The use of some plant-derived products as effective alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters in organic poultry production: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Improving poultry production, increasing poultry immunity, and reducing the disease spreading can be achieved by adding various potentially valuable...     

17th ICCE Satellite Event University Education in Environmental Sciences

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Recently, nearly 500 study programmes related to environmental disciplines were detected in Europe (Lammel et al, Environ Sci Pollut Res 21:7211-7218...     

Air pollution levels near crossroads with different traffic density and the estimation of health risk

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - The aim of this study was to determine the influence of traffic density on air pollutant levels as well as to analyse the spatial and temporal distribution...     

Ecotoxicity of wastes in avoidance tests with Enchytraeus albidus,Enchytraeus crypticus and Eisenia fetida (Oligochaeta)

Contact bioassays are important for testing the ecotoxicity of solid materials. However, survival and reproduction tests are often not practical due to their duration which may last for several weeks. Avoidance tests with soil invertebrates may offer an alternative or extension to the classic test batteries due to their short duration (days rather than weeks) and due to a sensitive sub-acute endpoint (behavior). The aims of our study were: (a) to evaluate the effects of three solid industrial wastes (incineration ash, contaminated wood chips and contaminated soil) on three Oligochaeta species (enchytraeids Enchytraeus albidus, Enchytraeus crypticus and earthworm Eisenia fetida) in avoidance tests; (b) to compare the sensitivity among the species and to compare results of avoidance test to reproduction tests; (c) to elucidate if measuring the weight in the earthworm avoidance test could be reasonable additional endpoint. Avoidance mostly increased with the increasing percent of waste in the mixture showing a dose–response curve. E. fetida was the most sensitive species and E. crypticus the least one. An additional endpoint, (changes in weight after two-day exposure) was not found to be more sensitive than avoidance reaction, but it confirmed that earthworms staying in the highest concentrations of the waste mixture were affected showing apparent weight reduction. Our results indicate that avoidance tests with earthworms and enchytraeids are feasible for waste testing.     

Are the residents of former Yugoslavia still exposed to elevated PCB levels due to the Balkan wars? Part 1: Air sampling in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) spilled into the environment as a result of damaged industrial and military targets, natural resources, and infrastructure during the Balkan wars still pose a problem several years later. The aim of this project was to investigate an extent to which the residents of former Yugoslavia are exposed to elevated levels of POPs as a consequence of the wars. The atmospheric as well as the soil levels of PCBs, OCPs and PAHs were determined in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina during five high volume air sampling campaigns in 2003 and 2004. A considerable contamination of several sites was detected (PCB concentrations in the atmosphere ranged between 67 pg m(-3) and 40 ng m(-3) for the sum of 7 indicator congeners) and the levels are reported in this article.     

Impact of Climate Change on Ecological Quality Indicators and Biogeochemical Fluxes in the Baltic Sea: A Multi-Model Ensemble Study

Multi-model ensemble simulations using three coupled physical-biogeochemical models were performed to calculate the combined impact of projected future climate change and plausible nutrient load changes on biogeochemical cycles in the Baltic Sea. Climate projections for 1961-2099 were combined with four nutrient load scenarios ranging from a pessimistic business-as-usual to a more optimistic case following the Helsinki Commission's (HELCOM) Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP). The model results suggest that in a future climate, water quality, characterized by ecological quality indicators like winter nutrient, summer bottom oxygen, and annual mean phytoplankton concentrations as well as annual mean Secchi depth (water transparency), will be deteriorated compared to present conditions. In case of nutrient load reductions required by the BSAP, water quality is only slightly improved. Based on the analysis of biogeochemical fluxes, we find that in warmer and more anoxic waters, internal feedbacks could be reinforced. Increased phosphorus fluxes out of the sediments, reduced denitrification efficiency and increased nitrogen fixation may partly counteract nutrient load abatement strategies.     

Chemical and morphological characterization of aerosol particles at Mt. Krvavec, Slovenia, during the Eyjafjallajökull Icelandic volcanic eruption

Objective

In this work, continuous and size-segregated aerosol measurements at Mt. Krvavec, Slovenia, during the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption were performed. Based on chemical and morphological characteristics of size-segregated particles, the presence of the volcanic aerosols after long-range transport to Slovenia was to be confirmed.

