Methylmercury in a predatory fish (Cichla spp.) inhabiting the Brazilian Amazon

This research tested whether limnological conditions, biological characteristics of fish and anthropogenic impacts influenced the assimilation of methylmercury into the muscle of a sedentary piscivorous fish, Cichla spp., from three rivers (Negro, Madeira, Tapajós) and two hydroelectric reservoirs (Balbina, Tucuruí) within the Brazilian Amazon. Methylmercury in this fish ranged from 0.04 to 1.43microgg(-1) w.w. across sites. No significant differences were observed in the methylmercury concentrations between males and females, or for different morphotypes of this species. Positive correlations were found between methylmercury and fish body weight. No differences were found between the weight normalized methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations or its percent of total mercury in fish from the three rivers; weight normalized MeHg was highest in one of the two reservoirs. In Rio Tapajós, where gold mining and deforestation cause high water turbidity, fish showed the highest MeHg and concentrations were different across the four sites examined. In all sampling areas, the %MeHg was found to be higher than 70.     

Methodische Aspekte probabilistischer Modellierung

The main topic of probabilistic modelling is to introduce the subject of variability into exposure assessment. Instead of fixed parameters (means, percentiles), each variable will be expressed in the mathematical form of a distribution of their realisations in the population of interest. The technique of Monte Carlo simulations also makes complex models computable. The results are expressions of variation and uncertainty in exposure assessment. The text discusses the principle and new methodical efforts in modelling: The fit of input distributions, the technical realizations and possibilities in documentation of the results.     

Exposure to Inorganic Arsenic in Soil Increases Urinary Inorganic Arsenic Concentrations of Residents Living in Old Mining Areas

The short term human exposure studies conducted on populations exposed to high concentrations of inorganic arsenic in soil have been inconsistent in demonstrating a relationship between environmental concentrations and exposure measures. In Australia there are many areas with very high arsenic concentrations in residential soil most typically associated with gold mining activities in rural areas. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between environmental arsenic and urinary inorganic arsenic concentrations in a population living in a gold mining area (soil arsenic concentrations between 9 and 9900 mg kg(-1)), and a control population with low arsenic levels in soil (between 1 and 80 mg kg(-1)). Risk factors for increased urinary arsenic concentrations were also explored. There was a weak but significant relationship between soil arsenic concentrations and inorganic urinary arsenic concentration with a Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.39. When participants with greater than 100 mg kg(-1) arsenic in residential soil were selected, the coefficient increased to 0.64. The geometric mean urinary inorganic arsenic concentration for the exposed group was 1.64 microg L(-1) (相似文献   

The use of potassium dichromate and ethyl alcohol as blood preservatives for analysis of organochlorine contaminants

The "gold standard" for preserving and shipping of human tissue samples for analysis of organochlorine contaminants is freezing. This method can be difficult, costly if using heavy dry ice for shipping, and often unfeasible, especially in less developed countries where electricity and dry ice are frequently rare or absent. Therefore, it is essential that more convenient and practical methods for preservation of blood samples are found. As an alternative to freezing, there have been studies employing potassium dichromate as a preservative for human or cow's milk or ethyl alcohol preservation of blood for dioxin analysis. In this study, four methods were compared to investigate the effectiveness of ethyl alcohol and potassium dichromate as blood preservatives for analysis of dioxins, dibenzofuran, and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners. Samples of whole blood from a Dallas, Texas hospital were collected and pooled. Freezing, ethyl alcohol in two concentrations (20% and 40% per volume of sample), and potassium dichromate were used for blood preservation. The blood samples containing potassium dichromate or ethyl alcohol were stored and sent to ERGO laboratory for dioxin analysis and comparison with results from the frozen sample, which was kept frozen at all times until analyzed. This study suggests that potassium dichromate is a suitable alternative to freezing for preservation of whole blood for dioxin, dibenzofuran, and PCB measurements when either lipid or wet weight based results are reported. Potassium dichromate tablets were very easy and convenient to use--two 100 mg tablets (with a dichromate content of about 33 mg each) were added to each bottle containing 65 ml of blood. However, ethyl alcohol at 20% and 40% concentration under the conditions of this pilot study and the analytical method employed did not appear to provide satisfactory preservation when lipid based results are given or when the fat content has to be determined (wet or whole weight). Further research with a larger number of samples, inclusion also of other groups of persistent organic pollutants such as organochlorine pesticides or brominated flame retardants, a longer duration of storage time, and at temperatures greater than US or German room temperature is indicated in order to recommend the routine use of potassium dichromate as preservative for whole blood intended for dioxin, dibenzofuran, and PCB analysis.     

Impact of Harvest Intensity on Long-Term Base Cation Budgets in Swedish Forest Soils

The effects of harvesting on the long-term mass balances of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and potassium (K) were evaluated on a regional level in Sweden. A new high-resolution weathering database was used together with estimates of total deposition, losses through harvest and leaching. Estimates were made for pine and spruce separately and for two harvesting intensity scenarios: stem harvesting and whole-tree harvesting. The mass balance calculations showed net losses of Ca and Mg in almost the whole country for both scenarios. The losses were smaller for pine than for spruce. The K balances were mainly positive for pine but negative for spruce. Leaching was a main factor in the mass balances, especially for Ca and Mg. Whole-tree harvesting in spruce forests led to substantially higher net losses of K and Ca than stem harvesting, according to the calculations. In the whole-tree harvesting scenario in spruce forests the estimated yearly net losses of Ca, Mg and K corresponded to at least 5%, 8% and 3% of the pools of exchangeable base cations, respectively, at 25% of the analysed sites. If losses of this magnitude continue the depletion of the pools of Ca, Mg and K may lead to very low base saturation of the soils, possibly accompanied by negative effects on soil fertility, runoff water quality, tree vitality and tree growth within a forest rotation in parts of Sweden. Avoiding whole-tree harvesting can improve the situation substantially for K, but the losses of Ca and Mg will still be significant.     

