Bioaccumulation and lack of oxidative stress response in the ragworm H. diversicolor following exposure to Ra in sediment

The main effluent from oil and gas production, produced water, from some platforms in the North Sea contains elevated concentrations of ²²⁶Ra. The aim of this study was to investigate whether ²²⁶Ra in sediment would accumulate in and affect sediment-dwelling organisms. In addition, we wanted to determine if the bioavailability would be modulated by the presence of a scale inhibitor which is used during oil and gas production. Hediste diversicolor was therefore exposed to different levels of ²²⁶Ra (30–6600 Bq kg⁻¹) in combination with scale inhibitor in the sediments in a flow through system. The levels of radioactivity in the exposures were close to levels that can be measured in proximity to oil/gas production facilities. ²²⁶Ra spiked to natural sediment partitioned into pore water and accumulated in the sediment-dwelling polychaete following a four-week exposure period. The results suggest that ²²⁶Ra did not bind strongly to sediment (low sediment:water partitioning coefficient), but it was not shown to bioaccumulate in any great extent (bioaccumulation factors of 0.019–0.022). Exposure of H. diversicolor in sediments with up to 6600 Bq kg⁻¹²²⁶Ra had no measurable effect on the total oxyradical scavenging capacity of the organisms compared to control. So although they accumulated the alpha-emitter, the treatments did not appear to cause oxidative stress in polychaete tissues.     

Development and application of a diffusional sampler for NO2

Within a span of less than 10 years a new type of quantitative air sampling device has been developed; it derives the power for the collection of the contaminant on the sorbent from the random motion of the gas molecules themselves rather than from an external source. This type of passive device is adaptable to either area or personal sampling. The advantages, including low cost, lack of maintenance, minimal space requirements, and lack of explosion or fire hazard, are of great importance in either type of sampling. Their very light weight is particularly advantageous in personal sampling. It should be borne in mind that these are samplers and usually not complete analytical systems. In most of the devices reported the final analysis is carried out in the laboratory as it is for active samplers. To be effective it is necessary that the sorbent be efficient and have sufficient capacity for collection of the contaminant, and that the samplers have sufficient shelf life before and after sampling to permit distribution to the field and return to the laboratory for final analysis.     

Mutagenicity of a bipyridylium herbicide in an N2-fixing cyanobacterium Nostoc muscorum

The herbicide diquat (1,1′-ethylene-2,2′-bipyridylium ion) is toxic and lytic to Nostoc muscorum. A reverse mutation (from het^?nif^? auxotrophy to het⁺nif⁺ prototrophy), a forward mutation (for streptomycin [St]-resistance), and an auxotrophic mutation (carbon-auxotrophy through methylamine [MA]-resistance) have been obtained with a dose of diquat permitting about 20% or 50% survival. Similar mutation frequencies were obtained through induction with MNGG (N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine).     

The application of fucus vesiculosus as a bioindicator of 60Co concentrations in the Danish Straits

The occurrence of ⁶⁰Co in the Danish Straits is investigated by applying the seaweed Fucus vesiculosus as a bioindicator. In order to describe different dispersion situations, three areas have been studied separately: the North Sea, where it is possible to measure ⁶⁰Co from sources in France and/or the UK; the Kattegat, where the sources are the Swedish nuclear power plants Ringhals and Barsebäck; and the Sound, where the initial mixing of the release from Barsebäck takes place. A power function can be estimated for the Kattegat and the Sound describing the content of ⁶⁰Co in Fucus as a function of distance from Barsebäck. Problems of uncertainty related to differences in environmental parameters are discussed and new investigations to improve the use of Fucus as a bioindicator are suggested.     

Acute toxicity of two insecticides to tubificid worms, Tubifex tubifex and Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri

Acute toxicity and presumable harmless concentration of two commercial insecticides, Furadan 3G and Malataf 50E were reported for tubificid worms, Tubifex tubifex and Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri. L. hoffmeisteri were found more susceptible to both the insecticides; the Furadan was found to be more toxic than Malataf to tubificid worms. Analysis of variants showed a significant difference between safe concentrations of the same insecticide to different species.     

