Atmospheric BTEX concentrations in the vicinity of the crude oil refinery of the Baltic region

Among chemical industries, petroleum refineries have been identified as large emitters of a wide variety of pollutants. Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) form an important group of aromatic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) because of their role in the troposphere chemistry and the risk posed to human health. A very large crude oil refinery of the Baltic States (200,000 bbl/day) is situated in the northern, rural part of Lithuania, 10 km from the town of Ma?eikiai (Lithuania). The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine of atmospheric levels of BTEX in the region rural and urban parts at the vicinity of the crude oil refinery; and (2) to investigate the effect of meteorological parameters (wind speed, wind direction, temperature, pressure, humidity) on the concentrations measured. The averaged concentration of benzene varied from 2.12 ppbv in the rural areas to 2.75 ppbv in the urban areas where the traffic was determined to be a dominant source of BTEX emissions. Our study showed that concentration of benzene, as strictly regulated air pollutant by EU Directive 2008/50/EC, did not exceed the limit of 5 ppbv in the region in the vicinity of the crude oil refinery during the investigated period. No significant change in air quality in the vicinity of the oil refinery was discovered, however, an impact of the industry on the background air quality was detected. The T/B ratio (0.50-0.81) that was much lower than 2.0, identified other sources of pollution than traffic.     

Optical fiber based methodology for assessment of thiocyanate in seawater

A new methodology for the assessment of thiocyanate (SCN(-)) is proposed based on optical fiber (OF) detection coupled to a liquid chromatography system (LC). The developed methodology showed an adequate performance for the analysis of SCN(-) comparable to a high performance liquid chromatography with UV detector (HPLC-UV) methodology: a detection limit of 3 μg L(-1), a linear range from 4 to 400 μg L(-1), and an analytical time of less than 6 min. The OF based methodology was of compact design and easy operation. This simple system has the potential to be used as a sensing approach for SCN(-) in seawater.     

DNA damage as a biomarker of genotoxic contamination in Mytilus galloprovincialis from the south coast of Portugal

DNA damage was evaluated in the haemolymph of Mytilus galloprovincialis from nine sites along the south coast of Portugal using the comet assay. DNA damage was low, in the same range of sites considered to suffer low impact from genotoxic contaminants. Even so, differences between sites, seasons and genders were found. Highest values were in mussels from the main estuaries and the fishery harbour, reflecting higher genotoxin levels, whereas the lowest values can be used as a baseline for future work. Non-contaminant related factors (e.g. temperature and oxygen) were also shown to influence DNA damage. Between seasons, highest values were in summer related not only to the increase of tourism in this region (～10-fold), but also to temperature. Between genders, males were found to be more sensitive. The condition index was also generally higher in summer. Lipid peroxidation, another damage biomarker, was measured in gills to assess if there is any association between the responses of both biomarkers and if they are similarly affected by the same environmental conditions. LPO like DNA damage was higher in summer. This work confirms that DNA damage is a sensitive biomarker to discriminate genotoxic contamination, even in areas considered to suffer low impact from genotoxins.     

Norovirus Foodborne Outbreak Associated With the Consumption of Ice Pop,Southern Brazil, 2020

Food and Environmental Virology - Norovirus is a major cause of foodborne-associated acute gastroenteritis (AGE) outbreaks worldwide. Usually, food products are contaminated either during...     

Assessment of Viral Contamination of Five Brazilian Artisanal Cheese Produced from Raw Milk: a Randomized Survey

Food and Environmental Virology - Enteric viruses have been described as important contaminants in fresh and ready-to-eat foods such as sandwiches, deli meat and dairy products. This is a...     

Synthesis and application of graphene oxide as a nanoadsorbent to remove Cd (II) and Pb (II) from water: adsorption equilibrium,kinetics, and regeneration

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this work, graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized by the modified Hummers method. The nanomaterial was characterized by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy,...     

