Indoor and outdoor concentrations of PM2.5 trace elements at homes, preschools and schools in Stockholm, Sweden

Fine particles (PM2.5) were sampled indoors and outdoors at 40 sampling sites; in ten classrooms in five schools, at ten preschools and 20 non-smoking homes, in three communities in Stockholm, Sweden, during nine 2-week periods. Each sampling site was sampled twice, once during winter and once during spring. The samples were analysed for elemental concentrations using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy. In all locations significantly higher outdoor concentrations were found for elements that are related to long-range transported air masses (S, Ni, Br and Pb), while only Ti was higher indoors in all locations. Similar differences for S, Br and Pb were found in both seasons for homes and schools. In preschools different seasonal patterns were seen for the long-range transported elements S, Br and Pb and the crustal elements Ti, Mn and Fe. The indoor/outdoor ratios for S and Pb suggest an outdoor PM2.5 particle net infiltration of about 0.6 in these buildings. The community located 25 km from the city centre had significantly lower outdoor concentrations of elements of crustal or traffic origin compared with the two central communities, but had similar levels of long-range transported elements. Significant correlations were found between PM2.5 and most elements outdoors (rs = 0.45-0.90). Copper levels were found to correlate well (rs = 0.64-0.91) to the traffic marker NO2 during both winter and spring in all locations. Copper may be a suitable elemental marker for traffic-related aerosols in health studies in areas without other significant outdoor Cu sources.     

The use of semipermeable membrane devices as passive samplers to determine persistent organic compounds in indoor air

In the study reported here semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) were used to sample 28 PAHs and 19 PCBs in the gas phase in 15 single-family houses located in an area where domestic wood burning is widespread. Eight of the households used wood burning appliances whereas the others used other systems for residential heating. Most of the studied compounds were found in the houses: the PAHs at levels that were similar to or slightly higher than published SPMD-sampled levels for background or urban sites in Sweden, and the PCBs at levels that were somewhat lower than those recently found in both indoor and outdoor urban locations. A principal component analysis revealed that wood-burning heating systems may contribute to PAHs in indoor air. The sources may be emissions indoors or penetration from outdoors. The convenience of SPMD technology facilitates its use for semi-quantitative screening and monitoring of various persistent organic compounds indoors in dwellings and working environments.     

Fish Migration, Dams, and Loss of Ecosystem Services in the Mekong Basin

The past decade has seen increased international recognition of the importance of the services provided by natural ecosystems. It is unclear however whether such international awareness will lead to improved environmental management in many regions. We explore this issue by examining the specific case of fish migration and dams on the Mekong river. We determine that dams on the Mekong mainstem and major tributaries will have a major impact on the basin’s fisheries and the people who depend upon them for food and income. We find no evidence that current moves towards dam construction will stop, and consider two scenarios for the future of the fisheries and other ecosystems of the basin. We conclude that major investment is required in innovative technology to reduce the loss of ecosystem services, and alternative livelihood strategies to cope with the losses that do occur.     

Nitrogen as an indicator of mass transfer during in-situ gas sparging

Aiming at the stimulation of intrinsic microbial activity, pulses of pure oxygen or pressurized air were recurrently injected into groundwater polluted with chlorobenzene. To achieve well-controlled conditions and intensive sampling, a large, vertical underground tank was filled with the local unconfined sandy aquifer material. In the course of two individual gas injections, one using pure oxygen and one using pressurized air, the mass transfer of individual gas species between trapped gas phase and groundwater was studied. Field data on the dissolved gas composition in the groundwater were combined with a kinetic model on gas dissolution and transport in porous media. Phase mass transfer of individual gas components caused a temporary enrichment of nitrogen, and to a lower degree of methane, in trapped gas leading to the formation of excess dissolved nitrogen levels downgradient from the dissolving gas phase. By applying a novel gas sampling method for dissolved gases in groundwater it was shown that dissolved nitrogen can be used as a partitioning tracer to indicate complete gas dissolution in porous media.     

