Fallout traces of the Fukushima NPP accident in southern West Siberia (Novosibirsk,Russia)

Background  

The fallout of artificially produced radioactive isotopes has been recorded at a site in southern West Siberia (54°50′43.6″ N, 083°06′22.4″ E, Novosibirsk, Russia).     

Acute toxicity tests with Daphnia magna, Americamysis bahia, Chironomus riparius and Gammarus pulex and implications of new EU requirements for the aquatic effect assessment of insecticides

Threshold concentrations for treatment related effects of 31 insecticides, as derived from aquatic micro-/mesocosm tests, were used to calibrate the predictive value of the European Tier-1 acute effect assessment on basis of laboratory toxicity tests with Daphnia magna, Chironomus spp., Americamysis bahia and Gammarus pulex. The acute Tier-1 effect assessment on basis of Daphnia (EC(50)/100) overall was protective for organophosphates, carbamates and most pyrethroids but not for neonicotinoids and the majority of insect growth regulators (IGRs) in the database. By including the 28-day water-spiked Chironomus riparius test, the effect assessment improves but selecting the lowest value on basis of the 48-h Daphnia test (EC50/100) and the 28-day Chironomus test (NOEC/10) is not fully protective for 4 out of 23 insecticide cases. An assessment on basis of G. pulex (EC(50)/100) is sufficiently protective for 15 out of 19 insecticide cases. The Tier-1 procedure on basis of acute toxicity data (EC(50)/100) for the combination of Daphnia and A. bahia and/or Chironomus (new EU dossier requirements currently under discussion) overall is protective to pulsed insecticide exposures in micro-/mesocosms. For IGRs that affect moulting, the effect assessment on basis of the 48-h Chironomus test (EC(50)/100) may not always be protective enough to replace that of the water-spiked 28-day C. riparius test (NOEC/10) because of latency of effects.     

Treatment of bleach pulp mill effluent by MF-MBR

The types of treatment most commonly used by pulp mills are biological treatments in combination with sedimentation or coagulation/flocculation as pretreatment. The main issues faced by these types of treatment are low efficiency in the removal of organic matter and the loss of aggregate value for the recovered fiber. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the use of microfiltration (MF) combined with a membrane bioreactor (MBR) for the treatment of bleach pulp mill effluents. The results showed that the use of the MF-MBR system was an excellent alternative for the treatment of bleach pulp mill effluents with an average COD removal of 95%. The microfiltration allowed the recovery of fibers, which can be returned to the production process without losing economic value, and produced a better quality effluent for further treatment in the MBR. The MBR presented high efficiency removal of organic matter.     

Particulate matter emission rates from beef cattle feedlots in Kansas-reverse dispersion modeling

Open beef cattle feedlots emit various air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) with equivalent aerodynamic diameter of 10 microm or less (PM10); however limited research has quantified PM10 emission rates from feedlots. This research was conducted to determine emission rates of PM10 from large cattle feedlots in Kansas. Concentrations of PM10 at the downwind and upwind edges of two large cattle feedlots (KS1 and KS2) in Kansas were measured with tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) PM10 monitors from January 2007 to December 2008. Weather conditions at the feedlots were also monitored. From measured PM10 concentrations and weather conditions, PM10 emission rates were determined using reverse modeling with the American Meteorological Society/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Model (AERMOD). The two feedlots differed significantly in median PM10 emission flux (1.60 g/m2-day for KS1 vs. 1.10 g/m2-day for KS2) but not in PM10 emission factor (27 kg/1000 head-day for KS1 and 30 kg/1000 head-day KS2). These emission factors were smaller than published U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emission factor for cattle feedlots.     

Assessment of heterogeneity of metal composition of fine particulate matter collected from eight U.S. counties using principal component analysis

The main objectives of this study are to (1) characterize chemical constituents of particulate matter (PM) and (2) compare overall differences in PM collected from eight US. counties. This project was undertaken as a part of a larger research program conducted by the Johns Hopkins Particulate Matter Research Center (JHPMRC). The goal of the JHPMRC is to explore the relationship between health effects and exposure to ambient PM of differing composition. The JHPMRC collected weekly filter-based ambient fine particle samples from eight US. counties between January 2008 and January 2010. Each sampling effort consisted of a 5-6-week sampling period. Filters were analyzed for 25 metals using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Overall compositional differences were ranked by principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that weekly concentrations of each element varied 3-40 times between the eight counties. PCA showed that the first five principal components explained 85% of the total variance. The authors found significant overall compositional differences in PM as the average of standardized principal component scores differed between the counties. These findings demonstrate PCA is a useful tool to identify the differences in PM compositional mixtures by county. These differences will be helpful for epidemiological and toxicological studies to help explain why health risks associated with PM exposure are different in locations with similar mass concentrations of PM.     

