Geographical distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and organochlorines in small cetaceans from Asian waters

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are one of the flame retardants widely used in plastics, textiles, electronic appliances, and electrical household appliances. In this study, PBDEs and organochlorine compounds (OCs) were determined in the archived samples from the Environmental Specimen Bank for Global Monitoring (es-BANK) at Ehime University. The blubber of cetaceans found stranded along the coasts of Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and India during the period from 1990 to 2001 were employed for chemical analysis to understand the present status of contamination and the specific accumulation of PBDEs. PBDEs were detected in all the cetacean samples analyzed, and concentrations were one or two orders of magnitude lower than for PCBs and DDTs. Concentrations of PBDEs ranged from a low value of 6.0 ng/g lipid wt. in spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) from India to a high value of 6000 ng/g lipid wt. in Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) from Hong Kong. No difference in PBDE levels between coastal and offshore species from Japan was observed, implying the existence of pollution sources in this region other than Japan. Highest concentrations of PBDEs were found in animals from Hong Kong, followed by Japan, and much lower levels from the Philippines and India, suggesting that developing nations may also have pollution sources of PBDEs. Geographical distribution of PBDEs in Asian waters was different from PCBs but similar to DDTs.     

The Value-Action Gap in Waste Recycling: The Case of Undergraduates in Hong Kong

The discrepancy between verbal and actual commitment in waste recycling and environmental behavior is thought to have attenuated the effectiveness of many environmental policy and measures. Studies purport to show the existence of such a value-action gap in environmental issues has been largely based on matching the verbal commitment to environmental value through self-reported environmental behavioral data. Therefore, there is a lack of direct evidence to prove that such a discrepancy exists. This study demonstrates a methodology (contrasting on-site observation with self-reported results) to measure the gap between verbal commitment and actual recycling behavior and provides an explanation on the recycling behavior of students at Hong Kong Baptist University in the hope that the lessons learnt can be generalized to a wider context. Our findings indicate that a gap between verbal recycling commitment and corresponding action does exist in waste recycling on this university campus. By using multiple linear regression analysis, we found that the self-reported recycling behavior of undergraduates cannot be meaningfully explained by most variables previously suggested in the general value-action model.     

Preface

Water, Air, &; Soil Pollution: Focus -     

Nontarget screening using passive air and water sampling with a level Ⅱ fugacity model to identify unregulated environmental contaminants

It is thought that there are many unregulated anthropogenic chemicals in the environment.For risk assessment of chemicals, it is essential to estimate the predicted environmental concentrations. As an effort of identifying residual organic contaminants in air and water in Korea, nontarget screening using two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry(GC × GC-TOFMS) was conducted at 10 sites using polyurethane foam passive air sampler and at 6 sites using polydimethyl siloxane(PDMS) passive water sampler in three different seasons in 2014. More than 600 chemical peaks were identified satisfying the identification criteria in air and water samples, respectively, providing a list for further investigation. Chemical substances with reported national emission rates in2014(n = 149) were also screened for potential existence in the environment using a level Ⅱ fugacity model. Most of chemical substances classified as not detectable were not identified with detection frequency greater than 20% by nontarget screening, indicating that a simple equilibrium model has a strong potential to be used to exclude chemicals that are not likely to remain in the environment after emissions from targeted monitoring.     

Antibiotic and antiparasitic residues in surface water of urban rivers in the Red River Delta (Hanoi,Vietnam): concentrations,profiles, source estimation,and risk assessment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Antibiotic residues and antimicrobial resistance in surface water are issues of global concern, especially in developing countries. In this study, the...