The significance of agricultural vs. natural ecosystem pathways in temperate climates in assessments of long-term radiological impact

Recent developments in performance assessment biosphere models have begun to emphasise the importance of natural accumulation pathways. In contrast to the agricultural pathways, the database for natural ecosystem pathways is less well developed, leading to a mismatch in quality of representations of the two types of system. At issue is the lack of reliable soil-plant and animal ingestion transfer factors for key radionuclides in natural ecosystems. The relative importance of the agricultural vs. natural ecosystem pathways is investigated here, in the context of a temperate site in present day, Eastern France. The BIOMASS Candidate Critical Group (CCG) methodology has been applied to map a set of eight candidate critical groups derived from the present-day societal context onto physical locations within a simple model of a river catchment system. The overall assessment model has been implemented using the Aquabios code. Annual individual dose to each of the CCGs has been calculated for each of the key radionuclides (79Se, 94Nb, 99Tc, 129I, 135Cs and 237Np) released to the valley aquifer and river. In addition to the traditional agricultural pathways, lifestyle groups exploiting natural habitats are explicitly addressed. Results show the susceptibility of different candidate critical groups to different radionuclides. A reference database typical of those employed in long-term performance assessment models is employed. Doses from external exposure (94Nb) and dust inhalation (237Np) are shown to dominate agricultural food consumption by factors of more than six, but, with the reference data set, foodstuffs obtained from natural ecosystems do not contribute significantly to critical group dose and, at most, show similar exposures to the agricultural pathways. This may lead to the conclusion that natural food can be ruled out of consideration in performance assessment models. However, systematic parametric sensitivity studies carried out on soil-plant and animal ingestion transfer factors restrict the validity of this observation and demonstrate the limitations of existing databases. Remaining uncertainties can be reduced by improving structural models for performance assessment and by better characterisation of sources of locally obtained foods. Improved characterisation of radionuclide accumulation in natural ecosystems in temperate as well as alternative future climate states should complement the modelling approach.     

Changes in river discharge structure and regime in mining-industrial-urban areas

In mining-industrial-urban areas, the variability of river discharge is regulated, directly or indirectly, by human economic activity. This results from the presence of alien water, which often comes from outside the catchment area, is discharged into the river network. This water includes industrial and municipal wastewater and deep-drainage mine water. Simultaneously, as a result of water intake and water infiltration into dry ground (due to mining), the volume of river discharge decreases. Such changeable conditions of water alimentation and drainage are typical of many regions of Europe. Detailed investigations of the range and directions of changes in river structure and regime were carried out for the area of Upper Silesian Industrial Region (USIR) of Poland. The results were compared with the results of investigations carried out in the Ruhr Basin of Germany and the Donetsk Basin of the Ukraine and Russia. The investigations showed that, in some cases, prolonged, multifunctional economic activity of a man has effectively eliminated of the influence of natural hydrometeorological conditions on river discharge. Wastewater and mine water which has contributed to river flow is only slightly variable in the annual cycle and it causes an increase of water volume and a discharge smoothing. Sewage effluent and mine wastewater also change the structure of river runoff because their contribution to the runoff sometimes exceeds 90% of its volume.     

The present condition of the Vistula river catchment area and its impact on the Baltic Sea coastal zone

This review paper describes the state of the Vistula basin and the Baltic Sea area. The article is divided into two parts concerning the river and the Baltic coastal zone, respectively. Each part describes the geography and the environmental state of the region and gives an overview of the socio-economic conditions. The environmental state of the study regions is described in terms of annual monitoring data for the main physico-chemical and biological parameters. The data cover the last decade. The socio-economic overview includes parameters such as e.g. population density, industrialization, agricultureand land use.SI: Pirrone     

Pollution by nitrogen oxides: an approach to NO(x) abatement by using sorbing catalytic materials

This article summarises the abatement of NO(x) pollution by using sorbing catalytic materials with special relevance to the challenge presented in fixed installations sources. A general vision of the origins of the different pollutants, with emphasis on nitrogen oxides formation, is presented as introduction. The impact of NO(x) pollution comprises additionally a quick view of its toxicity and environmental effects. Actual solutions are presented especially the case of the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) process with its advantages and difficulties. The new concepts for NO(x) abatement are also analysed. In such a way, updated information on solid sorbents for NO(x) removal is provided by including metal oxides, spinelles, perovskites, double-layered cuprates, zeolites, carbonaceous materials, heteropolyacids (HPAs), and supported heteropolyacids. The possibility of reducing those sorbed NO(x) is also underlined. Sorption mechanisms are analysed and clarified by emphasising convergence and disagreement points.     

