Influence of home characteristics on airborne and dustborne endotoxin and β-D-glucan

The aim of this study was to assess the associations between airborne and dustborne microbial contaminants (endotoxin and β-D-glucan) and estimate the effects of home characteristics on exposure levels of these microbial contaminants. Endotoxin and β-D-glucan concentrations in airborne inhalable particles, airborne PM1 (<1 μm) and vacuumed dust from 184 residential homes were determined using specific Limulus amebocyte assays. Home characteristics were recorded by visual inspection and questionnaires. Linear regression and correlation analyses were performed. Inhalable endotoxin correlated with dust endotoxin (r = 0.34, p < 0.001) and PM1 endotoxin (r = 0.33, p < 0.001). Inhalable β-D-glucan correlated with dust β-D-glucan (r = 0.18, p < 0.01), but not with PM1 β-D-glucan. Significant correlation was also found between PM1 and dust concentrations for endotoxin (r = 0.26, p < 0.001), but not for β-D-glucan. Multivariate regression analyses showed only one significant association between airborne contaminants and environmental characteristics: inhalable β-D-glucan was positively associated with relative humidity with an effect size (change in the dependent variable corresponding to a unit increase in the independent variable) of 2.32 and p < 0.05. In contrast, several associations were found between dust concentrations and environmental characteristics. Dust endotoxin was positively associated with temperature (2.87, p < 0.01) and number of inhabitants (2.76, p < 0.01), whereas dust β-D-glucan was inversely associated with the presence of dogs (-2.24, p < 0.05) and carpet (-3.05, p < 0.01) in the home. In conclusion, dustborne contaminants were more strongly affected by home characteristics than airborne contaminants. Furthermore, even though statistically significant, the correlations between airborne and dustborne contaminants were weak. This indicates that airborne concentrations cannot be reliably predicted based on dustborne concentrations.     

Impact of mining and refining on the distribution and accumulation of nickel and other heavy metals in sediments of subarctic Lake Kuetsjärvi,Murmansk Region,Russia

Research on the influence of the activities of Pechenganickel Mining and Metallurgical Company on sediment heavy-metal geochemistry of the subarctic Lake Kuetsj?rvi (north-western Russia) are described. It is estimated that during 60 years of mining/refining activity, 310 t of Ni, 120 t of Cu, 14 t of Co, 19 t of Zn, 0.087 t of Cd, 0.78 t of Pb and 0.053 t of Hg have accumulated in the lake sediments. The latter can be a source of secondary pollution and represent a danger for the lake ecosystem. The sedimentation rate in the lake is estimated to be within the range of 1.5-3 mm year(-1). The average concentrations of Ni, Cu, Hg and Co in superficial sediments have increased 25, 14, 11 and 5 times, respectively in the last century.     

Comparative toxicity of nano-ZnO and bulk ZnO suspensions to zebrafish and the effects of sedimentation, ˙OH production and particle dissolution in distilled water

With the common application of nanoscale zinc oxide (nZnO) and significant potential for its release directly into aquatic environments, it is urgent to carry out research on ecotoxicological impact of nZnO. The characterization of nZnO, the amount of ˙OH in suspensions in the presence of light and the acute toxicity of nZnO and its bulk counterpart suspensions, as well as the acute toxicity of Zn(2+) solution to zebrafish (Danio rerio) at 96 h were studied. It was found that nZnO aggregated into irregular shapes in suspensions, and showed a relationship between its size distribution and concentration. In the presence of light, nZnO suspensions could generate ˙OH, the concentration of which increased with time. Although it was generally thought that ˙OH played a role in the biotoxicity to zebrafish, similar toxicity was observed for the nZnO and bulk ZnO suspensions (96 h LC(50) 3.969 mg L(-1), 2.525 mg L(-1), respectively). Furthermore, the sedimentation of nZnO and bulk ZnO in suspensions, and the accumulation of Zn in zebrafish were studied. The results showed that dissolved Zn(2+), from nZnO and bulk ZnO in suspensions, were toxic to zebrafish, while the aggregation and sedimentation of nZnO suspensions reduced the toxicity of nZnO. However, Zn(2+) may not be the main source of acute toxicity of nZnO and bulk ZnO to zebrafish. The experimental results highlight the importance of a systematic assessment of toxicity mechanisms of metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) to determine definitively whether their toxicity is caused by nano-effects.     

