Iron, cadmium, and chromium in seagrass (Thalassia testudinum) from a coastal nature reserve in karstic Yucatán

The management of protected areas in karstic regions is a challenge because flooded cave systems form there and provide underground hydrological conducts that may link different zones. As a consequence, affectations to the protected areas can possibly occur as a consequence of human activities in remote areas and may therefore pass undetected. Thus, the monitoring of possible contaminants in these regions is becoming imperative. In this work, we analyze the concentration of essential (iron) and non-essential metals (cadmium and chromium) in the seagrass Thalassia testudinum that grows in Yalahau Lagoon, located in a near-to-pristine protected area of the Yucatán Peninsula, close to the rapidly developing touristic belt of the Mexican Caribbean. Salinity and silicate patterns show that Yalahau is an evaporation lagoon, where groundwater discharge is important. High iron (>400 μg/g), cadmium (>4 μg/g), and chromium (≈1 μg/g) concentrations were found in the area of highest groundwater input of the lagoon. High levels (5.1 μg/g) were also found near the town dump. In the rest of the sampling sites, metal concentrations remained near to background levels as estimated from other works. Temporal changes of concentrations in the seagrass tissues show also a local input and an input from the groundwater that could provoke an environmental problem in the Yalahau Lagoon in the near future.     

Treatment of digestate from a co-digestion biogas plant by means of vacuum evaporation: Tests for process optimization and environmental sustainability

Vacuum evaporation consists in the boiling of a liquid substrate at negative pressure, at a temperature lower than typical boiling temperature at atmospheric conditions. Condensed vapor represents the so called condensate, while the remaining substrate represents the concentrate.This technology is derived from other sectors and is mainly dedicated to the recovery of chemicals from industrial by-products, while it has not been widely implemented yet in the field of agricultural digestate treatment. The present paper relates on experimental tests performed in pilot-scale vacuum evaporation plants (0.100 and 0.025 m³), treating filtered digestate (liquid fraction of digestate filtered by a screw-press separator). Digestate was produced by a 1 MW_e anaerobic digestion plant fed with swine manure, corn silage and other biomasses. Different system and process configurations were tested (single-stage and two-stage, with and without acidification) with the main objectives of assessing the technical feasibility and of optimizing process parameters for an eventual technology transfer to full scale systems.The inputs and outputs of the process were subject to characterization and mass and nutrients balances were determined.The vacuum evaporation process determined a relevant mass reduction of digestate.The single stage configuration determined the production of a concentrate, still in liquid phase, with a total solid (TS) mean concentration of 15.0%, representing, in terms of mass, 20.2% of the input; the remaining 79.8% was represented by condensate. The introduction of the second stage allowed to obtain a solid concentrate, characterized by a content of TS of 59.0% and representing 5.6% of initial mass.Nitrogen balance was influenced by digestate pH: in order to limit the stripping of ammonia and its transfer to condensate it was necessary to reduce the pH. At pH 5, 97.5% of total nitrogen remained in the concentrate. This product was characterized by very high concentrations of total Kjeldhal nitrogen (TKN), 55,000 mg/kg as average.Condensate, instead, represented 94.4% of input mass, containing 2.5% of TKN. This fraction could be discharged into surface water, after purification to meet the criteria imposed by Italian regulation. Most likely, condensate could be used as dilution water for digestion input, for cleaning floor and surfaces of animal housings or for crop irrigation.The research showed the great effectiveness of the vacuum evaporation process, especially in the two stage configuration with acidification. In fact, the concentration of nutrients in a small volume determines easier transportation and reduction of related management costs. In full scale plants energy consumption is estimated to be 5–8 kWh_e/m³ of digestate and 350 kWh_t/m³ of evaporated water.     

