Testicular histopathology in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) following exposure to polychlorinated biphenyl

Adult deer mice testes were subjected to routine histopathology following exposure to Aroclor 1254 supplemented diet (5 ppm), for 30 days. Body and testicular weight revealed no statistical significance between the control and treated animals. From a histological standpoint the testes of the controls were similar to normal murids and other animals. In contrast, the testes from treated animals displayed seminiferous tubules with significant degenerative alterations. These alterations included fewer layers of seminiferous epithelium exaggerated intercellular spaces and appearance of pyknotic nuclei. Most tubules displayed subluminal nuclei that morphologically could be identified as part of spermatozoa heads and these usually lacked tails, indicating that the treatment interfered with spermiogenesis. Therefore, we concluded that Aroclor 1254 as an environmental contaminant is highly destructive to seminiferous tubules, and that these histological alterations undoubtedly are responsible for the depressed fertility in Peromyscus following chronic exposure to PCBs, that has been reported in the literature.     

Mayfly larvae (Baetis rhodani and B. vernus) as biomonitors of trace metal pollution in streams of a catchment draining a zinc and lead mining area of Upper Silesia,Poland

Larvae of two Baetis species were used to investigate spatial and temporal variability in the bioavailabilities of cadmium, copper, lead, zinc and iron in the river Biala Przemsza and its tributaries draining an area of lead and zinc mining in Upper Silesia, Poland. Accumulated metal concentrations were measured in April, May, August and November 2000. Both species indicated significant local geographical variability in availabilities of zinc, iron, lead and cadmium, but not copper. Accumulated concentrations of lead, zinc and cadmium confirmed the high general contamination of the Biala Przemsza system by these three trace metals. Larvae showed little seasonal variation in concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead and iron. Accumulated zinc concentrations were low in Baetis rhodani in August, perhaps as a result of insufficient time for high concentrations to accumulate since hatching of the larvae. Samples collected in August most nearly matched criteria of the greatest availability of larvae for collection and their size homogeneity, minimising the possibilities of any effect of differential larval size and/or age on accumulated metal concentrations. Mayfly larvae are members of a suite of potential stream biomonitors in Central Europe, which together can provide information on the different sources of bioavailable trace metals present in aquatic ecosystems.     

Recommended design for more accurate duplication of natural conditions in salt marsh creation

Construction of 653 ha of salt marsh habitat from dredged material near the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, has been proposed, with the goal of increasing the area of habitat available to endangered whooping cranes (Grus americana). We assessed prototype created wetlands, and their similarity to natural reference sites, in terms of topography, vegetation, and hydrology. The created sites were steeply sloped relative to natural sites and were dominated by monotypic stands of Spartina alterniflora. Natural sites were dominated by vegetation more tolerant of desiccation and hypersalinity and by unvegetated salt pans. Differences in vegetation communities and distributions of habitat types resulted from efforts to enhance habitat diversity in created marsh cells through manipulation of marsh topography. However, the scale at which this diversity occurred in natural marsh of the study area was not considered. When constructing wetlands in cellular configurations, we recommend creation of large complexes of adjoining, hydrologically linked, cells wherein the desired habitat diversity is created at the scale of the entire complex, rather than within a single cell. Suggested design modifications would increase the similarity of created marshes to natural reference sites, potentially improving habitat function.     

REGIONAL SCALE MODELING OF SURFACE AND GROUND WATER INTERACTION IN THE SNAKE RIVER BASIN1

ABSTRACT: Changes in irrigation and land use may impact discharge of the Snake River Plain aquifer, which is a major contributor to flow of the Snake River in southern Idaho. The Snake River Basin planning and management model (SRBM) has been expanded to include the spatial distribution and temporal attenuation that occurs as aquifer stresses propagate through the aquifer to the river. The SRBM is a network flow model in which aquifer characteristics have been introduced through a matrix of response functions. The response functions were determined by independently simulating the effect of a unit stress in each cell of a finite difference groundwater flow model on six reaches of the Snake River. Cells were aggregated into 20 aquifer zones and average response functions for each river reach were included in the SRBM. This approach links many of the capabilities of surface and ground water flow models. Evaluation of an artificial recharge scenario approximately reproduced estimates made by direct simulation in a ground water flow model. The example demonstrated that the method can produce reasonable results but interpretation of the results can be biased if the simulation period is not of adequate duration.     

