Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in feathers of colonial water-bird species from Pakistan

Feathers of two colonial water-birds species (Bubulcus ibis, Egretta garzetta) from four heronries in the Punjab province, Pakistan were analysed for 28 Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) congeners. Median concentrations of ∑PBDEs were 2.41 and 1.91 ng/g in little and cattle egrets. PBDE-47, -100, -138, -153 were abundant and detected in >70% of feather samples in both species. Species-specific differences based on dietary preferences indicated higher concentration of PBDE-47, -66, -75, -100, -153, -154, and -183 in fish eating little egret. BDE-47 and -100 were more frequent in little egrets and BDE-99 was more dominant in cattle egret which feed on terrestrial habitat. Higher ∑hexa- and hepta-BDEs congeners showed larger concentrations in feathers from heronries close to water bodies which receive urban and industrial effluents whereas lower-brominated congeners (BDE-47-BDE-100) dominated in rural/agricultural regions. Hazard quotients (HQs) indicated that measured ∑PBDEs pose no risk to egret population.     

Workers' exposure to dust, endotoxin and β-(1-3) glucan at four large-scale composting facilities

Objectives

To characterise compost workers’ exposure to dust, endotoxin and β-(1-3) glucan during various operational practices and investigate whether dust concentrations are a useful indicator of endotoxin exposure in compost workers.

Methods

This study assessed inhalable dust fractions, bacterial endotoxin and β-(1-3) glucan in 117 personal samples and 88 ambient samples from four large-scale composting facilities.

Results

Employees’ exposures to inhalable dust, endotoxin and β-(1-3) glucan exhibited a large range. Inhalable dust was found to be generally low (GM 0.99 mg/m³, GSD 2.99 mg/m³). Analysis of the biological component of the dust showed that employees’ exposures to endotoxin were elevated (GM 35.10 EU/m³, GSD 9.97 EU/m³). Employees’ exposure to β-(1-3) glucan was low (GM 0.98 ng/m³, GSD 13.39 ng/m³). Dust levels were elevated during manual sorting and screening of waste and high levels of endotoxin and β-(1-3) glucan were observed during all practices involving the movement of waste. A significant correlation was observed between the personal dust levels and personal endotoxin concentrations (r = 0.783, p < 0.05) and that personal inhalable dust concentration may be a valuable predictor for personal endotoxin concentration in the sites studied.

Conclusions

Workers at composting sites are exposed to high levels of bacterial endotoxin consistent with adverse respiratory outcomes even though in most cases, their personal dust exposure is below the suggested regulatory levels. Dose-response data for the biological components present in the dust encountered at composting sites are not well established at this time and site operators should adopt precautionary measures when assessing and managing these potential risks.     

Calculating the benefit to workers of averting a radiation exposure lasting longer than the working lifetime

The J-value method enables health and safety schemes aimed at preserving or extending life to be assessed on a common, objective basis for the first time, irrespective of industrial sector. For this it requires an estimate of the improvement in life expectancy that the health and safety scheme will bring about. This paper extends the range of nuclear-safety-system lifetimes for which it is possible to calculate the increased life expectancy amongst nuclear-plant workers whose radiation exposure the safety system has reduced. Whereas the previous mathematical technique was able to cater for a nuclear-safety-system lifetime up to the working lifetime of the nuclear-plant workers (typically between 45 and 50 years), the new method extends without limit the range of tractable, safety-system lifetimes. This is important now that the design lifetime of nuclear power stations can be up to 60 years. The development will also facilitate the assessment of safety systems and procedures to protect workers on long-term nuclear decommissioning and waste sites; in the latter case, the service life-time could be hundreds of years. The case when the safety-system lifetime is greater than the working lifetime is addressed by splitting the workforce into a set of three cohorts, one for existing workers and two for new recruits. The discounted life expectancy is found for each cohort, and then a weighted average is used to give the overall value. An additional mathematical device is then used to reduce the number of cohorts required from three to two, namely existing workers and new recruits. A similar mathematical device is applied (in Appendix A) to reduce from three to two the number of workforce cohorts needed when the length of the safety system's service lifetime is less than the working lifetime. Finally, a further mathematical instrument is incorporated in the model equations, which allows a unified treatment to be applied to each of the cohorts, existing workers and new recruits, across all possible service lifetimes of a nuclear safety system. Since new results on gain in life expectancy may be fed into a J-value analysis, this development extends significantly the range of nuclear-safety systems for which the J-value technique may be used to measure cost-effectiveness.     

