Biomonitoring of chemical elements in an urban environment using arboreal and bush plant species

Purpose  

The aim of this work was to investigate the possibility of using several bush and arboreal plant species, usually present as ornamental plants in street and parks, as environmental indicators of pollution. This is a research paper that evaluates the real possibility of using a fast and low-cost procedure to evaluate the pollution degree through data obtained from plant species growing within an urban environment.     

Natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in airborne particulate samples collected in Barcelona (Spain)

Results for naturally occurring ⁷Be, ²¹⁰Pb, ⁴⁰K, ²¹⁴Bi, ²¹⁴Pb, ²¹²Pb, ²²⁸Ac and ²⁰⁸Tl and anthropogenic ¹³⁷Cs in airborne particulate matter in the Barcelona area during the period from January 2001 to December 2005 are presented and discussed. The ²¹²Pb and ²⁰⁸Tl, ²¹⁴Bi and ²¹⁴Pb, ⁷Be and ²¹⁰Pb radionuclide levels showed a significant correlation with each other, with correlation coefficients of 0.99, 0.78 and 0.69, respectively, suggesting similar origin/behaviour of these radionuclides in the air. Caessium-137 and Potassium-40 were transported to the air as resuspended particle from the soil. The ⁷Be and ²¹⁰Pb concentrations showed similar seasonal variations, with a tendency for maximum concentrations during the summer months. An inverse relationship was observed between the ⁷Be, ²¹⁰Pb, ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs concentrations and weekly rainfall, indicating washout of atmospheric aerosols carrying these radionuclides.     

Indirect assessment of economic damages from the Prestige oil spill: consequences for liability and risk prevention

The social losses arising from the Prestige oil spill exceed the compensation granted under the IOPC (International Oil Pollution Compensation) system, with losses estimated at 15 times more than the applicable limit of compensations. This is far above the level of costs for which those responsible for hydrocarbons spills are liable. The highest market losses correspond to sectors of extraction, elaboration and commercialisation of seafood. However, damages to non-commercial natural resources could constitute an outstanding group of losses for which further primary data are needed: these losses would only be compensable under the current system by means of a refund for cleaning and restoration costs. Results show that, in Europe, the responsibility for oil spills in maritime transport is limited and unclear. The consequence of this is net social losses from recurrent oil spills and internationally accepted incentives for risky strategies in the marine transport of hydrocarbons.     

The Prestige oil spill and its economic impact on the Galician fishing sector

The sinking of the Prestige oil tanker on 18 November 2002 off the coast of Galicia, Spain, had important economic, environmental and social ramifications. The aim of this paper is to carry out an initial analysis of the costs related to a halt in fishing activities in Galicia between November 2002 and December 2003. This involves three different steps: an assessment of the cost of the preventative and palliative measures introduced by Spanish public administrations (compensation for affected fishermen and shellfish fisherman); an indirect evaluation of the implications of the disaster (via a study of data on production); and a direct appraisal of the economic impact of the event (reduction in income), using questionnaires completed by a representative sample of fishermen and shellfish fisherman. The results obtained from these three methods of estimating losses are compatible. By December 2003, losses to the Galician fishing sector stood at an estimated EUR 76 million.     

Integrated pollution evaluation of the Tagus River in Central Spain

The aim of this study was to integrate hydrochemical and sediment data in order to obtain a picture of the pollution state of the Tagus River along central Spain. This area is of special interest because tributaries from the Madrid region are discharged and no previous data were available. Waters and sediments were sampled between 2002 and 2004 from selected sites before and after Jarama River confluence (Madrid city input). The samples were analysed for more than 50 parameters, including those of physico-chemical nature and those reporting the pollution caused by both metals and organic compounds. The quality of waters for different uses has been tested and statistical quality indexes of both global and partial type has also been established. Sediments pollution state was evaluated by comparison with general quality standards. A high degree of pollution and general degradation was observed in the Tagus River downstream the Jarama River input. The pollution of waters is mainly related to parameters indicators of organic pollution from urban sewage. In sediments, a dramatic increase in the concentration of trace metals was found in different points, exceeding toxicological threshold. Further studies would be necessary for organic pollutants and also to evaluate the remobilization potential.     

Evaluating the economic effects of climate change on the European sardine fishery

This study evaluates the economic effects of climate change on one of the most relevant fisheries of the Iberian Peninsula, the European sardine fishery; a fishing ground that is particularly sensitive to environmental impacts. For this, the sea surface temperature is introduced into the problem as an additional variable. This variable allows for the gathering of climate change evidence and its repercussions on the oceans and, consequently, on the marine life and ecosystems. Various plausible scenarios are posed with respect to the trends involving the sea surface temperature. The results show that if the trend of rising surface temperatures continues in the Iberian-Atlantic fishing grounds, both the sardine biomass and the expected profits will noticeably decrease. The biomass and profits will further decrease with greater intensity if the immediate effects of global warming on sea surface temperature become more significant. On the other hand, in a palliation of global warming scenario, both variables decrease to a lesser degree.     

