Retrospective monitoring: A review

The development of chronological reference points to which present levels of inorganic pollutants can be compared is increasingly needed. This review is directed toward biological samples which are datable and have been characterized for one or more elements.     

Survey of elemental contents in two organs of slaughtered bovine,porcine and avian specimens,Ontario, Canada 1980–83

Kidney and muscle samples were collected from 197 bovine and 33 porcine carcasses and liver and muscle from 115 poultry carcasses across the province. These tissues were analyzed for the following 13 elements, Ag, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, and Zn. The intent of the study was to determine normal background levels. Tissue concentration of these elements fell into five orders of magnitude ranging from < 10 g kg^–1 for Ag to over 10 mg kg^–1 for Zn. Similar concentrations were observed in the three specie tissues being compared except for higher concentrations of Cd and Sb in bovine kidneys. In avian tissues Mo contents were higher in liver than muscle. When samples from all three species were grouped by age, no distinct trends were observed to indicate an increase in metal contents with age, with the exception of Cd in bovine kidneys.     

Traffic mortality and the role of minor roads

Roads have large impacts on wildlife, as they form one of the principal causes of mortality, and disturbance and fragmentation of habitat. These impacts are mainly studied and mitigated on major roads. It is, however, a widespread misconception that most animals are killed on major roads. In this paper, we argue that minor roads have a larger impact on wildlife with respect to habitat destruction, noise load and traffic mortality. We use data on traffic related deaths in badgers (Meles meles) in The Netherlands to illustrate that traffic mortality is higher on minor roads. We ask for a more extensive investigation of the environmental impacts of minor roads. Moreover, we argue that the success of mitigation on roads drastically increases when both major and minor roads are integrated in the planning of traffic flows. Therefore, we propose a strategy based on the concept of a "traffic-calmed area". Traffic-calmed areas create opportunities for wildlife by decreasing limitations for animal movement. We ask for further studies to estimate what size traffic-calmed areas should be to maintain minimum viable animal populations.     

Increasing stair climbing in a train station: The effects of contextual variables and visibility

Accumulation of physical activity during daily living is a current public health target that is influenced by the layout of the built environment. This study reports how the layout of the environment may influence responsiveness to an intervention. Pedestrian choices between stairs and the adjacent escalators were monitored for 7 weeks in a train station (Birmingham, UK). After a 3.5 week baseline period, a stair riser banner intervention to increase stair climbing was installed on two staircases adjacent to escalators and monitoring continued for a further 3.5 weeks. Logistic regression analyses revealed that the visibility of the intervention, defined as the area of visibility in the horizontal plane opposite to the direction of travel (termed the isovist) had a major effect on success of the intervention. Only the largest isovist produced an increase in stair climbing. Additionally, stair climbing was more common during the morning rush hour and at higher levels of pedestrian traffic volume. The layout of the intervention site can influence responsiveness to point-of-choice interventions. Changes to the design of train stations may maximize the choice of the stairs at the expense of the escalator by pedestrians leaving the station.     

Lead accumulation and association with Fe on Typha latifolia root from an urban brownfield site

Synchrotron X-ray microfluorescence and X-ray absorption near-edge microstructure spectroscopy techniques were applied to Typha latifolia (cattail) root sections and rhizosphere soils collected from a brownfield site in New Jersey to investigate lead (Pb) accumulation in T. latifolia roots and the role of iron (Fe) plaque in controlling Pb uptake. We found that Pb and Fe spatial distribution patterns in the root tissues are similar with both metals present at high concentrations mainly in the epidermis and at low concentrations in the vascular tissue (xylem and phloem), and the major Pb and Fe species in T. latifolia root are Pb(II) and Fe(III) regardless of concentration levels. The sequestration of Pb by T. latifolia roots suggests a potential low-cost remediation method (phytostabilization) to manage Pb-contaminated sediments for brownfield remediation while performing wetland rehabilitation.     

Investigation of Selective Catalytic Reduction Impact on Mercury Speciation under Simulated NOx Emission Control Conditions

Abstract

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology increasingly is being applied for controlling emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) from coal-fired boilers. Some recent field and pilot studies suggest that the operation of SCR could affect the chemical form of mercury (Hg) in coal combustion flue gases. The speciation of Hg is an important factor influencing the control and environmental fate of Hg emissions from coal combustion. The vanadium and titanium oxides, used commonly in the vanadia-titania SCR catalyst for catalytic NO_x reduction, promote the formation of oxidized mercury (Hg²⁺).

