Lead in the diet and body tissues of dunlins, Calidris alpina, from the Bristol Channel, UK

Lead concentrations were determined in the organs of a shorebird, the dunlin, in its main invertebrate prey, and in sediments collected from five sites in the Bristol Channel. The highest sediment concentrations were found in the Taff Estuary (97 microg g(-1) dry mass). The highest concentrations in invertebrates were found in the upper Severn Estuary (45 microg g(-1) dry mass in Nereis diversicolor). In dunlins, the highest concentrations were found in the sternum (25 microg g(-1) dry mass in males), followed by the beak, legs, kidney, liver and pectoral muscle. Adult males contained significantly higher concentrations (ca 20%) than adult females, and in some cases adults had significantly higher concentrations than first year birds (36% higher in the case of the sternum). Lead concentrations tended to increase throughout the winter, being 37-115% higher in the spring. Birds were able to purge themselves of a substantial portion of their body lead burdens, probably during the autumn moult.     

Tree decline in North America

Air-borne, phytotoxic pollutants are known to adversely affect forest tree growth in North America. On a local scale, exposure to high concentrations of toxic gases, such as sulphur dioxide and fluoride, result in foliar injury, branch dieback, reduced radial growth and increased mortality in a variety of tree species. On a regional scale, the photochemical oxidant, ozone, is responsible for growth decline of pollutant-sensitive eastern white pine genotypes in the eastern United States, and of ponderosa and Jeffrey pines in the mountains of southern and central California. The etiology associated with the reported declines of high elevation red spruce in the Appalachian Mountains and of sugar maple in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada is incompletely known at present. A complex of predisposing and inciting factors, including temperature and moisture stress, edaphic conditions, aluminium toxicity, insect depredation, and air-borne pollutants are probably involved in these declines.     

As(III) removal from groundwaters using fixed-bed upflow bioreactors

The application of biological oxidation of iron and manganese, as a potential treatment method for the removal of arsenic from contaminated groundwaters, was examined in this paper. This method was based on the growth of certain species of indigenous bacteria, which are capable of oxidizing the soluble iron and manganese ions; the oxidized forms can be subsequently removed from the aqueous stream by over 97%, through their transformation to insoluble oxides and separation by a suitable filter medium. Arsenic was removed by around 80%, under certain conditions, which were found to be sufficient for Fe(II) removal (dissolved oxygen 2.7 mg/l, redox 280-290 mV, pH 7.2, U 8.25 m/h). The specific treatment technique presents several advantages towards conventional physicochemical treatment methods, such as enhanced coagulation or direct adsorption since: (a) it does not require the addition of other chemicals for oxidizing and removing As(III), (b) it does not require close monitoring of a breakthrough point, as in conventional column adsorption processes and (c) it could find application for the removal of, at least, three groundwater contaminants (Fe, Mn, As).     

Ozone air quality over North America: part I--a review of reported trends

Ozone and precursor trends can be used to measure the effectiveness of regulatory programs that have been implemented. In this paper, we review trends in the concentrations of O3 NOx, and HCs over North America that have been reported in the literature. Although most existing trend studies are confounded by meteorological variability, both the raw data trends and the trends adjusted for meteorology collectively indicate a general decreasing trend in O3 concentrations in most areas of the United States during 1985-1996. In Canada, mean daily maximum 1-hr O3 concentrations at urban sites show mixed trends with a majority of sites showing an increase from 1980 to 1993. Mean daily maximum 1-hr O3 at most regionally representative Canadian sites appears to decrease from 1985 to 1993 or shows no significant change. There are far fewer data and analyses of NOx and HC trends. Available studies covering various ranges of years indicate decreases in ambient NO and HC concentrations in Los Angeles, CA, decreases in HC concentrations in northeastern U.S. cities, and decreases in NOx concentrations in Canadian cities. Two key needs are long-term HC and NOx measurements, particularly at rural sites, and a systematic comparison of trend detection techniques on a reference data set.     

