Evaluating LNAPL contamination using GPR signal attenuation analysis and dielectric property measurements: practical implications for hydrological studies

Groundwater and sub-surface contamination by Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (LNAPLs) is one of the industrial world's most pressing environmental issues and a thorough understanding of the hydrological, physical and bio-chemical properties of the sub-surface is key to determining the spatial and temporal development of any particular contamination event. Non-invasive geophysical techniques (such as electrical resistivity, electromagnetic conductivity, Ground-Penetrating Radar, etc.) have proved to be successful sub-surface investigation and characterisation tools with Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) being particularly popular. Recent studies have shown that the spatial/temporal variation in GPR signal attenuation can provide important information on the electrical properties of the sub-surface materials that, in turn, can be used to assess the physical and hydrological nature of the pore fluids and associated contaminants. Unfortunately, a high percentage of current LNAPL-related GPR studies focus on contaminant mapping only, with little emphasis being placed on characterising the hydrological properties (e.g., determining contaminant saturation index, etc.). By comparing laboratory-based, dielectric measurements of LNAPL contaminated materials with the GPR signal attenuation observed in both contaminated and 'clean' areas of an LNAPL contaminated site, new insights have been gained into the nature of contaminant distribution/saturation and the likely signal attenuation mechanisms. The results show that, despite some practical limitations of the analysis technique, meaningful hydrological interpretations can be obtained on the contaminant properties, saturation index and bio-degradation processes. A generalised attenuation/saturation model has been developed that describes the physical and attenuation enhancement characteristics of the contaminated areas and reveals that the most significant attenuation is related to smeared zone surrounding the seasonally changing water table interface. It is envisaged that the model will provide a basis for the interpretation of GPR data from analogous LNAPL contaminated sites and provide investigators with an appreciation of the merits and limitations of GPR-based, attenuation analysis techniques for hydrological applications.     

Strategic planning for post-disaster temporary housing

Temporary housing programmes suffer from excessively high cost, late delivery, poor location, improper unit designs and other inherent issues. These issues can be attributed in part to a prevalence of ad hoc tactical planning, rather than pre-disaster strategic planning, for reconstruction undertaken by governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the chaotic post-disaster environment. An analysis of the process and outcomes from six case studies of temporary housing programmes after disasters in Turkey and Colombia in 1999, Japan in 1995, Greece in 1986, Mexico in 1985, and Italy in 1976 yields information about the extent to which strategic planning is employed in temporary housing programmes, as well as common issues in temporary housing. Based on an understanding of these common issues, this paper proposes a framework for strategic planning for temporary housing that identifies organisational designs and available resources for temporary housing before the disaster, but allows modifications to fit the specific post-disaster situation.     

Incorporating putatively neutral and adaptive genomic data into marine conservation planning

The availability of genomic data for an increasing number of species makes it possible to incorporate evolutionary processes into conservation plans. Recent studies show how genetic data can inform spatial conservation prioritization (SCP), but they focus on metrics of diversity and distinctness derived primarily from neutral genetic data sets. Identifying adaptive genetic markers can provide important information regarding the capacity for populations to adapt to environmental change. Yet, the effect of including metrics based on adaptive genomic data into SCP in comparison to more widely used neutral genetic metrics has not been explored. We used existing genomic data on a commercially exploited species, the giant California sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus), to perform SCP for the coastal region of British Columbia (BC), Canada. Using a RAD-seq data set for 717 P. californicus individuals across 24 sampling locations, we identified putatively adaptive (i.e., candidate) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) based on genotype–environment associations with seafloor temperature. We calculated various metrics for both neutral and candidate SNPs and compared SCP outcomes with independent metrics and combinations of metrics. Priority areas varied depending on whether neutral or candidate SNPs were used and on the specific metric used. For example, targeting sites with a high frequency of warm-temperature-associated alleles to support persistence under future warming prioritized areas in the southern coastal region. In contrast, targeting sites with high expected heterozygosity at candidate loci to support persistence under future environmental uncertainty prioritized areas in the north. When combining metrics, all scenarios generated intermediate solutions, protecting sites that span latitudinal and thermal gradients. Our results demonstrate that distinguishing between neutral and adaptive markers can affect conservation solutions and emphasize the importance of defining objectives when choosing among various genomic metrics for SCP.     