The work reported in this paper focuses on the impact of SCR on elemental mercury (Hg⁰) oxidation. Bench-scale experiments were conducted to investigate Hg⁰ oxidation in the presence of simulated coal combustion flue gases and under SCR reaction conditions. Flue gas mixtures with different concentrations of hydrogen chloride (HCl) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) for simulating the combustion of bituminous coals and subbituminous coals were tested in these experiments. The effects of HCl and SO₂ in the flue gases on Hg⁰ oxidation under SCR reaction conditions were studied. It was observed that HCl is the most critical flue gas component that causes conversion of Hg⁰ to Hg²⁺ under SCR reaction conditions. The importance of HCl for Hg⁰ oxidation found in the present study provides the scientific basis for the apparent coal-type dependence observed for Hg⁰ oxidation occurring across the SCR reactors in the field.     

Recent temporal trend monitoring of mercury in Arctic biota--how powerful are the existing data sets?

The goal of this paper is to describe and discuss statistical power with respect to mercury in Arctic biota, using data gathered during the past two or three decades, mostly under the auspices of AMAP Phases I and II. It will describe the current levels of power of existing data sets to detect temporal trends of Hg concentrations. If the desired power is fixed to an appropriate magnitude, the minimum size of a detectable trend within a specified time period or the number of years that is required to detect a certain trend could be estimated provided that the random between-year variation for the current time-series is known. These various measures of performance of the AMAP mercury time-series, derived from the power analysis, are discussed in some detail. The number of years required to detect a certain trend at a particular power at a specific Type I error rate (alpha) is compared with the actual number of years available when the AMAP Phase II assessment was carried out. In general the investigated time-series were too short to possess an acceptable statistical power. The effect of varying the Type-I error rate, the slope of a trend and the desired power is investigated to rank the importance of the various components regulating the statistical power. The consequence of sampling less frequently than once a year is considerable loss of power.     

Glass Fibers and Their Use as Filter Media

Typical air quality effect levels of photochemical oxidants on specific plant substrates are illustrated. These include ambient oxidant exposure data measured as “total oxidant” as well as laboratory exposures to individual pure oxidants, ozone, or PAN compounds, since these oxidants are identified in photochemical smog. New terms, “PaNs” and “PAN-type” oxidant, have been proffered for purposes of clarification of the terminology. PAN-type oxidant more precisely defines the phytotoxicant complex causing silvering or bronzing of the lower leaf surfaces in lieu of the older term “oxidant.” Due to the recognition of several oxidizing phytotoxicants in recent years, it is recommended that the term oxidant be reserved for use as a generic term. A tabular classification of the oxidizing phytotoxicants found in community photochemical smog and the specific syndromes produced is provided.     

Heavy metal mobility in runoff water and absorption by eggplant fruits from sludge treated soil

Sewage sludge addition to agricultural lands requires judicious management to avoid environmental risks arising from heavy metal and nitrate contamination of surface water and accumulation in edible plants. A field study was conducted on a silty-loam soil of 10% slope at Kentucky State University Research Farm. Eighteen plots of 22 × 3.7 m each were separated using metal borders and the soil in six plots was mixed with sewage sludge and yard waste compost mix (SS-YW) at 15 t acre^?1, six plots were mixed with sewage sludge (SS) at 15 t acre^?1, and six unamended plots that never received sludge were used for comparison purposes. Plots were planted with eggplant, Solanum melongena L. as the test plant. The objectives of this investigation were to: 1) assess the effect of soil amendments on the transport of NO₃, NH₄, and heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cu, and Mo) into surface water; 2) investigate the effect of soil amendments on heavy metal bioavailability in eggplant fruits at harvest; and 3) assess chemical and physical properties of soil following addition of soil amendments and their impact on the yield and quality of eggplant fruit. SS-YW treatments reduced runoff water by 63% while plots incorporated with sewage sludge alone reduced runoff water by 37% compared to control treatment. The SS-YW treatments transported more mineral nitrogen (NO₃-N and NH₄-N) in runoff water than SS treatments. Total marketable yield (lbs acre^?1) and number of eggplant fruits were greatest in SS-YW treatments. This response may be due to improved soil porosity, water, and nutrient retention of the soil amended with SS-YW mixture. Concentrations of heavy metals in soil amended with sludge were below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) limits. Chromium, Ni, Zn, and Cu were taken up by eggplant fruits but their concentrations were below the Codex Commission allowable levels.