Chlorophenol tolerant and degradative bacteria isolated from a river receiving pulp mill discharges

A screening was carried out in a river receiving pulp mill discharges (BioBio river, central Chile) to study the bacterial population able to tolerate and degrade chlorophenols. In four selected stations and at different seasons, water samples were taken from the river. Total bacterial population and the number of chlorophenol tolerant bacteria were counted. Bacterial tolerance to 25, 50, 100, 200 and 400 μg/ml of 2,4‐dichlorophenol (DCP), 2,4,6‐trichlorophenol (TCP) and pentachlorophenol (PCP) was determined. Strains able to tolerate at least 400 μg/ml chlorophenols were found. Eighteen bacterial strains able to use chlorophenols as the sole carbon source were isolated: five of them were Pseudomonas fluorescens, two Alcaligenes sp., one Citrobacter freundii, one Aeromonas sp. and nine unidentified Gram negative bacilli. A good correlation (r ² = 0.758) between the logarithm of DCP tolerant bacteria and the content of adsorbable organic halogen (AOX) at low dilution in the river water was established. Four groups of tolerant bacteria were found: growing on PCP and DCP, growing on PCP and TCP, growing only on PCP and growing only on TCP.     

Pesticide and plasticizer residues in bergamot essential oils from Calabria (Italy)

Organophosphorus and organochlorine pesticides, phosphorated plasticizers, chloroparaffins and phthalate esters contamination in bergamot essential oils produced in Calabria in the crop years 1999-2000 was studied by HRGC in connection with detectors FPD, ECD, MS. Residues of dicofol and tetradifon were found in oils from both crop years. The mean dicofol concentration was 0.26 mg/l in samples from 1999 and 0.20 mg/l in those from 2000; the mean tetradifon content was 0.06 mg/l for both the crop years. Among plasticizers, residues of diisobutyl phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate were found in samples from crop years 1999 and 2000, the mean content were 1.22 and 1.23 mg/l, 1.51 and 1.65 mg/l, 1.38 and 1.42 mg/l respectively.     

Elevated concentrations of primordial radionuclides in sediments from the Reedy River and surrounding creeks in Simpsonville, South Carolina

A gamma-ray survey and analysis of 16 riverbed samples from the Reedy River watershed near Simpsonville, SC were conducted and compared with national and international studies of primordial radionuclides. The study reported here follows on a recent discovery of anomalously high uranium concentrations in several private well waters in the area. An HPGe spectrometer was used for quantification of gamma emitting radionuclides in the sediments. All sediments contained radionuclides from the uranium and thorium series as well as (40)K. Uranium-238 concentrations in sediment samples ranged from 11.1 to 74.2Bqkg(-1). The measured radionuclide concentrations were compared with data from UNSCEAR and NURE reports. The river and stream sediment data were augmented by in situ NaI(Tl) gamma-ray spectrometer measurements. Comparisons between the ex situ and in situ measurements indicate equivalently distributed uranium in the surface soils and stream sediments, the source of which is likely attributed to the monazite belts that are known to exist in the area.     

How to stay together? Habitat use by three sympatric sharks in the western coast of Baja California Sur,Mexico

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Sharks are top predators and play an important role in the regulation of marine ecosystems at lower trophic position. Mustelus californicus, Sphyrna...     

Correction to: Management of food waste in restaurants by way of circular practices

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Food waste is a serious problem worldwide. There is a lot of waste in the food sector, while we still have a significant percentage of people who...     

Overview of particulate exposures in the US trucking industry

As part of a large epidemiologic study of lung cancer, 55,000 subjects, we have conducted a nation-wide survey of particulate exposures in the US trucking industry. The goal is to differentiate the risks from various types of particulate exposures, such as traffic emissions and general air pollution. We hypothesize that exposures defined by job and work site characteristics can be linked with subjects using their personal job histories. This report covers exposures at 36 randomly chosen large truck freight terminals in the US. Measurements were made of PM2.5, elemental carbon (EC), and organic carbon (OC) upwind of the terminal (background) and in work areas, and by personal samples. Significant differences in exposure intensity, microg m(-3), were found for work locations and jobs relative to background levels (GM[GSD]) at terminal sites: PM2.5 9.8[2.34], EC 0.5[3.24], and OC 5.0[1.76]. Using EC as a marker for diesel particles, work locations varied significantly: office 0.3[3.7], dock area 0.7[2.89] and shop area 1.5[3.52]), as did job titles (non-smokers): clerk 0.1[9.98], dock worker 0.8[2.13], and mechanic 2.0[3.82]. Cigarette smoking contributed substantially to personal exposures, approximately doubling PM2.5 and OC, but having less of an effect on EC. Large differences were seen across the terminal sites due to differences in local regional air pollution levels from traffic and other sources. We conclude that it will be possible to estimate current exposures of the cohort using an exposure assignment matrix based on job title, work location, and terminal site. This distribution overlaps substantially with the general public's exposure to these sources.