Contamination of Canadian and European bottled waters with antimony from PET containers

Using clean lab methods and protocols developed for measuring Sb in polar snow and ice, we report the abundance of Sb in fifteen brands of bottled water from Canada and forty-eight from Europe. Comparison with the natural abundance of Sb in pristine groundwaters, water bottled commercially in polypropylene, analyses of source waters prior to bottling, and addition of uncontaminated groundwater to PET bottles, provides unambiguous evidence of Sb leaching from the containers. In contrast to the pristine groundwater in Ontario, Canada containing 2.2 +/- 1.2 ng l(-1) Sb, 12 brands of bottled natural waters from Canada contained 156 +/- 86 ng l(-1) and 3 brands of deionized water contained 162 +/- 30 ng l(-1); all of these were bottled in PET containers. Natural water from Ontario bottled in polypropylene contained only 8.2 +/- 0.9 ng l(-1). Comparison of three German brands of water available in both glass bottles and PET containers showed that waters bottled in PET contained up to 30 times more Sb. To confirm that the elevated Sb concentrations are due to leaching from the PET containers, water was collected in acid-cleaned LDPE bottles from a commercial source in Germany, prior to bottling; this water was found to contain 3.8 +/- 0.9 ng l(-1) Sb (n = 5), compared with the same brand of water purchased locally in PET bottles containing 359 +/- 54 ng l(-1) (n = 6). This same brand of water in PET bottles, after an additional three months of storage at room temperature, yielded 626 +/- 15 ng l(-1) Sb (n = 3). Other German brands of water in PET bottles contained 253-546 ng l(-1) Sb (n = 5). The median concentration of Sb in thirty-five brands of water bottled in PET from eleven other European countries was 343 ng l(-1) (n = 35). As an independent check of the hypothesis that Sb is leaching from PET, the pristine groundwater from Canada (containing 2.2 +/- 1.2 ng l(-1) Sb) was collected from the source using PET bottles from Germany: this water contained 50 +/- 17 ng l(-1) Sb (n = 2) after only 37 days, even though it was stored in the refrigerator, and 566 ng l(-1) after six months storage at room temperature.     

Arsenic exposure in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia

Inorganic arsenic is a potent human carcinogen and toxicant which people are exposed to mainly via drinking water and food. The objective of the present study was to assess current exposure to arsenic via drinking water in three European countries. For this purpose, 520 individuals from four Hungarian, two Slovakian and two Romanian countries were investigated by measuring inorganic arsenic and methylated arsenic metabolites in urine by high performance liquid chromatography with hydride generation and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Arsenic in drinking water was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. Significantly higher concentrations of arsenic were found in both the water and the urine samples from the Hungarian counties (median: 11 and 15 microg dm(-3), respectively; p < 0.001) than from the Slovakian (median: 0.94 and 4.5 microg dm(-3), respectively) and Romanian (median: 0.70 and 2.1 microg dm(-3), respectively) counties. A significant correlation was seen between arsenic in water and arsenic in urine (R(2)= 0.46). At low water arsenic concentrations, the relative amount of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) in urine was increased, indicating exposure via food. Also, high body mass index was associated with higher concentrations of arsenic in urine (p= 0.03), mostly in the form of DMA. Smokers had significantly higher urinary arsenic concentrations than non-smokers (p= 0.03). In conclusion, elevated arsenic exposure via drinking water was prevalent in some of the counties. Exposure to arsenic from food, mainly as DMA, and cigarette smoke, mainly as inorganic arsenic, are major determinants of arsenic exposure at very low concentrations of arsenic in drinking water.     

Ultrafine particles at workplaces of a primary aluminium smelter

The number concentration and size distribution of ultrafine particles in a S?derberg and a prebake potroom of an aluminium primary smelter have been measured using a scanning mobility particle spectrometer. The particle morphology was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The study shows the existence of elevated number concentrations of ultrafine particles in both potrooms. The main source of these particles is likely to be the process of anode changing. The ultrafine particles were measured directly at the source but could also be identified as episodes of high number concentrations in the general background air. Unlike the larger particles belonging to the 50-100 nm mode, the nanoparticle mode could not be detected in the TEM indicating that they may not be stable under the applied sampling conditions and/or the high vacuum in the instrument.     

