Effect of forest edges on deposition of radioactive aerosols

The possible enhancement of aerosol deposition at forest edges was investigated in a wind tunnel and in the field. The wind tunnel study was carried out using 0.82 μm mass median aerodynamic diameter uranium particles and a composite canopy of rye grass and spruce saplings. The field study was undertaken at a coniferous woodland near to BNFL Sellafield, Cumbria, UK. Two transects were set through the woodland to determine the influence of the forest edge on atmospheric deposition of radionuclides released under authorisation from the Sellafield site. Results from the wind tunnel study showed that the deposition flux of uranium particles decreased with distance downwind from the grass–tree edge towards the interior of the canopy. The deposition flux at the edge was maximal at about 4×10⁻⁷ μg of U cm⁻² s⁻¹. This was 3 times higher than that observed over grass where a constant flux of about 1.32×10⁻⁷ μg of U cm⁻² s⁻¹ occurred. Results from the field study showed a clear influence of the forest edge on the atmospheric deposition of ²⁴¹Am and ¹³⁷Cs. Activity depositions of around 4750 and 230 Bqm⁻² for ¹³⁷Cs and ²⁴¹Am, respectively, were measured in front of the woodland. Activity deposition inside the forest edge, however, rose to levels of between 20,200 and 50,900 Bq m⁻² and 1100 and 3200 Bq m⁻² for ¹³⁷Cs and ²⁴¹Am, respectively, depending upon the transect. Similar activity concentrations were measured in the pasture to the front and behind Lady Wood. Results from these studies corroborate those obtained from various studies on air pollutants including radionuclides. This underlines the importance of deposition at the edge of forests and its contribution to the overall canopy deposition. The edge effect is therefore an important factor that should be considered in the assessment of fallout impact, whether this is to be made by either direct sampling or by modelling.     

Influence of Fe and mn ions on the incorporation of radioactive 35SO2 by sulfate aerosols

The rate of incorporation of radiolabeled sulfur dioxide has been determined in submicron sized ammonium sulfate droplet aerosols with and without catalytic metal ions (Fe³⁺, Mn²⁺). The sulfate droplets were generated by nebulizing solutions with a multiple jet Collison nebulizer and aged up to 30 min in a 10 m³ plug-flow reaction duct. Radiolabeled ³⁵SO₂ was metered into purified air to provide a concentration of 5 ppm.Three different atmospheres were studied: SO₂ in purified air, SO₂ in the presence of ammonium sulfate aerosol (1 mg m⁻³, 1 μm MMAD), and SO₂ in the presence of ammonium sulfate aerosol containing Fe³⁺ and Mn²⁺ ions. No measurable SO₂ conversion was detected in samples from atmospheres without the catalytic metal ions. A net SO₂ conversion rate equivalent to 0.02 % h⁻¹ was observed in the presence of Fe³⁺ and Mn²⁺ ions.     

Fitting empirical equations to rain scavenging ratios of atmospheric radioactive aerosols

An empirical equation of the type W = ZR^−p has been fitted to daily or monthly rainfall R and scavenging ratio W of bomb fallout and natural Pb-210 at a number of monitoring stations in India. The constants Z and p were evaluated by least squares techniques and have values in the range of 900–3400 and 0.22–0.49, respectively. In spite of these differences, which are partly due to statistical errors of measurements, the empirical equations are sufficiently similar under various conditions to be of value in predicting fallout. They also show the presence of an inverse relation between scavenging ratio and rainfall amount.     

Transfer of radioactive caesium from soil to vegetation and comparison with potassium in upland grasslands

