New approach to common removal of dioxins and NOx as a contribution to environmental protection

Meeting environmental limits represents the most important issue in the field of waste processing. Our primary effort consists either in eliminating hazardous emissions or in prevention of their production. However, this is not feasible in most cases therefore the so called secondary methods have to be applied. Technologies based on adsorption of hazardous compounds using activated carbon, deNOx/deDiox technologies as well as technology of catalytic filtration using a special material REMEDIA^® proved itself to be very efficient. The latter technology consists in using a baghouse with bags manufactured from a special material (two layers – membrane from ePTFE and felt with bound in catalyst) called REMEDIA^® which has successfully been used for removal of PCDD/F during recent period. However, it has been found that this technology can partially remove NOx as well. Based on our experience from operation industrial incineration plants it has been proved that even after more than three years' operation the activity of filtration material was not decreased and efficiency of dioxins removal from flue gas ranges from 97 to 99% (Pa?ízek et al., 2008).Based on industrial experience and new findings it has been decided to focus continuing research and development on deNOx experiments by applying SCR using the above mentioned efficient filtration material. This type of material is primarily designed for reduction of PMs and PCDD/F. Experiments with this filtration material should test possibilities for simultaneous reduction of PMs, PCDD/F and NOx. Tests are performed in MSW incineration plant utilizing new experimental unit and under standard conditions. Waste processing capacity of the incineration plant amounts to 15 t/h. Tests result in evaluation of overall reduction efficiency and negative factors that might influence the efficiency. Catalytic filtration is further compared to other types of deNOx methods.Thus we have obtained qualitatively new knowledge about this method the value of which is emphasized by full scale industrial testing.     

Concentrations of Cr, Cd, Cu, Zn and Fe in crab Charybdis longicollis and shrimp Penaeus semisulcatus from the Iskenderun Bay, Turkey

Copper, chromium cadmium, iron and zinc concentrations were determined in marine crab Charybdis longicollis and marine shrimp Penaeus semisulcatus in order to assess the impact of industrial activities and the sinking of M/V Ulla ship. Liver, gill and muscle sample solutions prepared analyzed using the atomic absorption spectrophotometry technique. The order of the metal concentrations found in muscle of crab was: Cu>Cr>Fe>Zn>Cd, while in muscle of shrimp the order was different: Cr>Cu>Zn>Fe>Cd. The highest Cu, Cr, Cd, Fe and Zn concentrations were found in the liver, and this was followed by the gill and muscle in both species. The levels of all metals in a given tissue were always higher in C. longicollis than in P. semisulcatus. Metals in both species show seasonal variations. In both species the highest concentrations were detected for all metals in summer.     

The value of EHS auditing in the United States: Solutions for audit protection

Conventional wisdom has advocated environmental auditing as a prudent part of an internal control program and one of the key tools in driving proactive efforts. As a part of risk management activities, it is often employed to protect an organization and its employees and officers from liability. Conscientious use of such audits has undoubtedly protected human health and the environment. Ironically, those who make the most consistent efforts to audit compliance and management systems, according to advocates of audit protection, may be the most vulnerable to enforcement actions and lawsuits. In this, the second part of a two-part article, we turn our attention to the likely solutions for audit protection in the current context.     

Personal ammonia sensor for industrial environments

The realisation of an opto-chemical ammonia sensor suitable for personal monitoring tasks is described, comprising a cyanine dye immobilised in a microporous glass thin film. The fabrication of sensor platforms incorporating embossed grating couplers provides a compact optical design with effective waveguiding characteristics, resulting in reversible ammonia sensitivity in the 5-100 ppm range in under 2 min. Cross-sensitivity of sensor response with water and other potential interferents is considered.     

The Missing Flux in a 35S Budget for the Soils of a Small Polluted Catchment

A combination of cosmogenic and artificial ³⁵S was used to assess the movement of sulfur in a steep Central European catchment affected by spruce die-back. The Jeze?í catchment, Kru?né Hory Mts. (Czech Republic) is characterized by a large disproportion between atmospheric S input and S output via stream discharge, with S output currently exceeding S input three times. A relatively high natural concentration of cosmogenic ³⁵S (42 mBq L^-1) was found in atmospheric deposition into the catchment in winter and spring of 2000. In contrast, stream discharge contained only 2 mBq L^-1. Consequently, more than 95% of the deposited S is cycled or retained within the catchment for more than several months, while older S is exported via surface water. In spring, when the soil temperature is above 0 °C, practically no S from instantaneous rainfall is exported, despite the steepness of the slopes and the relatively short mean residence time of water in the catchment (6.5 months). Sulfur cycling in the soil includes not just adsorption of inorganic sulfate and biological uptake, but also volatilization of S compounds back into the atmosphere. Laboratory incubations of an Orthic Podzol from Jeze?í spiked with 720 kBq of artificial ³⁵S showed a 20% loss of the spike within 18 weeks under summer conditions. Under winter conditions, the ³⁵S loss was insignificant (<5%). This missing S flux was interpreted as volatilized hydrogen sulfide resulting from intermittent dissimilatory bacterial sulfate reduction. The missing S flux is comparable to the estimated uncertainty in many catchment S mass balances (±10%), or even larger, and should be considered in constructing these mass balances. In severely polluted forest catchments, such as Jeze?í, sulfur loss to volatilization may exceed 13 kg ha^-1 a^-1, which is more than the current total atmospheric S input in large parts of North America and Europe.     