Quantitative trace analysis of polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in ambient air samples from Mace Head (Ireland): A method intercomparison

A method intercomparison study of analytical methods for the determination of neutral, volatile polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) was carried out in March, 2006. Environmental air samples were collected in triplicate at the European background site Mace Head on the west coast of Ireland, a site dominated by ‘clean’ westerly winds coming across the Atlantic. Extraction and analysis were performed at two laboratories active in PFAS research using their in-house methods. Airborne polyfluorinated telomer alcohols (FTOHs), fluorooctane sulfonamides and sulfonamidoethanols (FOSAs/FOSEs) as well as additional polyfluorinated compounds were investigated. Different native and isotope-labelled internal standards (IS) were applied at various steps in the analytical procedure to evaluate the different quantification strategies. Field blanks revealed no major blank problems. European background concentrations observed at Mace Head were found to be in a similar range to Arctic data reported in the literature. Due to trace-levels at the remote site, only FTOH data sets were complete and could therefore be compared between the laboratories. Additionally, FOSEs could partly be included. Data comparison revealed that despite the challenges inherent in analysis of airborne PFAS and the low concentrations, all methods applied in this study obtained similar results. However, application of isotope-labelled IS early in the analytical procedure leads to more precise results and is therefore recommended.     

The role of symbolic capital in stakeholder disputes: decision-making concerning intractable wastes

This paper examines almost 30 years of disputation concerning the disposal of the world's largest stockpile of the toxic organochlorine, hexachlorbenzene. It describes the study of a chemicals company in its attempt to manage the disposal of the toxic waste in a collaborative fashion with government, environmentalists and the local community. The study describes the new processes and structures specifically designed to address the decision-making and the issues of stakeholder perception and identity construction which have influenced the outcomes. Decision-making in such disputes is often theorized from the perspective of the emergence of highly individualized and reflexive risk communities and changing modes and expectations of corporate responsibility as a result of detraditionalization. We argue that the stakeholder interaction in this study reflects competing discourses in which corporate actors prioritize the building and maintaining of identity and symbolic capital rather than an active collaboration to solve the ongoing issue of the waste. As well, issues of access to expert knowledge highlight the relationship between conditions of uncertainty, technoscientific expertise and identity. The events of the study highlight the challenges faced by contemporary technoscientific corporations such as chemicals companies as they must deliver on requirements of transparency and openness, while maintaining technoscientific capacity and strong internal identity. We conclude that the study demonstrates the co-existence of social processes of individualization and detraditionalization with quasi-traditions which maintain authority, thus challenging the radical distinctions made in the literature between modernity and late or reflexive modernity.     

Investigation of source apportioning for α-HCH using enantioselective analysis

Enantiomeric analysis can be used as a complementary tool for source apportionment of chiral compounds, particularly for α-HCH. In this study we used archived samples from studies related to the distribution of POPs in air–water and air–soil–grass systems. Such approach is based on the behaviour of chiral compounds released into the atmosphere from a primary source, when they are expected to show racemic or close to racemic composition. Contrarily, when chiral compounds have been reemitted from secondary sources (e.g. water or soil), their enantiomeric signatures are frequently non-racemic and are similar to the signature of the secondary source. To show such evidence, extracts from passive air samples deployed throughout Europe were analyzed for the enantiomers of α-HCH. The proximity to a large water body showed a high impact on the enantiomeric signatures: Baltic air had enantiomeric fractions (EFs) < 0.500, while Mediterranean air had predominantly EFs > 0.500. Similarly, Atlantic air showed a latitude influence: above 50°N most EFs < 0.500, whereas at latitudes below 50°N, EFs were > 0.500. A similar trend was also observed for EFs of α-HCH measured in air samples from a latitudinal transect during an Atlantic cruise. This transect shows that samples from higher latitudes (above 40°N) have EF < 0.500, whereas in the more southern samples (African coast and Southern Atlantic), there is no clear trend for EFs. Inland air samples showed a large range in EF values, with racemic signatures for samples with the highest α-HCH concentrations and an increasing spread in the EFs for lower α-HCH concentrations. As expected, the EF values of α-HCH in air, soils and grass were also impacted by latitude. Correlations between EFs and geographic characteristics of the sampling locations, as well as α-HCH concentrations, α-/γ-isomer ratios, or temperature suggest that enantioselective analysis can give additional information on the distribution and sources of α-HCH in the environment.     

