Auramine dyes induce toxic effects to aquatic organisms from different trophic levels: an application of predicted non-effect concentration (PNEC)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The dyes Auramine and Auramine O are used in several industrial products, despite the scarce information regarding their ecotoxicity. The aim of the...     

Assessment of the levels of DDT and DDE in soil and blood samples from Tabasco, Mexico

In Mexico, 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) was used until the year 2000, principally in agriculture and anti-paludal program health campaigns. The southeastern region of Mexico was an important area of malaria, and from 1957 DDT was applied indoors every 6?months, with a coverage of 2?g/m². The current study was performed in Tabasco, a Mexican state located in the southeastern region of Mexico. DDT and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethene (DDE) were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. In general, low levels were found in household outdoor samples; the levels of DDT ranged from not detectable to 0.048?mg/kg, and of DDE from 0.001 to 0.068?mg/kg. An important finding was that, in all communities where DDT in blood was analyzed, exposure to DDT was found, indicating both past and present exposure. Although the levels found in this study were lower than other studies in Mexico, there is a need to evaluate whether the people living in the study area are at risk.     

Overcoming the blame game to learn from major accidents: A systemic analysis of an Anhydrous Ammonia leakage accident

This article aims to demonstrate the need for changing the methods with which accidents are analyzed, if we truly wish to use what we uncover from them to learn and enrich our knowledge base of organizational management. The goal is to relinquish the broadly adopted and rather simplistic paradigm that accepts the search for human error and unsafe acts performed by workers, and produces “guilt diagnostics”. Instead, we use a systemic accident analysis methodology, based on the sociotechnical principle of understanding the real operating conditions in which accidents take place. In order to demonstrate the benefits of the theoretical framework, we compare the analyses of an Anhydrous Ammonia gas leakage accident in a fish processing plant using the traditional accident analysis model based on unsafe acts and the proposed systemic approach. The results favor the latter since it tends to be more reliable and offering useful recommendations to safety management processes, thus helping to prevent accidents, especially in complex systems.     

Advanced techniques for characterization of organic matter from anaerobically digested grapemarc distillery effluents and amended soils

The effects of grapemarc distillery effluents on the quality of soil organic matter is extremely important to ensure the environmentally-safe and agronomically efficient use of these materials as organic amendment. In this work, the effects of the application of untreated (UG) and anaerobically digested grapemarc distillery effluents, either added with (AGM) or without mycorrhiza (AG), on soil humic acid (HA) were investigated in field plot experiments in comparison to HAs from a control soil and an inorganic fertilized soil. The humic acid-like fractions (HALs) isolated from UG, AG and soils were characterized for compositional, structural and functional properties by the use of elemental and functional group analysis, and ultraviolet/visible, Fourier transform infrared and fluorescence spectroscopies. Results obtained indicated that anaerobic digestion of effluents produced an extended mineralization with loss of organic C and stabilization of residual organic matter by increasing the content of HALs in the effluent. With respect to control soil HA, HALs isolated from UG and AG were characterized by smaller acidic functional group contents, a prevalent aliphatic character and smaller aromatic polycondensation and humification degrees. The chemical and spectroscopic characteristics of native soil HA were not substantially modified by application of UG, AG and AGM to soil, which suggests the occurred incorporation of the effluent HAL into native soil HA. In conclusion, these results showed the possibility of a beneficial and safe recycling of grapemarc distillery effluents as soil amendment.     

Carbofuran degraded by iron-doped anatase: Weakening the cholinesterase inhibitory activity in the photoproducts mixture

Carbofuran is a toxic carbamate pesticide, and its use has increased in recent years. While marketing information indicates stability in different chemical media, carbofuran exhibits relative photolability. The aim of this research was to decompose carbofuran and to identify the photoproducts achieved when two different doped titania photocatalysts were employed under UV irradiation. The iron-doped TiO₂ materials were obtained (a) via a hydrothermal method and (b) by an ultrasound-assisted sol–gel method. The precursors were TiOSO₄?xH₂O and Fe₃(NO₃)·9H₂O. X-ray studies confirmed that the anatase phase of the iron-doped TiO₂ resulted from the two preparation methods. The photocatalytic performance of the prepared materials was monitored by LC/ESI-QTOF-MS, enabling the identification of photoproducts: oxo-carbamates, hydroxylated benzofuranes, a carboxamide, and one amine. By using the iron-doped TiO₂ materials, 2,2-dimethyl-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-3,7-diol was the most abundant photoproduct, and N,2,2-trimethyl-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-7-amine was the only compound that had not been previously reported in the photolysis and photocatalysis of carbofuran. The product 3-hydroxy carbofuran, a cholinesterase inhibitor, was quantified and was found to be transformed into compounds that lack this inhibitive property.     

Reduction targets and abatement costs of developing countries resulting from global and developed countries’ reduction targets by 2050

The European Union (EU) has advocated an emission reduction target for developed countries of 80% to 95% below the 1990 level by 2050, and a global reduction target of 50%. Developing countries have resisted the inclusion of these targets in both the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Copenhagen Accord and Cancún Agreements. This paper analyses what these targets would imply for emission targets, abatement costs and energy consumption of developing countries, taking into account the conditional emission reduction pledges for 2020. An 80% reduction target for developed countries would imply more stringent per capita emission targets for developing countries than developed countries by 2050. Moreover, abatement costs of developing countries would be higher than those of developed countries. An 85% to 90% reduction target for developed countries would result in similar per capita emission targets and abatement costs for developed and developing countries by 2050. Total reduction targets for developing countries would range from 30% to 40% below 2005 levels by 2050 and from 30% to 35% above 2005 levels by 2030. The 2030 target for China would be 40% to 45% above 2005 levels, compared to a target for the EU of 45% to 50% below 1990 and for the United States of America (USA) 30% to 35% below 1990. Emission target trajectories for Brazil, South Africa and China would peak before 2025 and for India by around 2025. From the analysis, we may conclude that from the viewpoint of developing countries either developed countries increase their target above 85%, and/or make substantial side-payments.     

Anthropogenic influence on the water quality in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Guanabara Bay is a 384-km² coastal bay with 70% of the population of the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro located within its drainage basin. The water quality of the Bay is impacted by domestic and industrial runoff, of which only 15% has been adequately treated. However, based on a 14-year monitoring program, the water quality for most of Guanabara Bay remains acceptable because of intense tidal flushing, and we failed to find a worsening of conditions during the 14-year study. The inner shallow regions of the Bay, the western and northwestern parts, receive most of the drainage from metropolitan Rio de Janeiro. It is here that the water quality is alarmingly poor, characterized by hypertrophic conditions and occasional hypoxic events. Fecal coliform counts in these inner reaches of the Bay are 4–100 times higher than the maximum acceptable count for recreational waters. Hypertrophic conditions prevail in Guanabara Bay, which is characterized by low dissolved oxygen, high biochemical oxygen demand, peaks in fecal coliform, and extremely high chlorophyll-a concentrations, which reflect high quantities of nutrients entering the system. These anthropogenic pressures are a threat to planktonic and benthic communities and are reminiscent of San Francisco Bay 30 years ago. The Guanabara Bay water quality could be returned to pre-1950 conditions, but it would require sufficient political will and economic investment to ensure that at least 80–90% of the domestic and industrial sewage were treated adequately. Electronic Publication