Our battle with hexachlorobenzene: citizen perspectives on toxic waste in Botany

The perspectives of residents are brought together in this assembly of statements concerning the management of hexachlorobenzene waste in Botany, a southeastern suburb of Sydney. The paper indicates how residents have responded as participants in public participation exercises, and the contribution made by lay experts in the search for a negotiated solution to the problems of legacy wastes. Resident comments on the role of independent scientific experts, on legal liability, and on the State Government sponsored Commission of Inquiry, indicate the deficit of resources faced by the local community. The paper provides insights into the status of citizen knowledge in environmental controversies and the pitfalls of participatory processes.     

Toxic waste in our midst: towards an interdisciplinary analysis

Intractable industrial legacies present new challenges to governance. Amongst the persistent organic pollutants, now managed internationally under the Stockholm Convention, hexachlorobenzene (HCB) stands out in all three classes of chemicals (pesticides, industrial chemicals and unintended by-products). This paper introduces twelve interdisciplinary papers contributing to our understanding of decision-making processes using a case study of HCB and industry-community relations in Sydney's industrial heartland. In this collection, authors align new political theory and emerging management theory, and they analyse the case study from several disciplines. Disputes such as that over HCB destablilise the political/administrative/technoscientific regime that is the modern state. Citizens engage in 'sub-political' processes which require recognition of what Ulrich Beck and others have termed 'individualisation'. This sees decision-forming and decision-making functions push outwards into community-driven structures. There we find new styles of public participation, resolution of asymmetries between knowledge and expertise, and new corporate behaviour.     

Managing Water to Protect Fish: A Review of California’s Environmental Water Account, 2001–2005

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the landward reach of the San Francisco Estuary, provides habitat for threatened delta smelt, endangered winter-run Chinook salmon, and other species of concern. It is also the location of huge freshwater diversion facilities that entrain large numbers of fish. Reducing the entrainment of listed fishes into these facilities has required curtailment of pumping, reducing the reliability of water deliveries. We reviewed the first 5 years (2001–2005) of the Environmental Water Account (EWA), a program instituted to resolve conflicts between protecting listed fishes and providing a reliable water supply. The EWA provided fishery agencies with control over 0.2–0.4 km³ of water to be used for fish protection at no cost to users of exported water, and fish agencies guaranteed no disruption of water supply for fish protection. The EWA was successful in reducing uncertainty in water supply; however, its contribution to the recovery of listed fishes was unclear. We estimated the effectiveness of the EWA to be modest, increasing the survival of winter-run Chinook salmon by 0–6% (dependent on prescreen mortality), adult delta smelt by 0–1%, and juvenile delta smelt by 2–4%. Allocating EWA water for a single life stage of one species could provide larger gains in survival. An optimally allocated EWA of equal size to the median of the first 5 years could increase abundance of juvenile delta smelt up to 7% in the springs of dry years. If the EWA is to become a long-term program, estimates of efficacy should be refined. If the program is to be held accountable for quantitative increases in fish populations, it will be necessary to integrate scientific, possibly experimental, approaches.     

Wastewater reuse in Mediterranean semi-arid areas: The impact of discharges of tertiary treated sewage on the load of polar micro pollutants in the Llobregat river (NE Spain)

The presence of sewage-borne micro contaminants in environmental waters is directly related to the discharge of treated effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and the flow rate of the receiving river waters. Mediterranean rivers, in particular, are characterized by important fluctuations in the flow rates and heavy pollution pressures resulting from extensive urban, industrial and agricultural activities. This translates into contamination levels in these rivers often higher than those in other larger European basins. The present work provides an overview of the occurrence of five groups of organic contaminants (131 compounds) namely pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, polar pesticides, estrogens, alkylphenols and related ethoxylates in WWTP tertiary treatment effluents. Data gathered during a period of water reuse carried out in the lower stretch of the Llobregat river (NE Spain), in the surroundings of the town of Barcelona as a consequence of the severe drought that took place along the years 2007-2008 are presented as illustrative example. In general, measured concentrations of the target compounds were in the low to mid ng L⁻¹ range. The total concentration of each compound class downstream to the discharge point was similar or slightly higher than that found upstream. Regarding the loads calculated for each compound, the relative contribution from the river upstream and the tertiary effluent were highly compound depending with no apparent trend. However, estimation of the overall bulk loads for each compound class determined in the Llobregat river showed the following rank order: pharmaceuticals > alkylphenols > pesticides > illicit drugs ? estrogens.     

