Dechlorane plus and possible degradation products in white stork eggs from Spain

The occurrence of the emerging chlorinated flame retardant Dechlorane Plus (DP) and three of its possible degradation products was investigated in white stork eggs from two colonies in Spain. The average DP concentrations were 401 pg/g wet weight (w.w.) for the urban/industrial colony and 105 pg/g w.w. for the rural colony. One possible degradation product, anti-[DP-1Cl], was found in approximately 10% of the samples. No significant stereoisomer enrichments were detected in any colony based on the average anti-DP fractional abundances found which agrees with previous studies in herring gulls. The relationship between DP and PBDE contents in both colonies was explored leading to different scenarios, i.e. no correlation was found in the urban colony but they were statistically correlated in the rural colony. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report DP in a species from a terrestrial food web, and also to report a DP degradation product in biota.     

Predominance of BDE-209 and other higher brominated diphenyl ethers in eggs of white stork (Ciconia ciconia) colonies from Spain

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are ubiquitous pollutants for which there is still a lack of knowledge about the environmental behavior and fate of the higher brominated congeners (octa- to deca-BDEs). In this study, the PBDE content and congener profiles in failed eggs from two colonies of white stork (Ciconia ciconia) in Spain were studied. The average total PBDE concentration was 1.64ng/g (wet weight, w.w.) for the rural colony and 9.08ng/g (w.w.) for the urban colony. Higher brominated BDEs dominated the congener profiles of both colonies. Of particular interest was the determination of BDE-209 as the dominant congener accounting for 44.1% and 38.6% of the total PBDE content in the rural and urban colonies, respectively. BDE-202, considered an indicator of BDE 209 debromination, was detected in 83% and all of the samples from rural and urban colonies, respectively. The observed congener profile in which BDE-207>BDE-208>BDE-206 does not correspond to any known technical PBDE mixture and is evidence for possible BDE-209 degradation.     

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and their methoxylated and hydroxylated analogs in Brown Bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) plasma from Lake Ontario

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), methoxylated PBDEs (MeO-PBDEs) and hydroxylated PBDEs (OH-PBDEs) were detected and quantified in Brown Bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) from Lake Ontario. Samples were collected in 2006 from three different locations near the city of Toronto: Frenchman’s Bay, Toronto Island, and Tommy Thompson Park. A total of 117 plasma samples were pooled into 19 samples, separating males and females by site of capture. Pooled samples were analyzed for 36 PBDEs, 20 MeO-PBDEs and 20 OH-PBDEs, but only six PBDEs, five MeO- and eight OH-compounds were confirmed against standards currently available. These peaks were quantified as “identified” peaks, while peaks matching ion ratios but not matching the retention time of the available standards were quantified as “unidentified” peaks. Both “identified” and “unidentified” concentrations were combined to obtain a total concentration. No significant variations were obtained for total PBDE concentrations, ranging from 3.33 to 9.02 ng g^?1 wet weight. However, OH- and MeO-PBDE totals ranged over 1 order of magnitude among the samples (not detected – 3.57 ng g^?1 wet weight for OH-PBDEs and not detected ?0.10 ng/g wet weight for MeO-PBDE). The results of this study suggested that these compounds are ubiquitous in biota. Source estimation of MeO- and OH-PBDEs in freshwater fish were discussed. Considering that up to date no freshwater sources for MeO- or OH-PBDEs have been reported, concentrations found should be mainly related to bioaccumulation from anthropogenic sources, although other sources could not be dismissed.     

A laboratory study on the MSW mechanical behavior in triaxial apparatus

Shear strength characterization of MSW materials is a mandatory task when performing analyses related to landfill design and landfill geometry improvements. Despite the considerable amount of research focusing on MSW mechanical behavior there remain certain aspects which are not completely understood and deserve attention in particular the case of the undrained behavior of MSW. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive laboratory testing program using a large-scale triaxial apparatus at the Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil. The effect of factors such as confining pressure, unit weight, fiber content, rate of loading and over-consolidation on the MSW mechanical response were investigated. Tested samples presented typical MSW shear/strain curves (concave upward) in all the tests, despite the pore water pressure reaching levels almost equal to the confining pressure. The obtained results show that increasing confining stress, unit weight, loading rate, fiber content and over-consolidation lead to an increase in the MSW shear strength. The importance of the fibrous components in the waste behavior is highlighted and graphs showing the variation of the MSW shear strength with fiber content in different drainage conditions are shown. The authors believe these results could be of interest to many companies, especially considering the new trend of plastic material recycling (prior landfilling) for energy recovery purposes.     

Application of an Environmental Decision Support System to a Water Quality Trading Program Affected by Surface Water Diversions

Environmental decision support systems (EDSSs) are an emerging tool used to integrate the evaluation of highly complex and interrelated physicochemical, biological, hydrological, social, and economic aspects of environmental problems. An EDSS approach is developed to address hot-spot concerns for a water quality trading program intended to implement the total maximum daily load (TMDL) for phosphorus in the Non-Tidal Passaic River Basin of New Jersey. Twenty-two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) spread throughout the watershed are considered the major sources of phosphorus loading to the river system. Periodic surface water diversions to a major reservoir from the confluence of two key tributaries alter the natural hydrology of the watershed and must be considered in the development of a trading framework that ensures protection of water quality. An EDSS is applied that enables the selection of a water quality trading framework that protects the watershed from phosphorus-induced hot spots. The EDSS employs Simon’s (1960) three stages of the decision-making process: intelligence, design, and choice. The identification of two potential hot spots and three diversion scenarios enables the delineation of three management areas for buying and selling of phosphorus credits among WWTPs. The result shows that the most conservative option entails consideration of two possible diversion scenarios, and trading between management areas is restricted accordingly. The method described here is believed to be the first application of an EDSS to a water quality trading program that explicitly accounts for surface water diversions.     

