Adaptive sampling and analysis programs for contaminated soils

Adaptive sampling and analysis programs (ASAPs) provide a cost-effective alternative to traditional sampling program designs. ASAPs are based on field analytical methods for rapid sample turnaround and field-based decision support for guiding the progress of the sampling program. One common objective of ASAPs is to delineate contamination present in soils, either to support feasibility studies or remedial action designs. An ASAP based on portable gas chromatograph/ mass spectrograph (GC/MS) technologies developed at Tufts University combined with decision support tools created at Argonne National Laboratory was used to delineate explosives contamination in soils at Joliet Army Ammunition Plant, Joliet, Illinois. Tufts' GC/MS technologies provided contaminant-specific identification and quantification with rapid sample turnaround and high sample throughput. Argonne's decision support tools estimated contamination extent, determined the uncertainty associated with those estimates, and indicated where sampling should continue to minimize uncertainty. In the case of Joliet, per sample analytical costs were reduced by 75 percent as compared to the cost of off-site laboratory analyses for explosives. The use of an ASAP resulted in a much more accurate identification and delineation of contaminated areas than a traditional sampling program would have with the same number of samples collected on a regular grid. While targeting explosives contamination in soils at Joliet, the ASAP technologies used in this demonstration have much broader application.     

Values and the state in natural resource management: The Mt Wellington skyway dispute, Hobart, Tasmania

This article presents a study of land-use politics at the local level in Hobart, capital of the small island state of Tasmania. It is concerned with the politics of local place in the Mt Wellington Skyway cable car dispute and the tactics employed by the state government, in contravention of sustainability principles, to prioritise development over public concern for a local environment. The dispute is reviewed in terms of ideological contention, planning and decision making, and the role of the state in facilitating development. It is found to be characteristically Tasmanian in terms of state legislative support for the project and attitudes in the local community and local government polarised firmly against it. The management of the Mt Wellington Range itself is found to have been hindered by a history of non-decision making and neglect of intrinsic natural values, and the management of the Skyway approval process to have been expediently driven by utilitarian concerns. The article closely scrutinises the type of local environmental issue that Rainbow (1993) suggests has catalysed green politics at the state level in Tasmania. But more generally, it also presents a classic study of the ideological contention that continues to inspire natural resource conflict wherever communities face the degradation of local places defined by significant natural areas.     

An evaluation of contaminant migration patterns at two waste disposal sites on fractured porous media in terms of the equivalent porous medium (EPM) model

Contamination has occurred many non-indurated and bedrock systems wherein the groundwater flows almost exclusively through a network of connected, open fractures. The matrix surrounding the fractures often possesses porosity which allows contaminant diffusion into the matrix. If the diffusion rates are fast relative to the fracture groundwater velocity, transport effects may be predicted by considering the system to be an equivalent porous medium (EPM). The rapidity with which fracture/immobile-matrix equilibrium is established will be determined in part by the: fracture aperture (2b); interfracture spacing (2B); porosity in the immobile matrix (θ_im); and the matrix diffusion coefficient (D′). Two systems which are characterized by very different values of the above parameters have been studied by our laboratories. At Alkali Lake, Oregon, the EPM approach describes contaminant transport well. At Bayview Park, Ontario, the EPM approach is not appropriate. Several features of the two sites are compared to illustrate the different nature of these two sites. These features include: (1) natural characteristics of the groundwater systems; (2) contaminant distributions; (3) observed transport; and (4) computed fracture/immobile-matrix diffusion times.     

A multiple testing approach for hazard evaluation of complex mixtures in the aquatic environment: the use of diesel oil as a model

Traditional single species toxicity tests and multiple component laboratory-scaled microcosm assays were combined to assess the toxicological hazard of diesel oil, a model complex mixture, to a model aquatic environment. The immediate impact of diesel oil dosed on a freshwater community was studied in a model pond microcosm over 14 days: a 7-day dosage and a 7-day recovery period. A multicomponent laboratory microcosm was designed to monitor the biological effects of diesel oil (1.0 mg litre(-1)) on four components: water, sediment (soil + microbiota), plants (aquatic macrophytes and algae), and animals (zooplanktonic and zoobenthic invertebrates). To determine the sensitivity of each part of the community to diesel oil contamination and how this model community recovered when the oil dissipated, limnological, toxicological, and microbiological variables were considered. Our model revealed these significant occurrences during the spill period: first, a community production and respiration perturbation, characterized in the water column by a decrease in dissolved oxygen and redox potential and a concomitant increase in alkalinity and conductivity; second, marked changes in microbiota of sediments that included bacterial heterotrophic dominance and a high heterotrophic index (0.6), increased bacterial productivity, and the marked increases in numbers of saprophytic bacteria (10 x) and bacterial oil degraders (1000 x); and third, column water acutely toxic (100% mortality) to two model taxa: Selenastrum capricornutum and Daphnia magna. Following the simulated clean-up procedure to remove the oil slick, the recovery period of this freshwater microcosm was characterized by a return to control values. This experimental design emphasized monitoring toxicological responses in aquatic microcosm; hence, we proposed the term 'toxicosm' to describe this approach to aquatic toxicological hazard evaluation. The toxicosm as a valuable toxicological tool for screening aquatic contaminants was demonstrated using diesel oil as a model complex mixture.     

