An evaluation of a fast sampling procedure for the trace analysis of volatile organic compounds in ambient air

This study deals with the evaluation of a fast method for sampling of volatile organic compounds in ambient air. Special bags made of an inert material are used together with a large handpump which allows a sampling of one liter per second. After the sampling, the pollutants are concentrated by adsorption on Tenax and transfered by heat desorption, to a small capillary precolumn cooled with liquid nitrogen, or directly trapped on the precolumn. The suitability of this technique was evaluated by sampling complex synthetic mixtures of known concentration and composition, after which the samples were submitted to a series of operations such as transport, aging, changing of the humidity, heating and cooling, irradiation, etc. Changes in the original mixtures, caused by adsorption, diffusion, chemical or photochemical reactions were investigated by GC-MS analysis. The results of the study show that under certain conditions the samples can be preserved for a rather long period of time without noticeable changes in composition. However for certain compounds, severe quantitative losses occur after one day storage. Finally a practical application of this method is described in a recent case of strong odour annoyance by a chemical plant in the north of Belgium.     

Assessment of heavy metals and their interrelationships with some physicochemical parameters in eco-efficient rivers of Himalayan region

Most precious and world famed Himalayan rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, and their tributaries are originated from Uttarakhand state of India. Over the years, increased industrial activities and urban growth along the rivers and lakes have resulted in increased load over the water bodies. In the present study, a comparison of characteristics of water quality with respect to heavy metals (Fe, Zn, Cu, and Pb) and their interrelationships with some physiological parameters during different seasons of year 2010 has been made in the water bodies flowing through the two geographical regions, namely Garhwal and Kumaon regions of the Himalayan State of India. All observed values of Pb, 02 observation of the Cu, and 59 observations of Fe are found exceed with the WHO standard for drinking water; 83 observations of Pb, 110 observations of Cu, and 59 observations of Fe are found exceed with the Bureau of Indian Standards. However, none of the observation of Zn is found exceeding with the standard limit. Cu shows the highest concentration 7.30 mg/l among all observations and also its higher concentration in Kumaon rivers. All the metals show negative correlation with dissolved oxygen and pH. Fe in river Yamuna system and Zn in Kumaon rivers show significant temporal variations at 90 % level of significance (LOS). However, no significant temporal difference of remaining metals is observed even at 95 % LOS. All metals except Fe in river Yamuna system show very significant variation in spatial distribution in different river systems at 95 % LOS.     

Pollution risk assessment based on QUAL2E-UNCAS simulations of a tropical river in Northern India

This paper exemplifies the application of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's water quality model, QUAL2E-UNCAS in assessing the pollution risk of a tropical river. The rivers selected for study were Hindon (main river) and Kali (its tributary) flowing through Uttar Pradesh district of Northern India. The model application to the two rivers revealed poor water quality in terms of dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and ammonia concentrations. Monte Carlo simulations were performed on two different data sets that were confirming to marked seasonal variations. The Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) derived 95 % confidence level for these parameters strengthened the fact that all point sources were exploiting the assimilative capacity of the two rivers. In order to ascertain probabilistically the risk at which two rivers were falling short of desired water quality, probability curves based on effluent standards and available water quality were prepared. On mapping the two curves, it was found that at 95 % probability, Hindon River was flowing with 53 to 100 % less of desired DO, up to 100 % more of minimum BOD, and probability with which ammonia concentration would not be more than the desired concentration was found to fall downstream. The Kali headwaters showed better quality during low river temperature but worsened downstream with up to 100 % violation in all the above observed parameters. It is expected that similar studies wherein the dependable levels with which a polluted river can be understood to fall short of desired water quality can prove to be useful in ascertaining the efficacy of effluent standards and/or follow-up of pollution control measures.     

Hydropsychidae as bio-indicators

The applicability of single species as bio-indicators for the characterization of running waters is investigated. For this, species of the family of Hydropsychidae (Trichoptera) are chosen. Ten species have been recorded for the Dutch fauna, but some of them have disappeared and others are restricted in their distribution nowadays. Several authors have established a distribution pattern of Hydropsychidae according to a zonation from source to large river. In The Netherlands we could use this scheme only in small, fast running streams. For the characterization of lowland streams more data on the fauna are required. In the large rivers only one species is occurring (Hydropsyche contubernalis), increasing in numbers during the last decade. Probably a certain improvement of the water quality of the river Rhine is responsible for this.     

