Differences in the rainwater composition on two consecutive days

The relationship between the rainwater composition on two consecutive rain days was analyzed. Logrono, a remote station in the North of Spain was chosen for the analyses. The concentration of the major ions in the rainwater of the first rain day is linearly related to the concentration of the second rain day except for those ions whose source is the soil (Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺). These ions are related to SO₄ ^2? and NO₃ ^? in the first rain day, but not in the second.     

Normative barriers improvement through the MADS/MOSAR methodology

During the past 30 years, safety and environmental topics have moved up on the list of society’s significant concerns. Administrations and regulatory bodies have to publish rules for the protection of the public, decide whether to authorize the use of a chemical product or the construction of a new plant, limit the environmental impact, regulate waste disposal, etc. All these rules i.e. the legislative, normative and procedural corpus of a country, a state, a city or a factory can be designated to a barrier function. These barriers are indispensable and play an important role in industrial safety management. In developed countries, growth during the past few years in the number of laws directed at regulating environmental and safety aspects in industry is well known to everyone. Now the definition, classification and performance of the legislative and normative barriers definitely allow the management of technological risks. So it is possible to permit the identification of the flux of hazard and to perform risk reduction in order to enhance the acceptability in a regional context. A systemic risk analysis methodology was applied to Colombian industrial sectors. The current legislation was analyzed with three scenarios. A global panorama of the different existing instruments allowing future management opportunities was suggested. The obtained analysis results propose a point of view, which could be useful for a local government or a whole national system to evaluate or improve the risk legislative and normative barriers. This modeling can be applied to other countries and to other industrial sectors.     

Effect of tannins on survival and development of Daphnia menucoensis and the abundances of bacteria

Polyphenols – products of organic-matter decomposition entering water bodies from autochthonous and especially allochthonous sources – affect primary producers, bacterioplankton, and zooplankton to consequently modify food webs. Cladocerans are widely used in research experiments because they constitute the most frequent prey of high-trophic-level organisms in the majority of lakes, and certain species symbolise the ecologic prototype of the generalist filter feeder. In our study area’s shallow lakes, cladocerans, though generally of low abundance, do attain significantly high biomasses. We accordingly evaluated the mortality of the cladoceran Daphnia menucoensis Paggi, 1996 exposed to different tannin concentrations along with the bacterial abundance. In two experiments D. menucoensis females exposed to high tannin concentrations reproduced inefficiently, exhibited high mortality, and manifested altered behaviour, such as reduced reflexes and diminished mobility. Though tannins apparently affected algal abundances, the cladoceran herbivory strongly reduced those numbers. Positive effects on bacteria, however, were not recorded. High-allochthonous-organic-matter-containing water bodies support trophic webs because bacterioplankton provide an alternative energetic base for the zooplankton, as possibly occurs in shallow lakes of the Salado-River basin, characterised by cyclic hydrologic periods alternating between draught and flooding and intensive land use. In conclusion, tannins diminish D. menucoensis’s survival, locomotion, and the capacity to respond to stimuli.     

A compilation of field surveys on gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) from contrasting environmental settings in Europe,South America,South Africa and China: separating fads from facts

Mercury is transported globally in the atmosphere mostly in gaseous elemental form (GEM, \( {\text{Hg}}_{\text{gas}}^{0} \) ), but still few worldwide studies taking into account different and contrasted environmental settings are available in a single publication. This work presents and discusses data from Argentina, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, China, Croatia, Finland, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Slovenia and Venezuela. We classified the information in four groups: (1) mining districts where this contaminant poses or has posed a risk for human populations and/or ecosystems; (2) cities, where the concentration of atmospheric mercury could be higher than normal due to the burning of fossil fuels and industrial activities; (3) areas with natural emissions from volcanoes; and (4) pristine areas where no anthropogenic influence was apparent. All the surveys were performed using portable LUMEX RA-915 series atomic absorption spectrometers. The results for cities fall within a low GEM concentration range that rarely exceeds 30 ng m^?3, that is, 6.6 times lower than the restrictive ATSDR threshold (200 ng m^?3) for chronic exposure to this pollutant. We also observed this behavior in the former mercury mining districts, where few data were above 200 ng m^?3. We noted that high concentrations of GEM are localized phenomena that fade away in short distances. However, this does not imply that they do not pose a risk for those working in close proximity to the source. This is the case of the artisanal gold miners that heat the Au–Hg amalgam to vaporize mercury. In this respect, while GEM can be truly regarded as a hazard, because of possible physical–chemical transformations into other species, it is only under these localized conditions, implying exposure to high GEM concentrations, which it becomes a direct risk for humans.     