Evidence of coprostanol estrogenicity to the freshwater mussel Elliptio complanata

Coprostanol (5 beta (H)-cholestan-3 beta ol) is a reduced metabolite of cholesterol produced by micro-organisms found in the intestinal tract of mammals. This substance abounds in urban effluents and is accumulated by organisms living in the vicinity of municipal effluent outfalls. In an earlier study, freshwater mussels exposed to contaminated river water for 62 days accumulated large quantities of coprostanol (Cop) in their soft tissues (16 micrograms/g dry wt.). Moreover, these mussels were found to have elevated levels of vitellin in their hemolymphs, suggesting estrogenic effects. Although municipal wastewaters are known to contain other estrogenic compounds capable of inducing Vn synthesis in mussels, the estrogenic potential of coprostanol was singled out for examination. To this end, mussels were first injected with concentrations of coprostanol via the abductor muscle route, and allowed to stand in aerated water for 72 h at 15 degrees C. The levels of Vn in mussel hemolymph were assayed using the organic alkali-labile phosphate method. A competitive estradiol-binding assay was then devised to measure the ability of coprostanol to compete in the binding of fluorescein-labeled estradiol-albumin to cytosolic proteins. Coprostanol partially reversed the binding of labeled estradiol-albumin to cytosolic proteins with an EC50 of 1 mM. In addition, injections of coprostanol and estradiol-17 beta led to increased levels of vitellins in the hemolymph of treated mussels. Moreover, incubation of cop in gonad homogenate extracts in the presence of NADPH led to the formation of two compounds, as determined by high-performance thin-layer chromatography. One of these compounds appears to be the C17 oxidation product of coprostanol, whose polarity is similar to that of estradiol. The results present evidence that coprostanol is estrogenic to freshwater mussels.     

Concentration of atmospheric pollutants in the gaseous emissions of medical waste incinerators

The purpose of this paper is to quantify the production of medical waste from a general hospital and to evaluate the atmospheric pollutant concentrations in gaseous emissions associated with its incineration. A 3.8 kg (bed.day)-1 production of medical waste was estimated for 1998; its incineration is related with an ash production of 0.3-0.4 kg (bed.day)-1. The concentrations of atmospheric pollutants were estimated using emission factors, comparing the effluents with and without control of atmospheric pollutants. The calculated concentrations were compared with the emission limits established by Portuguese legislation. The results indicate that, if there is no control of atmospheric pollutants, their concentrations exceed the established limits. This is observed even if correct operation and maintenance procedures are used. The emission concentrations of dioxins are higher than the Portuguese emission limit, which is particularly worrying due to the high toxicity of some of these compounds. Generally, it is possible to reduce pollutant concentrations if appropriate control equipment is used. The conclusions obtained clearly justify the great concern regarding air pollution associated with medical waste incinerators currently operating in Portugal.     

Analysis and simulation of wintertime light scattering by the urban aerosol in Dallas-Fort Worth

Wintertime atmospheric light scattering in Dallas, TX, was estimated through the use of aerosol models. Input data for the aerosol models were provided by measurements of aerosol chemistry, physical particle size distributions, and distributions of particulate sulfur by particle size, and by predictions by an atmospheric simulation model. Light scattering measurements provided a basis for testing the aerosol models. The SCAPE thermodynamic equilibrium model was used to estimate the amount of liquid water associated with particles and the ELSIE Mie scattering model was applied to estimate the resulting light scattering. The calculations were based on aerosol properties measured in Dallas during December 1994 and February 1995, and changes in scattering due to hypothetical changes in the aerosol were predicted. The predicted light scattering was compared to scattering measured by an Optec nephelometer; agreement was within 20% in every case.     

Occurrence of organochlorine insecticides, PCBs and PCB congeners in waters and sediments of the Ebro River (Spain)

Complex mixtures extracted from air filters exposed for 24 h in two sessions (27 July and 02 August 1991) and at two locations (Merced, downtown, and Pedregal de San Angel, south-west) in Mexico City were analysed. The organic extracts were from airborne particles equal or smaller than 10 microns (PM10), and from total suspended particles (TSP). These organic extracts were assayed in the somatic mutation and recombination test (SMART) in wings of Drosophila melanogaster using two different crosses as well as in the Salmonella/microsome assay using strain TA98 with and without S9 fraction. The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the extracts was determined by gas chromatography. The genotoxic activities observed in the two test systems were comparable with the indirect mutagens producing greater response than the direct mutagens. The quantities of particulate matter as well as the genotoxic activities were higher on 02 August than on 27 July 1991 for both locations. The amounts of airborne particles and the resulting genotoxic activities were higher at Merced than at Pedregal. In both biological systems, PM10 were more genotoxic than TSP. These results demonstrate the sensitivity of the Drosophila wing SMART-which is an in vivo eukaryotic genotoxicity assay-as a biological monitor of environmental pollution related to airborne particles.