Characterization of polychlorinated biphenyls and brominated flame retardants in sludge,sediment and fish from municipal dumpsite at Surabaya,Indonesia

We investigated the PCBs, PBDEs and HBCDs contamination in sludge, sediments and fish from various locations including raw leachate pond, leachate treatment plans (LTPs), control wells and reference site at open landfill of municipal dumpsite, Surabaya City, Indonesia. 62 PCBs and 14 PBDEs congeners, and 3 HBCDs isomers were identified and quantified using GC–MS and LC–MS/MS, respectively. Concentration ranges and median (value in parentheses) of PCBs, PBDEs and HBCDs were from not detected (ND) to 60 (3.9) ng g⁻¹ dw, 0.0075 to 45 (4.5) ng g⁻¹ dw and ND to 2.8 (0.052) ng g⁻¹ dw in sludge and sediments, respectively. While in two polled of fish samples were 30–55 ng g⁻¹ lw, 6.6–11 ng g⁻¹ lw and 1.6–3.3 ng g⁻¹ lw, respectively. Among the sampling sites, the highest level of PCBs and PBDEs were detected in sludge from raw leachate pond. However, PCBs and PBDEs levels were showing decreased in LTP-1 that could be due to the bacterial degradation but not in LTP-2, HBCDs were more stable in both LTPs. Levels of PCBs and BFRs in sludge at the present study were lower than those reported in sewage sludge reported from some other countries. PCBs profiles were mainly composed in that order by CB-138, -153, -180, -101, -118 and -28, while by BDE-47, -99, -100, -153, -154 and -28 for PBDEs in sludge, sediments and fish. Profiles of HBCDs were predominantly composed by γ- and α-isomers in sludge and fish, respectively. Debromination, dechlorination, commercial formulations used and congener-specific accumulation of those contaminants are the factors influenced the profiles.     

EDTA ameliorates phytoextraction of lead and plant growth by reducing morphological and biochemical injuries in Brassica napus L. under lead stress

Brassica species are very effective in remediation of heavy metal contaminated sites. Lead (Pb) as a toxic pollutant causes number of morphological and biochemical variations in the plants. Synthetic chelator such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) improves the capability of plants to uptake heavy metals from polluted soil. In this regard, the role of EDTA in phytoextraction of lead, the seedlings of Brassica napus L. were grown hydroponically. Lead levels (50 and 100 μM) were supplied alone or together with 2.5 mM EDTA in the nutrient culture. After 7 weeks of stress, plants indicated that toxicity of Pb caused negative effects on plants and significantly reduced growth, biomass, chlorophyll content, gas exchange characteristics, and antioxidant enzymes activities such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), guaiacol peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and catalase (CAT). Exposure to Pb induced the malondialdehyde (MDA), and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) generation in both shoots and roots. The addition of EDTA alone or in combination with Pb significantly improved the plant growth, biomass, gas exchange characteristics, chlorophyll content, and antioxidant enzymes activities. EDTA also caused substantial improvement in Pb accumulation in Brassica plants. It can be deduced that application of EDTA significantly lessened the adverse effects of lead toxicity. Additionally, B. napus L. exhibited greater degree of tolerance against Pb toxicity and it also accumulated significant concentration of Pb from media.     

Cadmium-tolerant bacteria induce metal stress tolerance in cereals

Cadmium usually hampers plant growth, but bacterial inoculation may improve stress tolerance in plants to Cd by involving various mechanisms. The objective was to characterize and identify bacteria that improve plant growth under Cd stress and reduce Cd uptake. Cadmium-tolerant bacteria were isolated from rhizosphere soil, which was irrigated with tannery effluent, and six strains were selected as highly tolerant to Cd, showing minimum inhibitory concentration as 500 mg L^?1 or 4.45 mmol L^?1. These strains were identified by 16S rRNA gene analysis and functional analysis in regard to plant growth promotion characteristics. To determine their effect on cereal growth under Cd stress, seeds were inoculated with these strains individually and grown in soil contaminated with three Cd levels (0, 40 and 80 mg kg^?1). Biomass production, relative water content (RWC), electrolyte leakage (ELL) and tissue Cd concentration were measured. Biomass of both cereals was inhibited strongly when exposed to Cd; however, bacterial inoculation significantly reduced the suppressive effect of Cd on cereal growth and physiology. The bacterial isolates belonged to the genera Klebsiella, Stenotrophomonas, Bacillus and Serratia. Maize was more sensitive than wheat to Cd. Klebsiella sp. strain CIK-502 had the most pronounced effects in promoting maize and wheat growth and lowering Cd uptake under Cd stress.     

