A gas-phase biosensor for environmental monitoring of formic acid: laboratory and field validation

In order to encourage more exposure measurements to be performed, a formic acid gas-phase biosensor has been developed for this purpose. In the present paper, an enzyme based biosensor has been validated with respect to analyte selectivity and on-site use. To ensure that the sampler developed measures the compound of interest the biosensor was exposed to three near structural homologues to formic acid, i.e. acetic acid, methanol and formaldehyde. These vapours were generated with and without formic acid and the only compound that was found to have an effect on the performance of the biosensor, albeit a small one, was acetic acid. The field test was performed in a factory using formic acid-containing glue for glulam products. In parallel to the measurements with the biosensor a well defined reference method was used for sampling and analysing formic acid. It was found that the biosensor worked satisfactorily in this environment when used in a stationary position. It was also shown that the biosensor could determine formic acid vapour concentrations down to 0.03 mg m(-3).     

Review of environmental monitoring methods: survey designs

During the past decade and a half, environmental monitoring programshave increased in numberand importance. Large scale environmental monitoring programs often present design difficulties because they tend to measure many(sometimes hundreds) of parameters through space and time. Thispaper reviewed and summarized one important component of environmental monitoring programs, the statistical survey design. Survey designsused for long-term monitoring programs lasting multiple (3)occasions were reviewed, paying specialattention to those published after 1985. During this review, two key components of the overall survey design were identified. The first key component wasthe membership design. Groups of population units sampled the same occasionwere called panels here, and the membership design specified which units were members of which panels. The second component was the revisit design that specified when panels were to be revisited. Membership designs varied, butsome form of simple random or systematic design was popular.Among revisit designs, four basicpatterns were found in the literature and their relative strengths andweaknesses were summarized. To efficiently discuss revisit designs, anew unified short-hand notation was proposed and adopted.     

Wipe sampling as a tool for monitoring aerosol deposition in workplaces

As a complement to traditional exposure assessment, monitoring deposition of aerosols can be a simple and quick screening method for identifying deposited aerosols. In this presentation examples of screening studies, based on wipe sampling in combination with adequate analytical techniques, are described. These screening methods are rapid, simple and easy to carry out. The examples given in this presentation show a broad applicability and the methods are proven useful for assessing aerosol distribution in the workplace as well as to identify target spots for more extensive assessment of a worker's exposure situation.     

Development and application of quantitative methods for monitoring dermal and inhalation exposure to propiconazole

Quantitative methods to measure dermal and inhalation exposure to the fungicide propiconazole were developed in the laboratory and applied in the occupational exposure setting for monitoring five farm workers' exposure during pesticide preparation and application to peach crops. Dermal exposure was measured with tape-strips applied to the skin, and the amount of propiconazole was normalized to keratin content in the tape-strip. Inhalation exposure was measured with an OVS tube placed in the worker's breathing-zone during pesticide handling. Samples were analyzed by GC-MS in EI+ mode (limit of detection 6 pg microl(-1)). Dermal exposure ranged from non-detectable to 32.1 +/- 22.6 ng per microg keratin while breathing-zone concentrations varied from 0.2 to 2.2 microg m(-3). A positive correlation was observed between breathing-zone concentrations and ambient air temperature (r2 = 0.87, p < 0.01). Breathing-zone concentrations did not correlate with dermal exposure levels (r2 = 0.11, p = 0.52). Propiconazole levels were below limit of detection when rubber gloves, coveralls, and full-face mask were used. The total-body propiconazole dose, determined for each worker by summing the estimated dermal dose and inhalation dose, ranged from 0.01 to 12 microg per kg body weight per day. Our results show that tape-stripping of the skin and the OVS can be effectively utilized to measure dermal and inhalation exposure to propiconazole, respectively, and that the dermal route of exposure contributed substantially more to the total dose than the inhalation route.     

