Inventory of emissions from major air pollutant categories in Turkey

In this study, an inventory of air pollutant emission estimates from major air polluting sources in Turkey for period between 1985 and 2005 with 5-year intervals were estimated. Inventory covers anthropogenic sources of five major air pollutants of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and non-methane volatile organic compounds. Their break-down with respect to main activity sectors were shown and their distribution by the largest industrial source categories were worked out as annual estimates. This inventory and its analysis point to serious environmental implications of air pollutants and a need to develop a policy plan for reducing these emissions.     

Prenatal diagnosis of abdominal cystic hygroma

We present a case of fetal abdominal cystic hygroma that presented at 19 weeks of gestation. Ultrasonographic evaluation of the fetus revealed soft tissue enlargement of the left leg and a retroperitoneal mass in the left pelvis and abdomen. This represents the first reported case of prenatal diagnosis of abdominal cystic hygroma.     

Practical environmental monitoring of major construction projects

Independent teams undertook environmental monitoring of particular concentrations of major construction projects forming part of Hong Kong’s U.S. $20 billion airport infrastructure programme located in dense urban areas. The team combination of environmental specialists with experienced civil engineers enabled pragmatic mitigation measures to be developed and accepted by the construction personnel with the result that potentially significant adverse impacts were averted. The authors discuss the mechanism and success of this innovative approach.     

Hydrogen storage and distribution systems

Hydrogen storage and transportation or distribution is closely linked together. Hydrogen can be distributed continuously in pipelines or batch wise by ships, trucks, railway or airplanes. All batch transportation requires a storage system but also pipelines can be used as pressure storage system. Hydrogen exhibits the highest heating value per weight of all chemical fuels. Furthermore, hydrogen is regenerative and environment friendly. There are two reasons why hydrogen is not the major fuel of toady’s energy consumption: First of all, hydrogen is just an energy carrier. And, although it is the most abundant element in the universe, it has to be produced, since on earth it only occurs in the form of water. This implies that we have to pay for this energy, which results in a difficult economic task, because since the industrialization we are used to consuming energy for free. The second difficulty with hydrogen as an energy carrier is the low critical temperature of 33 K, i.e. hydrogen is a gas at room temperature. For mobile and in many cases also for stationary applications the volumetric and gravimetric density of hydrogen in a storage system is crucial. Hydrogen can be stored by six different methods and phenomena: high pressure gas cylinders (up to 800 bar), liquid hydrogen in cryogenic tanks (at 21 K), adsorbed hydrogen on materials with a large specific surface area (at T < 100 K), absorbed on interstitial sites in a host metal (at ambient pressure and temperature), chemically bond in covalent and ionic compounds (at ambient pressure), oxidation of reactive metals e.g. Li, Na, Mg, Al, Zn with water. These metals easily react with water to the corresponding hydroxide and liberate the hydrogen from the water. Finally, the metal hydroxides can be thermally reduced to the metals in a solar furnace.     

The use of enhanced bioremediation at the Savannah River Site to remediate pesticides and PCBs

Enhanced bioremediation is quickly developing into an economical and viable technology for the remediation of contaminated soils. Until recently, chlorinated organic compounds have proven difficult to bioremediate. Environmentally recalcitrant compounds, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and persistent organic pesticides (POPs) such as dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT) have shown to be especially arduous to bioremediate. Recent advances in field‐scale bioremedial applications have indicated that biodegradation of these compounds may be possible. Engineers and scientists at the Savannah River Site (SRS), a major DOE installation near Aiken, South Carolina, are using enhanced bioremediation to remediate soils contaminated with pesticides (DDT and its metabolites, heptachlor epoxide, dieldrin, and endrin) and PCBs. This article reviews the ongoing remediation occurring at the Chemicals, Metals, and Pesticides (CMP) Pits using windrow turners to facilitate microbial degradation of certain pesticides and PCBs. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Alteration in Rhizosphere Soil Properties of Afforested <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhamnus lycioides</Emphasis> Seedlings in Short-Term Response to Mycorrhizal Inoculation with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Glomus intraradices</Emphasis> and Organic Amendment

The reestablisment of autochthonous plant species is an essential strategy for recovering degraded areas under semiarid conditions. A field experiment was carried out to assess the short-term effect of two reafforestation methods involving mycorrhizal inoculation and compost addition on soil quality parameters and Rhamnus lycioides seedling growth. The nutrient content (NPK) and enzymatic activities (dehydrogenase, urease, protease-BAA, acid phosphatase and β-glucosidase) increased and bulk density decreased in the rhizosphere soil with the organic amendment. Biomass C of rhizosphere soil increased by at least 240% with respect to the control soil after mycorrhizal inoculation and the combination of compost addition + mycorrhizal inoculation. Both mycorrhizal inoculation and composted organic residue addition increased R. lycioides seedling growth in the same proportion. In the short term, we conclude that the application of both reafforestation methods not only enhances the establishment of R. lycioides seedlings, but also improves soil quality.     

