Polychlorinated dibenzo-dioxins and -furans detoxification of soil promoted by K-polyethylene glycol technology

The detoxification of soil and sludge from polychlorinated dibenzo-dioxins (PCDD) and -furans (PCDF) has been achieved by means of the K-PEG technology based on the in situ formation of the complex between polyethylene glycol (PEG) and KOH. Dechlorination of the pollutants was promoted by heating the samples up to 250 degrees C, above the PEG thermal degradation onset (>140 degrees C). As a consequence, a bursting evolution of hydrogen was observed which gave a reductive character to the reaction media and atmosphere. PCDD and PCDF chlorine atoms were progressively eliminated by a hydrodehalogenation reaction. After optimisation of the experimental parameters, the toxicity index was lowered more than 98%. In order to gain insight on the mechanism of the reaction, PEG thermal degradation chemistry was studied in some detail. The analytical results (mainly by mass and IR spectroscopy) suggest that PEG has an essential role on promoting the dehalogenation reaction by acting as a phase transfer agent as well as a source of hydride.     

Knowledge and utilization of edible mushrooms by local populations of the rain forest of south Cameroon

Indigenous knowledge of edible fungi and their utilization by local populations were investigated in southern Cameroon from 1996 to 1999. Some 100 participants from the major ethnic groups, comprising Bantu farmers and Bagyeli (Pygmy) hunter-gatherers, were interviewed. Mushroom usage by 30 families, (319 persons), was monitored daily for over a year. Mushroom knowledge among both groups was extensive. Over 50 vernacular names were provided by respondents. In Bantu households, women and children, and to some extent hunters, harvest mushrooms. In contrast, the whole Bagyeli household participates. Bantu harvest mushrooms preferentially in secondary forests while Bagyeli collect them predominantly in primary forests. Mushroom consumption is low for both groups, 1.1 and 1.4 kg of fresh mushrooms per person per year, respectively, a rate that is much lower than in central and eastern Africa. The apparent discrepancy between extensive mushroom knowledge and rather infrequent mushroom consumption probably relates to the social valuation of mushrooms.     

Mobility of heavy metals as related to soil chemical and mineralogical characteristics of Brazilian soils

In order to better understand the relationship between soil characteristics and mobility of some heavy metals, correlation studies were conducted in samples of unlimed and limed A, B and C horizons of three Brazilian soils, representative of the majority of the tropical soils. A number of chemical and mineralogical characteristics of one Oxisol and two Ultisols were related to the retardation factors (Rf) for zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb). The retardation factors, obtained in leaching column experiments, were used as an estimate of solute movement in the profile. Soil types and soil horizons were found to influence metal retardation factors which, in turn, correlated better with the chemical than the mineralogical soil characteristics. For the unlimed soil samples, the soil characteristics that significantly correlated with Zn-Rf and Cd-Rf were the sum of exchangeable bases (SB), and soil exchangeable (Ca-KCl) and non-exchangeable (Ca-HCl) calcium contents. These results showed the strong influence of the cation exchange phenomenon on the retention and mobility of these two metals. For Cu and Pb, not only SB, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and Ca-KCl and Ca-HCl but also the organic matter correlated well with the Rf, showing that complex or chelate formation may play an important role in the movement of these elements. The important soil chemical characteristics related to the retardation factors in the limed soil samples were SB for Cd, and Ca-HCl for Cu and Pb, suggesting that precipitation may also influence the mobility and retention of the latter two heavy metals in these soil samples. Soil pH influenced the heavy metals adsorption and movement as shown by the significant correlation with the retardation factors when the combined data for the unlimed and limed soil samples was considered.     

Preparation and certification of a reference material on PCBs in pig fat and its application in quality control in monitoring laboratories during the Belgian "PCB-crisis"

In this article, the production and validation of a new certified reference material "PCBs in animal fat" for the control of the maximum level of 200 ng/g setup by the European Communities for veterinary products from Belgium is described. Three materials are established: a blank, one material with about 100 ng/g and one with about 200 ng/g (sum of seven PCBs). Data on the production and certification are given. Additionally, this material was used as an unknown test material in the quality assurance program of the Belgium meat monitoring system (before the certification of the material). While the certification was performed with an uncertainty of less than 10%, the round robin exhibited larger deviations. However, these deviations were less than 20% for most of the 30 participating laboratories. Only two had significantly higher deviations.     

Dioxins and related compounds: Status and regulatory aspects

Several countries have put much effort in dioxin research programmes with the aim to assess the risks of dioxin exposure, to identify dioxin sources and to quantify their contribution to environmental emissions and human exposure. In this review, the accent has been put on: sources of dioxins and their contribution to the total dioxin emissions, sources of human exposure and their contribution to exposure and measures to reduce emission and exposure. The information from countries with existing dioxin regulations is reviewed and compared. Uncertainties which hamper comparability of data are indicated. Results of measures and expectations for the near future are presented.     

