Accumulation of Cd,Cu and Zn in shoots of maize (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Zea mays</Emphasis> L.) exposed to 0.8 or 20 nM Cd during vegetative growth and the relation with xylem sap composition

This work focuses on the exposure of maize plants to nanomolar concentrations of Cd, which is relevant for agricultural soils cropped with food and feed plants. Maize plants were cultivated in nutrient solution at 0.8 or 20 nM Cd during the vegetative growth stages. No significant hormesis or toxic effects of Cd were observed on maize growth, but a decrease in the allocation of Cd to shoots between the 0.8 and 20 nM Cd exposures revealed that the plants already responded to these low concentrations of Cd according to a shoot Cd excluder strategy. The Cd, Cu and Zn concentrations in shoots decreased with time as the result of an early decrease in the root/shoot ratio and of a decrease in the coefficient of allocation to aboveground for Zn and Cd at 20 nM. As a consequence, shoots of young plants were richer in micronutrients Cu and Zn but also in toxic Cd. The rate of delivery of Cd, Cu and Zn from xylem sap was successfully used to predict the time course of concentrations of Cd, Cu and Zn in the shoot. However, it overestimated the actual concentrations of Cd in the shoot, presumably because the reallocation of this trace element from shoots back to roots was not taken into account.     

Dynamic model based safety analysis of a three-phase catalytic slurry intensified continuous reactor

Safety analysis like the HAZOP (HAZard OPerability) study can be much more efficient if a dynamic model of the system under consideration is available to evaluate the consequences of hazard deviations and the efficiency of the proposed safety barriers. In this paper, a dynamic model of a three-phase catalytic slurry intensified continuous chemical reactor is used within the context of its HAZOP (HAZard OPerability) study. This reactor, the RAPTOR®, is an intensified continuous mini-reactor designed by the French company AETGROUP SAS that can replace batch or fed-batch processes in the case of highly exothermic reactions involving hazardous substances. The highly hazardous hydrogenation of o-cresol under high pressure and temperature is taken as an example of application. Deviations as a temperature increase of the cooling medium or no cooling medium flow can produce an overheating of the reactor. Thus, three possible safety barriers are evaluated by simulation: shut off the gaseous reactant feed, shut off the liquid reactant feed or stop the agitation. The more efficient actions are the stopping of the agitation and/or of the gas reactant feed. The simulation results can efficiently help the reactor design and optimisation. Safety analysis can also be one of the criteria to compare batch and intensified continuous processes.     

Photolytic degradation of triclosan in freshwater and seawater

A 12-days photolysis experiment of triclosan, a widely used bactericide, was performed in freshwater and seawater under a low intensity artificial white light source. Photodegradation of triclosan was observed in both the freshwater and seawater samples. Assuming a first-order reaction, half-lives of triclosan in the freshwater and seawater were approximately 8 and 4 days, respectively. 2,8-Dichlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (DCDD) was detected in both the freshwater and seawater samples after 3 days of irradiation. The photodegradation of triclosan and the production of DCDD suggest that triclosan could be less stable and DCDD might be more stable in seawater than freshwater. As a result, DCDD produced from triclosan survives for a longer time in seawater.     

Effects of the insect growth regulator (S)-methoprene on survival and reproduction of the freshwater cladoceran Moina macrocopa

This study examines the acute and chronic effects of the insecticide (S)-methoprene on the survival and reproduction of the freshwater cladoceran Moina macrocopa. In laboratory toxicity tests, the 24- and 48-h LC50 values for (S)-methoprene were 0.51 and 0.34 mg litre(-1), respectively. Survival, longevity and fecundity were reduced at 0.05 mg litre(-1) and higher concentrations. At 0.005 and 0.01 mg litre(-1), longevity and fecundity increased slightly as compared to control animals. If environmental concentrations of methoprene do not exceed 0.05 mg litre(-1), as is generally the case, application of this insecticide is unlikely to induce detrimental effects on natural cladoceran populations. The stimulatory effect of very low levels of methoprene on reproductive performance is consistent with the hypothesis of a regulatory role of juvenile hormone-like compounds in crustacean reproduction.     

