Survey of tritium radioactivity in Lake Huron surface water

The tritium concentration in Lake Huron water has declined from a high measured in the late 1960s to a 1981 level of ～ 200 pCi/L, similar to literature values for the Great Lakes Waterways and other U.S. surface waters. All current levels for U.S. surface waters including our local water are well within the limits set by the EPA as a standard for drinking water.     

A perspective on radical transformations to sustainability: resistances,movements and alternatives

A transformation to sustainability calls for radical and systemic societal shifts. Yet what this entails in practice and who the agents of this radical transformation are require further elaboration. This article recenters the role of environmental justice movements in transformations, arguing that the systemic, multi-dimensional and intersectional approach inherent in EJ activism is uniquely placed to contribute to the realization of equitable sustainable futures. Based on a perspective of conflict as productive, and a “conflict transformation” approach that can address the root issues of ecological conflicts and promote the emergence of alternatives, we lay out a conceptual framework for understanding transformations through a power analysis that aims to confront and subvert hegemonic power relations; that is, multi-dimensional and intersectional; balancing ecological concerns with social, economic, cultural and democratic spheres; and is multi-scalar, and mindful of impacts across place and space. Such a framework can help analyze and recognize the contribution of grassroots EJ movements to societal transformations to sustainability and support and aid radical transformation processes. While transitions literature tends to focus on artifacts and technologies, we suggest that a resistance-centred perspective focuses on the creation of new subjectivities, power relations, values and institutions. This recenters the agency of those who are engaged in the creation and recuperation of ecological and new ways of being in the world in the needed transformation.     

Ecological distribution conflicts as forces for sustainability: an overview and conceptual framework

Can ecological distribution conflicts turn into forces for sustainability? This overview paper addresses in a systematic conceptual manner the question of why, through whom, how, and when conflicts over the use of the environment may take an active role in shaping transitions toward sustainability. It presents a conceptual framework that schematically maps out the linkages between (a) patterns of (unsustainable) social metabolism, (b) the emergence of ecological distribution conflicts, (c) the rise of environmental justice movements, and (d) their potential contributions for sustainability transitions. The ways how these four processes can influence each other are multi-faceted and often not a foretold story. Yet, ecological distribution conflicts can have an important role for sustainability, because they relentlessly bring to light conflicting values over the environment as well as unsustainable resource uses affecting people and the planet. Environmental justice movements, born out of such conflicts, become key actors in politicizing such unsustainable resource uses, but moreover, they take sometimes also radical actions to stop them. By drawing on creative forms of mobilizations and diverse repertoires of action to effectively reduce unsustainabilities, they can turn from ‘victims’ of environmental injustices into ‘warriors’ for sustainability. But when will improvements in sustainability be lasting? By looking at the overall dynamics between the four processes, we aim to foster a more systematic understanding of the dynamics and roles of ecological distribution conflicts within sustainability processes.     

Umbilical cord haemangioma associated with an eruptive cutaneous haemangioma in a female infant

We report a female infant noted prenatally to have an umbilical cord mass. At birth, a labial strawberry haemangioma was noted. She subsequently developed an abdominal mass which was discovered to be a proliferating haemangioma, continuous with both the labial and the umbilical stump lesions.     

Mercury in flounder (Platichthys flesus L.) from estuaries and coastal waters of the north-east Irish Sea

This paper reports concentrations of mercury in muscle tissue of flounder (Platichthys flesus L.) from various estuaries and coastal waters of north Wales and north-west England that encompass the north-east Irish Sea. Mercury concentrations were highest within and offshore the Ribble Estuary (0.476 +/- 0.037 mg kg(-1)) but were also high within the Mersey (0.389+/-0.042 mg kg(-1)) and Dee Estuaries (0.295+/-0.065) and at coastal sites in the vicinity. Values for all three estuaries and their near coastal sites were significantly higher than for sites in the north and central sectors of the study area. Regressions of mercury concentration against fish length showed significant relationships and age accumulation for the majority of sites, particularly within or in close proximity to the Mersey, Dee and Ribble Estuaries.     

Survey of gross beta radioactivity in surface waters of the Midland,Michigan area (lake Huron and the Chippewa,Pine, and Tittabawassee rivers)

Measurements of Lake Huron water as supplied to the Midland location of the Dow Chemical Company over the period 1970–1981 show that a mean concentration of ≈ 3 pCi/L gross beta activity held relatively constant with a range of yearly mean values from 2 to 4 pCi/L and a range of individual values from 1 to 7 pCi/L. This is comparable to observed values for other Great Lakes' waterways reported in the litarature. There was no apparent seasonal fluctuation. Midland area river water for 1967–1981 show median values of 3 to 4 pCi/L and a range of 2 to 11 pCi/L, comparable to those reported in the literature from througout the United States. The observed activity concentrations in the water are well below the limits of the EPA drinking water standards.     

Methodology of light response curves: application of chlorophyll fluorescence to microphytobenthic biofilms

The light response curve methodology for microphytobenthic biofilms was studied by comparing the two most usual approaches used in pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry. The non-sequential light curve (N-SLC) method is characterized by independent measures of the photosynthetic activity across a light gradient whereas the rapid light curve (RLC) method consists of successive measures on the same sample exposed to a stepwise increase of light intensities. Experiments were carried out on experimental microphytobenthic biofilms prepared from natural assemblages and acclimated to dark conditions. In preliminary experiments, N-SLCs were constructed from fluorescence induction curves performed at 12 different photon flux densities (PFDs). A minimum of 50 s of illumination was necessary to reach a stable light response curve; shorter illumination times resulted in underestimating the physiological parameters (α the light utilization coefficient in light-limited conditions and rETR_max the maximum rate of photosynthesis efficiency) of the light response curve. For the comparison between N-SLCs and RLCs, the same time of illumination (50 s) was used for each light step of RLCs so that N-SLCs differed from RLCs only by the way the amount of light was delivered, i.e., a light dose accumulation for RLC. The experimental results showed the difference between the two photobiological response curves. In the lower range of PFDs, RLCs exhibited a larger value of α; in this light-limited part of the response curve the incremental increase of PFDs limited the development of NPQ and resulted in a better optimization of electron transport rate for RLC. In the higher range of PFDs, the trend was reversed and the RLC showed a lower value of rETR_max than the N-SLC did; this is attributed to the light dose accumulation which likely led to a more efficient dispersion of energy, as illustrated by a higher non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). In conclusion, these results confirm that parameters derived from both methods differ in their value and do not bear the same physiological information.