40K, 226Ra, 232Th, 238U and 137Cs relationships and behaviour in sedimentary rocks and sediments of a karstic coastal area (Kaštela Bay,Croatia) and related rocks and sediments’ differentiation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Natural (40K, 226Ra, 232Th, 238U) and anthropogenic (137Cs) radionuclides in consolidated sedimentary rocks (limestones s.l. and marls) and...     

Spatial pattern of recent rainfall trends in Serbia (1961–2009)

This paper examines a spatial pattern of annual, seasonal and monthly rainfall trends in Serbia. The study used data from 63 weather stations between the period of 1961–2009. The rainfall series was examined by applying the nonparametric method of the Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s method to determine the significance and magnitude of the trends. Significant trends have not been detected for the whole country at an annual scale. Seasonal trends at the confidence level of 97.5 %, however, indicate a slight decrease in winter (5 stations out of 63) and spring (7 stations out of 63) precipitation and an increase in autumn precipitation (10 stations out of 63). Results for monthly rainfall trends also generally showed a nonsignificant trend with the exception of a negative trend in May (6 stations out of 63) and positive trend for October (9 stations out of 63). Calculated global autocorrelation statistics (Moran’s I) indicate a random spatial pattern of rainfall trends on annual, seasonal and monthly timescales with exceptions for March, June and November. Overall, results suggest that only weak, mostly nonsignificant trends are present in Serbia in the period 1961–2009.     

Determination of the insecticide diflubenzuron in mushrooms by kinetic method and high-performance liquid chromatographic method

In the present study, a new sensitive and simple kinetic-spectrophotometric method for the determination of the insecticide diflubenzuron [1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-(2,6-diflubenzoil)urea] is proposed. The method is based on the inhibited effect of diflubenzuron on the oxidation of sulphanilic acid (SA) by hydrogen peroxide in phosphate buffer in presence Cu(II) ion. Diflubenzuron was determined with linear calibration graph in the interval from 0.31 to 3.1 μg mL^?1 and from 3.1 to 31.0 μg mL^?1. The optimized conditions yielded a theoretical detection limit of 0.18 μg mL^?1corresponding to 0.036 mg Kg^?1mushroom sample based on the 3S_b criterion. The RSD is 5.03–1.83 % and 2.81–0.71 % for the concentration interval of diflubenzuron 0.31–3.1 μg mL^?1and 3.1–31.0 μg mL^?1, respectively. The reaction was followed spectrophotometrically at 370 nm. The kinetic parameters of the reaction are reported, and the rate equations are suggested. The developed procedure was successfully applied to the rapid determination of diflubenzuron in spiked mushroom samples of different mushroom species. The HPLC method was used like a comparative method to verify results.     

Risk factors in urban road traffic accidents

INTRODUCTION: The urban road traffic accident (RTA) risks for the city of Zagreb, Croatia, from 1999 through 2000 were analyzed with the aim of reducing the increasing injury incidence. METHOD: Simple and bivariate analysis using chi(2), odds ratio, and confidence interval of 95% was used to determine risks in three outcome groups: killed, severely, and mildly injured. RESULTS: There were 528 RTA victims consisting of 260 severely, 213 mildly injured, and 55 killed at the scene of an accident and during transportation. More fatal accidents occurred during night hours (OR=3.78; 95% CI, 2.08-6.85), on urban road links (OR=2.33; 95% CI, 1.30-4.19), and at exceeding speed limit (OR=2.56; 95% CI, 1.43-4.61). More people were injured than killed on urban junctions (OR=5.27; 95% CI, 2.21-12.57). The highest combined risk of dying or being severely injured was found in males, driving at excessive speed, on urban links, and during bad visibility (OR=16.15; 95% CI, 3.901-66.881). CONCLUSION: These results will influence the urban traffic police enforcement measures, which will change inappropriate behavior of drivers and protect the least experienced road users.     