Statistical and nonstatistical considerations for environmental monitoring studies

In environmental studies statistics is too often used as a salvage operation, or as an attempt to show significance in the absence of any clear hypothesis. Good design is needed, not fancier statistics. Too often we pursue short-term problems that are in fashion rather than study long-term environmental deterioration that really matters. Since change-often unpredictable change-is an intrinsic part of nature, it is pointless to fight all environmental change. We must choose our level of concern and then influence environmental change where we can. The judgement on whether a given change is bad cannot be left to the statistician or to statistical tests; the politician in consultation with the ecologist are responsible for it. The statistical significance of a hypothesized impact-related change should be tested against year-to-year variation in the unimpacted situation rather than against replicate sampling error. This is another argument for long-term studies. Attributes of good design and appropriate criterion and predictor variables are discussed.Paper presented at a Symposium held on 20–21 April 1982, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.     

环境监测适用的自动气象站

介绍了采用美国达拉斯 (Dallas)半导体公司近年推出的单总线技术研制的自动气象站 ,它很适用于对地面气象参数的监测。论述了用单总线技术改造原来人工监测的实施方案。该系统也可广泛用于关心气象信息的各种部门     

On applications of remote sensing for environmental monitoring

Modern airborne and satellite remote sensing techniques offer attractive opportunities to coastal monitoring systems. Improvements of the evaluation of larger scales phenomena and processes due to the synopticity of the remote sensing data are of particular interest. However, some uncertainties and limitations about remote sensing must be considered. Microwave, infrared and visible radiation methods and their applications are briefly discussed and some applications are demonstrated. Special attention is paid to the remote sensing of various pollutants in the sea, in particular with respect to oil pollution.Promising developments of the remote sensing methods for coastal monitoring are to be expected from the European remote sensing satellite missions ERS 1 and ERS 2.Combination of these observations with simultaneous in situ measurements from ships (sea truth) appears to be most advantageous for the interpretation of the collected data.     

A novel environmental indicator for monitoring of pesticides

The identification of an indicator for monitoring pesticides is a very effective analytical approach because it allows one to schedule and simplify the analytical routine. In this study, a new indicator has been designed, which has to be able to define a scale of priorities in the pesticides monitoring. A starting equation was developed involving the escaping tendency of a given substance from a phase (based on the Mackay model I level). The reliability of the indicator was tested by application to a model system, consisting of a defined and limited area, choosing water as matrix over a period of 6 years. A group of marker compounds was also defined to implement the predictive efficacy of the indicator. The results obtained by modeling were compared to those obtained by experimentation of the same model system. The indicator was subsequently and appropriately modified creating a new equation, including a kinetic factor, which considers the environmental degradation processes. The effect of the rectified indicator was consistent with the sales data list of compounds, when applied to the markers. The indicator developed in this study, tested as a model on specific area-phase-period (Province of Siena, water phase, 2000?C2006), is applicable to any other area-phase-period, adjusting the partition value of the Mackay model for the case under study.     

Synthetic musks in environmental samples: indicator compounds with relevant properties for environmental monitoring

Synthetic musks (nitro and polycyclic musks) are a group of chemicals offering a wide range of important properties for environmental monitoring programs. They are produced as odorous chemicals and added to a wide variety of perfumes, toiletry products and other household products. As such, they are directly applied in cosmetic products or in washed textiles to the human body in considerable concentrations and accumulate owing to dermal resorption. In addition, synthetic musks also enter the environment via waste water treatment. Several polycyclic musks are chiral. By using chiral gas chromatographic methods, it is possible to determine the enantiomeric ratio and assess their bioavailability. Although an comprehensive quality assurance program must be followed during the analysis of synthetic musks in environmental samples, the determination of these compounds is not very demanding and can be carried out by a standard analytical laboratory specialising in trace analysis of organic pollutants. Owing to the pheromone-like behavior of some synthetic musks, the induction of receptors in olfactory systems should be investigated. For HHCB (1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta[g]-2-benzopyran, e.g., Galaxolide), three-dimensional structural similarities with androstenone (5 alpha-androst-16-en-3-one), a mammalian steroid pheromone, were found, which support the hypothesis of HHCB as an artificial pheromone. Owing to their environmental abundance, their relation to human activities and their potential for pheromone-like environmental behavior, synthetic musks are especially valuable as future indicator chemicals for environmental monitoring.     

