxidative addition of a methyl group. Arsenic speciatio...

The administration of sodium 2,3-dimercapto-1-propane sulfonate (DMPS) to humans chronically exposed to inorganic arsenic in their drinking water resulted in the increased urinary excretion of arsenic, the appearance and identification of monomethylarsonous acid (MMA(III)) in their urine, and a large decrease in the concentration and percentage of...

The administration of sodium 2,3-dimercapto-1-propane sulfonate (DMPS) to humans chronically exposed to inorganic arsenic in their drinking water resulted in the increased urinary excretion of arsenic, the appearance and identification of monomethylarsonous acid (MMAIII) in their urine, and a large decrease in the concentration and percentage of ur...