Dioxin- and POP-contaminated sites—contemporary and future relevance and challenges

BACKGROUND, AIM AND SCOPE: Once they have been generated, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) can persist in soils and sediments and in waste repositories for periods extending from decades to centuries. In 1994, the US EPA concluded that contaminated sites and other reservoirs are likely to become the major source of contemporary pollution problems with these substances. With this in mind, this article is the first in a new series in ESPR under the title 'Case Studies on Dioxin and POP Contaminated Sites--Contemporary and Future Relevance and Challenges', which will address this important issue. The series will document various experiences from sites contaminated with PCDD/F and other POPs. This article provides an overview of the content of the articles comprising the series. In addition, it provides a review of the subject in its own right and identifies the key issues arising from dioxin/POP-contaminated sites. Additionally, it highlights the important conclusions that can be drawn from these examples. The key aim of this article and of the series as a whole is to provide a comprehensive overview of the types of PCDD/F contaminated sites that exist as a result of historical activities. It details the various processes whereby these sites became contaminated and attempts to evaluate their contemporary relevance as sources of PCDD/Fs and other POPs. It also details the various strategies used to assess these historical legacies of contamination and the concepts developed, or which are under development, to effect their remediation. MAIN FEATURES: Special sessions on 'Contaminated sites--Cases, remediation, risk and policy' were held at the DIOXIN conferences in 2006 and 2007, and this theme will be continued at DIOXIN 2008 to be held in Birmingham. Selected cases from the approximately 70 contributions made to these sessions, together with some additional invited case studies are outlined together with the key issues they raise. By evaluating these cases and adding details of experiences published in the current literature, an overview will be given of the different features and challenges of dioxin and POP-contaminated sites. RESULTS: This article provides a systematic categorisation of types of PCDD/F and POP-contaminated sites. These are categorised according to the chemical or manufacturing process, which generated the PCDD/Fs or POPs and also includes the use and disposal aspects of the product life cycle in question. The highest historical PCDD/F and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination burdens have arisen as a result of the production of chlorine and of chlorinated organic chemicals. In particular, the production of chlorinated pesticides, PCBs and the related contaminated waste streams are identified being responsible for historical releases of toxic equivalents (TEQs) at a scale of many tonnes. Along with such releases, major PCDD/F contaminated sites have been created through the application or improper disposal of contaminated pesticides, PCBs and other organochlorine chemicals, as well through the recycling of wastes and their attempted destruction. In some extreme examples, PCDD/F contaminated sites have also resulted from thermal processes such as waste incinerators, secondary metal industries or from the recycling or deposition of specific waste (e.g. electronic waste or car shredder wastes), which often contain chlorinated or brominated organic chemicals. The examples of PCDD/F and dioxin-like PCB contamination of fish in European rivers or the impact of contaminated sites upon fishing grounds and upon other food resources demonstrate the relevance of these historical problems to current and future human generations. Many of the recent food contamination problems that have emerged in Europe and elsewhere demonstrate how PCDD/F and dioxin like PCBs from historical sources can directly contaminate human and animal feedstuffs and indeed highlight their considerable contemporary relevance in this respect. Accordingly, some key experiences and lessons learnt regarding the production, use, disposal and remediation of POPs from the contaminated sites are summarised. DISCUSSION: An important criterion for evaluating the significance and risks of PCDD/Fs and other POPs at contaminated sites is their present or future potential for mobility. This, in turn, determines to a large degree their propensity for off-site transport and environmental accessibility. The detailed evaluation of contaminated site cases reveals different site-specific factors, which influence the varied pathways through which poor water-soluble POPs can be mobilised. Co-contaminants with greater water solubility are also typically present at such sites. Hence, pumping of groundwater (pump and treat) is often required in addition to attempting to physically secure a site. At an increasing number of contaminated sites, securing measures are failing after relatively short time spans compared to the time horizon, which applies to persistent organic pollutant contamination. Due to the immense costs and challenges associated with remediation of contaminated sites 'monitored natural attenuation' is increasingly gaining purchase as a conceptual remediation approach. However, these concepts may well prove limited in their practical application to contaminated sites containing persistent organic pollutants and other key pollutants like heavy metals. CONCLUSIONS: It is inevitable, therefore, that dioxin/POP-contaminated sites will remain of contemporary and future relevance. They will continue to represent an environmental issue for future generations to address. The securing and/or remediation of dioxin/POP-contaminated sites is very costly, generally in the order of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. Secured landfills and secured production sites need to be considered as constructions not made for 'eternity' but built for a finite time scale. Accordingly, they will need to be controlled, supervised and potentially repaired/renewed. Furthermore, the leachates and groundwater impacted by these sites will require ongoing monitoring and potential further remediation. These activities result in high maintenance costs, which are accrued for decades or centuries and should, therefore, be compared to the fully sustainable option of complete remediation. The contaminated site case studies highlight that, while extensive policies and established funds for remediation exist in most of the industrialised western countries, even these relatively well-regulated and wealthy countries face significant challenges in the implementation of a remediation strategy. This highlights the fact that ultimately only the prevention of contaminated sites represents a sustainable solution for the future and that the Polluter Pays Principle needs to be applied in a comprehensive way to current problems and those which may emerge in the future. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: With the continuing shift of industrial activities in developing and transition economies, which often have poor regulation (and weak self-regulation of industries), additional global challenges regarding POPs and other contaminated sites may be expected. In this respect, a comprehensive application of the "polluter pays principle" in these countries will also be a key to facilitate the clean-up of contaminated areas and the prevention of future contaminated sites. The threats and challenges of contaminated sites and the high costs of securing/remediating the problems highlight the need for a comprehensive approach based upon integrated pollution prevention and control. If applied to all polluting (and potentially polluting) industrial sectors around the globe, such an approach will prove to be both the cheapest and most sustainable way to underpin the development of industries in developing and transition economies.     

