Evaluation of the aggressive potential of marine chloride and sulfate salts on mortars applied as renders in the Metropolitan Region of Salvador--Bahia, Brazil

In recent years, growing interest has focused on determining the performance of materials and evaluating the service life of structures exposed to various environmental forces. In this context, the determination of the aggressive potential of marine salts on mortars used as external renders is critical. The present study aimed to evaluate the spatial distribution of marine salts relative to distance from the sea. This was done by monitoring the deposition rate of chlorides and sulfates in wet candle sensors, located at nine stations scattered around the Metropolitan Region of Salvador, state of Bahia, Brazil. The study also determined the effectiveness of water-soluble salts at penetrating three different types of mortars of varying cement content via deposition and diffusion. The methodology employed enabled an evaluation of the efficiency of the monitoring sensors' measurement of the aggressiveness potential of local marine aerosol, and determination of the comparative performance of the three mortars tested, from the standpoint of resistance to salt penetration. The type and amount of salts captured both in solution and in powder samples extracted from the mortars were determined by ion chromatography. The analysis of the various types of mortars tested indicated which types are more resistant to the aggressive potential of the region's marine aerosol and the distance from the shore where local buildings are liable to be most strongly affected.     

The food-print of Paris: long-term reconstruction of the nitrogen flows imported into the city from its rural hinterland

Between the tenth and twentieth century the population of Paris city increased from a few thousand to near 10 million inhabitants. In response to the growing urban demand during this period, the agrarian systems of the surrounding rural areas tremendously increased their potential for commercial export of agricultural products, made possible by a surplus of agricultural production over local consumption by humans and livestock in these areas. Expressed in terms of nitrogen, the potential for export increased from about 60 kg N/km2/year of rural territory in the Middle Ages, to more than 5,000 kg N/km2/year from modern agriculture. As a result of the balance between urban population growth and rural productivity, the rural area required to supply Paris (i.e. its food-print) did not change substantially for several centuries, remaining at the size of the Seine watershed surrounding the city (around 60,000 km2). The theoretical estimate of the size of the supplying hinterland at the end of the eighteenth century is confirmed by the figures deduced from the analysis of the historical city toll data (octroi). During the second half of the twentieth century, the ‘food-print’ of Paris reduced in size, owing to an unprecedented increase in the potential for commercial export associated with modern agricultural systems based on chemical N fertilization. We argue that analysing the capacity of territories to satisfy the demand for nitrogen-containing food products of local or distant urban population and markets might provide new and useful insights when assessing world food resource allocation in the context of increasing population and urbanization.     

Binding of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by humic acids formed during composting

Binding of two model polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phenanthrene and pyrene, by humic acids (HAs) isolated from an organic substrate at different stages of composting and a soil was investigated using a batch fluorescence quenching method and the modified Freundlich model. With respect to soil HA, the organic substrate HA fractions were characterized by larger binding affinities for both phenanthrene and pyrene. Further, isotherm deviation from linearity was larger for soil HA than for organic substrate HAs, indicating a larger heterogeneity of binding sites in the former. The composting process decreased the binding affinity and increased the heterogeneity of binding sites of HAs. The changes undergone by the HA fraction during composting may be expected to contribute to facilitate microbial accessibility to PAHs. The results obtained also suggest that bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soils with matured compost, rather than with fresh organic amendments, may result in faster and more effective cleanup.     

Moral Responsibility for Environmental Problems—Individual or Institutional?

