Financing for innovative technologies and best practices to reduce persistent organic pollutants

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) threaten human health and the global environment. Recognizing their dangers many countries began to limit or ban POPs production, use, and release in the 1990s. Eventually the Stockholm Convention on POPs, was adopted in 2001 and entered into force in 2004. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) provides financial support to developing country Parties for the implementation of the Stockholm Convention. The GEF’s POPs investment portfolio focuses on: 1) strengthening the capacity of developing country Parties to implement the Stockholm Convention; 2) establishing and supporting partnerships to develop and implement National Implementation Plans (NIPs), and 3) demonstrating and deploying best technologies and practices to reduce POPs emission, including development of safe alternatives. Since 2001 the GEF has committed US$568.8 million to POPs projects and leveraged some US$1474.5 million in co-financing from partners in the public and private sectors, bringing the total value of the GEF POPs portfolio to over US$2 billion. With GEF support, 108 developing country Parties have developed their NIPs. The GEF also financed 109 projects for the implementation of the Convention. Upon completion, these GEF POPs investments will contribute to the disposal of more than 70,000 tons of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) oil, contaminated equipments, and waste, more than 40,000 tons of obsolete POPs pesticides and associated waste, and reducing dioxin/furan and mercury emission by introducing environmentally sound technologies and best practices. This paper summarizes: 1) direct and indirect GEF investments to support the goals of the Stockholm Convention; 2) investment case studies on PCB, DichloroDiphenylTrichloroethane (DDT), chlordane and mirex, medical waste, obsolete POPs and engaging civil society; and 3) lessons learned in terms of GEF financing strategies, best technologies and environmental practices to address POPs.     

Distribution and dietary regulation of an associated facultative Rhizobiales-related bacterium in the omnivorous giant tropical ant,Paraponera clavata

We document a facultative Bartonella-like Rhizobiales bacterium in the giant tropical ant, Paraponera clavata. In a lowland tropical rainforest in Costa Rica, 59 colonies were assayed for the prevalence of the Bartonella-like bacterium (BLB), 14 of which were positive. We addressed three questions: First, how does the prevalence of BLB within colonies vary with environmental conditions? Second, how does diet affect the prevalence of BLB in P. clavata? Third, how does the distribution of BLB among colonies reflect ambient differences in food resources and foraging habits? A variety of environmental variables that may be predictive of the presence of BLB were measured, and diet manipulations were conducted to test whether the prevalence of BLB responded to supplemental carbohydrate or prey. The ambient frequency of BLB is much higher in young secondary forests, but is nearly absent from older secondary forests. The prevalence of BLB inside field colonies increased over the duration of a 2-week carbohydrate supplementation; however, water and prey supplementation did not alter the prevalence of BLB. The diets of the colonies located in young secondary forest, compared to other habitats, have a diet richer in carbohydrates and lower in prey. The abundance of carbohydrate, or the relative lack of N, in a colony’s diet influences the occurrence of the BLB microbe in P. clavata. As experimental diet manipulations can affect the facultative presence of an N-cycling microbe, a consistent diet shift in diet may facilitate the emergence of tighter symbioses.     

Direct evidence of trophic interactions among apex predators in the Late Triassic of western North America

Hypotheses of feeding behaviors and community structure are testable with rare direct evidence of trophic interactions in the fossil record (e.g., bite marks). We present evidence of four predation, scavenging, and/or interspecific fighting events involving two large paracrocodylomorphs (=‘rauisuchians’) from the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation (～220–210 Ma). The larger femur preserves a rare history of interactions with multiple actors prior to and after death of this ～8–9-m individual. A large embedded tooth crown and punctures, all of which display reaction tissue formed through healing, record evidence of a failed attack on this individual. The second paracrocodylomorph femur exhibits four unhealed bite marks, indicating the animal either did not survive the attack or was scavenged soon after death. The combination of character states observed (e.g., morphology of the embedded tooth, ‘D’-shaped punctures, evidence of bicarination of the marking teeth, spacing of potentially serial marks) indicates that large phytosaurs were actors in both cases. Our analysis of these specimens demonstrates phytosaurs targeted large paracrocodylomorphs in these Late Triassic ecosystems. Previous distinctions between ‘aquatic’ and ‘terrestrial’ Late Triassic trophic structures were overly simplistic and built upon mistaken paleoecological assumptions; we show they were intimately connected at the highest trophic levels. Our data also support that size cannot be the sole factor in determining trophic status. Furthermore, these marks provide an opportunity to start exploring the seemingly unbalanced terrestrial ecosystems from the Late Triassic of North America, in which large carnivores far outnumber herbivores in terms of both abundance and diversity.     

