Applicability of sustainable urban drainage systems: an evaluation by multi-criteria analysis

Urban flooding has become more serious and worldwide in recent years, especially in the big cities of developing countries. This study uses a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) approach to evaluate the applicability of sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS), a flood control measure, in the central part of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The output of the personal computer storm water management model along with interviews with 140 households was used to assess the efficacy and acceptability of four SUDS alternatives: rainwater harvesting, green roof, urban green space and pervious pavement. On technical performance, green roof was the best alternative, followed by pervious pavement, urban green space and rainwater harvesting. Results of the social survey, however, diverged largely from the results of the technical assessments. In particular, people generally prefer public SUDS such as urban green space and pervious pavements to household solutions. With respect to the MCA, we applied four different procedures: Borda count, pair-wise voting, range of value and analytic hierarchy process. Despite some differences, the integrated results from MCA largely agree that urban green space is the most favourable type of SUDS, followed by green roof, pervious pavement and rainwater harvesting.     

Environmental factors affecting thyroid function of wild sea bass (Dicentrarchuslabrax) from European coasts

Thyroid functional status of wild fish in relation with the contamination of their environment deserves further investigation. We here applied a multi-level approach of thyroid function assessment in 87 wild sea bass collected near several estuaries: namely the Scheldt, the Seine, the Loire, the Charente and the Gironde. Thyroxine (T₄) and triiodothyronine (T₃) concentrations in muscle were analyzed by radioimmunoassay. The activity of hepatic enzymes involved in extrathyroidal pathways of thyroid hormone metabolism, viz. deiodination, glucuronidation and sulfatation were analyzed. Last, follicle diameter and epithelial cell heights were measured. We observed changes that are predicted to lead to an increased conversion of T₄-T₃ and lowered thyroid hormone excretion. The changes in the metabolic pathways of thyroid hormones can be interpreted as a pathway to maintain thyroid hormone homeostasis. From all compounds tested, the higher chlorinated PCBs seemed to be the most implicated in this perturbation.     

Concentrations of chlorinated and brominated contaminants and their metabolites in serum of harbour seals and harbour porpoises

Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) are top predators in the North Sea and consequently accumulate a variety of pollutants in their tissues. Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and their hydroxylated metabolites (HO-PCBs and HO-PBDEs) were measured in serum of wild harbour seals (n = 47) and captive harbour porpoises (n = 21). Both species exhibit long life spans and do not have extreme situations, such as complete fasting during periods of lactation, in their annual cycles. For PCBs, concentrations in adult males were slightly higher than in juveniles and lowest in juvenile females. For PBDEs, juveniles have higher levels than adult males and females, probably as a consequence of lactational transfer. However, differences between these age–gender groups were not statistical significant, indicating that individual variation was limited within each species, even without knowing the feeding status of the animals. Body condition, particularly emaciation, has a major influence on the levels of chlorinated and brominated contaminants in serum. Profiles of PCBs were CB 153 > CB 138 > CB 187 > CB 180 and CB 153 > CB 138 > CB 149 > CB 187 > CB 180 for harbour seals and porpoises respectively. For PBDEs, BDE 47 was the predominant congener followed by BDE 100 and 99 in both species. In harbour seals, concentrations of sum PCBs (median: 39,200 pg/ml) were more than 200 times higher than levels of sum PBDEs (median: 130 pg/ml) and almost 10 times higher than concentrations of sum HO-PCBs (4350 pg/ml). In harbour porpoises, concentrations of sum PCBs (median: 24,300 pg/ml) were about 20 times higher than concentrations of PBDEs (median: 1300 pg/ml). HO-PCBs were detected in only 4 harbour porpoises and this at very low concentrations. Naturally-produced MeO-PBDEs were only found in harbour porpoises at concentrations ranging from 120 to 810 pg/ml. HO-PBDEs were not found in any species. In general, harbour seals accumulate less compounds and have mostly lower concentrations than harbour porpoises possibly as a result of a better developed metabolism.     

Inter-species differences for polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in marine top predators from the Southern North Sea: Part 1. Accumulation patterns in harbour seals and harbour porpoises

Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) and harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) are two representative top predator species of the North Sea ecosystem. The median values of sum of 21 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners and sum of 10 polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners were 23.1 μg/g lipid weight (lw) and 0.33 μg/g lw in blubber of harbour seals (n = 28) and 12.4 μg/g lw and 0.76 μg/g lw in blubber of harbour porpoises (n = 35), respectively. For both species, the highest PCB concentrations were observed in adult males indicating bioaccumulation. On the contrary, the highest PBDE concentrations were measured in juveniles, likely due to better-developed metabolic capacities with age in adults. A higher contribution of lower chlorinated and non-persistent congeners, such as CB 52, CB 95, CB 101, and CB 149, together with higher contributions of other PBDE congeners than BDE 47, indicated that harbour porpoises are unable to metabolize these compounds. Harbour seals showed a higher ability to metabolize PCBs and PBDEs.     

