The fate of chlorobenzenes and permethrins during anaerobic sewage sludge digestion

Mixed primary sewage sludge was incubated anaerobically with and without azide addition to prevent biological activity. The behaviour of 1,3-, 1,4- and 1,2-dichlorobenzene, 1,3,5-, 1,2,4- and 1,2,3-trichlorobenzene, 1,2,3,4- and 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene, hexachlorobenzene, and cis- and trans-permethrin was examined to determine their potential removal during anaerobic digestion. All the chlorobenzenes were removed to varying extents over 32 days of incubation, ranging from 25% removal for 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene to 80% removal for 1,4-dichlorobenzene. Biodegradation may have been responsible for the reductions in 1,3- and 1,4-dichlorobenzene and 1,2,4- and 1,2,3-trichlorobenzene as there was no significant removal of these compounds in azide treated sludge. The removal over 32 days of cis- and transpermethrin was 87% and 96% respectively. These removals were attributed to a chemical or physical process.     

Residues of phosphamidon in rice fields

Thirty-day-old seedlings of rice plants (IR-20 variety) from the nursery were transplanted into experimental plots and after 52 days were sprayed with phosphamidon (Dimecron 85% EC) at two dose-rates (0.38 kg a.i. ha(-1) and 0.76 kg a.i. ha(-1)). Residues of phosphamidon in the plant, soil and water were analysed by GLC, at various time intervals, and were found to decrease steadily up to 15 days. A second application of the pesticide was made on day 113 and grains harvested on day 138. The residue level in the plants was 0.12 microg g(-1) and in the grains 0.04 microg g(-1) with the high dose. This is slightly below the EPA prescribed tolerance level of 0.05 microg g(-1). The residues in both soil and water were very low, 24 h after spraying.     

Concentrations of cadmium and other metals in Fucus vesiculosus L. and Fontinalis dalecarlica Br. Eur. from the northern Baltic Sea and the southern Bothnian Sea

Concentrations of Cd and ten other metals (Al, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn) were determined in the brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus L. and the aquatic moss, Fontinalis dalecarlica Br. Eur. from the northern Baltic Sea and the southern Bothnian Sea. Elevated concentrations of metals were found in samples taken close to densely populated areas, such as Stockholm and Nyn?shamn. Very high concentrations of especially Zn were found in both Fucus and Fontinalis samples taken from the area south of the Gulf of G?vle. The results indicate that mining and industrial activities along the river Dal?lven are the main sources of Zn and several other metals. Cd concentrations in Fucus plants reached maximum values (24.5 mg kg(-1)) at the northern site. The gradual increase of Cd concentrations in Fucus plants northward could not be totally explained by the salinity gradient in the Baltic Sea; reasons for this are discussed in this paper.     

Tree decline in North America

Air-borne, phytotoxic pollutants are known to adversely affect forest tree growth in North America. On a local scale, exposure to high concentrations of toxic gases, such as sulphur dioxide and fluoride, result in foliar injury, branch dieback, reduced radial growth and increased mortality in a variety of tree species. On a regional scale, the photochemical oxidant, ozone, is responsible for growth decline of pollutant-sensitive eastern white pine genotypes in the eastern United States, and of ponderosa and Jeffrey pines in the mountains of southern and central California. The etiology associated with the reported declines of high elevation red spruce in the Appalachian Mountains and of sugar maple in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada is incompletely known at present. A complex of predisposing and inciting factors, including temperature and moisture stress, edaphic conditions, aluminium toxicity, insect depredation, and air-borne pollutants are probably involved in these declines.     

A comparison of results from two test methods for assessing the toxicity of aminotriazole to Selenastrum capricornutum

Two different test methods for assessing the toxicity of aminotriazole to Selenastrum capricornutum are compared. Growth medium composition is demonstrated to have a significant effect on the toxicity of aminotriazole.     

Buffer zone widths for honeybees from ground and aerial spraying of insecticides

The relative field hazards of insecticides to honeybees have been estimated by considering intrinsic toxicity levels and field application rates. This approach is extended here to a consideration of buffer zones downwind of sprayed areas by estimating the distance at which bees would encounter an LD(50) dose from spray drift. 'LD(50) distances' are determined for both ground and aerial spraying of ground crops in Britain using published data on spray deposition under various weather conditions. For ground spraying at low wind speeds (< or =3 m s(-1)), this zone of risk is up to 5 m for the great majority of compounds. Aerial spraying in unstable atmospheric conditions appears to produce drift deposits of about the same order of magnitude as from ground spraying at wind speeds of about 4 m s(-1), with maximum LD(50) distances of < or =40 m for chlorpyrifos, fenitrothion and triazophos. For aerial spraying in stable atmospheric conditions these distances would be much greater. Pieris brassicae larvae are contrasted with honeybees in their relative sensitivities to insecticides and consequent LD(50) distances.     

