Assessment of DDT, DDE, and 1-hydroxypyrene levels in blood and urine samples in children from Chiapas Mexico

Purpose

The aim of this study was assess co-exposure to DDT, DDE (main DDT metabolite), and PAHs (1-hydroxypyrene) in areas where biomass is used to cook and to heat homes and where DDT was used to combat malaria transmission.

Methods

During 2009, we analyzed a total of 190 blood and urine samples from children living in six communities in Mexico. Quantitative analyses of DDT and DDE were performed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Analyses of 1-hydroxypyrene were performed by HPLC using a fluorescence detector.

Results

In this work, we found high levels of DDT and its principal metabolite (DDE) in the blood of children living in four communities in Chiapas located in the southeastern region of Mexico (range, Conclusion This study demonstrates that children in these communities were exposed to DDT and its metabolites, and to other contaminants generated by the combustion of firewood. Therefore, the complex mixture studied in this study (PAHs and DDT/DDE) requires further research.     

Petroleum royalties and regional development in Brazil: The economic growth of recipient towns

In 1997, Brazil approved law n^er 9478, establishing new rules for sharing petroleum royalties with Brazilian municipalities. The goal of this paper is to evaluate whether royalties distributed under the new law have contributed for the development of benefited municipalities. For that the difference-in-differences estimator (diff-in-diff) is used, which compares the evolution of the economic product into the municipality affected by the new law with the unaffected ones, by exploring the new legislation as an exogenous change. The data refer to the municipal gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate before and after the event. Results are surprising, showing that royalty receivers grew less than municipalities that did not receive such resources. The difference is small but statistically significant. In general, an increase of one real in royalties per capita reduces the growth rate of the municipal product in 0.002 percentile points.     

Glycolysis of flexible polyurethane wastes using stannous octoate as the catalyst

Flexible polyurethane foam wastes can be advantageously treated by two-phase glycolysis to recover the polyols with an improved quality compared to single-phase processes. This reaction has been traditionally catalyzed by alkanolamines, titanium compounds, or acetates. Recently, the employment of new catalysts based on potassium and calcium octoates has opened up a new way to catalyze the glycolysis of polyurethanes. In this work, the use of stannous octoate, which has never before been applied in the glycolysis reactions of polyurethanes, is proposed. The catalytic activity of stannous octoate in such a process was studied. The decomposition rate and the purity of polyol obtained were greater than those obtained using other catalysts previously employed for this application.     

Method for the determination of selected organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in human serum based on a gel permeation chromatographic clean-up

A gel permeation chromatographic (GPC) clean-up based method was developed for determination of selected organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in human serum. The method permits automation of the sample extract clean-up stage and is designed to work with small amounts of sample. Different working variables were studied in its development, including injection volume, flow rate, and fat amount as the most representative coextract. The method provides solvent and time savings. Initial extraction was performed using 96-well solid-phase disk extraction plates, and quantification was performed by gas chromatography with electron capture detection and mass spectrometry. Recoveries of PCB congeners 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, and 180 and organochlorine pesticides HCB, β-HCH, γ-HCH, heptachlor epoxide, p,p′-DDE, and p,p′-DDT at two spiking levels ranged from 55% to 115% with relative standard deviations ranging from 2.0% to 14.6%. Limits of quantification ranged from 0.06 to 0.16 ng mL⁻¹ for PCBs and from 0.12 to 0.36 ng mL⁻¹ for organochlorine pesticides. Finally, the method was applied to the analysis of 38 serum samples and the results were compared with those of another procedure validated at the laboratory.     

A Systematic Framework for the Design and Implementation of a Quality Management Practice: The Case of a Consulting Engineering Company

Company productivity and competitiveness in today's marketplace requires creative design, innovation, and the reduction of nonconformances, which require costly rework and can damage a firm's reputation with its customers and potential customers. Using the International Organisation of Standardization's (ISO) 9000 and 14000 series of standards, the authors of this article walk readers through the rigorous process of obtaining upper management buy‐in and sponsorship and engaging workers in a bottom‐up approach to establish the procedures necessary to perform world‐class engineering services.     

Measuring an Organization's Performance: The Road to Defining Sustainability Indicators

This article proposes an integrated procedure to assess sustainability indicators that organizations can use to satisfy international requirements for sustainability. The indicators are related to key aspects of organizations, and their development includes comparing them to the results and policies of various other organizations that are seeking to achieve sustainability. The methodology we used is based on a bibliographic review, and it is intended to:

• Diagnose the state of the art of organizational sustainability,
• Provide organizations with tools to perform benchmarking based on the results, and
• Provide processes to identify best sustainability practices.

