A kinetic-allometric approach to predicting tissue radionuclide concentrations for biota

Allometry, or the biology of scaling, is the study of size and its consequences. It has become a useful tool for comparative physiology. There are several allometric equations that relate body size to many parameters, including ingestion rate, lifespan, inhalation rate, home range and more. While these equations were originally derived from empirical observations, there is a growing body of evidence that these relationships have their origins in the dynamics of energy transport mechanisms. As part of an ongoing effort by the Department of Energy in developing generic methods for evaluating radiation dose to biota, we have examined the utility of applying allometric techniques to predicting radionuclide tissue concentration across a large range of terrestrial and riparian species of animals. This particular study examined 23 radionuclides. Initial investigations suggest that the allometric approach can provide a useful tool to derive limiting values of uptake and elimination factors for animals.     

Human exposure to dioxins through the diet in Catalonia,Spain: carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk

The main objectives of this study were to estimate the dietary intake of dioxins by the population of Catalonia, Spain, to determine which food groups showed the greatest contribution to this intake, and to assess the health risks potentially associated with the dietary dioxin intake. From June to August 2000, food samples were randomly acquired in seven cities of Catalonia. Dioxin concentrations were determined in 108 samples belonging to the following groups: vegetables, fruits, pulses, cereals, fish and shellfish, meats and meat products, eggs, milk and dairy products, and oils and fats. Estimates of average daily food consumption were obtained from recent studies. Total dietary intake of dioxins for the general population of Catalonia was estimated to be 95.4 pg WHO-TEQ/day (78.4 pg I-TEQ/day), with fish and shellfish (31%), diary products (25%), cereals (14%) and meat (13%) showing the greatest percentages of contribution to dioxin intake. The contribution of all the rest of food groups to the total dietary intake was under 20%. The non-carcinogenic risk index of dioxin intake through the diet was in the range 0.34-1.36, while the carcinogenic risk level was 1,360 excess cancer over a lifetime of 70 years. Our results corroborate the decreasing tendency in dietary intake of dioxins found in recent studies (2000-2001) from various countries.     

Effects of sample storage on biosolids compost stability and maturity evaluation

Compost stability and maturity are important parameters of compost quality. To date, nearly all compost characterization has been performed using samples freshly collected because sample storage can affect compost stability and maturity evaluation. However, sample preservation is sometimes necessary, especially for scientific research purposes. There is little information available on the effects of sample storage on compost stability and maturity. Samples of biosolids compost with different levels of stability and maturity were collected from four compost facilities in Florida (referred to as Register, Winslow, Sunset, and Meadow). Comparisons of CO2 evolution, seed germination rate, and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) were made between fresh samples with short storage at 4 degrees C for less than 1 wk and air-dried or frozen compost samples stored for 1 yr. The effects of storage (air-dry or frozen) on the measured parameters depended on compost stability and maturity and on the compost material source. Frozen storage reduced the peak CO2 evolution of Register samples by 12 to 29%, while accumulated CO2 evolution was reduced by 43 to 64% and 110 to 277% with air-dry and frozen storage, respectively. The storage effect on CO2 evolution with more stable compost was inconsistent. Storage did not affect compost phytotoxicity, except for samples from the Sunset facility. Air-drying reduced the WSOC by up to 35%, and freezing increased it by up to 34%, while both storage methods had no significant effect on samples of low WSOC. Despite all these variations, WSOC had a significant and consistent relation to CO2 evolution and seed germination rates with R2 of 0.78 and 0.57, respectively, regardless of storage methods.     

