Comparative hepatic and renal toxicity of cadmium in male and female rats

Rats (male and female) were exposed to 0.5 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg cadmium as cadmium chloride for 3 days and subsequently sacrificed for cadmium concentration and other biochemical variables indicative of hepatic and renal damage. The absorption of cadmium was supported by biochemical changes, which were significantly higher in females than in males. This could be due to higher rate of intestinal absorption of cadmium in females than males. Male and female rats both showed relatively higher cadmium concentration in kidneys than in liver. Female rats also showed the similar trend in tissue metal levels as compared to male rats. However, hepatic and renal histopathological observations showed that female rats suffered from severe hepatic injury like hydropic degeneration of hepatocytes, granulation, bile duct proliferation etc. In comparison to female rats, male rats did not show much remarkable changes. Renal damage was more prominent in female than male in the form of renal tubular damage; most of the tubular nuclei were pyknotic, congestion of the boundary of cortex and medulla etc. The results suggested that females were comparatively more vulnerable to the toxic effects of cadmium than males.     

Bleaching of chemithermomechanical pulp (CTMP) using environmentally friendly chemicals

Increasing environmental restrictions require a reduction in the use of chlorine-containing bleaching agents mainly chlorine gas. There are several approaches to this goal, including changes in the cooking process and the influent treatment. The aim of this study is to improve the physical and optical properties of chemithermomechanical pulp (CTMP) which has low brightness and strong tendency towards aging in chlorine-free bleaching sequences. For this reason, initially 7 different sets of single stage hydrogen peroxide bleaching operations were performed. After the analysis of the data obtained, the optimum bleaching conditions were as: H2O2 ratio on oven dry (o.d) raw material: 2%, NaOH ratio (on o.d raw material): 1.5%, MgSO4 ratio (on o.d raw material) : 0.5%, Na2SiO3 ratio (on o.d raw material) : 3%, EDTA ratio (on o.d raw material) : 0.5%, reaction time: 60 minutes, reaction temperature: 70 degrees C and concentration: 16%. Then, 11 different sets of two and multistage H2O2 (P), NaBH4 (B), and Na2S2O4 (S) bleaching operations were carried out. Optimum bleaching conditions were found in bleaching of BPSP with 4 stage sequences. As a result, CTMP brightness was observed to increase from 47% to 81.37% elrepho while yellowness of bleached pulps decreased from 321 per thousand to 164.01 per thousand elrepho.     

Air pollution and forest health: toward new monitoring concepts

It is estimated that 49% of forests (17 million km(2)) will be exposed to damaging concentrations of tropospheric O(3) by 2100. Global forest area at risk from S deposition may reach 5.9 million km(2) by 2050, despite SO(2) emission reductions of 48% in North America and 25% in Europe. Although SO(2) levels have decreased, emissions of NO(x) are little changed, or have increased slightly. In some regions, the molar SO(4)/NO(3) ratio in precipitation has switched from 2/1 to near 1/1 during the past two decades. Coincidentally, pattern shifts in precipitation and temperature are evident. A number of reports suggest that forests are being affected by air pollution. Yet, the extent to which such effects occur is uncertain, despite the efforts dedicated to monitoring forests. Routine monitoring programmes provide a huge amount of data. Yet in many cases, these data do not fit the conceptual and statistical requirements for detecting status and trends of forest health, nor for cause-effect research. There is a clear need for a re-thinking of monitoring strategies.     

Integrative Evaluation of the Ecological Quality of Metalliferous Streams (Chalkidiki, Macedonia, Hellas)

The present study reports on a year-long (November 1997-November 1998) study of water quality in streams of the Olympias and Skouries areas of Chalkidiki (Hellas), subject to past and present mining activities. Benthic macroinvertebrates were collected from 18 sampling sites at five sampling intervals, while several physicochemical parameters of the water (D.O., pH, temperature, nutrients etc.) were also measured. Five European biotic indices and scores and two multivariate statistical methods (CANOCO, FUZZY) were applied to the macroinvertebrate data. The concentration of various trace metals in the water, sediment, fish and crustaceans were also measured. Most sampling stations exhibited a highly diverse macroinvertebrate fauna during the whole year. However, a slight amelioration of water quality was observed during the high-flow period (winter and early spring), regarding diversity of several invertebrate groups, especially pollution-sensitive families, which decreased. The European biotic indices and scores proved to be relatively ineffective in describing water quality and it is suggested that an Hellenic biotic indice or score should be created. The bioaccumulation studies indicated variable effects of trace metals and organic load on macroinvertebrates according to the degree of load.     

Uncertainties and recommendations

An assessment of the impacts of changes in climate and UV-B radiation on Arctic terrestrial ecosystems, made within the Arctic Climate Impacts Assessment (ACIA), highlighted the profound implications of projected warming in particular for future ecosystem services, biodiversity and feedbacks to climate. However, although our current understanding of ecological processes and changes driven by climate and UV-B is strong in some geographical areas and in some disciplines, it is weak in others. Even though recently the strength of our predictions has increased dramatically with increased research effort in the Arctic and the introduction of new technologies, our current understanding is still constrained by various uncertainties. The assessment is based on a range of approaches that each have uncertainties, and on data sets that are often far from complete. Uncertainties arise from methodologies and conceptual frameworks, from unpredictable surprises, from lack of validation of models, and from the use of particular scenarios, rather than predictions, of future greenhouse gas emissions and climates. Recommendations to reduce the uncertainties are wide-ranging and relate to all disciplines within the assessment. However, a repeated theme is the critical importance of achieving an adequate spatial and long-term coverage of experiments, observations and monitoring of environmental changes and their impacts throughout the sparsely populated and remote region that is the Arctic.     

