Particle-phase Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Emissions from Non-catalysed, In-use Four-stroke Scooters |
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Authors: | Pasquale Spezzano Paolo Picini Dario Cataldi Fabrizio Messale Claudio Manni Domenico Santino |
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Institution: | (1) Division of Life Sciences, Rutgers University, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8082, USA;(2) Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation and Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA;(3) Environmental and Occupational Medicine, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA |
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Abstract: | Metals and radionuclide levels in marine birds of the Aleutians are of interest because they are part of subsistence diets
of the Aleut people, and can also serve as indicators of marine pollution. We examined geographic and species-specific variations
in concentrations of radionuclides in birds and their eggs from Amchitka, the site of underground nuclear tests from 1965
to 1971, and Kiska Islands (a reference site) in the Aleutians, and the levels of lead, mercury and cadmium in eggs. In 2004
we collected common eiders (Somateria mollissima), tufted puffins (Fratercula cirrhata), pigeon guillemot (Cepphus columba) and glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens) from Amchitka and Kiska, and eggs from eiders and gulls from the two island. We also collected one runt bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) chick from both Amchitka and Kiska Islands. For most species, the levels of radionuclide isotopes were below the minimum
detectable activity levels (MDA). Out of 74 cesium-137 analyses, only one composite (gulls) was above the MDA, and out of
14 composites tested for plutonium (Pu-239, 240), only one exceeded the MDA (a guillemots). Three composites out of 14 tested
had detectable uranium-238. In all cases, the levels were low and close to the MDAs, and were below those reported for other
seabirds. There were significant interspecific differences in metal levels in eggs: gulls had significantly higher levels
of cadmium and mercury than the eiders, and eiders had higher levels of lead than gulls. There were few significant differences
as a function of island, but eiders had significantly higher levels of cadmium in eggs from Kiska, and gulls had significantly
higher levels of mercury on Kiska. The levels of cadmium and mercury in eggs of eiders and gulls from this study were above
the median for cadmium and mercury from studies in the literature. The levels of mercury in eggs are within the range known
to affect avian predators, but seabirds seem less vulnerable to mercury than other birds. However, the levels of mercury are
within the action levels for humans, suggesting some cause for concern if subsistence Aleuts eat a large quantity of eggs. |
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Keywords: | Birds Eggs Radionuclides Mercury Lead Human consumption Risk |
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