Capacity building for food justice in England: the contribution of charity-led community food initiatives

This paper discusses the extent to which charity-led initiatives can contribute to capacity building for food justice in England. The paper draws on evaluations of two projects run by the charity Garden Organic: the Master Gardener Programme, operating a network of volunteers who mentor households, schools and community groups to support local food growing, and the Sowing New Seeds programme, which engages “Seed Stewards” to work with communities to encourage the growing and cooking of “exotic” crops. Based on qualitative data about peoples’ motivations for participation and the benefits that are experienced, we interpret these projects as examples of capacity building for food justice. We suggest that whilst currently depoliticised, the “quiet” process of reskilling and awareness raising that occurs through shared gardening projects could have transformative potential for people’s relationship with food. Finally, we use our findings to raise critical questions and propose future research about food justice concepts and practices.     

Phytoremediation of a Petroleum‐Hydrocarbon Contaminated Shallow Aquifer in Elizabeth City,North Carolina,USA

A former bulk fuel terminal in North Carolina is a groundwater phytoremediation demonstration site where 3,250 hybrid poplars, willows, and pine trees were planted from 2006 to 2008 over approximately 579,000 L of residual gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Since 2011, the groundwater altitude is lower in the area with trees than outside the planted area. Soil‐gas analyses showed a 95 percent mass loss for total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and a 99 percent mass loss for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX). BTEX and methyl tert‐butyl ether concentrations have decreased in groundwater. Interpolations of free‐phase, fuel product gauging data show reduced thicknesses across the site and pooling of fuel product where poplar biomass is greatest. Isolated clusters of tree mortalities have persisted in areas with high TPH and BTEX mass. Toxicity assays showed impaired water use for willows and poplars exposed to the site's fuel product, but Populus survival was higher than the willows or pines on‐site, even in a noncontaminated control area. All four Populus clones survived well at the site. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.*     

Use of hairy roots extracts for 2,4-DCP removal and toxicity evaluation by Lactuca sativa test

2,4-Dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) is widely distributed in wastewaters discharged from several industries, and it is considered as a priority pollutant due to its high toxicity. In this study, the use of different peroxidase extracts for 2,4-DCP removal from aqueous solutions was investigated. Tobacco hairy roots (HRs), wild-type (WT), and double-transgenic (DT) for tomato basic peroxidases (TPX1 and TPX2) were used to obtain different peroxidase extracts: total peroxidases (TPx), soluble peroxidases (SPx), and peroxidases ionically bound to the cell wall (IBPx). All extracts derived from DT HRs exhibited higher peroxidase activity than those obtained from WT HRs. TPx and IBPx DT extracts showed the highest catalytic efficiency values. The optimal conditions for 2,4-DCP oxidation were pH 6.5, H₂O₂ 0.5 mM, and 200 U mL^?1 of enzyme, for all extracts analyzed. Although both TPx extracts were able to oxidize different 2,4-DCP concentrations, the removal efficiency was higher for TPx DT. Polyethylene glycol addition slightly improved 2,4-DCP removal efficiency, and it showed some protective effect on TPx WT after 2,4-DCP oxidation. In addition, using Lactuca sativa test, a reduction of the toxicity of post removal solutions was observed, for both TPx extracts. The results demonstrate that TPx extracts from both tobacco HRs appear to be promising candidate for future applications in removing 2,4-DCP from wastewaters. This is particularly true considering that these peroxidase sources are associated with low costs and are readily available. However, TPx DT has increased peroxidase activity, catalytic efficiency, and higher removal efficiency than TPx WT, probably due to the expression of TPX1 and TPX2 isoenzymes.     

Composting of waste algae: A review

Although composting has been successfully used at pilot scale to manage waste algae removed from eutrophied water environments and the compost product applied as a fertiliser, clear guidelines are not available for full scale algae composting. The review reports on the application of composting to stabilize waste algae, which to date has mainly been macro-algae, and identifies the peculiarities of algae as a composting feedstock, these being: relatively low carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio, which can result in nitrogen loss as NH₃ and even N₂O; high moisture content and low porosity, which together make aeration challenging; potentially high salinity, which can have adverse consequence for composting; and potentially have high metals and toxin content, which can affect application of the product as a fertiliser. To overcome the challenges that these peculiarities impose co-compost materials can be employed.     

Numerical Simulation of the Thermal Destruction of Some Chlorinated C1 and C2 Hydrocarbons

We have numerically modeled the breakdown of small quantities of several chlorinated hydrocarbons (CH₃CI, CH₂CI₂, CHCI₃, CCI₄, C₂H₃CI, and C₂H₅CI) in a lean mixture of combustion products between 800 and 1480 K. This simulates the fate of poorly atomized waste in a liquid-Injection Incinerator. Kinetics calculations were performed using the CHEMKIN and SENKIN programs, with a reaction mechanism that was developed at Louisiana State University to model flat-flame burner experiments.

A 99.99-percent destruction efficiency was attained In one second at temperatures ranging from 1280 to 960 K, with CCI4 requiring the highest temperature for destruction and C₂H₅CI the lowest. For all compounds except C₂H₅CI, there was a range of temperatures at which byproducts accounted for several percent of the elemental chlorine at the outlet. The more heavily chlorinated compounds formed more byproducts even though the amount of elemental chlorine was the same in all cases. The sensitivity of results to residence time, equivalence ratio, temperature profile, and the presence of additional chlorine, was examined for the case of CHCI₃.     