Effect of vegetation type on throughfall deposition and seepage flux

This paper compares different vegetation types (coniferous and deciduous forest, grassed and pure heathland) in terms of input (throughfall deposition) and output (seepage flux) in a region with intermediate nitrogen load (+/-20kg Nha(-1)y(-1) via bulk precipitation) in comparable conditions in north Belgium. Coniferous forest (two plots Pinus sylvestris and two plots Pinus nigra) received significantly higher nitrogen and sulphur throughfall deposition than deciduous forest and heathland. Grassed and pure heathland had significantly highest throughfall quantities of Ca(2+) and Mg(2+), respectively. The observed differences in throughfall deposition between the different vegetation types were not univocally reflected in the ion seepage flux. Considerable seepage fluxes of NO(3)(-), SO(4)(2-), Ca(2+) and Al(III) were only found under the P. nigra plots. We discuss our hypothesis that the P. nigra forests already evolved to a situation of N saturation, while the other vegetation types did not.     

Potentiality of different isolates of wilt fungus Fusarium oxysporum collected from rhizosphere of tomato against root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita

This investigation was undertaken to determine the effect of culture filtrates of different isolates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici on mortality of Meloidogyne incognita juveniles and egg hatching. It was observed that different concentrations including standard extract (S.E), 1:10 and 1:100 dilutions of all fungal filtrates inhibited egg hatch when compared with control. Minimum mortality and maximum hatching was observed in BRT (showing least mortality) isolate of F. oxysporum, while maximum mortality and minimum egg hatching was recorded in BGT (showing maximum mortality) isolate. Larval mortality was decreased with a decrease in concentration and the least mortality was observed in 1:100 when compared with SE and 1:10. The potentiality of both the isolates (BRT and BGT) against root-knot nematode M. incognita was confirmed by the pathogenicity test on tomato. These observations confirmed that F. oxysporumisolates possesses variability in pathogenicity ranging from pathogenic to bio-control agent. The plants inoculated with BRT isolate failed to show wilt symptoms while plants inoculated with BGT isolate showed wilt indices.     

Biodegradation of lindane, methyl parathion and carbofuran by various enriched bacterial isolates

In the present study, lindane (1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachlorocyclohexane), methyl parathion (O-dimethylO-(4-nitro-phenyl) phosphorothioate) and carbofuran (2,3-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-7-benzofuranyl methylcarbamate) degradation potential of different enriched bacterial cultures were evaluated under various environmental conditions. Enriched cultures behaved differently with different pesticides. Degradation was more in a facultative anaerobic condition as compared to that in aerobic condition. A specific pesticide enriched culture showed maximum degradation of that pesticide irrespective of pesticides and environmental conditions. Lindane and endosulfan enriched cultures behaved almost similarly. Degradation of lindane by lindane enriched cultures was 75 +/- 3% in aerobic co-metabolic process whereas 78 +/- 5% of lindane degradation occurred in anaerobic co-metabolic process. Degradation of methyl parathion by methyl parathion enriched culture was 87 +/- 1% in facultative anaerobic condition. In almost all the cases, many intermediate metabolites were observed. However, many of these metabolites disappeared after 4-6 weeks of incubation. Mixed pesticide-enriched culture degraded all the three pesticides more effectively as compared to specific pesticide- enriched cultures. It can be inferred from the results that a bacterial consortium enriched with a mixture of all the possible pesticides that are present in the site seems to be a better option for the effective bioremediation of multi-pesticide contaminated site.     

In-field variation in 2,4-D mineralization in relation to sorption and soil microbial communities

This study was undertaken to assess 2,4-D mineralization in an undulating cultivated field, along a sloping transect (458 m to 442 m above sea level), as a function of soil type, soil microbial communities and the sorption of 2,4-D to soil. The 2,4-D soil sorption coefficient (Kd) ranged from 1.81 to 4.28 L kg(-1), the 2,4-D first-order mineralization rate constant (k) ranged from 0.04 to 0.13 day(-1) and the total amount of 2,4-D mineralized at 130 days (M(130)) ranged from 24 to 39%. Both k and M(130) were significantly negatively associated (or correlated) with soil organic carbon content (SOC) and Kd. Both k and M(130) were significantly associated with two fatty-acid methyl esters (FAME), i17:1 and a18, but not with twenty-two other individual FAME. Imperfectly drained soils (Gleyed Dark Grey Chernozems) in lower-slopes showed significantly lesser 2,4-D mineralization relative to well-drained soils (Orthic Dark Grey Chernozems) in mid- and upper-slopes. Well-drained soils had a greater potential for 2,4-D mineralization because of greater abundance and diversity of the microbial community in these soils. However, the reduced 2,4-D mineralization in imperfectly drained soils was predominantly because of their greater SOC and increased 2,4-D sorption, limiting the bioavailability of 2,4-D for degradation. The wide range of 2,4-D sorption and mineralization in this undulating cultivated field is comparable in magnitude and extent to the variability of 2,4-D sorption and mineralization observed at a regional scale in Manitoba. As such, in-field variations in SOC and the abundance and diversity of microbial communities are determining factors that require greater attention in assessing the risk of movement of 2,4-D by runoff, eroded soil and leaching.     

