Polish steel consumption, 1974–2008

This article presents changes in apparent consumption of steel in Poland in the years 1974–2003. Sudden changes in Polish steel consumption and intensity of steel use in the period of consideration are characteristic of changes in all countries of Central-Eastern Europe. They were tied to a process of transformation from a centrally controlled economy into a market-oriented economy. Particular analyses were made of changes in intensity of steel use in Poland in the years 1992–2003 in sectors of the economy determining the steel consumption. Forecasts for the sector indicators of intensity of steel use were made for the next 5 years. They were utilised in preparing a steel consumption forecast for Poland till the year 2008. The forecast indicates that growth in steel consumption is to be expected from about 8350 thousand tonnes in the year 2003 to about 9520 thousand tonnes in the year 2008. This growth in consumption will accompany a small decrease of the intensity of steel use. For estimation of the regression equations used in the forecast, actual data obtained for the years 1992–2003 was applied. This was a period where the rules of a market economy affected the consumption of steel in Poland. Indicators of steel consumption and also total GDP shares in considered sectors indicated permanent trends of changes over the period.     

Plutonium bioaccumulation in seabirds

The aim of the paper was plutonium (²³⁸Pu and ^239+240Pu) determination in seabirds, permanently or temporarily living in northern Poland at the Baltic Sea coast. Together 11 marine birds species were examined: 3 species permanently residing in the southern Baltic, 4 species of wintering birds and 3 species of migrating birds. The obtained results indicated plutonium is non-uniformly distributed in organs and tissues of analyzed seabirds. The highest plutonium content was found in the digestion organs and feathers, the smallest in skin and muscles. The plutonium concentration was lower in analyzed species which feed on fish and much higher in herbivorous species. The main source of plutonium in analyzed marine birds was global atmospheric fallout.     

Pattern Recognition Based Software for Oil Spills Identification by Gas-Chromatography and IR Spectrophotometry

For environmental control purposes, floating oil spills in harbours, off shore areas and their sources must often be identified. Pattern recognition, applied to JR spectrophotometric data (600-2000 cm m 1 range), and to chromatographic data ( n -alkanes) for the spill and various suspected sources such as oil and fuels from ships bunkers and harbour installations, can lead to definite conclusions; particularly after artificial weathering formula are used. The software application provides quick and accurate identification of the pollution source. The identification algorithm has a learning stage in which the user creates a minimal database. This database has a tree structure with classes (fuels, crude, etc.) and members representing samples from already known sources. A sample contains JR and chromatographic data and information of the originating source. A larger database means more knowledge, which conveys a better identification. When the origin of an unknown sample is searched for, the software looks for the best match through the database and displays the results in two lists; sorted by calculated similarity. One list displays the classes in which the unknown sample could be included and the other displays the possible sources. An extra check can be done by visual inspection of the overlapped graphics (unknown sample and each of the identified sources).     

Fish products available in Polish market – Assessment of the nutritive value and human exposure to dioxins and other contaminants

Chemical analyses were performed on one hundred and twenty of the most popular varieties of fish products (smoked fish, salted fish, and marinated fish) of the fish market in Poland. The contents of the nutritive substances of fish products (protein, micro- and macronutrients, vitamins A₁, D₃, E, and fatty acids) and the chosen contaminant (toxic metals – mercury, cadmium, lead, arsenic; dioxin/furans – PCDDFs; dioxin-like PCB – dl-PCBs; seven congeners of polybrominated diphenyl ethers – PBDEs; organochlorine pesticides – ΣDDT, HCB, ΣHCH and marker polychlorinated biphenyls – PCB₇) levels were determined. It was confirmed that fish products are a good source of digestible proteins, iodine, selenium, and vitamin D₃. The fundamental nutritive benefit of processed fish lies in its highly beneficial fatty acid composition, which is what imparts them healthy nutritive qualities. The high content of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), which is not noted in other food products, is particularly important.The majority of contaminants studied were present in low levels. The possible threats, particularly in the case of pregnant/nursing women and young children, can pose the levels of dioxin/furans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like (dl-PCBs) in smoked Baltic salmon and smoked sprat, elevated in a relation to particular requirements concerning the content of sum of PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs in fish (8 pg WHO-TEQ g⁻¹).The health benefits and risks stemming from consumption of fish products were determined according to the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) for chosen contaminants (Cd, Hg, As, PCDD/Fs + dl-PCB) and the quantity of ingredients that render a fish diet healthy based on data from the EFSA Journal [EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2005. Opinion of the scientific panel on contaminants in the food chain on a request from the European Parliament related to the safety assessment of wild and farmed fish. EFSA J. 236, 1–118]. In regard of high content of LC-PUFAa and other nutritive ingredients, fish products available in Polish market may be considered as healthy food.However, many authors point at contaminants (methylmercury, PCDD/Fs) occurring in fish and fish products as on potential health problem, and emphasize that the amount of that hazardous substances should be limited in human diet.     

