Accelerated carbonation of steel slags in a landfill cover construction

Steel slags from high-alloyed tool steel production were used in a full scale cover construction of a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill. In order to study the long-term stability of the steel slags within the final cover, a laboratory experiment was performed. The effect on the ageing process, due to i.e. carbonation, exerted by five different factors resembling both the material characteristics and the environmental conditions is investigated. Leaching behaviour, acid neutralization capacity and mineralogy (evaluated by means of X-ray diffraction, XRD, and thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis, TG/DTA) are tested after different periods of ageing under different conditions.Samples aged for 3 and 10 months were evaluated in this paper. Multivariate data analysis was used for data evaluation. The results indicate that among the investigated factors, ageing time and carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere were able to exert the most relevant effect. However, further investigations are required in order to clarify the role of the temperature.     

Erprobung und Erfolgskontrolle eines Phytoremediationsverfahrens zur Sanierung Sprengstoff-kontaminierter Böden

The final article of a series of three evaluates the in situ-remediation of TNT(trinitrotoluene)-contaminated soil from ‘Werk Tanne’. The multidisciplinary approach allows a differentiated assessment. Grading with large-scale machinery leads to a depletion of TNT for almost 90% within the first 6 months, while ADNT(amino-dinitrotoluene)-content decreases more or less steadily over 1,5 years. Grading reduces the heterogenous distribution of the contamination only slightly. Results from field-monitoring and biotest-battery indicate residual toxicities of ecotoxicological relevance and a reduced capacity for biological regeneration, in comparison with the uncontamined site. Mycorrhized plants safe-guard the site and improve the soilecological conditions. Their role in reducing lower level residual toxicity requires further investigation. There is need for future research (1) on the dynamics and mechanisms of the initial decrease of TNT followed by stagnation, (2) on the fate of the primary metabolites, (3) on long-term effects of the phytoremediation, and (4) on the establishment of the complex monitoring for routine work.     

Competitive mobilization of phosphate and arsenate associated with goethite by root activity

Arsenate (As V) is the predominant form of arsenic in soils under aerobic conditions and competes with the major plant nutrient phosphorus (P) in the form of phosphate (PV) not only for sorption sites on mineral surfaces in soil but also for root membrane transporters. Plants have evolved several mechanisms for the mobilization of PV in soils in response to P deficiency, such as the release of organic anions and protons. The aim of the present study was to test whether these mechanisms result in a simultaneous mobilization of arsenate and what would be the consequences for As transfer from soil to plant. The compartment system approach with Zea mays as model crop was chosen as an experimental setup. The system is equipped with micro suction cups and allowed us to investigate processes occurring in the vicinity of roots. As a case study, an artificial quartz substrate with well defined soil physical properties was fertilized, spiked with As V, and amended with increasing amounts of goethite (0, 1, and 4 g kg(-1) in treatments G-0, G-1, and G-4, respectively). The addition of goethite alleviated the As V-induced growth reduction and reduced As V transfer from the substrate to the plant but induced P deficiency at the same time. When low amounts of goethite (1 g kg(-1)) were added, plants mobilized PV but not As V, which might be related to differences in surface complexation reported for PV and As V. No mobilization of PV or As V was observed with the addition of higher amounts of goethite, probably because of decreasing competition between organic anions, PV, and As V for binding sites.     

A Special Vegetation Index for the Weed Detection in Sensor Based Precision Agriculture

Many technologies in precision agriculture (PA) require image analysis and image- processing with weed and background differentiations. The detection of weeds on mulched cropland is one important image-processing task for sensor based precision herbicide applications. The article introduces a special vegetation index, the Difference Index with Red Threshold (DIRT), for the weed detection on mulched croplands. Experimental investigations in weed detection on mulched areas point out that the DIRT performs better than the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The result of the evaluation with four different decision criteria indicate, that the new DIRT gives the highest reliability in weed/background differentiation on mulched areas. While using the same spectral bands (infrared and red) as the NDVI, the new DIRT is more suitable for weed detection than the other vegetation indices and requires only a small amount of additional calculation power. The new vegetation index DIRT was tested on mulched areas during automatic ratings with a special weed camera system. The test results compare the new DIRT and three other decision criteria: the difference between infrared and red intensity (Diff), the soil-adjusted quotient between infrared and red intensity (Quotient) and the NDVI. The decision criteria were compared with the definition of a worse case decision quality parameter Q, suitable for mulched croplands. Although this new index DIRT needs further testing, the index seems to be a good decision criterion for the weed detection on mulched areas and should also be useful for other image processing applications in precision agriculture. The weed detection hardware and the PC program for the weed image processing were developed with funds from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).     