The distribution and transfer of caesium and potassium between soils and vegetation has been investigated by field sampling and experimental studies on soils and vegetation typical of upland grassland in north west England. Total (137)Cs content to a depth of 0.05 m below root matt ranged from 13 000 to 18 000 Bq m(-2). This caesium content derives from three sources: the Windscale accident of 1957, weapons-testing fallout which peaked in the early 1960s, and the Chernobyl accident in May 1986. From 2200 to 6200 Bq m(-2) is attributed to the first two sources, and the remainder to Chernobyl. In December 1986, 23-78% of pre-Chernobyl (137)Cs was associated with soil underlying root matt and 0.5-5.5% was associated with vegetation. Plant/soil concentration ratios for pre-Chernobyl (137)Cs were in the range 0.5-6.5, the lowest values being associated with patches of Festuca/Agrostis turf. At the same time, 4-19% of (137)Cs deposited from Chernobyl was associated with vegetation, although higher values appeared in conjunction with the moss, Polytrichum commune. Corresponding total potassium contents were in the range 9.6-22 mg m(-2) to 0.05 m soil depth. Lower values were found at the wetter sites where, on average, 5.7% of the total potassium was present in vegetation. At drier sites the potassium content was higher and, on average, 8.9% was present in vegetation. Plant/soil concentration ratios ranged from 2.2 to 9.2. During accelerated growth of vegetation, on monoliths in glasshouse conditions over the winter of 1986/87, (137)Cs was transferred from soil and root matt to new growth, such that concentrations in fresh growth were similar to or higher than those observed in the field during December 1986. Removal of caesium by successive cuts resulted in up to 25% of the original estimated total being removed over a 240 day period. Increased concentrations coincided with the emergence of Carex sp. and Trichophorum caespitosum, as well as the development of Agrostis sp. and Festuca ovina. Observed Cs/K discrimination ratios, particularly for (137)Cs deposited from Chernobyl, were higher than previously reported in the literature. The experimental results were confirmed by field observations during spring 1987 and it is concluded that caesium deposited as a result of the Chernobyl accident will continue to be recycled in organic and low potassium soils.     

Halophyte vegetation influences in salt marsh retention capacity for heavy metals

We analysed concentrations of Cu, Cd and Pb in above and belowground tissues of the halophyte species Halimione portulacoides and Spartina maritima, as well as in sediments and pore water between the roots in a Tagus estuary salt marsh (Portugal). From these results we calculated the pools of metals in the compartments mentioned above. Relative percentages of accumulation in each pool were also determined. Our aim was to determine how the type of vegetation in the salt marsh affects overall metal retention capacity of the system. It was concluded that areas colonised by H. portulacoides are potential sources of Cu, Cd and Pb to the marsh ecosystem, whereas areas colonised by S. maritima are more effective sinks at least for Cu and Cd. Consequently, S. maritima seems to contribute more effectively to the stabilisation of metals in salt marsh sediments, reducing their availability to the estuarine system.     

水泥潜入河道底泥对重金属镉的拦截作用

基于水泥可潜入河道淤积基质,并可在基质内堆积和凝聚的机理,通过室内土柱积水入渗实验,揭示水泥潜入河床基质阻塞基质孔隙,削减地面水中污染物进入地下水的作用与规律。结果表明,水泥潜入河床基质,对砂壤土质河道淤泥含镉污水中重金属镉累积运移量有抑制作用,且抑制效果显著;水泥潜入砂壤土质河道淤泥对含镉污水中重金属镉浓度也有一定程度的减少作用,减少程度相对明显。该结果可以为抑制河道污染物通过地表向地下水迁移提供技术支撑,同时,为地下水环境污染治理工程选择有效、省时、低成本措施提供理论依据。     

Continuous measurement and speciation of sulfur-containing aerosols by flame photometry

A sulfur-specific flame photometer has been used for the real time measurement of sulfur-containing aerosols. Specificity for the aerosols was achieved with a diffusion tube stripper which removed sulfur-containing gases from the air stream by diffusion to an adsorbing wall but transmitted particles to the flame photometer. The sensitivity of the flame photometer to (NH₄)₂SO₄ and NH₄HSO₄ aerosols was identical, but a reduced response was found for H₂SO₄ aerosol. This occurred because of the high temperature (145°C) of the flame photometer burner block which caused the evaporation and loss of H₂SO₄ to the wall before reaching the flame. The addition of NH₃ to the sample air just upstream of the burner converted H₂SO₄ to (NH₄)₂SO₄ or NH₄HSO₄ and produced the expected increase in the flame photometer response. Heating the aerosol upstream of the diffusion stripper converted the sulfates to sulfur-containing gases over a temperature range characteristic of the aerosol being sampled. These gases were removed in the stripper, thereby decreasing the flame photometer output. The normalized response to aqueous H₂SO₄ aerosol decreased from unity at 50°C to 0.04 at 110°C and for (NH₄)₂SO₄ and NH₄HSO₄ aerosols from unity at 115°C to zero at 190°C. When the aerosol contained both H₂SO₄ and (NH₄)₂SO₄, the resultant thermogram was a function of both the (NH₄)₂SO₄/H₂SO₄ ratio and the manner in which the two components were mixed in the particles comprising the aerosol (i.e. homogeneously with constant (NH₄)₂SO₄/H₂SO₄ ratios or heterogeneously with varying ratios).     

