Environmental impact of leaching of trace elements from fly ash dumps on aquatic ecosystems

Ten sampling points were selected in Kanhan River, situated near the ash dump sites of Koradi Thermal Power Plant, Nagpur. The leaching of trace elements from fly ash dumps was experimentally determined by acid digestion, batch leaching and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure tests. Elemental concentrations in river water, sediment, plankton and five commonly prevailing fish species (Catla catla, Labeo bata, Cyprinus carpio, Cirrhinus reba, Puntius ticto) were determined using a Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. Metal concentrations (Cr, Mn, Zn, Cu, Fe, Ni, Cu and Pb) in river water were higher during the pre-monsoon season compared to the post-monsoon season. Zn (30.65?mg/kg) was observed to be the most predominant metal in plankton during the pre-monsoon season while, during the post-monsoon season, Fe (21.19?mg/kg) showed the maximum concentration. Muscles of C. catla had metal concentrations (Cr, Mn, Zn, Fe, Cu and Pb) above the permissible limits of Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO 1983) during the pre-monsoon season. Bioaccumulation factor (BAF) was found highest for Cr (37.5) in muscles of C. catla during the pre-monsoon season, while BAF was observed to be maximum in L. bata for Cu (28.09), which may be detrimental for human consumption.     

Analysis of volatile organic compounds released during food decaying processes

A number of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, toluene, ethylbenzene, m,p-xylene, styrene, and o- xylene released during food decaying processes were measured from three types of decaying food samples (Kimchi (KC), fresh fish (FF), and salted fish (SF)). To begin with, all the food samples were contained in a 100-mL throwaway syringe. These samples were then analyzed sequentially for up to a 14-day period. The patterns of VOC release contrasted sharply between two types of fish (FF and SF) and KC samples. A comparison of data in terms of total VOC showed that the mean values for the two fish types were in the similar magnitude with 280 ± 579 (FF) and 504 ± 1,089 ppmC (SF), while that for KC was much lower with 16.4 ± 7.6 ppmC. There were strong variations in VOC emission patterns during the food decaying processes between fishes and KC that are characterized most sensitively by such component as styrene. The overall results of this study indicate that concentration levels of the VOCs differed significantly between the food types and with the extent of decaying levels through time.     

Level of organochlorine pesticide residues in dry fruit nuts

The use of pesticides on cash crops and exportable food commodities had always been a serious concern. Fruits form one of the important constituents of human diet, in that they give one third of the requirement of calories, vitamins, and minerals. This study has been carried out to determine the level of organochlorine pesticides namely HCH, DDT and Endosulfan in raw fruit nuts. Nuts have proteins and high level of fat content. These properties of nuts attract organochlorine pesticides to accumulate. The analysis of organochlorine pesticide residues in commonly used dry fruits like Cashewnut, Walnut, Coconut, Chilgoza, Chironji, Makhana, Resins, Apricot, Almonds, Date palm, Pistachio nut collected from local market of Lucknow India has indicated presence of very low level of HCH (0.007-1.328 mg kg(-1)), DDT(ND-0.140 mg kg(-1)) and Endosulfan (ND-0.091 mg kg(-1)). There are no MRL values established for nuts in the country. This finding is based on a smaller number of samples, which however suggest that the presence of low level of DDT, HCH and Endosulfan might be due to environmental rather than direct exposure.     

Changes in future potential distributions of apex predator and mesopredator mammals in North America

Regional Environmental Change - Climate change has determined shifts in distributions of species and changing climates are likely to continue to affect species in the future. In this study, we used...     

Enrichment of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in polyaromatic hydrocarbon–contaminated soils: a major challenge for environmental health

Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widely spread ecological contaminants. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are present with mobile genetic elements (MGE) in the bacteria. There are molecular evidences that PAHs may induce the development of ARGs in contaminated soils. Also, the abundance of ARGs related to tetracycline, sulfonamides, aminoglycosides, ampicillin, and fluoroquinolones is high in PAH-contaminated environments. Genes encoding the efflux pump are located in the MGE and, along with class 1 integrons, have a significant role as a connecting link between PAH contamination and enrichment of ARGs. The horizontal gene transfer mechanisms further make this interaction more dynamic. Therefore, necessary steps to control ARGs into the environment and risk management plan of PAHs should be enforced. In this review, influence of PAH on evolution of ARGs in the contaminated soil, and its spread in the environment, has been described. The co-occurrence of antibiotic resistance and PAH degradation abilities in bacterial isolates has raised the concerns. Also, presence of ARGs in the microbiome of PAH-contaminated soil has been discussed as environmental hotspots for ARG spread. In addition to this, the possible links of molecular interactions between ARGs and PAHs, and their effect on environmental health has been explored.

