Contribution of harbour activities and ship traffic to PM2.5, particle number concentrations and PAHs in a port city of the Mediterranean Sea (Italy)

In this work, an assessment of the impact of ship traffic and related harbour activities (loading/unloading of ships and hotelling in harbour) on PM 2.5 and particle number concentrations (PNC) separating the contribution associated to ship traffic from that of harbour-related activities is reported. Further, an assessment of the impact and environmental risks associated to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations was performed. Results refer to the city of Brindisi (88,500 inhabitants) in the south-eastern part of Italy and its harbour (with yearly 9.5 Mt of goods, over 520,000 passengers and over 175,000 vehicles). PM2.5 and PNC concentrations show a clear daily pattern correlated with daily ship traffic pattern in the harbour. High temporal resolution measurements and correlations with wind direction were used to estimate the average direct contribution to measured concentrations of this source. The average relative contribution of ship traffic was 7.4 % (±0.5 %) for PM2.5 and 26 % (±1 %) for PNC. When the contribution associated to harbour-related activities is added, the percentages become 9.3 % (±0.5 %) for PM2.5 and 39 % (±1 %) for PNC. In the site analysed, air coming from the harbour/industrial sector was richer in PAHs (5.34 ng/m³) than air sampled from all directions (3.89 ng/m³). The major compounds were phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene, but the congener profiles were different in the two direction sectors: air from the harbour/industrial sector was richer in phenanthrene and fluorene, which are the most abundant PAHs in ship emissions. Results showed that lighter PAHs are associated to the gas phase, while high molecular weight congeners are mostly present in the particulate phase. The impact on the site studied of the harbour/industrial source to PAHs was 56 % (range, 29–87 %).     

Corrosion on cultural heritage buildings in Italy: A role for ozone?

Because of climatic reasons and of reduced concentrations of SO₂, ground-level ozone (O₃) is one of the main air pollutants in Southern Europe. Ozone levels are very high both in rural and urban locations. In the cities, O₃ can affect human health and materials. Regarding materials, most relevant is the exposure to pollutants of cultural heritage buildings. In particular, monuments registered on UNESCO's list of the world heritage require special monitoring. In Italy 34% and 97% of the territory is exposed to corrosion risk higher than the tolerable level for limestone and copper, respectively. The tolerable corrosion level for limestone and copper was also exceeded in the central area of Milan. In this area the tolerable O₃ concentration for copper was calculated. These concentrations (ranging between 30 and 40 μg/m³) cannot be exceeded at unchanged concentration of other pollutants to maintain corrosion levels below the tolerable ones.     

A comparison of DEMETRA individual QSARs with an index for evaluation of uncertainty

Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) urgently need to be applied in regulatory programs. Many QSAR models can predict the effect of a wide range of substances to different endpoints, particularly in the case of ecotoxicity, but it is difficult to choose the most appropriate model on the basis of the requirements of the application. During the EC-funded project DEMETRA (www.demetra-tox.net) a huge number of QSAR models have been developed for the prediction of different ecotoxicological endpoints. DEMETRA individual models on rainbow trout LC50 after 96 h, water flea LC50 after 48 h and honey bee LD50 after 48 h have been used as a QSAR database to test the advantages of a new index for evaluating model uncertainty. This index takes into consideration the number of outliers (weighted on the total number of compounds) and their root mean square error. Application on the DEMETRA QSAR database indicated that the index can identify the models with the best performance with regard to outliers, and can be used, together with other classical statistical measures (e.g., the squared correlation coefficient), to support the evaluation of QSAR models.     

A multidisciplinary weight of evidence approach for classifying polluted sediments: Integrating sediment chemistry, bioavailability, biomarkers responses and bioassays

Evaluation of chemical bioavailability and onset of biological alterations is fundamental to assess the hazard of environmental pollutants, particularly when associated to sediments which need to be removed. In the present work, five sediment samples were collected from the Venice Lagoon and data from sediment chemistry were integrated with those of bioaccumulation of chemicals in European eel (Anguilla anguilla) exposed under laboratory conditions, responses of a wide battery of biomarkers, and standardized ecotoxicological bioassays. The overall results were elaborated within a recently developed, software-assisted weight of evidence (WOE) model which provides synthetic indices for each of considered line of evidence (LOE), before a general evaluation of sediment hazard. Levels of chemicals in sediments were not particularly elevated when compared to sediment quality guidelines of Venice Protocol. On the other hand, bioavailability was evident in some samples for Cd, Cu, Zn and, especially, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The ecotoxicological approach provided further evidence on the biological and potentially harmful effects due to released contaminants, and oxidative-mediated responses appeared of primary importance in modulating sublethal responses and the onset of cellular alterations. Biomarkers variations were sensitive, and more evident variations included significant changes of cytochrome P450 biotransformation pathway, antioxidant responses, onset of oxidative damages, lysosomal membrane stability and genotoxic effects. The results obtained from the battery of bioassays indicated that responses measured at organism level were in general accordance but less marked compared to the onset of sublethal changes measured through biomarkers. Overall this study revealed differences when comparing evaluations obtained from different LOEs, confirming the importance of considering synergistic effects between chemicals in complex mixtures. Compared to a qualitative pass-fail approach toward normative values, the proposed WOE model allowed a quantitative characterization of sediment hazard and a better discrimination of on the basis of various types of chemical and biological data.     