Animal indicators for side-effects of chemical vector control

In many places in the tropics pesticides are applied in the natural environment to control insects either for crop protection, or for human health. The present study concerns the side-effects of insecticides that are applied in West Africa against tsetseflies (Glossina spp), which are the vectors of human and animal sleeping sickness. Pyrethroids and endosulfan were sprayed either by helicopter or by ground spraying on riverine forests and on forests around villages. Because of the complexity of the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems under study, a selection was made of populations in which side-effects were assessed (so-called indicators). Fish and benthic arthropods were studied in the rivers; Diptera, Hymenoptera and spiders in the forest. Observations on short-term effects revealed the most vulnerable populations (indicators for effects) depending on the insecticide and the method of application. Long-term studies, up to two years, revealed the differences amongst these populations in ability to recover from local depletion. The populations which recovered most slowly were regarded as indicators for recovery. Differences in hydrological regime between climatic zones are regarded to be highly related to differences in vulnerability of ecosystems to irreversible damage by pesticides.     

Ecological vulnerability: seasonal and spatial assessment of trace metals in soils and plants in the vicinity of a scrap metal recycling factory in Southwestern Nigeria

The concentrations of selected heavy metals in the soil and vegetation in the immediate vicinity of a metal scrap recycling factory were determined in the dry and wet seasons using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The results showed that the soil pH in all the sites indicated slight acidity (from 5.07 to 6.13), high soil organic matter content (from 2.08 to 5.60 %), and a well-drained soil of sandy loam textural composition. Soil heavy metal content in the dry season were 0.84–3.12 mg/kg for Pb, 0.26–0.46 mg/kg for Cd, 9.19–24.70 mg/kg for Zn, and 1.46–1.97 mg/kg for Cu. These values were higher than those in the wet season which ranged from 0.62–0.69 mg/kg for Pb, 0.67–0.78 mg/kg for Cd, 0.84–1.00 mg/kg for Zn, and 1.26–1.45 mg/kg for Cu. Except for cadmium in the dry season, the highest concentrations occurred in the northern side of the factory for all the elements in both seasons. An increase in the concentrations of the elements up to 350 m in most directions was also observed. There was no specific pattern in the level of the metals in the leaves of the plant used for the study. However, slightly elevated values were observed in the wet season (Pb 0.53 mg/kg, Cd 0.59 mg/kg, Cu 0.88 mg/kg) compared with the dry season values (Pb 0.50 mg/kg, Cd 0.57 mg/kg, Cu 0.83 mg/kg). This study showed that the elevated concentrations of these metals might be associated with the activities from the recycling plant, providing the basis for heavy metal pollution monitoring and control of this locality that is primarily used for agricultural purposes.     

Characterization and pollutant removal efficiency of biochar derived from baggase,bamboo and tyre

Conversion of broad-spectrum organic waste into carbonaceous biochar has gained enormous interest in past few years. The present study aims to characterize feedstock (FS), i.e. bagasse (Bg), bamboo (Bm) and biochar (BC), i.e. baggase biochar (BBg), bamboo biochar (BBm) and tyre biochar (Ty). Significant changes in elemental composition, atomic ratio, proximate analyses, mineral content and heavy metal content were observed which was well supported by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Impregnation with ferric hydroxide was done, and resultant modified biochars (MBC), i.e. iron-impregnated baggase biochar (FeBBg), iron-impregnated bamboo biochar (FeBBm) and iron-impregnated tyre biochar (FeTy), along feedstock and biochar were used for PO₄ ^3?, Pb, Hg and Cu adsorption. In general, BBg, FeBBg, BBm, FeBBm, Ty and FeTy were found to adsorb PO₄ ^3?, Pb, Hg and Cu better than Bg and Bm, except in few cases. Results from adsorption experiments were fitted into Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin models of isotherms and pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and Elovich models of kinetics. Result of batch study adsorption revealed that maximum adsorption of PO₄ ^3?, Pb, Hg and Cu was done by FeBBg (adsorption mechanism explained by Freundlich model), FeTy (Temkin model), Ty (Langmuir model) and BBm (Langmuir model) respectively. According to R ² values, pseudo-first-order reaction was well suited to PO₄ ^3?, Pb, Hg and Cu adsorption. The optimum pH for maximum adsorption was observed to be 7.4 for PO₄ ^3?, 5 for Cu and 6 for Pb and Hg respectively     

Hazard assessment of metals in invasive fish species of the Yamuna River,India in relation to bioaccumulation factor and exposure concentration for human health implications