Towards resolving the phosphorus chaos created by food systems

Ambio - The chaotic distribution and dispersal of phosphorus (P) used in food systems (defined here as disorderly disruptions to the P cycle) is harming our environment beyond acceptable limits. An...     

PFAS Experts Symposium: Statements on regulatory policy,chemistry and analytics,toxicology, transport/fate,and remediation for per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination issues

Sixty leading members of the scientific, engineering, regulatory, and legal communities assembled for the PFAS Experts Symposium in Arlington, Virginia on May 20 and 21, 2019 to discuss issues related to per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) based on the quickly evolving developments of PFAS regulations, chemistry and analytics, transport and fate concepts, toxicology, and remediation technologies.  The Symposium created a venue for experts with various specialized skills to provide opinions and trade perspectives on existing and new approaches to PFAS assessment and remediation in light of lessons learned managing other contaminants encountered over the past four decades. The following summarizes several consensus points developed as an outcome of the Symposium:

• Regulatory and policy issues: The response by many states and the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to media exposure and public pressure related to PFAS contamination is to relatively quickly initiate programs to regulate PFAS sites. This includes the USEPA establishing relatively low lifetime health advisory levels for PFAS in drinking water and even more stringent guidance and standards in several states. In addition, if PFAS are designated as hazardous substances at the federal level, as proposed by several Congressional bills, there could be wide‐reaching effects including listing of new Superfund sites solely for PFAS, application of stringent state standards, additional characterization and remediation at existing sites, reopening of closed sites, and cost renegotiation among PRPs.
• Chemistry and analytics: PFAS analysis is confounded by the lack of regulatory‐approved methods for most PFAS in water and all PFAS in solid media and air, interference with current water‐based analytical methods if samples contain high levels of suspended solids, and sample collection and analytical interference due to the presence of PFAS in common consumer products, sampling equipment, and laboratory materials.
• Toxicology and risk: Uncertainties remain related to human health and ecological effects for most PFAS; however, regulatory standards and guidance are being established incorporating safety factors that result in part per trillion (ppt) cleanup objectives. Given the thousands of PFAS that may be present in the environment, a more appropriate paradigm may be to develop toxicity criteria for groups of PFAS rather than individual PFAS.
• Transport and fate: The recalcitrance of many perfluoroalkyl compounds and the capability of some fluorotelomers to transform into perfluoroalkyl compounds complicate conceptual site models at many PFAS sites, particularly those involving complex mixtures, such as firefighting foams. Research is warranted to better understand the physicochemical properties and corresponding transport and fate of most PFAS, of branched and linear isomers of the same compounds, and of the interactions of PFAS with other co‐contaminants such as nonaqueous phase liquids. Many PFAS exhibit complex transport mechanisms, particularly at the air/water interface, and it is uncertain whether traditional transport principles apply to the ppt levels important to PFAS projects. Existing analytical methods are sufficient when combined with the many advances in site characterization techniques to move rapidly forward at selected sites to develop and test process‐based conceptual site models.
• Existing remediation technologies and research: Current technologies largely focus on separation (sorption, ion exchange, or sequestration). Due to diversity in PFAS properties, effective treatment will likely require treatment trains. Monitored natural attenuation will not likely involve destructive reactions, but be driven by processes such as matrix diffusion, sorption, dispersion, and dilution.