Metal (Cu, Cd and Zn) removal and stabilization during multiple soil washing by saponin

The influence of multiple saponin washing on copper, cadmium and zinc removal and stability in three types of soils (loamy sand, loam, silty clay) was investigated. Distribution of metals and their mobility measured as the ratio of exchangeable form to the sum of all fractions in soils was differential. After single washing the highest efficiency of metal removal was obtained in loamy sand (82-90%) and loam (67-88%), whereas the lowest in silty clay (39-62%). In loamy sand and loam metals had higher mobility factors (44-61% Cu, 60-76% Cd, and 68-84% Zn) compared to silty clay (9% Cu, 28% Cd and 36% Zn). Triplicate washing led to increase both efficiency of metal removal and percentage content of their stable forms.In consequence, fractional patterns for metals before and after treatment changed visibly as a result of their redistribution. Based on the redistribution index, the most stable metal (mainly in residual and organic fractions) after triplicate washing was Cu in loamy sand and loam. For silty clay contaminated with Cd, effective metal removal and its stabilization required a higher number of washings.     

5:3 Polyfluorinated acid aerobic biotransformation in activated sludge via novel "one-carbon removal pathways"

The polyfluorinated carboxylic acids 5:3 acid (C₅F₁₁CH₂CH₂CO₂H) and 7:3 acid (C₇F₁₅CH₂CH₂CO₂H) are major products from 6:2 FTOH (C₆F₁₃CH₂CH₂OH) and 8:2 FTOH (C₈F₁₇CH₂CH₂OH) aerobic biotransformation, respectively. The 5:3 and 7:3 acids were dosed into domestic WWTP activated sludge for 90 d to determine their biodegradability. The 7:3 acid aerobic biodegradability was low, only 1.7 mol% conversion to perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), whereas no transformation was observed previously in soil. In stark contrast, 5:3 acid aerobic biodegradability was enhanced 10 times in activated sludge compared to soil. The 5:3 acid was not activated by acyl CoEnzyme A (CoA) synthetase, a key step required for further α- or ß-oxidation. Instead, 5:3 acid was directly converted to 4:3 acid (C₄F₉CH₂CH₂CO₂H, 14.2 mol%) and 3:3 acid (C₃F₇CH₂CH₂CO₂H, 0.9 mol%) via “one-carbon removal pathways”. The 5:3 acid biotransformation also yielded perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA, 5.9 mol%) and perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA, 0.8 mol%). This is the first report to identify key biotransformation intermediates which demonstrate novel one-carbon removal pathways with sequential removal of CF₂ groups. Identified biotransformation intermediates (10.2 mol% in sum) were 5:3 Uacid, α-OH 5:3 acid, 5:2 acid, and 5:2 Uacid. The 5:2 Uacid and 5:2 acid are novel intermediates identified for the first time which confirm the proposed pathways. In the biodegradation pathways, the genesis of the one carbon removal is CO₂ elimination from α-OH 5:3 acid. These results suggest that there are enzymatic mechanisms available in the environment that can lead to 6:2 FTOH and 5:3 acid mineralization. The dehydrogenation from 5:3 acid to 5:3 Uacid was the rate-limiting enzymatic step for 5:3 acid conversion to 4:3 acid.     

The influence of the sorptive properties of organic soils on the migration rate of 137Cs

Using a compartment model, the migration rates of 137Cs were calculated for two types of organic soils: a low peat-muck soil and a black earth. The migration rates of 137Cs in the tested soils turned out to be significantly higher than in mineral types examined earlier and ranged from 0.6 to 12.3 cm/year. The partition coefficients (Kd) were also determined for samples with varying organic matter content (OM) that were taken from different layers of the studied soils. The experimental results indicate that there is a clear relationship between Kd values and OM. The investigation was widened by microcalorimetric measurements which confirmed that the adsorption of 137Cs on the organic soils is low.     

Estimates of (239+240)Pu inventories in Gdańsk Bay and Gdańsk basin

This paper presents and discusses the results of (239+240)Pu determinations in different components of Gdańsk bay and Gdańsk basin ecosystem, as well as estimated sources and inventories of plutonium in these basins. The total plutonium (239+240)Pu activities deposited in Gdańsk bay and Gdańsk basin sediments are 1.18 TBq and 3.77 TBq, respectively. Two rivers, the Vistula and Neman rivers, and atmospheric fallout were distinguished as the main sources of plutonium in these basins. In seawater (with suspended matter included) there is about 2.33 GBq (239+240)Pu (0.2% of total activity) in Gdańsk bay and 9.92 GBq (239+240)Pu (0.3% of total activity) in Gdańsk basin. In both cases, 56% of (239+240)Pu is associated with suspended matter. Organisms contain 3.81 MBq in Gdańsk bay and 7.45 MBq (239+240)Pu in Gdańsk basin. From this value in Gdańsk bay 82.1% of plutonium is associated with zoobenthos, 13.6% with phytobenthos, 1.6% with phytoplankton, 1.5% with zooplankton and 1.2% with fish. In Gdańsk basin, 83.2% is associated with zoobenthos, 7.5% with phytobenthos, 3.6% with phytoplankton, 3.2% with zooplankton and 2.5% with fish.     

Environmental evaluation of different variants of the chromium compound production model using chromic waste

This work presents research results on the evaluation of environmental effects of utilizing chromic waste in chromium compound production processes. The comprehensive evaluation of three chromium compound production models takes into consideration the total cumulated hazard coefficients. The implementation of the new chromium compound production model into industrial practice in 1999 allows the hazard to the natural environment to decrease by 75% in relation to the hazard caused by the old production model used until 1995. The coefficient of the target chromium compound production model was 199%, much higher than 100%. This results from the negative values of the total cumulated hazard coefficients for those cases where the sodium chromate production unit could be a big "consumer" of chromic waste.