Energy and land use in worldwide agriculture: an application of life cycle energy and cluster analysis

Agriculture is expected to provide food in a sustainable manner while also partially contributing to the energy problem as well as to bio-material supply. Moreover, fossil fuels scarcity calls for an increase of energy efficiency in agricultural processes. This study evaluates patterns, trends, driving factors and trade-offs of energy use in selected agricultural systems and aims at grouping them into clusters with similar energy and social performances. Results show that in 2010 the highest power densities and energy intensities of production are found by crop sector of cluster 5 (China: 59.19 GJ/ha, 15.29 MJ/kg dm) and cluster 3 (Japan: 50.11 GJ/ha, 12.32 MJ/kg dm) as well as by livestock sector of cluster 3 (Japan: 328.47 GJ/ha, 103.08 MJ/kg dm), while the lowest values in clusters 2 and 4, including selected developing countries and USA. Cluster 3 (Japan) also shows the lowest energy intensity of economic value of crops (2.75 MJ/$), while cluster 5 (China) the highest one (23.96 MJ/$). Cluster analysis also sheds light on trends, identifying two groups: cluster 1*, gathering most European countries, USA and Japan, characterized by a decreasing trend of all energy indicators; and cluster 2*, including developing countries, the Netherlands and Spain, characterized by an increasing trend of indicators. Results highlight the importance of an integrated framework for evaluating energy use as well as of a multi-criteria approach to understand the trade-offs and interplay of performance indicators.     

Framework for the uncertainty assessment in the impact pathway analysis with an application on a local scale in Spain

The estimation of damage estimates due to air emissions gives important basic knowledge for decision-making on the level of environmental politics and business strategies. Nowadays, a frequently applied method to estimate environmental damages is the Impact Pathway Analysis (IPA), which can be easily carried out using models such as EcoSense or PathWays. These models produce results in a relatively short term. However, there is a lack of reliability in the results. As in many other environmental software tools, the uncertainty is the key problem that makes it difficult to convince decision-makers by the outcomes of a study. Therefore, a framework that allows assessing the uncertainties within studies in which the IPA is applied on a local scale has been developed. In this assessment framework, the uncertainties of the used parameters, including their spatial and temporal variability, are taken into account. As the model is processing a huge quantity of data, one step of the assessment consists of a screening procedure to determine the parameters that are supposed to be fixed. For the other data, probability distributions have to be selected and classified into two groups: extensively available data for which average and standard deviation can be calculated and data based on little information. A quantification of the uncertainty can be completed by a stochastic model in the form of Monte Carlo (MC) simulation on the basis of the framework. As an illustration of the framework, we have applied it to a study on the installation of an advanced gas treatment in the municipal waste incinerator of Tarragona. It can be shown that the presented stochastic approach gives a lower geometric deviation than the analytical one and that the new gas treatment reduces the environmental damages without any doubt.     

Critical analysis of radiochemical methodologies for the assessment of sediment pollution and dynamics in the lagoon of Venice (Italy)

Aquatic sediments are the ultimate sink of wastes dispersed in freshwater and soil. They are therefore a useful tool for investigating polluted ecosystems. Lagoon environments are very difficult to study due to their unstable morphology. Under these circumstances, even an excellent environmental investigation of a restricted lagoon area would still be inadequate to appreciate the characteristics of the entire system. The Venice lagoon is a very complex ecosystem whose morphology is complicated further by extensive anthropic intervention. A good environmental representation of the area was obtained with a preliminary radiochemical survey of airborne radionuclides, a unique tool in evaluating the homogeneity of the entire sedimentary system. It must be stressed, however, that the significance of the data depends substantially on the use of qualified procedures. Based on this, a detailed study was carried out on selected homogeneous areas, reconstructing the inventories and fluxes of pollutants in the sediments. In this work the radiochemical approach to the environmental study of the Venice lagoon is examined.     

