Psychoactive drugs: occurrence in aquatic environment,analytical methods,and ecotoxicity—a review

This review focused on seven psychoactive drugs being six benzodiazepines (alprazolam, bromazepam, clonazepam, diazepam, lorazepam, and oxazepam) and one antidepressant (citalopram) widely consumed by modern society and detected in different aqueous matrices (drinking water, surface water, groundwater, seawater, estuary water, influent and effluent of wastewater treatment plants). The review included 219 selected scientific papers from which 1642 data/entries were obtained, each entry corresponding to one target compound in one aqueous matrix. Concentrations of all investigated drugs in all aqueous matrices varied from 0.14 to 840,000 ng L^?1. Citalopram presented the highest concentrations in the aqueous matrices. Based on the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test, differences between wastewater influents and effluents were not significant for most wastewater categories, suggesting that conventional wastewater treatment systems as such do not remove or remove partially these compounds. High-income countries showed much lower concentrations in surface water than the group formed by upper-middle-, lower-middle-, and low-income countries. Regarding analytical methods, solid-phase extraction (SPE) was by far the most used extraction method (83%) and performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (73%) coupled to mass spectrometry (99%) the most common analytical method. Changes in behavior and in survival rates were the most common effects reported on bioindicators (aquatic species) due to the presence of these drugs in water. Concentrations of psychoactive drugs found in surface waters were most of the time within the range that caused measurable toxic effects in ecotoxicity assays.     

The efficiency of electrocoagulation in treating wastewater from a dairy industry, part I: iron electrodes

Iron electrodes were used for electrocoagulation (EC) treatment of wastewater from a dairy plant. Electrolysis time, pH, current density and distance between electrodes were considered to assess the removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total solids (TS) and their fractions and turbidity. Samples were collected from the effluent of a dairy plant using a sampling methodology proportional to the flow. The treatments were applied according to design factorial of half fraction with two levels of treatments and three repetitions at the central point. The optimization of parameters for treating dairy industry effluent by electrocoagulation using iron electrodes showed that electric current application for 15 minutes, an initial sample pH close to neutral (pH 7.0) and a current density of 50 A (.)(m-2) resulted in a significant reduction in COD by 58 %; removal of turbidity, suspended solids and volatile suspended solids by 95 %; and a final treated effluent pH of approximately 9.5. Negative consequences of the type of electrode used were the emergence of an undesirable color and an increase in the proportion of dissolved solids in the treated effluent.     

Validation of a GC-MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of 86 persistent organic pollutants in marine sediments by pressurized liquid extraction followed by stir bar sorptive extraction

A multiresidue method for the analysis of 86 persistent pollutants in marine sediments at ultra-trace level has been developed and validated using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and stir-bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) coupled with thermal desorption and gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS/MS QqQ). The compounds analyzed belong to various families such as polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polybrominated diphenylethers, organophosphorus and organochlorine pesticides and other pesticides such as urons, and triazines. The analytes have very different polarities and log K_ow values, which is an important parameter in the optimization of a SBSE method. Due to PLE high efficiency and throughput rates, along with the proven ability for multiresidue analysis and excellent sensitivity of SBSE, we present an efficient method. The limits of quantification obtained ranged from 0.014 to 1.0 ng g⁻¹, with detection limits below pg g⁻¹ levels. In order to validate the proposed methodology, quality parameters such as recovery, linearity and reproducibility were studied. Recoveries ranged from 63% to 119%, reproducibility (in terms of Relative Standard Deviation for ten determinations) was lower than 35% in all cases, and determination coefficients higher than 0.990 for all analytes. The main factors that affect PLE, SBSE and GC-MS/MS procedures were optimized. The method was applied to the analysis of nine marine sediments obtained from the nine main submarine wastewater discharge points (emissaries) presents along the coast of Tenerife Island (Canary Islands, Spain).     

Iron and sulfur geochemistry in semi-arid mangrove soils (Ceará, Brazil) in relation to seasonal changes and shrimp farming effluents

Iron and sulfur are key elements in the biogeochemistry of estuarine soils, in which Fe and sulfate reduction (SR) pathways are important for organic matter decomposition. In the semi-arid coast of NE Brazil, mangroves are characterized by large seasonal variations in weather and the presence of numerous shrimp farms. The objective was to determine the impacts of shrimp farm effluents on iron and sulfur geochemistry in mangrove soils under the semi-arid climate of NE Brazil. A seasonal study was made of two mangrove forest soils (SF, a mangrove forest that directly receives wastewater from shrimp ponds and CS, a control site). Pyrite Fe, oxyhydroxides Fe, acid volatile sulfide, degree of pyritization (DOP), pH, Eh, total organic carbon (TOC) and total S were determined. There was a clear decrease in pyritic Fe and DOP in the SF soils, which may be related to the anaerobic oxidation of pyrite coupled with nitrate reduction, or to the dominance of denitrification over SR. Lower TOC contents in the SF site suggest that below ground decomposition increased in response to eutrophication. The seasonal variations led to important changes in the semi-arid mangrove soils. During the dry period, both soils experienced oxidizing conditions with remarkable loss of reduced and oxidized forms of Fe, which may have important environmental implications as Fe is biolimiting for marine primary production. The data show that both factors (seasonal weather variations and shrimp effluents) play important roles in the geochemical processes that occur in these soils and, thus, may affect their functioning and maintenance.     

Soil carbon stock estimations: methods and a case study of the Maranhão State,Brazil

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Soils feature significant variations in soil carbon stocks through land-use changes, management practices, and intrinsic characteristics. The aim of...     