Pesticide adsorption on a calcareous soil modified with sewage sludge and quaternary alkyl-ammonium cationic surfactants

BACKGROUND, AIM AND SCOPE: Pesticides are often found in soil as a result of their application to control pests. They can be transported on soil particles to surface waters or they can lixiviate and reach other environmental compartments. Soil modification with amendments, such as sewage sludge, and with surfactants, h been proposed to reduce pesticide environmental fate. METHODS: The sorption of atrazine, methidathion and diazinon using the batch technique has been studied on non-modified soil and soil modified with sewage sludge and cationic surfactants, as well as the effect of their addition on soil properties such as organic carbon (OC) content and exchange cations. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The OC content of the surfactant modified soils was the highest with the surfactant with the longest hydrocarbon chain (hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, HDTMA). The results of the OC content run in parallel with the increase in pesticide retention. When the sorption was n malized to soil OC content, the retention induced by addition of HDTMA was still the highest, which is an indication that the organic matter derived from the organic cations is a more effective medium to retain dissolved contaminants, than organic matter from native soil. The addition of sewage sludge to the soil did only result in a slight increase of the soil CEC and, hence, moderately affected the ability of the cationic surfactant to retain the pesticides. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of cationic surfactants to soil would possibly reduce the movement to groundwater of atrazine, methidathion and diazinon. In the case of HDTMA, the decrease in sorption at high surfactant loadings was very slow, being that the surfactant was able to retain the pesticides at concentration values which clearly exceeded the monolayer coverage. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: Contamination by pesticides, which are present in the soil due to their direct input in this medium or to spills or illegal tipping, may be hindered from migration to groundwater by application of a cationic surfactant.     

Prevention through design: The effect of European Directives on construction workplace accidents

Workplace accidents still occur with distressing frequency, particularly in construction. Industrialized countries have become increasingly aware of this situation and have adopted policies to attempt to deal with this issue. Such policies have led to the development of new laws and regulations with a view to improving workplace conditions.This paper first analyzes policies regarding accident prevention in the European Union, as initially stipulated in the European Framework Directive 89/391/EEC, and more specifically in Directive 92/57/EEC, on the implementation of minimum safety and health requirements at temporary or mobile construction sites, concentrating on prevention through design. Whilst designers previously had some responsibilities for reducing risk under common law provisions in many countries, this directive was the first explicit legislation to enforce particular duties upon them. The adaptation of the provisions in this directive to the national legislation of EU member countries is also studied.The second section of the paper analyzes the incidence rate of workplace accidents in the construction sector in each country from the year when these regulations came into force until the present time. Based on the evolution of these accident rates, the paper postulates the extent to which European policies have contributed to accident prevention in construction. It is now more than a decade since this legislation has been in force which provides a suitable period for a reflective analysis on it is impact.     

A case of ring chromosome 22 with deletion of the 22q13.3 region associated with agenesis of the corpus callosum,fornix and septum pellucidum

We report a 16-week-gestation foetus obtained by voluntary abortion after prenatal diagnosis, in which a ring chromosome 22 was observed with deletion of the 22q13.3 region. A prenatal study of the amniotic fluid by standard chromosome technique with G bands and FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridisation) was performed. After the abortion, the anatomopathological study of the obtained foetus was carried out. Morphological and histological analysis of the foetus did not reveal severe physical abnormalities, although alterations of the nervous system were observed consisting of corpus callosum, fornix and septum pellucidum agenesia. It could be that the genes in this region that were involved in the development of the central nervous system were responsible for the alterations found in the morphological study. The wide range of manifestations observed in patients with this cytogenetic alteration is probably due to size differences in the deleted region. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Accuracy of ultrasound diagnoses in pregnancies complicated by suspected fetal anomalies

Referral of pregnancies complicated by suspected fetal anomalies to level III perinatal centres for further evaluation and management is increasing as use of real-time ultrasound spreads, but the sensitivity and specificity of the prenatal diagnoses made in this population are unknown. We undertook a prospective study that followed pregnancies referred to a designated programme dealing with suspected fetal abnormalities. Follow-up of 257 pregnancies revealed that 282 separate anomalies were accurately diagnosed in 212 cases. Normal anatomy was correctly predicted in 42 cases, 16 per cent of the referred population. False-positive and false-negative rates were 1·5 per cent (4/257) and 2 per cent (1/46), respectively. However, 37 per cent of those infants born with anomalies had additional problems not prenatally detected by ultrasound. These results indicate that prenatal ultrasound diagnoses are remarkably accurate overall but that they may be insensitive to associated anomalies in individual cases.