Changes in the leachability of metals from dredged canal sediments during drying and oxidation

The behaviour of metals in canal sediments after their disposal to land has important implications for the environmental management of canal dredgings. The leaching behaviour of trace metals was investigated in a laboratory-based experiment using sediment from a canal in the UK (139 mg Zn kg-1dry sediment, 1.1 mg Cd, kg-1dry sediment 31.5 mg Cr kg-1dry sediment, 20.6 mg Cu kg-1dry sediment 48.4 mg Ni kg-1dry sediment, 43.4 mg Pb kg-1dry sediment and 7.6 mg As kg-1dry sediment). The sediment was allowed to dry. Cores (10 cm long) of the drying canal sediment were taken over a period of 12 weeks. A simple water extraction procedure was used to investigate changes in metal leachability at varying depths through the cores. Metal leachability increased over the first five weeks of drying and then subsequently decreased between weeks five and twelve, (e.g. Cd increased from approximately 0.006 to 0.018 mg/kgsediment then decreased to approximately 0.006 mg/kgsediment, Zn increased from approximately 1.5 to 3 mg/kgsediment and then decreased to approximately 1.5 mg/kgsediment). These results were combined with sulphide/sulphate ratios, which showed a decrease as the sediment dried (e.g. at 2-4 cm depth from approximately 1 to 0.49), and BCR sequential extraction data. Most metals (except Cd and As) showed a redistribution from the residual phase into more mobile phases as the sediment dried and oxidised. Metal leachability was strongly correlated with the sulphide/sulphate ratio with leachability normally increasing with decreasing sulphide/sulphate ratio. The combined results were used to infer the likely behaviour of dredged material upon disposal to land.     

Towards the characterisation of heavy metals in dredged canal sediments and an appreciation of 'availability': two examples from the UK.

Canal sediments can act as sinks for a wide range of contaminants including heavy metals from various sources (e.g. industrial and waste water discharges). Dredging of canals is required to maintain navigational depth and prevent flooding. The sediments removed from canals are often disposed of to land, being deposited either straight on to the banks of the canal or, in recent years, in licensed disposal sites. The aim of this work was to investigate the nature of dredged sediment-derived soils and the heavy metals present in them. Two disposal sites in the United Kingdom (UK) were investigated and soil samples taken. A variety of analytical techniques were used, including Aqua regia digestion and sequential extraction, in order to assess the concentrations and associations of metals present. Diethylene triaminepenta-acetic acid extracts, performed to illustrate plant-available metal concentrations, reveal that up to 40% of the total extracted metals were in an 'available' form. Variations in metal concentrations with depth in the soil cores show a significant correlation with total organic carbon content.     

Distribution of Light Hydrocarbons in Ambient Air

The diversity of hydrocarbons which are present in ambient polluted air provide a potentially rich source of information concerning the nature of this type of pollution. Measurements of the relative amounts of various hydrocarbons can be correlated with the various possible sources. Since hydrocarbon reactivities vary widely it is also possible to estimate the extent to which various individual hydrocarbons have reacted. Except for samples taken deliberately near sources of hydrocarbon pollution these air samples invariably resemble auto exhaust with an addition of natural gas and of C₃–C₅ paraffins which resemble gasoline vapor. Samples taken in industrial areas and near the smoke plume from a brush fire showed distinctive differences in composition. During the smog season in the fall of 1968 good data were obtained of “typical” or “representative” samples of light, medium and heavy smog. These show the expected depletion of more reactive hydrocarbons in a much more convincing way than before. By comparing these distributions with composition in unreacted samples and by making use of data from bottle irradiations, it was possible to estimate the contribution of the various hydrocarbons in terms of “amount reacted.” The amounts of higher hydrocarbons present and reacted were also estimated from gasoline composition.     

Fluorocarbons in the Los Angeles Basin

Ambient air concentrations of fluorocarbon 11 (fluorotrichloromethane) and fluoro-carbon 12 (dichlorodifluoromethane) have been measured using a gas chro-matograph equipped with a pulsed, electron capture detector. Air samples taken on a moderately smoggy day in July 1970, at several locations near Los Angeles gave average readings of fluorocarbon 12, 0.7 ppb and fluorocarbon 11, 0.56 ppb. These readings were contrasted with those taken in early February 1973 when the air was clear and marked with turbulence due to several seasonal rain storms. The readings of both fluorocarbon 1 1 and 12 averaged about 25% less during clear weather than those taken during moderate smog. The effects of weather conditions on the concentration were also dramatically pointed out by the February samples, in that as much as a tenfold change in concentrations of both fluorocarbons from location to location and from day to day at the same location was observed. A concentration versus altitude study clearly revealed that fluorocarbons are trapped by an inversion layer. Examination of air samples taken in the vicinity of factories known to be users of fairly large quantities of fluorocarbons revealed in part how large users contribute to the atmospheric concentrations of fluorocarbons. A comparison of fluorocarbon levels in homes and public buildings with ambient outside air levels revealed that the concentrations in some homes and buildings may be as much as several thousand times as high as levels in outside air. Inside the homes and public buildings, levels were as high as one-half of a part per million. Long term photolysis studies in simulated sunlight of both fluorocarbons 11 and 12 in ambient air samples and in air samples with 1 ppm of hydrocarbon and 1 ppm of nitrogen oxides revealed that the two fluorocarbons are photochemically stable even when photolyzed for several weeks.     

