A new direct thermal desorption-GC/MS method: Organic speciation of ambient particulate matter collected in Golden, BC

Particulate matter having an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) is thought to be implicated in a number of medical conditions, including cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, heart attack, and aging. However, very little chemical speciation data is available for the organic fraction of ambient aerosols. A new direct thermal desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS) method was developed for the analysis of the organic fraction of PM2.5. Samples were collected in Golden, British Columbia, over a 15-month period. n-Alkanes constituted 33–98% by mass of the organic compounds identified. PAHs accounted for 1–65% and biomarkers (hopanes and steranes) 1–8% of the organic mass. Annual mean concentrations were: n-alkanes (0.07–1.55 ng m⁻³), 16 PAHs (0.02–1.83 ng m⁻³), and biomarkers (0.02–0.18 ng m⁻³). Daily levels of these organics were 4.89–74.38 ng m⁻³, 0.27–100.24 ng m⁻³, 0.14–4.39 ng m⁻³, respectively. Ratios of organic carbon to elemental carbon (OC/EC) and trends over time were similar to those observed for PM2.5. There was no clear seasonal variation in the distribution of petroleum biomarkers, but elevated levels of other organic species were observed during the winter. Strong correlations between PAHs and EC, and between petroleum biomarkers and EC, suggest a common emission source – most likely motor vehicles and space heating.     

Biogeochemistry at a wetland sediment–alluvial aquifer interface in a landfill leachate plume

The biogeochemistry at the interface between sediments in a seasonally ponded wetland (slough) and an alluvial aquifer contaminated with landfill leachate was investigated to evaluate factors that can effect natural attenuation of landfill leachate contaminants in areas of groundwater/surface-water interaction. The biogeochemistry at the wetland-alluvial aquifer interface differed greatly between dry and wet conditions. During dry conditions (low water table), vertically upward discharge was focused at the center of the slough from the fringe of a landfill-derived ammonium plume in the underlying aquifer, resulting in transport of relatively low concentrations of ammonium to the slough sediments with dilution and dispersion as the primary attenuation mechanism. In contrast, during wet conditions (high water table), leachate-contaminated groundwater discharged upward near the upgradient slough bank, where ammonium concentrations in the aquifer where high. Relatively high concentrations of ammonium and other leachate constituents also were transported laterally through the slough porewater to the downgradient bank in wet conditions. Concentrations of the leachate-associated constituents chloride, ammonium, non-volatile dissolved organic carbon, alkalinity, and ferrous iron more than doubled in the slough porewater on the upgradient bank during wet conditions. Chloride, non-volatile dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and bicarbonate acted conservatively during lateral transport in the aquifer and slough porewater, whereas ammonium and potassium were strongly attenuated. Nitrogen isotope variations in ammonium and the distribution of ammonium compared to other cations indicated that sorption was the primary attenuation mechanism for ammonium during lateral transport in the aquifer and the slough porewater. Ammonium attenuation was less efficient, however, in the slough porewater than in the aquifer and possibly occurred by a different sorption mechanism. A stoichiometrically balanced increase in magnesium concentration with decreasing ammonium and potassium concentrations indicated that cation exchange was the sorption mechanism in the slough porewater. Only a partial mass balance could be determined for cations exchanged for ammonium and potassium in the aquifer, indicating that some irreversible sorption may be occurring.Although wetlands commonly are expected to decrease fluxes of contaminants in riparian environments, enhanced attenuation of the leachate contaminants in the slough sediment porewater compared to the aquifer was not observed in this study. The lack of enhanced attenuation can be attributed to the fact that the anoxic plume, comprised largely of recalcitrant DOC and reduced inorganic constituents, interacted with anoxic slough sediments and porewaters, rather than encountering a change in redox conditions that could cause transformation reactions. Nevertheless, the attenuation processes in the narrow zone of groundwater/surface-water interaction were effective in reducing ammonium concentrations by a factor of about 3 during lateral transport across the slough and by a factor of 2 to 10 before release to the surface water. Slough porewater geochemistry also indicated that the slough could be a source of sulfate in dry conditions, potentially providing a terminal electron acceptor for natural attenuation of organic compounds in the leachate plume.     