Spatio-temporal pattern and rationality of land reclamation and cropland abandonment in mid-eastern Inner Mongolia of China in 1990�C2005

The Mid-eastern Inner Mongolia of China, a typical agro-pastoral transitional zone, has undergone rapid agricultural land use changes including land reclamation and cropland abandonment in past decades due to growing population and food demand, climatic variability, and land use policy such as the "Grain for Green" Project (GFG Project). It is significant to the regional ecology and sustainability to examine the pattern and its rationality of land use change. The processes of land reclamation and cropland abandonment were accessed by using land use change dataset for four periods of 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005, derived from the interpretation of Landsat TM images. And then the rationality of land reclamation and cropland abandonment was analyzed based on the habitat suitability for cultivation. The results indicated that: (1) land reclamation was the dominant form of agricultural land use change from 1990 to 2005, the total cropland area increased from 64,954.64 km(2) in 1990 to 76,258.51 km(2) in 2005; However, the speed of land reclamation decreased while cropland abandonment increased around 2000. The Land Reclamation Degree decreased from 1995-2000 to 2000-2005, meanwhile, Cropland Abandonment Degree increased. (2) As for the habitat suitability levels, moderately and marginally suitable levels had largest areas where cropland was widespread. Pattern of agricultural land use trended to become more rational due to the decrease of land reclamation area in low suitable levels and the increase of cropland abandonment in unsuitable area after 2000. (3) The habitat suitability-based rationality analysis of agricultural land use implicated that the GFG Project should take cultivation habitat suitability assessment into account.     

Evaluation of environmental impacts of Integrated Industrial Estate��Pantnagar through application of air and water quality indices

Large-scale industrialization, population inflow, and rapid urbanization coupled with unfavorable meteorological conditions often induce significant degradation of urban environment. In order to assess the extent of environmental impacts due to establishment of the Integrated Industrial Estate??Pantnagar (IIE-Pantnagar), ambient air and groundwater were monitored from June 2007 to May 2008. Collected baseline information was normalized and interpreted with the application of air (AQI) and water quality indices (WQI). Among the pre-identified air pollutants, suspended particulate matter was found to be the principal culprit to deteriorate ambient air quality, with a maximum annual concentration of 418.5 ??g/m³. Monthly average concentrations of respirable particulate matter (aerodynamic diameter < 10 ??m) also persist at a critical level with an annual maximum of 207.3 ??g/m³. A segmented linear function with maximum operator concept was used to compute AQI, and the developed index was found well suitable to demonstrate temporal variations of ambient air quality. The computed AQI value for the selected study region varied from moderate (97.0) to very poor pollution level (309.2) in respect to developed air quality standards. Furthermore, an integrated WQI was developed comprising 9 parameters, and among all the 10 pre-identified locations, the average groundwater quality was found acceptable in terms of Indian drinking water standards. The maximum WQI (70.6) was found at the Kichha Railway Station during summer months, revealing moderate pollution load. Industrial discharge from IIE-Pantnagar coupled with other industrial setup may hold responsible for such kind of degradation of water quality. In contrast, WQI computed at Rudrapur City demonstrate minimum (15.0?C22.1) pollution load. For 95% of the monitoring period, the computed WQI was found acceptable for all selected locations with few exceptions. The application of WQI to assess temporal variations in groundwater quality was therefore found satisfactory.     

Determination of EC 50 toxicity data of selected heavy metals toward Heterocypris incongruens and their comparison to ��direct-contact�� and microbiotests

The sensitivity of Heterocypris incongruens to selected heavy metal ions is discussed. Although the Ostracodtoxkit ${\textregistered}$ has been present on the market for a few years, data on its selectivity and sensitivity to toxicants is scarce; such data is indispensable when interpreting the results of sediment toxicity. The LC₅₀ and EC₅₀ results with the Ostracodtoxkit ${\textregistered}$ are compared with those obtained with other commercially available ??direct-contact?? tests (utilizing Hyalella azteca and Chironomus riparius) and microbiotests for assessing the toxicity of aqueous samples (Vibrio fischeri, Daphnia magna, and Selenastrum capricornatum). The sensitivity of H. incongruens to metal ions (Cd^2?+?>?>Hg^2?+?> Cu^2?+?>Cr^6?+?>Ni^2?+???Mn^7?+?>Zn^2?+?>Pb^2?+?>Li^1?+?> Fe^3?+?) was found to be similar to that of H. azteca and of C. riparius. The Ostracodtoxkit ${\textregistered}$ has shown itself to be an efficient and reliable element of test batteries for toxicity determination.     

