International Environmental Agreements:Politics, Law and Economics (INEA)

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International Environmental Agreements:Politics, Law and Economics (INEA)     

Effects of the level of dietary protein on the toxicity of hexachlorocyclohexane in rats

Male albino rats were fed for 28 days from weaning on diets containing 5% (group 1), 10% (group 2) and 21% (group 3, normal protein) protein as casein. At the end of dietary period, HCH was administered daily for 30 days to investigate the interaction between protein deficiency and pesticide toxicity. The results indicated that rats fed a lower protein diet and HCH had a higher mortality, lower rate of growth, increased liver weight and deposition of the pesticide in blood and tissues in larger amounts. Blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) was significantly increased and the heart rate showed tachycardia in low protein exposed animals. A significant increase of total lipids, cholesterol, triglycirides, free fatty acids in serum and tissues of animals exposed to low protein was observed. A close correlation existed between lipid accumulation and storage of HCH in tissues and dietary protein seemed to play an important role in detoxification.     

Photodegradation of the organophosphorus herbicide “anilophos”

Photodecomposition of the organophosphorus herbicide anilophos [S‐(N‐(4‐chlorophenyl) N‐isopropyl carbaniloyl methyl] 0,0‐dimethyl phosphorodithioate has been studied in methanol. It underwent oxidation, hydrolysis and dimerisation on irradiation with U.V. light and produced a number of photoproducts which were characterised by ¹H‐NMR and Mass spectroscopy.     

A simple and robust method for determination of neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) oil in neem oil coated urea

The production of neem oil coated urea (NOCU), a technology developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, has been grown to over 2.0 million tons per year. The estimation of neem oil content in NOCU is important due to its significance in ensuring agronomic efficiency. Therefore, this study was taken up to develop a simple method for the determination of neem oil in NOCU. The procedure involves extraction of neem oil from NOCU; saponification of extracted oil; oxidation of released glycerol to formaldehyde, and subsequent conversion of formaldehyde to a dihydrolutidine derivative. Its concentration was determined spectrophotometrically. The recoveries of neem oil from NOCU with oil load of 500 and 1000?ppm were 87.6?±?3.0% and 90.0?±?4.8% respectively with direct method; and improved to 92.6?±?4.0% and 96.7?±?3.8% after including the in situ purification. A simple method based on the Hantzsch reaction was developed for the determination of neem oil in NOCU. This method is superior to earlier methods in terms of sensitivity, simplicity, and time required.     

Estimation of air pollutant emission loads from construction and operational activities of a port and harbour in Mumbai, India

Port causes environmental and health concerns in coastal cities if its operation and development are not made environmentally compatible and sustainable. An emission inventory is necessary to assess the impact of port projects or growth in marine activity as well as to plan mitigation strategies. In this study, a detailed emission inventory of total suspended particulate (TSP) matter, respirable particulate matter (PM₁₀), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) for a port having operation and construction activities in parallel is compiled. The study has been done for 1 year. Results show that the maximum contribution of emission of air pollutants in the port area was from TSP (68.5%) and the minimum was from SO₂ (5.3%) to the total pollutants considered in this study. Total TSP emission from all activities of the port was 4,452 tyr^???1 and PM₁₀ emission was 903 tyr^???1 in the year 2006. Re-suspension of dust from paved roads was the major contributor of TSP and PM₁₀ in the road transport sector. Construction activities of the port had contributed 3.9% of TSP and 7.4% of PM₁₀ to total emission of particulate matter. Of the total particulate emissions from various port activities approximately 20% of TSP could be attributed to PM₁₀. The sectoral composition indicates that major contribution of SO₂ emission in the port was from maritime sector and major contribution of NO_x was from road transport sector.     

Emissions of gaseous and particulate pollutants in a port and harbour region in India

Ports can generate large quantity of pollutants in the atmosphere due to various activities like loading and unloading,transportation, and construction operations. Determination of the character and quantity of emissions from individual sources is an essential step in any project to control and minimize the emissions.In this study a detailed emission inventory of total suspendedparticulate matter (TSP), particulate matter less than 10 m(PM₁₀), sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) for a port and harbour project near Mumbai is compiled. Results show that the total annual average contributions of TSP and PM₁₀ from all the port activitieswere 872 and 221 t yr^-1, respectively. Annual average emissions of gaseous pollutants SO₂ and NO_xwere 56 and 397 t yr^-1, respectively, calculatedby using emission factors for different port activities. The maximum TSP emission (419 t yr ^-1) was from paved roads, while the least (0.4 t yr^-1) was from bulk handling activity. The maximum PM₁₀ emission (123 t yr^-1) was from unpaved roads and minimum (0.2 t yr^-1) from bulk handling operations. Similarly the ratio of TSP and PM₁₀ emission was highest (5.18) from paved roads and least (2.17) from bulk handling operations. Regression relation was derivedfrom existing emission data of TSP and PM₁₀ from variousport activities. Good correlation was observed between TSP andPM₁₀ having regression coefficient >0.8.     