山东半岛近地面O3浓度时空变化及潜在源区解析

为探究山东半岛在长时间序列上的臭氧（O₃）时空分布特征及潜在来源,在分析山东半岛2005～2020年O₃浓度时空变化的基础上,运用小波分析、熵权法和相关性分析对O₃及其影响因素进行了探讨,并对山东半岛O₃的潜在来源进行研究.结果表明：（1）时间格局上,山东半岛地区近地面臭氧2005～2020年间呈现出“三峰型”趋势,2010年达到最大值[（40.48±7.64）μg·m^-3], 2013年为最小值[（36.63±5.61）μg·m^-3].季节表现为：夏季[（42.49±1.7）μg·m^-3]>春季[（40.65±0.6）μg·m^-3]>秋季[（36.47±0.7）μg·m^-3>冬季[（36.46±0.3）μg·m^-3].（2）空间格局上,2005～2020年山东半岛O₃浓度随着纬度的升高而逐渐升高,呈现出东西部高,中部低的特征,O...     

Diel Variability of Water Quality in a Tropical Polluted Bay

The objective is to describe and quantify the diel variability of water quality in a tropical coastal system, Guanabara Bay, Brazil. Water samples were collected in spring and neap tide cycles over 24 h periods at three strategic sites. A pollution gradient was evident between the sampling sites. The average fecal coliform values decreased from 10⁶ (site 3, most polluted) to 10¹ (site 1, less polluted). Organic matter mineralization was found in a similar gradient to organic pollution. However, complete nitrification was only found associated to regions where the water quality was better. Variability in this data set was determined mostly by the pollution gradient observed, and by tidal influence as well. The poor water quality indicates that the bay undergoes severe environmental stress. However water renewal promoted by tidal action was an important mechanism in diluting the pollution, improving water quality even in ebb tides and in the inner channels. The significance of micro-scale changes in water quality assessment in Guanabara Bay was confirmed, as well as the importance of these strategic sampling sites, reinforcing the importance of these measurements in monitoring programs.     

Resilience thinking applied to fisheries management: perspectives for the mullet fishery in Southern-Southeastern Brazil

The mullet fishery system encompasses a complex arrange of ecological and socioeconomic factors interacting in multiple scales on the Southern-Southeastern Brazilian coast. Similarly, to other fisheries in developing countries, overfishing and poor governance have been threatening the resilience of the mullet fishery. In this paper, we explore aspects related to fisheries management from the perspective of the concept of resilience. The industrial and artisanal fishery sectors represent the different stakeholders. The main issues of concern are related to failures in the fisheries management to properly address equity in resource access and resource use sustainability among stakeholders. Asymmetry in technology and political and economic power affect food security and income generation especially for subsistence and small-scale fishing. Despite changes in rules-in-use, overfishing and conflicts between resource users are still relevant. Fishery dynamics and resource availability are greatly affected locally by forces such as pollution, urbanization, non-selective fishing, and regionally, by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and industrial (purse-seine) fishery. Considering the influence of ENSO on this fishery, a time span of at least 7 years to investigate this system could provide better answers to improve the management. Effective resilient fisheries should rely on three aspects. First, there should be a flexible fish allocation system based on ecosystem variability. Secondly, fish allocation should prioritize food security and poverty alleviation. Thirdly, a monitoring system should be implemented that takes into consideration ecosystem, fisheries and human dimensions to support a flexible and adaptive fisheries management, with resilient fisheries as an ultimate goal.     

E‐waste in the world today: An overview of problems and a proposal for improvement in Brazil

Environmental issues have been at the center of society's concerns for a long time. Recently, this kind of concern is growing even more due to the damage caused to the environment by electrical and electronic product waste. Based on this same concern, this work aimed to analyze, through a literature review, the production and treatment of electronic waste in today's world, with an emphasis on Brazil and China. The articles reviewed point to an increase in the production of this type of waste, in both Brazil and China, and reveal that the current processes of treatment of electronic waste mostly aim to obtain profit through the recovery of precious metals such as copper. This paper concluded that although Brazil is one of the major producers of e‐waste, more than 90% of its e‐waste has not had a proper final destination. This deficiency in e‐waste treatment in Brazil is mainly due to financial factors and the lack of a robust educational policy focused on the environment. Thus, this work suggests the implementation of an effective educational policy aimed at environmental conservation, as well as investments in research on recycling methods in Brazil, especially on the use of e‐waste as an aggregate in the manufacture of concrete.