After benchmarking, organization managers will be able to adjust the methodology to quantify the sustainability indicators that are most suited to their organization's profile in regard to the activities, products, and services that it offers. Critical factors for organizational sustainability are identified and integrated into the systematic approach proposed in this article to assess indicators, communicate results, and make recommendations for corrective action and continual improvement considering the organization's baseline condition (the starting condition of the organization).     

Estimation of hydrogen sulfide emission rates at several wastewater treatment plants through experimental concentration measurements and dispersion modeling

The management and operation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) usually involve the release into the atmosphere of malodorous substances with the potential to reduce the quality of life of people living nearby. In this type of facility, anaerobic degradation processes contribute to the generation of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), often at quite high concentrations; thus, the presence of this chemical compound in the atmosphere can be a good indicator of the occurrence and intensity of the olfactory impact in a specific area. The present paper describes the experimental and modelling work being carried out by CEAM-UMH in the surroundings of several wastewater treatment plants located in the Valencia Autonomous Community (Spain). This work has permitted the estimation of H2S emission rates at different WWTPs under different environmental and operating conditions. Our methodological approach for analyzing and describing the most relevant aspects of the olfactory impact consisted of several experimental campaigns involving intensive field measurements using passive samplers in the vicinity of several WWTPs, in combination with numerical simulation results from a diagnostic dispersion model. A meteorological tower at each WWTP provided the input values for the dispersion code, ensuring a good fit of the advective component and therefore more confidence in the modelled concentration field in response to environmental conditions. Then, comparisons between simulated and experimental H2S concentrations yielded estimates of the global emission rate for this substance at several WWTPs at different time periods. The results obtained show a certain degree of temporal and spatial (between-plant) variability (possibly due to both operational and environmental conditions). Nevertheless, and more importantly, the results show a high degree of uniformity in the estimates, which consistently stay within the same order of magnitude.     

Toxic effect of metal cation binary mixtures to the seaweed Gracilaria domingensis (Gracilariales,Rhodophyta)

The macroalga Gracilaria domingensis is an important resource for the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and biotechnology industries. G. domingensis is at a part of the food web foundation, providing nutrients and microelements to upper levels. As seaweed storage metals in the vacuoles, they are considered the main vectors to magnify these toxic elements. This work describes the evaluation of the toxicity of binary mixtures of available metal cations based on the growth rates of G. domingensis over a 48-h exposure. The interactive effects of each binary mixture were determined using a toxic unit (TU) concept that was the sum of the relative contribution of each toxicant and calculated using the ratio between the toxicant concentration and its endpoint. Mixtures of Cd(II)/Cu(II) and Zn(II)/Ca(II) demonstrated to be additive; Cu(II)/Zn(II), Cu(II)/Mg(II), Cu(II)/Ca(II), Zn(II)/Mg(II), and Ca(II)/Mg(II) mixtures were synergistic, and all interactions studied with Cd(II) were antagonistic. Hypotheses that explain the toxicity of binary mixtures at the molecular level are also suggested. These results represent the first effort to characterize the combined effect of available metal cations, based on the TU concept on seaweed in a total controlled medium. The results presented here are invaluable to the understanding of seaweed metal cation toxicity in the marine environment, the mechanism of toxicity action and how the tolerance of the organism.     

Spectroscopic Raman study of sulphate precipitation sequence in Rio Tinto mining district (SW Spain)

Acidic waters and sulphate-rich precipitates are typical by-products of mining activity such as in Rio Tinto (Huelva, SW Spain). This river drains pyrite mines situated in the Iberian Pyrite Belt which have been in operation since the Bronze Age and probably constitutes the oldest continuously operating mining activity over the world. In the present work, we have used Raman spectroscopy to study a wide range of natural mineral samples collected at Rio Tinto which origin is related to evaporation and mineral transformation processes in a wet and extreme acidic environment. In addition, we simulated the phenomenon of mineral precipitation in controlled conditions by using a simulator developed at the laboratory evaporating natural water collected at Rio Tinto. Also, a series of experiments using the same waters as small droplets have been carried out using micro-Raman technique. The droplets were placed on substrates with different chemical composition and reactivity. The results reveal that the precipitation sequence occurred in Rio Tinto mainly comprises copiapite and coquimbite group minerals followed by several other low hydrated iron sulphates. The experiments carried out on droplets allow estimating with higher accuracy the precipitation sequence.