The absorption of Hydrogen chloride by aqueous aerosols

A general gas/droplet interaction model has been used to examine the absorption of gaseous hydrogen chloride in aqueous aerosols formed in the presence of typical ambient concentrations of soluble and insoluble particulate over the relative humidity range 60–99 % and temperature range 273–283 K. Absorption of hydrogen chloride in aqueous aerosols formed on inert fugitive ash from a point source has also been simulated using simple puff and constant angle dispersion models. For ambient atmospheres it is predicted that appreciable uptake of hydrogen chloride occurs only for relative humidities approaching 99%. Equilibration times increase with particle size and gas concentration and lie in the range < 1–600 s. For diluting point source emissions, it is predicted that conditions close to equilibrium exist throughout most of the dispersion period. Hydrogen chloride absorption increases with initial plume water content and ambient relative humidity and decreases with ambient temperature. Substantial temporary removal of gaseous hydrogen chloride is predicted under most conditions simulated but the period of uptake is significant only for slowly diluting plumes at ambient relative humidities > 95%. Initial plume particulate diameters > 5 μm are required for enhanced deposition and substantial permanent removal of gaseous HCl. Absorption in aqueous ambient and plume aerosols is thus unlikely to constitute a general highly efficient process for the removal of hydrogen chloride from the atmosphere.     

Study of radioactive contamination in silts and aerosols at Aldama City,Mexico, due to the operation of a yellow-cake processing plant

The city of Aldama, Chihuahua, Mexico is located 30 km NNE of Chihuahua city. Three high-volume collectors with PM₁₀ heads were placed in specific locations in Aldama during the year 2011 to measure radioisotope concentrations in the air. The city area of 16 km² was divided into 64 squares of 500 × 500 m. At the vertices of the grid, silt samples were taken between January and June 2011, before the rains began. The concentrations of natural, cosmogenic, and anthropogenic radioactive isotopes were calculated in both filters and silts samples. The isotopes selected for the measurement were ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ⁷Be, ¹³⁷Cs, and ⁴⁰K. Measurements of PM₁₀ and silts were performed during 2011, coinciding with the accident at Fukushima, Japan, on March 11. For this reason, we could see the ¹³⁷Cs in PM₁₀ increase between April and July; with the arrival of the rains, the ¹³⁷Cs concentration began to decrease in the air. The concentration of PM₁₀ measured by the equipment located at the Mexican Uranium plant (URAMEX, initials in Spanish) that was processing radioactive ores exceeded the standard values in February and March, when the air velocity increases. At City Hall, the concentration of PM₁₀ surpassed the value of the standard between May and July. This increased concentration is likely due to increased automobile traffic because City Hall is located in the city center. At a private home, the concentration of PM₁₀ surpassed the standard on several days during the year because the home is located on the outskirts of the city, where most of the streets are not paved. Due to the high concentrations of PM₁₀, especially at the collection point located at the private home, it is necessary to start taking steps to mitigate their spread before they cause health problems in the younger population and in older adults.

Implications: The radioisotope content found in the PM₁₀ confirms that the decision to place the Mexican Uranium plant (URAMEX, initials in Spanish) processing radioactive ores near the town of Aldama was not well thought out. Because the monitoring work was carried out in 2011 and coincided with the Fukushima accident, an increased concentration of ¹³⁷Cs could be detected in the PM₁₀. We made recommendations to the municipal authorities of the city to mitigate the concentration of particles in the air.     

Metabolism of cyanide by Chinese vegetation

Cyanide is a high-volume production chemical and the most commonly used leaching reagent for gold and silver extraction. Its environmental behavior and fate is of significant concern because it is a highly toxic compound. Vascular plants possess an enzyme system that detoxifies cyanide by converting it to the amino acid asparagine. This paper presents an investigation of the potential of Chinese vegetation to degrade cyanide. Detached leaves (1.5 g fresh weight) from 28 species of 23 families were kept in glass vessel with 100 ml of aqueous solution spiked with potassium cyanide at 23.5 degrees C for 28 h. Cyanide concentrations ranged from 0.83 to 1.0 CN mg l(-1). The disappearance of cyanide from the aqueous solution was analyzed spectrophotometrically. The fastest cyanide removal was by Chinese elder, Sambucus chinensis, with a removal capacity of 8.8 mg CN kg(-1) h(-1), followed by upright hedge-parsley (Torilis japonica) with a value of 7.5 mg CN kg(-1) h(-1). The lowest removal capacity had the snow-pine tree (Credrus deodara (Roxb.) Loud). Results from this investigation indicated that a wide range of plant species is able to efficiently metabolize cyanide. Therefore, cyanide elimination with plants seems to be a feasible option for cleaning soils and water contaminated by cyanide from gold and silver mines or from other sources.     