Fluoride accumulation and toxicity in wild small mammals

Populations of two species of small mammal, the field vole (Microtus agrestis L.) and the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus L.), inhabiting grasslands contaminated by industrial sources of fluoride were examined for fluoride concentrations in skeletal tissue and for morphological changes in the teeth. Concentrations of fluoride in teeth and bones were higher for C. glareolus than for M. agrestis at the chemical works and smelter sites. Severe dental lesions were recorded on the incisor and molar teeth of both species at the chemical works and smelter sites, with less marked damage at the mine tailings dam. This is attributed to inter-site differences in fluoride speciation and the consequent effects on the availability of fluoride in the diet for bioassimilation.     

Air distribution in the Borden aquifer during in situ air sparging

A field experiment was conducted at Canadian Forces Base Borden (CFB Borden) to assess the air distribution from a single in situ air sparging injection point. This aquifer consists of fine to medium sand deposited in horizontal layers. The permeability at the study location varied from 10(-10) to 10(-14) m2 and distinct low permeability horizons were present at approximately 1.2, 2.0, and 2.9 m below the water table. Prior to air injection, a 15x15-m portion of the vadose zone was excavated to the water table (approximately 1 m below ground surface) in order to visually observe air release distribution at the water table. The water table was actively maintained 5 cm above the excavated surface. The sparging system operated for a period of 7 days with an injection flow rate of 200 m3/days (5 scfm). The resulting subsurface air distribution was assessed using a variety of techniques including neutron logging, borehole and surface ground penetrating radar, piezometric head measurements, surface visualization, and hydraulic testing. Through this combination of tests, it was demonstrated that variations in permeability and, hence, capillary pressure at the site were sufficient to cause the injected air to spread laterally, forming stratigraphically trapped air pockets beneath the low permeability horizons. The formation of these air pockets eventually resulted in a buildup of capillary pressure that exceeded the air entry pressure and allowed some air to migrate up through the lower permeability layers. Each of the assessment techniques employed generated information at different spatial scales that prevented a direct comparison of the results from the various techniques; however, the results from all techniques proved to be critical in the interpretation of the experimental data. As a consequence, the different assessment techniques should not be viewed as alternatives, but rather as complimentary techniques.     

Forecasting peak daily ozone levels: part 2--A regression with time series errors model having a principal component trigger to forecast 1999 and 2002 ozone levels

A modified time series approach, a Box-Jenkins regression with time series errors (RTSE) model plus a principal component (PC) trigger, has been developed to forecast peak daily 1-hr ozone (O3) in real time at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee North (UWM-N) during 1999 and 2002. The PC trigger acts as a predictor variable in the RTSE model. It tries to answer the question: will the next day be a possible high O3 day? To answer this question, three PC trigger rules were developed: (1) Hi-Low Checklist, (2) Discriminant Function Approach I, and (3) Discriminant Function Approach II. Also, a pure RTSE model without including the PC trigger and a persistence approach were tested for comparison. The RTSE model with DFA I successfully forecast the only two 1-hr federal exceedances (124 ppb), one in 1999 and one in 2002. In terms of the O3 100-ppb exceedances, 60-80% of the incorrect forecasts occurred with incorrect PC decisions. A few others may have been caused by unexpected O3-weather relations. When the three approaches used UWM-N data to forecast a 100-ppb exceedance somewhere in the Milwaukee, WI, metropolitan area, their performance was dramatically improved: the false alarm rate was reduced from 0.89 to 0.44, and the probability of detection was increased from 0.71 to 0.88.     