Activated sludge systems removal efficiency of veterinary pharmaceuticals from slaughterhouse wastewater

The knowledge on the efficiency of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) from animal food production industry for the removal of both hormones and antibiotics of veterinary application is still very limited. These compounds have already been reported in different environmental compartments at levels that could have potential impacts on the ecosystems. This work aimed to evaluate the role of activated sludge in the removal of commonly used veterinary drugs, enrofloxacin (ENR), tetracycline (TET), and ceftiofur, from wastewater during a conventional treatment process. For that, a series of laboratory-controlled experiments using activated sludge were carried out in batch reactors. Sludge reactors with 100 μg/L initial drug charge presented removal rates of 68 % for ENR and 77 % for TET from the aqueous phase. Results indicated that sorption to sludge and to the wastewater organic matter was responsible for a significant percentage of drugs removal. Nevertheless, these removal rates still result in considerable concentrations in the aqueous phase that will pass through the WWTP to the receiving environment. Measuring only the dissolved fraction of pharmaceuticals in the WWTP effluents may underestimate the loading and risks to the aquatic environment.     

Bioremediation of chlorinated pesticide–contaminated soil using anaerobic sludges and surfactant addition

Methanogenic granular sludge and wastewater fermented sludge were used as inocula for batch tests of anaerobic bioremediation of chlorinated pesticide contaminated soil. Results obtained for both types of biomass were similar: 80 to over 90% of γ -hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH), 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethane (methoxychlor) and 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis-(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) removed in 4–6 weeks. Residual fractions of these pesticides persisted till the end of the 16-week experiment. DDT was degraded through 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis-(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDD). Accumulation of this product corresponded stoichiometrically only to 34–53% of removed DDT, supposedly due to its further transformations, finally resulting in formation of detected 4,4′-dichlorobenzophenone (DBP). Addition of 0.5 mM Tween 80 nonionic surfactant resulted in about a twofold decrease of γ -HCH and methoxychlor residual concentrations, as well as considerably lower DDD accumulation (7–29%) and higher DBP production. However, 1.25 mM dose of this surfactant applied together with granular sludge brought DDD levels back to that observed for treatments with the sludge alone, also impairing DBP formation.     

The effects of residual tetracycline on soil enzymatic activities and plant growth

A pot trial was carried out to investigate the adverse effects of tetracycline (TC) on soil microbial communities, microbial activities, and the growth of ryegrass (Lolium perenne L). The results showed that the presence of TC significantly disturbed the structure of microbial communities and inhibited soil microbial activities in terms of urease, acid phosphatase and dehydrogenase (p < 0.05). Plant biomass was adversely influenced by TC, especially the roots with a reduction of 40% when compared with the control. Furthermore, TC decreased the assimilation of phosphorus by the plant although the concentration of phosphorus was increased by 20% due to decreased plant biomass. TC seemed to increase the concentration of dissolved organic carbon (by 20%) in soil. The findings implied that the agricultural use of animal manure or fishpond sediment containing considerable amounts of antibiotics may give rise to ecological risks.     

Clinical effects and cholinesterase activity changes in workers exposed to phorate (Thimet)

Abstract

Phorate (Thimet), an aliphatic derivative of phospnorus is a hignly toxic insecticide. In order to implement the safety measures, the clinical manifestations and cholinesterase (ChE) activity were evaluated before and after 2 weeks of exposure to this insecticide in 40 male tormulators.

The 2 week's exposure reveal signs and symptoms of toxicity in 60% of the formulators. Gastrointestinal symptoms and lowering of heart rate (bradycardia) were more prominent as compared to the neurological symptoms. A significant depression in plasma ChE activity was observed at the end of 1st week (55%) and 2nd week (71%) as compared to the respective pre‐exposure values. A recovery up to 79% of the pre‐exposure activity of this enzyme was noticed 10 days after cessation of the above exposure.     

