Accumulation of Cd,Cu and Zn in shoots of maize (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Zea mays</Emphasis> L.) exposed to 0.8 or 20 nM Cd during vegetative growth and the relation with xylem sap composition

This work focuses on the exposure of maize plants to nanomolar concentrations of Cd, which is relevant for agricultural soils cropped with food and feed plants. Maize plants were cultivated in nutrient solution at 0.8 or 20 nM Cd during the vegetative growth stages. No significant hormesis or toxic effects of Cd were observed on maize growth, but a decrease in the allocation of Cd to shoots between the 0.8 and 20 nM Cd exposures revealed that the plants already responded to these low concentrations of Cd according to a shoot Cd excluder strategy. The Cd, Cu and Zn concentrations in shoots decreased with time as the result of an early decrease in the root/shoot ratio and of a decrease in the coefficient of allocation to aboveground for Zn and Cd at 20 nM. As a consequence, shoots of young plants were richer in micronutrients Cu and Zn but also in toxic Cd. The rate of delivery of Cd, Cu and Zn from xylem sap was successfully used to predict the time course of concentrations of Cd, Cu and Zn in the shoot. However, it overestimated the actual concentrations of Cd in the shoot, presumably because the reallocation of this trace element from shoots back to roots was not taken into account.     

Suitability of passive sampling for the monitoring of pharmaceuticals in Finnish surface waters

The occurrence of five pharmaceuticals, consisting of four anti-inflammatory and one antiepileptic drug, was studied by passive sampling and grab sampling in northern Lake Päijänne and River Vantaa. The passive sampling was performed by using Chemcatcher® sampler with a SDB-RPS Empore disk as a receiving phase. In Lake Päijänne, the sampling was conducted during summer 2013 at four locations near the discharge point of a wastewater treatment plant and in the years 2013 and 2015 at four locations along River Vantaa. The samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. The concentrations of carbamazepine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and naproxen in Lake Päijänne determined by passive sampling ranged between 1.4–2.9 ng L^?1, 15–35 ng L^?1, 13–31 ng L^?1, 16–27 ng L^?1, and 3.3–32 ng L^?1, respectively. Similarly, the results in River Vantaa ranged between 1.2–40 ng L^?1, 15–65 ng L^?1, 13–33 ng L^?1, 16–31 ng L^?1, and 3.3–6.4 ng L^?1. The results suggest that the Chemcatcher passive samplers are suitable for detecting pharmaceuticals in lake and river waters.     

Release of PCBs from Silvretta glacier (Switzerland) investigated in lake sediments and meltwater

This study is part of our investigations about the release of persistent organic pollutants from melting Alpine glaciers and the relevance of the glaciers as secondary sources of legacy pollutants. Here, we studied the melt-related release of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in proglacial lakes and glacier streams of the catchment of the Silvretta glacier, located in the Swiss Alps. To explore a spatial and temporal distribution of chemicals in glacier melt, we combined two approaches: (1) analysing a sediment record as an archive of past remobilization and (2) passive water sampling to capture the current release of PCBs during melt period. In addition, we determined PCBs in a non-glacier-fed stream as a reference for the background pollutant level in the area. The PCBs in the sediment core from the Silvretta lake generally complied with trends of PCB emissions into the environment. Elevated concentrations during the most recent ten years, comparable in level with times of the highest atmospheric input, were attributed to accelerated melting of the glacier. This interpretation is supported by the detected PCB fractionation pattern towards heavier, less volatile congeners, and by increased activity concentrations of the radioactive tracer ¹³⁷Cs in this part of the sediment core. In contrast, PCB concentrations were not elevated in the stream water, since no significant difference between pollutant concentrations in the glacier-fed and the non-glacier-fed streams was detected. In stream water, no current decrease of the PCBs with distance from the glacier was observed. Thus, according to our data, an influence of PCBs release due to accelerated glacier melt was only detected in the proglacial lake, but not in the other compartments of the Silvretta catchment.     

Analysis of waste management issues arising from a field study evaluating decontamination of a biological agent from a building

The Bio-response Operational Testing and Evaluation (BOTE) Project was a cross-government effort designed to operationally test and evaluate a response to a biological incident (release of Bacillus anthracis [Ba] spores, the causative agent for anthrax) from initial public health and law enforcement response through environmental remediation. The BOTE Project was designed to address site remediation after the release of a Ba simulant, Bacillus atrophaeus spp. globigii (Bg), within a facility, drawing upon recent advances in the biological sampling and decontamination areas. A key component of response to a biological contamination incident is the proper management of wastes and residues, which is woven throughout all response activities. Waste is generated throughout the response and includes items like sampling media packaging materials, discarded personal protective equipment, items removed from the facility either prior to or following decontamination, aqueous waste streams, and materials generated through the application of decontamination technologies. The amount of residual contaminating agent will impact the available disposal pathways and waste management costs. Waste management is an integral part of the decontamination process and should be included through “Pre-Incident” response planning. Overall, the pH-adjusted bleach decontamination process generated the most waste from the decontamination efforts, and fumigation with chlorine dioxide generated the least waste. A majority of the solid waste generated during pH-adjusted bleach decontamination was the nonporous surfaces that were removed, bagged, decontaminated ex situ, and treated as waste. The waste during the two fumigation rounds of the BOTE Project was associated mainly with sampling activities. Waste management activities may represent a significant contribution to the overall cost of the response/recovery operation. This paper addresses the waste management activities for the BOTE field test.Implications: Management of waste is a critical element of activities dealing with remediation of buildings and outdoor areas following a biological contamination incident. Waste management must be integrated into the overall remediation process, along with sampling, decontamination, resource management, and other important response elements, rather than being a stand-alone activity. The results presented in this paper will provide decision makers and emergency planners at the federal/state/tribal/local level information that can be used to integrate waste management into an overall systems approach to planning and response activities.     

