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| Dr Nelson Belzile |
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Professor |
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B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D. (University of Québec)
Office: S-214
Lab: S-211
Mailing Address:
Dr. N. Belzile
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Laurentian University
Sudbury, ON
P3E 2C6
Telephone:
Voice: (705) 675-1151, ext 2114, 2116
FAX: (705) 675-4844
Internet:
nbelzile@laurentian.ca
Click here for personal webpage |
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Geochemical behaviour of toxic trace elements in natural systems.
Given that the toxicity and bioavailability of most trace elements is frequently related to their chemical speciation, it is therefore essential to improve our knowledge on the speciation of trace elements in the environment and determine the influence of different parameters on their redox transformations. This information is crucial for a better understanding of their biogeochemical cycling (distribution, mobilization, transport and bioavailability). With a large variety of lakes covering a wide range of pH values and trace elements concentrations, the Sudbury area is a large natural laboratory ideally suited for biogeochemical studies of toxic elements in lakes.
1. The development of analytical techniques for the analysis and speciation of environmental samples. The projects consist in developing or adapting analytical techniques which will allow the accurate measurement of trace elements present in the aquatic environment and the determination of their various chemical forms in a variety of geochemical and biological samples. The main techniques involves are hydride generation/ atomic fluorescence spectrometry, high performance liquid chromatography, ultra-violet and visible spectrometry.
2. Cycling of trace elements and bioavailability. The objective of these projects is to determine how parameters such as pH, light, the presence of iron and manganese oxyhydroxides or sulfides and the presence of natural organic matter (humic substances) affect the chemical speciation and the redox transformations of the trace elements (As, Se, Sb, Hg, Ni, Cu) in lake waters, interstitial waters and sediments. A special attention is given to the possible antagonistic effects of Se on the assimilation of Hg by the biota.
3. The reactivity of mine tailings. In this project, we try to address the problem of acid mine drainage by looking at the reactivity of oxidized and reduced tailings in presence of different chemical compounds. The final objective is to prevent or reduce the oxidation of mine wastes and the resulting acid generation by surface treatment.
Selected Publications:
Yang, D.Y., Chen, Y.-W. & Belzile, N. (2011)
Evidences of non-reactive mercury selenium compounds generated from cultures of Pseudomonas fluorescens.
Science of the Total Environment, in press. [PDF]
Filella, M., Belzile, N. & Chen, Y.-W. (2011)
Human exposure to antimony. II. Contents in some human tissues often used in biomonitoring (hair, nails, teeth).
Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, (in press).
Schummer, M.L., Petrie, S.A., Badzinski, S.S., Deming, M., Chen, Y.-W. & Belzile. N. (2011)
Elemental contaminants in livers of mute swans on Lakes Erie and St. Clair.
Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, (on-line). [PDF]
Martin, AJ., Simpson, S., Fawcett, S., Wallschläger, D., London, J., Wiramanaden, C.I.E., Pickering, I.J., Belzile, N. & Chen, Y.-W. (2011)
The speciation and behavior of selenium in two lentic environments of the Elk River Valley, British Columbia.
Environmental Science and Technology, (on-line). [PDF]
Chen, Y.-W. & Belzile, N. (2010) High performance liquid chromatography coupled to atomic fluorescence spectrometry for the speciation of the hydride and chemical vapour-forming elements As, Se, Sb and Hg: A critical review.
Analytica Chimica Acta, 671: 9-26. [PDF]
Zhao, Q.X., Chen, Y.-W., Belzile, N. & Wang, M. (2010)
Low volume microwave digestion and direct determination of selenium in biological samples by hydride generation-atomic fluorescence spectrometry.
Analytica Chimica Acta, 665: 123-128. [PDF]
Schummer, M.L., Badzinski, S.S., Petrie, S.A., Chen, Y.-W. & Belzile, N. (2010)
Selenium accumulation in sea ducks wintering at Lake Ontario.
Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 58, 854-862. [PDF]
Yang, D.Y., Ye, X., Chen, Y.-W. & Belzile, N. (2010)
Inverse relationships between selenium on methyl mercury bioaccumulation in tissues of walleye (Stizosedion vitreum) in Canadian boreal lakes.
Science of the Total Environment, 408: 1676-1683. [PDF]
Zhao, Q.X., Chen, Y.-W., Montaut, S., Joly, H.A., Wang, M. & Belzile, N. (2010)
Synthesis, identification and analytical features of high purity trimethylselenonium iodide.
Journal of Sulfur Chemistry, 31, 373-385. [PDF]
Filella, M., Williams, P. and Belzile, N. (2009)
Antimony in the Environment: Knowns and Unknowns.
Environment Chemistry, 6: 95-105. (Plus 31 pages of online supplemental information) (PDF)
Truong, Y.T.H., chen, Y.-W and Belzile, N. (2009)
Abiotic formation of elemental selenium and role of iron oxide surfaces.
Chemosphere, 74: 1079-1084. (PDF)
Yang, D.Y., Chen, Y.-W., Truong, Y.T.H. and Belzile, N. (2009)
Improvement of the reliability of methylmercury determination in environmental samples.
Analytica Chimica Acta, 633: 157-164. (PDF)
Polack, R., Chen, Y.-W. and Belzile, N. (2009)
Behaviour of Sb(V) in the presence of dissolved sulfide under anoxic aqueous conditions.
Chemical Geology, 262: 179-185. (PDF)
Filella, M., Philippo, S., Belzile, N., Chen, Y.-W. & Quentel, F. (2009)
Antimony natural attenuation processes: a study on the abandoned antimony mine of Goesdorf, Luxembourg.
Science of the Total Environment, 407: 6205-6216. (PDF)Belzile, N., Chen, Y.-W., Yang, D.Y., Truong, Y.T.H. & Zhao, Q.X. (2009)
Selenium bioaccumulation in freshwater organisms and antagonistic effect against mercury assimilation.
Environmental Bioindicators, 4: 203-221. (PDF)
Belzile, N., Lang, C.Y., Chen, Y.-W. & Wang, M. (2008)
The competitive role of organic carbon and dissolved sulfide in controlling the distribution of mercury in freshwater lake sediments.
Science of the Total Environment, Nov 1st; 405 (1-3): 226-38.
Yang, D.Y., Chen, Y.-W. , Gunn, J.M. & Belzile, N. (2008)
Selenium and mercury in organisms: interactions and mechanisms.
Environmental Reviews, 16, 71-92.
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