Phytoremediation of aged petroleum sludge: effect of irrigation techniques and scheduling

The use of higher plants to accelerate the remediation of petroleum contaminants in soil is limited by, among other factors, rooting depth and the delivery of nutrients to the microsites at which remediation occurs. The objective of this study was to test methods of enhancing root growth and remediation in the subsurface of a contaminated petroleum sludge. The phytoremediation of highly contaminated petroleum sludge (total petroleum hydrocarbons >35 g kg(-1) was tested in the greenhouse as a function of the frequency and the depth of irrigation and fertilization. Water and dissolved plant nutrients were added to the soil surface or at a depth of 30 cm, either daily or weekly. Equivalent quantities of water and nutrients were added in all cases. Daily irrigation at a depth of 30 cm invoked greater root growth and enhanced contaminant degradation relative to all other treatments. In the absence of plants, residual concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons after 7 mo were higher than with plants. The presence of plant roots clearly improved the physical structure of the soil and increased microbial populations. Thus, the plant roots in conjunction with daily additions of soluble N and P appeared to enhance oxygen transport to greater depths in the soil, stimulate petroleum-degrading microorganisms, and provide microbial access to soil micropores. Subsurface irrigation with frequent, small amounts of water and nutrients could significantly accelerate phytoremediation of field soils contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons.     

Effects of alum and aluminum chloride on phosphorus runoff from swine manure

Phosphorus (P) runoff from fields fertilized with swine (Sus scrofa domesticus) manure may contribute to eutrophication. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of aluminum sulfate (alum) and aluminum chloride applications to swine manure on P runoff from small plots cropped to tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Shreb.). There were six treatments in this study: (i) unfertilized control plots, (ii) untreated manure, (iii) manure with alum at 215 mg Al L(-1), (iv) manure with aluminum chloride at 215 mg Al L(-1), (v) manure with alum at 430 mg Al L(-1), and (vi) manure with aluminum chloride at 430 mg Al L(-1). Manure application rates were equivalent to approximately 125 kg N ha(-1). Alum and aluminum chloride additions lowered soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) levels from about 130 mg P L(-1) to approximately 30 mg P L(-1) at low rates. At high rates, SRP levels in swine manure were around 1 mg P L(-1). Soluble reactive P concentrations in runoff were 5.50, 3.66, 3.00, 0.87, 0.87, and 0.55 mg P L(-1), for normal manure, low alum, low aluminum chloride, high alum, high aluminum chloride, and unfertilized control plots, respectively. Hence, high alum and aluminum chloride reduced SRP concentrations in runoff by 84% and were not statistically different from SRP concentrations in runoff from unfertilized control plots. These data indicate that treating swine manure with alum or aluminum chloride could result in significant reductions in nonpoint-source P runoff.     

Lowest Effect Levels of Lead and Mercury on Decomposition of Mor Layer Samples in a Long-Term Experiment

Indications of possible negative effects of lead (Pb) and mercury(Hg) on microbial respiration in Southern Swedish forest humus layers led to experiments on dose-response relationships by additions of metal salts in the laboratory. Respiration rates andweight loss due to decomposition of organic material were measured. For relevance to field situations metal doses were low,the time span was long, 550 days including freeze storage, and microbial activity was kept up by plant litter additions. We looked for effects of Pb and Hg at levels moderately elevated above the Southern Swedish reference, as well as combined effectsof Pb + Hg. A reduction in respiration and decomposition of10% was found at about 225–245 g g^-1 of total Pb, i.e. ata Pb level elevated 3.5 times. Although small effects of Hg werefound even at the lowest dose level, 10% inhibition of microbialactivity appeared temporarily at about 2–3 g g^-1 of total Hg, i. e. at 6–8 times the reference level. There were nolong-term additive effects of Pb and Hg on decomposition. Type of anion had a strong influence on the test, chlorides of Pbbeing more toxic than nitrates. Long-term monitoring and maintenance of microbial activity during the experiment were prerequisites for the occurrence of effects at low metal levels.     

A quantitative evaluation of monitoring networks for region-specific nitrate reduction policies

Modern environmental policy implementation in many developed countries is increasingly regionally oriented. Regional governments have undertaken measures designed for the specific needs of the region but, so far, the resulting change in environmental quality has hardly been monitored. This study develops a method for the quantitative evaluation of region-specific environmental policy. Two forms of monitoring are distinguished: monitoring of performance of policy measures and monitoring of environmental quality. This study investigates two regions in the Netherlands where region-specific policy has been implemented. Performance monitoring focused on reduction of nitrate leaching to groundwater. Leaching reductions were calculated with simple models or rules of thumb. Quality monitoring focused on nitrate concentrations under grassland and other land use. An analysis of variance showed significant differences between different soil units. Stratified kriging was applied for spatial interpolation, showing within-unit variability. The current monitoring network could be improved by using a more regular type of grid.     

