Organochlorine contaminants in the Vistula Lagoon sedimentation zone as possible source of lagoon recontamination

The presented results include decade of monitoring of the Vistula Lagoon waters and have been supplemented by the determination of chlorinated compounds, as well as on concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in the sedimentation zone. Monitoring of river waters entering the Polish part of the lagoon and the lagoon waters confirmed the presence of plant protection chemical; the largest contributors has lindane (34%) and DDT_total (21%); the same as for sediments were dominate lindane (19%) and DDT_total (14%) within pp-DDT isomer dominate (13%). In the lagoon water, PCDD/Fs were determined within a range of 1.5–5.6 ng dm^?3, leading to average toxicity of 0.18?±?0.13 ng TEQ·dm^?3. In sediments, their concentrations fell within a range of 22.7–405.7 ng kg^?1 dw and the average toxicity of the lagoon sediments was set at 5.00?±?1.98 ng TEQ·kg^?1 dw. Both in water and sediments, the greatest share among PCDD/Fs has octa-chlorodibenzodioxin. Due to the hydromorphological conditions of the lagoon, the waters are mixed to the bottom causing the surface layer of sediment to become remobilized—this is suggested as the key factor when it comes to water recontamination and increased access of POPs to marine organisms.     

The assessment and prediction of temporal variations in surface water quality—a case study

In order to optimize the processes of sampling, monitoring, and management, the initial aim of this paper was to develop a model for the definition and prediction of temporal changes of water quality. In the case of the Morava River Basin (Serbia), the patterns of temporal changes have been recognized by applying different multivariate statistical techniques. The results of the conducted cluster analysis are the indicators of the existence of the three monitoring periods: the low-water, transitional, and high-water periods, which is in accordance with changes in the water flow in the analyzed river basin. A possibility of reducing the initial data set and recognizing the main pollution sources was examined by carrying out the principal component/factor analysis. The results indicate that the natural factor has a dominant influence in temporal groups. In order to recognize the discriminatory water quality parameters, a discriminant analysis (DA) was carried out. Conducting the DA enabled a significant reduction in the data set by the extraction of two parameters (the water temperature and electrical conductivity). Furthermore, the artificial neural network technique was used for testing the possibility of predicting changes in the values of the discriminant factors in the monitoring periods. The reliability of this method for the prediction of temporal variations of both extracted parameters within all temporal clusters has been proven.     

Reduction of sludge formed during a coagulation treatment of Ridomil Gold by means of non-thermal quenched plasma pre-treatment

Chemical coagulation and adsorption, despite many drawbacks, are actually the main techniques used for the removal of pollutants from aqueous solution; however, these techniques are becoming ineffective due to the exponential increase in the amount and complexity of discharged pollutants; thus, the sludge treatment process became a more complex challenge. The present study focuses on the way to reduce the quantity of sludge formed during the removal of Ridomil Gold, a widely used pesticide-fungicide in agriculture. Results revealed that pre-treatment of initial waste solution by the gliding arc (Glidarc), a source of non-thermal plasma, leads to a significant reduction of the sludge formed during the coagulation treatment. For a 20-min pre-treated effluent Glidarc followed by chemical coagulation, there was a reduction in the volume of sludge formed in the order of 90 and 80% for alum and ferric sulfate coagulants respectively without reducing the performance of pesticide removal. Therefore, there is a positive synergism between treatment by chemical coagulation and plasma treatment. These results suggest that the Glidarc can be an effective solution for the reduction of sludge obtained during treatment by coagulation.     

Investigating toxic metal levels in popular edible fishes from the South Durban basin: implications for public health and food security

