Characterisation of gaseous and particulate atmospheric pollutants in the East Mediterranean by diffusion denuder sampling lines

A field study aimed to characterize atmospheric pollutants in the gaseous and the particulate phases was conducted during the fall-winter of 2004 and the summer of 2005 in the Ashdod area, Israel. The site is influenced by both anthropogenic sources (power plants, refineries, chemical and metal industries, a cargo port, road traffic) and natural sources (sea-spray and desert dust). The use of diffusion lines--a series of annular diffusion denuders for sampling gaseous compounds followed by a cyclone and a filter pack for determining PM(2.5) composition--allowed a good daily characterization of the main inorganic compounds in both the gaseous (HCl, HNO(3), SO(2), NH(3)) and the particulate phase (Cl(-), NO(3)(-), SO(4)(=), NH(4)(+), and base cations). During the summer campaign two other activities were added: an intensive 3-h sampling period and the determination of PM(2.5) bulk composition. The results were interpreted on the basis of meteorological condition, especially the mixing properties of the lower atmosphere as determined by monitoring the natural radioactivity due to Radon progeny, a good proxy of the atmospheric ability to dilute pollutants. Several pollution episodes were identified and the predominance of different sources was highlighted (sea-spray, desert dust, secondary photochemical pollutants). During the summer period a considerable increase of nitric acid and particulate sulphate was observed. Secondary inorganic pollutants (nitrate, sulphate and ammonium) constituted, on the average, 57% of the fine particle fraction, organic compounds 20%, primary anthropogenic compounds 14%, natural components (sea-spray and crustal elements) 9%. The advantages of the diffusion lines in determining gaseous and particulate N- and S- inorganic compounds are discussed.     

Critical analysis of the potential of Ipomoea nil'Scarlet O'Hara' for ozone biomonitoring in the sub-tropics

This study aimed to analyze critically the potential of Ipomoea nil'Scarlet O'Hara' for O(3) biomonitoring in the sub-tropics. Four field experiments (one in each season of 2006) were carried out in a location of the city of S?o Paulo mainly polluted by O(3). Each experiment started with 50 plants, and lasted 28 days. Sub-lots of five plants were taken at intervals between three or four days long. Groups of four plants were also exposed in closed chambers to filtered air or to 40, 50 or 80 ppb of O(3) for three consecutive hours a day for six days. The percentage of leaf injury (interveinal chloroses and necroses), the concentrations of ascorbic acid (AA) and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidases (POD) were determined in the 5th, 6th and 7th oldest leaves on the main stem of the plants taken in all experiments. Visible injury occurred in the plants from all experiments. Seasonality in the antioxidant responses observed in plants grown under field conditions was associated with meteorological variables and ozone concentrations five days before leaf analyses. The highest levels of antioxidants occurred during the spring. The percentage of leaf injury was explained (R(2) = 0.97, p < 0.01) by the reduction in the levels of AA and activity of POD five days before the leaf analyses and by the reduction in the levels of particulate matter, and enhancement of temperature and global radiation 10 days before this same day. Although I. nil may be employed for qualitative O(3) biomonitoring, its efficiency for quantitative biomonitoring in the sub-tropics may be compromised, depending on how intense the oxidative power of the environment is.     

Product Guide/1988

Investigation, mitigation, and clean-up of hazardous materials at Superfund sites normally requires on-site workers to perform hazardous and sometimes potentially dangerous functions. Such functions include site surveys and the reconnaissance for airborne and buried toxic environmental contaminants. Airborne contaminants of concern usually emanate from spilled materials and require monitoring the air at the perimeter and throughout the clean-up site to ascertain the extent of contamination. Buried contaminants of major concern are often the result of leaking underground drums containing toxic wastes and require "reconnaissance excavations" to determine their location. Workers conducting on-site air monitoring risk dermal, ocular and inhalation exposure to hazardous chemicals, while those performing excavations also risk the potential exposure to fire, explosion, and other physical injury. EPA's current efforts to protect its workers and mitigate these risks include the use of robotic devices. Using robots offers the ultimate in personnel protection by removing the worker from the site of potential exposure, especially during site investigations, when there is almost always a certain encounter with unknown chemical wastes having unknown toxicity.

