Plume Dispersion in a Mountainous River Valley during Spring

The dispersion of hot plumes emitted from a smelter complex located In the Columbia River Valley, British Columbia, was evaluated under stable and neutral conditions during two mornings In spring. Spatial measurements of SO₂ and temperature within the plume were obtained by immersion probing using fast response helicopter and automobile mounted Instrumentation. In addition, meteorological measurements of vertical wind and temperature profiles at, and downwind from, the smelter were obtained from minisonde balloon releases. With weak down-valley winds, it was found that the plume axis elevations were generally lower during both stable and neutral conditions than would be predicted by Briggs plume-rise formulae. In contrast, plume dispersion, although confined in the horizontal by the steep valley walls during both stability regimes, was significantly enhanced by exceptionally good lateral mixing, particularly close to the source.     

Isolation and physiological characterization of the pentachlorophenol degrading bacterium Sphingomonas chlorophenolica

Many chlorophenols tend to persist in the environment, and they may become public health hazards. Among chlorophenols, pentachlorophenol (PCP) is a priority pollutant that has been used widely as a general biocide in commercial wood treatment. Owing to the rapid industrial growth, serious soil and water pollutions by chlorophenols has been reported in Taiwan. In this study, 10 indigenous PCP-degrading bacterial strains were isolated from a PCP-degrading mixed culture, and the potential of both the pure and mixed cultures for PCP degradation compared. Moreover, the physiological characteristics and optimum growth conditions of the PCP-degrading bacteria were investigated. One of the isolated bacterial strains with good potential for PCP degradation was characterized and identified as Sphingomonas chlorophenolica by 16S rDNA gene analysis. The result of the optimum growth temperatures revealed that this organism was a mesophile. The optimum pH for PCP removal by S. chlorophenolica was between 6.9 and 7.6. Increase in concentration of PCP has a negative effect on the biodegradation potential of S. chlorophenolica and PCP concentration above 600 mg l(-1) was inhibitory to its growth. The results of this study indicate that this S. chlorophenolica strain has a better potential for PCP degradation compared to the enriched mixed culture. The physiological characterization of the isolates also indicates the possible application of this strain for bioremediation of sites contaminated with PCP.     

Aquatic biomonitoring of Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts in peninsular Malaysia

An aquatic biomonitoring of Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts in river water corresponding to five villages situated in three states in peninsular Malaysia was determined. There were 51.3 % (20/39) and 23.1 % (9/39) samples positive for Giardia and Cryptosporidium (oo)cysts, respectively. Overall mean concentration between villages for Giardia cysts ranged from 0.10 to 25.80 cysts/l whilst Cryptosporidium oocysts ranged from 0.10 to 0.90 oocysts/l. Detailed results of the river samples from five villages indicated that Kuala Pangsun 100 % (9/9), Kemensah 77.8 % (7/9), Pos Piah 33.3 % (3/9) and Paya Lebar 33.3 % (1/3) were contaminated with Giardia cysts whilst Cryptosporidium (oo)cysts were only detected in Kemensah (100 %; 9/9) and Kuala Pangsun (66.6 %; 6/9). However, the water samples from Bentong were all negative for these waterborne parasites. Samples were collected from lower point, midpoint and upper point. Midpoint refers to the section of the river where the studied communities are highly populated. Meanwhile, the position of the lower point is at least 2 km southward of the midpoint and upper point is at least 2 km northward of the midpoint. The highest mean concentration for (oo)cysts was found at the lower points [3.15?±?6.09 (oo)cysts/l], followed by midpoints [0.66?±?1.10 (oo)cysts/l] and upper points [0.66?±?0.92 (oo)cysts/l]. The mean concentration of Giardia cysts was highest at Kuala Pangsun (i.e. 5.97?±?7.0 cysts/l), followed by Kemensah (0.83?±?0.81 cysts/l), Pos Piah (0.20?±?0.35 cysts/l) and Paya Lebar (0.10?±?0.19 cysts/l). On the other hand, the mean concentration of Cryptosporidium oocysts was higher at Kemensah (0.31?±?0.19 cysts/l) compared to Kuala Pangsun (0.03?±?0.03cysts/l). All the physical and chemical parameters did not show significant correlation with both protozoa. In future, viability status and molecular characterisation of Giardia and Cryptosporidium should be applied to identify species and genotypes/subgenotypes for better understanding of the epidemiology of these waterborne parasites.     

A Collaborative Effort to Model Plant Response to Acidic Rain

Radish plants were exposed three times per week to simulated acidic rain at pH values of 2.6 to 5.4 over the course of four weeks in trials performed at Argonne, Illinois; Ithaca and Upton, New York; Corvallis, Oregon; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Toronto, Canada. Uniform genotype, soil media and planting techniques, treatment procedures, biological measurements, and experimental design were employed. Growth of plants differed among trials as a result of variation in greenhouse environmental conditions according to location and facilities. Larger plants underwent greater absolute but lower relative reductions in biomass after exposure to the higher levels of acidity. A generalized Mitscherlich function was used to model the effects of acidity of simulated rain or dry mass of hypocotyls using data from three laboratories that performed duplicate trials. The remaining data, from three other laboratories that performed only one trial each, were used to test the model. When the laboratory by trial effect was removed (influence of different growth. conditions), lack of fit to the Mitscherlich function was insignificant. Thus, a single mathematical model satisfactorily characterized the relationship between acidity and mean plant response. The pH value associated with a 10 percent reduction in mass was 3.3 ± 0.3 for hypocotyls. No value was estimated for shoots because effects oh shoots were not significant. The results of this study demonstrate that a generalized exposure-response model can be developed in the presence of large variations in environmental conditions when plant culture and exposure to simulated rain are standardized among laboratories.     