Contamination of the ocean by heavy metals may have ecosystem-wide implications because they are toxic even if present in trace levels, and the relative ease of their bioaccumulation by marine organisms may affect human health, primarily through consumption of contaminated fish. We evaluated metal concentrations in six different popular edible fish species and estimated the potential health risks from consumption of contaminated fish. There was no correlation between fish length and average metal accumulation although the fish species tended to accumulate significantly more Al and Zn (P?<?0.05) than any of the other metals. Significantly higher Mn concentrations were found in fish gills compared to other body parts in all fish species. Bronze seabream, Catface rockcod, and Slinger seabream had significantly higher mean Cr concentration in the liver than in either the tissues or gills. The highest concentration of Zn in fleshy tissue was in Horse mackerel (56.71 μg g^?1) followed by Bronze seabream (31.07 μg g^?1). Al levels ranged from 5.6 μg g^?1 in Atlantic mackerel to 35.04 μg g^?1 in Horse mackerel tissue while Cu and Cr concentrations were highest in the tissues of Horse mackerel (6.83 and 1.81 μg g^?1, respectively) followed by Santer seabream (3.15; 1.09 μg g^?1) and Bronze seabream (3.09; 1.30 μg g^?1), respectively. The highest tissue concentration of Mn was detected in Bronze seabream (8.23 μg g^?1) followed by Catface rockcod (6.05 μg g^?1) and Slinger seabream (5.21 μg g^?1) while Pb concentrations ranged from a high of 8.44 μg g^?1 in Horse mackerel to 1.09 μg g^?1 in Catface rockcod. However, the estimated potential health risks from fish consumption as determined by the target hazard quotient (THQ) and hazard index (HI) were significantly lower than 1, implying that metals were not present in sufficiently high quantities to be of any health and/or food and security concern in the studied fishes.     

Construction of avulsion potential zone model for Kulik River of Barind Tract,India and Bangladesh

Avulsion is a natural fluvial process but considered it as a hazard in the populated region due to the chance of immense failure of lives and properties. So, early warning indicates that the zone of avulsion can facilitate the people living there. About 317 numbers of local and regional historical imprints of channel cutoff along river Kulik claim the need of this work. The present study tried to identify avulsion potential zone (APZ) of Kulik river of Indo-Bangladesh using multi-parametric weighted combination approach. Analytic hierarchy approach (AHP) is applied for weighting the used parameters. Avulsion potential model clearly exhibits that 9.51-km stream segment of middle and lower catchment is highly susceptible for avulsion especially during sudden high discharge and earthquake incidents. There is also high chance of channel avulsion following the existing Paleo-avulsion courses and left channels. Hard points can also be erected alongside the main channel for resisting channel avulsion propensity.     

Contamination of soil and the medicinal plant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phyllanthus niruri</Emphasis> Linn. with cadmium in ceramic industrial areas

Phyllanthus niruri is a plant that is used to prevent calcium oxalate crystallisation and to block the stone formation in urolithiasis. Contaminants in the environment can be readily taken up by medicinal plants due to their ability to absorb chemicals into their tissues. If contaminated plants are ingested, they have the potential to negatively affect human and environmental health. The aim of this study was to assess contamination in the soil and the medicinal plant P. niruri by cadmium (Cd) in ceramic industrial areas of Monte Carmelo, Brazil. Soil samples and plant samples (divided in root, shoot and leaves) were collected from a contaminated monitoring site and from a rural area (which was used as a reference site for comparative purposes). The Cd concentrations of the samples were analysed with an atomic absorption spectrometer. P. niruri was found to be sensitive to soil contamination by Cd that was attributed to ceramic industrial emissions. The results revealed that Cd bioaccumulation in the roots and shoots of P. niruri was associated with a significant increase (p?<?0.05) in the concentration of active lignan compounds (phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin) in the leaves. The identification of high concentrations of Cd and active lignan compounds suggests a risk of contamination of the site and the risk of a high dose of Cd to people exposed at the site.     

Background biomonitoring of residue levels of 137 pesticides in the blood plasma of the general population in Beijing

Due to the widespread use of pesticides, human exposure to pesticides is possible and can potentially cause adverse impacts on public health. We measured 137 pesticides including organophosphorus, organochlorine, pyrethroid and carbamate pesticides together with various herbicides in 100 human blood samples collected from the general population in Beijing. The samples were analysed by triple quadrupole tandem gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In total, 24 organochlorine pesticides, 5 pyrethroid pesticides and 6 organophosphorus pesticides were detected. The detection rates of HCB, α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, p,p′-DDE and quintozene were 99, 96, 74, 72, 96 and 95%, respectively. No statistically significant gender difference in the blood concentrations of the pesticides was found. Consistent with the trend of the increasing β-HCH, p,p′-DDE and quintozene concentrations with age, a strong positive correlation between the age and concentrations of β-BHC, p,p′-DDE and quintozene was observed.     