Changes Of Hydrological Environment And Their Influences On Coastal Wetlands InThe Southern Laizhou Bay, China

The structure and function of the coastal wetland ecosystem in the southern Laizhou Bay have been changed greatly and influenced by regional hydrological changes. The coastal wetlands have degraded significantly during the latest 30 years due to successive drought, decreasing of runoff, pollution, underground saline water intrusion, and aggravating marine disasters such as storm tides and sea level rising. Most archaic lakes have vanished, while artificial wetlands have been extending since natural coastal wetlands replaced by salt areas and ponds of shrimps and crabs. The pollution of sediments in inter-tidal wetlands and the pollution of water quality in sub-tidal wetlands are getting worse and therefore “red tides” happen more often than before. The biodiversity in the study area has been decreased. Further studies are still needed to protect the degraded coastal wetlands in the area.     

Chlorination Byproducts in Drinking Water Produced from Thermal Desalination in United Arab Emirates

Oil activities in the Arabian Gulf can potentially affect the quality of the intake water available for coastal desalination plants. This paper addresses such situation by investigating the quality of intake water and desalinated water produced by a desalination plant located near a coastal industrial complex in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Analyses of the organic compounds on the intake seawater reported non-detected levels in most samples for the three tested organic groups; namely Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), Phenols, and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). Trihalomethanes (THMs) and Haloacetic Acids (HAAs) were also tracked in the intake sea water, throughout the desalination processes, and in the final produced drinking water, to evaluate the undertaken pre- and post chlorination practices. The levels of considered Chlorination Byproducts (CBPs) were mostly found below the permissible international limits with few exceptions showing tangible levels of bromoform in the intake seawater and in the final produced drinking water as well. Lab-controlled experiments on the final produced distillate showed little contribution of its blending with small percentage of seawater upon the formation of trihalomethane and in particular, bromoform. Such results indicate that the organic precursors originated in the seawater are responsible for bromoform formation in the final distillate.     

Characterization and diurnal variation of size-resolved inorganic water-soluble ions at a rural background site

Water-soluble inorganic ions in aerosol samples have been studied. The sample collection took place during summer in 2003 at a European background site which is operating within the framework of the European Monitoring and Evaluation Program. Gent type PM10 stacked filter unit (SFU) samplers were operated in parallel on a day and night basis to collect particles in separate coarse (2.0-10 microm) and fine (<2.0 microm) size fractions. Particulate masses were measured gravimetrically; the filters from one of the SFU samplers were analyzed by particle-induced X-ray emission spectrometry (PIXE) and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Filters from the other SFU sampler were analyzed by ion chromatography (IC) for major inorganic anions (MSA-, NO2(-), NO3(-), Cl-, Br-, SO4(2-), oxalate) and cations (Na+, K+, NH4(+), Mg2+, Ca2+). The water-soluble inorganic ions measured were responsible for 44% and 16% of the total fine and coarse particulate mass, respectively. In the fine size fraction, the main ionic components were SO4(2-) and NH4(+) accounting for about 90% of fine ionic mass. In the coarse fraction the main ionic components were Ca2+ and NO3(-), followed by SO4(2-). Significant day and night difference in the mass concentrations was observed only for fine NO3(-). The molar ratios of fine NH4(+) to SO4(2-) indicated their complete neutralization to (NH4)2SO4. According to the cation-to-anion ratios the coarse particles were alkaline, while the fine particles were slightly acidic or neutral. By comparing the corresponding concentrations obtained from PIXE/INAA and IC, we determined the water-extractable part of the individual species. We also investigated the effect of long-range transported air masses on the local air concentrations, and we found that the air quality of this background monitoring station was affected by regional pollution sources.     