Monitoring trace elements generated by automobiles: air pollutants with possible health impacts

Major transformations in the environmental composition are principally attributable to the combustion of fuels by automobiles. Motorized gasoline-powered two-stroke auto-rickshaws (TSA) and compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered four-stroke auto-rickshaws (FSA) are potential source of air pollution in south Asia and produce toxic amount of particulate matter (PM) to the environment. In this study, we attempted to characterize elemental pollutants from the PM of TSA and FSA using proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analysis. The observations of the existing investigation recognized significant increase in Al (P?<?0.05), P (P?<?0.01), and Zn (P?<?0.01) from the PM samples of FSA. In addition, the concentrations of Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Na and S were also observed exceeding the recommended National Institute for Environmental Studies limits. On the contrary, increased concentration of Sr and V were observed in the PM samples from TSA. It is generally believed that FSA generates smaller amount of PM but data obtained from FSA are clearly describing that emissions from FSA comprised potentially more toxic substances than TSA. The current research is specific to metropolitan population and has evidently revealed an inconsistent burden of exposure to air pollutants engendered by FSA in urban communities, which could lead to the disruption of several biological activities and may cause severe damage to entire ecological system.     

Study of contaminant transport at an open-tipping waste disposal site

Field and laboratory studies were conducted to estimate concentration of potential contaminants from landfill in the underlying groundwater, leachate, and surface water. Samples collected in the vicinity of the landfill were analyzed for physiochemical parameters, organic contaminants, and toxic heavy metals. Water quality results obtained were compared from published data and reports. The results indicate serious groundwater and surface water contamination in and around the waste disposal site. Analysis of the organic samples revealed that the site contains polychlorinated biphenyls and other organo-chlorine chemicals, principally chloro-benzenes. Although the amount of PCB concentration discovered was not extreme, their presence indicates a potentially serious environmental threat. Elevated concentrations of lead, copper, nickel, manganese, cadmium, and cobalt at the downgradient indicate that the contamination plume migrated further from the site, and the distribution of metals and metals containing wastes in the site is nonhomogeneous. These results clearly indicate that materials are poorly contained and are at risk of entering the environment. Therefore, full characterization of the dump contents and the integrity of the site are necessary to evaluate the scope of the problem and to identify suitable remediation options.     

Changes in water-extractability of soil inorganic phosphate induced by chloride and sulfate salts

GOAL, SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: One of the principal experimental variables which effect the results of phosphorus (P) sorption studies is the ionic composition, in addition to both species and concentrations of the contacting solution. In spite of the realization that ionic species, concentrations and their compositions effect P sorption and/or desorption, most of the salt-related studies are confined to Cl- (anion) in association with different cations. While the knowledge about the comparative response of P to Cl- and SO4(2-) ions was lacking, the current study was conducted to evaluate the comparative effects of anions (in association with cations) on inorganic P release and P fractions in the soil. METHODS: The test soil was amended with livestock compost manure (OP); KH2PO4 (IPk) or Ca(H2PO4)2 (IPc) at a rate of 1ppm. Soil was subjected to one salt and nine subsequent water extractions and different P fractions were measured. Four salt types, NaCl, Na2SO4, KCl and K2SO4, were used at levels of 0.5 M. RESULTS: Irrespective of P sources, P release was substantially increased in the salt-pretreated soil as compared to the non-saline soil. Sulfate salts released more P in subsequent water extractions than Cl-. Phosphorus release decreased for salt types with Na2SO4 > NaCl > K2SO4 > KCl and for P sources with OP approximately IPk > Control (without P application) > IPc, respectively. DISCUSSION: No previous study was found to compare the results of more P release by SO4(2-) than Cl- salt. Most of the previous studies focused on anion sorption capacities, but the mechanism for their adsorption is not fully known. Most of the authors suggested that the mechanisms of SO4(2-) and PO4(3-) adsorption are similar, and that both ions compete for the same sorption sites (Kamprath et al. 1956, Couto et al. 1979, Pasricha and Fox 1993). Although adsorbed SO4(2-) does not compete strongly with PO4(3-), there is likely to be some competition for sorption between these anions which may cause comparatively more P release by SO4(2-) than Cl- salts. Higher P release by Na-saturation could be due to the release of P associated with oxide surfaces or due to dissolution of Ca-P phases (Curtin et al. 1987). CONCLUSIONS: Study clearly showed that not only cations species differ for P desorption capacity, but associated anions also play a vital role in the fate of P under saline environments. Synergetic effects exist between Na and SO4(2-) ions which enhanced the P release. This study has also confirmed the fact that P from organic sources is available as well as from inorganic P sources. However, P release depends more on the type of P source applied than on total P. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: It is highly recommended that more than one anion species must be used in the research plans for evaluating the P response in a saline environment. The results have important implications from the point of view of research, as most of the researchers focus on different cations only for evaluating P response to salts from an environmental point of view. However, our study has made it clear that anions in association with cations differed for their effects on P release.     