Modelling nitrogen fluxes at the landscape scale

The distribution and impacts of different nitrogen pollutants are inextricably linked. To understand the problem fully, the interactions between the different pollutants need to be taken into account. This is particularly important when it comes to abatement techniques, since measures to reduce emissions of one nitrogen pollutant can often lead to an increase in another. This project represents a step towards greater understanding of these issues by linking together new and existing nitrogen flux models into a larger framework. The modelling framework has been constructed and some of the nitrogen flows between fields, farms and the atmosphere have been modelled for a UK study area for typical farm management scenarios.     

Potential for bioremediation of the perchlorate‐contaminated sediments in the Las Vegas Wash area,Henderson, Nevada

This study investigates the potential for perchlorate biodegradation in the sediments of the Las Vegas Wash area in Henderson, Nevada. The continuous transport of perchlorate from a contaminated seepage to the Las Vegas Wash, Lake Mead, and the Colorado River has resulted in considerable deposition of perchlorate along the sediments of the Las Vegas Wash. The contaminated sediments act as a distributed source of perchlorate, making efforts to stop the flow of perchlorate to the Colorado River very challenging. In this study, perchlorate‐ reducing bacteria were enumerated and microcosm tests were performed to investigate the role of indigenous microorganisms and the limitations to natural perchlorate biodegradation in the contaminated sediments. The results of microcosm tests revealed that, despite the high number of perchloratereducing bacteria present, natural perchlorate in the area appears to be limited by (1) high salinity levels, the presence of nitrate, and the low perchlorate concentrations present in the sediments and (2) an insufficient carbon source. However, the potential for in situ bioremediation of the sediments along the Wash area is considered to be high due to the presence of significant numbers of perchlorate‐ reducing bacteria and to the ease in which an additional carbon source could be provided to sustain nitrate and perchlorate biodegradation. The economics of this process are expected to be very favorable; however, detailed cost estimates, pilot‐scale testing, and permit applications are required before this concept can be applied. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

End‐state land uses,sustainably protective systems,and risk management: A challenge for remediation and multigenerational stewardship

This article discusses creating a sustainably protective engineered and human management system in perpetuity for sites with long‐lived radiological and chemical hazards. This is essential at this time because the federal government is evaluating its property as assets and attempting to reduce its holdings, while seeking to assure that health and ecosystems are not put at risk. To assist those who have a stake in the remediation, management, and stewardship of these and analogous privately owned sites, this article discusses current end‐state planning by reviewing the federal government's accelerated efforts to reduce its footprint and how those efforts relate to sustainability. The article also provides a list of questions organized around six elements of risk management and primary, secondary, and tertiary disease and injury prevention. Throughout the article, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is used as an example of an organization that seeks to reduce its footprint, manage its budget, and be a steward of the sites that it is responsible for. However, the approach and questions are appropriate for land controlled by the Department of Defense (DOD), the General Services Administration (GSA), and other public and private owners of sites with residual contamination. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Rapid manganese removal from mine waters using an aerated packed-bed bioreactor

In the UK, the Environmental Quality Standard for manganese has recently been lowered to 30 microg/L (annual average), which is less than the UK Drinking Water Inspectorate's Maximum Permitted Concentration Value (50 microg/L). Current passive treatment systems for manganese removal operate as open-air gravel-bed filters, designed to maximize either influent light and/or dissolved oxygen. This requires large areas of land. A novel enhanced bioremediation treatment system for manganese removal has been developed that consists of a passively aerated subsurface gravel bed. The provision of air at depth and the use of catalytic substrates help overcome the slow kinetics usually associated with manganese oxidation. With a residence time of only 8 h and an influent manganese concentration of approximately 20 mg/L, >95% of the manganese was removed. The treatment system also operates successfully at temperatures as low as 4 degrees C and in total darkness. These observations have positive implications for manganese treatment using this technique in both colder climates and where large areas of land are unavailable. Furthermore, as the operation of this passive treatment system continually generates fresh manganese oxyhydroxide, which is a powerful sorbent for most pollutant metals, it potentially has major ancillary benefits as a removal process for other metals, such as zinc.