Accounting for intracultural variability in first nation environmental knowledge: A requisite for environmental monitoring and impact assessments

In many environmental monitoring and impact assessment processes, Indigenous communities are treated as intellectually homogenous and intracultural variation in environmental knowledge often goes unaccounted for. This not only poses obvious risks to the effectiveness of environmental impact assessments but also gives standing to those who question the credibility of traditional ecological knowledge and its contribution to environmental monitoring and assessment programs altogether. In this paper we describe the steps that were taken to account for intracultural variability in First Nation knowledge of fish and the potential impacts associated with the Peace River oil sands development in Alberta, Canada. Involving the delivery of a household survey to 1,127 First Nation households in 11 Peace River communities, our approach was successful in identifying regional, community, and household variability in fishing activity, and has allowed us to differentiate novice from expert knowledge holders. This research demonstrates the need to account for intracultural variability in First Nations environmental knowledge in order for traditional ecological knowledge to make meaningful contributions to environmental monitoring and assessment programs.     

Estimation of required monitoring time for obtaining validation data in enclosed spaces

Methods for estimating airborne contaminant concentrations at specific locations within enclosed spaces, such as mathematical models and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), often are validated against directly measured concentrations. However, concentration variation with time introduces uncertainty into the measured concentration. Failure to determine monitoring time requirements can lead to errors in quantifying representative concentrations, which are likely to be attributed to errors in the method being validated. In the current study, to obtain the representative concentrations at multiple locations with a direct reading instrument, we used the standard deviation ratio (SDR) method to determine the required minimum monitoring time within a specified precision limit. To demonstrate the use of the SDR approach in constructing precision confidence intervals, tracer gas concentrations at nine sampling locations in an experimental room were measured to obtain population parameters. Three flow rates of 0.9, 3.3 and 5.5 m(3) min(-1) were employed and contaminant concentrations were measured using a photoionization analyser. Monitoring time requirements varied substantially with location within the room and were strongly dependent upon the flow rate of air through the room. The proposed method would be very useful for industrial hygienists and indoor air researchers who sometimes need to obtain several hundred measured concentrations for validation purposes or to perform tests under repeatable conditions in enclosed spaces. This study also showed that the proposed method can be used to devise efficient indoor monitoring strategies.     

实验室认可与环境监测管理

根据哈尔滨市环境监测站实验室认可工作体会,分析了环境监测实验室开展实验室认可的意义,着重探讨了实验室认可对提高监测站监测管理水平的重大作用。     

Ensuring quality in long term environmental monitoring for chemical speciation

The awareness regarding quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) for environmental monitoring has considerably increased in the past few years, especially with respect to the determination of chemical species, since errors occurring at various levels may considerably affect the interpretation of results (e.g. studies of toxic impact, geochemical pathways, etc.). QA for environmental analysis covers a broad range of activities from sample collection to laboratory work and the approach for ensuring quality data should be considered in a global context. However, whereas great emphasis has been placed on QA within the laboratory, there have been few systematic attempts to evaluate risks of discrepancies related, for example, to field manipulations. The situation is even worse when monitoring is applied to relatively new fields such as chemical speciation. This paper outlines some of the main aspects of quality control of environmental analysis, including the validation of methods, sampling and sample handling, storage, etc., with special emphasis on the monitoring of chemical forms of elements (e.g. species of tin, mercury, lead and selenium).     

Large scale remote sensing for environmental monitoring of infrastructure

Recent developments in wireless sensor technology afford the opportunity to rapidly and easily deploy large-scale, low-cost, and low-power sensor networks across relatively sizeable environmental regions. Furthermore, the advancement of increasingly smaller and less expensive wireless hardware is further complemented by the rapid development of open-source software components. These software protocols allow for interfacing with the hardware to program and configure the onboard processing and communication settings. In general, a wireless sensor network topology consists of an array of microprocessor boards, referred to as motes, which can engage in two-way communication among each other as well as with a base station that relays the mote data to a host computer. The information can then be either logged and displayed on the local host or directed to an http server for network monitoring remote from the site. A number of wireless sensor products are available that offer off-the-shelf network hardware as well as sensor solutions for environmental monitoring that are compatible with the TinyOS open-source software platform. This paper presents an introduction to wireless sensing and to the use of external antennas for increasing the antenna radiation intensity and shaping signal directivity for monitoring applications requiring larger mote-to-mote communication distances.     