Genotypic variation of nitrogen use efficiency in Indian mustard

This experiment was conducted to investigate the variation of nitrogen efficiency (NE), nitrogen uptake efficiency (UE), physiological nitrogen use efficiency (PUE) among Indian mustard genotypes, grown under N-insufficient and N-sufficient conditions. Nitrogen efficiency varied from 52.7 to 92.8. Seed yield varied from 1.14 t ha(-1) to 3.21 t ha(-1) under N-insufficient condition, while 2.14 t ha(-1)-3.33 t ha(-1) under N-sufficient condition. Physiological basis of this difference was explained in terms of nitrogen uptake efficiency and physiological nitrogen use efficiency, and their relationship with the growth and yield characteristics. While nitrogen uptake efficiency was positively correlated with plant biomass (0.793**), leaf area index (0.664*), and leaf nitrogen content (0.783**), physiological nitrogen use efficiency is positively correlated with photosynthetic rate (0.689**) and yield (0.814**). This study suggests that genotype having high nitrogen uptake efficiency and high physiological nitrogen use efficiency might help in reducing the nitrogen load on soil without any penalty on the yield.     

Feasibility of landfill gas as a liquefied natural gas fuel source for refuse trucks

The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology to evaluate the feasibility of using landfill gas (LFG) as a liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel source for heavy-duty refuse trucks operating on landfills. Using LFG as a vehicle fuel can make the landfills more self-sustaining, reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, and reduce emissions and greenhouse gases. Acrion Technologies Inc. in association with Mack Trucks Inc. developed a technology to generate LNG from LFG using the CO2 WASH process. A successful application of this process was performed at the Eco Complex in Burlington County, PA. During this application two LNG refuse trucks were operated for 600 hr each using LNG produced from gases from the landfill. The methodology developed in this paper can evaluate the feasibility of three LFG options: doing nothing, electricity generation, and producing LNG to fuel refuse trucks. The methodology involved the modeling of several components: LFG generation, energy recovery processes, fleet operations, economic feasibility, and decision-making. The economic feasibility considers factors such as capital, maintenance, operational, and fuel costs, emissions and tax benefits, and the sale of products such as surplus LNG and food-grade carbon dioxide (CO2). Texas was used as a case study. The 96 landfills in Texas were prioritized and 17 landfills were identified that showed potential for converting LFG to LNG for use as a refuse truck fuel. The methodology was applied to a pilot landfill in El Paso, TX. The analysis showed that converting LFG to LNG to fuel refuse trucks proved to be the most feasible option and that the methodology can be applied for any landfill that considers this option.     

Management of treated pulp and paper mill effluent to achieve zero discharge

Pulp and paper mills are one of the major effluent generating industries in the world. In most cases, mill effluent (treated or raw) is discharged back into a river, creek, stream or other water body; resulting in negative environmental impacts, as well as social concerns, among the downstream users. Pulp and paper mill effluent management, which could result in zero discharge into downstream water bodies, would present the best management option to address socio-environmental concerns. This paper presents such an effort aimed at closing the water cycle by using treated effluent from the mill to irrigate forage and fodder crops for producing animals feed. The treated effluent is delivered from the mill through gravity into a winter storage dam of 490ML capacity. For irrigation applications on 110ha of farmland, which is 42% of the total farmland, the water is pumped from the winter storage dam to five individual paddocks with Centre Pivot (CP) irrigators and one rectangular paddock with a Soft Hose Travelling (SHT) irrigator. From October 2001 to June 2006, a total of 2651mm of wastewater was applied at the farm. The impact assessment results, obtained from field monitoring, investigations and analysis, indicated that the closed water cycle effluent management strategy described had resulted in a lessening of the impact on water resources usually associated with paper mills. However, social attitudes to the use of crops that have been irrigated with recycled waters and the resulting impact on market value of the produce may still be a major consideration.     

Historical distribution of lynx (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lynx lynx</Emphasis>) in Northeast China on the basis of historical records

Long-term dynamics of population decline can improve the conservation perspectives and strategies for endanger species. In China, new gazetteers having systematic compilation and wide geographical coverage can be considered as an important complementary for reconstruction historical distribution. For historical and cultural reasons, an endangered species–lynx (Lynx lynx) was recorded regularly in new gazetteers. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to evaluate the population distribution in Northeast China from the 1950s to 2014. The data show that Felis lynx was widely distributed in Northeast China in the 1950s, but the number of the occurrence records have been significantly reduced by 85.6% in the last 60 years. This research also enlightens us that the new gazetteers can contribute to data shortage and it would be helpful to conservation biology.