Risk to water security for small islands: an assessment framework and application

The freshwater resources of small islands are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and human stressors due to their limited extent and adaptive capacity. A water security approach is useful for effective management of the water resources; however, understanding risk to water security is critical in order to effectively plan and adapt to future changes. Currently available assessment tools generally do not incorporate risk and are not suitable for application on small islands, where the hydrogeological setting has unique vulnerabilities. The aim of this work is to provide a framework to characterize risk to water security for small islands. The risk assessment was developed using Andros Island, the Bahamas, as a case study area. Numerical modelling characterizes the response of the water system to potential future stressors related to climate change and human development, the results of which are integrated into the assessment framework. Based on risk assessment principles, indicators are determined for susceptibility, hazard threat, vulnerability and loss, in order to define the risk to water security. The resulting indicators are presented in geospatial maps that rank areas of risk to water security. These maps were provided to local water managers and policy-makers in the Bahamas as a tool to identify high-risk areas for near-term action and to inform long-term planning. The maps have also been used as a platform to engage local residents and raise awareness about the impact climate change and land-use activities may have on water security.     

Development and application of an innovative expert decision support system to manage sediments and to assess environmental risk in freshwater ecosystems

With the aim of supporting decision makers to manage contamination in freshwater environments, an innovative expert decision support system (EDSS) was developed. The EDSS was applied in a sediment quality assessment along the Bormida river (NW, Italy) which has been heavily contaminated by an upstream industrial site for more than a century. Sampling sites were classified by means of comparing chemical concentrations with effect-based target values (threshold and probable effect concentrations). The level of each contaminant and the combined toxic pressure were used to rank sites into three categories: (i) uncontaminated (8 sites), (ii) mildly contaminated (4) and (iii) heavily contaminated (19). In heavily contaminated sediments, an environmental risk index (EnvRI) was determined by means of integrating chemical data with ecotoxicological and ecological parameters (triad approach). In addition a sediment risk index (SedRI) was computed from combining chemical and ecotoxicological data. Eight sites exhibited EnvRI values ≥ 0.25, the safety threshold level (range of EnvRI values: 0.14–0.31) whereas SedRI exceeded the safety threshold level at 6 sites (range of SedRI values: 0.16–0.36). At sites classified as mildly contaminated, sublethal biomarkers were integrated with chemical data into a biological vulnerability index (BVI), which exceeded the safety threshold level at one site (BVI value: 0.28). Finally, potential human risk was assessed in selected stations (11 sites) by integrating genotoxicity biomarkers (GTI index falling in the range 0.00–0.53). General conclusions drawn from the EDSS data include: (i) in sites classified as heavily contaminated, only a few exhibited some significant, yet limited, effects on biodiversity; (ii) restrictions in re-using sediments from heavily contaminated sites found little support in ecotoxicological data; (iii) in the majority of the sites classified as mildly contaminated, tested organisms exhibited low response levels; (iv) preliminary results on genotoxicity biomarkers indicate possible negative consequences for humans if exposed to river sediments from target areas.     

Development and application of marine gamma-ray measurements: a review

The development of instruments to measure gamma radiation in the marine environment, particularly on the sea floor, and the range of uses to which they have been put is reviewed. Since the first steps in the late 1950s, systems have been developed in at least 10 countries with the main thrust occurring in the 1970s. Development has continued up to the present, primarily in Europe and the USA. Marine gamma-ray spectrometers have been used for a range of applications including the mapping of rocks and unconsolidated sediments, mineral exploration (mainly for heavy minerals and phosphorites), sediment transport studies and investigations in relation to discharged and dumped nuclear wastes and at nuclear weapon test sites.     

