Multi-level screening of a proposed hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility site--a case study

A comprehensive environmental assessment (EA) is a pre-requisite before the site for developing a hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility (HWTDF) is selected. However, the resource limitations, especially for developing countries, often dictatethat the detailed EA be restricted to those sites, which are constraint free and have low hazard potentials. Thus, a preliminary screening exercise for assessing the suitability ofsite for developing the HWTDF needs to be carried out to avoid huge costs involved in detailed EA. While screening a HWTDF site,various factors such as present land use, ecologically sensitiveareas, geology and hydrogeology of the area, the quality and quantity of wastes, engineered safeguards, and the operationalprocedures that need to be adopted, are required to be addressed. In this paper, a multi-level screening criteria employing RemoteSensing, Constraint Mapping, Groundwater Pollution Potential Index (DRASTIC Index), and the Site Ranking was used to assess the suitability of a proposed site for the development of HWTDF.The study helped to identify various constraints at the proposedsite and their significance on the development of the HWTDF.     

Monitoring of Seasonal Vegetables for Pesticide Residues

Market samples (60) of six seasonal vegetables were monitoredduring 1996–1997 to determine the magnitude of pesticidalcontamination. The estimation of insecticide residuesrepresenting four major chemical groups i.e. organochlorine,organophosphorous, synthetic pyrethroid and carbamate, was doneby adopting a multiresidue analytical technique employingGC-ECD and GC-NPD systems with capillary columns. The testedsamples showed 100% contamination with low but measurableamounts of residues. Among the four chemical groups, theorganophosphates were dominant followed by organochlorines,synthetic pyrethroids and carbamates. About 23% of the samplesshowed contamination with organophosphorous compounds abovetheir respective MRL values. More extensive studies coveringdifferent regions of Haryana state are suggested to get a clearidea of the magnitude of vegetable contamination with pesticideresidues.     

The influence of metallurgy on the formation of welding aerosols

Recent research has indicated that insoluble ultrafine aerosols (ie., particles whose physical diameters are less than 100 nm) may cause adverse health effects due to their small size, and that toxicological response may be more appropriately represented by particle number or particle surface area. Unfortunately, current exposure criteria and the associated air-sampling techniques are primarily mass-based. Welding processes are high-temperature operations that generate substantial number concentrations of ultrafine aerosols. Welding aerosols are formed primarily through the nucleation of metal vapors followed by competing growth mechanisms such as coagulation and condensation. Experimental results and mathematical tools are presented to illustrate how welding metallurgy influences the chemical aspects and dynamic processes that initiate and evolve the resultant aerosol. This research suggests that a fundamental understanding of metallurgy and aerosol physics can be exploited to suppress the formation of undesirable chemical species as well as the amount of aerosol generated during a welding process.     

Preliminary air pollution monitoring in San Miguel, Buenos Aires

Passive diffusion samplers were employed in San Miguel(Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area) for a preliminary airpollution monitoring. The highest loads were observedin downtown, compared with an urban background site.Total suspended particulate matter (TSPM) varied from0.257 to 0.033 mg cm^-2 month^-1; dust was examinedfor particle nature and size distribution. A similartrend was observed for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) andTSPM spatial distribution, suggesting that traffic isthe major pollution source. Sulphur dioxide (SO₂)values were low and rather homogeneous. Levels for theinvestigated pollutants are below EPA's guide linevalues. Geographic (flat area, near to Rio de LaPlata) and climatologic factors (rainfalls andvariable wind directions) contribute to disperse pollutants.     

The extraction of aged polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) residues from a clay soil using sonication and a Soxhlet procedure: a comparative study

A sonication method was compared with Soxhlet extraction for recovering polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from a clay soil that had been contaminated with tar materials for several decades. Using sonication over an 8 h extraction period, maximum extraction of the 16 US EPA priority PAH was obtained with dichloromethane (DCM)-acetone (1 + 1). The same procedure using hexane-acetone (1 + 1) recovered 86% of that obtained using DCM-acetone (1 + 1). PAH recovery was dependent on time of extraction up to a period of 8 h. The sonication procedure showed that individual PAH are extracted at differing rates depending on the number of fused rings in the molecule. Soxhlet extraction [with DCM-acetone (1 + 1)] over an 8 h period recovered 95% of the PAH removed by the sonication procedure using DCM-acetone (1 + 1), indicating that rigorous sonication can achieve PAH recoveries similar to those obtained by Soxhlet extraction. The lower recovery with the Soxhlet extraction was explained by the observed losses of the volatile PAH components after 1-4 h of extraction. The type of solvent used, the length of time of extraction and extraction method influenced the quantification of PAH in the soil. Therefore, the study has implications for PAH analyses in soils and sediments, and particularly for contaminated site assessments where the data from commercial laboratories are being used. The study emphasizes the importance of establishing (and being consistent in the application of) a vigorous extraction, particularly for commercial laboratories that handle samples of soil in batches (at different times) from a single site investigation or remediation process. The strong binding of PAH to soil, forming aged residues, has significant implications for extraction efficiency. This paper illustrates the problem of the underestimation of PAH using the US EPA method 3550, specifically where a surrogate spike is routinely employed and the efficiency of the extraction procedure for aged residues is unknown. The implications of this study for environmental monitoring, particularly where numerous batches of samples from a single site assessment or remediation program are submitted to commercial laboratories, is that it would be advisable for these laboratories to check their existing method's extraction efficiencies by conducting a time course sonication extraction on their particular soil to determine the optimum extraction time.     

