Understanding the Causes of Spills From the Supply and Handling of Chemicals at Resource Construction Sites: A Case Study

An intermediate bulk container (IBC) was punctured during its handling, releasing a refined oil product onto land at a large construction site in an environmentally sensitive region of Australia. Understanding and controlling the risks from fuel, oil, and chemical spills on the current project was of critical importance as part of the project's overall approval, and ongoing compliance depended on the project committing to minimizing all chemical and petroleum hydrocarbon spills on the site. The telehandler (forklift) did not pierce the plastic of the IBC directly (as was expected to be the case) but rather one of the tynes caught on the underside of the metal base plate (pallet belly plate), despite numerous controls being in place at the time of spill (to limit the risks of damaging the IBC), revealing a previously unreported mechanism for a fluid spill from handling of petroleum hydrocarbons and related chemicals. The investigation team used a root cause analysis (RCA) technique, based on the fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram, which was undertaken with 12 expert contributors (from the project) to identify the underlying cause: The inspection process was inadequate. This study is a companion to the article published in Winter 2014 in Remediation (Guerin, 2014) covering multiple causes of spills from plant and equipment commonly used on construction and remediation projects. ©2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Mating systems in the steppe lemming (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lagurus lagurus)</Emphasis> and narrow-skulled vole (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Microtus gregalis</Emphasis>) from the Northern Kulunda Steppe

A comparative analysis of reproductive behavior has been performed in the steppe lemming (Lagurus lagurus) and narrow-skulled vole (Microtus gregalis). The results show that the species are similar in certain behavioral features indicative of the stability of mating pairs. However, in the narrow-skulled vole, unlike in the steppe lemming, mature males in olfactory tests show preference for receptive sibling females versus non-kin females. Probably, it is the absence of the incest taboo that allows the involvement of young of the year in reproduction within growing family groups and accounts for “coloniality” of the species.     

Comparative analysis of small mammal communities in Chisinau and Yaroslavl, two European cities located in different biomes

Comparative analysis of the structure of small mammal communities has been performed in two European cities located in different biomes: Chisinau (2008?C2009) and Yaroslavl (1994?C2002). The parameters studied included abundance, species composition, similarity and difference of faunas, species diversity, and proportions of groups differing in predisposition to synanthropy. It has been found that the structure of small mammal communities in these cities depends on specific physiographic conditions of the surrounding areas and on the distinctive features of the cities themselves (their structure, age, etc.). The similarity between the faunas is accounted for by the common ecological patterns of fauna formation in the biota of urban cenoses.     

Expansion of cropland area and formation of the eastern farming-pastoral ecotone in northern China during the twentieth century

Land cover changes induced by historical cultivation in ecologically fragile areas involving important issues such as environmental change, ecology, and human sustainability are particularly worthy of attention. This paper reconstructs the spatial distribution of cultivated areas at the county level in the eastern farming-pastoral ecotone of northern China for four time periods during the twentieth century. The paper also analyzes how the location of cultivation ratio contours of 15 and 30 %, representing the boundaries of agricultural areas, have moved and the formation process of farming-pastoral ecotone patterns during this period. The study concludes that the area and ratio of cultivated land fluctuations increased during the twentieth century. The boundaries of the cultivation ratio contours of 15 and 30 % continually moved west and north. Moving north took priority over the other directions during the period of 1916–1940, when its center moved the farthest during the twentieth century, and the boundaries primarily moved westward during 1940–1980 and northwestward during 1980–2000. The distance, direction, and extent of the movement of the cultivation boundaries are all related to agricultural area expansion processes during this period, finally resulting in the creation of the modern farming-pastoral ecotone pattern.     

Second generation anticoagulant rodenticides in predatory birds: Probabilistic characterisation of toxic liver concentrations and implications for predatory bird populations in Canada

Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) are widely used to control rodent pests but exposure and poisonings occur in non-target species, such as birds of prey. Liver residues are often analysed to detect exposure in birds found dead but their use to assess toxicity of SGARs is problematic. We analysed published data on hepatic rodenticide residues and associated symptoms of anticoagulant poisoning from 270 birds of prey using logistic regression to estimate the probability of toxicosis associated with different liver SGAR residues. We also evaluated exposure to SGARs on a national level in Canada by analysing 196 livers from great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) and red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) found dead at locations across the country. Analysis of a broader sample of raptor species from Quebec also helped define the taxonomic breadth of contamination. Calculated probability curves suggest significant species differences in sensitivity to SGARs and significant likelihood of toxicosis below previously suggested concentrations of concern (<0.1mg/kg). Analysis of birds from Quebec showed that a broad range of raptor species are exposed to SGARs, indicating that generalised terrestrial food chains could be contaminated in the vicinity of the sampled areas. Of the two species for which we had samples from across Canada, great horned owls are exposed to SGARs to a greater extent than red-tailed hawks and the liver residue levels were also higher. Using our probability estimates of effect, we estimate that a minimum of 11% of the sampled great horned owl population is at risk of being directly killed by SGARs. This is the first time the potential mortality impact of SGARs on a raptor population has been estimated.     

