Accumulation, tissue-specific distribution and debromination of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE 209) in European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

In this study we investigated the accumulation, tissue-specific distribution and possible debromination of BDE 209 in a terrestrial songbird species, the European starling, using silastic implants as a method of exposure. BDE 209 accumulated in the blood of the exposed starlings to a mean peak concentration of 16+/-4.1 ng/ml on day 10. After this peak, there was a decline to 3.3+/-0.4 ng/ml blood at the end of the exposure period of 76 days, which suggests elimination of BDE 209. In the exposed group, the muscle concentrations (461 ng/g lipid weight [lw], 430 ng/g lw) were about twofold those in liver (269 ng/g lw, 237 ng/g lw). In addition to BDE 209, other PBDE congeners, particularly octa- and nonaBDEs, were also present in the muscle and liver, suggesting bioformation from BDE 209. To our knowledge, these results are the first indications for the debromination of BDE 209 in birds.     

The contribution of particles washed from rooftops to contaminant loading to urban streams

Rooftops are both a source of and a pathway for contaminated runoff in urban environments. To investigate the importance of particle-associated contamination in rooftop runoff, particles washed from asphalt shingle and galvanized metal roofs at sites 12 and 102 m from a major expressway were analyzed for major and trace elements and PAHs. Concentrations and yields from rooftops were compared among locations and roofing material types and to loads monitored during runoff events in the receiving urban stream to evaluate rooftop sources and their potential contribution to stream loading. Concentrations of zinc, lead, pyrene, and chrysene on a mass per mass basis in a majority of rooftop samples exceeded established sediment quality guidelines for probable toxicity of bed sediments to benthic biota. Fallout near the expressway was greater than farther away, as indicated by larger yields of all contaminants investigated, although some concentrations were lower. Metal roofing was a source of cadmium and zinc and asphalt shingles a source of lead. The contribution of rooftop washoff to watershed loading was estimated to range from 6 percent for chromium and arsenic to 55 percent for zinc. Estimated contributions from roofing material to total watershed load were greatest for zinc and lead, contributing about 20 and 18 percent, respectively. The contribution from atmospheric deposition of particles onto rooftops to total watershed loads in stormwater was estimated to be greatest for mercury, contributing about 46 percent.     

Abatement and degradation pathways of toluene in indoor air by positive corona discharge

Indoor air concentrations of volatile organic compounds often exceed outdoor levels by a factor of 5. There is much interest in developing new technologies in order to improve indoor air quality. In this work non-thermal plasma (DC positive corona discharge) is explored as an innovative technology for indoor air purification. An inlet gas stream of 10 l min(-1) containing 0.50+/-0.02 ppm toluene was treated by the plasma reactor in atmospheric conditions. Toluene removal proved to be achievable with a characteristic energy density epsilon(0) of 50 J l(-1). Removal efficiencies were higher for 26% relative humidity (epsilon(0)=35 J l(-1)), compared with those at increased humidities (50% relative humidity, epsilon(0)=49 J l(-1)). Reaction products such as formic acid, benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol, 4-methyl-2-nitrophenol, 4-methyl-2-propyl furan, 5-methyl-2-nitrophenol, 4-nitrophenol, 2-methyl-4,6-dinitrophenol are identified by means of mass spectrometry. Based on these by-products a toluene degradation mechanism is proposed.     

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in food and associated human daily intake assessment considering bioaccessibility measured by simulated gastrointestinal digestion

The concentrations of PBDEs in 299 vegetable and animal-based food samples of 31 species, collected in Shanghai, China, and the bioaccessibility of PBDEs in part of the samples were determined. The PBDE concentrations ranged from 0 to 1245.4 pg g⁻¹ with animal-based food containing more PBDEs than vegetables. The bioaccessibility of PBDEs, determined by a method simulating human gastrointestinal digestion process, were from 2.6% to 39.9% in vegetables, and from 5.2% to 105.3% in animal-based food. For animal-based food, good correlations were observed between the bioaccessibility of PBDEs and the fat content, thus the fat content in animal-based food was able to be used to estimate the bioaccessibility of PBDEs. The total daily intake of PBDEs via ingestion of vegetables and animal-based food for an average Shanghai resident was estimated as 13 235.7 and 13 668.0 pg d⁻¹, respectively, but the amounts available for human absorption were reduced to 2674.4 and 4316.6 pg d⁻¹ after the PBDE bioaccessibility was considered. Finally, the contributions of different food groups to the total daily intake of PBDEs were evaluated. The results revealed that, when not considering the bioaccessibility of PBDEs, vegetables were the leading contributor (49.2%), followed by fish (34.0%). However, the sequence was reversed after the PBDE bioaccessibility was taken into account. The results indicated that human exposure to PBDEs via food ingestion might have been significantly overestimated and the exposure assessment could be misleading if the bioaccessibility of PBDEs was not considered.     