A robust multi-objective optimization model for project scheduling considering risk and sustainable development criteria

Environment, Development and Sustainability - There is limited research that considers the sustainability aspect of the projects’ schedule. The present study proposes a model to cover this...     

One-pot hard template synthesis of mesoporous spinel nanoparticles as efficient catalysts for low temperature CO oxidation

Co-Fe, Cu-Cr, and Co-Mn mixed oxide catalysts were prepared using a one-pot hard template synthesis method, and their catalytic performance was investigated before and after the rearrangement of the template. To evaluate the structural properties of the catalysts, various analyses were employed, including the BET, XRD, H₂-TPR, FE-SEM, EDX, and X-ray digital mapping of the elements. The results indicated that the rearrangement of the catalyst structure had a profound effect on the structural and catalytic properties, so that in all three synthesized catalysts, the specific surface and the reducibility increased significantly, and the crystalline structure and morphology of the catalysts changed remarkably. The specific surface area of the CoFe, CuCr, and CoMn catalysts increased from 3.5, 1.1, and 72.9 m²/g to 151.3, 52.8, and 108.0 m²/g, respectively. These structural changes significantly increased the catalytic performance. The results indicated that the 100% conversion temperature of the CoMn catalyst as the optimal sample after rearrangement was reduced from 250 to 125 °C. Also, the stability of the CoMn catalyst in dry and wet conditions was investigated and the results indicated that the presence of water vapor reduced the activity and stability of the catalyst. The activation energy was also calculated on Co-Mn catalyst (59.5 kJ/mol) and the results confirmed that the most probable mechanism for this reaction was the MVK mechanism.

     

Relationship of firm attributes,ownership structure and business network on climate change efforts: evidence from Malaysia

This paper presents a case study of land-use/land-cover (LULC) changes from 1975 to 2014 in the central highlands of Ethiopia and traces out its impact on socioeconomic conditions of the local community in the study area. We used four time series Landsat satellite images, that is, Landsat MSS (1975), Landsat Thematic Mapper (1986), Enhanced Thematic Mapper (2000), and Landsat 8 OLI scenes (2014), to investigate the changes in LULC. In addition, individual interviews with 51 randomly selected households, discussions with focus group and key informants, and field observations were also incorporated for the study. The image classification indicated four categories of LULC classes: Natural forest, eucalyptus plantations, cropland/settlements, and grasslands. Between 1975 and 2014, cropland/settlements and eucalyptus plantations considerably increased, whereas grassland cover drastically decreased. According to the results, the area under cropland/settlements and eucalyptus plantations increased by 62 and 335%, respectively, with 74% concomitant decrease in the area of grasslands in the same period. Survey results showed that deterioration of soil fertility (41.2%) followed by shortage of land (35.3%) is the major constraint for crop production for poor farmers in the study area. However, better-off farmers ranked deterioration of soil fertility (64.7%) followed by lack of credit (17.6%) as priority constraints for crop production. Interviews mainly focused on selected women group revealed that the expansion of eucalyptus in the area greatly curbed the burdens of collecting fuel woods from long distances in the past. The availability of too many religious holidays (on average 16 days/month) directly or indirectly contributes to the current seasonal food shortages of the community. Generally, our results show that the community in the study area is beset with a host of social, economic, and institutional challenges. As a result, majority of the farming households are destitute, unable to make a livelihood from their small plot of land and live in absolute poverty. Therefore, in light of these finding, it is imperative that timely interventions by government and other development stakeholders are needed to come to grips with problems of soil fertility, land-use change, and food insecurity in the study area.     

Portland cement solidified construction waste using MSW leachate and phosphate admixtures

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Many dumping sites all over the world release leachate into the environment. The primary goal of this study was to convert raw municipal...     

Distribution of hexabromocyclododecane in Detroit River suspended sediments

The distribution of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) isomers (alpha, beta and gamma) was determined in Detroit River suspended sediments using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). Individual isomers of HBCD were measured at concentrations ranging from <0.025 to 1.9 ng/g (dry wt.) for the alpha-isomer, <0.025 to 0.28 ng/g for the beta-isomer, and <0.025 to 2.3 ng/g for the gamma-isomer. Concentrations of total HBCD ranged from <0.075 to 3.7 ng/g. Roughly two-thirds of HBCD profiles in suspended sediments were dominated by the gamma-isomer, and were similar to profiles of commercial technical mixtures. Profiles in the remaining samples were dominated by the alpha-isomer. The beta-isomer was consistently detected at substantially lower levels than the other isomers; this isomer is a minor constituent in the commercial technical mixtures. Seasonal sampling showed significant shifts in the relative ratios of the HBCD isomers. The spatial distribution of HBCD in the Detroit River was similar to other persistent organic pollutants (e.g., PCBs), and showed a strong association with urban/industrial activities in the watershed. However, the highest HBCD concentrations (2.6-3.7 ng/g) were associated with areas of contemporary industrial activity, and were much lower than maximum concentrations of PCBs (2.2 microg/g) found in areas of the Detroit River associated with historical industrial activity.