Can we buy time? Evaluation of the Swedish government’s grant to remediation of contaminated sites

The major aim of this paper is to analyze how government funding affects the pace of progress in four states of the remediation process of contaminated sites, from basic risk classification to cleanup. We introduce a methodological framework that takes into account the unobserved site-heterogeneity and simultaneously models duration in the different states. The results show that although site-heterogeneity contributes to make remediation a slow process, the third state, from the elaborate risk classification to the cleanup start, is a particular bottleneck. Even if government funding can speed up the process at this state, the effect is minuscule compared to the amounts of funding required. Thus, there is a need for policy to also focus on other barriers to remediation.     

Biologische Tests von Bodenextrakten zur Erkennung von Bodenkontaminationen Einstiegswerte und Test-Fensterbreite

Initial values and windows of competence together with a biological test system are introduced to identify soil contaminations. Theinitial values are defined as the amount of extract equivalent to a defined amount of soil (gramm soil equivalent) and the same amount of test medium. This is equivalent to a complete replacement of the test medium with the soil being tested. Theeffect limits should be at least the double standard deviation of the blank values. Based on the values found when testing uncontaminated soils, a higher threshold value has to be established for some test systems. Should no relationship be found to a standard test medium (e.g. agar as a matrix in the Ames assay), the so-calledwindow of competence is defined. Within this window no natural response is found when ex amining uncontaminated soil. For mutagenicity tests, the double spontaneous reversion rate (reversion coefficient of 2) as related o the blank sample is evaluated as the effect limit.     

Air-sea gas exchange of HCHs and PCBs and enantiomers of alpha-HCH in the Kattegat Sea region

Concentrations and air-water gas exchange of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) were determined in nine paired air and water samples. The samples were collected monthly in the Kattegat Sea between December 1998 and November 1999. Average fugacity and flux values indicated that PCBs were oversaturated in the water, while HCHs were net deposited. Variations were large over the year, especially during spring and summer. Air parcel back trajectories suggested that air concentrations over the Kattegat Sea are largely dependent of air mass origin. Seasonal trends were detected for airborne HCHs and for PCBs in water. The air and water enantiomeric compositions of alpha-HCH indicated that a larger portion of alpha-HCH in air originated from the underlying water during summer than during winter.     

Trail pheromones and Dufour gland contents in three <Emphasis Type="Italic">Camponotus</Emphasis> species (<Emphasis Type="Italic">C. castaneus,C. balzani,C. sericeiventris</Emphasis>: Formicidae,Hymenoptera)

Summary. By means of gas chromatography, gas chromatographic coupled mass spectrometry and behavioral analysis the major trail pheromone components from the hindgut of the formicine species Camponotus castaneus, C. balzani and C. sericeiventris were identified. The trail pheromone of C. castaneus is 3,5-dimethyl-6-(1-methylpropyl)- tetrahydro-2H-pyran- 2-one, and that of the other two species is 3,4-dihydro-8-hydroxy-3,5,7-trimethylisocoumarin. Although both compounds release precise trail following behavior in the respective species, the major recruitment signal in the three Camponotus species appears to be formic acid discharged from the poison gland. The composition of the Dufour gland secretions of C. castaneus and C. sericeiventris is similar, but that of the hypertrophied Dufour gland of C. balzani is very different from any other Camponotus Dufour gland content described up to date: it contains large amounts of esters, the major compound of which is octyl hexanoate, which makes up 97% a/a of the total volatiles.     