A context-intensive approach to imputation of missing values in data sets from networks of environmental monitors

Although networks of environmental monitors are constantly improving through advances in technology and management, instances of missing data still occur. Many methods of imputing values for missing data are available, but they are often difficult to use or produce unsatisfactory results. I-Bot (short for “Imputation Robot”) is a context-intensive approach to the imputation of missing data in data sets from networks of environmental monitors. I-Bot is easy to use and routinely produces imputed values that are highly reliable. I-Bot is described and demonstrated using more than 10 years of California data for daily maximum 8-hr ozone, 24-hr PM_2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm), mid-day average surface temperature, and mid-day average wind speed. I-Bot performance is evaluated by imputing values for observed data as if they were missing, and then comparing the imputed values with the observed values. In many cases, I-Bot is able to impute values for long periods with missing data, such as a week, a month, a year, or even longer. Qualitative visual methods and standard quantitative metrics demonstrate the effectiveness of the I-Bot methodology.Implications: Many resources are expended every year to analyze and interpret data sets from networks of environmental monitors. A large fraction of those resources is used to cope with difficulties due to the presence of missing data. The I-Bot method of imputing values for such missing data may help convert incomplete data sets into virtually complete data sets that facilitate the analysis and reliable interpretation of vital environmental data.     

Economic and environmental value stream map (E2VSM) simulation for multi-product manufacturing systems

Value stream mapping (VSM) is a well-accepted tool within lean manufacturing concept which is often used for analysing and designing the flow of materials and information required to manufacture a product. However, the analysis is static and single product oriented, which fails to cope with either the variation of production plan or a multi-product environment. In addition, the environmental impact of a manufacturing system is highly associated with the dynamic consumption of energy and resources. Despite the recent integration of VSM with simulation or environmental studies (in the domain of energy efficiency), still neglected is the dynamic assessment of all the resources involved in a multi-product production environment. This paper presents a methodology for modelling multi-product manufacturing systems with dynamic material, energy and information flows with the aim to generate economic and environmental value stream maps (E²VSM). The proposed methodology is validated with an industrial case.     

Presenting Triple-Wins? Assessing Projects That Deliver Adaptation,Mitigation and Development Co-benefits in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa

The concept of climate compatible development (CCD) is increasingly employed by donors and policy makers seeking ‘triple-wins’ for development, adaptation and mitigation. While CCD rhetoric is becoming more widespread, analyses drawing on empirical cases that present triple-wins are sorely lacking. We address this knowledge gap. Drawing on examples in rural sub-Saharan Africa, we provide the first glimpse into how projects that demonstrate triple-win potential are framed and presented within the scientific literature. We identify that development projects are still commonly evaluated in terms of adaptation or mitigation benefits. Few are framed according to their benefits across all three dimensions. Consequently, where triple-wins are occurring, they are likely to be under-reported. This has important implications, which underestimates the co-benefits that projects can deliver. A more robust academic evidence base for the delivery of triple-wins is necessary to encourage continued donor investment in activities offering the potential to deliver CCD.     

Comprehensive Environmental Investigation at Former Industrial/Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Sites in Long Beach,CA: A Forensic Perspective

Two industrial sites were investigated based on years of available hydrogeologic information and monitoring data for soil and groundwater. Collected data were forensically evaluated using age-dating and fingerprinting methods. The previous business uses of the project sites were as a gas station, laundry/dry-cleaning service, and car wash with petroleum underground storage tanks (USTs). As a result, these sites were exposed to a number of toxic contaminants at relatively high concentrations. Source control was necessary for successful remediation and the ultimate removal of the remaining compounds from these industrial sites. Although contaminated soil around the source was excavated during the remedial action and the high concentrations of contaminants were reduced, typical groundwater contaminants such as petroleum hydrocarbons as gasoline (TPH-G), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes (BTEX), and oxygenates including methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), diisopropyl ether (DIPE), ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE), tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME), and tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) were persistently found at the studied sites around the source points. The plume and concentration of contaminants had changed their shapes and strength for all monitoring periods. Thus, additional source control seems to be a requirement for the complete removal of source contamination, which must be ascertained with groundwater and soil monitoring on a regular time base. For the study sites, monitored natural attenuation was relatively feasible for the long-term plan; however, it did not offer a perfect remediation solution for an ultimate goal because of residual toxic compounds that might have affected the surrounding residential areas at higher concentrations than their health limits. Therefore, as a remediation strategy, the combination of clean-up technology and natural attenuation with monitoring activities are more highly recommended than either clean-up or natural attenuation used separately.