The Roles of Photooxidation and Biodegradation in Long-term Weathering of Crude and Heavy Fuel Oils

Although spilled oil is subject to a range of natural processes, only combustion, photooxidation and biodegradation destroy hydrocarbons and remove them from the biosphere. We present laboratory data that demonstrate the molecular preferences of these processes, and then examine some oil residues collected from previously documented releases to confirm the important roles that these processes play in removing spilled oil from both marine and terrestrial environments.     

Biodegradation of Fuel Oil Under Laboratory and Arctic Marine Conditions

The aerobic biodegradation of the components of a fuel oil under Arctic summer conditions follows a pattern that is indistinguishable from that exhibited under temperate conditions. Straight chain alkanes and small aromatics are degraded first, followed by branched alkanes and larger and alkylated aromatics. We present data on the biodegradation of heptadecane as a representative n-alkane, pristane as a representative iso-alkane, and naphthalene, phenanthrene, and chrysene and their alkylated forms as representative two-, three- and four-ring aromatic hydrocarbons. In particular, the pattern of degradation of the alkylated aromatics allows the identification of biodegradation in samples collected from the field and the estimation of the extent of biodegradation that occurred in the In-Situ Treatment of Oiled Sediment Shorelines Field Trials.     

Toxicity Evaluation with the Microtox Test to Assess the Impact of In Situ Oiled Shoreline Treatment Options: Natural Attenuation and Sediment Relocation

Changes in the toxicity levels of beach sediment, nearshore water, and bottom sediment samples were monitored with the Microtox^® Test to evaluate the two in situ oil spill treatment options of natural attenuation (natural recovery--no treatment) and sediment relocation (surf washing). During a series of field trials, IF-30 fuel oil was intentionally sprayed onto the surface of three mixed sediment (pebble and sand) beaches on the island of Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway (78°56^′ N, 16°45^′ E). At a low wave-energy site (Site 1 with a 3-km wind fetch), where oil was stranded within the zone of normal wave action, residual oil concentrations and beach sediment toxicity levels were significantly reduced by both options in less than five days. At Site 3, a higher wave-energy site with a 40-km wind fetch, oil was intentionally stranded on the beach face in the upper intertidal/supratidal zones, above the level of normal wave activity. At this site under these experimental conditions, sediment relocation was effective in accelerating the removal of the oil from the sediments and reducing the Microtox^® Test toxicity response to background levels. In the untreated (natural attenuation) plot at this site, the fraction of residual oil remaining within the beach sediments after one year (70%) continued to generate a toxic response. Chemical and toxicological analyses of nearshore sediment and sediment-trap samples at both sites confirmed that oil and suspended mineral fines were effectively dispersed into the surrounding environment by the in situ treatments. In terms of secondary potential detrimental effects from the release of stranded oil from the beaches, the toxicity level (Microtox^® Test) of adjacent nearshore sediment samples did not exceed the Canadian regulatory limit for dredged spoils destined for ocean disposal.     

柯达--安全第一

柯达公司1995年在上海投资电子设备厂,1998年开始与中国感光业合作,投资12亿美元成立了柯达(中国)股份有限公司,柯达无锡股份有限公司;2000年又投资建立了柯达(厦门)有限公司。目前有职工4000多名,生产传统和数码照相机,彩色胶卷和彩色相纸,黑白X光片,照相用冲印套药,以及符合环保再制造概念的一次性相机,涵盖化工,精细化学,机械制造和机电设备等多种行业,至今没有发生过一起“失工时事故”(即员工因工负伤,在24小时内不能返回工作岗位),安全生产达到4383万小时,实现中国柯达安全生产5000年,创造了制造业安全生产的奇迹。     

Best available techniques (BAT) for the fruit and vegetable processing industry

Best available techniques (BAT) are an important reference point in the environmental permit regulation for industrial installations in the European Union Member States, which have to implement the integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC)-directive (96/61/EC). BAT correspond to the techniques and organisational measures with the best overall environmental performance that can be introduced at a reasonable cost. In the Flanders part of Belgium, BAT are usually determined at the sector level. The ‘Fruit and Vegetable Processing Industry’ [BAT for Fruit and Vegetable Processing Industry. Gent, Belgium: Academia Press, 1999] is one of the industries for which a BAT report has been drafted. In this paper, the main results of this study are presented. Special attention is given to the use of high quality water¹, as this is the key environmental issue of the industry.