Chromium (III) recovery from waste acid solution by ion exchange processing using Amberlite IR-120 resin: batch and continuous ion exchange modelling

The use of ion exchange technology was studied to remove chromium (III) from acidic waste solution by Amberlite IR-120 resin. Batch and column experimental tests were conducted to provide data for theoretical models and verify the system performance of the adsorption process. Results of batch equilibrium tests indicated that Langmuir isotherm describes well the adsorption process, whereas experimental data also provide evidence that, under the present experimental conditions, chromium (III) adsorption by Amberlite IR-120 resin is film-diffusion controlled; on the other hand, the theoretical model used in the present investigation was found to predict reasonably well the ion exchange breakthrough performance.     

Electroassisted methods for waste destruction: silver(II) and peroxydisulfate reagents in the electrochemically mediated oxidation of polyaromatic sulfonates

The electrochemical oxidation is a promising process for organic pollutants which are recalcitrant to biological degradation. The anodic oxidation of 1,5-naphthalenedisulfonic acid, hereafter NDS, was evaluated at a Pt anode using in situ generated Ag(II) cation or peroxydisulfate [S2O(8)(2-)] anion as mediators. Kinetics of the direct chemical oxidation of NDS in the presence of Na2S2O8, and the identification of some oxidation intermediates are also reported. An analysis of the results shows that Ag(II) is characterized by a high-reaction rates, while [S2O(8)(2-)] performs the oxidation of NDS in a complete way.     

Mineralisation of Monuron photoinduced by Fe(III) in aqueous solution

The degradation of Monuron (3-(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea) photoinduced by Fe(III) in aqueous solution has been investigated. The rate of degradation depends on the concentration of Fe(OH)2+, the most photoreactive species in terms of *OH radical formation. These *OH radicals are able to degrade Monuron until total mineralisation. The primordial role of the speciation of Fe(III)-hydroxy complex in aqueous solution, for the efficiency of the elimination of pollutant, was shown and explained in detail. The formation of Fe(II) in the irradiated solution was monitored and correlated with the total organic carbon evolution. Degradation photoproducts were identified and a mechanism of degradation is proposed.     

Characterisation of a reference site for quantifying uncertainties related to soil sampling

The paper reports a methodology adopted to face problems related to quality assurance in soil sampling. The SOILSAMP project, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency of Italy (APAT), is aimed at (i) establishing protocols for soil sampling in different environments; (ii) assessing uncertainties associated with different soil sampling methods in order to select the "fit-for-purpose" method; (iii) qualifying, in term of trace elements spatial variability, a reference site for national and international inter-comparison exercises. Preliminary results and considerations are illustrated.     

Natural and anthropogenic enrichments of molybdenum, thorium, and uranium in a complete peat bog profile, Jura Mountains, Switzerland

A core from an ombrotrophic Swiss bog representing 12 370 (14)C years of peat accumulation was evaluated as a possible archive of atmospheric deposition of Mo, Th and U. Calcium, Sr, and Ba were also determined to quantify weathering inputs, Mn to follow possible redox transformations, and Rb to identify plant uptake. Each of these elements was determined using ICP-MS, following digestion in a microwave heated autoclave using 3 ml HNO(3) and 0.1 ml HBF(4). Calcium and Sr clearly identify the thickness of the ombrotrophic zone because they are enriched in the minerogenic zone relative to the concentration of mineral matter. The concentration of Ba, however, is proportional to the concentration of mineral matter in all samples, and is not added to peat column by weathering reactions at the peat-sediment interface. The lowest element concentrations are found during the Holocene climate optimum (5320 to 8030 (14)C year BP) with the following natural background values (n= 18): Mo 0.08 +/- 0.02 microg g(-1), U 0.029 +/- 0.008 microg g(-1), Ba 5.2 +/- 2.6 microg g(-1), Th 0.070 +/- 0.022 microg g(-1) and Rb 0.63 +/- 0.09 microg g(-1). By far the highest concentrations of Ba, Mn, Rb and Th were found during the Younger Dryas cold climate event (10 590 (14)C year BP) when the flux of atmospheric soil dust was at its post-glacial maximum. Molybdenum and U are elevated in concentration throughout the minerogenic zone because of sediment weathering and this masks the atmospheric signal in samples older than ca. 8000 (14)C year BP (ca. 9000 calendar years). Enrichment factors (EF) calculated using Sc as a conservative, lithogenic element shows that minerogenic peats are enriched in Mo up to 18x and U 26x, relative to the natural "background" values. During the two millennia prior to industrialisation, the accumulation rate of atmospheric Mo averaged 0.23 +/- 0.13 microg m(-2) year(-1). With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, Mo accumulation rates rapidly and continuously increased to approximately 10 microg m(-2) year(-1) in the late 1980s. These data suggest that Mo in atmospheric aerosols today is derived predominately from anthropogenic emissions. Uranium does not show the same enrichment pattern which suggests that steel-making rather than coal combustion is the primary source of atmospheric Mo contamination at this site.