Effects of walnut husk washing waters and their phenolic constituents on horticultural species

INTRODUCTION: The reuse of wastewaters for agricultural purposes is a common practice in many countries and is increasingly recommended by organizations that promote sustainable development. Yet, it is restricted by the potential negative impact of these materials on soil and crops. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the environmental impact of walnut husk washing waters (WHWW) and their organic fractions, in order to conceive their agricultural exploitation. DISCUSSION: Phytotoxicity tests and morphological investigations on representative plant species of horticultural interest indicated that WHWW and their organic fractions can elicit a concentration-dependent stimulating effect on the growth of radish, lettuce cv. cavolo Napoli with effects up to 165 %. An opposite inhibitory effect up to 70 % was observed on spinach and lettuce cv. Gentilina. Proapoptotic effects were observed by acridine orange/ethidium bromide assay in the species inhibited by WHWW treatment. High-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the WHWW revealed the presence of a main component which was extracted selectively in organic solvents and purified by preparative chromatography. Complete spectral analysis allowed identification as 4,8-dihydroxy-1-tetralone, commonly known as regiolone. Regiolone exhibited the same concentration-dependent activity on root elongation with a stimulation in the case of radish up to 135 % with respect to control. These results open perspectives in the exploitation of WHWW and the main phenolic constituent readily available by a straightforward isolation procedure as a natural fertilizer for specific crops.     

Integration of biological responses from a suite of bioassays for the Venice Lagoon (Italy) through sediment toxicity index - Part A: Development and comparison of two methodological approaches

Marine and coastal quality assessment, based on test batteries involving a wide array of endpoints, organisms and test matrices, needs for setting up toxicity indices that integrate multiple toxicological measures for decision-making processes and that classify the continuous toxicity response into discrete categories according to the European Water Framework Directive.Two toxicity indices were developed for the lagoon environment such as the Venice Lagoon. Stepwise procedure included: the construction of a database that identified test-matrix pairs (indicators); the selection of a minimum number of ecotoxicological indicators, called toxicological core metrics (CMs-tox) on the basis of specific criteria; the development of toxicity scores for each CM-tox; the integration of the CMs-tox into two indices, the Toxicity Effect Index (TEI), based on the transformation of Toxic Unit (TU) data that were integrated as logarithmic sum, and the Weighted Average Toxicity Index (WATI), starting from toxicity classes integrated as weighted mean. Results from the indices are compared; advantages and drawbacks of both approaches are discussed.     

Governance of seed and food security through participatory plant breeding: Empirical evidence and gender analysis from Syria

This paper presents the findings of a study on the governance of seed conducted in the framework of a participatory plant breeding (PPB) programme, based on a multi‐year inquiry with a panel of ten Syrian households. The study assessed the interactions between governance regimes regulating the rights to access and control genetic resources at international and national level, compared to the actual ability of the respondent women farmers to access and control the seed of varieties they co‐developed with the PPB programme. The paper argues that gender equal access to seed can “optimally” contribute to enhancing household food security in small scale farming. The paper also argues that to support a gender‐equal access to seed in the respondent households legislation needs to explicitly protect the rights of women farmers to access and share the benefits of genetic material and draw from empirical evidence of the actual access to and control of seed at ground level.     

Variability of Water Column Transparency,Volume Flow and Suspended Solids Near San Diego Sewage Outfall (California): 15 Years of Data

The spatial and temporal variability of transparency measured for 15 years at 7 stations near the San Diego sewage outfall has been investigated and compared to the temporal variability of sewage suspended solid discharge and flow rate. the purpose of the time-series analyses was to distinguish natural from human (sewage discharge) causes of temporal changes in transparency. the results show that: 1) variations in transparency are highly correlated over the entire area, but there is a gradient in means and variability in the direction perpendicular to the coast; 2) there are no long term trends for increase or decrease in the water clarity at any of the stations; 3) most of the variance of transparency is contained in the seasonal frequency band; 4) over the same time period sewage discharge has significantly increased and suspended solids decreased; 5) most of the variance of these human-caused properties is in the interannual frequency band; (6) there is no correlation at any time-lag between water clarity and suspended solid discharge or flow. These results lead to the conclusion that these anthropogenic properties are not affecting transparency, while natural factors such as seasonality and distance from coast do.