Aquatic microcosm assessment of the effects of tylosin on Lemna gibba and Myriophyllum spicatum

Tylosin is a macrolide antibiotic commonly used for therapeutic treatment and prophylaxis in livestock. As part of a larger ecotoxicological study, the potential phytotoxic effects of tylosin on the rooted macrophyte Myriophyllum spicatum and the floating macrophyte Lemna gibba were assessed under semi-field conditions using 15 12 000-L microcosms. Concentrations of 0, 10, 30, 300 microg/L (n = 3), and 600, 1000, and 3000 microg/L (n = 1) were evaluated as part of separate ANOVA and regression analyses over an exposure period of 35 days. Fate of tylosin was monitored over time in the highest three treatments, where dissipation followed pseudo-first order kinetics with associated half-lives ranging from 9 to 10 days. For both M. spicatum and L. gibba, tylosin was found to cause no biologically significant changes to any endpoint assessed compared to controls at a Type I error rate of 0.1. However, subsequent power analyses revealed that there was generally insufficient power to declare that there were no significant differences at a Type II error rate of 0.2. Conclusions concerning biologically significant impacts were therefore further assessed based on other statistical criteria including comparisons of percent differences between replicated treatments and controls, minimum significant and minimum detectable differences, and coefficients of variation. Based on these criteria, at an ecological effect size of >20% change, tylosin was concluded to elicit no biologically or ecologically significant toxicity to M. spicatum or L. gibba. A hazard quotient assessment indicated that tylosin poses little risk to either species of macrophyte, with an HQ value calculated to be nearly three orders of magnitude below 1 (0.002).     

Effects of forest management on soil carbon: results of some long-term resampling studies

The effects of harvest intensity (sawlog, SAW; whole tree, WTH; and complete tree, CTH) on biomass and soil C were studied in four forested sites in the southeastern US (mixed deciduous forests at Oak Ridge, TN and Coweeta, NC; Pinus taeda at Clemson, SC: and P. eliottii at Bradford, FL). In general, harvesting had no lasting effects on soil C. However, intensive temporal sampling at the NC and SC sites revealed short-term changes in soil C during the first few years after harvesting, and large, long-term increases in soil C were noted at the TN site in all treatments. Thus, changes in soil C were found even though lasting effects of harvest treatment were not. There were substantial differences in growth and biomass C responses to harvest treatments among sites. At the TN site, there were no differences in biomass at 15 years after harvest. At the SC site, greater biomass was found in the SAW than in the WTH treatment 16 years after harvest, and this effect is attributed to be due to both the N left on site in foliar residues and to the enhancement of soil physical and chemical properties by residues. At the FL site, greater biomass was found in the CTH than in the WTH treatment 15 years after harvest, and this effect is attributed to be due to differences in understory competition. Biomass data were not reported for NC. The effects of harvest treatment on ecosystem C are expected to magnify over time at the SC and FL sites as live biomass increases, whereas the current differences in ecosystem C at the TN site (which are due to the presence of undecomposed residues) are expected to lessen with time.     

Organochlorine contamination in shorebirds from Washington state and the significance for their falcon predators

Arctic-breeding shorebirds collected in western Washington state during winter and spring, and a comparative sample collected in coastal California during the winter were analyzed for organochlorine contaminants to determine the potential impact of these residues on populations of peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) and merlins (F. columbarius) which prey upon shorebirds in western Washington. Dunlins (Calidris alpina), an important winter prey for falcons in western Washington, were collected between 1975 and 1981. During winter 1980–81, dunlins carried low organochlorine residues; DDE levels ranged from 0.01 to 1.2 ppm, and PCB levels ranged from 0.02 to 0.82 ppm (wet weight). Levels of other organochlorine contaminants (HCB, Chlordane compounds, Dieldrin, and Heptachlor Epoxide), analyzed in a subsample of dunlins, were consistently lower than DDE and PCB levels, and ranged from 0.001 to 0.22 ppm (wet weight). Dunlins in western Washington did not significantly increase their DDE or PCB burdens over the 1980–81 winter. A decline in DDE residues between 1978 and 1981 was noted, and declines in PCB residues from both 1975 and 1978 to 1980–81 were noted. Residues in other wintering shorebirds from western Washington were similar. Wintering sanderlings (Calidris alba) from California, revealed much higher DDE contamination than in Washington (up to 32 ppm, wet weight). Spring migrant shorebirds in western Washington contained both low and very high DDE residues (up to 417 ppm, wet weight). There is evidence suggesting these high DDE concentrations are accumulated along the Pacific coast of North America.