IMPACT OF MINING ACTIVITIES ON WATER QUALITY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA1

ABSTRACT: An intensive water quality investigation was conducted in western North Carolina to determine whether water quality problems existed from point and nonpoint source inputs of sediment from surface mining activities. Depth integrated measurements of sediment transport and biological sampling of benthic communities indicated that very serious water quality problems were caused by erosion from a concentrated area of open pit mining for mica, kaolin, and feldspar. The erosion occurred on haul roads, active mines, inactive mines, and tailings disposal piles. The need for using specific “Best Management Practices” for erosion control on the mining operation is discussed. These practices need to be implemented to restore populations of trout to the degraded reaches of the river. Additional monitoring data are presented that indicate that the biological integrity of surface waters can be preserved in the vicinity of point source mining discharges when the operators utilize proper practices in settling and neutralizing their effluent. While much has been done to abate the point source discharges, attention now needs to be focused on the nonpoint sources of sediment from mining operations.     

Imposex as a biomonitoring tool for marine pollution by tributyltin: some further observations

Imposex, i.e., the imposition of male sexual characteristics on female neograstropods, has been used worldwide as a bioindicator of pollution by the antifouling agent TBT as well as to assess the related ecological impact. The recent total ban on the use of TBT in the maritime industry has been partly based on the use of such a biomarker. This is mainly based on the assumption that no other pollutant, or environmental stress, is able to induce such a biological response. Nonetheless, several authors had challenged this idea. The present paper will present further field observations on imposex in Hexaplex trunculus from Malta (Central Mediterranean) which may help clarify this issue. Furthermore, the incidence of imposex in this species will be related to body burdens and to the environmental levels of organotins as measured analytically. First histological observations will also be presented which may help clarify the ecological significance of this response in this species. Finally a number of alternative scenarios regarding the relationship between imposex and TBT will be discussed.     

Degradation studies of novel degradable starch-polyethylene plastics containing oxidized polyethylene and prooxidant

Linear low-density polyethylene films were prepared that contained native corn starch (7, 14, or 28%), low or high molecular weight oxidized polyethylene (15%), and a prooxidant mixture (18% POLYCLEAN II) that contains manganese and vegetable oil. For each mixture all components were first mixed at high temperatures in a twin-screw extruder and pelletized. The pellets were cast into films using a single-screw extruder. Oxidized-polyethylene addition did not impair the transparency and thickness of the films and did not reduce the percentage elongation, whereas significant reductions in film mechanical properties were observed. Thermal and photodegradation properties of each film were evaluated by 70°C forced-air oven treatment (20 days), by high-temperature, high-humidity treatment in a steam chamber (20 days), and by exposure to ultraviolet light (365 nm; 4 weeks). Changes in the mechanical properties of the films were determined by an Instron Universal Test Machine; in the carbonyl index, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; and in molecular weight, by high-temperature gel-permeation chromatography (HT-GPC). The addition of oxidized polyethylene, especially high molecular weight oxidized polyethylene, and up to 14% starch to the films significantly increased the rate of thermal and photodegradation.Journal Paper No. J-15363 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames. Project No. 0178 and 2889.