Radionuclides in marine macroalgae from Amchitka and Kiska Islands in the Aleutians: establishing a baseline for future biomonitoring

Levels of radionuclides in seven species of marine brown algae and Ulva were determined to establish a baseline for the Northern Pacific Ocean/Bering Sea (Aleutian Islands). There were differences in levels among algal species and locations (Amchitka Island vs Kiska Island). No values were above the minimum detectable activity (MDA) level for (137)Cs, (129)I, (60)Co, (152)Eu, (90)Sr, and (99)Tc. There were interspecific differences in some radionuclides: Ulva lactuca (=Ulva fenestrata) had the highest levels of (241)Am, Alaria fistulosa had the highest levels of (239,240)Pu, and Fucus distichus (=Fucus gardneri) had the highest levels of (234)U, (235)U, and (238)U. However, levels of all radionuclides were generally low and near the MDA for all isotopes. Although Amchitka Island had higher levels of (239,240)Pu than Kiska, the differences were very small and not significant biologically. The data indicate that algae can be useful bioindicators of actinides because they accumulate them at very low environmental levels, allowing them to provide early warning of any potential seepage of radionuclides into the marine environment. Further, the data indicate that some species (the intertidal Fucus) are better accumulators than others, and these should be used as bioindicators in future monitoring schemes.     

Characteristics of Muscular Load in Computer Data Entry Workers Assessed by EMG and Postural Angles

The goal of this study was to characterize the muscular load in computer data entry workers. Electromyography (EMG) parameters of trapezius muscle and postural angles of head, arm, and back were chosen as indicators of musculoskeletal load. The examination was done according to the methods and protocol of international MEPS studies (the “Musculoskeletal, Visual, and Psychosocial Load in VDT [Video Display Terminal] Operators in Optimized Environment” international program). The musculoskeletal load during routine VDT data entry work performed by a group of 36 women was assessed on the basis of 1-hr physiometer recordings. Results show that the musculoskeletal load associated with data entry is relatively high compared to other VDT operators’ tasks described in the literature. An analysis of the measured parameters shows that most of the time women worked with a muscular load higher than optimal. It is postulated that the main reason for the heavy musculoskeletal load was improper posture compelled by unergonomic spatial configuration of work stands.     

The influence of age and type of force on muscle strength capabilities in women

The aim of this study was to assess handgrip and 5 other types of force in 52 women and to determine if handgrip force reflected general upper limb force capabilities correlated with age. The women were divided into subgroups according to age: 20-25, 45-50 and 55-65 years. Maximum forces of the right upper limb were measured in 6 types of force activities. In most tests the values of force showed statistically significant differences between the 20-25 group and the groups aged 45-50 and 55-64 years. The results did not show any differences related to age or to force activities that involved the small muscles of the forearms and hands. Thus handgrip force cannot always be considered an indicator of total force capabilities.     

Metabolism of aromatic hydrocarbons by the filamentous fungus Cyclothyrium sp

The metabolism of biphenyl, naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene by Cyclothyrium sp. CBS 109850, a coelomycete isolated for the first time in Brazil from industrially polluted estuarine sediment, was studied. The metabolites were extracted and separated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and characterized by UV spectral analyses and mass, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR) spectrometry. Cyclothyrium sp. transformed biphenyl to 4-hydroxybiphenyl and anthracene to anthracene trans-1,2-dihydrodiol. This isolate metabolized 90% of [9-(14)C]phenanthrene, producing phenanthrene trans-9,10-dihydrodiol as a major metabolite, phenanthrene trans-3,4-dihydrodiol, 1-hydroxyphenanthrene, 3-hydroxyphenanthrene, 4-hydroxyphenanthrene, and a novel metabolite, 2-hydroxy-7-methoxyphenanthrene. Circular dichroism spectra analyses indicated that the major enantiomers of phenanthrene trans-9, 10-dihydrodiol, phenanthrene trans-3,4-dihydrodiol and pyrene trans-4,5-dihydrodiol, a pyrene metabolite produced previously by Cyclothyrium sp. CBS 109850, were predominantly in the (R,R) configuration, revealing a high stereoselectivity for initial monooxygenation and enzymatic hydration of phenanthrene and pyrene by Cyclothyrium sp. CBS109850. The results also show a high regioselectivity since the K-regions of phenanthrene and pyrene were the major sites of metabolism.     

