Stability and storage problems in organotin speciation in environmental samples

The stability of both tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT) in water, sediment, oysters and cockles was studied over a period of 18 months using several storage conditions. Butyltins were stable in unacidified sea-water stored in polycarbonate bottles in the dark at 4 degrees C for 7 months, but half of the TBT concentration was lost after 540 d. A comparable preservation time was achieved for butyltins stored on C18 cartridges at room temperature. However, phenyltins extracted from sea-water were stable for only 60 d stored on cartridges and even more pronounced losses (about 90% after 540 d) occurred when they were stored in either polycarbonate or Pyrex glass bottles. Losses of organotins were observed in sediments after air drying and pasteurization treatments using a freeze-dried sediment as a comparator, whereas both butyltin and phenyltin species remained stable in sediments stored at -20 degrees C for the 18 months tested, irrespective of the treatment used for stabilization. Air drying followed by pasteurization was shown to be superior to other treatments for the stabilization of organotin compounds in sediments stored at higher temperatures, but 30% of TBT was lost after 540 d at 25 degrees C. Finally, butyltins were stable in both frozen cockles and oysters in the dark over a 7 month period and in freeze-dried samples stored at 4 degrees C for 5 months, but TBT losses of about 70% were observed after 540 d.     

Inclusion of pressure hazards into NFPA 704 instability rating system

The lack of awareness in identifying potential hazardous reactions is commonly cited as a cause of accidents. One major problem is the lack of consensus to assign appropriate reactivity hazards ratings. NFPA 704 instability rating system is widely used throughout the chemical industry. However, this system does not take into account pressure hazards. Inclusion of pressure hazards into the NFPA 704 instability rating will provide a more comprehensive rating system, which will characterize hazards that may arise not only from exothermic reactions, but also from endothermic decompositions with gas evolution. In this work we present a proposed method for developing a simple methodology to include pressure and pressure rates into the assignment of instability ratings. The current NFPA 704 instability rating number for the systems studied does not show a trend between the pressures and pressure rates generated with the assigned rating. Therefore, arbitrary threshold values were chosen to rank the substances according to the pressure and pressure rate generated. Results obtained from a variety of systems with endothermic decompositions show that their pressure and pressure rates have magnitudes comparable to systems that decompose exothermically. So far, this method has been applied only to a limited set of data. However, assignment of arbitrary values for normalized maximum pressures generated and pressure rates, taking as reference the values obtained for the thermal decomposition of cumene hydroperoxide and di-terbutyl peroxide appears to give reasonable limits for the rating chemicals based on their relative pressure hazards.     

Using phylogenetic comparative methods to gain insight into the evolution of social complexity

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology - Social complexity has been one of the recent emerging topics in the study of animal and human societies, but the concept remains both poorly defined and...     

Environmental impact assessment of non-wood based pulp production by soda-anthraquinone pulping process

Paper pulp manufacturing is the main non-food industrial utilization of plant biomass. Non-wood and agricultural residues are potential raw materials in the production of specialty papers. This chapter aims to quantify the environmental impacts associated with non-wood high quality paper pulp manufacture via soda-anthraquinone (AQ) cooking process by means of the application of LCA methodology in a cradle-to-gate analysis. Hemp (Cannabis sativa) and Flax (Linum usitatissimum) were evaluated as raw materials for the production of high quality non-porous pulp. A specialty paper pulp mill was analysed in detail and process chain was divided in six subsystems: agricultural activities, chemicals production, electricity production, transport, pulp production and waste treatment. Inventory data came from interviews and surveys (on-site measurements). When necessary, the data were completed with bibliographic resources.Abiotic resources depletion (AD), global warming (GW), ozone layer depletion (OLD), human toxicity (HT), ecotoxicity, photochemical oxidant formation (POF), acidification (A) and eutrophication (E) were the impact categories analysed in this study. According to the results, the environmental impact is mainly caused by the production of chemicals, electricity and fibres (agricultural activities) due to greenhouse gases emissions, phosphorous and nitrogen compounds emissions. The activities inside the pulp mill present minor contribution to almost all impact categories, excluding GW (15%) and E (6%) as well as OLD (25%). This study provides useful information for non-wood based industries related not only to pulp manufacture but also to panels or biorefineries with the aim of increasing their sustainability.     

Adsorption du chlorfenvinphos et du methidathion sur argiles saturees par differents cations

Summary

Adsorption of chlorfenvinphos and methidathion from dissolutions on H⁺, Ca⁺⁺, Na⁺ and K⁺ are studied. In all cases the saturating cation distinctly influenced the Freundlich‐type adsorption, with adsorption decreasing in the following sequence: H⁺> Ca⁺⁺> Na⁺ > K⁺. Chlorfenvinphos adsorption was slightly greater than methidathion in two clays, and the adsorption extent for them in kaolinite is slower that bentonite.     

Estimating historical landfill quantities to predict methane emissions

There are no observations for methane emissions from landfill waste in Ireland. Methane emissions are imputed from waste data. There are intermittent data on waste sent to landfill. We compare two alternative ways to impute the missing waste “data” and evaluate the impact on methane emissions. We estimate Irish historical landfill quantities from 1960–2008 and Irish methane emissions from 1968–2006. A model is constructed in which waste generation is a function of income, price of waste disposal and, household economies of scale. A transformation ratio of waste to methane is also included in the methane emissions model. Our results contrast significantly with the Irish Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) figures due to the differences in the underlying assumptions. The EPA’s waste generation and methane emission figures are larger than our estimates from the early 1990s onwards. Projections of the distance to target show that the EPA overestimates the required policy effort.     

Analysis of lipid peroxidation in animal and plant tissues as field-based biomarker in Mediterranean irrigated agroecosystems (Extremadura,Spain)

ABSTRACT

The development of field-based biomarkers can allow for a more reliable assessment of the exposure of organisms to pollutants. Different sampling sites, along two streams running through an irrigable agricultural area, were selected to evaluate the effect of agrochemical load on the measured endpoints. The levels of lipid peroxidation were evaluated in several organs of Procambarus clarkii. The same method was applied to leaves of two woody species. Determining levels of MDA (malonaldehyde) by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances assay allows measuring the levels of lipid peroxidation. Differences in lipid peroxidation levels were observed in P. clarkii individuals collected at different sites; however, the patterns varied depending on the organ (when accounting for variations due to sex). The use of a MDA-gills/MDA-hepatopancreas index allowed for discrimination between reference and polluted sites. Significant differences in oxidative damage between sites were found in the leaves of Quercus rotundifolia but not in Salix sp. The lipid peroxidation of crayfish organs and holm oak leaves as a suitable biomarker of environmental pollution deserves further investigation.