     

Quantifying the connections—linkages between land-use and water in the Kathmandu Valley,Nepal

Land development without thoughtful water supply planning can lead to unsustainability. In practice, management of our lands and waters is often unintegrated. We present new land-use, ecological stream health, water quality, and streamflow data from nine perennial watersheds in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, in the 2016 monsoon (i.e., August and September) and 2017 pre-monsoon (i.e., April and May) periods. Our goal was to improve understanding of the longitudinal linkages between land-use and water. At a total of 38 locations, the Rapid Stream Assessment (RSA) protocol was used to characterize stream ecology, basic water quality parameters were collected with a handheld WTW multi-parameter meter, and stream flow was measured with a SonTek FlowTracker Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter. A pixel-based supervised classification method was used to create a 30-m gridded land use coverage from a Landsat 8 image scene captured in the fall of 2015. Our results indicated that land-use had a statistically significant impact on water quality, with built land-uses (high and low) having the greatest influence. Upstream locations of six of the nine watersheds investigated had near natural status (i.e., river quality class (RQC) 1) and water could be used for all purposes (after standard treatments as required). However, downstream RSA measurements for all nine watersheds had RQC 5 (i.e., most highly impaired). Generally, water quality deteriorated from monsoon 2016 to pre-monsoon 2017. Our findings reinforce the importance of integrated land and water management and highlight the urgency of addressing waste management issues in the Kathmandu Valley.     

Common property resources in drylands of India

Common property resources are areas of land or water being used by a community or a group of communities. These have special significance to peoples and communities who depend on them for their livelihood. The commons in all arid districts of India include village pastures, community forests, wasteland, common threshing grounds, waste dumps, watershed drainage, village baoris¹, talabs², nadis³ and ponds, and tanks, rivers, rivulets, wetlands, riverbeds, community conserved areas, protected areas, Dhaam⁴ or Dhooni⁵, culturable wastelands, barren & un-culturable land, etc. The area under commons often ranged from 9 to 28% of total village area. Appropriation of the commons by the state for building essential infrastructure such as schools, clinics, veterinary hospitals, housing for government functionaries, SEZ and industrial corridors, etc. is a cause of serious concern. Presently the ownership rights over CPRs are not clear and there are many who claim ownership, some at State level but also like local bodies. The 12^th plan of the Planning Commission of India recognized and highlighted the need for favourable land tenure arrangements, institutional design and programme architecture in order to achieve effective governance and management of the commons. The revitalization of CPRs is crucial for protecting livelihoods, as well as for biodiversity conservation and for the improvement in arid microclimatic conditions. Dialogue continues on the status of common property resources, the available legal framework and some policy related issues for its conservation through strengthening of local institutions and capacity building for stakeholders.     

Cyanobacterial flora and the physico-chemical environment of six tropical fresh water lakes of Udaipur, India

The cyanobacteria and physico-chemical environments of sic tropical fresh water lakes of Udaipur,India were investigated.These lakes receive varying nutrient inputs from different sourcesi.Altogether 51 species of cyanobacteria were recorded.Species composition varied between lakes and between seasons.Lake VI(Beghdara),which receives nutrients from natural sources only,differed considerably from the others in water chemistry and composition of dominated species.Lake Ⅱ(Swaroop Sagar),eutrophied due to sewage inputs,was species poor.Non-diazotrophs,represented by 27 species,dominated during summer.With few exceptions,N2-fixing species,bothe heterocystous and unicellular diazotrophs (represented by 24 species),were dominant during winter.Microcystis aeruginosa,Phormidium sp.and Anabaena flos-aque were ther dominant taxa of lakes characterized by sewage eutrophication.The study shows that both species diversity and community composition were affected by water chemistry.     

Response of antioxidants in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) grown on different amendments of tannery sludge: its metal accumulation potential

The interaction of metals present in tannery waste and their tolerance in the plants of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) was studied in the present paper under field conditions. Effects of 100% tannery sludge and various amendments of tannery sludge (10%, 25%, 35%, 50%, 75%) along with one set of control were studied on the physiological and biochemical parameters of the plant along with their metal accumulation potential after 30, 60 and 90 d after sowing. The plants of H. annuus were found effective in the accumulation of metals (Cr, Fe, Zn and Mn) in roots, shoots and leaves, however, the level of toxic metal, Cr was found below detection limit in the seeds of the plant. The oil was extracted from the seeds of the plant and the level of oil content was increased up to 35% tannery sludge as compared to control followed by decrease at higher tannery sludge ratio. An increase in the chlorophyll, protein, cysteine, non-protein thiol and sugar contents was observed at the lower amendment of tannery sludge at initial exposure periods followed by decrease than their respective controls. Malondialdehyde content in the roots and leaves was increased beyond 50% sludge amendments at all the exposure periods as compared to control. However, proline and ascorbic acid contents of the roots and leaves of the plant increased at all the exposure periods and sludge amendments, compared to their respective controls.     

A comparative study of effects of cigarette and bidi smoking on respiratory function tests

The effects of cigarette and bidi smoking on pulmonary function tests have been studied in 90 healthy males from North India Forced vital capacity (FVC), peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV) were determined in 30 nonsmokers (as control group), 30 cigarette smokers and 30 bidi smokers. All the above pulmonary function parameters were found to be lower among smokers as compared to nonsmokers. Moreover, the decrease in the pulmonary function tests was greater in cigarette smokers as compared to bidi smokers.