Monitoring microbial biomass and respiration in different soils from the Czech Republic--a summary of results

The microbial biomass (Cbio), respiration (basal respiration (BR) and potential respiration (PR)), and derived indices for 520 independent soil samples of 117 different soils from the Czech Republic were statistically analysed. The broad range of soil samples allowed the stepwise breakdown of the database into six reasonable categories of soil: arable soils, loamy grassland soils, sandy grassland soils with weak organic matter content, sandy grassland soils with moderate organic matter content, forest soils with moderate organic matter content, and forest organic soils with rich organic matter content. Because soil microbiology lacks benchmarking values, the ranges of the microbial characteristics for these categories were stated and are presented here. The separation into soil groups narrowed the ranges enough to be useful for comparative purposes. The groups displayed significant differences in basal microbial parameters. The lowest microbial biomass was found in arable soils and grassland sandy soils with weak organic matter content. The highest microbial biomass was shown by loamy grassland soils and organic forest soils. Respiration displayed similar results to the microbial biomass. The derived indices revealed less significant differences confirming their inner-standard nature. The relationships between the soil contamination and microbial parameters were not explored because of the confounding effect of soil organic matter. However, it was not shown by the category of grassland sandy soils with weak organic matter content suggesting they could be especially suitable for the biomonitoring of harmful effects of chemicals on soil microorganisms.     

Comparison of differences between copper bioaccumulation and biosorption

Biological methods for wastewater treatment are becoming more accepted all over the world. The method, which makes use of accumulating abilities of living cells, is called bioaccumulation. In contrast with it, biosorption takes advantage of sequestering capabilities of dry or dead cells, which is technologically advantageous. The differences between bioaccumulation and biosorption of copper from model solutions were studied in this work. Application of living algal cells has some disadvantages. Copper significantly damages the surface of living cells, which results in partial loss of cell-binding abilities and release of accumulated copper back into solution. The binding capacity of living cells is significantly lower than that of dead cells. There is also a possibility of desorption and reuse of biomass in case of biosorption.     

Pesticide exposure and cancer among rural workers from Bariri, Sao Paulo State, Brazil

This article reports an environmental health study on risk identification. It discusses risk factors linked to rural work and pesticide contact in a restricted geographic area and shows the necessity of improving rural workers' health in the central part of Sao Paulo State. The municipality of Bariri, which is the case studied in this research, typifies this agriculturally based region. The study focuses on environmental problems engendered by modern agriculture that may have human-health repercussions such as cancer, as indicated by hard statistical association on an extended cause-effect time scale. For specific cases, the research used a database containing records of Amaral Carvalho Hospital, located in the city of Jau and a highly respected regional reference unit for over 85 years as one of the best in the Brazilian public health system for treating cancer. Statistics for age and gender were analyzed; relative risk was calculated for a group of cases registered from 2000 to 2002, as well as for a randomly selected control group from the same hospital. A map indicating the residences of cases (68) and non-cases (60) was made by geoprocessing techniques. For the period of time and the group studied, the authors concluded that the cancers of the skin and digestive system were the most prevalent. Bariri presented 24 cases representing all cancer types for each group of 10,000 citizens. The study indicated an almost two times higher probability of cancer development among rural workers, with a calculated relative risk between those exposed (agriculture workers) and the non-exposed (other occupations) of 1.6. No patterns of geographical distribution of cancer in that time period were recorded among rural workers of Bariri. However, the higher number of positive occurrences in the southwestern outskirts of the city indicated an area that must be prioritized in distributing environmental health information and conducting preventive education campaigns.     

Hedonic Analysis of Effects of a Nonnative Invader (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Myriophyllum heterophyllum</Emphasis>) on New Hampshire (USA) Lakefront Properties

Introduced species are a major threat to the planet's ecosystems and one of the major causes of species extinction. This study deals with some of the economic impacts of one of these "invaders," variable milfoil. Variable milfoil can clog water-bodies, cause boating and swimming hazards, and crowd out native species. This study analyzed the effects of variable milfoil on shoreline property values at selected New Hampshire lakes. Results indicate that property values on lakes experiencing milfoil infestation may be considerably lower than similar properties on uninfested lakes. Results are highly sensitive to specification (variable selection) of the hedonic equation.     