Costa Rica — Assessing Climate Mitigation Pathways to Support NDC Implementation

Environmental Modeling & Assessment - Costa Rica has set a very ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). Despite the low-carbon footprint of its power sector, the goal set in its NDC...     

Leaching of metals from printed circuit boards using ionic liquids

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The rise in the electronics industry has impacted the environment through the large volumes of waste that are improperly disposed of and the...     

A Single-Use Site Selection Technique, Using GIS, for Aquaculture Planning: Choosing Locations for Mangrove Oyster Raft Culture in Margarita Island, Venezuela

Oyster culture has a potential to generate income for coastal communities and to lessen pressure on natural overexploited populations. A project to transfer mangrove oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae raft culture technology to selected coastal communities in Margarita Island, Venezuela is being developed, and an optimum location selection technique was devised. To pick the variables or factors that determine site suitability, a bibliographic database was made, aspects of interest chosen, and the most comprehensive ones singled out, eliminating redundant ones. Twenty variables were grouped in criteria based on the way they influence the project. Variables were classified as intrinsic environmental, environmental extrinsic, logistic, and socioeconomic criteria. Thirty-five experts were asked to evaluate the factors and to score each according to their suitability weight. Logistic criterion received the highest values, followed by environmental extrinsic issues. A Geographic Information System using a base map compiled from 1:25,000 scale maps was developed. A thematic map for each factor was completed, dividing graphically the 3896-km² study area into polygons of equal weight for each factor. The Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) was used to combine the variables. Resultant vectors in thematic maps were added to obtain smaller polygons with the same value sum. Finally, MCE was used to generate a final output: the optimum sites for oyster aquaculture resulting from the added values of over 3000 polygons in the maps, for the 20 criteria. Higher scores were reached in 13 areas covering 4.1 km², those places having the optimum conditions for oyster raft aquaculture in the region. Additional locations meeting 75% to 70% of the demanded criteria for a final suitable selection cover 137 sites encompassing 37.5 km².     

Reconstruction of 137Cs signal in Cuba using 7Be as tracer of vertical transport processes in the atmosphere

Levels of 137Cs and 7Be in aerosols have been measured in the region of Cienfuegos (Cuba) during the period 1994-1998. 137Cs showed the same seasonal trend as 7Be and the monthly regimes of precipitation seemed to be responsible for the observed pattern. The 137Cs/7Be ratio obtained in Cienfuegos and Miami (FL) in this period was used to calibrate the long-term database of 137Cs concentrations recorded in Miami (250 km from Cienfuegos). The database was then employed to reconstruct the 137Cs monthly concentrations in Cienfuegos since 1957.     

Plants against the global epidemic of arsenic poisoning

Due to the growing current trend around the world of drinking water from underground sources, in an attempt to replace heavily polluted surface water supplies, arsenic is causing a global epidemic of poisoning with hundreds of millions of people now being thought at serious risk in many countries. Phytoremediation (bioremediation mediated by plants) has been proposed as an effective tool in arsenic cleanup. Actually, some plants (most notably, the Chinese brake fern Pteris vittata) have been reported to be suitable for arsenic phytoremediation. In this respect, transgenic plants are being developed to improve their capacity to accumulate arsenic. Most interestingly, rhizofiltration (use of plants to absorb or adsorb pollutants from water) is being considered for the ex situ and in situ remediation of arsenic-contaminated water. Similarly, some plants show great potential to remove arsenic from polluted soil.     

Norovirus Contamination of Bell Pepper from Handling During Harvesting and Packing

To evaluate the impact of harvesting and packinghouse operation on the contamination of green bell pepper (GBP) with viruses and enteric bacteria. Hands of 97 workers plus 40 GBP were sampled from field and packinghouse areas. RT-nested PCR were used for the identification of Noroviruses (NV) and Chromogenic agar for the quantification of coliforms and Escherichia coli. NV was found in 30.9 and 23.7% of workers’ hands, before and after 3 h of work, respectively, while 45 and 30% of field and packed GBP was positive for NV. Fecal coliforms and Escherichia coli were present in 68 and 57.3% and 12.4 and 11.1% of workers’ hands before and after 3 h of work, respectively. Fecal coliforms were detected in 85 and 15% of field and packed GBP, respectively, while E. coli was absent. There was no significant correlation between bacterial indicator and NV in the analyzed samples (P > 0.05). Handling of fresh produce by workers during harvesting and packing operations has negative impacts on fresh produce safety.