A detailed field-based evaluation of naphthenic acid mobility in groundwater

An anaerobic plume of process-affected groundwater was characterized in a shallow sand aquifer adjacent to an oil sands tailings impoundment. Based on biological oxygen demand measurements, the reductive capacity of the plume is considered minimal. Major dissolved components associated with the plume include HCO₃, Na, Cl, SO₄, and naphthenic acids (NAs). Quantitative and qualitative NA analyses were performed on groundwater samples to investigate NA fate and transport in the subsurface. Despite subsurface residence times exceeding 20 years, significant attenuation of NAs by biodegradation was not observed based on screening techniques developed at the time of the investigation. Relative to conservative tracers (i.e., Cl), overall NA attenuation in the subsurface is limited, which is consistent with batch sorption and microcosm studies performed by other authors. Insignificant biological oxygen demand and low concentrations of dissolved As (< 10 µg L^− 1) in the plume suggest that the potential for secondary trace metal release, specifically As, via reductive dissolution reactions driven by ingress of process-affected water is minimal. It is also possible that readily leachable As is not present in significant quantities within the sediments of the study area. Thus, for similar plumes of process-affected groundwater in shallow sand aquifers which may occur as oil sands mining expands, a reasonable expectation is for NA persistence, but minimal trace metal mobilization.     

Epiphytische Flechten im Wandel von Immissionen und Klima ? Ergebnisse einer Vergleichskartierung 1989/2007 in Nordwestdeutschland

Zusammenfassung   Hintergrund, Ziel und Zweck Borkenbewohnende (epiphytische) Flechten reagieren sehr empfindlich auf verschiedene Umwelteinflüsse wie Stoffgehalte in der Atmosph?re und Temperaturen. Sie haben als Bioindikatoren für Luftverunreinigungen einen hohen Stellenwert bei Umweltuntersuchungen. Basierend auf einer 1989 durchgeführten Kartierung borkenbewohnender (epiphytischer) Flechten in einem landwirtschaftlich intensiv genutzten Raum Nordwestdeutschlands erfolgte 2007 eine Wiederholungsuntersuchung. Dabei galt es, m?gliche Ver?nderungen der Immissionssituation und des Klimas zu erkennen. Material und Methoden Die Studie basiert auf einer vergleichenden Kartierung epiphytischer Flechten von 355 Tr?gerb?umen an 45 Monitoringpunkten. Die angewandte Methode orientiert sich an der 1989 angewandten halb-quantitativen Erfassung. Ergebnisse Es stellten sich gravierende Ver?nderungen in der Vegetation rindenbewohnender Flechten heraus. Insgesamt war eine Erh?hung der Artenzahl an nahezu allen Monitoringpunkten festzustellen. Es wurde eine sehr starke Abnahme s?uretoleranter Arten und eine deutliche Zunahme basen- und n?hrstofffordernder Flechtenarten festgestellt. Darüber hinaus zeigte sich eine deutliche Zunahme w?rmeliebender Flechtenarten mit einem Verbreitungsschwerpunkt in Südeuropa bei gleichzeitigem Rückgang von Arten mit einem boreal-montanem Verbreitungsschwerpunkt. Diskussion Die festgestellte Entwicklung steht im Einklang mit überregionalen Beobachtungen. Sie wird im Wesentlichen auf eine gro?r?umig ver?nderte Immissionssituation, d. h. einer Abnahme der atmosph?rischen SO₂-Belastung und Zunahme der Ammoniakbelastung zurückgeführt. Ebenso treten deutliche Auswirkungen der Klimaerw?rmung hervor. Schlussfolgerungen Mit relativ geringem Untersuchungsaufwand lie?en sich Ver?nderungen bei den epiphytischen Flechten in den letzten 18 Jahren aufzeigen. Diese sind relevant für die Beurteilung regional und kleinr?umig ver?nderter Umweltbedingungen, die auch für andere Organismen und ?kosysteme l?ngerfristig von gro?er Bedeutung sind. Empfehlungen und Ausblick Unter Verwendung standardisierter Methoden vermitteln epiphytische Flechten ein differenziertes Bild der Luftbelastungssituation in Ballungsr?umen und in landwirtschaftlich genutzten Regionen. Darüber hinaus sind sie offensichtlich gute Indikatoren für Temperatur?nderungen ihrer Umgebung. Weiterer Forschungsbedarf besteht für die Verwendung epiphytischer Flechten zum Biomonitoring von Klimaver?nderungen.      