Documentation of cumulative impacts in environmental impact statements

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations in the United States require federal agencies to apply an environmental impact assessment (EIA) in decision-making related to their actions. One aspect requires an examination of direct, indirect and cumulative impacts (CIs). Historically, cumulative impact assessment (CIA) has been given limited attention in EIA and resultant environmental impact statements (EISs), not because of its lack of importance, but owing to limitations in methodologies and procedures, including documentation consistency. The objectives of this study were to identify deficiencies in the documentation of CIs and CIA in EISs and to formulate appropriate recommendations (potential solutions) related to such deficiencies. The study involved the systematic review of 33 EISs (11 each from the U.S. Department of Agriculture: Forest Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Department of Transportation: Federal Highway Administration). The results indicate that improvements have been made in documentation practices since 1990; however, inconsistencies and inadequacies still exist. Therefore, the following recommendations were developed: (1) CIs should be reported in a separate part of the “Environmental Consequences” section, and they should be addressed for each pertinent environmental resource; (2) a summary of CIs should be included; (3) any CIs considered not significant should be mentioned plus the reason(s) for their non-significance; (4) spatial and temporal boundaries addressed within the CIA process should be defined for pertinent environmental resources; and (5) utilized guidelines and methodologies should be described.     

Overstory mortality as an indicator of forest health in California

The interagency Forest Health Monitoring Program involves a network of about 4200 forest plots on a triangular grid across the United States. We present data on recent mortality of trees 27.9 cm diameter from the first three years of measurements in California (1992–1994). Three plot designs were used to collect data representative of a 1-ha stand at each site; the designs differed primarily in total area sampled (0.067, 0.4 and 1.0 ha). Approximately 50 sites were visited each year yielding a total of about 150. Field tallies showed few cases of recent mortality in the smallest plot size. Cumulative distribution functions of recent dead tree densities in the 0.067-ha plots differed significantly from those generated by tallies from entire 1-ha stands. We conclude that an area of 0.067 ha is unsuitable to assess and monitor overstory mortality in Pacific Coast forests.The U.S. government right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty free licence in and to any copyright is acknowledged.     

Techniques and methods for the determination of haloacetic acids in potable water

Haloethanoic (haloacetic) acids (HAAs) are formed as disinfection byproducts (DBPs) during the chlorination of natural water to make it fit for consumption. Sundry analytical techniques have been applied in order to determine the concentrations of the HAAs in potable water supplies: gas chromatography (GC-MS, GC-ECD); capillary electrophoresis (CE); liquid chromatography (LC), including ion chromatography (IC); and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Detection limits required to analyze potable water samples can be regularly achieved only by GC-ECD and ESI-MS. Without improvements in preconcentration or detector sensitivity, CE and LC will not find application to potable water supplies. The predominant GC-ECD methods use either diazomethane or acidified methanol to esterify (methylate) the carboxylic acid moiety. For HAA5 analytes, regulated under the EPA's Stage 1 DBP Rule, diazomethane is satisfactory. For HAA9 data gathered under the Information Collection Rule, acidified methanol outperforms diazomethane, which suffers from photo-promoted side reactions, especially for the brominated trihaloacetic acids. Although ESI-MS can meet sensitivity and selectivity requirements, limited instrumentation availability means this technique will not be widely used for the time being. However, ESI-MS can provide valuable confirmatory information when coupled with GC-ECD in a research setting.     

Temporal variation in a coral reef community at Pattaya Bay,Gulf of Thailand

Changes in the fringing coral reef community of a small island (Ko Nok) at Pattaya Bay, Gulf of Thailand, were examined at the beginning and at the end of a 3-year period using 7m×7m permanent quadrats for benthic organisms, and visual census along 100m transects for fish. The coral community was dominated by Porites lutea in terms of colony number and areal cover throughout the period. Variations in the community structure parameters on opposite sides of the island indicated increasing dissimilarity with time. Little variation in live coral cover was noted, but colony number and species diversity declined on both sides. The abundance of edible fish species dropped while that of non-edible species increased over the 3-year period, indicating selective removal of the former category through fishing. Impacts from both human and natural influences are implicated in these changes.