Mine rescuers’ heat load during the expenditure of physical effort in a hot environment,using ventilated underwear and selected breathing apparatus

Mine rescuers’ heat load under the same physical effort load (25% of the maximal oxygen uptake), using three types of breathing apparatus, in newly developed heat-removing underwear and outerwear was assessed for typical work conditions of mine rescuers, under milder and harsher ambient conditions of 32 and 38?°C, respectively, both at relative humidity of 85% and air velocity of 1.0?m/s. Expending physical effort at the same load while using different kinds of breathing apparatus resulted in a similar heat load. Under both milder and harsher ambient conditions, heat storage and sweating intensity were greater than the average limit value recommended by hygienic standards, which indicates that the use of breathing apparatus significantly hinders heat exchange with the environment. The developed clothing for mine rescuers was highly rated, and was considered by most people to be better than that used currently.     

Toxicity of aqueous mixture of phenol and chlorophenols upon photosensitized oxidation initiated by sunlight or vis-lamp

It is well established that aquatic wildlife in marine and freshwater of the European Union is exposed to natural and synthetic endocrine disruptor compounds (EDCs) which are able to interfere with the hormonal system causing adverse effects on the intact physiology of organisms. The traditional wastewater treatment processes are inefficient on the removal of EDCs in low concentration. Moreover, not only the efficiency of treatment must be considered but also toxicological aspects. Taking into account all these aspects, the main goal of the study was to investigate the photochemical decomposition of hazardous phenolic compounds under simulated as well as natural sunlight from the toxicity point of view. The studies were focused on photodegradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol as well as mixture of phenol, 2-chlorophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol. Photosensitized oxidation process was carried out in homogeneous and heterogeneous system. V. fischeri luminescence inhibition was used to determine the changes of toxicity in mixture during simulated and natural irradiation. The photodegradation was carried out in three kinds of water matrix; moreover, the influence of presence of inorganic matter on the treatment process was investigated. The experiments with natural sunlight proved applicability of photosensitive chitosan for visible-light water pollutant degradation. The results of toxicity investigation show that using photosensitive chitosan for visible-light, the toxicity of reaction mixture towards V. fischeri has significantly decreased. The EC₅₀ was found to increase over the irradiation time; this increase was not proportional to the transformation of the parent compounds.     

Official control of plant protection products in Poland: detection of illegal products

Market presence of illegal and counterfeit pesticides is now a global problem. According to data published in 2012 by the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA), illegal products represent over 10% of the global market of plant protection products. Financial benefits are the main reason for the prevalence of this practice. Counterfeit and illegal pesticides may contain substances that may pose a threat to the environment, crops, animals, and humans, inconsistent with the label and registration dossier. In Poland, action against illegal and counterfeit plant protection products is undertaken by the Main Inspectorate of Plant Health and Seed Inspection (PIORiN), the police, the prosecution, and the pesticide producers. Results of chemical analyses carried out by the Institute of Plant Protection - National Research Institute So?nicowice Branch, Pesticide Quality Testing Laboratory (PQTL IPP-NRI Sosnicowice Branch) indicate that a majority of illegal pesticides in Poland are detected in the group of herbicides. Products from parallel trade tend to have the most irregularities. This article describes the official quality control system of plant protection products in Poland and presents the analytical methods for testing pesticides suspected of adulteration and recent test results.     

Changes of the phytoplankton community as symptoms of deterioration of water quality in a shallow lake

Covering more than 60% of the lake surface, macrophytes determined the taxonomic composition of phytoplankton. We have found numerous indications of ecological deterioration and an increased trophic level year to year: an increased total number of taxa; a significantly increased number of species of Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyceae and Cyanoprokaryota; a decreased number of Chrysophyceae; increased Nygaard index, and high diversity and variability of phytoplankton functional groups. Within 2 years (2002 and 2003) algal biomass doubled: from 3.616 to 7.968 mg l^?1. An increased contribution of Chlorococcales and Cyanoprokaryota indicates progressive eutrophication of the lake. The average size of planktonic algae increased, particularly Cyanoprokaryota, where small-celled decreased dramatically and were replaced by large colonies. Cyanoprokaryota remained the dominant group of phytoplankton after 10 years, and the ecosystem of the lake remained in the turbid state. This group of algae had the average biomass 9.734 mg l^?1, which constituted almost 92% of the total biomass.     

Pickling of chanterelle <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cantharellus cibarius</Emphasis> mushrooms highly reduce cadmium contamination

Mushrooms are considered as potential bio-remediation agents in soil polluted with heavy metals, while many species which efficiently accumulate them in flesh are edible. Question is if there is any possible culinary use of edible mushrooms with high heavy metal contents? This study aimed to investigate and discuss a fate of cadmium (Cd) in common household-treated fruitbodies of common chanterelle Cantharellus cibarius. The samples of Cantharellus cibarius Fr. were collected from five spatially distanced sites in Poland in 2011–2012. We examined from 267 to 358 fruiting bodies per collection, and in total 1565 fruiting bodies were used. Cadmium in fungal materials from all treatments and processes (mushrooms dried, deep frozen, blanched and pickled) was determined using validated methods by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with dynamic reaction cell. Blanching of fresh chanterelles caused decrease of Cd by around 11 ± 7 to 36 ± 7%, while blanching of deep-frozen mushrooms by around 40 ± 6%. A rate of Cd decrease in chanterelles was similar when the fruiting bodies were blanched for 5 or 15 min and when used was potable or deionized water. Pickling of blanched chanterelles with a diluted vinegar marinade had a pronounced effect on further removal of Cd. Blanched chanterelles when pickled lost an extra 37–71% of Cd. Total leaching rate of Cd from fresh or deep-frozen fruitbodies of chanterelle when blanched and further pickled was between 77 ± 7 and 91 ± 4%. Blanching and pickling highly decreased content of Cd in C. cibarius.     