Effects of humidity and filter material on diffusive sampling of isocyanates using reagent-coated filters

Diffusive sampling of methyl isocyanate (MIC) on 4-nitro-7-piperazinobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBDPZ)-coated glass fibre (GF) filters is strongly affected by high relative humidity (RH) conditions. It is shown that the humidity interference is a physical phenomenon, based on displacement of reagent from the filter surface. In this paper, this drawback has been overcome by changing the filter material to the less polar polystyrene divinyl benzene (SDB). A series of experiments was performed to compare the analyte uptake on the two filter materials for different sampling periods and analyte concentrations at both low and high RH conditions. Additionally, the materials were investigated as well for passive sampling of ethyl (EIC) and phenyl isocyanate (PhIC) with NBDPZ and 1-(2-methoxyphenyl) piperazine (2-MP) as an alternative derivatising agent. Using 2-MP, the mean GF/SDB response ratios were determined to be 1.02 for MIC (RSD: 6.1%) and 1.03 for EIC (RSD: 6.8%), whereas PhIC could only be determined on SDB filters. Using NBDPZ as reagent, the negative influence of high humidity disappeared when SDB filters were used instead of GF filters. Even at low RH conditions, sampling with SDB material generally resulted in a higher analyte uptake than with GF filters. The GF/SDB response ratios were independent of sampling time or analyte concentration and were determined to be 0.70 (RSD: 4.7%) for MIC, 0.84 (RSD: 4.5%) for EIC and 0.95 (RSD 5.4%) for PhIC, meaning that the NBDPZ diffusive sampler based on SDB can be used at all humidity conditions without any restrictions.     

Temporal pessimism and spatial optimism in environmental assessments: An 18-nation study

The personal assessments of the current and expected future state of the environment by 3232 community respondents in 18 nations were investigated at the local, national, and global spatial levels. These assessments were compared to a ranking of each country's environmental quality by an expert panel. Temporal pessimism (“things will get worse”) was found in the assessments at all three spatial levels. Spatial optimism bias (“things are better here than there”) was found in the assessments of current environmental conditions in 15 of 18 countries, but not in the assessments of the future. All countries except one exhibited temporal pessimism, but significant differences between them were common. Evaluations of current environmental conditions also differed by country. Citizens' assessments of current conditions, and the degree of comparative optimism, were strongly correlated with the expert panel's assessments of national environmental quality. Aside from the value of understanding global trends in environmental assessments, the results have important implications for environmental policy and risk management strategies.     

A highly resolved anion-exchange chromatographic method for determination of saccharidic tracers for biomass combustion and primary bio-particles in atmospheric aerosol

An improved high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) with pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) method is developed and validated for simultaneous determination of atmospherically relevant sugar alcohols, monosaccharides, and monosaccharide anhydrides. The improved method enables the separation of levoglucosan and arabitol which were not or insufficiently separated by the previous HPAEC–PAD methods. Reproducibility of the method was tested for both standard solutions and atmospheric aerosol samples. The peak area relative standard deviation (RSD%) of standard solutions were found to be lower than 1.5% for consecutive analyses (n = 3) and lower than 4% for day to day variation (n = 9). The peak area RSD% of atmospheric samples with typical European wintertime monosaccharide concentrations (n = 9) was found to be similar to that of standard solutions. Limits of detection ranged from 0.002 mg L^?1 for inositol to 0.08 mg L^?1 for fructose. The developed method offers a simple, reliable and cost effective determination of atmospheric tracers for biomass combustion and for selected bio-aerosol components at sub-nanogram per cubic-meter-air concentration levels for routine analysis.     

Organometals of tin, lead and mercury compounds in landfill gases and leachates from Bavaria, Germany

Organo-Sn, -Pb and -Hg compounds were monitored in gases and leachates of 11 municipal waste landfills and one hazardous waste landfill from Bavaria, Germany, with the objectives to estimate the methylation of Sn, Pb and Hg and to assess the risk of their release into the adjacent environment. In the gases, tetramethyl Sn predominated (>80% of total gaseous Sn) with concentrations up to 160mug Sn m(-3). Dimethyl-Hg and tetramethyl-Pb were only occasionally detected with concentrations up to 2.9 and 2.1mugm(-3) as Hg or Pb, respectively. In all leachates, trimethyl-Sn dominated with a maximum concentration of 2100ng Sn L(-1). No organo-Pb compounds were found, and monomethyl-Hg was detected in only one leachate. The concentrations of trimethyl-Sn were up to 100-fold higher in the condensate water than in leachates, and the concentrations of organo-Sn compounds were lower in the adjacent groundwater than in the corresponding leachates. The high abundance of methylated Sn species in the gases and leachates indicates Sn methylation, suggesting the landfill as a source for organo-Sn compounds. In comparison, methylation of Hg and Pb was of little importance, probably due to low Hg concentrations and low rates of Pb methylation in the landfill. The risks of organo-Sn compounds release to the adjacent air is low due to flaring of landfill gases. However, there is probable release of organo-Sn compounds, especially trimethyl-Sn, to the adjacent groundwater.     

Perfluorooctane surfactants in waste waters, the major source of river pollution

Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are persistent and widely distributed in the environment. Recently, the discharge of municipal waste water has been shown to be an important route of such perfluoroalkyl surfactants into the aquatic environment. The aim of this study was to assess the mass flow of PFOA and PFOS from typical waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) into surface waters. Samples were collected at different stages of treatment of four WWTPs in Northern Bavaria, Germany, and from the rivers receiving the treated waste waters (WW). The outflow of PFOA from the WWTPs to the rivers was 20-fold higher than the inflow to the plants; about a tenth was removed with the sludge. For PFOS, the increase from inlet to outlet was about 3-fold; almost half of it was retained in the sludge. Both surfactants were released into river water from the WWTP of a medium-sized city with domestic, industrial and commercial waste waters; in domestic waste waters the surfactants were found at much lower levels.