Schwermetalle und organische Umweltchemikalien in Rehwild (Capreolus capreolus L.) aus Forst- und Agrarstandorten

The roe deer indicates the contamination of ecosystems with environmental chemicals. The influence of land use on the contamination of five different forest and agricultural ecosystems in Rheinland Pfalz was proven. The cadmium and lead content was measured in renal tissue of the roe deer. The organic chemicals PCB, α-HCH, Lindan, DDT, and DDE were investigated in kidneys and liver and correlated to adipose tissue. The following results have been obtained: Lead: The Pb-contamination was generally low in all ecosystems investigated. Cadmium: The Cd-values showed an area-dependend contamination of the organs. The data of the test organs from the forest sites and the semi-agricultural area were 2–4 times higher than the ZEBS-limit. The contamination of the animals corresponded to the wet deposition of Cd in the regions. σPCB: The PCB-results indicated a relativly high contamination of the ecosystems. The PCB-ZEBS-limit for the interior organs was surpassed in all areas.α-HCH, γ-HCH (Lindan): The uniformly low values of the HCH-group indicated that these compounds were probably not of ecotoxicological significance in the agricultural and forest regions.DDT, DDE: The results obtained showed a low background contamination in all ecosystems investigated. Areas with former high DDT-applications revealed higher values of DDE in the tissues. ZEBS: Central institution for the evaluation of chemicals in the environment (Bundesgesundheitsamt)     

The metabolization of lindane in a culture of mould and the degradation scheme of lindane

The metabolism of Lindane, gamma-Pentachlorcyclohexene and isomeric Tetrachlorobenzenes in a culture of Mould was investigated in this work. 1,2-, 1,4-Dichlorobenzene, 1,2,3-, 1,2,4-, 1,3,5-Trichlorobenzene, 1,2,3,4-, 1,2,4,5- and/or 1,2,3,5-Tetrachlorobenzene, Pentachlorobenzene, gamma-Pentachlorocyclohexene, Hexachlorobenzene, Tetrachlorocyclohexenol, 2,3,4-, 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol, 2,3,4,5-, 2,3,4,6- and/or 2,3,5,6-Tetrachlorophenol and Pentachlorophenol could be identified as metabolites of Lindane. A degradation scheme is proposed. It includes gamma-Pentachlorocyclohexene, Hexachlorocyclohexene, Pentachlorocyclohexenol, Tetrachlorocyclohexenol and Polychlorophenols as main metabolites. The pathway based on many earlier published experimental results of these and other authors so far as possible.In former papers we have already reported about the known literature concerning the metabolism of Lindane (1 – 4).Comprehensive studies about the metabolism of Lindane in cultures of mould (1, 5, 6), in rats (7 – 9), and in men (2, 3) are to contribute in explaining away any uncertainties about the degradation of Lindane. Many investigations contributed to work out degradation schemes of Lindane (10 – 21).     

Framing environmental indicators: moving from causal chains to causal networks

In recent years, there has been a boom in environmental assessment reports utilizing environmental indicators. Most of these publications are based on the casual chain frameworks (e.g., Pressure–State–Response (PSR), Driving force–State–Response (DSR), and Driving force–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR)). These frameworks have made an important contribution by emphasising the importance of causality. However, the reliance on simple uni-directional chains is at the same time not very conducive to a good understanding of the complexity of the processes behind environmental indicators. This limits the usefulness of these frameworks for environmental (impact) assessments. In this paper we propose an enhanced DPSIR (eDPSIR) framework for environmental indicators that takes inter-relations of indicators into account by relying on the use of causal networks rather than causal chains. It will be shown how the concept of causal networks can increase insight into the inter-relation of environmental issues and associated indicators, can facilitate the identification of key indicators for particular kinds of questions, and can provide a useful first step to the establishment of dose–response functions. Working with causal networks can contribute to more appropriate environmental policies and better management decisions.     

Dioxine in Lagerstätten-Tonen

In dominantly kaolinite-type, natural clay minerals, we found PCDDs at considerable levels (TEQ-values up to several hundred ng/kg). Contrary to expectations, PCDFs were not detected at all. The PCDD-contamination is most likely “natural” and not of anthropogenic origin.     

Assessing Landscape Functions with Broad-Scale Environmental Data: Insights Gained from a Prototype Development for Europe

We examine the advantages and disadvantages of a methodological framework designed to analyze the poorly understood relationships between the ecosystem properties of large portions of land, and their capacities (stocks) to provide goods and services (flows). These capacities (stocks) are referred to as landscape functions. The core of our assessment is a set of expert- and literature-driven binary links, expressing whether specific land uses or other environmental properties have a supportive or neutral role for given landscape functions. The binary links were applied to the environmental properties of 581 administrative units of Europe with widely differing environmental conditions and this resulted in a spatially explicit landscape function assessment. To check under what circumstances the binary links are able to replace complex interrelations, we compared the landscape function maps with independently generated continent-wide assessments (maps of ecosystem services or environmental parameters/indicators). This rigorous testing revealed that for 9 out of 15 functions the straightforward binary links work satisfactorily and generate plausible geographical patterns. This conclusion holds primarily for production functions. The sensitivity of the nine landscape functions to changes in land use was assessed with four land use scenarios (IPCC SRES). It was found that most European regions maintain their capacity to provide the selected services under any of the four scenarios, although in some cases at other locations within the region. At the proposed continental scale, the selected input parameters are thus valid proxies which can be used to assess the mid-term potential of landscapes to provide goods and services.     

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and organochlorine pesticides in human breast milk from Massachusetts, USA

Concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs; DDTs, HCHs, CHLs, and HCB) were measured in human breast milk samples collected across Massachusetts, USA, in 2004. Seventeen PBDE congeners were found in the samples, ranging in concentration from 0.06 to 1910 ng g(-1) lipid wt. BDE-47 (2,2',4,4'-tetraBDE), BDE-99 (2,2',4,4',5-pentaBDE), and BDE-100 (2,2',4,4',6-pentaBDE) were the major congeners detected in breast milk samples. Overall mean (+/-SD) concentrations of DDTs, HCHs, CHLs, and HCB were 64.5 +/- 75, 18.9 +/- 19, 32.4 +/- 36, and 2.3 +/- 2.2 ng g(-1) lipid wt, respectively. Concentrations of PBDEs were strongly correlated with concentrations of OCPs in the samples. Based on the concentrations of organohalogens and the intake rates of breast milk by infants in the United States, daily ingestion rates of contaminants were calculated. The median ingestion rates for PBDEs, HCHs, DDTs, CHLs, and HCB were 4.0, 212, 141, 44, and 5.79 ng kg(-1) body wt day(-1), respectively. The estimated daily intake of organohalogens by infants was compared with threshold reference values suggested by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), for calculation of hazard quotients (HQs). HQs for individual organohalogens and the sum of HQ for all organohalogens were calculated as HQ indices (HQI). The results suggest that one or more of the contaminants analyzed in this study exceeded the threshold reference values in at least 26% of the breast milk samples.