Monitoring of heavy metals was conducted in the Yamuna River considering bioaccumulation factor, exposure concentration, and human health implications which showed contamination levels of copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), and chromium (Cr) and their dispersion patterns along the river. Largest concentration of Pb in river water was 392 μg L^?1; Cu was 392 μg L^?1 at the extreme downstream, Allahabad and Ni was 146 μg L^?1 at midstream, Agra. Largest concentration of Cu was 617 μg kg^?1, Ni 1,621 μg kg^?1 at midstream while Pb was 1,214 μg kg^?1 at Allahabad in surface sediment. The bioconcentration of Cu, Pb, Ni, and Cr was observed where the largest accumulation of Pb was 2.29 μg kg^?1 in Oreochromis niloticus and 1.55 μg kg^?1 in Cyprinus carpio invaded at Allahabad while largest concentration of Ni was 174 μg kg^?1 in O. niloticus and 124 μg kg^?1 in C. carpio in the midstream of the river. The calculated values of hazard index (HI) for Pb was found more than one which indicated human health concern. Carcinogenic risk value for Ni was again high i.e., 17.02?×?10^?4 which was larger than all other metals studied. The results of this study indicated bioconcentration in fish due to their exposures to heavy metals from different routes which had human health risk implications. Thus, regular environmental monitoring of heavy metal contamination in fish is advocated for assessing food safety since health risk may be associated with the consumption of fish contaminated through exposure to a degraded environment.     

Meadow birds as indicators

The use of birds as indicators for ‘biological qualities’ is not without risks, and should always be based on a sound knowledge of population dynamics and ecological requirements of the species involved. Meadow birds form a comparatively well-studied group of waders, which breed in Dutch grasslands, heavily influenced by agricultural management. The individual species show different tolerances to intensity levels of management, and can therefore be used as indicators for these levels.     

Benthic macroinvertebrates in biological surveillance: Monte carlo significance tests on functional groups' responses to environmental gradients

Functional feeding groups are evaluated as summaries of benthic macroinvertebrate communities for the Upper La Trobe river system of Victoria, Australia. Two related questions are addressed. First, ‘what is the form of response of functional groups to environmental gradients?’ Second, ‘are observed group patterns significant insofar as they are unlikely to arise in randomly defined groups of taxa?’ Five functional feeding groups are evaluated relative to an environmental space defined at the structural, taxonomic level. A three-dimensional multidimensional scaling ordination of the sample sites, based upon this structural data, reveals a strong correlation with stream order in one direction in the space, and with particle size and benthic organic matter in another orthogonal direction. With the exception of filterers, the observed high correlations of functional group abundance with this space also would have occurred in randomly-defined groups. Scrapers, while not significant as a group in terms of linear response, are significant in terms of unimodal or clumped response to this environmental space. The utilization of such clumped responses in ordination space for biological surveillance programs is discussed.     

Molybdenum distributions and variability in drinking water from England and Wales

An investigation has been carried out of molybdenum in drinking water from a selection of public supply sources and domestic taps across England and Wales. This was to assess concentrations in relation to the World Health Organization (WHO) health-based value for Mo in drinking water of 70 μg/l and the decision to remove the element from the list of formal guideline values. Samples of treated drinking water from 12 water supply works were monitored up to four times over an 18-month period, and 24 domestic taps were sampled from three of their supply areas. Significant (p?p?>?0.05) were detected. Tap water samples collected from three towns (North Wales, the English Midlands, and South East England) supplied uniquely by upland reservoir water, river water, and Chalk groundwater, respectively, also showed a remarkable uniformity in Mo concentrations at each location. Within each, the variability was very small between houses (old and new), between pre-flush and post-flush samples, and between the tap water and respective source water samples. The results indicate that water distribution pipework has a negligible effect on supplied tap water Mo concentrations. The findings contrast with those for Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb, and Cd, which showed significant differences (p?England and Wales.     

Determination of heavy metal contents in water,sediments, and fish tissues of Shizothorax plagiostomus in river Panjkora at Lower Dir,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan

