Occurrence of PCBs in raw and finished drinking water at seven public water systems along the Hudson River

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in raw and finished drinking water at seven Public Water Systems (PWSs) along the Hudson River as part of a baseline monitoring program prior to the extensive sediment dredging of the Upper Hudson River. Water samples were either analyzed using an Aroclor method (based on USEPA Method 508) or a congener method (Modified Green Bay Mass Balance Method). Using the congener-based method, raw water concentrations ranged from <9.3 to 164.3 ng/L and finished water concentrations ranged from <9.3 to 186.6 ng/L. Using the Aroclor method, finished water concentrations ranged from <5.0 to 200.9 ng/L. Most finished water samples above 73.0 ng/L were from a PWS with wells drilled near the river. Excluding the well data, total PCB concentrations in raw water at systems in the Upper River were similar to concentrations at systems in the Lower River, though the congener patterns differed. Paired comparison of total PCB concentrations using the two analytical methods showed good agreement, although raw water showed a different relationship than finished water.     

A database of avian blood spot examinations for exposure of wild birds to environmental toxicants: the DABSE biomonitoring project

DABSE, a database for avian blood spot examination for exposure to toxicants, is a new biomonitoring project in wild birds that has the goal of providing reference values of harmful agents, as measured in whole blood stored as dried blood spots. Once these "normal" values have been established, the diagnosis of environmental contaminant-mediated ill-health (such as manifestations of sickness, increased mortality, a reduction in population, poor breeding success, abnormal behavior) in an individual bird or in a population could be facilitated by comparing exposure values in the investigation to reference values of the same species in the database. One might then identify the cause and pave the way for a mitigating response. The toxicant component of DABSE is being examined at the low ng ml(-1) level in 200 μl of whole blood. As these analyses are invariably very costly, an effort has been made to lower these costs and so enable more testing by quantitating representative compounds as markers for the whole group. These markers are invariably found in birds' blood at the highest concentration of all the constituents in that group. The toxicant groups comprise:- (a) elements-arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury and selenium; (b) organochlorine pesticides, markers being p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE, β-HCH, HCB and oxychlordane; (c) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the marker being congener 153; (d) polybrominated diphenyl esters (PBDEs), the marker being congener 47; (e) perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), the markers being perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). DABSE will be expanded to determine exposure to infectious diseases and perhaps acute toxicoses.     

Process Optimization and Adsorptive Mechanism for Reactive Blue 19 Dye by Magnetic Crosslinked Chitosan/MgO/Fe3O4 Biocomposite

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - A new biocomposite cross-linked glutaraldehyde-chitosan/MgO/Fe3O4 (CTS-GL/MgO/Fe3O4) adsorbent with magneto-responsiveness was prepared and applied for the...     

Genomic erosion in a demographically recovered bird species during conservation rescue

The pink pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri) is an endemic species of Mauritius that has made a remarkable recovery after a severe population bottleneck in the 1970s to early 1990s. Prior to this bottleneck, an ex situ population was established from which captive-bred individuals were released into free-living subpopulations to increase population size and genetic variation. This conservation rescue led to rapid population recovery to 400–480 individuals, and the species was twice downlisted on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. We analyzed the impacts of the bottleneck and genetic rescue on neutral genetic variation during and after population recovery (1993–2008) with restriction site-associated sequencing, microsatellite analyses, and quantitative genetic analysis of studbook data of 1112 birds from zoos in Europe and the United States. We used computer simulations to study the predicted changes in genetic variation and population viability from the past into the future. Genetic variation declined rapidly, despite the population rebound, and the effective population size was approximately an order of magnitude smaller than census size. The species carried a high genetic load of circa 15 lethal equivalents for longevity. Our computer simulations predicted continued inbreeding will likely result in increased expression of deleterious mutations (i.e., a high realized load) and severe inbreeding depression. Without continued conservation actions, it is likely that the pink pigeon will go extinct in the wild within 100 years. Conservation rescue of the pink pigeon has been instrumental in the recovery of the free-living population. However, further genetic rescue with captive-bred birds from zoos is required to recover lost variation, reduce expression of harmful deleterious variation, and prevent extinction. The use of genomics and modeling data can inform IUCN assessments of the viability and extinction risk of species, and it helps in assessments of the conservation dependency of populations.     