The consensus message from the Symposium participants is that PFAS present far more complex challenges to the environmental community than prior contaminants. This is because, in contrast to chlorinated solvents, PFAS are severely complicated by their mobility, persistence, toxicological uncertainties, and technical obstacles to remediation—all under the backdrop of stringent regulatory and policy developments that vary by state and will be further driven by USEPA. Concern was expressed about the time, expense, and complexity required to remediate PFAS sites and whether the challenges of PFAS warrant alternative approaches to site cleanups, including the notion that adaptive management and technical impracticability waivers may be warranted at sites with expansive PFAS plumes. A paradigm shift towards receptor protection rather than broad scale groundwater/aquifer remediation may be appropriate.     

CIMAH — where are we now

This paper, presented at Guildford in April 1988, outlines the UK control strategy for Major Chemical Hazards, in a European context. The current legislative background is described, followed by an indication of potential changes to reflect international initiatives. The paper is a presentation of current CIMAH issues.     

Wildlife impacts and vulnerable livelihoods in a transfrontier conservation landscape

Interactions between humans and wildlife resulting in negative impacts are among the most pressing conservation challenges globally. In regions of smallholder livestock and crop production, interactions with wildlife can compromise human well-being and motivate negative sentiment and retaliation toward wildlife, undermining conservation goals. Although impacts may be unavoidable when human and wildlife land use overlap, scant large-scale human data exist quantifying the direct costs of wildlife to livelihoods. In a landscape of global importance for wildlife conservation in southern Africa, we quantified costs for people living with wildlife through a fundamental measure of human well-being, food security, and we tested whether existing livelihood strategies buffer certain households against crop depredation by wildlife, predominantly elephants. To do this, we estimated Bayesian multilevel statistical models based on multicounty household data (n = 711) and interpreted model results in the context of spatial data from participatory land-use mapping. Reported crop depredation by wildlife was widespread. Over half of the sample households were affected and household food security was reduced significantly (odds ratio 0.37 [0.22, 0.63]). The most food insecure households relied on gathered food sources and welfare programs. In the event of crop depredation by wildlife, these 2 livelihood sources buffered or reduced harmful effects of depredation. The presence of buffering strategies suggests a targeted compensation strategy could benefit the region's most vulnerable people. Such strategies should be combined with dynamic and spatially explicit land-use planning that may reduce the frequency of negative human–wildlife impacts. Quantifying and mitigating the human costs from wildlife are necessary steps in working toward human–wildlife coexistence.     

Nitro-PAH exposures of occupationally-exposed traffic workers and associated urinary 1-nitropyrene metabolite concentrations

The assessment of occupational exposure to diesel exhaust(DE) is important from an epidemiological perspective. Urinary biomarkers of exposure have been proposed as a novel approach for measuring exposure to DE. In this study, we measured the concentrations of two urinary metabolites of 1-nitropyrene(1NP), a nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon that has been suggested as a molecular marker of diesel particulate matter. These two metabolites, 6-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene and 8-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene, were determined in urine samples(10 m L) from a small group of workers who were occupationally-exposed to vehicle exhaust in Trujillo, Peru, before and after their workshifts. Workshift exposures to1 NP, as well as PM_(2.5), 2-nitropyrene and 2-nitrofluoranthene, were also measured.Exposures to 1NP were similar in all studied workers, averaging 105 ± 57.9 pg/m~3(±standard deviation). Median urinary concentrations of the average of the pre- and post-exposure samples for 6-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene and 8-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene, were found to be 3.9 and 2.3 pg metabolite/mg creatinine, respectively in the group of occupationally-exposed subjects(n = 17) studied. A direct relationship between workshift exposure to 1NP and urinary 1NP metabolites concentrations was not observed. However,the 1NP exposures and the creatinine-corrected urinary concentrations of the hydroxynitropyrene metabolites in these Peruvian traffic workers were similar to occupationally-exposed taxi drivers in Shenyang, China, and were higher than biomarker levels in office workers from Trujillo without occupational exposure to vehicle exhaust.This study provides further evidence that urinary metabolites of 1NP are associated with exposure to DE and may serve as a useful exposure biomarker.