The actions performed by individuals, as consumers and citizens, have aggregate negative consequences for the environment. The question asked in this paper is to what extent it is reasonable to hold individuals and institutions responsible for environmental problems. A distinction is made between backward-looking and forward-looking responsibility. Previously, individuals were not seen as being responsible for environmental problems, but an idea that is now sometimes implicitly or explicitly embraced in the public debate on environmental problems is that individuals are appropriate targets for blame when they perform actions that are harmful to the environment. This idea is criticized in this paper. It is argued that instead of blaming individuals for performing actions that are not environmentally friendly we should ascribe forward-looking responsibility to individuals, a notion that focuses more on capacity and resources than causation and blameworthiness. Furthermore, it is important to emphasize that a great share of forward-looking responsibility should also be ascribed to institutional agents, primarily governments and corporations. The urge to ascribe forward-looking responsibility to institutional agents is motivated by the efficiency aim of responsibility distributions. Simply put, if responsibility is ascribed to governments and corporations there is a better chance of creating a society in which the opportunities to act in an environmentally friendly way increase.     

Removal of heavy metal ions from wastewaters using dendrimer-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Dendrimer-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) for heavy metal ion removal from wastewaters were developed. Triazole dendrimers (TD) were built directly onto the carbon nanotube surface by successive click chemistry reactions affording the zero- and first-generation dendrimer-functionalized MWCNT (MWCNT-TD1 and MWCNT-TD2). The Moedritzer-Irani reaction carried out on the amino groups present on the MWCNT-TD2 sample gave the corresponding α-aminophosphonate nanosystem MWCNT-TD2P. Both MWCNT-TD2 and MWCNT-TD2P nanosystems have been characterized by physical, chemical, and morphological analyses. Their chelating abilities towards the toxic metal ions Pb²⁺, Hg²⁺, and Ni²⁺ and the harmless Ca²⁺ ion have been experimentally evaluated in the two different sets of experiments and at the salt concentrations of 1 mg/mL or 1 μg/mL by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results of these studies pointed out the interesting chelating behavior for the phosphonated nanosystem towards the Hg²⁺ ion. The complexation mode of the best chelating system MWCNT-TD2P with mercury was investigated through density functional theory (DFT) calculations, suggesting a chelation mechanism involving the two oxygen atoms of the phosphate group. The synthesized dendrimers, supported on the multi-walled carbon nanotubes, have shown the potential to be used for the selective toxic metal ion removal and recovery.     

Prediction of membrane fouling using artificial neural networks for wastewater treated by membrane bioreactor technologies: bottlenecks and possibilities

Membrane fouling is a major concern for the optimization of membrane bioreactor (MBR) technologies. Numerous studies have been led in the field of membrane fouling control in order to assess with precision the fouling mechanisms which affect membrane resistance to filtration, such as the wastewater characteristics, the mixed liquor constituents, or the operational conditions, for example. Worldwide applications of MBRs in wastewater treatment plants treating all kinds of influents require new methods to predict membrane fouling and thus optimize operating MBRs. That is why new models capable of simulating membrane fouling phenomenon were progressively developed, using mainly a mathematical or numerical approach. Faced with the limits of such models, artificial neural networks (ANNs) were progressively considered to predict membrane fouling in MBRs and showed great potential. This review summarizes fouling control methods used in MBRs and models built in order to predict membrane fouling. A critical study of the application of ANNs in the prediction of membrane fouling in MBRs was carried out with the aim of presenting the bottlenecks associated with this method and the possibilities for further investigation on the subject.     

Dental enamel as biomarker for environmental contaminants in relevant industrialized estuary areas in São Paulo,Brazil