The present study was conducted to investigate the contamination of water, sediments, and fish tissues with heavy metals in river Panjkora at Lower Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Water, sediments, and fish (Shizothorax plagiostomus) samples were collected from September 2012 to January 2013 at three different sites (upstream site at Sharigut, sewage site at Timergara, and downstream site at Sadoo) of river Panjkora. The concentrations of heavy metals in water were in the order Zn?>?Cu?≈?Pb?>?Ni?≈?Cd with mean values of 0.30, 0.01, 0.01, 0.0 and 0.0 mg/l, respectively, which were below the maximum permissible limits of WHO for drinking water. In sediments, heavy metals were found in the order Cu?>?Zn?>?Ni?>?Pb?>?Cd with mean concentrations of 50.6, 38.7, 9.3, 8, and 0.4 mg/kg, respectively. Ni and Cd were not found in any fish tissues, but Zn, Cu, and Pb were detected with the mean concentration ranges of 0.04–1.19, 0.03–0.12, and 0.01–0.09 μg/g, respectively. The present study demonstrates that disposal of waste effluents causes a slight increase in the concentration of heavy metals in river Panjkora as revealed by variation in metal concentrations from upstream to downstream site. Sewage disposal was also found to change physicochemical characteristics of Panjkora water. At present, water and fish of river Panjkora are safe for human consumption, but the continuous sewage disposal may create problems in the future.     

Modelling of lindane transport in groundwater of metropolitan city Vadodara,Gujarat, India

Migration pattern of organochloro pesticide lindane has been studied in groundwater of metropolitan city Vadodara. Groundwater flow was simulated using the groundwater flow model constructed up to a depth of 60 m considering a three-layer structure with grid size of 40?×?40?×?40 m³. The general groundwater flow direction is from northeast to south and southwest. The river Vishwamitri and river Jambua form natural hydrologic boundary. The constant head in the north and south end of the study area is taken as another boundary condition in the model. The hydraulic head distribution in the multilayer aquifer has been computed from the visual MODFLOW groundwater flow model. TDS has been computed though MT3D mass transport model starting with a background concentration of 500 mg/l and using a porosity value of 0.3. Simulated TDS values from the model matches well with the observed data. Model MT3D was run for lindane pesticide with a background concentration of 0.5?μg/l. The predictions of the mass transport model for next 50 years indicate that advancement of containment of plume size in the aquifer system both spatially and depth wise as a result of increasing level of pesticide in river Vishwamitri. The restoration of the aquifer system may take a very long time as seen from slow improvement in the groundwater quality from the predicted scenarios, thereby, indicating alarming situation of groundwater quality deterioration in different layers. It is recommended that all the industries operating in the region should install efficient effluent treatment plants to abate the pollution problem.     

Origination and assessment of metal pollution in Qarechay River bed sediments

In the present investigation, bulk and chemical partitioning of elements (Cu, Mn, Ni, Zn, Fe, Ca) together with organic matter as a loss in ignition in the Qarechay River bed sediments have been studied. The concentration of metals in Qarechay River bed sediments is governed by the geological units of the study area. The study of anthropogenic portion shows that a small proportion of elemental concentration belongs to this phase. However, Mn has a large portion of anthropogenic sources (43 %). Also, Mn has a share of 13.6 % in sulfide fractions. This result indicates that Mn is a highly mobile element and can easily enter the water column. The presence of Mn in sulfide fraction might be indicative of initial stages of conversion of oxidation state into reduction in Qarechay River. Share of metals in anthropogenic portion is in the following order: Mn (43 %)?>?Cu (19 %)?>?Zn (10 %)?>?Ni (3 %)?>?Fe (0 %). Organic metallic bonds are not significantly present in the study area. Geochemical index (I _geo), pollution index (I _poll), enrichment factor (EF), and pollution load index (PLI) values are indicative of a clean environment throughout the river course. These values are in well agreement with results of chemical partitioning data. Eventually, based on the results of chemical partitioning, regional standard of elements for Qarechay River bed sediments has been established.     

Distribution of heavy metals in sediment and water of river Gomti

Gomti river receives industrial as well as domestic wastes from various drains of Lucknow city. In the process the water and sediment of the river Gomti get contaminated with heavy metals and other pollutants. In the present study, impacts of domestic/industrial wastes on the water and sediment chemistry of river Gomti with special reference to heavy metals have been investigated in different seasons (summer, winter and rainy). For this, seven sampling sites: Gaughat, Mohan Meakin, Martyrs Memorial, Hanuman Setu, Nishatganj bridge, Pipraghat and Malhaur, in the river Gomti in Lucknow region were identified and samples of water and sediments were collected in all the three seasons. In the collected water and sediment samples, six metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were analyzed on ICP-AES (Inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy) Labtam Plasmalab 8440. High concentrations of all the metals were noticed in water and sediment in rainy season compared to summer and winter. Because in rainy season runoff from open contaminated sites, agricultural field and industries, directly comes into the river without any treatment. In both the cases, the concentration of zinc was maximum (0.091 g/ml in water and 182.13 g/g in sediment) and the concentration of cadmium (0.001 g/ml in water and 17.26 g/g in sediment) was minimum. Higher concentration of metal in water and sediment during rainy season could be due to the industrial/agricultural/domestic runoff coming into the river.     