Science, Policy, and Stakeholders: Developing a Consensus Science Plan for Amchitka Island, Aleutians, Alaska

With the ending of the Cold War, the US Department of Energy is responsible for the remediation of radioactive waste and disposal of land no longer needed for nuclear material production or related national security missions. The task of characterizing the hazards and risks from radionuclides is necessary for assuring the protection of health of humans and the environment. This is a particularly daunting task for those sites that had underground testing of nuclear weapons, where the radioactive contamination is currently inaccessible. Herein we report on the development of a Science Plan to characterize the physical and biological marine environment around Amchitka Island in the Aleutian chain of Alaska, where three underground nuclear tests were conducted (1965–1971). Information on the ecology, geology, and current radionuclide levels in biota, water, and sediment is necessary for evaluating possible current contamination and to serve as a baseline for developing a plan to ensure human and ecosystem health in perpetuity. Other information required includes identifying the location of the salt water/fresh water interface where migration to the ocean might occur in the future and determining groundwater recharge balances, as well as assessing other physical/geological features of Amchitka near the test sites. The Science Plan is needed to address the confusing and conflicting information available to the public about radionuclide risks from underground nuclear blasts in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as well as the potential for volcanic or seismic activity to disrupt shot cavities or accelerate migration of radionuclides into the sea. Developing a Science Plan involved agreement among regulators and other stakeholders, assignment of the task to the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation, and development of a consensus Science Plan that dealt with contentious scientific issues. Involvement of the regulators (State of Alaska), resource trustees (U S Fish and Wildlife Service), representatives of the Aleut and Pribilof Island communities, and other stakeholders was essential for plan development and approval, although this created tensions because of the different objectives of each group. The complicated process of developing a Science Plan involved iterations and interactions with multiple agencies and organizations, scientists in several disciplines, regulators, and the participation of Aleut people in their home communities, as well as the general public. The importance of including all parties in all phases of the development of the Science Plan was critical to its acceptance by a broad range of regulators, agencies, resource trustees, Aleutian/Pribilof communities, and other stakeholders.     

Public Perception as a Barrier to Introducing Wood in Rivers for Restoration Purposes

Reintroduction of wood in rivers for restoration purposes is now recognized in a positive way by scientists. Nevertheless, the perception of wood in riverscapes is strongly affected by the socio-cultural environment. This cultural influence might explain why wood reintroduction is accepted and promoted in some regions of the world but not in others, despite the demonstrated ecological benefits. From an extensive student perception survey, we show that most of the groups from nine countries in the world considered riverscapes with wood to be less aesthetic, more dangerous, and needing more improvement than riverscapes without wood. By contrast, this way of thinking was not observed in Germany, Sweden, and Oregon (USA), where the first instances of wood reintroduction occurred.     

Approaches for assessing hazards and risks to workers and the public from contaminated land

