Assisted phytostabilization of Pb-spiked soils amended with charcoal and banana compost and vegetated with Ricinus communis L. (Castor bean)

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - A greenhouse experiment was performed to elucidate the potency of Prosopis juliflora charcoal (PJC) and banana waste compost (BWC) to improve soil fertility...     

Development of a modular vapor intrusion model with variably saturated and non-isothermal vadose zone

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Human health risk assessment at hydrocarbon-contaminated sites requires a critical evaluation of the exposure pathways of volatile organic compounds...     

Sorption and bioavailability of arsenic in selected Bangladesh soils

The bioavailability of arsenic (As) in the soil environment is largely governed by its adsorption–desorption reactions with soil constituents. We have investigated the sorption–desorption behaviour of As in four typical Bangladeshi soils subjected to irrigation with As-contaminated groundwater. The total As content of soils (160 samples) from the Laksham district ranged from <0.03 to approximately 43 mg kg⁻¹. Despite the low total soil As content, the concentration of As in the pore water of soils freshly irrigated with As-contaminated groundwater ranged from 0.01 to 0.1 mg l⁻¹. However, when these soils were allowed to dry, the concentration of As released in the pore water decreased to undetectable levels. Remoistening of soils to field moisture over a 10-day period resulted in a significant (up to 0.06 mg l⁻¹) release of As in the pore water of soils containing >10 mg As kg⁻¹ soil, indicating the potential availability of As. In soils containing <5 mg As kg⁻¹, As was not detected in the pore water. A comparison of Bangladeshi soils with strongly weathered long-term As-contaminated soils from Queensland, Australia showed a much greater release of As in water extracts from the Australian soils. However, this was attributed to the much higher loading of As in these Australian soils. The correlation of pore water As with other inorganic ions (P, S) showed a strongly significant (P < 0.001) relationship with P, although there was no significant relationship between As and other inorganic cations, such as Fe and Mn. Batch sorption studies showed an appreciable capacity for both As^V and As^III sorption, with As^V being retained in much greater concentrations than As^III.     

Treatment of Arctic wastewater by chemical coagulation,UV and peracetic acid disinfection

Conventional wastewater treatment is challenging in the Arctic region due to the cold climate and scattered population. Thus, no wastewater treatment plant exists in Greenland, and raw wastewater is discharged directly to nearby waterbodies without treatment. We investigated the efficiency of physicochemical wastewater treatment, in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. Raw wastewater from Kangerlussuaq was treated by chemical coagulation and UV disinfection. By applying 7.5 mg Al/L polyaluminium chloride (PAX XL100), 73% of turbidity and 28% phosphate was removed from raw wastewater. E. coli and Enterococcus were removed by 4 and 2.5 log, respectively, when UV irradiation of 0.70 kWh/m³ was applied to coagulated wastewater. Furthermore, coagulated raw wastewater in Denmark, which has a chemical quality similar to Greenlandic wastewater, was disinfected by peracetic acid or UV irradiation. Removal of heterotrophic bacteria by applying 6 and 12 mg/L peracetic acid was 2.8 and 3.1 log, respectively. Similarly, removal of heterotrophic bacteria by applying 0.21 and 2.10 kWh/m³ for UV irradiation was 2.1 and greater than 4 log, respectively. Physicochemical treatment of raw wastewater followed by UV irradiation and/or peracetic acid disinfection showed the potential for treatment of arctic wastewater.     

Prenatal demonstration of a cervical myelocystocele

Myelocystocele is a rare spinal cord disorder and has not been described prenatally. We report a case in which prenatal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a posterior cervical mass which was initially thought to be a meningocele or an atypical cystic hygroma. Surgery performed at 1 day of age showed this to be a myelocystocele. Therefore, the differential diagnosis of an extracranial cystic mass in the posterior cervical region should be expanded to include myelocystoceles.     

Open-path tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy for acquisition of fugitive emission flux data

Air pollutant emission from unconfined sources is an increasingly important environmental issue. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a ground-based optical remote-sensing method that enables direct measurement of fugitive emission flux from large area sources. Open-path Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (OP-FTIR) has been the primary technique for acquisition of pollutant concentration data used in this emission measurement method. For a number of environmentally important compounds, such as ammonia and methane, open-path tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (OP-TDLAS) is shown to be a viable alternative to Fourier transform spectroscopy for pollutant concentration measurements. Near-IR diode laser spectroscopy systems offer significant operational and cost advantages over Fourier transform instruments enabling more efficient implementation of the measurement strategy. This article reviews the EPA's fugitive emission measurement method and describes its multipath tunable diode laser instrument. Validation testing of the system is discussed. OP-TDLAS versus OP-FTIR correlation testing results for ammonia (R2 = 0.980) and methane (R2 = 0.991) are reported. Two example applications of tunable diode laser-based fugitive emission measurements are presented.     