Comparison of discharge silver concentrations from electrolytic plating and metallic replacement silver recovery units

Silver-based photographic X-ray film is made of solid crystals of silver chloride or silver bromide suspended in a gelatin and then coated on a film. During the X-ray developing process, the image is processed and the nonimage areas containing solid silver chloride or silver bromide crystals are removed in a solution called the fixer. There may be local environmental regulations that regulate the amount of silver discharged from a facility. To meet these regulations, many facilities have added silver recovery units to their processes. Two different types of recovery processes are in use in a large hospital and three clinics under study. All of the units were claimed by their respective manufacturers to be able to recover silver down to concentrations of 5 mg/L. This concentration would ensure that the building that houses each unit would meet the local county limit of 0.5 mg/L silver for total building silver discharge. The hypothesis for this research is that one system, newer and more expensive, consisting of so-called electrolytic plating units (EPUs) (which are followed by so-called metallic replacement units [MRUs] as a backup), will have better silver recovery than MRUs alone. A total of six units were sampled, three EPUs (in combination with MRUs) and three MRUs. The units were sampled once or twice a day for 10 days for a total of 17 samples from each. The samples then were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy, and an analysis of variance was performed on the results. The range for the electrolytic plating unit/metallic replacement unit combinations was 0.20-99.9 mg/L (mean of 35.15 mg/L; median of 33.8 mg/L). The range for the MRUs alone was 7.2-1112 mg/L (mean of 565.5 mg/L; median of 720 mg/L). Many individual results exceeded 5 mg/L, such that extensive dilution would be required to ensure the building effluent did not exceed 0.5 mg/L. It is suggested that the metallic replacement units be changed to EPUs (with metallic replacement backup units) because they had better silver recovery. Also, the EPU combinations need to be sampled regularly to ensure that their silver concentrations are at acceptable levels.     

PCB congener selective biodegradation by the white rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus in contaminated soil

Six strains of white rot fungi were tested for their biodegradation ability of low chlorinated polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) commercial mixture (Delor 103) in real soil system. Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Trametes versicolor did not show any ability to degrade PCBs in soil. On the contrary, four strains of Pleurotus ostreatus were able to remove about 40% of Delor 103 in two months. All P. ostreatus strains decomposed PCBs selectively with the preference for congeners with chlorine atoms in ortho > meta > para position. Degradation efficiency decreased with increasing number of chlorination.     

A multi-criteria geographic information systems approach for the measurement of vulnerability to climate change

A flexible procedure for the development of a multi-criteria composite index to measure relative vulnerability under future climate change scenarios is presented. The composite index is developed using the Weighted Ordered Weighted Average (WOWA) aggregation technique which enables the selection of different levels of trade-off, which controls the degree to which indicators are able to average out others. We explore this approach in an illustrative case study of the United States (US), using future projections of widely available indicators quantifying flood vulnerability under two scenarios of climate change. The results are mapped for two future time intervals for each climate scenario, highlighting areas that may exhibit higher future vulnerability to flooding events. Based on a Monte Carlo robustness analysis, we find that the WOWA aggregation technique can provide a more flexible and potentially robust option for the construction of vulnerability indices than traditionally used approaches such as Weighted Linear Combinations (WLC). This information was used to develop a proof-of-concept vulnerability assessment to climate change impacts for the US Army Corps of Engineers. Lessons learned in this study informed the climate change screening analysis currently under way.     

GDL then and now

The first comprehensive Graduated License (GDL) law was implemented in Florida in 1996. Now, most states have implemented one or more GDL provision including: extending the time for which a learners permit must be held prior to licensure; passenger restriction; and night driving restriction. Evidence to support each of these provisions existed prior to 1996 and has been largely confirmed with the evaluation of each new state to implement GDL. Nationally, fatal crash involvements of 16 year-old drivers have decreased 23% (1993-1995 vs. 2003-2005). Greater reductions have been seen for crash involvements at night and with passengers. The single most effective GDL provision appears to be the extension of the learners period when this extension has the effect of delaying the time at which unsupervised driving is permitted.     

Are the residents of former Yugoslavia still exposed to elevated PCB levels due to the Balkan wars? Part 1: Air sampling in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) spilled into the environment as a result of damaged industrial and military targets, natural resources, and infrastructure during the Balkan wars still pose a problem several years later. The aim of this project was to investigate an extent to which the residents of former Yugoslavia are exposed to elevated levels of POPs as a consequence of the wars. The atmospheric as well as the soil levels of PCBs, OCPs and PAHs were determined in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina during five high volume air sampling campaigns in 2003 and 2004. A considerable contamination of several sites was detected (PCB concentrations in the atmosphere ranged between 67 pg m(-3) and 40 ng m(-3) for the sum of 7 indicator congeners) and the levels are reported in this article.