Heavy metal contamination is a long-standing and very well-known public health problem, and its exposure can cause damage to several organs of human body, especially on the central nervous system of young children and teenagers. The aim of this article is to evaluate lead, cadmium, and manganese contamination in 125 children from 6 to 13 years old living in contaminated areas during the period from 2006 to 2009 (São Vicente, Cubatão Downtown, Bertioga and Cubatão Pilões/Água Fria). This estuary area is the most important example of environmental degradation by chemicals from industrial sources. This is a cross-sectional study through clinical examinations and dental enamel tests. All mothers from these children lived in the area since before the pregnancy. Lead, cadmium, and manganese levels (μg/g) were measured on dental enamel samples through graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry, searching for the occurrence of heavy metals. The mean lead concentrations were 139.48 μg/g in Cubatão Pilões/Água Fria, 170.45 μg/g in Cubatão Downtown, 213.52 μg/g in São Vicente, and 151.89 μg/g in Bertioga. The mean cadmium concentrations were 10.83 μg/g in Cubatão Pilões/Água Fria, 12.58 μg/g in Cubatão Downtown, 10.92 μg/g in São Vicente, and 14.57 μg/g in Bertioga. The mean manganese concentrations were 23.49 μg/g in Cubatão Pilões/Água Fria, 30.90 μg/g in Cubatão Downtown, 41.46 μg/g in São Vicente, and 42.00 μg/g in Bertioga. Dental surface enamel may be used as an efficient biomarker of past environmental exposure to lead, manganese, and cadmium which are associated to well-known sources of heavy metal contamination. The results suggest that the evaluated children were exposed to sources of lead, cadmium, and manganese since before their conceptions. Although Bertioga initially was chosen as a control area of this study, it was also was verified to have heavy metal contamination on examined children.     

Biosurfactants during in situ bioremediation: factors that influence the production and challenges in evalution

Research on the influence of biosurfactants on the efficiency of in situ bioremediation of contaminated soil is continuously growing. Despite the constant progress in understanding the mechanisms involved in the effects of biosurfactants, there are still many factors that are not sufficiently elucidated. There is a lack of research on autochthonous or exogenous microbial metabolism when biostimulation or bioaugmentation is carried out to produce biosurfactants at contaminated sites. In addition, studies on the application of techniques that measure the biosurfactants produced in situ are needed. This is important because, although the positive influence of biosurfactants is often reported, there are also studies where no effect or negative effects have been observed. This review aimed to examine some studies on factors that can improve the production of biosurfactants in soils during in situ bioremediation. Moreover, this work reviews the methodologies that can be used for measuring the production of these biocomposts. We reviewed studies on the potential of biosurfactants to improve the bioremediation of hydrocarbons, as well as the limitations of methods for the production of these biomolecules by microorganisms in soil.     

UV-C as a means to combat biofilm proliferation on prehistoric paintings: evidence from laboratory experiments

A laboratory investigation of UV-C effects was conducted over a 62-h period: a much higher dose than in classic UV-C treatment was applied to five pigments and two painting binders used by prehistoric humans. Colorimetric parameters were compared to a control to see if UV-C can change pigment and binder color. Infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma and X-ray crystallography were also carried out to confirm colorimetric measurement. In order to understand how microorganism may physically deteriorate paintings, limestone blocks were painted and monitored until their complete colonization by algae, cyanobacteria, fungi and/or mosses. The results show that UV-C has no effect on mineral compounds. Conversely, it is noteworthy that binder color changed under both UV-C light conditions as well as in visible light. Concerning painted blocks, a fast proliferation has been observed with deterioration of the paintings. These results show the high importance of treating biofilm as soon as possible. Moreover, these findings may be a promising avenue inducing cave managers to use friendly UV-C light to treat contaminated cave paintings and also in the prevention of biodeterioration by lampenflora.     

Conservation of indigenous plants to support community livelihoods: the MGU – Useful Plants Project

Through the MGU – Useful Plants Project (2007–2015) led by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, high-quality seed collections and research information have been gathered on useful indigenous plants selected by communities in Botswana, Kenya, Mali, South Africa, and Mexico. Local communities were trained in seed conservation, plant propagation, and planting activities, while revenue generation was promoted directly through the sustainable use of plants and plant products and indirectly through wider environmental and cultural services. The success of this project was determined by its participative approach, involving local communities in plant conservation activities and using plant research to support it. However, the promotion of sustainable use and income generation highlighted issues that confirmed the importance of using a ‘holistic approach’ to address the objective of poverty reduction and contribute to improved livelihoods in the communities.