Chemical composition and hygroscopic properties of size-segregated aerosol particles collected at the Adriatic coast of Slovenia

The chemical composition as well as the water uptake characteristics of aerosols was determined in size-segregated samples collected during November 2002 on the Slovenian coast. Major ions, water-soluble organic compounds (WSOC), short-chain carboxylic acids and trace elements were determined in the water-soluble fraction of the aerosol. Total aerosol black carbon (BC) was measured from filter samples. Our results showed that the origin of air masses is an important factor that controls the variation in the size distribution of the main components. Very high concentrations of WSOC as well as higher concentrations of BC were found under mostly continental influence. Besides the main ionic species (SO4(2-), NH4(+), K+) in the finest size fraction (0.17-0.53 microm), the concentration of NO3(-) was also high. The difference between the two different air mass origins is particularly expressed for Cl-, Na+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ determined in particles larger than 1.6 microm. As expected, a very good correlation was found between Na+ and Cl-. A good correlation was found between sea salt elements and elements of crustal origin (Na+, Cl-, Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr). A good relationship between typical anthropogenic tracers (K, V and Pb) was also observed. The mass growth factors, for all size fractions of aerosols collected under continental influence were very low (maximum 2.23 at 94%, 1.6-5.1 microm), while under marine influence the mass growth factors increased significantly with the particle size. At 97% humidity, the mass growth factors were 6.95 for the size fraction 0.53-1.6 microm and 9.78 for larger particles (1.6-5.1 microm).     

PCDD/Fs in ambient air collected in Zagreb, Croatia

Levels of PCDD/Fs were measured at four different sites in Zagreb, capital of Croatia. Also one sample was taken during spontaneously initiated open fire on a landfill and one sample where garden waste of unknown content was burnt. Over period 1997–2000, 28 samples were collected and levels ranged between 9 and 306 fg I-TEQ m⁻³, except in the sample collected during landfill fire. Air PCDD/F levels in Zagreb at four sites were different and the highest levels were observed in industrial area. Seasonal variation of levels is also evident with higher levels in winter than in summer. Our results show that PCDD/F levels in ambient air collected in Zagreb are at lower end of the published data range. In general, homologue profiles were quite similar for all locations, the concentration of PCDD homologues increased while the concentration of PCDF homologues decreased with increasing degree of chlorination. PCDD/F levels in the landfill fire sample was 13 200 fg I-TEQ m⁻³ which are much higher than levels in garden waste burning sample or in sample collected at industrial site. During landfill fire, the concentration of 2,3,7,8-TCDF becomes even higher than the concentration of OCDF and is equal to the concentration of 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF.     

Classification of soil samples according to their geographic origin using gamma-ray spectrometry and principal component analysis

A principal component analysis (PCA) was used for classification of soil samples from different locations in Serbia and Montenegro. Based on activities of radionuclides ((226)Ra, (238)U, (235)U, (40)K, (134)Cs, (137)Cs, (232)Th and (7)Be) detected by gamma-ray spectrometry, the classification of soils according to their geographical origin was performed. Application of PCA to our experimental data resulted in satisfactory classification rate (86.0% correctly classified samples). The obtained results indicate that gamma-ray spectrometry in conjunction with PCA is a viable tool for soil classification.     

Fenton''s type reaction and chemical pretreatment of PCBs

This study evaluates the effects of Fenton's reagent (FR) on the rate and extent of the oxidative degradation of individual mono, di-, tri- and tetrachlorobiphenyls in the commercial mixture DELOR 103, equivalent to AROCLOR 1248. The oxidation effect of FR strongly increased with increasing the molar ratio of Fe²⁺/H₂O₂. The most effective oxidation of DELOR 103 (10 μg.ml⁻¹) was achieved in a solution containing 1M H₂O₂ and 1 mM Fe²⁺. The FR elimination rate constants of PCB congeners decrease with increasing number of chlorine substituents in the biphenyl molecule and show a good correlation with the values of molecular weights of the PCB congeners and their 1-octanol/water partition coefficients.     