Characterization of silver release from commercially available functional (nano)textiles

Silver, both in the nano as well as in other forms, is used in many applications including antimicrobial textiles. Washing of such textiles has already been identified as an important process that results in the release of silver into wastewater. This study thus investigated the release of silver from eight different commercially available silver-textiles during a washing and rinsing cycle. The silver released was size-fractionated and characterized using electron microscopy. In addition, the antimicrobial functionality of the textiles was tested before and after washing. Three of the textiles contained nanosized silver (labeled or confirmed by manufacturers’ information), another used a metallic silver wire and four contained silver in undeclared form. The initial silver content of the textiles was between 1.5 and 2925 mg Ag/kg. Only four of the investigated textiles leached detectable amounts of silver, of which 34-80% was in the form of particles larger than 450 nm. Microscopic analysis of the particles released in the washing solutions identified Ti/Si-AgCl nanocomposites, AgCl nanoparticles, large AgCl particles, nanosilver sulfide and metallic nano-Ag, respectively. The nanoparticles were mainly found in highly agglomerated form. The identified nanotextiles showed the highest antimicrobial activity, whereas some of the other textiles, e.g. the one with a silver wire and the one with the lowest silver content, did not reduce the growth of bacteria at all. The results show that different silver textiles release different forms of silver during washing and that among the textiles investigated AgCl was the most frequently observed chemical form in the washwater.     

The structure of the fire fighting foam surfactant Forafac®1157 and its biological and photolytic transformation products

For several decades, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) has widely been used as a fluorinated surfactant in aqueous film forming foams used as hydrocarbon fuel fire extinguishers. Due to concerns regarding its environmental persistence and toxicological effects, PFOS has recently been replaced by novel fluorinated surfactants such as Forafac®1157, developed by the DuPont company. The major component of Forafac®1157 is a 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonamide alkylbetaine (6:2 FTAB), and a link between the trade name and the exact chemical structure is presented here to the scientific community for the first time. In the present work, the structure of the 6:2 FTAB was elucidated by ¹H, ¹³C and ¹⁹F nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Moreover, its major metabolites from blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) and its photolytic transformation products were identified. Contrary to what has earlier been observed for PFOS, the 6:2 FTAB was extensively metabolized by blue mussel and turbot exposed to Forafac®1157. The major metabolite was a deacetylated betaine species, from which mono- and di-demethylated metabolites also were formed. Another abundant metabolite was the 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonamide. In another experiment, Forafac®1157 was subjected to UV-light induced photolysis. The experimental conditions aimed to simulate Arctic conditions and the deacetylated species was again the primary transformation product of 6:2 FTAB. A 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonamide was also formed along with a non-identified transformation product. The environmental presence of most of the metabolites and transformation products was qualitatively demonstrated by analysis of soil samples taken in close proximity to an airport fire training facility.     

Lead tolerance and physiological adaptation mechanism in roots of accumulating and non-accumulating ecotypes of Sedum alfredii

Background, aim and scope

Lead (Pb) accumulation in soils affects plants primarily through their root systems. The aim of this study was to investigate early symptoms of the loss of membrane integrity and lipid peroxidation in root tissues and physiological adaptation mechanism to Pb in accumulating ecotypes (AE) and non-accumulating ecotypes (NAE) of Sedum alfredii under Pb stress in hydroponics.