Debromination of 1,4-Dibromobenzene and 4,4′-Dibromobiphenyl: A Model for Cleansing of PCBs

The aim of this study is to develop a catalytic method which has advantages over current method to detoxify and degrade environmentally harmful polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). A variety of catalysts have been employed in a preliminary study on 1,4-dibromobenzene and 4,4-dibromobiphenyl which may be considered to represent simple analogues of PCBs. The most satisfactory catalysts are those involving [Pd(dppf)] [dppf = 1,1-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene], generated in situ from PdCl2(dppf) or Pd(dppf)2. In the presence of the reducing reagent, namely NaBH4, debromination has been achieved at relative mild conditions with high product yields (> 70%). Thus, our results indicate the possibility of dechlorination of PCBs with such catalysts.     

The long time scales of the climate–economy feedback and the climatic cost of growth

This paper is based on the perception that the inertia of climate and socio-economic systems are key parameters in the climate change issue. In a first part, it develops and implements a new approach based on a simple integrated model with a particular focus on an innovative transient impact and adaptation modeling. In a second part, a climate–economy feedback is defined and characterized. The following results were found. 1) It has a long characteristic time, which lies between 50 and 100 years depending on the hypotheses; this time scale is long when compared to the system's other time scales, and the feedback cannot act as a natural damping process of climate change. 2) Mitigation has to be anticipated since the feedback of an emission reduction on the economy can be significant only after a 20-year delay and is really efficient only after at least 50 years. 3) Even discounted, production changes due to an action on emissions are significant over more than one century. 4) The methodology of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which neglects the feedback from impacts to emissions, is acceptable up to 2100, whatever is the level of impacts. This analysis allows also to define a climatic cost of growth as the additional climate change damages due to the additional emissions linked to economic growth.

Health impact assessment in spatial planning in England –types of application and quality of documentation

Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a decision support approach which is applied in various shapes and forms throughout the world. In England, amongst a range of areas of application, HIA is applied in local (spatial) plan making and project development planning. Whilst various authors have reflected on HIA practice in England, the extent of application and its quality has remained unclear. This paper aims at addressing this gap by reporting on the results of a systematic review of HIA in planning. It is found that between 100 and 200 HIAs are likely being produced each year in England. Whilst most assessments are rapid (desk based), there are also examples of comprehensive and intermediate HIAs, where a participatory procedural approach is followed. An important finding is that those HIAs applied within the context of other assessments (integrated impact assessment -IIA, strategic environmental assessment - SEA/ sustainability appraisal -SA and environmental impact assessment – EIA) tend to be of a higher quality than standalone HIAs, mainly because of the existing comprehensive statutory procedural requirements for these other assessments into which HIA can be integrated.     

Numerical Modeling of Flow Fields and Dispersion of Passive Pollutants in the Vicinity of the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant

This study deals with numerical simulation of flow fields and dispersion of model passive admixtures in the planetary boundary layer in a 10 × 10 km square area, centered on the Czech Republic’s Temelín Nuclear Power Plant. Numerical calculations of three-dimensional flow fields with eight basic wind directions given for the inlet boundary of the computational domain are performed using the FLUENT CFD code with the standard k – ε turbulence model. The resultant modeling of the flow fields provides information as to probable local directions and velocities of flow vectors on a horizontal scale of 100 m, which are consistent with the data given for the boundaries of the calculation area in the framework of a scale of 10 km. The modeled flow fields generate the input data for related Lagrangian simulation of the ground concentration and deposition fields of passive particles assumedly emitted at the site of the Temelín plant. Simulated plumes describe eight cases of potential ground-level distribution of model passive admixtures in the area.     

Status of Heavy Metals in Water and Bed Sediments of River Gomti – A Tributary of the Ganga River, India