Kinetics and thermodynamic studies of Methyl Orange removal by polyvinylidene fluoride-PEDOT mats

We report the preparation of poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-modified polyvinylidene fluoride electrospun fibers and their use as a novel adsorbent material for the removal of the anionic dye Methyl Orange (MO) from aqueous media. This novel adsorbent material can be used to selectively remove MO on a wide pH range (3.0–10.0), with a maximum capacity of 143.8 mg/g at pH 3.0. When used in a recirculating filtration system, the maximum absorption capacity was reached in a shorter time (20 min) than that observed for batch mode experiments (360 min). Based on the analyses of the kinetics and adsorption isotherm data, one can conclude that the predominant mechanism of interaction between the membrane and the dissolved dye molecules is electrostatic. Besides, considering the estimated values for the Gibbs energy, and entropy and enthalpy changes, it was established that the adsorption process is spontaneous and occurs in an endothermic manner. The good mechanical and environmental stability of these membranes allowed their use in at least 20 consecutive adsorption/desorption cycles, without significant loss of their characteristics. We suggest that the physical-chemical characteristics of PEDOT make these hybrid mats a promising adsorbent material for use in water remediation protocols and effluent treatment systems.     

Paper-based aqueous Al ion battery with water-in-salt electrolyte

Low-cost, flexible and safe battery technology is the key to the widespread usage of wearable electronics, among which the aqueous Al ion battery with water-in-salt electrolyte is a promising candidate. In this work, a flexible aqueous Al ion battery is developed using cellulose paper as substrate. The water-in-salt electrolyte is stored inside the paper, while the electrodes are either printed or attached on the paper surface,leading to a lightweight and thin-film battery prototype. Currently, ...     

Experimental research on emission and removal of dioxins in flue gas from a co-combustion of MSW and coal incinerator

This paper describes the experimental study of dioxins removal from flue gas from a co-combustion municipal solid waste and coal incinerator by means of a fluidized absorption tower and a fabric filter. A test rig has been set up. The flow rate of flue gas of the test rig is 150-2000 m3/h. The system was composed of a humidification and cooling system, an absorption tower, a demister, a slurry make-up tank, a desilter, a fabric filter and a measurement system. The total height of the absorption tower was 6.5m, and the diameter of the reactor pool was 1.2 m. When the absorbent was 1% limestone slurry, the recirculation ratio was 3, the jet rate was 5-15 m/s and the submerged depth of the bubbling pipe under the slurry was 0.14 m, the removal efficiency for dioxins was 99.35%. The concentration of dioxins in the treated flue gas was 0.1573 x 10(-13)kg/Nm3 and the concentration of oxygen was 11%. This concentration is comparable to the emission standards of other developed countries.     

Mechanical-biological waste treatment and the associated occupational hygiene in Finland

A special feature of waste management in Finland has been the emphasis on the source separation of kitchen biowaste (catering waste); more than two-thirds of the Finnish population participates in this separation. Source-separated biowaste is usually treated by composting. The biowaste of about 5% of the population is handled by mechanical-biological treatment. A waste treatment plant at Mustasaari is the only plant in Finland using digestion for kitchen biowaste. For the protection of their employees, the plant owners commissioned a study on environmental factors and occupational hygiene in the plant area. During 1998-2000 the concentrations of dust, microbes and endotoxins and noise levels were investigated to identify possible problems at the plant. Three different work areas were investigated: the pre-processing and crushing hall, the bioreactor hall and the drying hall. Employees were asked about work-related health problems. Some problems with occupational hygiene were identified: concentrations of microbes and endotoxins may increase to levels harmful to health during waste crushing and in the bioreactor hall. Because employees complained of symptoms such as dry cough and rash or itching appearing once or twice a month, it is advisable to use respirator masks (class P3) during dusty working phases. The noise level in the drying hall exceeded the Finnish threshold value of 85 dBA. Qualitatively harmful factors for the health of employees are similar in all closed waste treatment plants in Finland. Quantitatively, however, the situation at the Mustasaari treatment plant is better than at some Finnish dry waste treatment plants. Therefore is reasonable to conclude that mechanical sorting, which produces a dry waste fraction for combustion and a biowaste fraction for anaerobic treatment, is in terms of occupational hygiene better for employees than combined aerobic treatment and dry waste treatment.