Kinetics of <Superscript>210</Superscript>Po accumulation in moss body profiles

Radionuclide concentration analysis of total moss bodies often gave relatively different results than a separate analysis of each different morphological part of the same sample. The dynamics of the transfer of metals by dust uplifted from the soil and another approach, based on the diffusion of the two radionuclides to the moss, have been analyzed. In the proposed model, short- and long-term approaches have been applied. Each part of a moss’s profile can show different radionuclides accumulation ability, including both ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po isotopes. A first-order kinetic model has been used for ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb transport between three body components of mosses. This mathematical approach has been applied for ²¹⁰Po activity concentration in the air estimation. For relatively clean deep forest region, calculated concentrations were from 17.2 to 43.8 μBqm^?3, while for urban air concentrations were higher from 49.1 to 104.9 μBqm^?3.     

Phytoextraction of rare earth elements in herbaceous plant species growing close to roads

The aim of study was to determine the phytoextraction of rare earth elements (REEs) to roots, stems and leaves of five herbaceous plant species (Achillea millefolium L., Artemisia vulgaris L., Papaver rhoeas L., Taraxacum officinale and Tripleurospermum inodorum), growing in four areas located in close proximity to a road with varied traffic intensity. Additionally, the relationship between road traffic intensity, REE concentration in soil and the content of these elements in plant organs was estimated. A. vulgaris and P. rhoeas were able to effectively transport REEs in their leaves, independently of area collection. The highest content of REEs was observed in P. rhoeas leaves and T. inodorum roots. Generally, HREEs were accumulated in P. rhoeas roots and leaves and also in the stems of T. inodorum and T. officinale, whereas LREEs were accumulated in T. inodorum roots and T. officinale stems. It is worth underlining that there was a clear relationship between road traffic intensity and REE, HREE and LREE concentration in soil. No positive correlation was found between the concentration of these elements in soil and their content in plants, with the exception of T. officinale. An effective transport of REEs from the root system to leaves was observed, what points to the possible ability of some of the tested plant species to remove REEs from soils near roads.     

Remediation capacity of Cd and Pb ions by mycelia of Imleria badia,Laetiporus sulphureus,and Agaricus bisporus in vitro cultures

The goal of this study was to evaluate cadmium and lead accumulation ability of in vitro cultures biomass containing selected edible mushroom species derived from the environment (Laetiporus sulphureus, Imleria badia) and those of commercial origin (Agaricus bisporus). Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to evaluate the content of Cd(II) and Pb(II) on the medium supplemented with Cd(II) or Pb(II), each of them at the same concentration of 5·10^?5 M. The highest concentration of Cd(II) ions was determined in the biomass from L. sulphureus in vitro cultures, while the highest concentration of Pb(II) ions was found in the biomass from A. bisporus in vitro cultures. The greatest Cd(II) and Pb(II) accumulation ability in mycelium per dry weight was shown for L. sulphureus. Among the test species, biomass of A. bisporus showed the lowest ability for the bioaccumulation of Cd(II); however, comparable ability for the remediation of Pb(II) was provided by the biomasses from A. bisporus and I. badia in vitro cultures. The results confirm the possibility of using these mushroom species for remediation and indicate the relationship between bioaccumulation of heavy metals and the test species.     

Concentration,sources and risk assessment of PAHs in bottom sediments

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aims of the study were to investigate the concentration, sources and ecological risk of PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in bottom...     

Validation of odor concentration from mechanical-biological treatment piles using static chamber and wind tunnel with different wind speed values

The basic principle of odor sampling from surface sources is based primarily on the amount of air obtained from a specific area of the ground, which acts as a source of malodorous compounds. Wind tunnels and flux chambers are often the only available, direct method of evaluating the odor fluxes from small area sources. There are currently no widely accepted chamber-based methods; thus, there is still a need for standardization of these methods to ensure accuracy and comparability. Previous research has established that there is a significant difference between the odor concentration values obtained using the Lindvall chamber and those obtained by a dynamic flow chamber. Thus, the present study compares sampling methods using a streaming chamber modeled on the Lindvall cover (using different wind speeds), a static chamber, and a direct sampling method without any screens. The volumes of chambers in the current work were similar, ~0.08 m³. This study was conducted at the mechanical-biological treatment plant in Poland. Samples were taken from a pile covered by the membrane. Measured odor concentration values were between 2 and 150 ou_E/m³. Results of the study demonstrated that both chambers can be used interchangeably in the following conditions: odor concentration is below 60 ou_E/m³, wind speed inside the Lindvall chamber is below 0.2 m/sec, and a flow value is below 0.011 m³/sec. Increasing the wind speed above the aforementioned value results in significant differences in the results obtained between those methods. In all experiments, the results of the concentration of odor in the samples using the static chamber were consistently higher than those from the samples measured in the Lindvall chamber. Lastly, the results of experiments were employed to determine a model function of the relationship between wind speed and odor concentration values.

Implications: Several researchers wrote that there are no widely accepted chamber-based methods. Also, there is still a need for standardization to ensure full comparability of these methods. The present study compared the existing methods to improve the standardization of area source sampling. The practical usefulness of the results was proving that both examined chambers can be used interchangeably. Statistically similar results were achieved while odor concentration was below 60 ou_E/m³ and wind speed inside the Lindvall chamber was below 0.2 m/sec. Increasing wind speed over these values results in differences between these methods. A model function of relationship between wind speed and odor concentration value was determined.