Relationship between Sulfate Aerosol and Visibility

A PM₁₀ monitoring network was established throughout the South Coast Air Basin (SOCAB) in the greater Los Angeles region during the calendar year 1986. Annual average PM₁₀ mass concentrations within the Los Angeles metropolitan area ranged from 47.0 µg m^-3 along the coast to 87.4 µg m^-3 at Rubldoux, the furthest inland monitoring station. Measurements made at San Nicolas Island suggest that regional background aerosol contributes between 28 to 44 percent of the PM₁₀ aerosol at monitoring sites In the SOCAB over the long term average. Five major aerosol components (carbonaceous material, NO^- ₃, SO⁼ ₄, NH⁺ ₄, and soil-related material) account for greater than 80 percent of the annual average PM₁₀ mass at all on-land monitoring stations. Peak 24-h average mass concentrations of nearly 300 µg m^-3 were observed at inland locations, with lower peak values (?130–150 µg m^-3) measured along the coast. Peak-day aerosol composition was characterized by increased NO^- ₃ Ion and associated ammonium ion levels, as compared to the annual average. There appears to be only a weak dependence of PM₁₀ mass concentration on season of the year. This lack of a pronounced seasonal dependence results from the complex and contradictory seasonal variations in the major chemical components (carbonaceous material, nitrate, sulfate, ammonium ion and crustal material). At most sites within the Los Angeles metropolitan area, PM₁₀ mass concentrations exceeded both the annual and 24-h average federal and state of California PM₁₀ regulatory standards.     

Characterization of particulate matter and its related metal toxicity in an urban location in South West India

This study reports the quantification of the toxicity of particulate matter (PM)-bound metals and their possible associated risks to human health. For assessment of PM, 24-h samples of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 were collected by Mini Vol-TAS sampler at an urban site of Pune. Samples were sequentially extracted with ultrapure water and concentrated HNO₃ and analyzed for “soluble” and “total” metals. Factor analysis identified the resuspension of road dust due to traffic, biomass burning, construction activities, and wind-blown dust as possible sources that played an important role for overall pollution throughout the year. Water-soluble proportion was found to be ≤20 % for Cr, Co, Fe, and Al; ≥50 % for Sr, Cd, Ca, and Zn; and a substantial proportion (～25–45 %) for Mn, Ba, K, Na, Ni, Mg, Cu, and Pb metals in PM₁₀. For PM_2.5, the water-soluble proportion was ≤20 % for Fe, Co, Ni, Cr, and Al, while Sr, K, and Cd were mostly soluble (>50 %) and Cu, Ba, Mn, Ca, Zn, Pb, Na, and Mg were substantially soluble (～25–45 %). In the present study, among the toxic metals, Cd and Pb show higher concentration in the soluble fraction and thus represent the higher bioavailability index and especially are harmful to the environment and exposed person. Risk calculations with a simple exposure assessment method showed that the cancer risks of the bioavailable fractions of Cr, Cd and Ni were greater than the standard goal.     

Developments to a landfill processes model following its application to two landfill modelling challenges

The landfill model LDAT simulates the transport and bio-chemical behaviour of the solid, liquid and gas phases of waste contained in a landfill. LDAT was applied to the LMC1 and LMC2 landfill modelling challenges held in 2009 and 2011. These were blind modelling challenges with the model acting in a predictive mode based on limited early time sections of full datasets. The LMC1 challenge dataset was from a 0.34 m deep 0.48 m diameter laboratory test cell, and the LMC2 dataset was from a 55 m × 80 m 8 m deep landfill test cell which formed part of the Dutch sustainable landfill research programme at Landgraaf in the Netherlands. The paper describes developments in LDAT arising directly from the experience of responding to the two challenges, and discusses the model input and output data obtained from a calibration using the full datasets.The developments include the modularisation of the model into a set of linked sub-models, the strategy for converting conventional waste characteristics into model input parameters, the identification of flexible degradation pathways to control the CO₂:CH₄ ratio, and the application of a chemical equilibrium model that includes a stage in which the solid waste components dissolve into the leachate.