Metal Levels in Raccoon Tissues: Differences On and Off the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina

Levels of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, selenium, and strontium⁸⁸ were examined in heart, kidney, muscle, spleen and liver of raccoons (Procyon lotor) from four areas on the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (SRS), including near a former reactor cooling reservoir and a coal ash basin, and from public hunting areas within 15 km of the site. Mercury is mentioned briefly because it is discussed more fully in another paper. We test the hypotheses that there are no differences in metal levels between raccoons on SRS and off the SRS (off-site), and among different locations on the SRS. Although raccoons collected off-site had significantly lower levels of mercury and selenium in both the liver and kidney, there were few consistencies otherwise. There were significantly higher levels of cadmium in liver of on-site compared to off-site raccoons, and significantly higher levels of chromium and strontium⁸⁸ in kidney of on-site compared to off-site raccoons. Copper and manganese were highest in the liver; cadmium, lead, mercury and selenium were highest in the liver and kidney; chromium was highest in the spleen and muscle; arsenic was highest in the heart, and strontium⁸⁸ was slightly higher in the kidney than other organs. Where there were significant differences on site, chromium, manganese were highest in raccoon tissues from Steel Creek; arsenic, lead and selenium were highest in the Ash Basin; cadmium was highest at Upper Three Runs; and strontium⁸⁸ was highest at Upper Three Runs and Steel Creek. The patterns were far from consistent.     

Mercury and other metals in eggs and feathers of glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens) in the Aleutians

Levels of mercury and other contaminants should be lower in birds nesting on isolated oceanic islands and at high latitudes without any local or regional sources of contamination, compared to more urban and industrialized temperate regions. We examined concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, mercury and selenium in the eggs, and the feathers of fledgling and adult glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens) nesting in breeding colonies on Adak, Amchitka, and Kiska Islands in the Aleutian Chain of Alaska in the Bering Sea/North Pacific. We tested the following null hypotheses: 1) There were no differences in metal levels among eggs and feathers of adult and fledgling glaucous-winged gulls, 2) There were no differences in metal levels among gulls nesting near the three underground nuclear test sites (Long Shot 1965, Milrow 1969, Cannikin 1971) on Amchitka, 3) There were no differences in metal levels among the three islands, and 4) There were no gender-related differences in metal levels. All four null hypotheses were rejected at the 0.05 level, although there were few differences among the three test sites on Amchitka. Eggs had the lowest levels of cadmium, lead, and mercury, and the feathers of adults had the lowest levels of selenium. Comparing only adults and fledglings, adults had higher levels of cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury, and fledglings had higher levels of arsenic, manganese and selenium. There were few consistent interisland differences, although levels were generally lower for eggs and feathers from gulls on Amchitka compared to the other islands. Arsenic was higher in both adult feathers and eggs from Amchitka compared to Adak, and chromium and lead were higher in adult feathers and eggs from Adak compared to Amchitka. Mercury and arsenic, and chromium and manganese levels were significantly correlated in the feathers of both adult and fledgling gulls. The feathers of males had significantly higher levels of chromium and manganese than did females. The levels of most metals in feathers are below those known to be associated with adverse effects in the gulls or their predators. However, levels of mercury in some gull eggs are within a range suggesting that several eggs should not be eaten in one day by sensitive humans.     

Perceptual Indicators of Environmental Health, Future Land Use, and Stewardship

There are important linkages between the health of humans and theenvironment, restoration of degraded lands, and long-term stewardship of public lands, yet most environmental indicators deal only with assessing the physical and biological aspects ofecosystems. In this article, we examine the ratings of perceptionsof several environmental problems for their utility as indicatorsof environmental quality, and examine perceptions of future land use by people interviewed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, near the Department of Energy's (DOE) Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Overall, people with lower incomes rated environmental problems as more severe than others, were more willing to spend federal funds to solve them, and were consistent in their ratingsof severity of environmental problems and their willingness to spend federal funds. Cleaning up LANL and other Department of Energy sites, received the highest rating for expenditure of federal funds. The highest rated future uses for DOE sites were for recreation and for National Environmental Research Parks. People with less education generally gave higher ratings to mostfuture land uses for DOE than did those with more education. However, those with higher education gave higher ratings to nuclear reprocessing, and nuclear material storage. Where there were differences, the people interviewed at Santa Fe rated all environmental problems (except pesticides) as more severe than did those previously interviewed in Albuquerque (located fartherfrom the LANL site), and they were more willing to spend federalfunds on these problems. Ratings for all future land uses did notdiffer between the Santa Fe and Albuquerque respondents. These perception-based indicators show general agreement among peopleliving close and farther away from LANL with respect to cleaningup LANL and the future land uses for the site. These indicators should be considered by regulators, site personnel, and policy makers in future management and land use decisions.     