Structure-activity relationships of larvicidal monoterpenes and derivatives against Aedes aegypti Linn

In the search for larvicidal compounds against Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae), a collection of monoterpenes were selected and evaluated. R- and S-limonene exhibited the highest larvicidal potency (LC₅₀ = 27 and 30 ppm, respectively), followed by γ-terpinene (LC₅₀ = 56 ppm) and RS-carvone (LC₅₀ = 118 ppm). Structural characteristics which may contribute to the understanding of the larvicidal activity of monoterpenes were empirically identified. The presence of heteroatoms in the basic hydrocarbon structure decreases larvicidal potency. Conjugated and exo double bonds appear to increase larvicidal potency. Replacement of double bonds by more reactive epoxides decreases the larvicidal potency. The presence of hydroxyls in the cyclic structure resulted in decreased potency, probably due to increased polarity indicanting that lipophilicity seems to play an important role in increasing the larvicidal potency in this set of compounds.     

Defining Chlorophyll-a Reference Conditions in European Lakes

The concept of “reference conditions” describes the benchmark against which current conditions are compared when assessing the status of water bodies. In this paper we focus on the establishment of reference conditions for European lakes according to a phytoplankton biomass indicator—the concentration of chlorophyll-a. A mostly spatial approach (selection of existing lakes with no or minor human impact) was used to set the reference conditions for chlorophyll-a values, supplemented by historical data, paleolimnological investigations and modelling. The work resulted in definition of reference conditions and the boundary between “high” and “good” status for 15 main lake types and five ecoregions of Europe: Alpine, Atlantic, Central/Baltic, Mediterranean, and Northern. Additionally, empirical models were developed for estimating site-specific reference chlorophyll-a concentrations from a set of potential predictor variables. The results were recently formulated into the EU legislation, marking the first attempt in international water policy to move from chemical quality standards to ecological quality targets.     

Morphological Changes in Poly(Caprolactone)/Poly(Vinyl Chloride) Blends Caused by Biodegradation

The biodegradation of blends of poly(caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) has been studied. Blends of composition PCL/PVC 1:1 and 1:2 w/w were tested. The 1:1 blend contained crystals in the as-cast state and became more crystalline on exposure to different bio-active agents. The 1:2 blend was amorphous in the as-cast state but developed a significant crystal component after 4 months exposure to the bio-agents. Three bio-active agents were used and all were found to produce qualitatively similar behaviour but their activity was somewhat different. For both the 1:1 blend and the 1:2 blend the ranking of the three bio-active agents tested, in increasing order, was Curvularia sp.; Trogia buccinalis; Phanerochaete chrysosporium.     

Discussion1-“Stream Temperature Relationships to Forest Harvest in Western Washington” by Michael M. Pollock,Timothy J. Beechie,Martin Liermann,and Richard E. Bigley2

Ice, George G., George W. Brown, John A. Gravelle, C. Rhett Jackson, Jeffrey T. Light, Timothy E. Link, Douglas J. Martin, Dale J. McGreer, and Arne E. Skaugset, 2010. Discussion –“Stream Temperature Relationships to Forest Harvest in Western Washington” by Michael M. Pollock, Timothy J. Beechie, Martin Liermann, and Richard E. Bigley. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(4): 838-842. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00441.x     

H NMR metabolomics of earthworm exposure to sub-lethal concentrations of phenanthrene in soil

¹H NMR metabolomics was used to monitor earthworm responses to sub-lethal (50-1500 mg/kg) phenanthrene exposure in soil. Total phenanthrene was analyzed via soxhlet extraction, bioavailable phenanthrene was estimated by hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPCD) and 1-butanol extractions and sorption to soil was assessed by batch equilibration. Bioavailable phenanthrene (HPCD-extracted) comprised ∼65-97% of total phenanthrene added to the soil. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed differences in responses between exposed earthworms and controls after 48 h exposure. The metabolites that varied with exposure included amino acids (isoleucine, alanine and glutamine) and maltose. PLS models indicated that earthworm response is positively correlated to both total phenanthrene concentration and bioavailable (HPCD-extracted) phenanthrene in a freshly spiked, unaged soil. These results show that metabolomics is a powerful, direct technique that may be used to monitor contaminant bioavailability and toxicity of sub-lethal concentrations of contaminants in the environment. These initial findings warrant further metabolomic studies with aged contaminated soils.