Radioactivity measurements in moss (Hypnum cupressiforme) and lichen (Cladonia rangiformis) samples collected from Marmara region of Turkey

The present study was conducted to compare the ¹³⁷Cs, ⁴⁰K, ²³²Th, and ²³⁸U activity concentrations in epigeic moss (Hypnum cupressiforme) and lichen (Cladonia rangiformis). The activity levels in 37 moss and 38 lichen samples collected from the Marmara region of Turkey were measured using a gamma spectrometer equipped with a high purity germanium (HPGe) detector. The activity concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs, ⁴⁰K, ²³²Th, and ²³⁸U in the moss samples were found to be in the range of 0.36-8.13, 17.1-181.1, 1.51-6.17, and 0.87-6.70 Bq kg⁻¹ respectively, while these values were below detection limit (BDL)-4.32, 16.6-240.0, 1.32-6.47, and BDL-3.57 Bq kg⁻¹ respectively in lichen. The average moss/lichen activity ratios of ¹³⁷Cs, ⁴⁰K, ²³²Th, and ²³⁸U were found to be 1.32 ± 0.57, 2.79 ± 1.67, 2.11 ± 0.82, and 2.19 ± 1.02, respectively. Very low ¹³⁷Cs concentrations were observed in moss and lichen samples compared to soil samples collected from the same locations in a previous study. Seasonal variations of the measured radionuclide activities were also examined in the three sampling stations.     

Natural gamma-ray spectra of Terra rossa soil and phosphate ore

Gamma-ray spectra of terra rossa soil and natural-phosphate ore have been measured in order to determine Th, U, K and ¹³⁷Cs contents. It has been found that the phosphate ore contains an order of magnitude lower potassium content than average (n.10^?3g/g), an average content of thorium (n.10^?6g/g), and a two orders of magnitude higher concentration of uranium (n.10^?4g/g) than the averages found in the Earth's crust. Terra rossa contains two to three times higher concentrations of Th and U, average concentrations of K, and up to 0.2 Bq/g of ¹³⁷Cs. Both materials, in our opinion, are suitable for large-sample-calibration purposes and are applicable for radioecological studies of soils.     

Development of an ELISA for the detection of bromoxynil in water

For development of an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the nitrile herbicide bromoxynil, the polyclonal antibodies raised against 2,6-dibromo-4-cyano-phenoxyacetic acid (hapten) conjugated to bovine serum albumin (BSA) by the N-hydroxysuccinimide-activated ester method. Antiserum with a sufficiently high titer to provide the determinations of targeted compounds was obtained only 77 days after the primary immunization. Antiserum A2 was applied to the residual analysis of some water samples, under optimized ELISA condition, the quantitative working range was from 10 to 500 ppb with a limit of detection of 5 ppb. Cross-reactivity to structurally similar agrochemicals and related chemicals was determined. The antiserum showed little cross-reactivity with 2,6-dibromophenol and bromoxynil octanoate ester which have a dibromophenol group as common structure, but showed no cross-reactivity with other herbicides. Each water sample (river water, tap water, purified water, and bottled water) had a matrix effect and was investigated by adding Tween20 in the assay buffer. These four kinds of water samples were fortified with bromoxynil at several concentration levels and were directly analyzed with only dilution with an equal volume of antiserum solution, the mean recovery was 102.3%, and the mean coefficient of variation was 5.96%. The proposed ELISA turned out to be a powerful tool for monitoring of residual bromoxynil in water samples at trace level.     

An enhanced sustainable approach for design and manufacturing with an application to fuselages for mono-seat civil sailplanes

Abstract

A number of tools and software systems have been developed in order to reduce the time for the design and manufacturing of industrial products. Nowadays, virtual modelling by Computer Aided Design (CAD) systems and process simulation by the application of Finite Element Method (FEM) software is a standard routine in order to compress product design activities and to achieve the optimal solution before producing any real components. These developments provided not only a reduction in the time to market but a higher complexity of the project and an improved quality of the industrial products. With the aim to further improve the sustainability of this activity, the implementation of a tool that adds automatic operations into the design activity is demonstrated. This software can interact with any CAD and helps designers when the object dimension and shape can be affected by limits and constraints deriving from different features and targets, such as the spatial collocation of the component and the interaction with other limiting items, for examples the material and the manufacturing issues. The concept was developed into the software SFIDA (Sailplane Fuselage Integrated Design Application) that is a first attempt to automatically manage multiple relations and optimise their combination.     