A preliminary look at source-receptor relationships in the Texas-Mexico border area

Several factors have recently caused visibility impairment at Big Bend National Park, TX, to be of interest. Analyses of historical data collected there have shown that visibility is poorer and fine particle concentrations are higher at Big Bend than at other monitored Class I areas in the western United States. In addition, air masses frequently arrive there after crossing Mexico, where emissions are not well known. During September and October 1996, a field study was undertaken to begin examining the aerosol, visibility, and meteorology on both sides of the border. Results indicate that, during the study, the largest fractions of fine mass and light extinction at Big Bend were due to sulfates and the trace elements most closely associated with sulfate particles were Na and Se. Based on back trajectory modeling and the spatial, temporal, and inter-species relationships in the fine particle concentrations measured during the study, sulfates arrived at the park from both Mexico and the United States. Se was higher in Texas than in Northern Mexico, while V, Pb, Zn, Ni, and Mn were on average much higher in Mexico.     

An analysis of the yearly changes in sulfur concentrations at various national parks in the United States, 1980-1996

An apparent increasing trend in the summer concentrations of particulate sulfur at Shenandoah (for the time period 1982-1995) and at Great Smoky Mountains (for the time period 1984-1995) has been pointed out by some researchers. Others have suggested that these increasing trends may be an analytical artifact resulting from the switch from the Stacked Filter Units (SFU) measurement system to the IMPROVE (Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments) measurement system that occurred during the winter of 1987. To obtain a better understanding of the effect of the protocol change, we investigate the changes in the seasonal averages of sulfur concentrations for successive pairs of years for the period 1980-1996 for about 20 national park sites in the United States. For the period 1980-1987, we use sulfur data from the old (SFU) database and for the period 1988-1996, we use the IMPROVE database. Changes from one year to the next similar to that between 1987 and 1988 occurred during other years and seasons suggesting that chance causes alone could perhaps explain it, the degree to which chance could have caused the changes was measured using the permutation test for matched. At the very least, additional information such as side by side readings using SFU and IMPROVE measurement methods, may be needed to better understand any systematic effect in the sulfur measurements that may be ascribable to the protocol change.     

Critique of "Precipitation in light extinction reconstruction" by P.A. Ryan

The goal of the Regional Haze Rule (RHR) is to return visibility in class I areas (CIAs) to natural levels, excluding weather-related events, by 2064. Whereas visibility, the seeing of scenic vistas, is a near instantaneous and sight-path-dependent phenomenon, reasonable progress toward the RHR goal is assessed by tracking the incremental changes in 5-yr average visibility. Visibility is assessed using a haze metric estimated from 24-hr average aerosol measurements that are made at one location representative of the CIA. It is assumed that, over the 5-yr average, the aerosol loadings and relative humidity along all of the site paths are the same and can be estimated from the 24-hr measurements. It is further assumed that any time a site path may be obscured by weather (e.g., clouds and precipitation), there are other site paths within the CIA that are not. Therefore, when calculating the haze metric, sampling days are not filtered for weather conditions. This assumption was tested by examining precipitation data from multiple monitors for four CIAs. It is shown that, in general, precipitation did not concurrently occur at all monitors for a CIA, and precipitation typically occurred 3-8 hr or less in a day. In a recent paper in this journal, Ryan asserts that the haze metric should include contributions from precipitation and conducted a quantitative assessment incorrectly based on the assumption that the Optec NGN-2 nephelometer measurements include the effects of precipitation. However, these instruments are programmed to shut down during rain events, and any data logged are in error. He further assumes that precipitation occurs as often on the haziest days as the clearest days and that precipitation light scattering (bprecip) is independent of geographic location and applied an average bprecip derived for Great Smoky Mountains to diverse locations including the Grand Canyon. Both of these assumptions are shown to be in error.     

Uncertainty assessment of contaminant plume length estimates in heterogeneous aquifers

The Virtual Aquifer approach is used in this study to assess the uncertainty involved in the estimation of contaminant plume lengths in heterogeneous aquifers. Contaminant plumes in heterogeneous two-dimensional conductivity fields and subject to first order and Michaelis-Menten (MM) degradation kinetics are investigated by the center line method. First order degradation rates and plume lengths are estimated from point information obtained along the plume center line. Results from a Monte-Carlo investigation show that the estimated rate constant is highly uncertain and biased towards overly high values. Uncertainty and bias amplify with increasing heterogeneity up to maximum values of one order of magnitude. Calculated plume lengths reflect this uncertainty and bias. On average, plume lengths are estimated to about 50% of the true plume length. When plumes subject to MM degradation kinetics are investigated by using a first order rate law, an additional error is introduced and uncertainty as well as bias increase, causing plume length estimates to be less than 40% of the true length. For plumes with MM degradation kinetics, therefore, a regression approach is used which allows the determination of the MM parameters from center line data. Rate parameters are overestimated by a factor of two on average, while plume length estimates are about 80% of the true length. Plume lengths calculated using the MM parameters are thus closer to the correct length, as compared to the first order approximation. This approach is therefore recommended if field data collected along the center line of a plume give evidence of MM kinetics.