Investigation of selective catalytic reduction impact on mercury speciation under simulated NOx emission control conditions

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology increasingly is being applied for controlling emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from coal-fired boilers. Some recent field and pilot studies suggest that the operation of SCR could affect the chemical form of mercury (Hg) in coal combustion flue gases. The speciation of Hg is an important factor influencing the control and environmental fate of Hg emissions from coal combustion. The vanadium and titanium oxides, used commonly in the vanadia-titania SCR catalyst for catalytic NOx reduction, promote the formation of oxidized mercury (Hg2+). The work reported in this paper focuses on the impact of SCR on elemental mercury (Hg0) oxidation. Bench-scale experiments were conducted to investigate Hg0 oxidation in the presence of simulated coal combustion flue gases and under SCR reaction conditions. Flue gas mixtures with different concentrations of hydrogen chloride (HCl) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) for simulating the combustion of bituminous coals and subbituminous coals were tested in these experiments. The effects of HCl and SO2 in the flue gases on Hg0 oxidation under SCR reaction conditions were studied. It was observed that HCl is the most critical flue gas component that causes conversion of Hg0 to Hg2+ under SCR reaction conditions. The importance of HCl for Hg0 oxidation found in the present study provides the scientific basis for the apparent coal-type dependence observed for Hg0 oxidation occurring across the SCR reactors in the field.     

Environmental application and ecological significance of nano-zero valent iron

Toxicity studies considering both the bare and stabilized forms of zero valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) could be timely, given that ecological risks identified are minimized through modification or with substitution of approaches in the synthesis, development and environmental application of the nanoparticles before succeeding to volume production. This review is focused on the fate, transport and toxicological implications of the bare nZVI and surface modified particles used for environmental applications.     

Chemistry of inorganic arsenic in soils: kinetics of arsenic adsorption–desorption

The influence of ionic strength, index cations and competing anions on arsenate (As^V) adsorption–desorption kinetics was studied in an Alfisol soil. A flow-through reactor system similar to that developed by Carski and Sparks (Soil Sci Soc Am J 49:1114–1116, 1985) was constructed for the experiments. Arsenate adsorption kinetics for all the treatments were initially fast with 58–91% of As^V adsorbed in the first 15 min. Beyond 15 min, As^V adsorption continued at a slower rate for the observation period of the experiments. Changes in the solution composition had differing effects on the cumulative amount of As^V adsorbed by the soil. Ionic strength and different index cations had little effect on the amount of As^V adsorbed, while the presence of phosphate decreased the amount of As^V adsorbed from 169 to 89 and 177 to 115 g As^V μg⁻¹ in 0.03 M sodium nitrate and 0.01 M calcium nitrate, respectively. Considerably less As^V was desorbed than was adsorbed, with only between 2 to 17% of the adsorbed As^V desorbed. The presence of phosphate increased the amount of As^V desorbed by 17%, but other changes in the solution ionic strength or index cation had little effect on the amount of As^V desorbed.     

Toxicity of tri- and penta-valent arsenic, alone and in combination, to the cladoceran Daphnia carinata: the influence of microbial transformation in natural waters

The acute toxicity of arsenic(III) and arsenic(V) alone and in combination to a cladoceran, Daphnia carinata, was studied in both cladoceran culture medium and natural water collected from a local suburban stream. As(III) was found to be more toxic than As(V) to Daphnia survival. The LC₅₀ values for As(III), As(V), and As(III) + As(V) were 0.554, 1.499, and 0.692 mg l⁻¹, respectively. Although various species of As, particularly As(III) and As(V) co-exist together in natural waters, the existing guidelines for water quality are based on individual As species. The results of this investigation suggest that As(III) and As(V) can interact either synergistically or additively resulting in an increase in the overall toxicity of the mixture compared to individual As species. Also, indigenous microorganisms in natural water may play a significant role in the transformation of As, thereby influencing the toxicity of As in receiving waters. This study clearly suggests that the joint action of As species should be considered in the development of water quality guidelines. To our knowledge this is the first study on the interactive effect of As(III) and As(V) to a cladoceran. Thus, this study suggests that these two species of As, when present together above 0.1 mg l⁻¹ concentration, are toxic to fresh water invertebrates; therefore, pollution with these compounds may adversely affect natural ecosystems.