Development of an integrative passive sampler for the monitoring of organic water pollutants

The development of convenient and competitive devices and methods for monitoring of organic pollutants in the aquatic environment is of increasing interest. An integrative passive sampling system has been developed which consists of a solid poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) material (tube or rod), acting as hydrophobic organic receiving phase, enclosed in a water-filled or an air-filled low-density polyethylene (LDPE) membrane tubing. These samplers enable the direct analysis of the pollutants accumulated during exposure in the receiving phase by thermodesorption-GC/MS, avoiding expensive sample preparation and cleanups. The capabilities of these sampling devices were studied for the sampling of 20 persistent organic pollutants (chlorobenzenes, hexachlorocyclohexanes, p,p'-DDE, PAHs, and PCBs) in laboratory exposure experiments. For the three sampler designs investigated the uptake of all target analytes was integrative over exposure periods up to 9 days (except PCB 101). The determined sampling rates range from 4 to 1340 microl h(-1) for the water-filled samplers and from 20 to 6360 microl h(-1) for the air-filled ones, respectively. The sampling rate of the analytes is dependent on their molecular weight, partition between water and sampler media (PDMS, polyethylene, water, air) and also of the sampler design. The passive samplers enable the estimation of time-weighted average (TWA) concentration of water pollutants in the lower ng l(-1) to pg l(-1) range.     

The water quality of the Vrgorska Matica River

The article presents the results of investigations carried out on the 42 km long Vrgorska Matica River, which flows through the 15 km long Vrgorsko polje (polje = field) which covers an areaof 3000 ha, and is at 24 m a.s.l., located in Southern Croatia.It covers the years 1997–2000 after this field had been reclaimed for agricultural use.The purpose of the investigations was to evaluate the influence of the Vrgorska Matica River which is part of the catchment areaof the Trebizat River, on the water quality in Modro Oko Lakeand Prud Spring, which are used for water supply and are locateddownstream of the Vrgorska Matica River on the right bank of theNeretva River.The water quality was evaluated by using the quality index basedon the following nine parameters: temperature, mineralization, corrosion coefficient, K = (Cl + SO₄)/HCO₃, dissolvedoxygen, BOD₅, total N, protein N, total phosphorus and totalcoliform bacteria (100 mL)^-1 (MPN coli (100 mL)^-1) for which concentrations C ₉₅ are calculated. After completingthe nine parameters the results of C ₉₅ were recorded andtransferred to the score table to obtain the q-value. The q-value used is an attempt to quantify environmental factors which would otherwise be qualitative. For each parameter the q-value was multiplied by a weighting factor based upon the relative significance of the parameter. The nine resulting scores values were then added to arrive at an overall water quality index (S₉₅).According to this index the water can be classified into four categories. The first category, according to the Croatian Water Classification Act (Official Bulletin No. 77,1998), includes ground and surface waters used for drinking or in the food industry either in its natural state or after disinfection, and surface water used for raising high-quality species of fish, ranging from 85–100 scores; the second category includes waterused in its natural state for swimming and recreation, sports orfor other species of fish and the treated water used for drinkingand other industrial purposes ranging between 70–85 scores. Thethird category includes water used in industry with no specific requests upon water quality and in agriculture ranging from 50–70 scores; the fourth category includes water used only afterbeing treated in areas with water shortage which is less than 50 scores.According to results obtained by investigations, the water of theVrgorska Matica River and Prud Spring falls into the second (II)category, while water from the Modro Oko Lake belongs to the first (I) category. This means that the Matica River water does not influence the water quality of the Modro Oko Lake. This lakewater quality is influenced by the Rastoka Matica River from theRastoko polje which is located upstream from the Vrgorska MaticaRiver. This has been proved by dyeing tests.