A multivariate analysis of the accumulation and fractionation of major and trace elements in agricultural soils in Hidalgo State, Mexico irrigated with raw wastewater

We evaluated the accumulation and distribution of major and trace elements in agricultural soils of District 03 (DR03) in the State of Hidalgo, Mexico, irrigated with raw wastewaters for an average of 20 years. Samples of topsoils (0-30 cm depth) were extracted using a modified Tessier method. Total concentrations of the species tested were in the ranges of 675-1176 mg K kg(-1), 277.9-1001 mg Na kg(-1), 6,708-81,854 mg Ca kg(-1), 23,800-106,974 mg Mg kg(-1), 9.2-123.8 mg B kg(-1), 0.6-1.9 mg Cd kg(-1), 11.6-27.4 mg Cr kg(-1), 3.9-47.0 mg Pb kg(-1). Concentrations of As and Hg were very low. Concentrations of total Cd, Cr and Pb were generally below the maximum permissible levels set by the regulations of the European Union except for cadmium, which was in the middle of the maximum European range allowed for two soils. Regarding lead, one soil (S5) could reach the maximum permissible level of the EU in 6 more years of continued irrigation. On the other hand, contents of Pb in the most mobile fractions ("e" in this work) were significant (range: 3-28%). This distribution translated into concentrations of soluble plus exchangeable lead of approximately 2 mg Pb kg(-1) in three of six soils, significantly higher than the Swiss tolerance limit of 1.0 mg Pb kg(-1) for mobile fractions of lead in soils. Multivariate analysis of the data (Pearson correlation and principal component analysis) quantitatively confirmed that: (i) there is a strong covariance between boron contents and several variables representing the salinity of soils (electrolytic conductivity, a variety of alkaline and alkaline-earth total and fraction concentrations). It appears that there is a problem with high boron content in soils, although the salinity is high only for one of the soils (S3); (ii) a significant correlation among irrigation time, lead content (total, fraction easily exchangeable and bound to organic matter and sulfides) and organic carbon in soils was found; (iii) another association among irrigation time, total contents of cadmium, chromium and boron, and organic carbon was observed.     

Photodegradation of hydroxylated N-heteroaromatic derivatives in natural-like aquatic environments. A review of kinetic data of pesticide model compounds

In the present review, the results published by our group and others related with the study of the kinetic behavior and, in some cases, the mechanism of the dye-promoted photooxygenation of several hydroxypyridines, hydroxyquinolines and hydroxypyrimidines--some of them with the basic molecular structures of known pesticides, and of a few non-hydroxylated model compounds, are compiled and discussed. The main aim was to examine the experimental conditions that maximize the photodegradation efficiencies of all these compounds, under dye-sensitized photooxidation conditions similar to those frequently found in nature, with a natural dye sensitizer such as riboflavin (vitamin B2), a pigment habitually present in natural waters. The usual mechanism of action of this compound is rather complex, in many cases with the concurrent involvement of the oxidative species singlet molecular oxygen (O2(1Deltag)) and superoxide radical anion. In order to simplify the study of the processes, the results found using the synthetic dye Rose Bengal (RB), a sensitizer that generates O2(1Deltag) with high efficiency, are also discussed. RB and similar O2(1Deltag)-generators could be used for the efficient non-natural photodegradation of related pesticides in aqueous solutions under controlled conditions.     