This paper describes the demonstration of a commercially-available robotic plat form modified and equipped for air monitoring and the ongoing research for the development of a ground penetrating radar (GPR) system to detect buried chemical waste drums. These robotic devices can ultimately be routinely deployed in the field for the purpose of conducting inherently safe reconnaissance activities during Superfund / SARA remedial operations.     

Biodegradation of dibromoneopentyl glycol by a bacterial consortium

Dibromoneopentyl glycol (DBNPG) is a brominated flame retardant that is used as an additive during the manufacture of plastic polymers and as a chemical intermediate for other flame retardants. It is classified as not readily biodegradable and based on experimental studies in animals is believed to be a carcinogen. We have demonstrated, to the best of our knowledge for the first time, the complete biodegradation of DBNPG under aerobic conditions. Total organic carbon (TOC) analysis indicates the complete mineralization of DBNPG. DBNPG biodegradation was accompanied by the release of bromide into the medium, probably due to a biological debromination reaction by bacterial consortia. A denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of PCR amplified 16S rRNA gene was used, to characterize the bacterial consortia involved in DBNPG biodegradation. At least seven bacterial species were found to be involved in this process, among them species with similarity to strains that are known for their dehalogenating ability.     

Free Fatty acids and sterols in swine manure

Free fatty acids and sterols were assessed in fresh manure and anaerobic lagoon sludge from swine production facilities in North Carolina. Eight free fatty acids and five sterols were identified and quantified in both manure and sludge samples. Compound identification was performed by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), and compound quantities were determined by gas chromatography after solid phase extraction with a 50:50 mixture of diethyl ether and hexane. The free fatty acids occurring in greatest abundance in both fresh manure and lagoon sludge were palmitic, oleic, and stearic. Free fatty acid content in fresh manure ranged from approximately 3 microg g(-1) dry weight (dw) to over 45 microg g(-1) dw. In lagoon sludge, free fatty acid content ranged from about 0.8 microg g(-1) dw to nearly 4 microg g(-1) dw. Coprostanol and epicoprostanol were the sterols in largest concentrations in fresh manure and lagoon sludge samples. Total sterol content ranged from approximately 0.5 microg g(-1) dw to around 11 microg g(-1) dw in fresh manure and from 3.5 microg g(-1) dw to almost 9 microg g(-1) dw in lagoon sludge. Fresh manure and lagoon sludge both had high levels of inorganic cations (e.g., Ca, Mg, Fe) capable of binding free fatty acids and forming insoluble complexes, thereby potentially reducing fatty acid biodegradation. In anaerobic lagoons, sterols are an organic fraction of sludge that are resistant to bacterial degradation. In the case of fresh manure, fatty acids could represent a potential source of energy via the manufacture of biodiesel fuel, if efficient means for their extraction and transesterification can be devised.     

The New England Air Quality Forecasting Pilot Program: Development of an Evaluation Protocol and Performance Benchmark

Abstract

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently sponsored the New England Forecasting Pilot Program to serve as a “test bed” for chemical forecasting by providing all of the elements of a National Air Quality Forecasting System, including the development and implementation of an evaluation protocol. This Pilot Program enlisted three regional-scale air quality models, serving as prototypes, to forecast ozone (O₃) concentrations across the northeastern United States during the summer of 2002. A suite of statistical metrics was identified as part of the protocol that facilitated evaluation of both discrete forecasts (observed versus modeled concentrations) and categorical forecasts (observed versus modeled exceedances/nonexceedances) for both the maximum 1-hr (125 ppb) and 8-hr (85 ppb) forecasts produced by each of the models. Implementation of the evaluation protocol took place during a 25-day period (August 5–29), utilizing hourly O₃ concentration data obtained from over 450 monitors from the U.S. Environment Protection Agency’s Air Quality System network.