The concentrations of cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, and zinc in water and bed sediments of river Gomti have been studied in a fairly long stretch of 500 km from Neemsar to Jaunpur. Grab samples of water (October 2002–March 2003) and bed sediments (December 2002 and March 2003) were collected from 10 different locations following the standard methods. The river water and sediment samples were processed and analyzed for heavy metals viz., Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, and Zn, and using ICP-AES. The heavy metals found in the river water were in the range: Cd (0.0001–0.0005 mg/L); Cr (0.0015–0.0688 mg/L); Cu (0.0013–0.0.0043 mg/L); Fe (0.0791–0.3190 mg/L); Mn (0.0038–0.0.0973 mg/L); Ni (0.0066–0.011 mg/L); Pb (0.0158–0.0276 mg/L); and Zn (0.0144–0.0298 mg/L) respectively. In the sediments the same were found in the range: Cd (0.70–7.90 g/g); Cr (6.105–20.595 g/g); Cu (3.735–35.68 g/g); Fe (5051.485–8291.485 g/g); Mn (134.915–320.45 g/g); Ni (13.905–37.370 g/g); Pb (21.25–92.15 g/g); and Zn (15.72–99.35 g/g) of dry weight respectively. Some physico-chemical parameters viz., pH, total solids, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, hardness etc. were estimated as these have direct or indirect influence on the incidence, transport and speciation of the heavy metals. Based on the geoaccumulation indices, the Gomti river sediments from Neemsar to Jaunpur are considered to be unpolluted with respect to Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn. It is unpolluted to moderately polluted with Pb. In case of Cd it varies from moderately polluted to highly polluted. As far as Ni is concerned the sediment is very highly polluted at Barabanki and Jaunpur D/s. No correlation was found between enrichment factor and geoaccumulation index.     

Leaching Characteristics of Fly Ash from Thermal Power Plants of Soma and Tunçbilek, Turkey

Use of lignite in power generation has led to increasing environmental problems associated not only with gaseous emissions but also with the disposal of ash residues. In particular, use of low quality coal with high ash content results in huge quantities of fly ash to be disposed of. The main problem related to fly ash disposal is the heavy metal content of the residue. In this regard, experimental results of numerous studies indicate that toxic trace metals may leach when fly ash contacts water. In this study, fly ash samples obtained from thermal power plants, namely Soma and Tunçbilek, located at the west part of Turkey, were subjected to toxicity tests such as European Committee for standardization (CEN) and toxicity characteristic leaching (TCLP) procedures of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). The geochemical composition of the tested ash samples from the power plant show variations depending on the coal burned in the plants. Furthermore, the CEN and TCLP extraction results showed variations such that the ash samples were classified as `toxic waste' based on TCLP result whereas they were classified as `non-toxic' wastes based on CEN results, indicating test results are pH dependent.     

Life cycle assessment of solar photo-Fenton and solar photoelectro-Fenton processes used for the degradation of aqueous α-methylphenylglycine

A comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of solar photo-Fenton and solar photoelectro-Fenton, two solar-driven advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) devoted to the removal of non-biodegradable pollutants in water, is performed. The study is based on the removal, at laboratory scale, of the amino acid α-methylphenylglycine, a good example of soluble and non-biodegradable target pollutant. The system under study includes chemicals, electricity, transport of all raw materials to the plant site, and the generation of emissions, but it does not take into account the impact of the infrastructure needed to build a hypothetical solar plant. Nine environmental impact categories are included in the LCA: global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, aquatic eutrophication potential, acidification potential, human toxicity potential, photochemical ozone formation potential, fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity potential, marine aquatic ecotoxicity potential, and terrestrial ecotoxicity potential and abiotic resource depletion potential. Although previous experimental results show that both AOPs are able to efficiently degrade the pollutant, the LCA indicates that solar-driven photo-Fenton is the most environmentally friendly alternative, mainly because the use of electricity in solar photoelectro-Fenton experiments involves high environmental impacts.     

Environmental degradation and remediation: is economics part of the problem?

It is argued that standard environmental economic and 'ecological economics', have the same fundamentals of valuation in terms of money, based on a demand curve derived from utilitymaximization. But this approach leads to three different measuresof value. An invariant measure of value exists only if the consumer has 'homothetic preferences'. In order to obtain a numerical estimate of value, specific functional forms are necessary, but typically these estimates do not converge. This is due to the fact that the underlying economic model is not structurally stable.According to neoclassical economics, any environmental remediation can be justified only in terms of increases in consumer satisfaction, balancing marginal gains against marginal costs. It is not surprising that the optimal policy obtained fromthis approach suggests only small reductions in greenhouse gases.We show that a unidimensional metric of consumer's utility measured in dollar terms can only trivialize the problem of global climate change.     