The sensitivity of surface waters of Great Britain to acidification predicted from catchment characteristics

Using a combination of soil, land use and geological information, a map of Great Britain has been derived which indicates the sensitivity of surface waters to acidification. For the geological information, a slightly modified version of an available map was used which indicated the sensitivity of groundwaters to acidification. For soils, 1-km databases of soil information for England and Wales and for Scotland were employed to map the soil sensitivity as determined by buffering capacity. The derived soils map was modified to take account of agricultural liming in arable and managed grassland areas using the ITE Land Classification. The final map of surface water sensitivity was obtained by using a geographic information system overlay procedure which enabled each combination of soil and geology sensitivity to be uniquely defined. The final sensitivity classification was based upon expert knowledge and the experience of a similar sensitivity mapping exercise for Wales.     

Major and trace elements of selected pedons in the USA

Few studies of soil geochemistry over large geographic areas exist, especially studies encompassing data from major pedogenic horizons that evaluate both native concentrations of elements and anthropogenically contaminated soils. In this study, pedons (n = 486) were analyzed for trace (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) and major (Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na, P, Si, Ti, Zr) elements, as well as other soil properties. The objectives were to (i) determine the concentration range of selected elements in a variety of U.S. soils with and without known anthropogenic additions, (ii) illustrate the association of elemental source and content by assessing trace elemental content for several selected pedons, and (iii) evaluate relationships among and between elements and other soil properties. Trace element concentrations in the non-anthropogenic dataset (NAD) were in the order Mn > (Zn, Cr, Ni, Cu) > (Pb, Co) > (Cd, Hg), with greatest mean total concentrations for the Andisol order. Geometric means by horizon indicate that trace elements are concentrated in surface and/or B horizons over C horizons. Median values for trace elements are significantly higher in surface horizons of the anthropogenic dataset (AD) over the NAD. Total Al, Fe, cation exchange capacity (CEC), organic C, pH, and clay exhibit significant correlations (0.56, 0.74, 0.50, 0.31, 0.16, and 0.30, respectively) with total trace element concentrations of all horizons of the NAD. Manganese shows the best inter-element correlation (0.33) with these associated total concentrations. Total Fe has one of the strongest relationships, explaining 55 and 30% of the variation in total trace element concentrations for all horizons in the NAD and AD, respectively.     

Antimony distribution and environmental mobility at an historic antimony smelter site, New Zealand

A historic antimony smelter site at Endeavour Inlet, New Zealand has smelter residues with up to 17 wt.% antimony. Residues include coarse tailings (cm scale particles, poorly sorted), sand tailings (well sorted) and smelter slag (blocks up to 30 cm across). All of this material has oxidised to some degree over the ca. 100 years since the site was abandoned. Oxidation has resulted in acidification of the residues down to pH 2-5. Smelter slag contains pyrrhotite (FeS) and metallic antimony, and oxidation is restricted to surfaces only. The coarse tailings are the most oxidised, and few sulfide grains persist. Unoxidised sand tailings contain 10-20 vol.% stibnite (Sb2S3) containing up to 5% As, with subordinate arsenopyrite (FeAsS), and minor pyrite (FeS2). The sand tailings are variably oxidised on a scale of 2-10 cm, but original depositional layering is preserved during oxidation and formation of senarmontite (Sb2O3). Oxidation of sand tailings has resulted in localised mobility of both Sb and As on the cm scale, resulting in redistribution of these metalloids with iron oxyhydroxide around sand grain boundaries. Experiments demonstrate that Sb mobility decreases with time on a scale of days. Attenuation of both As and Sb occurs due to adsorption on to iron oxyhydroxides which are formed during oxidation of the smelter residues. There is no detectable loss of Sb or As from the smelter site into the adjacent river, <50 m away, which has elevated Sb (ca. 20 microg/l) and As (ca. 7 microg/l) from mineralised rocks upstream. Despite the high concentrations of Sb and As in the smelter residues, these metalloids are not being released into the environment.     

Using variance components to estimate power in a hierarchically nested sampling design

We used variance components to assess allocation of sampling effort in a hierarchically nested sampling design for ongoing monitoring of early life history stages of the federally endangered Devils Hole pupfish (DHP) (Cyprinodon diabolis). Sampling design for larval DHP included surveys (5 days each spring 2007–2009), events, and plots. Each survey was comprised of three counting events, where DHP larvae on nine plots were counted plot by plot. Statistical analysis of larval abundance included three components: (1) evaluation of power from various sample size combinations, (2) comparison of power in fixed and random plot designs, and (3) assessment of yearly differences in the power of the survey. Results indicated that increasing the sample size at the lowest level of sampling represented the most realistic option to increase the survey’s power, fixed plot designs had greater power than random plot designs, and the power of the larval survey varied by year. This study provides an example of how monitoring efforts may benefit from coupling variance components estimation with power analysis to assess sampling design.