Water quality assessment of the Tubarão River through chemical analysis and biomarkers in the Neotropical fish Geophagus brasiliensis

The Tubarão River rises in Santa Catarina, Brazil, and has been historically affected by coal mining activities around its springhead. To evaluate its water conditions, an investigation regarding a possible decontamination gradient associated with the increased river flow toward the estuary, as well as the influence of seasonality over this gradient was performed through a series of biomarkers (vitellogenin, comet assay, lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation, gluthatione, gluthatione S-transferase, acetylcholinesterase, light microscopy in liver, and scanning electron microscopy in gills) and chemical analysis (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in bile and metal analysis in sediment) in the cichlid Geophagus brasiliensis. Two collections (summer and winter) were made in four distinct sites along the river, while sediments were sampled between those seasons. As expected, the contamination linked exclusively to mining activities was not observed, possibly due to punctual inputs of contaminants. The decontamination gradient was not observed, although seasonality seemed to have a critical role in the responses of biomarkers and availability of contaminants. In the summer, the fish presented higher histopathological damages and lower concentrations of PAHs, while in the winter they showed both higher genetic damage and accumulation of PAHs. The Tubarão suffers impacts from diverse activities, representing health risks for wild and human populations.     

Indication of PCDD/F formation through precursor condensation in a full-scale hazardous waste incinerator

This paper gives the PCDD/F fingerprint of boiler and fly ash of a full scale hazardous waste incinerator and demonstrates that, when the waste to be incinerated contains high concentrations of PCBs and chlorinated pesticides, heterogeneous precursor condensation is the dominant PCDD/F formation mechanism rather than de novo synthesis. This is in contrast to full-scale municipal solid waste incinerators, where de novo synthesis has been shown to be the dominant PCDD/F formation mechanism. This paper agrees with earlier predictions based on numerous lab scale experiments.     

Appendix

Abstract

An atrazine‐degrading bacterial isolate (M91–3) was able to utilize simazine and cyanazine as N sources for glucose‐dependent growth. The degradation of these three 5‐triazine herbicides was also investigated in binary and ternary mixtures. The organism used atrazine and simazine indiscriminately, whereas cyanazine degradation was slow and delayed until the depletion of the two other herbicides. There was no apparent effect of other commonly used herbicides on the rate of atrazine degradation by M91–3.     

Experimental exposure of juvenile savannah monitors (Varanus exanthematicus) to an environmentally relevant mixture of three contaminants: effects and accumulation in tissues

Using varanids as indicators of pollution in African continental wetlands was previously proposed. The present study aimed at understanding experimentally how monitors absorb and accumulate pollutants and how they are affected. The relevance of non-destructive sampling was also evaluated. Savannah monitors (Varanus exanthematicus) were orally exposed during 6 months to a mixture of lead, 4,4′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (4,4′-DDT) and chlorpyrifos-ethyl (CPF) or to the vehicle only. Proportionally to their mass, exposed monitors received the same dose: 20 then 10 mg lead?kg^?1, 2 then 0.5 mg CPF?kg^?1 and 4 mg 4,4′-DDT?kg^?1. Individuals surviving contamination were euthanized after 4 or 6 months of experiment. Tissues were analysed for lead by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and for DDT and CPF by gas chromatography. Exposed monitors absorbed all three pollutants but only lead (essentially in bone, tail tips and phalanxes) and 4,4′-DDT plus its main metabolites (essentially in fat and liver) accumulated. CPF killed ten individuals. Clear correlations occurred between the total quantity of lead or 4,4′-DDT administered and concentrations in tissues. Tail tips and skin samples are recommended non-destructive indicators for lead and organochlorine pesticides contamination, respectively. This work confirms that monitors can be used as relevant indicators of environmental pollution by lead and organochlorine pesticides. Although varanids withstand heavy lead and DDT contamination, our results suggest that CPF can be lethal at very low doses to the herpetofauna and emphasize the importance of considering all taxa in impact assessment studies, including reptiles.     

Effects of air pollution on lung function and symptoms of asthma, rhinitis and eczema in primary school children

Health effects of ambient air pollution were studied in three groups of schoolchildren living in areas (suburban, urban and urban-traffic) with different air pollution levels in Eski?ehir, Turkey. This study involved 1,880 students aged between 9 and 13 years from 16 public primary schools. This two-season study was conducted from January 2008 through March 2009. Symptoms of asthma, rhinitis and eczema were determined by the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire in 2008. Two lung function tests were performed by each child for summer and winter seasons with simultaneous ambient air measurements of ozone (O₃), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) by passive sampling. Effects of air pollution on impaired lung function and symptoms in schoolchildren were estimated by multivariate logistic regression analyses. Girls with impaired lung function (only for the summer season evaluation) were more observed in suburban and urban areas when compared to urban-traffic area ([odds ratio (OR)?=?1.49; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.04–2.14] and [OR?=?1.69 (95 % CI 1.06–2.71)] for suburban vs. urban-traffic and urban vs. urban-traffic, respectively). Significant association between ambient ozone concentrations and impaired lung function (for an increase of 10 μg m^?3) was found only for girls for the summer season evaluation [OR?=?1.11 (95 % CI 1.03–1.19)]. No association was found for boys and for the winter season evaluation. No association was found between any of the measured air pollutants and symptoms of current wheeze, current rhinoconjunctivitis and current itchy rash. The results of this study showed that increasing ozone concentrations may cause a sub-acute impairment in lung function of school aged children.     