Spatial Differences in Outdoor PM10 Mass and Aerosol Composition in Mexico City

Abstract

Twenty-five MiniVol samplers were operated throughout the Mexico City metropolitan region from February 22 through March 22, 1997, to evaluate the variability of PM₁₀ concentrations and composition. The highest PM₁₀ concentrations were found in neighborhoods with unpaved or dirty roads, and elements related to crustal material were the main cause of differences from nearby (<200 m) monitors that were not adjacent to the roadbed. SO₄ ^2?concentrations were homogeneous across the city. SO₄ ^2?measured at the city boundaries was about two-thirds of the concentrations measured within the urbanized area, indicating that most SO₄ ^2? is of regional origin. Elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) concentrations were highly variable, with higher concentrations in areas that had high diesel traffic and older vehicles. Spatial correlations among PM₁₀ concentrations were high, even though absolute concentrations were variable, indicating a common effect of meteorology on the concentration or dispersion of local emissions.     

Strontium isotope study of coal utilization by-products interacting with environmental waters

Sequential leaching experiments on coal utilization by-products (CUB) were coupled with chemical and strontium (Sr) isotopic analyses to better understand the influence of coal type and combustion processes on CUB properties and the release of elements during interaction with environmental waters during disposal. Class C fly ash tended to release the highest quantity of minor and trace elements-including alkaline earth elements, sodium, chromium, copper, manganese, lead, titanium, and zinc-during sequential extraction, with bottom ash yielding the lowest. Strontium isotope ratios ((87)Sr/(86)Sr) in bulk-CUB samples (total dissolution of CUB) are generally higher in class F ash than in class C ash. Bulk-CUB ratios appear to be controlled by the geologic source of the mineral matter in the feed coal, and by Sr added during desulfurization treatments. Leachates of the CUB generally have Sr isotope ratios that are different than the bulk value, demonstrating that Sr was not isotopically homogenized during combustion. Variations in the Sr isotopic composition of CUB leachates were correlated with mobility of several major and trace elements; the data suggest that arsenic and lead are held in phases that contain the more radiogenic (high-(87)Sr/(86)Sr) component. A changing Sr isotope ratio of CUB-interacting waters in a disposal environment could forecast the release of certain strongly bound elements of environmental concern. This study lays the groundwork for the application of Sr isotopes as an environmental tracer for CUB-water interaction.     

Exposure Times to the Spring Atrazine Flush Along a Stream-Reservoir System1

Stoeckel, James A., Jade Morris, Elizabeth Ames, David C. Glover, Michael J. Vanni, William Renwick, and María J. González, 2012. Exposure Times to the Spring Atrazine Flush Along a Stream-Reservoir System. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(3): 616-634. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00633.x Abstract: We used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to examine reservoir-mediated shifts in spring to fall exposure of aquatic organisms to the spring atrazine pulse over four years in a Midwestern stream-reservoir system. Peak atrazine concentrations in the major inflowing stream exceeded 10 μg/l in all four years. The reservoir had a beneficial effect in two of four years by diluting atrazine below the 10 μg/l threshold. However, during the other two years, exposure times above 10 μg/l were approximately doubled in the reservoir compared to the major inflowing stream. Thresholds of 3 and 5 μg/l were exceeded during all four years in the reservoir. The uplake and downlake reservoir sites were four to five times more likely to exceed these thresholds and aquatic organisms were subjected to longer exposure times above these thresholds compared to the inflowing stream. Release of elevated atrazine concentrations from the reservoir extended exposure times in the outflowing stream. This effect was most pronounced just below the dam. Aquatic organisms upstream of the reservoir were most likely to experience acute exposures whereas organisms within and immediately downstream of the reservoir were more likely to experience chronic exposures. The ubiquity of reservoirs and the annual spring herbicide flush highlight the importance of considering the presence and relative location of reservoirs when assessing risk to aquatic communities as well as locations of drinking water intakes.     

Simultaneous immobilization of metals and arsenic in acidic polluted soils near a copper smelter in central Chile

Introduction  

Acidic and metal(oid)-rich topsoils resulted after 34 years of continuous operations of a copper smelter in the Puchuncaví valley, central Chile. Currently, large-scale remediation actions for simultaneous in situ immobilization of metals and As are needed to reduce environmental risks of polluted soils. Aided phytostabilization is a cost-effective alternative, but adequate local available soil amendments have to be identified and management options have to be defined.     

Isolation and characterization of a Rhodococcus strain with phenol-degrading ability and its potential use for tannery effluent biotreatment

Introduction

Wastewater derived from leather production may contain phenols, which are highly toxic, and their degradation could be possible through bioremediation technologies.

Materials, methods and results

In the present work, microbial degradation of phenol was studied using a tolerant bacterial strain, named CS1, isolated from tannery sediments. This strain was able to survive in the presence of phenol at concentrations of up to 1,000?mg/L. On the basis of morphological and biochemical properties, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis, the isolated strain was identified as Rhodococcus sp. Phenol removal was evaluated at a lab-scale in Erlenmeyer flasks and at a bioreactor scale in a stirred tank reactor. Rhodococcus sp. CS1 was able to completely remove phenol in a range of 200 to 1,000?mg/L in mineral medium at 30 ± 2?°C and pH 7 as optimal conditions. In the stirred tank bioreactor, we studied the effect of some parameters, such as agitation (200?C600 rpm) and aeration (1?C3?vvm), on growth and phenol removal efficiency. Faster phenol biodegradation was obtained in the bioreactor than in Erlenmeyer flasks, and maximum phenol removal was achieved at 400?rpm and 1 vvm in only 12?h. Furthermore, Rhodococcus sp. CS1 strain was able to grow and completely degrade phenols from tannery effluents after 9?h of incubation.

Conclusion

Based on these results, Rhodococcus sp. CS1 could be an appropriate microorganism for bioremediation of tannery effluents or other phenol-containing wastewaters.