Acute and reproductive toxicity of nano-sized metal oxides (ZnO and TiO₂) to earthworms (Eisenia fetida)

An increase in nanomaterial applications will likely lead to an increased probability of environmental exposures, raising concerns regarding the safety of these materials. Recent studies have indicated that manufactured nanomaterials, such as metal oxides, have the potential to be harmful to aquatic and terrestrial organisms. The majority of nano-metal oxide research addressing potential toxicological issues has been focused in aquatic environments with very little terrestrial data. This study characterized the acute and reproductive toxicity of zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) to earthworms (Eisenia fetida) in a terrestrial system. Following a 14 d exposure, nano-sized ZnO on filter paper was acutely toxic to E. fetida, while nano-sized TiO(2) did not exhibit acute toxicity. In contrast, neither nano-sized ZnO nor TiO(2) exhibited acute toxicity to earthworms in sand. Both nano-sized ZnO and TiO(2), following a 4 week exposure, caused reproductive effects in earthworms in artificial soil. Overall, nano-sized ZnO exhibited greater toxicity than nano-sized TiO(2) in Eisenia fetida.     

Modelling the Transport of Oil–Mineral-Aggregates (OMAs) in the Marine Environment and Assessment of Their Potential Risks

Spilled oil can interact with suspended particles in marine environments and form oil–mineral aggregates (OMAs). Some OMAs with densities higher than seawater density can settle to the seedbed to pose potential risks to benthic organisms. To understand the transport and fate of oil associated with OMAs and evaluate their potential risks, an integrated hydrodynamic and fate/transport model has been used in a hypothetical case study of 1,000 tonnes of South Louisiana oil spilled in the Bristol Channel. Several scenarios have been simulated under different wave and current conditions. By using OMA properties derived from laboratory measurements reported in literature, it has been found that the risk to the benthos is unlikely for the two hypothetical cases with strong currents, but it is likely for the wave only (weak current) case. The effects of other factors such as OMA properties and sediment concentration were also examined in terms of their effects on the transport process and risks.     

Correction to: Clustering the Concentrations of PM10 and O3: Application of Spatiotemporal Model–Based Clustering

Environmental Modeling & Assessment -     

Can NO(2) be used to indicate ambient and personal levels of benzene and 1,3-butadiene in air?

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between two toxic volatile organic compounds, 1,3-butadiene and benzene, and a commonly used indicator of vehicle exhaust fumes, NO(2). This was to see if NO(2) can be used to indicate personal exposure to carcinogenic substances or at least estimate ambient levels measured at a stationary point. During the winter of 2001, 40 randomly selected persons living in the City of Umea (in the north of Sweden) were recruited to the study. Personal measurements of 1,3-butadiene, benzene and NO(2) were performed for one week, and were repeated for 20 of the 40 participants. Additional information was gathered using a diary kept by each participant. During the same time period weekly stationary measurements were performed at one urban background station and one street station in the city centre. The results from the personal measurements showed a negligible association of NO(2) with 1,3-butadiene (r= 0.06) as well as with benzene (r= 0.10), while the correlation coefficient between 1,3-butadiene and benzene was high and significant (r= 0.67). In contrast to the personal measurements, the stationary measurements showed strong relations between 1,3-butadiene, benzene and NO(2) both within and in-between the street and urban background station. This study supports NO(2) as a potential indicator for 1,3-butadiene and benzene levels in streets or urban background air, while the weak relations found for the personal measurements do not support the use of NO(2) as an indicator for personal 1,3-butadiene and benzene exposure.     

Multidimensional Approaches to Calculation of Design Floods at Confluences—PROIL Model and Copulas

Environmental Modeling & Assessment - In confluence areas, where river flow slowdowns can be substantial, the selection of design flows for the purpose of designing a flood control system...     

Trace Element Patterns and Seasonal Variability of Dust Precipitation in a Low Polluted City – The Example of Karlsruhe/Germany

Urban areas of different land uses can be distinguished by their specific patterns of atmospheric dust and trace element precipitation. Dusts emitted from industrial areas with fossil fuel processing, for instance, are enriched in V, Ni and Co. Cluster analysis groups sampling sites based on their specific element patterns. The resulting groups correspond to the surrounding land use: Urban sampling sites were identified showing similar patterns of dust and trace element precipitation as a reference site; dusts of other urban sites were influenced by diffuse pollution (caused by non-point and dispersed pollution sources), or by specific industrial emissions. Cluster analysis was also used to characterize the chemical dust composition. Three clusters of typical element associations were distinguished. These clusters represent the dust matrix, diffuse urban pollution and pollution due to fossil fuel processing. Dust precipitation and chemical dust composition show seasonal variations. Dust precipitation and concentrations of trace elements in the precipitated dust are negatively correlated during the annual courses. The highest concentrations of trace elements occur during winter, whereas the highest precipitations of dust were found during summer. This finding stresses that both, precipitation and concentration have to be addressed for the environmental assessment of urban dusts.