Photoelectrocatalytic systems for simultaneous energy recovery and wastewater treatment: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The rising energy conflicts and environmental pollution are calling for the rapid development of advanced techniques such as photoelectrocatalysis to...     

Environmental,climate and social leadership of small enterprises: Fairphone’s step-by-step approach

ABSTRACT

Achieving sustainable consumption and production requires a break with current practices in many sectors, including the smartphone sector. Leaders are central actors in catalysing such change by developing, implementing and promoting innovative ideas, products and practices. Not only large but also small enterprises can aspire to assume leadership for sustainability. This contribution explores the environmental, climate and social leadership of the social enterprise Fairphone that seeks to start a movement towards a more sustainable smartphone sector. Endowed with barely any structural power, it relies on other leadership types, especially entrepreneurial leadership, which is based on dialogue, persuasion and coalition-building. Small enterprises can be leaders, but pursuing a goal such as transforming the smartphone sector takes a step-by-step approach targeting different follower groups from suppliers, competitors and consumers to end-of-life processors and policymakers. Those different follower groups are susceptible to different (combinations of) leadership types.     

Drivers and constraints of waste-to-energy incineration for sustainable municipal solid waste management in developing countries

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Implementation of waste-to-energy (WtE) incineration has recently surged in developing countries, but the drivers of this growth and the...     

A robust method for collecting and processing the on-road instantaneous data of fuel consumption and speed for motorcycles

ABSTRACT

Using the laboratory-based fuel consumption models for predicting real-world fuel consumption requires the measurement of data under certain conditions to obtain high accuracy of predicted result. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a logging device for measuring the real-time fuel consumption and speed of vehicle on the road. This article presents a study on developing the on-board data logging device to collect real-world data of fuel consumption and speed for motorcycles with the update rate of 1 Hz. The instantaneous speed of the motorcycle was determined based on the rotational speed of the wheel and the wheel radius. Another module was used to determine the instantaneous fuel consumption rate (FR) though measuring the duration injection pulse. The relationship between the duration injection pulse and the injected amount of fuel was established with high correlation coefficient of 0.997. In addition, a filter was designed to remove noise in the dataset collected using the data logging device. The random errors in the speed and the FR profiles were detected and replaced, the percentage of these errors is 1.8% and 2.4%, respectively. The developed method is a precise one for transient fuel consumption and speed measurement. In chassis dynamometer test, the average deviation between steady speed measured by the chassis and the data logging device is only approximately 0.35%. At transient state, the biggest deviation between these two datasets is less than 3.5%. The average FR at steady speed measured by the developed method is slightly different from the one measured by the carbon balance method. The difference is 0.9%, 2.5%, and 0.25% at the speeds of 30 km/h, 50 km/h, and 70 km/h, respectively. Following the transient test cycle, the fuel consumption measured by the developed method is 4.35% lower than that determined by the carbon balance method.

Implications: A robust method for collecting and processing the on-road instantaneous data of fuel consumption and speed was developed for motorcycles. The proposed method can record well the real-world driving data for motorcycles, including the fuel consumption and speed, with the update rate of 1 Hz. The filter was designed to minimize noise while maintaining data integrity of the collected dataset, the percentage of errors in the the speed and the FR profiles is 1.8% and 2.4%, respectively. The proposed method, therefore, can be used as effective tools for future studies relating to the fuel consumption and emission of motorcycles on the road.     

Harmonized assessment of nutrient pollution from urban systems including losses from sewer exfiltration: a case study in Germany

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A growing literature indicates that untreated wastewater from leaky sewers stands among major sources of pollution to water resources of urban...