Arsenic removal from water by chemisorption filters

The concept of multiple separation by chemisorptive filters was applied and investigated in the process of arsenic removal from water. Chemisorption filters were made by the paper manufacturing method and consisted of cellulose, cationic and anionic ion exchangers, activated carbon and a corresponding chemical agent. In this work chemisorption filters were activated with Ag+, Mg2+, Cu2+, Al3+ and Fe3+ ions, and their chemical contribution to total arsenic removal from the water was analyzed. It was concluded that Cu2+ ions exhibited the best removal effect. Using a chromatographic continuous system with multifunctional filters, which combines the effects of adsorption, ion exchange and filtration, a decrease in the arsenic concentration was determined; for an active layer of 8 mm and a contact time of 2 s it was more than 1000-fold. All processes were performed in batch and chromatographic continuous systems under equilibrium or dynamic conditions. The results of the investigations have shown that arsenic removal is valence dependent (the removal of pentavalent arsenic was more effective). The initial concentration, pH and pollutants in anionic forms, which affected the selectivity, were important for all the processes investigated. The mechanisms of pollutant removal were determined on the basis of measurements of active Cu2+ ion propagation inside the filter structure. By correlating the front propagation of active ions and the pollutant output concentration a more exact model for the removal process was obtained.     

Genotoxic consequences of occupational exposure to ethylene oxide and formaldehyde ‐ a pilot study

The study evaluates chromosome damage caused by simultaneous occupational exposure to ethylene oxide (EtO) and formaldehyde (FA). To determine the extent of chromosome damage, eleven workers were analyzed using chromosome aberration (CA) assay, sister chromatid exchange (SCE) frequencies, micronucleus (MN) assay, and mitotic activity (MA). The results show significant deviations in subjects exposed to EtO and FA from control values in all four assays. The study shows a complex mode of action of EtO and FA on human genome and confirms the need for further research of cytogenetic risk which should be obtained through several assays.     

Detection of elements and radioactivity in pellets from long-eared owls (Asio otus) inhabiting the city of Belgrade (Serbia)

In this study, we analysed pellets from long-eared owls (Asio otus) collected from four localities in Belgrade (Serbia). The pellets contained the remains of prey, namely voles (Arvicola terrestris) and field mice (Apodemus agrarius). The concentrations of 14 elements (Ca, P, Mg, Na, K, Fe, Zn, Sr, Ba, Mn, Ti, Cu, Si, B) were evaluated in whole pellets and in samples containing only bone tissue, which were dissected from the whole pellet. The increased levels of certain elements, including Mn, Zn, Ba, Cu and radioactive ⁴⁰K, indicate contamination of the soil by various sources, such as industrial plants and agricultural practices. From the results presented in this article, we suggest that the analysis of owl pellets may indicate the quality of the local environment.     

Pollution indices and sources appointment of heavy metal pollution of agricultural soils near the thermal power plant

Alluvial soils of valleys of the Danube and Mlave rivers represent priority development areas with favorable conditions for life, agriculture and tourism in eastern Serbia. Operation of the thermal power plant Kostolac results in the emission of potentially toxic pollutants into the air, water and land. The goals were to determine the soil pollution with inorganic pollutants using different pollution indices, to identify of the sources of pollutants by means of principal component analysis and the loading of each factor for individual element assessed by multi-linear regression analyses. Chemical characteristics of the studied area resulted in division of the area into four impact zones upon the distance from main pollutants (power plant blocks and ash disposal dumps). There was no established soil pollution with potentially toxic elements in bulk of the agricultural territory. Two principal components (PC1 and PC2) explained about 73% of variance. Three studied elements (As, Cu and Pb) showed anthropogenic origin of their most concentrations in soil, while other elements (Cd, Co, Cr, Ni and Zn) were of a natural (geological) origin. Single pollution index showed moderate pollution level by Ni. Integrated Nemerow pollution index showed low to no pollution levels, indicating slight ecological risk. There were no established limitations for agricultural production in the studied area, except for the only spot polluted by As due to the great flooding event in the studied year.