Assessment of imidacloprid degradation by soil-isolated Bacillus alkalinitrilicus

Imidacloprid is extensively used on a broad range of crops worldwide as seed dressing, soil treatment, and foliar application. Hence, the degradation potential of bacterial strains from sugarcane-growing soils was studied in liquid medium for subsequent use in bioremediation of contaminated soils. The microbe cultures degrading imidacloprid were isolated and enriched on Dorn’s broth containing imidacloprid as sole carbon source maintained at 28 °C and Bacillus alkalinitrilicus showed maximum potential to degrade imidacloprid. Clay loam soil samples were fortified with imidacloprid at 50, 100, and 150 mg kg^?1 along with 45?×?10⁷ microbe cells under two opposing sets of conditions, viz., autoclaved and unautoclaved. To study degradation and metabolism of imidacloprid under these two conditions, samples were drawn at regular intervals of 7, 14, 28, 35, 42, 49, and 56 days. Among metabolites, three metabolites were detected, viz., 6-chloronicotinic acid, nitrosimine followed by imidacloprid-NTG under both the conditions. Total imidacloprid residues were not found to follow the first-order kinetics in both types of conditions. This paper reports for the first time the potential use of pure cultures of soil-isolated native bacterium B. alkalinitrilicus and also its use along with natural soil microflora for remediation of imidacloprid-contaminated soils.     

Spatial and seasonal distribution of nitrate-N in groundwater beneath the rice�Cwheat cropping system of India: a geospatial analysis

Increased use of nitrogenous fertilizers in the intensively cultivated rice (Oryza sativa)?Cwheat (Triticum aestivum) cropping system (covers a 13.5-ha m area in South Asia) has led to the concentration of nitrates (NO₃-N) in the groundwater (GW) in Haryana State of India. Six districts from the freshwater zone were selected to identify factors affecting NO₃-N enrichment in GW. Water and soil samples were collected from 1,580 locations and analyzed for their chemical properties. About 3% (26,796, and 10,588 ha) of the area was estimated to be under moderately high (7.5?C10 mg l^???1) and high (>10 mg l^???1) risk categories, respectively. The results revealed that NO₃-N was 10?C50% higher during the pre-monsoon season than in the monsoon season. Nitrate-N decreased with the increase in aquifer depth (r ²?=?0.99). Spatial and proximity analyses using ArcGIS (9.2) revealed that (1) clay material in surface and sub-surface texture restricts N leaching, (2) piedmont and rolling plains act as an N sink, and (3) perennial rivers bring a dilution effect whereas seasonal rivers provide favorable conditions for NO₃ ^? enrichment. The study concludes that chemical N fertilizers applied in agro-ecosystems are not the sole factor determining the NO₃ in groundwater; rather, it is an integrated process governed by several other factors including physical and chemical properties of soils, proximity and type of river, and geomorphologic and geographical aspects. Therefore, future studies should adopt larger area (at least watershed scale) to understand the mechanistic pathways of NO₃ enrichment in groundwater and interactive role of the natural drainage system and surrounding physical features. In addition, the study also presents a conceptual framework to describe the process of nitrate formation and leaching in piedmont plains and its transportation to the mid-plain zone.     

Characterization and Identification of the Sources of Chromium, Zinc, Lead, Cadmium, Nickel, Manganese and Iron in Pm10 Particulates at the Two Sites of Kolkata, India

Monitoring of ambient PM₁₀ (particulate matter which passes through a size selective impactor inlet with a 50% efficiency cut-off at 10 μm aerodynamic diameter) has been done at residential (Kasba) and industrial (Cossipore) sites of an urban region of Kolkata during November 2003 to November 2004. These sites were selected depending on the dominant anthropogenic activities. Metal constituents of atmospheric PM₁₀ deposited on glass fibre filter paper were estimated using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometer (ICP-AES). Chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe) are the seven toxic trace metals quantified from the measured PM₁₀ concentrations. The 24 h average concentrations of Cr, Zn, Pb, Cd, Ni, Mn and Fe from ninety PM₁₀ particulate samples of Kolkata were found to be 6.9, 506.1, 79.1, 3.3, 7.4, 2.4 and 103.6 ng/m³, respectively. The 24 h average PM₁₀ concentration exceeded national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) as specified by central pollution control board, India at both residential (Kasba) and industrial (Cossipore) areas with mean concentration of 140.1 and 196.6 μg/m³, respectively. A simultaneous meteorology study was performed to assess the influence of air masses by wind speed, wind direction, rainfall, relative humidity and temperature. The measured toxic trace metals generally showed inverse relationship with wind speed, relative humidity and temperature. Factor analysis, a receptor modeling technique has been used for identification of the possible sources contributing to the PM₁₀. Varimax rotated factor analysis identified four possible sources of measured trace metals comprising solid waste dumping, vehicular traffic with the influence of road dust, road dust and soil dust at residential site (Kasba), while vehicular traffic with the influence of soil dust, road dust, galvanizing and electroplating industry, and tanning industry at industrial site (Cossipore).     

Histoenzymological study on the toxicity of copper sulphate in the digestive glands of Lymnaea luteola

During 24 and 48 hr of exposure, the digestive glands of Lymnaea treated with a lethal concentration of 0.038 mgl(-1) CuSO4 revealed intense activity of acid phosphatase in perilobular margin. On the other hand, same area of the gland showed moderate activity of ATPase during 24 and 48 hr of exposure. However, alkaline phosphatase showed average activity in perialveolar region and perilobular margin during 24 and 48, and 72 hr of exposure respectively The changes in the activity of these enzymes were nonsignificant in alveolar margin and perialveolar region of the gland. It is interesting to note moderate activity of acid phosphatase in perialveolar region during 24 hr of exposure.