Dietary PBDE intake: a market-basket study in Belgium

A food market-basket, representative for the general Belgian population, containing various meat, fish and dairy food products, was assembled and analysed for its polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) content. Additionally, fast food samples were also investigated. Based on the measured PBDE levels, an average daily dietary intake estimate of PBDEs was calculated. Of all foods analysed, fish had the highest average sum of PBDE levels (BDEs 28, 47, 99, 100, 153, 154, and 183; 460 pg/g ww), followed by dairy products and eggs (260 pg/g ww), fast food (86 pg/g ww) and meat products (70 pg/g ww). One fresh salmon filet had the highest total concentration of PBDEs (2360 pg/g ww), whereas levels in steak and chicken breast were the lowest of all foods analysed. BDE 209 was never found above LOQ in any food. PBDE intake calculations were based on the average daily food consumption in Belgium and were estimated between 23 and 48 ng/day of total PBDEs (lower and upper bound). This value is in accordance with what was previously reported for diets from geographical distinct areas, such as Canada, Finland, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Although it is only a minor constituent of the Belgian diet, fish is the major contributor to the total daily PBDE-intake (around 40%) due to the high PBDE levels in this type of food. Although low contaminated, meat products account for around 30% of the total dietary intake of PBDEs. Dairy products and eggs contribute to a lesser degree (less than 30%).     

Specific features of the growth of Scots pine vegetative organs in the forest-steppe zone of Cisbaikalia

The dependence of the annual increment of vegetative organs on air temperature and humidity and the amount of precipitation per phenophase, as well as the period of their growth in Scots pine, were studied in the forest-steppe zone of Cisbaikalia. The multiple effect of variation in environmental conditions on the annual increment of organs increased when precipitation in September of the previous year was taken into account. These factors proved to have a stronger effect on variation in the annual increment of needles (R ² = 0.59, p = 0.00005) than that in the annual ring width (R ² = 0.38, p = 0.0002).     

Impacts of wastewater sludge amendments in restoring nitrogen cycle in p-nitrophenol contaminated soil

The possible impacts on nitrogen-cycle in a p-nitrophenol (PNP) polluted soil and the e ectiveness of wastewater sludge amendments in restoring nitrification potential and urease activity were evaluated by an incubation study. The results indicated that PNP at 250 mg/kg soil inhibited urease activity, nitrification potential, arginine ammonification rate and heterotrophic bacteria counts to some extents. After exposure to PNP, the nitrification potential of the tested soil was dramatically reduced to zero over a period of 30 days. Based on the findings, nitrification potential was postulated as a simple biochemical indicator for PNP pollution in soils. Nitrogen-cycling processes in soils responded positively to the applications of wastewater sludges. A sludge application rate of 200 tons/ha was su cient for successful biostimulation of these nitrogen processes. The microbial activities in sludge-amended, heavy PNP-polluted soils seemed to recover after 30–45 days, indicating the e ectiveness of sludge as a useful soil amendment.     

Factors affecting the direct mineralization of CO2 with olivine

Olivine, one of the most abundant minerals existing in nature, is explored as a CO2 carbonation agent for direct carbonation of CO2 in flue gas. Olivine based CO2 capture is thermodynamically favorable and can form a stable carbonate for long-term storage. Experimental results have shown that water vapor plays an important role in improving CO2 carbonation rate and capacities. Other operation conditions including reaction temperature, initial CO2 concentration, residence time corresponding to the flow rate of CO2 gas stream, and water vapor concentration also considerably affect the performance of the technology.     

Evaluation of cleaning and disinfection protocols for commercial farm equipment following a foreign animal disease outbreak

This study evaluated the microbiocidal efficacy of a cleaning and disinfection (C&D) treatment using stainless-steel coupons applied to three common types of animal mortality transport vehicles when exposed to agricultural conditions. Metal test coupons, inoculated with bacteriophage MS2, were affixed to the undercarriage of three types of animal mortality transport vehicles at various locations. Coupons were grimed by maneuvering the test vehicles down a series of wet dirt roads. Coupons were attached and extracted at various points to evaluate C&D performance with and without grime. C&D efficacy using a water-supplied pressure washing system and a dilute sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solution was determined by comparing the difference in recovered viable virus between positive control coupons and test coupons. The results demonstrated a relatively high surface decontamination efficacy, with all but one location showing >5 log reduction of MS2. Coupons located on the roll-off truck's inside-back bumper contained the highest level of grime and resulted in a 4 log reduction of MS2. There was no significant difference in C&D efficacy across vehicle types, but locations impacted by grime and lack of accessibility achieved lower efficacies on average. These findings suggest that common C&D protocols, when applied to farm mortality transport vehicles, are effective. Hard-to-access locations containing high levels of grime may be candidates for additional targeted treatment.     