Communication with police supervisors and peers as a buffer of work‐related traumatic stress

Traumatic events are a particular type of stressor that may affect police officers engaged in front line duties. In this study, specific types of social support predicted to buffer the psychological and physical health effects of trauma are drawn from theory and empirical evidence in the area of post‐traumatic stress. Social support, measured as the content of communication, and the ease of talking about trauma was tested with 527 working police officers who responded to a questionnaire survey. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that the communication variables contributed to the variance in post‐traumatic stress disorder and physical symptoms with differential effects for different aspects of communication. Analysis of the effects of traumatic stress on symptoms for sub‐groups at different levels of communication showed that some types of communication, such as the ease of talking about trauma or positive communications about work, moderate the effects of stress for police officers, in that higher levels are associated with a weaker trauma–strain relationship. However, some types of communication buffered stress only at moderate levels and other types may not be protective. These results are discussed in terms of the types and sources of social support that are likely to buffer post‐traumatic stress at work. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

蒌蒿(Artemisia selengensis L.)修复洞庭湖土壤Cd污染的强化措施研究

〖HTSS〗洞庭湖土壤镉污染严重,蒌蒿（Artemisia selengensis L.）是在洞庭湖湿地新发现的一种对镉具有较强富集能力的优势植物,已证实该种植物对土壤中的镉具有较好的修复效果和潜能,将来可作为洞庭湖土壤镉污染的理想修复材料。以南洞庭湖Cd污染土壤为栽培基质,分别在蒌蒿幼苗期、成株期添加EDTA等7种螯合剂和调控物质,研究了不同添加物对蒌蒿生长状况及Cd富集效果的影响。结果表明,HEDTA、EDTA、DTPA等3种螯合剂不同程度地降低了蒌蒿地上部分的生物量,但增加了土壤中有效态Cd的含量,使蒌蒿茎叶中Cd的富集浓度分别上升了35.5%、984%、421%,可显著提高蒌蒿的修复效果;生石灰的添加则使土壤有效态Cd明显减少,抑制了蒌蒿对Cd的富集;有机腐殖质和复合肥的施加虽促进了蒌蒿生长,但未对其富集效果产生显著影响;幼苗期施加调控物质,在植株生物量、Cd富集浓度及土壤有效态Cd含量等方面造成的影响均大于成株期     

蒌蒿(Artemisia selengensis)对土壤中镉的胁迫反应及修复潜力研究

以洞庭湖湿地新发现的Cd高富集植物——蒌蒿(Artemisia selengensis)为试验材料,采用盆栽方式,系统研究了蒌蒿在生长期内对Cd的性状反应及富集特征.结果表明,大于40mg.kg-1的Cd胁迫对蒌蒿叶片伤害明显,且导致生物量下降,但植株在100mg.kg-1胁迫下可完成生活史,对Cd有较强的耐受能力;土壤中有效态Cd的含量仅占土壤全Cd含量的15.3%～37.1%;相同胁迫浓度下,各生长阶段的植株体内Cd含量差别不大,但由于生物量的原因,幼苗期对Cd的提取量显著小于其他时期,其中40～60mg.kg-1的Cd处理可使蒌蒿地上部分Cd含量达492～588mg.kg-1(成株期),且植株对该浓度范围的Cd污染去除效果最好;蒌蒿可作为对湿地土壤Cd污染较理想的修复植物加以研究和利用.     

The Pioneers

Abstract

This study surveyed emissions from 2- and 4-stroke new and in-use motorcycles. Emission tests were carried out on a dynamometer following the designated test procedure of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE). Samples were derived during various driving stages, which included idle, acceleration, 30 km/hr cruise, 50 km/hr cruise, and deceleration. All test motorcycles (10 new and 15 in-use) complied with Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration’s Phase III Motorcycle Emission Standards. The dominant volatile organic carbon (VOC) species were isopentane (53 and 295 mg/km, 2- and 4-stroke, respectively), 2-methylpentane (75 and 83 mg/km), 3-methylpentane (34 and 66 mg/km), and toluene (30 and 100 mg/km). The VOC emission factors for the 2-/4-stroke motorcycles were 311/344 (new) and 1479/433 (inuse) mg/km, respectively. In addition, the dominant carbonyl species for the new and in-use motorcycles were formaldehyde (0.4 and 0.7 mg/km, respectively), acetaldehyde (0.6 and 1.2 mg/km), and acetone (0.5 and 0.7 mg/km). The carbonyl compound emission factors for the 2- and 4-stroke motorcycles were 3.2/3.1 (new) and 5.3/4.6 (in-use) mg/km, respectively. The ozone formation potentials, based on an ECE test cycle, show that the values from the in-use motorcycles were higher than those from the new motorcycles. The dominant VOC species for the ozone formation potential were propylene (65 and 502 mg-O₃ /km, respectively), isopentane (98 and 501 mg-O₃ /km), 2-methylpentane (152 and 167 mg-O₃ /km), 3-methylpentane (79 and 253 mg-O₃ /km), and toluene (127 and 398 mg-O₃ /km). Further, the dominant carbonyl species were formaldehyde (4.1 and 6.2 mg-O₃ /km, new and in-use, respectively) and acetaldehyde (4.8 and 9 mg-O₃ /km).     

The Production of Pure Peroxyacyl Nitrates

The peroxyacyl nitrates, a series of eye-irritating plant toxicants, are synthesized by gasphase reactions at low concentrations. They are purified by preparative-scale gas chromatography. The preparation and purification of the first member of the series by photolysis of ethyl nitrite vapor (ca 400 ppm) in oxygen is described in some detail. The entire procedure is designed to minimize factors which might cause decomposition of this extremely unstable product. Pure PAN is stored as a vapor diluted with dry nitrogen at about 100 psig and 40°F. Such mixtures (about 1000 ppm) can be analyzed by infrared spectrophotometry using a 10 cm cell. The product is used in studies of its toxicity toward biological materials, in instrument calibration, and for studies of air pollution chemistry.