Absorption and translocation of 2,4-D in plants of Memora peregrina

The objective of this work was to evaluate absorption and translocation of the herbicide 2,4-D in plants of Memora peregrina. The herbicide 2,4-D was used alone with the formulation DMA 806 BR and associated with the herbicide picloram in the commercial product Padron. Levels of radioactivity on the treated leaves were determined in sample obtained after washing them with methanol and chloroform at different times after the application of the radiolabelled formulation (1, 2, 4, 8, 24, and 48 h). Translocation was evaluated by cutting plants between stem and root. The parts obtained were: root, stem, leaf treated, leaves above the leaf treated, leaves below the leaf treated, and leaf opposite of the leaf treated. These parts were weighted, dried, ground, burnt, and radioactivity in the samples was determined. The results suggest that the translocation of the radioactive herbicide 2,4-D was insignificant in plants of M. peregrina in the two treatments evaluated. Absorption of 14C 2,4-D in the treatment with DMA 806 BR and the mixture of DMA 806 BR plus Padron had the same behavior. These observations explain the inefficient control obtained with this herbicide in plant species under study.     

European union system for the evaluation of substances: the second version

This publication presents major changes in the assessment of the risks of chemicals to human health and the environment as implemented in the second version of the European Union System for the Evaluation of Substances, EUSES 2.0. EUSES is a harmonised quantitative risk assessment tool for chemicals. It is the PC-implementation of the technical guidelines developed within the framework of EU chemical legislation for industrial chemicals and biocides. As such, it is designed to support decision making by risk managers in government and industry and to assist scientific institutions in the risk assessment for these substances. The development of EUSES 2.0 is a co-ordinated project of the European Chemicals Bureau, EU Member States and the European chemical industry. Several model concepts, the technical background and the user interface of EUSES have been improved considerably. Major changes in the environmental assessment such as the implementation of emission scenario documents for industrial chemicals and biocides, the addition of the marine risk assessment, the enhancement of the regional model to include global scales, and improvements in the secondary poisoning and environmental effects modelling will be discussed. The update of the human risk assessment module in EUSES focuses on the risk characterisation for both threshold and non-threshold substances with, among others, the introduction of assessment factors. The performance of EUSES is illustrated in an example showing the human and environmental risk assessment of a sanitation disinfectant for private use.     

Mode of zooxanthella transmission does not affect zooxanthella diversity in acroporid corals

Two distinct modes of algal endosymbiont acquisition exist in corals, a direct transmission from the parental colony to the eggs and a larval or post-larval uptake from the environment. The former, maternal-transmission mode is expected to be a more closed system, while the latter is believed to be an open system. Here we test the hypothesis that the diversity of symbionts in closed systems is lower than that in open systems. We examine the identity and diversity of the algal endosymbionts (zooxanthellae) in 25 Montipora species sampled from Irian Jaya (Indonesia) and Magnetic Island (central Great Barrier Reef) and compare the results with those previously obtained from Acropora species, which belong to the same family. All Montipora colonies examined harbour clade C zooxanthellae, with two colonies harbouring both clade C and D zooxanthellae simultaneously. Two algal strains (named C· and D· in this study) present in Montipora have not been observed in Acropora, and may have co-evolved with Montipora. Symbiodinium C· shows approximately 5% sequence divergence from C strains observed in Acropora spp. and occurs in 76% of the colonies examined. Nevertheless, several other C strains commonly found in other corals occur in some of the Montipora colonies. Montipora species transmit their algal endosymbionts directly to the eggs, while Acropora species have to acquire zooxanthellae from the environment every generation. Contrary to our expectations, the diversity of zooxanthellae is similar for the two genera, indicating that the mode of symbiont transmission (i.e. maternal versus horizontal) does not affect symbiont diversity in acroporid corals.Communicated by M.S. Johnson, Crawley     

Innate immune defense of the sponge<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Suberites domuncula</Emphasis> against gram-positive bacteria: induction of lysozyme and AdaPTin

Sponges are filter feeders that are exposed to large amounts of bacteria present in their surrounding aqueous milieu. The characteristic cell wall component of gram-positive bacteria, peptidoglycan (PPG), was used as a model molecule to study the responsiveness of cells from the marine demosponge Suberites domuncula toward gram-positive bacteria. The sponge lysozyme, which hydrolyzes PPG, was isolated from the living sponge; in addition its gene was cloned (SDLYS) and expressed in Escherichia coli. Antibodies were raised against the recombinant protein to demonstrate that in the Western blot both molecules give the same signal. In situ hybridization with SDLYS as a probe showed that cells in the mesohyl, the gray cells, strongly react with SDLYS. Subsequent immunofluorescence studies with antibodies raised against lysozyme revealed that only bacteria react with anti-lysozyme and only those that are scattered within the mesohyl of the tissue. An adaptor gene (AdaPTin-1) was isolated from the same sponge species that encodes a putative protein involved in endosome formation. Based on its differential expression we conclude that sponge cells react to PPG with a rapid activation of endocytosis, followed by the release of lysozyme.Communicated by O. Kinne, Oldendorf/LuheThe cDNA sequences from Suberites domuncula have been deposited (EMBL/GenBank): cDNA for the lysozyme (SDLYS) under the accession number AJ699166 and the AdaPTin-1 cDNA (SDAP1) under AJ699167.