Biological treatment of wastewater by selected aquatic plants

Pollutant-removal efficiency of certain macrophytes and algae, such as Eichhornia crassipes, Microcystis aeruginosa, Scenedesmus falcatus, Chlorella vulgaris and Chlamydomonas mirabilis, has been tested in laboratory conditions to evaluate their potential role in wastewater treatment. Sewage of Varanasi city, mixed with the effluents of about 1200 small-scale industries, was used for the tests. The investigation was performed in three stages i.e. a water hyacinth culture followed by an algal culture, and finally a second water hyacinth culture. For the first water hyacinth culture, 10 water hyacinth plants were grown in a tank of wastewater with 15 days' retention time. In the second stage, algal species were cultured in the treated wastewater for 5 days, whilst in the third stage, water hyacinth plants were again grown for further treatment of the wastewater for 9 days. This three-stage aquaculture resulted in very high reductions of BOD (96.9%), suspended solids (78.1%), total alkalinity (74.6%), PO(4)-P (89.2%), NO(3)-N (81.7%), acidity (73.3%), NH(4)-N (95.1%), COD (77.9%), hardness (68.6%) and coliform bacteria (99.2%). An increase in the concentration of dissolved oxygen (70%) was also observed.     

Effect of cement dust on the growth and yield of Brassica campestris L

Plants of Brassica campestris L. var. G-S20 were treated with cement dust, at rates of 3 (B(1)), 5 (B(2)) and 7 (B(3)) gm(-2) day(-1) for 90 days. Treated plants showed a consistent reduction in growth, photosynthetic pigments, yield and oil content over control plants. The overall phytomass of treated plants was significantly decreased, the maximum reduction being 64.8% in B(3) plants, followed by B(2) plants (55.3%) and B(1) plants (43.69%) at 60 days. The effect on oil content was also greatest in B(3) plants, where it was decreased by 6.13%.     

A novel radiant floor system: Detailed characterization and comparison with traditional radiant systems

ABSTRACT

Radiant floor systems have the potential to reduce energy consumption and the carbon footprint of buildings. This study analyzed a novel radiant panel configuration comprising a metal plate with small spikes that can be pressed into cement board or wood. The behavior of this configuration was simulated for different materials for the metal plate, spike dimensions, and varying spacing between spikes. An annual energy simulation model compared the radiant panel configuration with the traditional concrete-based system. Simulations were run under heating dominant, cooling dominant, and neutral conditions; significant cost savings and greenhouse gas emission reduction were seen across all scenarios.     

Changing scenario of municipal solid waste management in Kanpur city,India

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) depends upon lifestyle, urbanization and income level of population. Solid waste management is one of the...     

Lichens to distinguish urban from industrial PAHs

This paper shows that lichens can be used as biomonitors to distinguish urban from industrial polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs are atmospheric pollutants originating mainly from incomplete combustion of fuels in vehicles and industry. The occurrence of PAHs in air is a serious health issue in urban areas and industrial areas because some PAHs are carcinogenic. Biomonitoring PAHs with lichens is generally applied for quantification of PAHs. However, the precise sources of PAHs are not well known. Here we use lichen to trace the source of PAHs. PAHs were analyzed in Pyxine subcinerea Stirton, a lichen species collected from twelve sites which vary from urban and industrial to periurban forest area of Haridwar, in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas. Total PAH concentration ranged between 1.25 and 187.3 μg g⁻¹. Results indicate a clear distinction between urban and industrial PAHs profile, using principal component analysis. Lichen sampled from industrial sites exhibited higher concentrations of two-, five-, and six-ringed PAHs, up to 60% of total PAHs, while samples from urban sites were dominated by four-ringed PAHs, predominantly fluoranthene and acenaphthylene. Molecular ratios indicate that combustion was the dominant source of origin of PAHs in industrial area, while urban sites showed mixed origin of PAHs, both pyro- and petrogenic.     

Lichens reveal air PAH fractionation in the Himalaya

This paper shows that gas/particulate phase partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be monitored using lichens. Anthropogenic sources are responsible for the release of PAHs, which are bioaccumulated in plants at various spatial scales based on their physicochemical properties. Atmospheric PAHs are distributed both in the gaseous and particulate states. Here, a lichen species, Dermatocarpon vellereum Zschacke, has been collected at different altitudes in and around the Rudraprayag valley, located in Central Himalayan region of India, in order to study the spatial distribution of PAHs in the valley. Results show that PAH concentration ranged from 0.136 to 4.96 μg g^?1. Findings reveal that the bioaccumulation of 2- and 3-ringed PAHs was higher in high-altitude samples, whereas bioaccumulation of fluoranthene, a 4-ringed PAH, showed higher concentration in samples from localities away from town centre. 5- and 6-ring PAHs were then confined to the lower altitude at the base of the valley, thus justifying their particulate-bound nature. This is the first report showing the utility of lichen to biomonitor PAHs in the Himalayan ecosystem.     

Spatial Distribution,Population Structure and Neighbour Relation of Trewia nudiflora within Forested Vegetation of North-Eastern U.P., India

Russian Journal of Ecology - Trewia nudiflora Linn. (Euphorbiaceae) is a soft wooded, fast growing multipurpose dioecious tree which grows within the moist semi-evergreen tropical forests of...