An ecologically oriented database to guide remediation and reuse of contaminated sites

This article presents a database developed to determine the potential reuse of contaminated sites for primarily ecologically and culturally based activities. The database consists of 172 quantitative and qualitative measures of on‐site land suitability, ecological, cultural, and recreational value, and off‐site suitability, economic, and demographic information. Using sites owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as a case study, the article evaluates the quality of available data and suggests ways of using it for planning ecologically sensitive remediation activities and future land use. This type of database can be developed and used by anyone who needs to select, review, or evaluate site remediation and future land use options. Also discussed are the challenges associated with compiling and using data that has been generated by many sources over several years. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

An Ecological Multidisciplinary Approach to Protecting Society,Human Health,and the Environment at Nuclear Facilities

As the United States and other countries move toward a greater reliance on nuclear energy, it becomes increasingly important to characterize the environment around such facilities to protect society, human health, and the environment. This article presents an ecological, multidisciplinary approach to gathering the information needed to establish baselines, site new nuclear facilities, protect existing nuclear facilities and nuclear wastes, improve the basis for emergency planning, devise suitable monitoring schemes to ensure continued protection, provide data to track local and regional response changes, and provide for mitigation, remediation, and decommissioning planning. We suggest that there are five categories of information or data needs: (1) geophysical, sources, fate and transport; (2) biological systems; (3) human health; (4) stakeholder and environmental justice; and (5) societal, economic, and political. All of these categories are influenced by temporal and spatial patterns, vulnerabilities, and global changes. These informational needs are more expansive than the traditional site characterization but encompass a suite of physical, biological, and societal needs to protect all aspects of human health and the environment, not just physical health. We suggest that technical teams be established for each of the major informational categories, with appropriate representation among teams and with a broad involvement of a range of governmental personnel, natural and social scientists, Native Americans, environmental justice communities, and other stakeholders. Although designed for nuclear facilities, the templates and information teams can be adapted for other hazardous facilities. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Dust Emission and Efficiency of Local Exhaust Ventilation During Cast Iron Grinding

A method of determining dust emission and efficiency of its removal by means of local exhaust ventilation from machinery has been described. It complies with Standard No. EN 1093-3:1996 (European Committee for Standardization, 1996) and consists in determining air pollution concentra-tions in the measurement duct used for air removal from the chamber incorporating devices to be tested. The air volume stream that is pumped is measured at the same time.

Test results are presented for dust emission and the efficiency of local exhaust ventilation for cast iron grinding by means of manual power tools and a bench-sander. It has been found that application of local exhaust ventilation contributes to a significant reduction of dust emission with efficiency greater than 90%.     

Patterns of soil contamination,erosion and river loading of metals in a gold mining region of northern Mongolia

Mining has become one of the main causes of increased heavy metal loading of river systems throughout the world. There is however an evident gap between assessments of soil contamination and metal release at the mined sites and estimates of river pollution. The present work focuses on Zaamar Goldfield, which is one of the largest placer gold mines in the world, located along the Tuul River, Mongolia, which ultimately drains into Lake Baikal, Russia. It combines field observations in the river basin with soil erosion modelling and aims at quantifying the contribution from natural erosion of metal-rich soil to observed increases in mass flows of metals along the Tuul River. Results show that the sediment delivery from the mining area to the Tuul River is considerably higher than the possible contribution from natural soil erosion. This is primarily due to excessive mining-related water use creating turbid wastewaters, disturbed filtering functions of deposition areas (natural sediment traps) close to the river and disturbances from infrastructures such as roads. Furthermore, relative to background levels, soils within Zaamar Goldfield contained elevated concentrations of As, Sr, Mn,V, Ni, Cu and Cr. The enhanced soil loss caused by mining-related activities can also explain observed, considerable increases in mass flows of metals in the Tuul River. The present example from Tuul River may provide useful new insights regarding the erosion and geomorphic evolution of mined areas, as well as the associated delivery of metals into stream networks.

     

Estimates of (239+240)Pu inventories in Gdańsk Bay and Gdańsk basin

This paper presents and discusses the results of (239+240)Pu determinations in different components of Gdańsk bay and Gdańsk basin ecosystem, as well as estimated sources and inventories of plutonium in these basins. The total plutonium (239+240)Pu activities deposited in Gdańsk bay and Gdańsk basin sediments are 1.18 TBq and 3.77 TBq, respectively. Two rivers, the Vistula and Neman rivers, and atmospheric fallout were distinguished as the main sources of plutonium in these basins. In seawater (with suspended matter included) there is about 2.33 GBq (239+240)Pu (0.2% of total activity) in Gdańsk bay and 9.92 GBq (239+240)Pu (0.3% of total activity) in Gdańsk basin. In both cases, 56% of (239+240)Pu is associated with suspended matter. Organisms contain 3.81 MBq in Gdańsk bay and 7.45 MBq (239+240)Pu in Gdańsk basin. From this value in Gdańsk bay 82.1% of plutonium is associated with zoobenthos, 13.6% with phytobenthos, 1.6% with phytoplankton, 1.5% with zooplankton and 1.2% with fish. In Gdańsk basin, 83.2% is associated with zoobenthos, 7.5% with phytobenthos, 3.6% with phytoplankton, 3.2% with zooplankton and 2.5% with fish.     

