Dietary exposure to xenoestrogens in New Zealand

Continuing evidence of the feminising effects of xenoestrogens on a range of wildlife species increases the need to assess the human health risk of these estrogen mimics. We have estimated the exposure of New Zealand males, females and young men to a range of naturally occurring and synthetic xenoestrogens found in food. Only estrogenic compounds that act by interaction with the estrogen receptor have been included. Theoretical plasma estrogen activity levels were derived from estrogen exposure estimates and estrogenic potency data. Theoretical plasma levels were compared with published data for specific xenoestrogens. There was surprisingly close agreement. Xenoestrogenicity from dietary intake was almost equally attributed to naturally occurring and synthetic xenoestrogens. Relative contributions for a male, for example were isoflavones (genistein and daidzein) (36%) and bisphenol A (34%) with smaller contributions from alkyl phenols (18%) and the flavonoids (phloretin and kaempferol) (12%). It is suggested that dietary xenoestrogens might have a pharmacological effect on New Zealand males and postmenopausal women, but are unlikely to be significant for pre-menopausal women.     

Regional planning acceptance by residents of Northern New York,USA

This study compares the effectiveness of two regional planning agencies in terms of public support for various planning activities. The Adirondack Park Agency and the Temporary State Commission on Tug Hill have fundamentally different approaches to planning. The Adirondack Park Agency has implemented a restrictive regulatory program with little citizen participation by Adirondack residents. The Tug Hill Commission has implemented an advisory and coordinating program with an emphasis on public input. Residents of two towns in each region were surveyed to determine environmental concern and support for regional planning activities. Respondents from both regions favored a planning agency that incorporates citizen input; controls air, water, and toxic waste pollution; and develops recreation areas. They strongly opposed an agency that regulates private land-use. Basic demographic characteristics and levels of environmental concern were similar in all four towns, but receptivity to various planning activities was consistently greater among residents of the Tug Hill Region. Paired comparisons of the four towns demonstrated no differences between towns of the same region and significant differences between towns of different regions. Public support for regional planning is greater in the Tug Hill Region than in the Adirondack Park.     

Age grading: The implicit organizational timetable

The age distribution within an organization forms an implicit career timetable, and there is evidence that people use their perceptions of this timetable to determine whether their careers are on or off schedule. Questionnaire data were collected from managers (N = 488, 47 per cent) within a large electric utility. The results indicate that managers who see themselves as ‘behind time’ in their careers have more negative attitudes towards work than other managers, even when their perceptions of being ‘behind time’ are inaccurate. However, although these managers continue to have the most negative attitudes, differences between the on and off schedule managers are smaller when their position on the actual career timetable is controlled. Thus, work attitudes are influenced by both individual and demographic factors. Finally, the longer managers remain in the same job, the more likely they are to define themselves as ‘behind time’. This supports other research suggesting that lateral moves within organizations may be an important device for managing the normal -limitations of upward movement in managerial careers.     

Polonium 210Po in the phytobenthos from Puck Bay

The aim of the work was to determine the 210Po content in phytobenthos species (seaweeds and angiosperms) from Puck Bay (southern Baltic). Alpha spectrometry was used to measure and calculate the activities and concentrations of polonium 210Po in the phytobenthos. The activity of 210Po in Puck Bay waters was determined to estimate the bioconcentration factors (BCF) of these plants. The 210Po concentration in water was estimated at 0.25 mBq dm(-3). The lowest polonium concentration in the phytobenthos was found in Cladophora rupestris (0.12 Bq kg(-1) wet wt.), the highest in Chara crinita (1.12 Bq kg(-1) wet wt.). Polonium is accumulated in these phytobenthos species; the bioconcentration factors (BCF) ranged from 450 to 4400.     