Bioavailability of sediment-associated and low-molecular-mass species of radionuclides/trace metals to the mussel Mytilus edulis

Sediments can act as a sink for contaminants in effluents from industrial and nuclear installations or when released from dumped waste. However, contaminated sediments may also act as a potential source of radionuclides and trace metals to the water phase due to remobilisation of metals as dissolved species and resuspension of particles. The marine mussel Mytilus edulis is a filter-feeding organism that via the gills is subjected to contaminants in dissolved form and from contaminants associated to suspended particles via the digestive system. In this paper the bioavailability of sediment-associated and seawater diluted Cs, Co, Cd and Zn radioactive tracers to the filtering bivalve M. edulis has been examined. The mussels were exposed to tracers diluted in ultrafiltered (<10 kDa) seawater (Low Molecular Mass form) or to tracers associated with sediment particles from the Stepovogo Fjord at Novaya Zemlya in short-term uptake experiments, followed by 1-month depuration experiments in flow-through tanks. A toxicokinetic model was fitted to the uptake and depuration data, and the obtained parameters were used to simulate the significance of the two uptake pathways at different suspended sediment loads and sediment-seawater distribution coefficients. The results of the model simulations, assuming steady state conditions, suggest that resuspended particles from contaminated sediments can be a highly significant pathway for mussels in the order ¹⁰⁹Cd ≌ ⁶⁵Zn < ¹³⁴Cs < ⁶⁰Co. The significance increases with higher suspended sediment load and with higher K_d. Furthermore, the experimental depuration data suggest that Cs is retained longer and Co, Cd and Zn shorter by the mussels when associated with ingested sediments, than if the metals are taken up from the low molecular mass (LMM) phase.     

Uptake and loss of technetium-95m in the crab Pachygrapsus marmoratus

The uptake and loss kinetics of ^95mTc in seawater have been investigated in the crab Pachygrapsus marmoratus. Both the uptake and loss kinetics can be represented as the sum of two exponential functions, one short-term ($\text{tb}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{= 16}\text{d}$) and one long-term ($\text{tb}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{= 63}\text{d}$), $\text{tb}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ being the biological half-time. The predicted steady state concentration factor was estimated to be about 18.No significant linear correlation between Tc uptake rate and animal weight was found during the accumulation phase. At the end of this phase, 77% of the Tc was found to be distributed in the digestive system and particularly in the hepatopancreas (56%); this organ also appeared to lose the radionuclide most quickly. During the loss phase, 90% of the incorporated radioactivity was eliminated in about three months. Therefore P. marmoratus does not appear to be a good bioindicator of Tc in the marine environment nor an important pathway for Tc contamination along marine food chains.     

Accounting for carbon stocks in models of land-use change: an application to Southern Yucatan

To assess the impact of land-use change on carbon stocks, we apply a new methodology, linking ecological and economic modeling, to southern Yucatan, Mexico. A spatial econometric multinomial logit model of ten land-cover classes is estimated (four primary forest categories, three secondary growth categories, an invasive species, and two agricultural land-cover categories), using satellite data on land cover, linked with census socioeconomic data and other biophysical spatial data from 2000. The analysis is novel in that it is the first attempt to link detailed satellite data on land use, with on-the-ground estimates of carbon stocks in a spatial econometric model of land use. The estimated multinomial logit model is then used with two scenarios of future economic growth (“low growth” and “high growth” changes in population, agricultural land use, market access, and education levels) in the region to predict land-cover changes resulting from the economic growth. The per hectare carbon (C) stocks in each land-cover class are derived from previously published estimates of biomass from field sampling across the study region. We consider aboveground-only, aboveground plus soil, transient and non-transient pools of carbon. These estimates are scaled up to the total area in each class according to the predictions of the model baseline and the two development scenarios. Subsequently, the changes in carbon stocks resulting from the predicted land-cover changes are calculated. Under the low growth scenario, carbon stocks declined by 5%; under the high growth scenario, losses were 12%. Including soil C, the proportional losses were lower, but the absolute amount lost was more than double (to 6 Tg C under the low and almost 15 Tg C under the high-growth scenario). This methodology could be further developed for applications in global change policy, such as payments for environmental services (PES) or reduction in emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD).