Health risks from PAHs and potentially toxic elements in street dust of a coal mining area in India

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) (Ba, Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr, Ni, As, Co) were determined in the road dusts of a coal...     

Life cycle assessment of EPS and CPB inserts: design considerations and end of life scenarios

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) and corrugated paperboard (CPB) are used in many industrial applications, such as containers, shock absorbers or simply as inserts. Both materials pose two different types of environmental problems. The first is the pollution and resource consumption that occur during the production of these materials; the second is the growing landfills that arise out of the excessive disposal of these packaging materials. Life cycle assessment or LCA will be introduced in this paper as a useful tool to compare the environmental performance of both EPS and CPB throughout their life cycle stages. This paper is divided into two main parts. The first part investigates the environmental impacts of the production of EPS and CPB from 'cradle-to-gate', comparing two inserts--both the original and proposed new designs. In the second part, LCA is applied to investigate various end-of-life cases for the same materials. The study will evaluate the environmental impacts of the present waste management practices in Singapore. Several 'what-if' cases are also discussed, including various percentages of landfilling and incineration. The SimaPro LCA Version 5.0 software's Eco-indicator 99 method is used to investigate the following five environmental impact categories: climate change, acidification/eutrophication, ecotoxicity, fossil fuels and respiratory inorganics.     

SPATIAL DELINEATION OF BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC GRADIENTS IN A RURAL NEW YORK RESERVOIR1

ABSTRACT: The spatial changes in abiotic and biotic variables from riverine to lacustrine areas characterized by the river-lake concept of reservoir function was applied to the Tomhannock Reservoir, Rensselaer County, New York. To identify these longitudinal gradients, a two-year investigation (May 1991 to October 1992) was conducted to measure primary productivity, nutrient concentrations, chlorophyll α and phytoplankton biomass at three locations in the 705-ha water supply reservoir. Emphasis was placed on the measurement of primary production using the carbon-14 artificial incubator (photosynthetron) technique. The average annual production in 1992 was 247.3 gm^?2 245 d^?1, ranging from 52 to 2677 mg C m^?2. Mean alpha^B (assimilation efficiency), P^Bm (assimilation number), and I_k (saturation irradiance) were 4.40 mg C mgChl^?1 E^?1 m^?2, 3.82 mg C mgChl^?1 h^?1, and 236.5 μE m^?2 s^?1, respectively. Neither seasonal nor spatial variability of these photosynethetic parameters were observed. Except for Secchi depth, distinct longitudinal zones from river inflow to darn were not statistically demonstrated in the Tomhannock Reservoir. Mean extinction coefficient, chlorophyll α and total phosphorus concentrations decreased; Secchi transparency and phytoplankton biomass increased; while primary productivity and dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentration remained the same from headwater to darn. These baseline data will be used to assess the future effectiveness of best management practices (BMPs) recently instituted on selected watershed farmland in an attempt to reduce the detrimental impact of agricultural activities on drinking water quality.     

Cadmium- and calcium-mediated toxicity in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in vivo: interactions on fitness and mitochondrial endpoints

Rainbow trout were exposed to sublethal waterborne Cd (5 and 10 μg L⁻¹) and dietary Ca (60 mg g⁻¹), individually and in combination, for 30 d to elucidate the interactive effects and evaluate the toxicological significance of mitochondrial responses to these cations in vivo. Indices of fish condition and mortality were measured and livers, centers of metabolic homeostasis, were harvested to assess mitochondrial function and cation accumulation. All indices of condition assessed (body weight, hepatosomatic index and condition factor) were reduced in all the treatment groups. Mortality occurred in the Cd-exposed groups with dietary Ca partly protecting against and enhancing it in the lower and higher Cd exposure, respectively. State 3 mitochondrial respiration was inhibited by 30%, 35% and 40% in livers of fish exposed to Ca, Cd and Cd + Ca, respectively, suggesting reduced ATP turnover and/or impaired substrate oxidation. While the phosphorylation efficiency was unaffected, state 4 and state 4+ (+ oligomycin) respirations were inhibited by all the exposures. Mitochondrial coupling was reduced and transiently restored denoting partially effective compensatory mechanisms to counteract Cd/Ca toxicity. The respiratory dysfunction was associated with accumulation of both Cd and Ca in the mitochondria. Although fish that survived acute effects of Cd and Ca exposure apparently made adjustments to energy generation such that liver mitochondria functioned more efficiently albeit at reduced capacity, reduced fitness was persistent possibly due to increased demands for maintenance and defense against toxicity. Overall, interactions between Cd and Ca on condition indices and mitochondrial responses were competitive or cooperative depending on exposure concentrations and duration.     

The effects of age and relatedness on mating patterns in thornbug treehoppers: inbreeding avoidance or inbreeding tolerance?

The social environment of many species includes synchronous maturation of siblings in family groups, followed by limited dispersal of adults from their natal site. Under these conditions, females may experience high encounter rates with same-age siblings during mate searching, increasing their risk of inbreeding. If inbreeding depression occurs, mating with a sibling is often considered maladaptive; however, in some contexts, the inclusive fitness benefits of inbreeding may outweigh the costs, favoring females that tolerate some level of inbreeding depression. We evaluated mating patterns in the treehopper Umbonia crassicornis, a semelparous species in which females encounter same-age siblings during mate searching. A female U. crassicornis that mates with a brother suffers from inbreeding depression. We used a free-choice mating design that offered females simultaneous mating opportunities with three groups of males: siblings, same-age nonsiblings, and older nonsiblings. These groups represent the types of males typically encountered by females during mate searching. Our goal was to assess whether mating patterns were influenced by inbreeding avoidance by evaluating two hypotheses: kin discrimination and age-based mating (older males cannot be siblings in this species). There was no difference in the proportions of females mating with siblings vs nonsiblings, suggesting an absence of kin discrimination. However, females mated with a greater proportion of older vs younger males. Given that females do not avoid siblings as mates despite a cost to inbreeding, our results provide a possible example of inbreeding tolerance. We also discuss some factors that may have contributed to the mating advantage of older males.     

Remediation of fly ash landfills through plantation

In India, a significant area of land is occupied by preexisting coal‐fired thermal power plants (TPPs) for the storage of fly ash slurry in ash ponds. However, the area available for storage of fly ash at these TPPs is limited. In addition, this type of fly ash disposal poses a problem due to restricted land availability and potential contamination issues. A viable alternative is the reclamation of fly ash ponds by plantation. A study at the Ramagundam Super Thermal Power Station (RSTPS) in Andhra Pradesh, India, on reclamation of a portion of an ash‐filled, low‐lying area has been performed. This article describes the characteristics of the RSTPS pond ash, ash leachates, and improvements in the fertility status of the reclaimed area over a three‐year period. Furthermore, morphometric observations of different planted species indicate that these types of ash‐filled, low‐lying areas can be suitably reclaimed and the nutrient‐rich leachate from ash‐filled areas potentially can be used for irrigation purposes. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Impact assessment of waste management options in Singapore

This paper describes the application of life cycle assessment for evaluating various waste management options in Singapore, a small-island city state. The impact assessment method by SimaPro is carried out for comparing the potential environmental impacts of waste treatment options including landfilling, incineration, recycling, and composting. The inventory data include gases and leachate from landfills, air emissions and energy recovery from incinerators, energy (and emission) savings from recycling, composting gases, and transport pollution. The impact assessment results for climate change, acidification, and ecotoxicity show that the incineration of materials imposes considerable harm to both human health and the environment, especially for the burning of plastics, paper/cardboard, and ferrous metals. The results also show that, although some amount of energy can be derived from the incineration of wastes, these benefits are outweighed by the air pollution (heavy metals and dioxins/furans) that incinerators produce. For Singapore, landfill gases and leachate generate minimal environmental damage because of the nation's policy to landfill only 10% of the total disposed wastes. Land transportation and separation of waste materials also pose minimal environmental damage. However, sea transportation to the landfill could contribute significantly to acidification because of the emissions of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides from barges. The composting of horticultural wastes hardly imposes any environmental damage. Out of all the waste strategies, the recycling of wastes offers the best solution for environmental protection and improved human health for the nation. Significant emission savings can be realized through recycling.     

Impacts of urbanization: diversity and the symbiotic relationships of rural,urban, and spaces in-between

This Impacts article proposes strategies for mitigating negative impacts of urbanization in rural locations in the United States. Issues addressed include impacts of population growth and development, loss of agricultural lands, and impacts of climate change on agriculture and rural communities. Conclusions are supported by stakeholder survey data, geographic information systems-based data, and desktop reviews of research journal publications. We propose a sustainable, diversified approach that supports mitigation of issues, including increasing demand on food production and decline of rural communities. A key issue that we address is where we will find suitable landscapes to reduce enough food for 9.6 billion people living in 2050.

Urban and rural development planners are grappling with solutions to escalating impacts global populations, stresses on food production, and effects of climate change. Solutions are identified, including strengthening rural and urban contexts by establishing connected and interdependent links that support diversification of rural and urban contexts as viable solutions to these issues.

Diversified rural-to-urban sustainable agriculture production is a promising approach to addressing climate change impacts. Organic agriculture principles exhibit strong diversity and are accredited by United States Department of Agriculture as the only federally certified sustainable agriculture practice in the United States. Sustainable agriculture practices are evolving into profitable diversified alternative food sources. We offer substantiated alternative solutions for remediating impacts of urbanization on rural agriculture and communities. Collectively, these solutions can strengthen symbiotic relationships between sustainable agriculture and rural communities, addressing our growing population issues and preserving our dwindling farmlands and rural communities.