Improvement of an efficient separation method for chemicals in diesel exhaust particles: analysis for nitrophenols

GOAL, SCOPE, AND BACKGROUND: Diesel exhaust is believed to consist of thousands of organic constituents and is a major cause of urban pollution. We recently reported that a systematic separation procedure involving successive solvent extractions, followed by repeated column chromatography, resulted in the isolation of vasodilatory active nitrophenols. These findings indicated that the estimation of the amount of nitrophenols in the environment is important to evaluate their effect on human health. The isolation procedure, however, involved successive solvent extractions followed by tedious, repeated chromatography, resulting in poor fractionation and in a significant loss of accuracy and reliability. Therefore, it was crucial to develop an alternative, efficient, and reliable analytical method. Here, we describe a facile and efficient acid-base extraction procedure for the analysis of nitrophenols. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Diesel exhaust particles (DEP) were collected from the exhaust of a 4JB1-type engine (ISUZU Automobile Co., Tokyo, Japan). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was performed with a GCMS-QP2010 instrument (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan). RESULTS: A solution of DEP in 1-butanol was extracted with aqueous NaOH to afford a nitrophenol-rich oily extract. The resulting oil was methylated with trimethylsilyldiazomethane and subsequently subjected to GC-MS analysis, revealing that 4-nitrophenol, 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol, 2-methyl-4-nitrophenol, and 4-nitro-3-phenylphenol were present in significantly higher concentrations than those reported previously. DISCUSSION: Simple acid-base extraction followed by the direct analysis of the resulting extract by GC-MS gave only broad peaks of nitrophenols with a poor detection limit, while the GC-MS analysis of the sample pretreated with (trimethylsilyl)diazomethane gave satisfactorily clear chromatograms with sharp peaks and with a significantly lowered detection limit (0.5 ng/ml, approximately 100 times). CONCLUSION: The present method involving an acid-base extraction, in situ derivatization, and GC-MS analysis has shown to be a simple, efficient, and reliable method for the isolation and identification of the chemical substances in DEP.     

Characterizing ammonia emissions from swine farms in eastern North Carolina: part 1--conventional lagoon and spray technology for waste treatment

Ammonia (NH3) fluxes from waste treatment lagoons and barns at two conventional swine farms in eastern North Carolina were measured. The waste treatment lagoon data were analyzed to elucidate the temporal (seasonal and diurnal) variability and to derive regression relationships between NH3 flux and lagoon temperature, pH and ammonium content of the lagoon, and the most relevant meteorological parameters. NH3 fluxes were measured at various sampling locations on the lagoons by a flowthrough dynamic chamber system interfaced to an environmentally controlled mobile laboratory. Two sets of open-path Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers were also used to measure NH3 concentrations for estimating NH3 emissions from the animal housing units (barns) at the lagoon and spray technology (LST) sites. Two different types of ventilation systems were used at the two farms. Moore farm used fan ventilation, and Stokes farm used natural ventilation. The early fall and winter season intensive measurement campaigns were conducted during September 9 to October 11, 2002 (lagoon temperature ranged from 21.2 to 33.6 degrees C) and January 6 to February 2, 2003 (lagoon temperature ranged from 1.7 to 12 degrees C), respectively. Significant differences in seasonal NH3 fluxes from the waste treatment lagoons were found at both farms. Typical diurnal variation of NH3 flux with its maximum value in the afternoon was observed during both experimental periods. Exponentially increasing flux with increasing surface lagoon temperature was observed, and a linear regression relationship between logarithm of NH3 flux and lagoon surface temperature (T1) was obtained. Correlations between lagoon NH3 flux and chemical parameters, such as pH, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), and total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN) were found to be statistically insignificant or weak. In addition to lagoon surface temperature, the difference (D) between air temperature and the lagoon surface temperature was also found to influence the NH3 flux, especially when D > 0 (i.e., air hotter than lagoon). This hot-air effect is included in the statistical-observational model obtained in this study, which was used further in the companion study (Part II), to compare the emissions from potential environmental superior technologies to evaluate the effectiveness of each technology.     

Source characterization of ambient fine particles at multiple sites in the Seattle area

To identify major PM_2.5 (particulate matter ≤2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter) sources with a particular emphasis on the ship engine emissions from a major port, integrated 24 h PM_2.5 speciation data collected between 2000 and 2005 at five United State Environmental Protection Agency's Speciation Trends Network monitoring sites in Seattle, WA were analyzed. Seven to ten PM_2.5 sources were identified through the application of positive matrix factorization (PMF). Secondary particles (12–26% for secondary nitrate; 17–20% for secondary sulfate) and gasoline vehicle emissions (13–31%) made the largest contributions to the PM_2.5 mass concentrations at all of the monitoring sites except for the residential Lake Forest site, where wood smoke contributed the most PM_2.5 mass (31%). Other identified sources include diesel vehicle emissions, airborne soil, residual oil combustion, sea salt, aged sea salt, metal processing, and cement kiln. Residual oil combustion sources identified at multiple monitoring sites point clearly to the Port of Seattle suggesting ship emissions as the source of oil combustion particles. In addition, the relationship between sulfate concentrations and the oil combustion emissions indicated contributions of ship emissions to the local sulfate concentrations. The analysis of spatial variability of PM_2.5 sources shows that the spatial distributions of several PM_2.5 sources were heterogeneous within a given air shed.