Factors controlling phosphate interaction with iron oxides

Factors such as pH, solution ion composition, and the presence of natural organic matter (NOM) play a crucial role in the effectiveness of phosphorous adsorption by iron oxides. The interplay between these factors shows a complicated pattern and can sometimes lead to controversial results. With the help of mechanistic modeling and adsorption experiments, the net macroscopic effect of single and combined factors can be better understood and predicted. In the present work, the relative importance of the above-mentioned factors in the adsorption of phosphate was analyzed using modeling and comparison between the model prediction and experimental data. The results show that, under normal soil conditions, pH, concentration of Ca, and the presence of NOM are the most important factors that control adsorption of phosphate to iron oxides. The presence of Ca not only enhances the amount of phosphate adsorbed but also changes the pH dependency of the adsorption. An increase of dissolved organic carbon from 0.5 to 50 mg L can lead to a >50% decrease in the amount of phosphate adsorbed. Silicic acid may decrease phosphate adsorption, but this effect is only important at a very low phosphate concentration, in particular at high pH.     

Estimation of uncertainty arising from different soil sampling devices: the use of variogram parameters

In the frame of the international SOILSAMP project, funded and coordinated by the National Environmental Protection Agency of Italy (APAT), uncertainties due to field soil sampling were assessed. Three different sampling devices were applied in an agricultural area using the same sampling protocol. Cr, Sc and Zn mass fractions in the collected soil samples were measured by k(0)-instrumental neutron activation analysis (k(0)-INAA). For each element-device combination the experimental variograms were calculated using geostatistical tools. The variogram parameters were used to estimate the standard uncertainty arising from sampling. The sampling component represents the dominant contribution of the measurement uncertainty with a sampling uncertainty to measurement uncertainty ratio ranging between 0.6 and 0.9. The approach based on the use of variogram parameters leads to uncertainty values of the sampling component in agreement with those estimated by replicate sampling approach.     

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the determination of dioxins in contaminated sediment and soil samples

A 96-microwell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was evaluated to determine PCDDs/PCDFs in sediment and soil samples from an EPA Superfund site. Samples were prepared and analyzed by both the ELISA and a gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (GC/HRMS) method. Comparable method precision, accuracy, and detection level (8 ng kg(-1)) were achieved by the ELISA method with respect to GC/HRMS. However, the extraction and cleanup method developed for the ELISA requires refinement for the soil type that yielded a waxy residue after sample processing. Four types of statistical analyses (Pearson correlation coefficient, paired t-test, nonparametric tests, and McNemar's test of association) were performed to determine whether the two methods produced statistically different results. The log-transformed ELISA-derived 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin values and log-transformed GC/HRMS-derived TEQ values were significantly correlated (r=0.79) at the 0.05 level. The median difference in values between ELISA and GC/HRMS was not significant at the 0.05 level. Low false negative and false positive rates (<10%) were observed for the ELISA when compared to the GC/HRMS at 1,000 ng TEQ kg(-1). The findings suggest that immunochemical technology could be a complementary monitoring tool for determining concentrations at the 1,000 ng TEQ kg(-1) action level for contaminated sediment and soil. The ELISA could also be used in an analytical triage approach to screen and rank samples prior to instrumental analysis.     

Modelling of stable isotope fractionation by methane oxidation and diffusion in landfill cover soils

A technique to measure biological methane oxidation in landfill cover soils that is gaining increased interest is the measurement of stable isotope fractionation in the methane. Usually to quantify methane oxidation, only fractionation by oxidation is taken into account. Recently it was shown that neglecting the isotope fractionation by diffusion results in underestimation of the methane oxidation. In this study a simulation model was developed that describes gas transport and methane oxidation in landfill cover soils. The model distinguishes between (12)CH(4), (13)CH(4), and (12)CH(3)D explicitly, and includes isotope fractionation by diffusion and oxidation. To evaluate the model, the simulations were compared with column experiments from previous studies. The predicted concentration profiles and isotopic profiles match the measured ones very well, with a root mean square deviation (RMSD) of 1.7vol% in the concentration and a RMSD of 0.8 per thousand in the delta(13)C value, with delta(13)C the relative (13)C abundance as compared to an international standard. Overall, the comparison shows that a model-based isotope approach for the determination of methane oxidation efficiencies is feasible and superior to existing isotope methods.