Wavelet analysis of some rivers in SE Europe and selected climate indices

The influence of some climatic oscillations and sunspot number on river flows in Romania, Ukraine, and Moldova is verified by using standard wavelet analyses. The selected climate oscillations are Arctic Oscillation (AO), Antarctic Oscillation (AAO), East Atlantic Oscillation (EAO), East Atlantic/West Russia Oscillation (EAWRO), NINO3.4, North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Pacific/North America Oscillation (PNAO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), Polar/Eurasia Oscillation (PEO), Scandinavian Oscillation (ScandO), Southern Oscillation (SO), and West Pacific Oscillation (WPO). Forty-five hydrological stations from an area of 45,000 km² were used in order to discover the spatial evolution of the periodicities found in rivers. The wavelet analysis is novel for the rivers in the study area. There is an important difference between the periodicities found in mountain and plateau areas and those found in the plain area. There is a general downstream increase in the confidence level of the identified periods, even if the atmospheric precipitation has more relevant periodicities in the mountain area. The periodicities can be grouped into two compact groups: 1–16.5 and 27.8–55.6 years. The correlation matrix of the global wavelet spectrum (GWS) values indicates that NAO, EAWRO, PDO, and the sunspot number are the main factors that generate the periodicities in rivers. It is the first time when the influence of PDO on local rivers is proven. All river periodicities smaller than 16 years have a confidence level of 0.95 or above, as proven by the GWS analysis of the daily discharge data, and are caused by multiple external factors.     

Non-radiological contaminants from uranium mining and milling at Ranger,Jabiru, Northern Territory,Australia

Protection from the hazards from radioactivity is of prime importance in the management of uranium mine and mill wastes. Such wastes also contain non-radiological contaminants (heavy metals, acids and neutralising agents) which give rise to potential long-term health and environmental hazards and short-term hazards to the aquatic ecosystem, e.g. as a result of release of waste water. This study seeks to identify non-radiological contaminants (elements) transferred to waste water at the Ranger uranium mine/mill complex at Jabiru, which are likely to hazardous to the aquatic environment. The two principal sources of contaminants are:

1. ore and waste rock mobilised from mining; and
2. process reagents used in the milling and mineral extraction process.

These substances may or may not already be present in the natural environment but may lead to deleterious effects on the aquatic environment if increased above threshold levels. Rhenium, derived from the ore body, was found to be significantly enriched in waste water from Ranger, indicating its suitability as an indicator element for water originating from the mining and milling process, but only uranium, likewise derived from the ore, and magnesium, manganese and sulfur (as sulfate) from the milling process were found to be significant environmental contaminants.     

Estimating mobile source pollutant emission: Methodological comparison and planning implications

In the United States, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 require that all non-attainment metropolitan areas evaluate the potential of transportation controls in meeting 1982 National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Many of these controls are designed to impact on mobile source emissions by altering vehicular speed. The paper discusses differences in results obtained by two alternative methods for estimating the same area's mobile source emissions. The findings suggest that alternative zonal speed aggregation procedures can lead to widely diverging emission estimates. The paper further discusses the inherent assumptions in the aggregation procedures and the potential consequences of their uses in transportation planning for air quality controls.     

Determination of some heavy metal levels in soft drinks on the Ghanaian market using atomic absorption spectrometry method

Twenty-three soft drink samples (i.e., four pineapple-based fruit drinks, eight citrus-based fruit juices, one soya-based drink, three cola carbonated drinks, one apple-based fruit drink, and six cocktail fruit drinks) were randomly purchased from retail outlets in an urban market in Accra and analyzed for the concentrations of iron, cobalt, cadmium, zinc, lead, and copper using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The mean concentration of iron and cadmium were 0.723?±?0.448 mg/L and 0.032?±?0.012 mg/L, respectively. The mean cobalt concentration was 0.071?±?0.049 mg/L, while the mean Zn concentration in the samples was 0.060?±?0.097 mg/L. The mean concentrations of Pb and Cu in the fruit juice samples were 0.178?±?0.091 mg/L and 0.053?±?0.063 mg/L respectively. About 78 % of the samples exceeded the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) maximum contaminant level of 0.3 mg/L prescribed for iron, whereas all the samples exceeded the USEPA maximum contaminant level of 0.005 mg/L prescribed for cadmium. About 91 % of the samples exceeded the EU maximum contaminant level prescribed for lead insoft drinks.