Electrodisinfection of real swine wastewater for water reuse

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Swine production generates large volumes of wastewater, rich in organic matter, nutrients and pathogens. Electrodisinfection is used to remove organic matter and...     

Rainwater toxicity and contamination study from São Paulo Metropolitan Region, Brazil

Wet deposition is an important process that removes pollutants from the atmosphere and transfers them to waters and soil. The goal of this study was to assess the biological effects of the atmospheric contamination of rainwater in the metropolitan area of São Paulo (MASP) using Daphnia similis, Ceriodaphnia dubia, and Vibrio fischeri. Experimental assays were carried out according to standard toxicity methodology. Twenty-three rainwater samples were collected from October 2007 to December 2008, at the Nuclear Research Institute (IPEN), in MASP. Major ions were determined by ionic chromatography, which showed NH₄ ⁺ and NO₃ ^? as prevalent ions. Ecotoxicological results confirmed toxic potential of rainwater, as all samples were toxic to D. similis and C. dubia. The V. fischeri luminescence reduction confirmed those negative effects of rainwater and percentage inhibition of relative luminescence ranged from 0.2 to 0.9 for 16 samples. Worse conditions were observed during the rainy season, suggesting convective rains are more effective in transferring contaminants and toxicity from atmosphere to surface.     

Facile fabrication of hybrid titanium(IV) isopropoxide/pozzolan nanosheets (TnS-Pz) of high photocatalytic activity: characterization and application for Cr(VI) reduction in an aqueous solution

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This paper presents the synthesis of a hybrid material through the use of natural pozzolan and titanium(IV) isopropoxide using the sol-gel method and...     

Distribution of genetic elements associated with antibiotic resistance in treated and untreated animal husbandry waste and wastewater

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Animal breeding for meat production based on swine, cattle, poultry, and aquaculture is an activity that generates several impacts on the environment,...     

Is ionizing radiation effective in removing pharmaceuticals from wastewater?

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Wastewater and effluent discharges are the main causes of receiving water body pollution and important challenges in water quality management. Among...     

Impacts of rural to urban migration,urbanization, and generational change on consumption of wild animals in the Amazon

For the first time in history, more people live in urban areas than in rural areas. This trend is likely to continue, driven largely by rural-to-urban migration. We investigated how rural-to-urban migration, urbanization, and generational change affect the consumption of wild animals. We used chelonian (tortoises and freshwater turtles), one of the most hunted taxa in the Amazon, as a model. We surveyed 1356 households and 2776 school children across 10 urban areas of the Brazilian Amazon (6 small towns, 3 large towns, and Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon Basin) with a randomized response technique and anonymous questionnaires. Urban demand for wild meat (i.e., meat from wild animals) was alarmingly high. Approximately 1.7 million turtles and tortoises were consumed in urban areas of Amazonas during 2018. Consumption rates declined as size of the urban area increased and were greater for adults than children. Furthermore, the longer rural-to-urban migrants lived in urban areas, the lower their consumption rates. These results suggest that wild meat consumption is a rural-related tradition that decreases as urbanization increases and over time after people move to urban areas. However, it is unclear whether the observed decline will be fast enough to conserve hunted species, or whether children's consumption rate will remain the same as they become adults. Thus, conservation actions in urban areas are still needed. Current conservation efforts in the Amazon do not address urban demand for wildlife and may be insufficient to ensure the survival of traded species in the face of urbanization and human population growth. Our results suggest that conservation interventions must target the urban demand for wildlife, especially by focusing on young people and recent rural to urban migrants. Article impact statement: Amazon urbanite consumption of wildlife is high but decreases with urbanization, over time for rural to urban migrants, and between generations. Impactos de la Migración del Campo a la Ciudad, la Urbanización y del Cambio Generacional sobre el Consumo de Animales Silvestres en el Amazonas