Novel approach to monitoring of the soil biological quality

In this study, a new approach to interpretation of results of the simple microbial biomass and respiration measurements in the soil microbiology is proposed. The principle is based on eight basal and derived microbial parameters, which are standardized and then plotted into sunray plots. The output is visual presentation of one plot for each soil, which makes possible the relative comparison and evaluation of soils in the monitored set. Problems of soil microbiology, such as the lack of benchmarking and reference values, can be avoided by using the proposed method. We found that eight parameters provide enough information for evaluation of the status of the soil microorganisms and, thus, for evaluation of the soil biological quality. The usage of rare parameters (potential respiration PR, ratio of potential and basal respiration PR/BR, biomass-specific potential respiration PR/C(bio), available organic carbon C(ext), and biomass-specific available organic carbon C(ext)/C(bio)) can be recommended, besides classical and well-known parameters (microbial biomass C(bio), basal respiration BR, metabolic coefficient qCO(2)). The combination of basal parameters and derived coefficients can also extend our knowledge about the condition of the soil microorganisms. In monitoring the case studies presented, we observed that soils evaluated to possess good biological quality displayed generally higher values of organic carbon, total nitrogen, clay, and cation exchange capacity. The soils of good biological quality can display higher levels of contaminants. This is probably related with the higher content of organic carbon and clay in these soils.     

In vivo effects of deltamethrin on some biochemical parameters of carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)

Thein vivo effects of deltamethrin (DM) on the blood sugar level, the acetylcholinesterase (AChE, EC 3.1.1.7) activities of the blood serum and various organs (heart, liver and intestine), the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, EC 1.1.2.3), glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT, EC 2.6.1.1), and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT, EC 2.6.1.2) activities of the blood serum, the adenosine triphosphatases (EC 3.6.1.3; Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase and Mg²⁺-ATPase) activities of the erythrocyte plasma membrane and the catalase (EC 1.11.1.6) activity of the liver were examined throughout 96 h in adult carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) Two sublethal concentrations, 1.0 and 1.5 µg/l of deltamethrin, were used. All fish survived the experiment except one, in an aquarium containing 1.5 ppb of DM, which died after 72 h.The AChE specific activity was significantly inhibited in the heart and intestine after 96 h at both concentrations compared to that in the control animals (P<0.05, Student'st-test), while there was no detectable difference between the two treatment. At the same time there was no detectable change in the liver. In the serum, the AChE activity almost remained unchanged; the only significant decrease could be measured after 96 h at 1.5 µg/l deltamethrin concentration. The blood glucose content exhibited interesting changes: after 24 h fish exposed at 1 µg/l DM seemed to be stressed, although this increase was not significant. When these fish became used to the new conditions (in practice this meant the presence of DM), the glucose level decreased, especially after 72 h. At the same time the control animals kept in similar circumstances showed a small insignificant decrease. Meanwhile fish in aquaria containing 1.5 µg/l DM reacted to the treatment with an increased blood glucose level after 48 h, and this did not change until the end of the treatment. The Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity decreased in a dose-dependant manner, while Mg²⁺-ATPase was less affected. A small increase in LDH level was observed, indicating damage of different muscle tissues. However, this phenomenon appeared only with the small dosage after 24 h (P<0.05). It has to be mentioned that the individual values varied to a large extent among of the eight fish.The GOT activities of the serum increased during the treatment. However, significant changes were only expressed after 72 and 96 h at 1 µg/l DM concentrations (P<0.01 andP<0.05), and after a similar long treatment at the high dosage (P<0.05, 72 and 96 h). The GPT did not change significantly in aquaria containing 1 µg/l DM. The only larger increase was measured after 96 h at 1.5 µg/l DM concentration (P<0.05). The catalase activity in the liver of treated carp remained practically at the same level compared to that in control fish.All these changes (concerning the primary effects of this compound) demonstrate the effect of DM on different fish enzymes, at low concentrations under laboratory conditions, which might be useful in practice for biomonitoring using fish.     

Phytoremediation of Selected Explosives

The phytoremediation of trinitrotoluene (TNT), nitroglycerine (NG) and pentaerytritoltetranitrate (PETN) using in vitrocultures of Rheum palmatum, Saponaria officinalisand Populus simonii were studied. All above mentioned explosives were degradated to less toxic products and finally probably bound to the cell wall or further involved in the metabolism. The formation of trinitrobenzene (TNB) during degradation of TNT which is a product of alternative degradation pathway was found too.     

Brominated flame retardants and related chlorinated persistent organic pollutants in fish from river Elbe and its main tributary Vltava

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are widely used industrial chemicals, residues of which can be nowadays found in all environmental compartments. The widespread presence of BFRs in various environmental compartments and food chain is a consequence of both their broad application area and physico-chemical properties, such as resistance to degradation and high lipophilicity. Alike in the case of other halogenated persistent organic pollutants (POPs), fish can be used as a bioindicator of aquatic environment pollution. In presented study, conducted in the year 2005, altogether 80 samples representing the most abundant fresh water fish species, viz. chub (Leuciscus cephalus), bream (Abramis brama), and perch (Perca fluviatilis) collected in 11 sampling sites located at Elbe and Vltava (Moldau) rivers were examined for levels of major BFRs. Without any exception, BFRs were detected in all fish samples. BDE 47 was the dominating congener in all fish species. This fact was not surprising, since it used to be the main component in various kinds of technical mixtures. With regard to relatively high levels of BDE 47 in fish tissue, as compared to other BFRs, and considering strong correlation with the total PBDEs content, simplified laboratory examination and, consequently, increased samples throughput can be obtained when only this congener is monitored. The potential of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-TOFMS), to provide more comprehensive information on the bioaccumulating chemicals occurring in fish samples, has been demonstrated in this study.