Endocrine disruptors in freshwater streams of Hesse, Germany: changes in concentration levels in the time span from 2003 to 2005

Four small freshwater streams in the region known as Hessisches Ried in Germany were investigated with respect to the temporal and spatial concentration variations of the endocrine disruptors bisphenol A (BPA), 4-tert-octylphenol (4-tert-OP), and the technical isomer mixture of 4-nonylphenol (tech.-4-NP). Measured concentrations of the target compounds in the river water samples ranged from <20 ng/l to 1927 ng/l, <10 ng/l to 770 ng/l, and <10 ng/l to 420 ng/l for BPA, 4-tert-OP and tech.-4-NP, respectively. BPA levels were, with the exception of two samples, below the predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) for water organisms. Tech.-4-NP concentrations showed a significant tendency of decreasing concentrations during the sampling period. This is mainly attributed to the implementation of the European Directive 2003/53/EG, which restricts both the marketing and use of nonylphenols. Results from the analysis of additionally collected water samples from sewage treatment plant (STP) effluents indicate that the STPs cannot be the only sources for tech.-4-NP found in the river water.     

Lipids and fatty acids as indicators of egg condition,larval feeding and maternal effects in Cape hakes (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Merluccius paradoxus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">M. capensis</Emphasis>)

Cape hakes, Merluccius paradoxus and M. capensis, are important gadoid fish that are commercially harvested in the Benguela Current system off Namibia and South Africa. The aim of this study was to elucidate the nutritional condition and feeding preferences of their larvae. Hake eggs and larvae were sampled in austral spring of two consecutive years, 2007 and 2008, off the west coast of South Africa. They were identified to species using genetics, and total lipid content and fatty acid (FA) composition were analysed for each individual egg and larva to compare the condition of different early life stages of both hake species. Higher abundances of M. paradoxus eggs and larvae were consistently found compared to M. capensis. In both species, eggs contained wax esters (WE) and had significantly higher lipid content per dry mass than larvae. Lipid content as well as FA composition changed with the developmental stage of larvae. Quantities of essential fatty acid (EFA) increased with feeding of larvae due to dietary lipid incorporation. In 2007, yolk-sac larvae contained significantly lower total lipids than in 2008. It is argued that this was due to reduced lipid transfer by the spawning females to the eggs. These findings indicate that maternal effects are important in determining condition of hake larvae and that this may have an effect on their survival and subsequent recruitment.     

Seasonal lipid dynamics of the copepods <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudocalanus minutus</Emphasis> (Calanoida) and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oithona similis</Emphasis> (Cyclopoida) in the Arctic Kongsfjorden (Svalbard)

Seasonal lipid dynamics of various developmental stages were investigated in Pseudocalanus minutus and Oithona similis. For P. minutus, the dominance of 16:1(n−7), 16:4(n−3) and 20:5(n−3) fatty acids indicated a diatom-based nutrition in spring, whereas 22:6(n−3), 16:0, 18:2(n−6) and 18:1(n−9) pointed to a flagellate-based diet during the rest of the year as well as omnivorous/carnivorous low-level feeding during winter. The shorter-chain fatty alcohols 14:0 and 16:0 prevailed, also reflecting biosynthetic processes typical of omnivores or carnivores. Altogether, the lipid signatures characterized P. minutus as an opportunistic feeder. In contrast, O. similis had consistently high amounts of the 18:1(n−9) fatty acid in all stages and during all seasons pointing to a generally omnivorous/carnivorous/detritivorous diet. Furthermore, the fatty alcohol 20:1(n−9) reached high percentages especially in adult females and males, and feeding on Calanus faecal pellets is suggested. Fatty alcohols, as wax ester moieties, revealed significant seasonal variations in O. similis and a seasonal trend towards wax ester accumulation in autumn in P. minutus. P. minutus utilized its lipid deposits for development in the copepodite stages III and IV and for gonad maturation in CV and females during the dark season. However, CVs and females depended on the spring phytoplankton bloom for final maturation processes and reproduction. O. similis fueled gonad maturation and egg production for reproduction in June by wax esters, whereas reproduction in August/September co-occurred with the accumulation of new depot lipids. Both species revealed significantly higher wax ester levels in deeper (>50 m) as compared to surface (0–50 m) dwelling individuals related to a descent prior to overwintering.     

WATCH

Abstract

The characteristics of fine particulate pollution (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) were measured at urban and suburban sites in Jinan during the 2008–2009 heating and non-heating seasons. The results showed that PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 pollution was quite serious, and PM mass concentration was higher during the heating season than the non-heating season. PM was the highest in the chemical factory and lowest in the development zone. The mass concentrations of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 were linearly related, and the mass concentration ratio of PM_2.5/PM₁₀ was up to 0.59 in urban areas. PM pollution in Jinan was related to local meteorological factors: PM_2.5 mass concentration and humidity were positively correlated, and PM_2.5 mass concentration was negatively correlated with both click on the temperature and wind speed, although wind speed varied more.     

Waste form corrosion modeling: comparison with experimental results

Results of leaching experiments using active and inactively simulated HLW glass in concentrated NaCl solution are described. Measured solution concentrations of glass components, fission products and actinides are compared with computed data. The computed pH value corresponds with the findings from experiments with inactively simulated glass samples. Moreover, the concentrations of silica and strontium can be described adequately by reaction path modelling. The computed U concentration is explained by the precipitation of schoepite or Na2U2O7. The computed Am concentration significantly exceeds the measured data. This may be attributed to sorption processes on corrosion products of the glass, which are relevant also for lanthanide elements under the conditions of the experiments. This hypothesis is tested by solid solution approaches and by computing sorption of Am onto SiO2 precipitates.