The potential near-source ozone impacts of upstream oil and gas industry emissions

Increased drilling in urban areas overlying shale formations and its potential impact on human health through decreased air quality make it important to estimate the contribution of oil and gas activities to photochemical smog. Flares and compressor engines used in natural gas operations, for example, are large sources not only of NOx but also offormaldehyde, a hazardous air pollutant and powerful ozone precursor We used a neighborhood scale (200 m horizontal resolution) three-dimensional (3D) air dispersion model with an appropriate chemical mechanism to simulate ozone formation in the vicinity ofa hypothetical natural gas processing facility, based on accepted estimates of both regular and nonroutine emissions. The model predicts that, under average midday conditions in June, regular emissions mostly associated with compressor engines may increase ambient ozone in the Barnett Shale by more than 3 ppb beginning at about 2 km downwind of the facility, assuming there are no other major sources of ozone precursors. Flare volumes of 100,000 cubic meters per hour ofnatural gas over a period of 2 hr can also add over 3 ppb to peak 1-hr ozone somewhatfurther (>8 km) downwind, once dilution overcomes ozone titration and inhibition by large flare emissions of NOx. The additional peak ozone from the hypothetical flare can briefly exceed 10 ppb about 16 km downwind. The enhancements of ambient ozone predicted by the model are significant, given that ozone control strategy widths are of the order of a few parts per billion. Degrading the horizontal resolution of the model to 1 km spuriously enhances the simulated ozone increases by reducing the effectiveness of ozone inhibition and titration due to artificial plume dilution.     

Contribution of sociodemographic characteristics, occupation, diet and lifestyle to DDT and DDE concentrations in serum and adipose tissue from a Bolivian cohort

The organochlorine pesticide p,p′-Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was widely used in the early 1960s-70s for vector control in tropical and subtropical areas of South America. Due to its persistence, DDT has a high potential to bioaccumulate in the food chain and living organisms and is a major public health concern, especially in South America.The main purpose of the present study was to investigate predictors of serum and adipose tissue concentrations of p,p′-DDT and its main metabolite, p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE), in an adult cohort (n = 112) from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, using multiple linear regression models. These models explained 29.3-47.8% of the variability in adipose tissue concentrations of p,p′-DDT and p,p′-DDE, respectively, and 32.9-47.0% of that in serum. Main exposure predictors included age, occupational class, residence, diet, smoking habit, and accumulated breastfeeding time.This is one of the few studies to explore predictors of human exposure to these chemicals using a multivariate approach in a South American population. Results show that predictors of human exposure to p,p′-DDT and p,p′-DDE in Santa Cruz de la Sierra may diverge from those found in other populations of the world, due to particular sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics of this region.     

Reproductive toxicity of lead,cadmium, and phthalate exposure in men

Environmental toxicants viz lead or cadmium and phthalate esters (di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate [DEHP], dibutyl phthalate [DBP], and diethyl phthalate [DEP]) widely found in different environmental strata are linked to deteriorating male reproductive health. The objective was to assess the relationships between the seminal lead, cadmium, and phthalate (DEHP, DBP, DEP) concentrations at environmental level and serum hormone levels and semen quality in non-occupationally exposed men and specify the effect of individual and combined exposure of toxicants on semen quality. A study of 60 male partners of couples attending the Andrology Laboratory of the Reproductive Biology Department, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India for semen analysis to assess their inability to achieve a pregnancy was selected for the study. The results of univariate and stepwise multiple regression analysis in the unadjusted model showed a significant correlation between lead or cadmium and phthalates DEHP/DBP/DEP and sperm motility, sperm concentration, and DNA damage. After adjusting for potential confounders, an association with lead or DEHP was only observed. The present data shows that lead (Pb) or cadmium (Cd) or phthalates might independently contribute to decline in semen quality and induce DNA damage. Phthalates might influence reproductive hormone testosterone. These findings are significant in light of the fact that men are exposed to a volley of chemicals; however, due to the small sample size, our finding needs to be confirmed in a larger population.     

Oxidative stress response in dye degrading bacterium Lysinibacillus sp. RGS exposed to Reactive Orange 16, degradation of RO16 and evaluation of toxicity

Lysinibacillus sp. RGS degrades sulfonated azo dye Reactive Orange 16 (RO16) efficiently. Superoxide dismutase and catalase activity were tested to study the response of Lysinibacillus sp. RGS to the oxidative stress generated by RO16. The results demonstrated that oxidative stress enzymes not only protect the cell from oxidative stress but also has a probable role in decolorization along with an involvement of oxidoreductive enzymes. Formation of three different metabolites after degradation of RO16 has been confirmed by GC-MS analysis. FTIR analysis verified the degradation of functional groups of RO16, and HPTLC confirmed the removal of auxochrome group from the RO16 after degradation. Toxicity studies confirmed the genotoxic, cytotoxic, and phytotoxic nature of RO16 and the formation of less toxic products after the treatment of Lysinibacillus sp. RGS. Therefore, Lysinibacillus sp. RGS has a better perspective of bioremediation for textile wastewater treatment.