A national framework for monitoring and reporting on environmental sustainability in Canada

In 1991, a collaborative project to revise the terrestrial component of a national ecological framework was undertaken with a wide range of stakeholders. This spatial framework consists of multiple, nested levels of ecological generalization with linkages to existing federal and provincial scientific databases. The broadest level of generalization is the ecozone. Macroclimate, major vegetation types and subcontinental scale physiographic formations constitute the definitive components of these major ecosystems. Ecozones are subdivided into approximately 200 ecoregions which are based on properties like regional physiography, surficial geology, climate, vegetation, soil, water and fauna. The ecozone and ecoregion levels of the framework have been depicted on a national map coverage at 1:7 500 000 scale. Ecoregions have been subdivided into ecodistricts based primarily on landform, parent material, topography, soils, waterbodies and vegetation at a scale (1:2 000 000) useful for environmental resource management, monitoring and modelling activities. Nested within the ecodistricts are the polygons that make up the Soil Landscapes of Canada series of 1:1 000 000 scale soil maps. The framework is supported by an ARC-INFO GIS at Agriculture Canada. The data model allows linkage to associated databases on climate, land use and socio-economic attributes.     

Development of environmental impact monitoring protocol for offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS): A biological perspective

Offshore geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂), known as offshore carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), has been under active investigation as a safe, effective mitigation option for reducing CO₂ levels from anthropogenic fossil fuel burning and climate change. Along with increasing trends in implementation plans and related logistics on offshore CCS, thorough risk assessment (i.e. environmental impact monitoring) needs to be conducted to evaluate potential risks, such as CO₂ gas leakage at injection sites. Gas leaks from offshore CCS may affect the physiology of marine organisms and disrupt certain ecosystem functions, thereby posing an environmental risk. Here, we synthesize current knowledge on environmental impact monitoring of offshore CCS with an emphasis on biological aspects and provide suggestions for better practice. Based on our critical review of preexisting literatures, this paper: 1) discusses key variables sensitive to or indicative of gas leakage by summarizing physico-chemical and ecological variables measured from previous monitoring cruises on offshore CCS; 2) lists ecosystem and organism responses to a similar environmental condition to CO₂ leakage and associated impacts, such as ocean acidification and hypercapnia, to predict how they serve as responsive indicators of short- and long-term gas exposure, and 3) discusses the designs of the artificial gas release experiments in fields and the best model simulation to produce realistic leakage scenarios in marine ecosystems. Based on our analysis, we suggest that proper incorporation of biological aspects will provide successful and robust long-term monitoring strategies with earlier detection of gas leakage, thus reducing the risks associated with offshore CCS.     

Utilization of the solid sorbent media in monitoring of airborne cyclophosphamide concentrations and the implications for occupational hygiene

The main objective of the study was to evaluate the applicability of two solid sorbent media (Anasorb 708 and Strata X), the impinger filled with distilled water and PTFE filters for determination of airborne cyclophosphamide (CP) in the hospital working environment. For this purpose, air contamination of Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute (Czech Republic) was monitored using the sampling apparatus containing the samplers described above. In addition, the surface contamination was also determined using the wipe sampling technique. During the monitoring, contamination of three different workplaces (storage room, preparation room and outpatient clinic) was studied. Using Strata X solid sorbent tubes, airborne CP was determined in all (n = 5) samples collected at the outpatient clinic over a 5 day monitoring period (concentration range: 0.3-4.3 ng m(-3)). Other samplers (including PTFE filters) did not collect any detectable amount of CP (the limit of detection, LOD ≤ 0.1 ng m(-3)). Negative results detected at filter samples indicate that CP determined at Strata X samples was most probably of gaseous origin. Surface contamination ranged from <2 to 19, <8 to 418 and 133-15,500 pg cm(-2) at the storage room, preparation room and outpatient clinic, respectively. The study showed that evaporation of antineoplastic drugs should not be neglected, albeit the concentrations determined in our study are relatively low. Therefore, proper monitoring of airborne contamination should involve simultaneous sampling of both particle-bonded and gaseous phases. In this way, Strata X sorbent tubes seem to be an effective tool for the sampling of gaseous CP in the indoor air.