Studies on the Uptake of Heavy Metals by Various Plant Species on Chromite Minespoils in Sub-tropical Regions of India

The presence of heavy metals (Cr, Ni and Fe) in soil and accumulated by herbs, shrubs and trees regenerated naturally on the minewaste-dumps of Sukinda chromite mines (TISCO sector) were investigated. There was significant correlationship between Cr and Fe in the soil where a tree species (Catunaregam spinosa) occurred. Guazuma ulmifolia and Diospyros montana also did show significant correlation between leaf, stem and soil for Cr, Ni and Fe. Among the shrubs (Calotropis gigantea, Chromolaena odorata, Phyllanthus reticulatus and Woodfordia fruticosa) significant and positive correlations were obtained for Cr and Ni in soil and iron and nickel in leaf and chromium and nickel in stem. Among the annual herbs, whole plant of tephrosia purpurea and Borrevia articularis showed significant and positive correlation with chromium and nickel with the maximum correlation coefficient value. It was concluded that the above information would be useful in revegetation programmes in subtropical regions having seasonal rainfall.     

Diclofenac disposition in Indian cow and goat with reference to Gyps vulture population declines

Gyps vultures across India are declining rapidly and the NSAID diclofenac has been shown to be the major cause. Vultures scavenge livestock carcasses that have been treated with diclofenac within the days preceding death. We present data on diclofenac disposition in Indian cow and goat, and field data on the prevalence of diclofenac in carcases in the environment. In the disposition experiment, animals were treated with a single intramuscular injection of diclofenac at 1000 microg kg-1 bw. In cow, diclofenac was detectable in liver, kidney and intestine up to 71 h post-treatment; in plasma, half-life was 12.2 h. In goat, tissue residues were undetectable after 26 h. Prevalence of diclofenac in liver from 36 dead livestock collected in the field was 13.9%. Data suggest that diclofenac residues in Indian cow and goat are short-lived, but diclofenac prevalence in carcasses available to vultures may still be very high.     

Chlorine emission during the chlorination of water – case study

This paper deals with the incident of the excessive use of chlorine and leakage of unused chlorine from an industrial chlorination cistern and the lesson learned.     

Additional danger of arsenic exposure through inhalation from burning of cow dung cakes laced with arsenic as a fuel in arsenic affected villages in Ganga-Meghna-Brahmaputra plain

In arsenic contaminated areas of the Ganga-Meghna-Brahmaputra (GMB) plain (area 569,749 sq. km; population over 500 million) where traditionally cow dung cake is used as a fuel in unventilated ovens for cooking purposes, people are simply exposed to 1859.2 ng arsenic per day through direct inhalation, of which 464.8 ng could be absorbed in respiratory tract.     

Effect of thiobencarb and pretilachlor on microorganisms in relation to mineralization of C and N in the Gangetic alluvial soil of West Bengal

An experiment was conducted under laboratory conditions to investigate the effect of two pre-emergence herbicides, viz., thiobencarb (at 1.5 and 4.5 kg active ingredient (a.i.) ha^?1) and pretilachlor (at 0.5 and 1.5 kg a.i. ha^?1), on the growth and multiplication of some microorganisms (bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi) in relation to transformations and availability of C and N in the Gangetic alluvial soil (Typic Haplustept) of West Bengal, India. Application of both the herbicides, in general, significantly increased microbial biomass, resulting in greater retention, mineralization and availability of oxidizable organic C and N in soil, and the stimulations were more pronounced when the herbicides were applied at their lower concentrations (recommended field application rates), more so with thiobencarb, as compared to pretilachlor. Compared to untreated control soil, the application of thiobencarb at lower concentration increased the proliferation of total bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi by 57.3, 36.6 and 55.2 %, respectively, and released the highest amount (40.2 %) of soluble NO₃ ^? in soil, while pretilachlor at field application rate induced the growth and multiplication of bacteria and fungi by 58.3 and 17.6 %, respectively. Irrespective of the concentrations, the stimulations were at par for both the herbicides towards the retention of oxidizable organic C, total N and exchangeable NH₄ ⁺ in soil.