ESF Workshop

Dioxin and PCB monitoring programs for food and feeding stuff in most countries of the world, including many European Countries are currently inadequate. Better control of food production lines and food processing procedures is needed to minimize entry of dioxin to the food chain and will help to avoid dioxin contamination accidents. This would also improve the ability to trace back a possible contamination to its source. European guidelines for monitoring programs should be established to ensure comparable and meaningful results. These guidelines should define the minimum requirements for the design of monitoring programs, analytical methods, and quality assurance. Though data from Northern Europe shows that the general population exposure to dioxin and PCB has decreased during the last ten years these compounds continue to be a risk of accidental contamination of the food chain. The most prominent recent example is the Belgian dioxin contamination of feeding stuff in 1999. The Belgian dioxin contamination was not detected due to dioxin monitoring programs but by their direct biological effects seen in animals. Four other cases of dioxin contamination have been detected in Europe since 1997 due to local monitoring programs. One of them (citrus pulp pellets 1998) was in a much larger scale than the Belgian dioxin contamination. The general population's exposure to dioxins and PCBs is still in the same range (1-4 pg WHO-TEQ/kg body weight and day) as the recently revised WHO tolerable daily intake (TDI). There is concern that short-term high level exposure to dioxins, furans, and PCB may cause biological effects on the human fetal development and further research is required. Further actions to control sources building on considerable advances already made in many countries may need to be supplemented by measures to prevent direct contamination of feeding stuff or food to reduce general population exposure further.     

Airborne surveys of Swiss nuclear facility sites

Annually since 1989, biannually since 1994, the environs (approximately 50 km2) of the Swiss nuclear facilities are surveyed (by helicopters) flying the same survey lines. The equipment and the data processing software used for these surveys were built and developed at the Institute of Geophysics, ETH Zurich. For mapping of man-made radiation at or around nuclear facility sites a pixel representation and the MMGC (man-made gross count) ratio is used. So far no artificial radioactivity that could not be explained by the Chernobyl event (1986) or by earlier nuclear weapon tests was detected outside the fenced sites of the nuclear facilities.     

Extraction of full absorption peaks in airborne gamma-spectrometry by filtering techniques coupled with a study of the derivatives. Comparison with the window method

In this paper, an adaptation of a spectral profile analysis method, currently used in high-resolution spectrometry, to airborne gamma measurements is presented. A new algorithm has been developed for extraction of full absorption peaks by studying the variations in the spectral profile of data recorded with large-volume NaI detectors (16 l) with a short sampling time (2 s). The use of digital filters, taking into consideration the characteristics of the absorption peaks, significantly reduced the counting fluctuations, making detection possible based on study of the first and second derivatives. The absorption peaks are then obtained by modelling, followed by subtraction of the Compton continuum in the detection window. Compared to the conventional stripping ratio method, spectral profile analysis offers similar performance for the natural radioelements. The 137Cs 1SD detection limit is approximately 1200 Bq/m2 in a natural background of 200 Bq/kg 40K, 33 Bq/kg 238U and 33 Bq/kg 232Th. At low energy the very high continuum leads to detection limits similar to those obtained by the windows method, but the results obtained are more reliable. In the presence of peak overlaps, however, analysis of the spectral profile alone is not sufficient to separate the peaks, and further processing is necessary. Within the framework of environmental monitoring studies, spectral profile analysis is of great interest because it does not require any assumptions about the nature of the nuclides. The calculation of the concentrations from the results obtained is simple and reliable, since only the full absorption contributions are taken into consideration. A quantitative estimate of radioactive anomalies can thus be obtained rapidly.