Stage dependent susceptibility to lead in Bufo arenarum embryos

The stage dependent susceptibility to lead in amphibian development was studied by exposing Bufo arenarum embryos during neurulae, neuromuscular activity and gill circulation stages for twenty hours to 1 ppm Pb(2+). Survival, malformations and behavioral disorders were evaluated. The embryonic susceptibility to lead was markedly stage dependent. The survival at the neuromuscular activity stage was approximately half that of the other two periods; concerning malformations, the gill circulation stage was the least sensitive. The observed malformations consisted of failed closure of neural tube, hydropsy, small and cylindrical tails, reduced body size and incurvations in the body axis. Some alterations occurred in all experimental groups and therefore were considered non-dependent on the period of treatment. In all experimental embryos, neurological disorders such as trembles and loss of equilibrium were observed.     

Trace elements in soil and biota in confined disposal facilities for dredged material

We studied the relation of trace element concentrations in soil to those in house mice (Mus musculus), common reed (Phragmites australis) and ladybugs (Coccinella septempunctata at five disposal facilities for dredged material. The sites had a wide range of soil trace element concentrations, acid soils and a depauperate fauna. They were very poor wildlife habitat because they were dominated by the common reed. Bioassay earthworms exposed to surface soils from three of the five sites died, whereas those exposed to four of five soils collected a meter deep survived, presumably because the deeper, unoxidized soil, was not as acid. Concentrations of Ni and Cr in the biota from each of the sites did not seem to be related to the concentrations of the same elements in soil. Although Pb, Zn and Cu concentrations in biota were correlated with those in soil, the range of concentrations in the biota was quite small compared to that in soil. The concentrations of Pb detected in mice were about as high as the concentrations previously reported in control mice from other studies. Mice from the most contaminated site (530 ppm Pb in soil) contained only slightly more Pb (8 ppm dry wt) than did mice (2-6 ppm dry wt) from sites containing much less Pb (22-92 ppm in soil). Despite the acid soil conditions, very little Cd was incorporated into food chains. Rather, Cd was leaching from the surface soil. We concluded that even the relatively high concentrations of trace elements in the acid dredged material studied did not cause high concentrations of trace elements in the biota.     

Effects of bacterial inoculum and moisture adjustment on composting of pig manure

Spent litter (a mixture of partially composted pig manure and sawdust) was taken from pig pens employing the pig-on-litter system with and without the addition of a commercial bacterial product (Odor control (OC)-organic fertilizers (OF)). A duplicate series of windrows was set up with spent litter which contained the bacterial product and a further duplicate series was set up with spent litter which did not contain the bacterial product. All four sets had their initial moisture content adjusted to 60% but one of each duplicate pair had its moisture content adjusted to 60% during the entire period of further composting in windrows. The rate of further (windrow) composting was significantly different in the litter which contained no bacterial product and which only had its moisture content adjusted at the beginning of the experiment. Decomposition was incomplete in this set even after day 91. In the three other sets, the rate of decomposition was faster and the spent litter became stabilised by day 56. This result suggests that if the bacterial product has been added during the initial pig-on-litter composting process, moisture adjustment during further (windrow) composting is not important. Conversely, if moisture was adjusted during further composting, the addition of bacterial product during initial pig-on-litter composting would be of no value. Such a finding is of remarkable significance in the further composting of spent litter since this indicates that the process could be run on a much more economical basis.     

The influence of particle surface characteristics on pollutant metal uptake by cells

The phosphatic mineral, hydroxyapatite, and two ion exchange resins have been used as artificial sediment particles. The surface properties of these materials have been studied using the Langmuir adsorption isotherm to calculate the binding capacity (B(max)) and the adsorption constant (K(L)) for zinc and cadmium ions. Mussels (Mytilus edulis) were fed on the particles and their digestive glands were subsequently removed and subjected to cell fractionation. The supernatant fraction was used to determine cytosol metal levels as a measure of the materials absorbed from the ingested particles. The level of cytosol zinc and cadmium was correlated with the K(L) values of the artificial sediments. It is suggested that phagocytosis of sediment particles plays an important part in transferring pollutants into benthic organisms and that the efficiency of this process is related to the adsorption coefficient of the particle surfaces.