Experimental arid land afforestation in Central Anatolia,Turkey

The afforestation of arid lands faces many challenges, and perhaps the most important key for success is choosing one or more species that are adapted well for local environmental conditions. We explored species that would be suitable for the steppe region of Central Anatolia. Intensive site preparation included ripping the subsoil (to 80 cm) and plowing the upper soil before planting seedlings of Elaeagnus angustifolia, Robinia pseudoacacia, Fraxinus angustifolia, and Pinus nigra were used as tree species. We also tested the success of several shrub species: Amygdalus orientalis, Calligonum polygonoides, and Spartium junceum. After five growing seasons, E. angustifolia showed the highest survival, with 80% of planted seedlings remaining. For the shrubs, A. orientalis was the most successful species with a 95% survival rate. Broad-leaved trees grew a cumulative average of 34 cm in height in 5 years, whereas P. nigra seedings grew only 9 cm. The greatest height growth occurred in the shrubs, with A. orientalis gaining 40 cm in height in 5 years. Overall, E. angustifolia and A. orientalis appeared best suited for afforestation in these areas. R. pseodoacacia and F. angustifolia may also be used as alternative species.     

Pond bank access as an approach for managing toxic cyanobacteria in beef cattle pasture drinking water ponds

Forty-one livestock drinking water ponds in Alabama beef cattle pastures during were surveyed during the late summer to generally understand water quality patterns in these important water resources. Since livestock drinking water ponds are prone to excess nutrients that typically lead to eutrophication, which can promote blooms of toxigenic phytoplankton such as cyanobacteria, we also assessed the threat of exposure to the hepatotoxin, microcystin. Eighty percent of the ponds studied contained measurable microcystin, while three of these ponds had concentrations above human drinking water thresholds set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (i.e., 0.3 μg/L). Water quality patterns in the livestock drinking water ponds contrasted sharply with patterns typically observed for temperate freshwater lakes and reservoirs. Namely, we found several non-linear relationships between phytoplankton abundance (measured as chlorophyll) and nutrients or total suspended solids. Livestock had direct access to all the study ponds. Consequently, the proportion of inorganic suspended solids (e.g., sediment) increased with higher concentrations of total suspended solids, which underlies these patterns. Unimodal relationships were also observed between microcystin and phytoplankton abundance or nutrients. Euglenoids were abundant in the four ponds with chlorophyll concentrations >?250 μg/L (and dominated three of these ponds), which could explain why ponds with high chlorophyll concentrations would have low microcystin concentrations. Based on observations made during sampling events and available water quality data, livestock-mediated bioturbation is causing elevated total suspended solids that lead to reduced phytoplankton abundance and microcystin despite high concentrations of nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen. Thus, livestock could be used to manage algal blooms, including toxic secondary metabolites, in their drinking water ponds by allowing them to walk in the ponds to increase turbidity.     

Identifying key areas of ecosystem services potential to improve ecological management in Chongqing City,southwest China

Because natural ecosystems and ecosystem services (ES) are both critical to the well-being of humankind, it is important to understand their relationships and congruence for conservation planning. Spatial conservation planning is required to set focused preservation priorities and to assess future ecological implications. This study uses the combined measures of ES models and ES potential to estimate and analyze all four groups of ecosystem services to generate opportunities to maximize ecosystem services. Subsequently, we identify the key areas of conservation priorities as future forestation and conservation hotspot zones to improve the ecological management in Chongqing City, located in the upper reaches of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China. Results show that ecosystem services potential is extremely obvious. Compared to ecosystem services from 2000, we determined that soil conservation could be increased by 59.11%, carbon sequestration by 129.51%, water flow regulation by 83.42%, and water purification by 84.42%. According to our prioritization results, approximately 48% of area converted to forests exhibited high improvements in all ecosystem services (categorized as hotspot-1, hotspot-2, and hotspot-3). The hotspots identified in this study can be used as an excellent surrogate for evaluation ecological engineering benefits and can be effectively applied in improving ecological management planning.