Results and conclusions

Continuous measurements with the aethalometer and SMPS indicated the suspected volcanic ash plume passing over the sampling site. The aerosols collected by discrete sampling showed a chemical signature similar to the known elemental signature of the Icelandic volcanic ash. Coarse particles showed a composition typical for silicates rich in metals; in many cases also S was present. Morphological analysis showed particles with features indicative of an explosive volcanic eruption, e.g., pumice and pumice shards, glass shards, minerals, evidence of steam condensation, etc. The high sulfate concentration associated with the fine particles resulted in sulfate crystallization within the cascade impactor leading to the formation of large structures resembling a “fern”. Mass size distributions for Fe, Ti, Mn, Ca, Na, and Mg showed one primary peak (for Fe, Mn, and Ti at 2.8 μm; for Ca, Na, and Mg at ca. 4 μm), which supports the fact that most of the particles in the coarse sizes were silicates rich in metals. The size distribution of the water-soluble SO ₄ ^2? showed a maximum peak at 0.75 μm, which also confirms the high sulfate concentration in the fine particles. Chemical and morphological characterization of aerosols collected at Mt. Krvavec indeed confirmed that volcanic ash plume passed over Slovenia.     

Avoidance response of Enchytraeus albidus in relation to carbendazim ageing

In this study, avoidance response of Enchytraeus albidus to LUFA 2.2 soil contaminated with pesticide carbendazim was investigated. The aim was to clarify minimal test duration and temporal changes in avoidance response due to contamination ageing. Firstly, the concentration causing 50% avoidance (EC₅₀) was determined as 7.6 mg/kg. Then, test duration needed to reach this value (ET₅₀ = approximately 18 h) was identified. Finally, the capability of E. albidus avoidance test to reflect the changes of pollutant bioavailability was tested. The soil was spiked with carbendazim at the EC₅₀ concentration 1, 14, or 28 days before the test started and avoidance effects of fresh versus aged contamination were compared. The results indicated that enchytraeids preferred soil contaminated for 28 days prior to assay where carbendazim was probably less bioavailable than in freshly spiked soil. Our results open an interesting research area of potential use of avoidance tests for contaminant bioavailability assessment.     

Bisphenol A in human placental and fetal liver tissues collected from Greater Montreal area (Quebec) during 1998-2008

In this study, the presence of bisphenol A (BPA) in human placental and fetal liver samples collected from 1998 to 2008 was investigated to provide a more detailed analysis of the transfer of BPA across the placenta and fetal exposure to BPA. The average concentrations in placental samples were 12.6 ng g⁻¹ for free BPA, 17.2 ng g⁻¹ for BPA-glu, and 30.2 ng g⁻¹ for total BPA. The highest concentrations in placental samples were 165 ng g⁻¹ for free BPA, 178 ng g⁻¹ for BPA-glu, and 280 ng g⁻¹ for total BPA. Samples with higher levels of BPA-glu had higher levels of free BPA in general. Fetal age was observed to have a significant effect on BPA-glu levels in placental samples, but not on free or total BPA. The percentages of free BPA relative to total BPA for the placental samples varied considerably from 4.2% to 100%, suggesting that the ability of maternal liver and/or the placenta to conjugate BPA is highly variable during early to mid-gestation. The average concentrations in fetal liver samples were 9.02 ng g⁻¹ for free BPA, 19.1 ng g⁻¹ for BPA-glu, and 25.8 ng g⁻¹ for total BPA. The highest concentrations in fetal liver samples were 37.7 ng g⁻¹ for free BPA, 93.9 ng g⁻¹ for BPA-glu, and 123 ng g⁻¹ for total BPA. The percentages of free BPA level relative to total BPA for all fetal liver samples varied from 12.4% to 99.1%, indicating extensive variability in the ability of the human feto-placental unit to glucuronidate BPA.     

Tar and soot generation behaviors from ABS,PC and PE pyrolysis

In this study we performed a non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis on three thermoplastics—ABS, PC and PE. The Coats and Redfern method (Nature 201:68–69, 1964) was then used to approximate the kinetic parameters of each material. In addition, we performed a series of pyrolysis experiments in a batch reactor, for each plastic. The experiments were performed over the temperature range of 600–1000 °C at a constant residence time. The liquid and solid products of the pyrolysis, were collected, separated and weighted. Those products were categorized as soot, tar and char (PC only), and their relative weight to initial sample weight (DAF) was plotted against the temperature. The tar measured was exclusively medium to high molecular weight (>80 g/mol). Results revealed that relative tar and soot production, for all three materials, first increases and then decreases with temperature increase. The maximum achieved tar yields for ABS, PC and PE were at 700, 650 and 800 °C, respectively; and the maximum soot yields were at 1000, 1000, 950 °C, respectively.