Methods and results

Histochemical in situ analyses, fluorescence imaging, and normal physiological analysis were used in this study. Pb accumulation in roots of both AE and NAE increased linearly with increasing Pb levels (0?C200???M), and a significant difference between both ecotypes was noted. Both loss of plasma membrane integrity and lipid peroxidation in root tissues became serious with increasing Pb levels, maximum tolerable Pb level was 25 and 100???M for NAE and AE, respectively. Pb supplied at a toxic level caused a burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in root cells in both ecotypes. However, the root cells of AE had inherently higher activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), guaiacol peroxidase (POD), and lipoxygenase (LOX) in control plants, and the induction response of these antioxidant enzymes occurred at lower Pb level in AE than NAE. AE plants maintained higher ascorbic acid and H₂O₂ concentrations in root cells than NAE when exposed to different Pb levels, and Pb induced more increase in dehydroascorbate (DHA), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in AE than NAE roots.

Discussion and conclusion

Results indicate that histochemical in situ analyses of root cell death and lipid peroxidation under Pb short-term stress was sensitive, reliable, and fast. Higher tolerance in roots of accumulating ecotype under Pb stress did depend on effective free oxygen scavenging by making complex function of both constitutively higher activities and sensitive induction of key antioxidant enzymes in root cells of S. alfredii.     

Isolation of a novel Pseudomonas sp from soil that can efficiently degrade polyethylene succinate

Purpose

Polyethylene succinate (PES) is a biodegradable synthetic polymer and therefore widely used as a base material in plastic industry to circumvent the environmental problems related with the non-biodegradability of other polymers like polyethylene. Till date only few organisms have been reported to have the ability to degrade PES. Therefore for better management of PES-related environmental waste, the present study is targeted towards isolating mesophilic organism(s) capable of more efficient degradation of PES.

Results

Strain AKS2 was isolated from soil based on survival on a selection plate wherein PES was used as sole carbon source. Ribotyping and biochemical tests revealed that AKS2 is a new strain of Pseudomonas. Scanning electron and atomic force microscopic analysis of the PES films obtained after incubation with AKS2 confirmed PES-degradation ability of AKS2, wherein an alteration in surface topology was observed. The kinetics of PES weight loss showed that AKS2 degrades PES maximally during its logarithmic growth phase at a rate of 1.65?mg/day. This degradation is mediated by esterase activity and may also involve cell-surface hydrophobicity. It has also been observed that AKS2 is able to degrade PES considerably even in the presence of glucose, which is likely to increase the bioremediation potential of this isolate.

Conclusion

A new strain of Pseudomonas has been isolated from soil that is able to adhere to PES and degrade this polymer efficiently. This organism has the potential to be implemented as a useful tool for bioremediation of PES-derived materials.     

Numerical simulation of an array of fences in Saemangeum reclaimed land

This paper discusses about the quantitative effect of windbreak fences on wind velocity in the reclaimed land at Saemangeum in South Korea. Windbreak fences were constructed in the reclaimed land to reduce the wind velocity to prevent the generation and diffusion of dust. However, up to this time, no in-depth studies were conducted to quantitatively measure the effect of the windbreak fences on wind velocity thus an optimum windbreak structure is not yet determined. Using CFD simulations, the effects of fence porosity, fence height, and the distance between the adjacent fences were investigated. A wind tunnel experiment was initially conducted and data gathered were used to develop the CFD models. From the experiments and CFD simulations, the overall percentage difference of the measured velocities was 7.20% which is generally acceptable to establishing the reliability of the CFD models. The reduction effect on wind velocity was measured in between the adjacent fences up to a height of 0.6 m from the ground surface. In terms of porosity ( = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6), 0.2 was found to be the optimum value. Conversely, the effect of fence height (0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 m) showed no significant difference; therefore, 0.6 m height is recommended. In addition, the reduction effect of distance between the adjacent fences (2, 4 and 6 m) on wind velocity having a 0.2 porosity has decreased to about 75% regardless of the distance. In the case of the reclaimed land in Saemangeum, a decrease of 75% can prevent the generation and diffusion of dusts. However, the source of dusts is very large. Therefore, constructing an array of windbreak with 6 m distance between them is deemed necessary.