Levels of household particulate matter and environmental tobacco smoke exposure in the first year of life for a cohort at risk for asthma in urban Syracuse, NY

The Syracuse, NY, AUDIT (Assessment of Urban Dwellings for Indoor Toxics) study was designed to quantify asthma agent levels in the inner-city homes of a birth cohort whose mothers had a diagnosis of asthma. Risk of exposure to particulate matter (PM), particle number and tobacco smoke was assessed in 103 infants' homes. Repeat measurements were made in 44% of the homes. Infants also were examined on a quarterly basis during the first year of life to monitor their respiratory health and urine cotinine levels. Overall geometric mean (GM) values for PM(2.5) of 21.2 μg/m(3) and for PM(10) of 31.8 μg/m(3) were recorded in homes at visit 1. GM values for PM(2.5) and PM(10) in smoking homes were higher at 26.3 and 37.7 μg/m(3), while values in non-smoking homes were 12.7 and 21.2 μg/m(3) respectively. Fifty-four percent of mothers (55/103) smoked at some point in pregnancy (39% smoked throughout pregnancy). Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure occurred in 68% of homes during the infants' first year. Significant to this study was the size- and time-resolved monitoring of PM at 140 home visits and the classification of PM count data. PM number counts ranged from continuously low levels (little indoor activity) to continuously high counts (constant indoor activity), and recorded apparent instances of prolonged repeated cigarette smoking. Wheezing in the first year of life was recorded for 38% of the infants (39/103). Adjusted logistic regression modeling demonstrated that elevated levels of indoor PM(2.5) (≥ 15 μg/m(3)) were a significant risk factor for infant wheezing after controlling for infant gender, mothers' age and education level, season of home visit and presence of carpeting (OR 4.21; 95% CI 1.36-13.03; p=0.013). An elevated level of the nicotine metabolite cotinine in infant urine also was associated with infant wheezing after adjusting for infant gender, mothers' age and education level (OR 5.10; 95% CI 0.96-27.24; p=0.057). ETS exposure was pervasive in the AUDIT cohort and a risk for developing infants in this urban population.     

High concentrations of polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) in breast adipose tissue of California women

We measured major PBDEs and PCBs in breast adipose tissues of California women participating in a breast cancer study in the late 1990s. Samples were analyzed using gas chromatography with electron impact ionization and tandem mass spectrometry detection. The congener profile observed was: BDE47>BDE99>BDE153>BDE100>BDE154 and PCB153>PCB180>PCB138>PCB118. Whereas high correlations were observed within each chemical class, very weak correlations appeared between classes, pointing to different exposure pathways. Weak negative associations were observed for PBDE congeners and age. Our PBDE data are among the highest reported, exceeding data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and consistent with the high use of PBDEs in California. These data may be helpful in establishing a baseline for PBDE body burdens to gauge changes over time as a result of restrictions in the use of PBDE formulations.     

Technologically enhanced 210Pb and 210Po in iron and steel industry

Iron and steel manufacture has been ranked as the largest industrial source of environmental contamination in the USA; the wastes generated in their production processes contain heavy elements that can be a source of contamination, and natural radionuclides that can produce an occupational and/or public radiological impact. In this work the potential occupational effective dose rate (μSv/y) due to inhalation in four integrated steel-making factories from Egypt has been evaluated, by assuming a well defined scenario and with basis in the ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po activity concentrations determined in ore and wastes collected in the aforementioned factories. Activity concentrations, in Bq/kg, of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po, and leachable Pb and Fe were measured using gamma-ray spectrometry based on HPGe detector, alpha particle spectrometry based on PIPS detector, and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Levels of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po in the range of <DL-4238 and 1-5660 Bq/kg, respectively, were found. According to the assumed scenarios, the occupational exposures by inhalation are much lower than the recommended annual effective dose limit, although the environmental impact due to waste storage and/or use should be considered based on case by case evaluation.