Heavy metal concentration in the moss Pleurozium schreberi in the Niepołomice Forest,Poland: changes during 20 years

The Niepoomice Forest is a large forestcomplex (110 km²) situated in southern Poland 10 to 30 kmto the east of the urban industrial Kraków agglomeration andsteelworks, which was built up on the outskirts of the city in1950. Due to prevailing westerly winds, the forest is affectedby pollutants emitted by both the steelworks and the city. Thelevel of heavy metal contamination in the Niepoomice Forestwas described using a sensitive bioindicator – the moss Pleurozium schreberi. Mean concentrations of metals in mosscollected in the Niepoomice Forest were Cd – 0.71, Cr – 2.4,Cu – 8.6, Fe – 673, Pb – 12.7, and Zn – 61 mg/kg.Concentrations of heavy metals in moss in the NiepoomiceForest decreased in time. As compared with the relatively cleanarea in north-eastern Poland (Puszcza Biaowieska), the concentration of Fe was 2–9 fold and Pb 4–6 fold higher in theNiepoomice Forest in 1975, while in 1998 4 fold and 2 fold,respectively. In both 1975 and 1998 the most polluted by heavymetals was the western part of the Niepoomice Forest (closestto the pollution sources) and the area along the roads insidethe forest complex.     

Deposition of Inorganic Particulate Aerosols to Vegetation - A New Method of Estimating

A new, direct method was developed for quantifying inorganic particulate aerosols trapped by the forest canopy, and for determining the resulting input of elements to a forest ecosystem. The method is based on direct measurements of only six parameters. Using this method, it is possible to determine the load of aerosols trapped by the forest canopy and deposited to leaves, as well as the load of aerosols falling to the forest floor by impaction on plants. It is also possible to estimate the aerosol input of soluble and insoluble elements to an ecosystem. With this new method it has been found that the load of aerosols trapped by the canopy of a mixed forest located in the Rybnik Coal Basin averaged 189.0 kg x ha-1 x growing season-1, or 39.3% of the total inorganic particles reaching the ecosystem. The trapped aerosols provided 13.4 kg x ha-1 of soluble nitrogen and 0.91 kg x ha-1 of insoluble nitrogen over the growing season. At the same time, the input of soluble nitrogen from the atmosphere with rainfall to an open area averaged 13.9 kg x ha-1, and the input of insoluble nitrogen with inorganic dusts averaged 1.4 kg x ha-1.     

CREATING MEANINGFUL STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT IN WATERSHED PLANNING IN PIERCE COUNTY,WASHINGTON1

ABSTRACT: Since 1989, the government of Pierce County, Washington, has prepared four watershed action plans. The watersheds cover almost 800,000 acres and include about 600,000 residents and diverse land uses, from the city of Tacoma to Mount Rainier National Park. The primary purpose of these plans was to address water quality impacts from nonpoint sources of pollution and to protect beneficial uses of water. Pierce County has experienced problems such as shellfish bed closures and the Federal Clean Water Act Section 303(d) listing of local water bodies as a result of declining water quality. Pierce County achieved improvements by engaging diverse groups of stakeholders in generating solutions to nonpoint sources of water pollution through our watershed planning process. Using participatory methods borrowed from private industry, Pierce County was able to reach consensus, build trust, maximize participation, facilitate learning, encourage creativity, develop partnerships, shorten time frames for the planning processes, and increase the level of commitment participants had to implementing the plans. As a result, the earliest plans have a high rate of voluntary implementation. This indicates that the process and methodology used to develop watershed plans has a significant, if not critical, impact on their success.     

Cadmium leaching from micro-lysimeters planted with the hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens: experimental findings and modeling

The use of heavy metal hyperaccumulating plants has the potential to become a promising new technique to remediate contaminated sites. We investigated the role of metal mobilization in the Cd hyperaccumulation of Thlaspi caerulescens (J. & C. Presl, 'Ganges'). In a micro-lysimeter experiment we investigated the dynamics of Cd concentration of leachate as well as Cd removal by plant uptake in four treatments: (i) Control (bare soil), (ii) T. caerulescens, (iii) nonhyperaccumulator Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. ('PI 426308'), and (iv) co-cropping of the hyperaccumulator and nonhyperaccumulator. The experimental findings were analyzed using one- and two-site rate-limited desorption models. Co-cropping of T. caerulescens and B. juncea did not enhance metal uptake by B. juncea. Although Cd uptake of T. caerulescens was 10 times higher than that of B. juncea, the Cd concentration of leachate of the T. caerulescens treatment did not decrease below that of the B. juncea treatment. The Cd depletion in leachate was well reproduced by the two-site rate-limited desorption model. The optimized desorption coefficient was three orders of magnitude higher in the rhizosphere than in the bulk soil. Our results indicate that T. caerulescens accelerates the resupply of Cd from soil pointing to an important role of kinetic desorption in the hyperaccumulation by T. caerulescens.