Production of new concrete with leather tannery waste used as partial replacement of the natural sand

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Leather production is a technology that boosts the economy because of its versatility and durability. However, the wastes generated throughout the...     

Face mask and medical waste generation in the City of Baguio,Philippines: its current management and GHG footprint

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The daily use of facemask to prevent virus transmission increases the negative effect on the environment because of improper waste disposal. Due to...     

Backwater Confluences of the Ohio River: Organic and Inorganic Fingerprints Explain Sediment Dynamics in Wetlands and Marinas

In the Ohio River (OR), backwater confluence sedimentation dynamics are understudied, however, these river features are expected to be influential on the system’s ecological and economic function when integrated along the river’s length. In the following paper, we test the efficacy of organic and inorganic tracers for sediment fingerprinting in backwater confluences; we use fingerprinting results to evidence sediment dynamics controlling deposition patterns in confluences used for wetland and marina functions; and we quantify the spatial extent of tributary drainages with wetland and marina features in OR confluences. Both organic and inorganic tracers statistically differentiate sediment from stream and river end‐members. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes produce greater uncertainty in fingerprinting results than inorganic elemental tracers. Uncertainty analysis of the nonconservative tracer term in the organic matter fingerprinting application estimates an apparent enrichment of the carbon stable isotopes during instream residence, and the nonconservativeness is quantified with a statistical approach unique to the fingerprinting literature. Wetland and marina features in OR confluences impact 42% and 11% of tributary drainage areas, respectively. Sediment dynamics show wetland and marina confluences experience deposition from river backwaters with longitudinally linear and nonlinear patterns, respectively, from sediment sources.     

Spatial and Seasonal Response of Municipal Water Use to Weather across the Contiguous U.S.

Weather variability has the potential to influence municipal water use, particularly in dry regions such as the western United States (U.S.). Outdoor water use can account for more than half of annual household water use and may be particularly responsive to weather, but little is known about how the expected magnitude of these responses varies across the U.S. This nationwide study identified the response of municipal water use to monthly weather (i.e., temperature, precipitation, evapotranspiration [ET]) using monthly water deliveries for 229 cities in the contiguous U.S. Using city‐specific multiple regression and region‐specific models with city fixed effects, we investigated what portion of the variability in municipal water use was explained by weather across cities, and also estimated responses to weather across seasons and climate regions. Our findings indicated municipal water use was generally well‐explained by weather, with median adjusted R² ranging from 63% to 95% across climate regions. Weather was more predictive of water use in dry climates compared to wet, and temperature had more explanatory power than precipitation or ET. In response to a 1°C increase in monthly maximum temperature, municipal water use was shown to increase by 3.2% and 3.9% in dry cities in winter and summer, respectively, with smaller changes in wet cities. Quantifying these responses allows urban water managers to plan for weather‐driven variability in water use.     

A novel sigma coordinate system to simulate abrupt changes of underwater terrain in a hydrodynamic model: application to Lake Mead,USA

The sigma (SIG) coordinate system in ocean circulation simulation models results inevitably in horizontal pressure gradient error. This problem also emerges in models of deep lakes or reservoirs with the same characteristics of underwater terrain mutation. SIG coordinates reflect vertical relative stratification but cannot be used to calculate horizontal pressure gradient force in places with drastic topographic changes; this results in vertical water temperature and circulation errors. In deep lakes or reservoirs, differences in water density caused by the temperature difference between upper and lower water bodies is the primary cause of thermal stratification phenomena. Lake Mead was used as a case study on steep topography based on Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC) model in this study. SIG coordinates result in close agreement between the calibrated temperature time series at the top and middle water layers, but disparity in the bottom water layer. The error emerges in the horizontal pressure gradient error due to the SIG coordinate transformation. Neither increasing the vertical resolution nor adjusting the horizontal viscosity coefficient resolve this error. We test the sigma-zed (SGZ) coordinate which combines Z coordinate and SIG coordinate as a replacement for the SIG coordinate to find that they effectively reduce the model’s runtime and simulation efficiency. The vertical temperature distribution in SGZ coordinate mode is more accurate than the distribution in SIG coordinate mode. The Navier-Stokes horizontal gradient and advection diffusion equation results under SIG coordinates are very sensitive to the pressure gradient. The replacement also enhances resolution near the thermocline, facilitates reclosing of the water bottom and the equal sigma surface, lends significant advantages in terms of vertical temperature in the simulation for local deep water with steep terrain, and shortens runtime for 0.14 h. SGZ mixed coordinates are recommended in the simulation of deep lakes or reservoirs wherein the underwater topography is large (with abundant continuous deep trenches or reefs).