Applications of isotope differentiation for metabolic studies with di‐(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate

Abstract

The pervasiveness of the plasticizer di‐(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in the environment and especially in the laboratory results in a background that may cause severe interference with analytical studies. Animal‐to‐animal variability in the distribution of DEHP metabolites in excreta normally makes it necessary to use large groups of animals when different treatments are compared. Finally, radioactive tracers are usually considered undesirable for metabolic studies involving human subjects. All of these problems can be overcome through the use of muliple isotopic labels, especially ¹²C/¹³C/¹⁴C. Examples are given involving rats and monkeys, and applicability to humans is discussed. The principles involved are not limited to any particular class of test compounds. In rats, the competing pathways for metabolism of phthalate esters produce a different distribution of metabolites from a small intravenous dose of DEHP than from a large oral dose.     

The impact of inorganic tin on the planktonic cyanobacterium Synechocystis aquatilis: the effect of pH and humic acid

The influence of inorganic tin compounds on the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis aquatilis was studied, and its dependence on changing pH of the surrounding medium and the presence of humic acid. Both Sn(II) and Sn(IV), used as chlorides (at the concentrations 1-10 mg litre(-1)), inhibit the growth and chlorophyll a content of the cyanobacterium cultures, but only under alkaline conditions. Generally, the observed tin toxicity increased with increase of metal concentration, time of exposure and pH value of the medium (in the range 7-9.8). Sn(II) seems to be more toxic than Sn(IV). At the lowest studied metal concentration (1 mg litre(-1)), Sn(II) caused a 36 and 40% decrease in growth and chl a content, respectively, after 96 h exposure at pH 9.8, while Sn(IV) caused even a slight increase of both physiological parameters (hormetic effect). Similar increases in growth and chl a content were also observed at a high Sn (II) and Sn(IV) concentration (10 mg litre(-1)), but only in cultures exposed to metal at pH 7. At high pH (9.8), 10 mg litre(-1) of Sn(II) and Sn(IV) significantly suppressed both the growth of the cyanobacterium (by 54.2 and 26.1%, respectively) and the chl a content in cultures (by 58.2 and 24%, respectively). Humic acid reduced the toxicity of tin towards the cyanobacterium. The observed effects of pH and complexing ligand on the inorganic tin toxicity are discussed in the context of changing, chemical metal speciation and bioavailability.     

Chemical and microbial characteristics of municipal drinking water supply systems in the Canadian Arctic

Drinking water in the vast Arctic Canadian territory of Nunavut is sourced from surface water lakes or rivers and transferred to man-made or natural reservoirs. The raw water is at a minimum treated by chlorination and distributed to customers either by trucks delivering to a water storage tank inside buildings or through a piped distribution system. The objective of this study was to characterize the chemical and microbial drinking water quality from source to tap in three hamlets (Coral Harbour, Pond Inlet and Pangnirtung—each has a population of <2000) on trucked service, and in Iqaluit (population ~6700), which uses a combination of trucked and piped water conveyance. Generally, the source and drinking water was of satisfactory microbial quality, containing Escherichia coli levels of <1 MPN/100 mL with a few exceptions, and selected pathogenic bacteria and parasites were below detection limits using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) methods. Tap water in households receiving trucked water contained less than the recommended 0.2 mg/L of free chlorine, while piped drinking water in Iqaluit complied with Health Canada guidelines for residual chlorine (i.e. >0.2 mg/L free chlorine). Some buildings in the four communities contained manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe) and/or lead (Pb) concentrations above Health Canada guideline values for the aesthetic (Mn, Cu and Fe) and health (Pb) objectives. Corrosion of components of the drinking water distribution system (household storage tanks, premise plumbing) could be contributing to Pb, Cu and Fe levels, as the source water in three of the four communities had low alkalinity. The results point to the need for robust disinfection, which may include secondary disinfection or point-of-use disinfection, to prevent microbial risks in drinking water tanks in buildings and ultimately at the tap.     

Synthesis,characterization, and application of 2D/2D TiO2-GO-ZnFe2O4 obtained by the fluorine-free lyophilization method for solar light-driven photocatalytic degradation of ibuprofen

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, we report the potential of 2D/2D TiO2-GO-ZnFe2O4 photocatalyst obtained using the fluorine-free lyophilization technique for the...