Metal fractionation study on bed sediments of Hussainsagar Lake, Hyderabad, India

Hussainsagar Lake in the heart of Hyderabad City (India) receives toxic substances through five streams draining from a catchment area of 245 km². Of particular interest are heavy metals received from urban runoff as well as municipal sewage and industrial effluents. Heavy metals entering the lake get adsorbed onto the suspended sediments, which eventually settle down in the bottom of the lake. In this study, fractionation of metal ions has been studied on the bed sediments of Hussainsagar Lake in order to determine the ecotoxic potential of metal ions. Comparison of sediments with average shale values indicated anthropogenic enrichment with copper, nickel, lead, cadmium, and zinc. The risk assessment code as applied to the present study reveals that 10–17% of manganese, 10–18% of nickel, 14–24% of chromium, 10–19% of lead, 21–30% of cadmium, and 18–28% of zinc exist in exchangeable fraction and, therefore, comes under medium risk category and may enter into food chain. The association of these metals with the exchangeable fraction may cause deleterious effects to aquatic life. The present database will help in formulating guidelines for carrying out dredging operations under restoration programs in the Hussainsagar Lake.     

Risk management: Time for innovative approaches

Risk management practices under the current environmental regulations is a long, complex process that considers scientific, technologic, and management factors to develop various regulatory standards and pollution control measures. Using the mandatory enforcement approach, sometimes referred to as “command-and-control”, a set of preliminary environmental goals, such as better air and water qualities, were achieved. However, the information-intensive nature of the risk management process and the lack of flexibility in conventional regulatory methods to changing economic and technologic realities of the decade has created interest among risk managers to examine some innovative management approaches. Above all, environmental problems of a global scale require novel management methods while striving to achieve the desired environmental goals. As the principal analytical tool in risk management, quantitative risk assessment exerts considerable influence on the risk management process. Therefore, advances in risk management are closely associated with scientific developments that enhance the risk assessment process, particularly those efforts aimed at improving human exposure and toxicity assessments. Market incentives, information dissemination, creative enforcement practices, and interagency and intergovernmental interactions were identified as the key elements of innovative environmental risk management practices. This paper will present an overview of the emerging innovative risk management approaches.     

甲苯降解菌的分离、鉴定及其对甲苯的降解特性

从重庆钢铁集团焦化厂脱酚池车间污泥中分离纯化得到一株能以甲苯为惟一碳源和能源的革兰氏阴性菌。根据生理生化实验结果、菌落特征、菌体形态,初步鉴定为假单孢菌属。菌株的最佳生长条件为：pH7、温度35℃、加入量100mL培养基中加入60μL甲苯、接种量5．0％。考察了菌株对甲苯的降解特性,在甲苯质量浓度为150mg/L时,比降解速率达到0．211h^-1。     

Multi-drug resistance,integron and transposon-mediated gene transfer in heterotrophic bacteria from Penaeus vannamei and its culture environment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Multi-drug resistance (MDR) in bacteria is regarded as an emerging pollutant in different food production avenues including aquaculture. One hundred...     

Selective removal of common cyanotoxins: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The development of cyanobacterial blooms can have adverse effects on water bodies and may produce cyanotoxins. Several physical and chemical methods...     

羟基磷灰石的制备及其对水中氟离子的吸附

本研究利用红外光谱(FTIR)、扫描电镜(SEM)和X射线粉末衍射(XRD)观察了共沉淀法合成羟基磷灰石(HAP)的形貌及其晶型结构,并探讨了Ca/P摩尔比、反应时间及反应温度等因素对羟基磷灰石吸附水中氟离子性能的影响。结果表明,n(Ca/P)=1.5/1、反应时间1 h、反应温度40℃、陈化时间48 h、煅烧温度200℃、煅烧时间2 h时,HAP除氟效果最佳,吸附效率和吸附容量分别达到68.8%和6.88 mg/g。实验数据Langmuir 等温模式拟合效果优于Freundlich模式,热力学参数计算可知,HAP对氟离子的吸附是自发 (ΔG0吸热 (ΔH0>0),熵增 (ΔS0 >0)的过程。HAP对氟离子的吸附符合拟二级反应动力学过程。     

HYDRAULIC MODELING SUPPORT FOR CONFLICT ANALYSIS: THE MANAYUNK CANAL REVISITED1

ABSTRACT: This paper presents a study which used a standard, hydraulic computer model to generate detailed design information to support conflict analysis of a water resource use issue. As an extension of previous studies, the conflict analysis in this case included several scenarios for stability analysis - all of which reached the conclusion that compromising, shared access to the water resources available would result in the most benefits to society. This expected equilibrium outcome was found to maximize benefit-cost estimates.     

Response of hydrogen peroxide scavenging system in two soybean cultivars exposed to SO2: experimental evidence for the detoxification of SO2 by enhanced H2O2 scavenging components

The impact of SO(2) on superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the ascorbate-glutathione cycle was investigated in a tolerant (cv. Punjab-1) and a sensitive (cv. JS 7244) cultivar of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.). In spite of SO(2) stimulated SOD activities in both the cultivars, only cv. JS 7244 has significantly enhanced Malondialdehyde (MDA) contents. This differential response was attributed to the ability of cv. Punjab-1 to enhance glutathione reductase (GR) activity and to maintain high GSH/GSSG and ASA/DHA ratios. Post-fumigation analysis indicated the ability of cv. Punjab-1 to maintain SO(2)-enhanced antioxidants, whilst they declined in cv. JS 7244 the moment fumigation was terminated. Exposure of SO(2)-acclimated plants (cv. Punjab-1) with their enhanced antioxidants to 250 microg m(-3) SO(2) for 6 h exhibited no enhanced cellular injury (MDA content) when compared to that of control plants with their normal antioxidant levels. These results indicate a relation between the ability of a plant to maintain reduced glutathione (GSH) and ascorbate (ASA) and SO(2) tolerance, and they also present evidence for the ability of plants, with elevated antioxidants, to tolerate SO(2)-induced oxygen-free radical toxicity.     

Recycling municipal incinerator fly- and scrubber-ash into fused slag for the substantial replacement of cement in cement-mortars

Fly- and scrubber-ash (weight ratio of approximately 1:3) from municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWI) are a major land-fill disposal problem due to their leaching of heavy metals. We uniformly mixed both types of ash with optimal amounts of waste glass frit, which was then melted into a glassy slag. The glassy slag was then pulverized to a particle size smaller than 38 μm for use as a cement substitute (20–40% of total cement) and blended with sand and cement to produce slag-blended cement-mortar (SCM) specimens. The toxicity characteristics of the leaching procedure tests on the pulverized slag samples revealed that the amount of leached heavy metals was far below regulatory thresholds. The compressive strength of the 28-day cured SCM specimens was comparable to that of ordinary Portland cement mortars, while the compressive strength of specimens cured for 60 or 90 days were 3–11% greater. The observed enhanced strength is achieved by Pozzolanic reaction. Preliminary evaluation shows that the combination of MSWI fly- and scrubber-ash with waste glass yields a cost effective and environmentally friendly cement replacement in cement-mortars.