Analytical,Risk Assessment,and Remedial Implications Due to the Co‐Presence of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Terphenyls at Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites

Investigations conducted at three inactive hazardous waste sites in New York State have confirmed the co‐presence of polychlorinated hiphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCTs) in soils, sediments, and biota. The PCTs at all three sites were positively identified as Aroclor 5432, with the most probable source being the hydraulic fluid Pydraul 312A utilized for high‐temperature applications. The identification of the lower‐chlorinated PCT formulations in environmental samples is problematical, since PCT Aroclors 5432 and 5442 are not chromatographically distinct from the higher‐chlorinated (PCB) Aroclors 1254, 1260, 1262, and 1268 using conventional gas chromatography–electron capture detection. Results from this study indicate that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) approved PCB methods routinely utilized by most commercial laboratories based on Florisil adsorption column chromatography cleanup are inadequate to produce valid chromatographic separation and quantitative results with soils, sediment, and biota samples containing both PCBs and PCTs. The presence of co‐eluting PCBs and PCTs precludes accurate quantitation due to significant differences in PCB/PCT electron capture detector response factors, and the potential for misidentification of PCT Aroclors as higher chlorinated PCB Aroclors. A method based on alumina column adsorption chromatography was used, allowing for the accurate identification and quantitation of PCB and PCT Aroclors. The results of this study suggest that the utilization of alumina adsorption column separation may have applicability and regulatory significance to other industrially contaminated sites which historically used Pydraul 312A. Inferences.     

Development of Thixotropic Coatings Using Dimerized Soybean Oil Fatty Acids: The Case of Polyamide of 1,2-Phenylene Diamine

Soybean oil (SBO) was dimerized and the crude dimer acid product reacted with 1,2-phenylene diamine at 210 ± 5 °C under inert atmosphere to obtain fatty polyamide (FPA). The FPA was used to modify a commercial alkyd resin by reacting a mixture of the alkyd resin with 5 wt% of FPA at 120 °C for 80 min under inert atmosphere. The FTIR spectrum of the FPA modified resin showed evidence of higher degree of H-bonding than was found for the unmodified alkyd. White gloss coatings of 15, 20, 25, and 30% solids were formulated from the modified and unmodified resins and examined for performance with respect to: leveling, sag resistance, drying time, pigment settling, skinning tendency and film hardness. Results showed that the unmodified alkyd coatings exhibited good leveling but poor sag resistance at all solid contents. In contrast, FPA modified alkyd coatings combined good leveling with high sag resistance indicating their thixotropic nature. A strong tendency to pigment settling was observed for unmodified alkyd coatings but was not observed in the FPA modified alkyd coatings. The modified alkyd coatings showed skinning while the unmodified alkyd coatings did not skin. A 30% solids coating formulation of the FPA modified resin showed shorter surface dry time but longer hard dry time than the unmodified alkyd resin coating.     

Ecology and Conservation of the Endangered American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus)

Field studies were conducted on the western population of the endangered American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) in Oklahoma and Arkansas to determine its habitat affinities. A common cause of declining populations is some specialized adaptation that makes it difficult to respond to a rapidly changing habitat. We evaluated the hypothesis that N. americanus is a habitat specialist in its search for food, preferring mature forests with deep, humic soils. This hypothesis was rejected. Based on comparisons of niche breadth among syntopic congeners and niche overlap, N. americanus is relatively generalized in its use of a range of habitats when searching for food. It is likely that the generalist nature and the endangered status of N. americanus both derive from the fact that it is the largest member of its guild. In comparison to smaller species, N. americanus breeds on larger carcasses, which are more unpredictable in space and time. It is likely, therefore, that N. americanus must search over a larger area and greater diversity of habitats than its smaller congeners.     

The Sustainable Use of Sensitive Countryside Sites for Sport and Active Recreation

Sport and active recreation, as an important area of leisure activity that can take place in the countryside, has recently been the subject of much discussion both in central government reports and statutory agencies' studies. This paper examines principles for their planning and management, particularly in sensitive areas such as National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Sites of Special Scientific Interest. It takes the view that effective recreation management should be promoted, suggesting that the designation of countryside areas should not imply that they are unchanging, or that environmental policies should be applied uniformly. The Government's UK Sustainable Development Strategy 1994 emphasizes the importance of assessing capacity and of management and monitoring in providing for leisure. Yet knowledge of recreation impacts is incomplete. A number of principles for the management of countryside recreation are given, and examples given of such principles in use. These stress the need for effective participation by the various interests involved at sites and the importance of voluntary approaches to the resolution of conflicts.