Airborne organic micropollutant concentrations in mosses and humus as indicators for local versus long-range sources

The concentrations of HCB, PCB, and PAH in epiphytic mosses (Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi) and forest humus were used to study the atmospheric exposure of conferous forests in a region in central Sweden. Air concentrations of HCB and PCB were monitored around an expected source. Moss contamination was used as a short-term exposure indicator, and humus contamination was assumed to indicate long-term exposure to HCB, PCB, and PAH.The level of HCB in mosses (0.4–1.7 ng/g, by dry weight, DW) complied well with background values. The levels of PCB measured as a sum of 7 identified PCB-congeners varied between 2–28 ng/g DW, with the highest levels in moss from the western part of the region, and decreasing concentrations from west to east. Around an expected PCB source in the southeastern part of the region the concentrations of PCB declined with increasing distance from the source area. The identified PAH concentrations in mosses varied between 39 and 730 ng/g DW. The PAH content in the mosses consisted mainly of nonvolatile PAH while the more volatile PAH were below the detection limit. The levels of HCB in humus were slightly more than in mosses (0.4–3.3 ng/g DW), and complied well with the background values. Sum PCB in the humus varied between 2 and 28 ng/g DW. The PAH in the humus were mainly nonvolatile PAH. The PAH concentrations in humus varied between 99 and 2600 ng/g DW. The air concentrations of PCB around the expected source (radius <1.5 km) were higher than background levels, and most likely caused the raised levels of PCB measured in the moss nearby.     

A Food Handler-Associated, Foodborne Norovirus GII.4 Sydney 2012-Outbreak Following a Wedding Dinner, Austria, October 2012

On October 12, 2012, the provincial public health directorate of Salzburg reported a suspected norovirus (NV) outbreak among guests of a wedding–reception. The investigation aimed to confirm the causative agent, to identify the mode of transmission and to implement appropriate preventive measures. A probable outbreak case was defined as a wedding guest with diarrhoea or vomiting with disease onset from 7 to 10 October 2012 and who consumed food at the wedding dinner prepared by a hotel in the province Salzburg on 6 October 2012. A confirmed outbreak case fulfilled the criteria of a probable outbreak case and had a laboratory-confirmed NV infection. We conducted a cohort-investigation among the wedding guests. The case definitions were fulfilled in 26 wedding guests (25 %) including 2 confirmed cases. Females were 3.2 times more likely to develop disease (95 % CI 1.4–7.2) as compared to males. A mushroom dish was found to be associated with disease risk among females (risk ratio 2.3, 95 % CI 1.2–4.3). Two of 2 tested case-patients and 6 of 14 kitchen workers tested were positive for NV GII.4 Sydney. One kitchen staff-member worked during the wedding dinner despite diarrhoea. No food safety training was documented for the employees and the kitchen staff’s restroom was lacking operational facilities for hand hygiene. We report the first investigated outbreak due to GII.4 Sydney, which was likely due to a symptomatic kitchen worker. Gender-specific eating behaviour may have posed female guests at higher risk of NV infection.     

The effects of shifting vegetation mosaics on habitat suitability for coastal dune fauna—a case study on sand lizards (Lacerta agilis)

Encroachment of tall grasses and shrubs in coastal dunes has resulted in loss of vegetation heterogeneity. This is expected to have negative effects on animal diversity. To counteract encroachment and develop structural heterogeneity grazing is a widely used management practice. Here, we aim to functionally interpret changes in vegetation composition and configuration following grazing management on habitat suitability for sand lizards. Aerial photographs taken over a period of 16 years were used to quantify changes in vegetation composition. A GIS-based method was developed to calculate habitat suitability for sand lizards in a spatially explicit manner, encompassing differences in vegetation structure and patch size. From 1987 to 2003 dune vegetation shifted from small patches of moss and sand to larger patches covered by shrubs and grasses. Grazing management did not have any significant effect on the overall level of heterogeneity, measured as habitat suitability for sand lizards. However, on a more local scale highly suitable patches in 1987 were deteriorating whereas unsuitable patches became more suitable in 2003. This inversion results from a broad shift with shrubs being a limiting habitat element in 1987 to sandy patches being the limiting element in 2003. Future changes are believed to negatively impact sand lizards. The habitat suitability model has proven to be a useful tool to functionally interpret changes in coastal dune vegetation heterogeneity from an animal’s perspective. Further research should aim to include multiple species operating on different scale levels to fully capture the natural landscape dynamics.