The USGS Water Availability and Use Science Program: Needs,Establishment, and Goals of a Water Census

Many reports have recognized the need for a national water census for the United States and have called upon the U.S. Geological Survey to undertake this challenge. For example, the National Science and Technology Council stated: “The United States has a strong need for an ongoing census of water that describes the status of our Nation's water resource at any point in time and identifies trends over time.” Responding to the need for this information, the U.S. Congress established the SECURE Water Act. The directives are to provide a more accurate assessment of the status of the water resources of the United States; determine the quantity of water available for beneficial uses; identify long‐term trends in water availability; assist in determination of the quality of the water resources; and develop the basis for an improved ability to forecast the availability of water for future economic, energy production, and environmental uses. This article provides summary and new information on the process and progress on work to estimate water budget components nationwide, involvement of stakeholder interests, efforts to examine water‐use characteristics throughout the Nation, studies of water availability in geographically focused areas and the initiation of methods to provide open access to existing and new water resources information contributing to Open Water Data Initiative (OWDI) efforts and objectives.     

A High‐Resolution National‐Scale Hydrologic Forecast System from a Global Ensemble Land Surface Model

Warning systems with the ability to predict floods several days in advance have the potential to benefit tens of millions of people. Accordingly, large‐scale streamflow prediction systems such as the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service or the Global Flood Awareness System are limited to coarse resolutions. This article presents a method for routing global runoff ensemble forecasts and global historical runoff generated by the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts model using the Routing Application for Parallel computatIon of Discharge to produce high spatial resolution 15‐day stream forecasts, approximate recurrence intervals, and warning points at locations where streamflow is predicted to exceed the recurrence interval thresholds. The processing method involves distributing the computations using computer clusters to facilitate processing of large watersheds with high‐density stream networks. In addition, the Streamflow Prediction Tool web application was developed for visualizing analyzed results at both the regional level and at the reach level of high‐density stream networks. The application formed part of the base hydrologic forecasting service available to the National Flood Interoperability Experiment and can potentially transform the nation's forecast ability by incorporating ensemble predictions at the nearly 2.7 million reaches of the National Hydrography Plus Version 2 Dataset into the national forecasting system.     

Assessing links between crop diversity and food self-sufficiency in three agroecological regions of Nepal

Increasing on-farm crop diversity is one agroecological approach to enhancing food self-sufficiency that helps small-scale farmers keep their food systems stable by reducing risks associated with stressors, such as a pest outbreaks or droughts. But understanding how crop diversity and food self-sufficiency are related is unknown. To explore this complex relation, this study presents household data (n = 1664) from Nepal to test the hypothesis that families with high crop diversity enjoy greater household food self-sufficiency. Data are presented for three districts that are representative of three distinct agroecological regions of the country: (1) Sarlahi, which is affluent, market-oriented, and on the plains; (2) Makwanpur District in the hills, which has well-developed integrated farm production; and (3) the mountainous District of Humla, which has the poorest quality environment and is the most remote. Results show that in the Humla District, families with greater crop diversity were more self-sufficient. In contrast, farmers in Makwanpur, who have already established a high degree of crop diversity based on vegetable production, do not benefit from additional crop diversity in terms of their ability to provide for themselves. Finally, data from Sarlahi show that families’ food self-sufficiency benefits from crop diversification. We conclude that boosting crop diversity is a viable strategy for maintaining stability in food systems, but this varies depending on the accessibility of a farm and, in particular, access to markets.     

Regional carbon footprints of households: a German case study

Households are either directly or indirectly responsible for the highest share of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, programs helping to improve human consumption habits have been identified as a comparatively cost-effective way to reduce household emissions significantly. Recently, various studies have determined strong regional differences in household carbon footprints, yet a case study for Germany has not been conducted. Local information and policies directed at household consumption in Germany thus devoid of any foundation. In this paper, we analyze the impact of different criteria such as location, income and size on household carbon footprints in Germany and demonstrate how the impact of GHG mitigation opportunities varies for different population segments. We use a multi-region input output hybrid LCA approach to developing a regionalized household carbon footprint calculator for Germany that considers 16 sub-national regions, 15 different household sizes, and eight different income and age categories. The model reveals substantial regional differences in magnitude and composition of household carbon footprints, essentially influenced by two criteria: income and size. The highest income household is found to emit 4.25 times as much CO₂e than the lowest. We identify indirect emissions from consumption as the largest share of household carbon footprints, although this is subject to fluctuation based on household type. Due primarily to local differences in vehicle availability, income and nutrition, an average household in Baden-Wuerttemberg is found to have 25 % higher carbon footprint than its Mecklenburg-West Pomeranian counterpart. Based on the results of this study, we discuss policy options for household carbon mitigation in Germany.