Sampling and analysis of biological aerosols

The extreme particle size range and enormous heterogeneity of airborne biological particles make sampling a significant challenge. Three major sampler types available include gravity devices, impactors and suction samplers. Gravity methods, while most commonly used, are neither qualitatively or quantitatively accurate and of very limited use. Impaction samplers (rotating, centrifugal) accelerate air by rotating the collecting surface or with a fan. Particles are collected from measured volumes of air but these devices preferentially sample particles larger than 10 μm. Suction samplers, which efficiently collect particles of a wide size range from measured volumes of air, include slit samplers, cascade impactors, filtration devices and liquid impingers. Suction samplers can retrieve viable particles by direct impaction on culture media, or by subsequent culture of impinger fluid or filter eluates. Nonviable particles can often be identified by microscopic examination of slides, filters or filtrates of impinger fluids. Immunoassays and biochemical assays can be used with impinger fluid and filter eluates to assess antigen and toxin levels in measured air samples.     

Water solubility of atmospheric aerosols

The water solubility of large aerosol particles was measured. Two eight-stage Andersen impactors were used to collect aerosol for a 10-day period. Laboratory analysis determined that approx 30% of the material on the first two stages (≥ 4.6 μm radius) of the impactor was soluble. These particles would have been effective cloud condensation nuclei.     

Copper and zinc retention by an organically amended soil

This paper describes changes in retention of Cu and Zn in laboratory experiments by a sandy soil that had been amended in the field with different composted wastes. The amounts of the metals retained increased as a result of the amendments, especially after two years. Desorption of the sorbed metals was always negligible, regardless of the treatment. The proportion of Cu retained was considerably higher than that of Zn, suggesting a higher affinity of the soil for the former. The greater sorption in the amended soils indicates a build-up of fresh sites for metal retention.The use of 'log(activity) vs. pH' plots showed that the nature of the surfaces retaining metals on the untreated and amended soils is different. At comparable pH values, the amended soils gave higher solution metal concentrations. Some of the possible environmental consequences of the use of these amendments for remediation purposes are discussed.     

Modeling of multiphase atmospheric aerosols

This paper presents a mathematical model that describes the chemical composition and growth rate of atmospheric aerosols containing sulfate and nitrate, and that is applicable over the entire range of relative humidities. The model describes aerosols as consisting of an insoluble core, a soluble solid shell and an aqueous film. The chemical composition of the solid and aqueous aerosol phases in this model is governed by the following processes:

• 1.(1) the chemical equilibria between the ambient gas and the aerosol liquid phases and between the aerosol liquid and the soluble solid phases;
• 2.(2) the diffusion-limited condensation of H₂SO₄ and
• 3.(3) the liquid-phase chemical reaction of SO₂. At low humidities the liquid phase may not be thermodynamically viable, in which case the model then treats the solid-phase/gas-phase equilibrium.

Model simulations were conducted to study the effect of ambient relative humidity and gas-phase concentrations on the aerosol chemical composition and growth rate. Results indicate that

• 1.(1) precipitation of (NH₄)₂SO₄ occurs at its point of deliquescence (i.e. at a relative humidity of close to 80%) even in the presence of other electrolytes;
• 2.(2) within the uncertainty of the thermodynamic data, the saturation products of NH₃ and HNO₃ for a liquid-coated aerosol and a dry aerosol are in agreement with each other;
• 3.(3) the aerosol concentrations correspond closely to (NH₄) ₂SO₄ and NH₄NO₃ for both liquid and solid phases, i.e. NH₄HSO₄ is predicted to exist in negligible amounts under most conditions and
• 4.(4) the assumption of either an ideal internal mixture or an external mixture for dry sulfates and nitrate aerosols has little effect on model predictions.