Fetal liver alanine: Glyoxylate aminotransferase and the prenatal diagnosis of primary hyperoxaluria type 1

Primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) is caused by a deficiency of the hepatic peroxisomal enzyme alanine: glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT, EC 2.6.1.44) (Danpure and Jennings, FEBS Lett., 201 , 20–24, 1986). The activity of AGT has been measured in fetal livers of gestational age 14–21 weeks. Activity increases up to 17 weeks and then levels off between 17 and 21 weeks. At this time, the mean AGT activity is about 30 per cent of the mean normal postnatal level. As in adult liver, the AGT enzyme activity and the AGT immunoreactive protein are peroxisomal. Prenatal diagnosis has been performed by measuring AGT enzyme activity and immunoreactive AGT protein on liver biopsies from two fetuses at risk for primary hyperoxaluria type 1. One was unaffected and one was affected.     

Ciba-geigy develops new regional remediation teams to manage superfund programs

Ciba-Geigy is a specialty chemical and pharmaceutical company that is managing over 100 CERCLA and RCRA remediation sites in 38 states. The potential cost is over $500 million. The sites vary in their scope and technical complexity. For years management was frustrated by their lack of control over the selection of cleanup remedies and associated costs. This article shows how the company changed the method of managing remediation projects in an attempt to gain control over the process and improve overall environmental quality performance.     

An intergrated waste survey and environmental effects of COGIDO, a bleached pulp and paper mill in Vietnam, on the receiving waterbody

An integrated investigation on wastewater characterization and the environmental effects from the COGIDO pulp and paper mill in Bien Hoa Industrial Estate, Vietnam, a chlorine bleached soda integrated pulp and paper mill operating without a chemical recovery system, on the receiving water body was conducted during the rainy and dry seasons in 1993 and 1995. The pollution load from the mill was very high in terms of BOD, COD and SS (COD_m: 58.7 t/d; BOD: 33.3 t/d and SS: 25.1 t/d). The effluent toxicity was determined using four toxicity tests: the green micro-alga, Selenastrum capricornutum, Microtox (marine bacteria: Photobacterium phosphoreum), the duckweed, Lemna aequinoctialis, and fish (silver barb: Puntius gonionotus, and Tilapia: Tilapia nilotica). Selenastrum capricornutum was the most sensitive among the tested organisms. The mill toxicity emission rate (TER) was as high as 338 610 (Selenastrum test). The bleaching-pulp and semi-chemical pulp plants which contributed the largest pollution load to the total COGIDO effluent, therefore, were targeted for abatement measures. Physico-chemical parameters as well as qualitative and quantitative aquatic organism composition for the river water were established. The BOD₅ and COD values exceeded the potable surface water standard by a factor of 2 to 4. The species diversity and abundance of the phytoplankton, zooplankton and zoobenthos were found to be lower (20–40%) than that of unpolluted rivers in Vietnam, whereas pollution-indicator species increased up to four times during the dry season 1995.     

Evaluating the implementation of cleaner production audit demonstration projects

Cleaner production audit demonstration projects were carried out in two Chinese case factories as part of a project co-sponsored by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and China's State Environmental Protection Administration. Audit results at both factories were characterized by implementation of predominantly low- or no-cost options, notable reductions in water pollution, and incomplete financial benefit analyses. Two reasons explain the financial benefit analyses' apparent weakness. First, factory audit teams were inexperienced in the techniques and procedures used to determine the economic benefits of cleaner production options. Second, motivations project personnel had for participating in the demonstration projects were not centered on attaining the monetary benefits of implementing cleaner production. Instead, other factors related to the international nature of the project, such as a high degree of state level oversight and prestige, were more influential in affecting the behavior of project personnel.     

Ultrasonic extraction and portable anodic stripping voltammetric measurement of lead in paint, dust wipes, soil, and air: an interlaboratory evaluation

Recent studies have demonstrated the utility of ultrasonic extraction (UE), followed by portable anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV), for the on-site determination of lead in environmental and industrial hygiene samples. The aim of this work was to conduct an interlaboratory evaluation of the UE-ASV procedure, with a goal of establishing estimates of method performance based on results from collaborative interlaboratory analysis. In this investigation, performance evaluation materials (PEMs) with characterized lead concentrations were used for interlaboratory testing of the UE-ASV procedure. The UE-ASV protocol examined has been promulgated in the form of two separate national voluntary consensus standards (one for UE and another for electroanalysis, which includes ASV). The PEMs consisted of characterized and homogenized paints, soils, and dusts (the last of which were spiked onto wipes meeting national voluntary consensus standard specifications), and air filter samples (mixed cellulose ester membrane) generated using characterized paints within an aerosol chamber. The lead concentrations within the PEMs were chosen so as to bracket pertinent action levels for lead in the various sample matrices. The interlaboratory evaluation was conducted so as to comply with an applicable national voluntary consensus standard that can be used to estimate the interlaboratory precision of a given analytical test method. Based on the analytical results reported by the participating laboratories, relative standard deviations (RSDs) for repeatability and reproducibility were computed for three different lead contents of the four PEMs. RSDs for repeatability were 0.019-0.100 for paints; 0.030-0.151 for soils; 0.085-0.134 for dust wipes; and 0.095-0.137 for air filters. RSDs for reproducibility were 0.127-0.213 for paints; 0.062-0.162 for soils; 0.085-0.134 for dust wipes; and 0.114-0.220 for air filters. With the exception of one of the air filter samples and one of the paint samples, the precision estimates were within the +/- 20% precision requirement specified in the US Environmental Protection Agency National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program (NLLAP). The results of this investigation illustrate that the UE-ASV procedure is an effective method for the quantitative measurement of lead in the matrices evaluated in this study.