Land‐use trade‐offs between tree biodiversity and crop production in the Atlantic Forest

Trade‐offs in ecosystem services (ES) have received increasing attention because provisioning services often come at the expense of biodiversity loss. When land‐use patterns are not maximally efficient relative to productivity, provisioning services, such as crop production, can often be increased without losing biodiversity. The Atlantic Forest (AF) encompasses dense, mixed, and seasonal forests and has high levels of endemism and anthropogenic threat. We examined trade‐offs between biodiversity and crop production in the AF to provide insights into land‐use management decisions. We developed a biodiversity metric that combines information on tree species richness, evolutionary distinctiveness, and rarity at the local level. We examined the extent to which the nature of ES trade‐offs differ among the 3 forest types. We assessed how annual deforestation rates and land management practices affect biodiversity and agricultural revenues. Finally, we tested whether it is possible to achieve the same total regional revenue without reducing biodiversity by improving local management practices. The 3 forest types had similar patterns in ES trade‐offs, although within mixed forest patterns differed. Biodiversity appeared to be more sensitive to land‐use change than crop revenues. Certain crops yielded up to 10 times higher values in some sites. Enhanced crop productivity may increase revenues without reducing biodiversity. Our results showed that to enhance human well‐being without further conversion of AF, maximizing crop productivity is needed . Increasing efficiency of management outcomes by maintaining higher biodiversity and increasing provisioning services depends on knowledge of forest type, the comparative advantage of planting crops in the best places, and preserving species in a balanced manner across forests.     

Chlorinated components in lime used in production contaminated citrus pulp pellets from Brazil

In order to further understand the contamination of the citrus pulp pellets (CPP) that were exported to Europe in 1997 we examined both contaminated lime and CPP samples for the distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated benzenes (tri–hexa). Standard isotope dilution techniques were applied for all samples, which were analysed by selected ion monitoring high resolution GC–MS. Lime that is used in the production of CPP product is highly contaminated with PCBs and chlorobenzenes.     

Glutathione S-transferase cytosolic isoform in the pink-shrimp, Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis, from Conceição Lagoon, Santa Catarina Island, SC, Brazil

Contaminant input into the environment can affect the biochemical responses of exposed organisms. Activity of conjugation enzymes, such as glutathione S-transferase (GST) has been proposed as a biomarker of susceptibility to the presence of potentially damaging xenobiotics. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the activity of total and Pi-class GST in the hepatopancreas of pink-shrimp Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis. The shrimp were caught at a single site at Concei??o Lagoon and transplanted to another site (Canto da Lagoa - CA) in the same lagoon, and to the laboratory (LAB), where they were kept for 15 days. This experiment was carried out in winter 2003 and in summer 2004. Shrimp were sampled before the exposure, at a zero time (t0), and after 15-days at CA site and LAB. The activity of total GST and Pi-isoform were analyzed using CDNB and ethacrynic acid (EA) as substrates, respectively. Shrimp caught in winter showed higher levels of Pi-class GST than those caught in summer, for both t0 and CA groups. Moreover, differences in the activity of this GST isoform between groups were observed only in winter, where the animals from t0 and CA groups presented higher activity when compared to those kept in the laboratory. This difference could be associated either to changes in the contaminant input or to other water quality parameters in this ecosystem. The elevated GST Pi activity observed in the shrimp of both t0 and CA groups sampled in winter could be related to salinity, since it was higher in winter than in summer. We could also suggest a possible association of this finding to a seasonal metabolic variation in this penaeid. If that is the case, one should take into account these alterations when considering the use of this GST isoform as biomarker in F. brasiliensis in environmental monitoring programs.     

Characterization of municipal solid waste temporary storage sites: Risks posed to surrounding areas as a consequence of fire incidents

In this study temporary storage sites of municipal solid waste were characterized based on their potential social, health and environmental impacts as a consequence of spontaneous fires, by employing Boolean as well as weighted-linear-combination approaches in connection with various fuzzy set functions of population density around the storage sites. Sweden was used as the case study and data from 105 storage sites were analysed; of these, 38 were identified to be posing high risk for downwind residing population. Furthermore, during the past 10 years, the fire frequency and the average population residing within a radius of 1, 2, and 3 km were found to be comparatively higher for storage sites owned by private companies than for those owned by municipalities. The study provided first-cut information of poorly sited temporary storage sites and can help in formalizing the comprehensive risk analysis in the future.     

Emissions from baled municipal solid waste: I. Methodological approach for investigation of gaseous emissions.

This paper presents a methodological approach for the study of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air, emitted during storage of municipal solid waste in bales. Determination of VOCs was based on sampling with adsorbent tubes followed by automated analysis using on-line work-up with a thermal desorption unit directly connected to a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. Using calculation algorithms and multidimensional statistical analysis of large amounts of data collected, the information was compressed and visualized. The approach was applied to initial measurements of emissions of VOCs from 24 bales composed of municipal solid waste, each bale stored in a wooden box. These bales were produced using the two types of baling equipment available, resulting in cylindrical or rectangular bales, with different densities. Hundreds of different VOCs emitted from these bales sorted out into groups with different chemical structure. Differences in VOC concentrations in air were found between wastes stored in cylindrical or rectangular bales. For instance, it was found that the concentration of VOCs (relative to the concentration of toluene), in the first experiment after storing, for cylindrical bales with six layers of LDPE was 115 +/- 10 microg m(-3), while for rectangular bales it was only 64 +/- 8 microg m(-3). The procedure used for data interpretation suggested different degradation mechanisms in different types of bales. The use of multiple data interfaces, multidimensional statistics and automated chemical analysis methods are likely to be more and more common for waste companies and waste research in the near future. This is due to the interdisciplinary nature of the subject that relies heavily on various areas of science and information technology.