The annual course of TCA formation in the lower troposphere: a modeling study

We present a modeling study investigating the influence of climate conditions and solar radiation intensity on gas-phase trichloroacetic acid (TCA) formation. As part of the ECCA-project (Ecotoxicological Risk in the Caspian Catchment Area), this modeling study uses climate data specific for the two individual climate regimes, namely "Kalmykia" and "Kola Peninsula". A third regime has also been included in this study, namely "Central Europe", which serves as a reference to somehow more moderate climate conditions. The simulations have been performed with a box modeling package (SBOX, photoRACM), which uses Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism (RACM) as its chemistry scheme. For this model a mechanism supplement has been developed including the reaction pathways of methyl chloroform photooxidation. The investigations are completed by a detailed sensitivity study addressing the impact of temperature and relative humidity. Atmospheric OH and HO2 concentrations and the NOx/HO2 ratio were identified as the governing quantities controlling the TCA formation trough methyl chloroform oxidation in the gas phase. Model calculations show a TCA production rate ranging between almost zero and 6.5 x 10(3) molecules cm(-3) day(-1) depending on location and season. In the Kalmykia regime the model predicts mean TCA production rates of 1.3 x 10(-4) and 5.4 x 10(-5) microg m(-3) year(-1) for the urban and rural environment, respectively. From the comparison of model calculations with measured TCA burdens in the soil ranging between 130 g m(-3) and 1750 g m(-3) we conclude that TCA formation through methyl chloroform photooxidation in the gas-phase is probably not the principal atmospheric TCA source in this region.     

Simultaneous monitoring of PCDD/Fs and PCBs in contaminated air with semipermeable membrane devices and fresh spruce needles

The contaminated air with burning plastic floor and electronic scrap was monitored with semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) and fresh unpolluted spruce needles at the same time for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). It was found that there were more polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) than polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) collected from contaminated air. The total amounts of PCBs were much higher than that of PCDD/Fs, but the contribution of them to the WHO-TEQ was less than that of PCDD/Fs. Triolein-containing SPMDs can absorb much more PCDD/Fs and PCBs than spruce needles when they were exposed in contaminated air simultaneously. The logarithm of the concentrations of PCDD/Fs and PCBs in SPMDs and in spruce needles at the same sampling time exhibited a significant linear correlation, the correlation coefficients were larger than 0.86 for PCDD/Fs and 0.92 for PCBs. SPMDs and spruce needles are effective passive air sampler for PCDD/Fs and PCBs. SPMDs and spruce needles can complement each other in passive air sampling.     

Alteration of cholinesterase activity as possible mechanism of silver nanoparticle toxicity

Due to their broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been used in a large number of commercial and medical products. Such proliferated AgNP production poses toxicological and environmental issues which need to be addressed. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of AgNPs on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), important enzymes in areas of neurobiology, toxicology and pharmacology. Three different AgNPs, prepared by the chemical reduction using trisodium citrate, hydroxylamine hydrochloride (Cl-AgNPs), and borohydride following stabilization with poly(vinyl alcohol), were purified and characterised with respect to their sizes, shapes and optical properties. Their inhibition potential on AChE and BChE was evaluated in vitro using an enzyme assay with o-nitrophenyl acetate or o-nitrophenyl butyrate as substrates, respectively. All three studied AgNPs were reversible inhibitors of ChEs. Among tested nanoparticles, Cl-AgNP was found to be the most potent inhibitor of both AChE and BChE. Although the detailed mechanism by which the AgNPs inhibit esterase activities remains unknown, structural perturbation of the enzyme may be the common mode of ChE inhibition by AgNPs.