Many public agencies and private entities are faced with assessing the risks to humans from contamination on their lands. The United States Department of Energy (US DOE) and Department of Defense are responsible for large holdings of contaminated land and face a long‐term and costly challenge to assure sustainable protectiveness. With increasing interest in the conversion of brownfields to productive uses, many former industrial properties must also be assessed to determine compatible future land uses. In the United States, many cleanup plans or actions are based on the Comprehensive Environmental Responsibility, Compensation, and Liability Act, which provides important but incomplete coverage of these issues, although many applications have tried to involve stakeholders at multiple steps. Where there is the potential for exposure to workers, the public, and the environment from either cleanup or leaving residual contamination in place, there is a need for a more comprehensive approach to evaluate and balance the present and future risk(s) from existing contamination, from remediation actions, as well as from postremediation residual contamination. This article focuses on the US DOE, the agency with the largest hazardous waste remediation task in the world. Presented is a framework extending from preliminary assessment, risk assessment and balancing, epidemiology, monitoring, communication, and stakeholder involvement useful for assessing risk to workers and site neighbors. Provided are examples of those who eat fish, meat, or fruit from contaminated habitats. The US DOE's contaminated sites are unique in a number of ways: (1) huge physical footprint size, (2) types of waste (mixed radiation/chemical), and (3) quantities of waste. Proposed future land uses provide goals for remediation, but since some contamination is of a type or magnitude that cannot be cleaned up with existing technology, this in turn constrains future land use options, requiring an iterative approach. The risk approaches must fit a range of future land uses and end‐states from leave‐in‐place to complete cleanup. This will include not only traditional risk methodologies, but also the assessment and surveillance necessary for stewards for long‐term monitoring of risk from historic and future exposure to maintain sustainable protectiveness. Because of the distinctiveness of DOE sites, application of the methodologies developed here to other waste site situations requires site‐specific evaluation © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Input of heavy metals to the forest floor as a result of Cracow urban pollution

The influence of Cracow's urban pollution on small forest ecosystems was studied during 1998-2000. Seven sites located at different distances from the Cracow conurbation and from busy road were selected. Two sites were situated 26 and 31 km from Cracow town along an eastern transect, the other five-3, 8, 14, 26 and 35 km respectively, from Cracow-along a southern transect. At the beginning of September, five litter traps were set at each site. The quantity of litter fall, along with percentage composition of each species, were estimated for an area of 1 m(2). The concentration of Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn and Fe in the litter fall and the input of these metals to the forest floor were determined. The input of cadmium ranged from 84 microg m(-2) at Kornatka in 1998 to 382 microg m(-2) at Bonarka in 2000. The input of lead was about 10 times higher than cadmium and varied from 406 microg m(-2) at Weglówka in 1998 to 3717 microg m(-2) at Bonarka in 2000. Input of Cu, Zn and Fe to the forest floor showed the similar tendency. During 1998-2000, the highest heavy metal concentrations in the litter fall and their impact on the forest floor were always found at sites close to the Cracow conurbation and, in the eastern transect, close to a steel works. Input of metals to the forest floor tended to decrease with increasing distance from the centre of Cracow.     

Restoration,stewardship, environmental health,and policy: understanding stakeholders' perceptions

In recent years there has been considerable interest in the health of humans and the environment, restoration of contaminated or otherwise degraded lands, and in long-term stewardship of public lands. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether governmental agencies and the public hold similar views about the meanings of these concepts, making policy decisions about restoration and stewardship difficult. In this paper, I explore how the public conceptualizes restoration and stewardship by examining the relative rating of several attributes of restoration, stewardship, environmental health, ecological health, environmental restoration, and ecological restoration. People were interviewed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, near the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory. The ratings of attributes of environmental health and ecological health reported in this paper can be used to understand how the public understands these concepts. The attributes rated most highly by the subjects were more similar to definitions in the scientific literature for these terms than they were to those used by the Department of Energy. For environmental health, the highest rating related to human sanitation, while for ecological health the highest rating was for maintaining functioning ecosystems. Reduction of exposure to hazardous substances was rated the second highest for both environmental and ecological health. The wise use of natural resources, preservation of natural resources, and hazardous waste site cleanup were rated the highest attributes of stewardship. These data suggest that both expert and nonexpert perceptions about restoration and stewardship should be incorporated into environmental management decisions.     

Unequal sex ratios and their consequences in Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus)

Summary We observed the sex ratios and age composition of courting, nesting, and nonbreeding birds (in clubs) in four breeding colonies of Herring Gulls in Maine and New York. Breeding pairs, with eggs or chicks, often contained an immature male, but rarely contained an immature female. Similarly, courting pairs contained immature males, but rarely immature females. A higher proportion of courting pairs contained immatures compared with pairs with eggs or chicks. In all four colonies there was an excess of females in the clubs. A simulated colony which assumed unequal survival for males and females had an age ratio for unpaired birds that was similar to the observed values. We conclude that in Herring Gulls, mate competition exists and stems in part from an unequal tertiary sex ratio.