     

226Ra in Tap and Mineral Water and Related Health Risk in the Republic of Croatia

The presence of 226Ra in drinking water may sometimes make important contribution to natural background radiation exposures. The paper describes the study of 226Ra content in drinking water of Croatia: tap water from the public supply system of several major towns and bottled mineral water from two selected mineral water springs. 226Ra was determined by alpha-spectrometric measurement after radiochemical separation. The radiation doses originating from drinking tap water and bottled mineral water were estimated. The annual dose from consumption of bottled mineral water was compared to that received from ingestion of public system tap water. The study showed that 226Ra content for investigated categories of waters is below the levels at which any unacceptable dose due to ingestion would arise.     

REP-LECOTOX: an example of FP 6 INCO project to strengthen ecotoxicological research in WBC (Western Balkan countries)

Background

In order to map exceedances of critical atmospheric deposition loads for nitrogen (N) surface data on the atmospheric deposition of N compounds to terrestrial ecosystems are needed. Across Europe such information is provided by the international European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) in a resolution of 50 km by 50 km, relying on both emission data and measurement data on atmospheric depositions. The objective of the article at hand is on the improvement of the spatial resolution of the EMEP maps by combining them with data on the N concentration in mosses provided by the International Cooperative Programme on Effects of Air Pollution on Natural Vegetation and Crops (ICP Vegetation) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LTRAP) Convention.

Methods

The map on atmospheric depositions of total N as modelled by EMEP was intersected with geostatistical surface estimations on the N concentration in mosses at a resolution of 5 km by 5 km. The medians of the N estimations in mosses were then calculated for each 50 km by 50 km grid cell. Both medians of moss estimations and corresponding modelled deposition values were ln-transformed and their relationship investigated and modelled by linear regression analysis. The regression equations were applied on the moss kriging estimates of the N concentration in mosses. The respective residuals were projected onto the centres of the EMEP grid cells and were mapped using variogram analysis and kriging procedures. Finally, the residual and the regression map were summed up to the map of total N deposition in terrestrial ecosystems throughout Europe.

Results and discussion

The regression analysis of the estimated N concentrations in mosses and the modelled EMEP depositions resulted in clear linear regression patterns with coefficients of determination of r ² = 0.62 and Pearson correlations of r _p = 0.79 and Spearman correlations of r _s = 0.70, respectively. Regarding the German territory a nationwide mean of 18.1 kg/ha/a (standard deviation: 3.49 kg/ha/a) could be derived from the resulting map on total N deposition in a resolution of 5 km by 5 km. Recent updates of the modelled atmospheric deposition of N provided a similar estimate for Germany.

Conclusions

The linking of modelled EMEP data on the atmospheric depositions of total N and the accumulation of N in mosses allows to map the deposition of total N in a high resolution of 5 km by 5 km using empirical moss data. The mapping relies on the strong statistical relationship between both processes that are physically and chemically related to each other. The mapping approach thereby relies on available data that are both based on European wide harmonized methodologies. From an ecotoxicological point of view the linking of data on N depositions and those on N bioaccumulation can be considered a substantial progress.     

Assessment of PAH pollution in the southern Baltic Sea through the analysis of sediment, mussels and fish bile

The concentrations of fifteen PAH compounds in samples of sediment and blue mussel tissue (Mytilus trossulus) were measured. In addition, the biliary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites present in flounder (Platichthys flesus) were analysed. Two methods were used in the analysis of PAH metabolites; high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and fixed wavelength fluorescence (FF). The major PAH metabolite which could be measured using the HPLC method was 1-OH pyrene. It was possible to detect 1-OH Phe and 3-OH B[a]P in 70 and 24 samples respectively, of the 87 samples analysed. However, the concentrations of 1-OH Phe and 3-OH B[a]P were below or near to the LOQ (0.002 μg ml(-1) bile). The bile of flounder samples from the Gulf of Gdańsk had 1-OH Pyr concentrations which ranged from 0.019 to 0.066 μg ml(-1) bile. The high linear correlation observed between the quantity of 1-OH pyrene determined by the HPLC-F method and the content of the sum of pyrene-type PAHs obtained by the FF method indicated the FF method of determination of pyrene-type PAH metabolites can be used as a screening method. The content of ∑(15)PAHs in sediments collected in the Gulf of Gdansk, in 2008, ranged from 29.3 to 103 μg kg(-1) dw. In mussel tissue ∑(15)PAHs concentrations were between 173.2 μg kg(-1) dw and 237.7 μg kg(-1) dw. All concentrations measured in the current study, in mussel tissue, were below the OSPAR toxicity threshold values.