Two-Step Cultivation Method for Microbial Disintegration of Tire Rubber Particles

A rubber-degrading strain of Nocardia was cultured on tread rubber particles from a truck tire by a two-step cultivation method. At the first step, the culture medium was either not agitated or stirred at very slow rate of 40 rpm for one or 2 weeks. At the second step, the culture medium was stirred at relatively higher stirring rate of 150 or 300 rpm for seven or six weeks. It was found that the rate of disintegration was greatly increased and the weight losses of the particles with diameters of about 2.3 mm were as high as 40% in the two-step method and only 20–30% in a one-step method in which the stirring rate was kept constant throughout the culture period. With this method, microbial colonization and disintegration were depressed particularly at the corners of the cubic particles and characteristic protuberant structures were observed at the corners after the removal of microbial cells by washing.     

Superciliums in white-eared hummingbirds as badges of status signaling dominance

The role of badges as indicators of contest ability has been previously described. In hummingbirds, the exhibition of a badge is expected to save energy expenditure in agonistic interactions and to favor energy intake. Here, we investigate whether variable supercilium size in the white-eared hummingbird has a role in dominance status signaling. Firstly, 45 hummingbird males were captured and their superciliums were photographed to investigate variation in size and any possible allometric relationships. Secondly, 42 male birds were used to analyze whether the supercilium has a role in dominance status signaling in a dyadic contest. We found that supercilium size varied continuously but that despite variability between individuals, there was no relationship between supercilium size and body size. However, our dyad experiment indicated that birds with larger badges were able to make more visits to the feeders than individuals with smaller badges. We suggest a status signaling function of the supercilium.     

NORMALIZED UNIT HYDROGRAPH AGGREGATION1

ABSTRACT: The unit hydrograph is a common tool in hydraulic design. Used correctly, it allows a design engineer to estimate a runoff hydrograph from a drainage basin given a rainfall event. The typical method for estimating a unit hydrograph for a gaged watershed is by deconvolution. However, distinct storms produce different unit hydrographs for a single watershed. Consequently, a design engineer usually develops a composite, or average, unit hydrograph based on several recorded storm events. Common methods for estimating this composite unit hydrograph include curve fitting, simple aggregation, and multistorm optimization techniques. This paper introduces a new method to perform aggregation of unit hydrographs. The method is an extension to the simple averaging technique, in which prior to averaging, the individual unit hydrograph time ordinates are normalized with respect to the average time to peak. The normalization method is compared to a simple averaging technique and two multistorm aggregation techniques at six rural watersheds in Alabama. The results indicate that on average the normalization method predicts runoff nearly as accurately as the multistorm techniques, and displays improvement for 60 percent of the storms tested when compared with the simple averaging technique.     

Human health risk assessment case study: an abandoned metal smelter site in Poland

United States Environmental Protection Agency methodologies for human health risk assessment (HRA) were applied in a Brownfields Demonstration Project on the Warynski smelter site (WSS), an abandoned industrial site at Piekary Slaskie town, Upper Silesia, Poland. The HRA included the baseline risk assessment (BRA) and the development of risk-based preliminary remedial goals (RBPRGs). The HRA focused on surface area covered with waste materials, which were evaluated with regard to the potential risks they may pose to humans. Cadmium, copper, iron, manganese, lead, and zinc were proposed as the contaminants of potential concern (COPCs) at WSS based on archive data on chemical composition of waste located on WSS. For the defined future land use patterns, the industrial (I) and recreational (II) exposure scenarios were assumed and evaluated. The combined hazard index for all COPCs was 3.1E+00 for Scenario I and 3.2E+00 for Scenario II. Regarding potential carcinogenic risks associated with the inhalation route, only cadmium was a contributor, with risks of 1.6E-06 and 2.6E-07 for Scenario I and Scenario II, respectively. The results of the BRA indicated that the potential health risks at WSS were mainly associated with waste material exposure to cadmium (industrial and recreational scenarios) and lead (industrial scenario). RBPRGs calculated under the industrial scenario were 1.17E+03 and 1.62E+03 mg/kg for cadmium and lead, respectively. The RBPRG for cadmium was 1.18E+03 mg/kg under the recreational scenario. The BRA results, as well as RBCs, are comparable for both scenarios, so it is impossible to prioritize land use patterns for WSS based on these results. For choosing a future land use pattern or an appropriate redevelopment option, different factors would be decisive in the decision-making process, e.g., social, market needs, technical feasibility and costs of redevelopment actions or acceptance of local community.