Surface soil samples were collected near the Open Pit Bor (S1) and Open Pit Cerovo (S2), a grassland along the Borska Reka River (S3) and an unpolluted garden near Slatina village (reference site). Spontaneous plants (dandelion, nettle, coltsfoot, and creeping buttercup) and vegetables (onion, garlic, carrot, parsley, celery, potatoes, dill, and sorrel) were obtained from the former three sites and the reference site, respectively. The samples were analyzed for Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Pb via FAAS. Pollution indices indicated low-to-moderate soil contamination at sites S1, S2, and S3. Cu was the main contaminant of environmental concern, being above the maximum admitted concentration at site S1. Metal levels in spontaneous plants were below phytotoxic levels. Cu content of leafy vegetables and celery roots and Pb content of most vegetables were not safe for human consumption. Metal concentrations tended to be significantly lower in plants than in soils, with only Cu occurring at significantly elevated levels in celery roots and sorrel leaves. Non-carcinogenic risk assessment showed that consumption of carrot roots and especially celery roots grown on unpolluted soils from the Bor area might pose long-term health risks for females and males, with the main contributors being Cu and Fe.

The purpose of this study was to quantify the effect of difenoconazole (DFC) on the activity of a few enzymes commonly found on soil: dehydrogenase, urease, phosphatase and protease. Three experimental variants were established: in field conditions with variable temperature (10-21 ?C, variants A1-A3), under laboratory conditions with constant temperature (30 ?C, variants B1-B3) and untreated soil (C variant). The commercial product "Score 250EC" with 250 g DFC L-1 was used at the following concentrations: 0.037 mg DFC g-1 soil (variants A1 and B1), 0.075 mg DFC g-1 soil (variants A2 and B2) and 0.150 mg DFC g-1 soil (variants A3 and B3). The dehydrogenase, phosphatase and urease activities decreased significantly (p<0.05) both under filed (variants A1-A3) and laboratory (variants B1-B3) conditions compared to untreated soil (variant C). The protease activity was reduced in variants A1-A3 compared to variant C and increased at the dose of 0.150 mg DFC g-1 soil in the variant B3.

-The environmental impact of inorganic pollution is pronounced in water adjacent to Bor Copper SmelterComplex (RTB Bor, Serbia), with Cu, Zn, Pb, and As being the main determinants of aquatic pollution pattern. Communities of microorganisms present in the sediments are mainly affected by heavy metal pollution. Some groups of bacteria can be considered pollution bio-indicators, due to their sensibility and ability to bioaccumulate heavy metals, thus contributing to reducing pollution. This study investigates the relationships between trace element accumulation and heterogeneity in sediment bacteria community structure found in water streams adjacent to the Bor Copper Smelter Complex (RTB Bor, Serbia). Our results showed no contamination with copper, zinc, nickel, iron, and chromium, but did show a low to moderate contamination with lead and a moderate to high contamination with arsenic in aquatic sediments within the area of interest. Spatial heterogeneity in sediment-associated bacterial communities did not relate significantly to location of sampling sites, except for iron reducing bacteria. Iron reducing bacteria and nitrifying bacteria were the best distinguishing groups of bacteria. However, only iron reducing bacteria were significantly influenced by sampling locations. The iron reducing bacteria has correlated negatively with the degree of sediment contamination with lead, and therefore, we suggest that this group of bacteria could serve as potential bio-indicators of inorganic water contamination in Bor RTB area.

Land snails are highly tolerant to cadmium exposure and are able to accumulate soil cadmium independently of food ingestion. However, little information exists on the kinetics of cadmium retention in terrestrial gastropods exposed to an increase in the soil cadmium content, over time. There is also little knowledge about how exposure to cadmium-polluted soils influences shell growth and architecture. In this context, we examined cadmium accumulation in the hepatopancreas and shell of juvenile Cantareus aspersus exposed to elevating high levels of cadmium in soil. Also, the toxicity of cadmium to snails was assessed using a range of conchological endpoints, including shell height, width, volume, allometry and integrity. Test snails, aged three months, were reared under semi-field conditions, fed an uncontaminated diet and exposed first, for a period of 30 days, to a series of soil cadmium concentrations, and then, for a second period of 30 days, to soils with higher cadmium content. Cadmium showed a dose-dependent accumulation in both the hepatopancreas and shell. The kinetics of cadmium retention in the hepatopancreas of snails previously exposed to cadmium-spiked soils was significantly influenced by a new exposure event. The shell was not a relevant bioaccumulator for soil cadmium. Under the present experimental conditions, only high cadmium exposure significantly affected either the shell growth or snail survival. There was no consistent effect on shell allometry, but the shell integrity, especially in rapidly growing parts, appeared to be affected by high cadmium exposure. Our results attest to the value of hepatopancreas for describing cadmium retention in land snails and to the difficulty of using conchological parameters in field surveys for estimating the environmental hazard of soil cadmium.