Development and application of kinetic model on biological anoxic/aerobic filter

An up-flow biological anoxic filter (BANF) has been developed to achieve high removal performance of suspended solids and BOD removal as well as nitrogen. With a view to understand treatment mechanisms, we developed a filtration model that incorporates filtration, deposit scoring and biological reactions simultaneously. The biological reactions consist of four types of reaction; dissolution of organic particles; utilization of dissolved organic matter; denitrification; and self-degradation of bacteria. Whereas the reactor is generally assumed to be a plug flow reactor in the filtration model, it is assumed a continuous-flow stirred tank reactor (CSTR) in the model of biological reactions. The hydrodynamics is supposed that the filter bottom (the portion sludge settled) is a CSTR and the filter bed (the portion filled with filter media) consists of number of CSTR of equal size arranged in series. The model obtained in this study was verified and simulated using experimental results taken from a pilot-scale plant and predicted the experimental data well, applying to design and operate BANF.     

Comparison of two reference black carbons using a planar PCB as a model sorbate

In studies assessing sorption of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) in natural systems, the choice of an appropriate reference black carbon, which can represent environmental black carbon (BC), is essential. This study compared isotherms of two commonly available and distinct reference BCs (n-hexane soot (BCRM) and diesel particulate matter (SRM 2975)) and a natural sediment from a source with little black carbon (Lake Hartwell, SC) using 3,3',4-trichlorobiphenyl (IUPAC #35) as a model sorbate. There was greater sorptivity for PCB-35 by BCRM than by SRM 2975. The observed differences in sorption between the two reference black carbons for PCB-35 may be ascribed to the different chemical characteristics of the black carbons. Differences in pore volume distribution at <16A pore width are less likely to be responsible for the observed differences in sorption. The elemental analysis confirmed that BCRM was a pure n-hexane soot because only C, H and O were measured. In contrast, SRM 2975 also contained N and S and a higher O% than BCRM. Compared to the low BC sediment, the two reference BCs had greater pore volume distributions, surface areas, total pore volumes and sorption. The observed nF (i.e., Freundlich exponent) values for PCB indicated greater linearity of the isotherms for the natural sediment than for the reference black carbons. For designing studies of sorption of HOCs in natural systems, in particular, when PCBs are contaminants of concern, results of this study can aid selection of the appropriate reference BCs.     

Effect of photosensitizer diethylamine on the photodegradation of polychlorinated biphenyls

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of diethylamine and xenon simulated sunlight on the photodegradation of two forms of PCBs including PCBs in transformer oil and PCB congener 138. The result of GC chromatograms illustrated the shifting pattern of higher chlorinated biphenyls in transformer oil degraded to lower chlorinated biphenyls with the extension of exposure time. The effect of diethylamine and xenon simulated sunlight was significant on the photodegradation of both PCBs in transformer oil and congener 138. The initial degradation rates of congener 138 (1.14 x 10(-9) to 4.47 x 10(-9) mol l(-1) h(-1)) were in direct proportion to the initial concentrations of congener 138 which confirmed the pseudo-first-order reaction of PCB photodegradation. The apparent quantum yields (phi) of congener 138 using diethylamine in xenon photoreactor were ranged between 2.08 x 10(-2) and 9.8 x 10(-4). PCB congeners 123, 97, 70, 67, 33, 29, 17, 12, and 9 were detected as the descendants of the photodegradation of congener 138 through dechlorination. The major pathway of congener 138 photodegradation in this study was via para-dechlorination.     

Removal of ammonia by biofilters: a study with flow-modified system and kinetics

The characteristics of ammonia removal by two types of biofilter (a standard biofilter with vertical gas flow and a modified biofilter with horizontal gas flow) were investigated. A mixture of organic materials such as compost, bark, and peat was used as the biofilter media based on the small-scale column test for media selection. Complete removal capacity, defined as the maximum inlet load of ammonia that was completely removed, was obtained. The modified biofilter showed complete removal up to 1.0 g N/kg dry material/day. However, the removal capacity of the standard biofilter started to deviate from complete removal around 0.4 g N/kg dry material/day, indicating that the modified biofilter system has higher removal efficiency than the standard upflow one. In kinetic analysis of the biological removal of ammonia in each biofilter system, the maximum removal rate, Vm, was 0.93 g N/kg dry material/day and the saturation constant, Ks, was 32.55 ppm in the standard biofilter. On the other hand, the values of Vm and Ks were 1.66 g N/kg dry material/day and 74.25 ppm, respectively, in the modified biofilter system.     

Formation of leadhillite and calcium lead silicate hydrate (C-Pb-S-H) in the solidification/stabilization of lead contaminants

In this study, we have investigated the structure of Pb-doped solidified waste forms (SWF) for assessment of lead fixation. A large quantity of lead precipitates produced during the S/S, based upon the results of cement-water solution analysis, X-ray diffraction and electron probe microanalysis/electron dispersive spectroscopy investigations, have been shown to be principally leadhillite (lead carbonate sulfate hydroxide, Pb(4)SO(4)(CO(3))(2)(OH)(2)), lead carbonate hydroxide hydrate (3PbCO(3).2Pb(OH)(2).H(2)O) and two other unidentified lead salts. In the long curing, the lead species dissolved from the lead precipitates are fixed into the cement matrix, forming a gelling calcium lead silicate hydrate during cement-based solidification. On leaching the lead precipitates such as leadhillite were markedly dissolved/released and some dissolved lead species were adsorbed to silicate-rich surface of leached SWF with the subsequent formation of mainly amorphous gel of calcium lead silicate hydrate.