Macroinvertebrate communities in agriculturally impacted southern Illinois streams: patterns with riparian vegetation, water quality, and in-stream habitat quality

Relationships between riparian land cover, in-stream habitat, water chemistry, and macroinvertebrates were examined in headwater streams draining an agricultural region of Illinois. Macroinvertebrates and organic matter were collected monthly for one year from three intensively monitored streams with a gradient of riparian forest cover (6, 22, and 31% of riparian area). Bioassessments and physical habitat analyses were also performed in these three streams and 12 other nearby headwater streams. The intensively monitored site with the least riparian forest cover had significantly greater percent silt substrates than the sites with medium and high forest cover, and significantly higher very fine organics in substrates than the medium and high forested sites. Macroinvertebrates were abundant in all streams, but communities reflected degraded conditions; noninsect groups, mostly oligochaetes and copepods, dominated density and oligochaetes and mollusks, mostly Sphaerium and Physella, dominated biomass. Of insects, dipterans, mostly Chironomidae, dominated density and dipterans and coleopterans were important contributors to biomass. Collector-gatherers dominated functional structure in all three intensively monitored sites, indicating that functional structure metrics may not be appropriate for assessing these systems. The intensively monitored site with lowest riparian forest cover had significantly greater macroinvertebrate density and biomass, but lowest insect density and biomass. Density and biomass of active collector-filterers (mostly Sphaerium) decreased with increasing riparian forest. Hilsenhoff scores from all 15 sites were significantly correlated with in-stream habitat scores, percent riparian forest, and orthophosphate concentrations, and multiple regression indicated that in-stream habitat was the primary factor influencing biotic integrity. Our results show that these "drainage ditches" harbor abundant macroinvertebrates that are typical of degraded conditions, but that they can reflect gradients of conditions in and around these streams.     

EFFECTS OF COAL PILE RUNOFF ON STREAM QUALITY AND MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES1

Samples of coal pile runoff, Georges Creek water, and macrobenthos above and below two coal storage areas along Georges Creek, Allegany County, Maryland, were collected in July, August, and September 1982, and February and July 1983. Coal pile runoff was collected under high- and low-flow conditions. Water samples were analyzed for Hg, Zn, As, Fe, Mn, Al, SO₄^?2, pH, filterable and non-filterable residue, conductivity and acidity. Leachate from coal piles along Georges Creek contained high concentrations of heavy metals, particularly manganese, aluminum and zinc. Iron and sulfate were very high and the pH ranged from 1.4 to 3.1. Georges Creek water had much lower concentrations of metals, iron and sulfate and a pH of about 7.0. The distribution of macrobenthos in Georges Creek showed the effects of both runoff from coal storage piles and periodic drought. Brillouin's diversity index values were low even in areas which did not dry. Densities of tubificid worms and chironomid larvae were very high above the coal storage areas where organic inputs were high. At all the rest of the sampling stations, macroinvertebrate densities were very low. Where coal pile runoff enters Georges Creek, it compounds the effects of periodic drought and further stresses the aquatic community.     

Deriving fuel-based emission factor thresholds to interpret heavy-duty vehicle roadside plume measurements

Remote sensing devices have been used for decades to measure gaseous emissions from individual vehicles at the roadside. Systems have also been developed that entrain diluted exhaust and can also measure particulate matter (PM) emissions. In 2015, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) reported that 8% of in-field diesel particulate filters (DPF) on heavy-duty (HD) vehicles were malfunctioning and emitted about 70% of total diesel PM emissions from the DPF-equipped fleet. A new high-emitter problem in the heavy-duty vehicle fleet had emerged. Roadside exhaust plume measurements reflect a snapshot of real-world operation, typically lasting several seconds. In order to relate roadside plume measurements to laboratory emission tests, we analyzed carbon dioxide (CO₂), oxides of nitrogen (NO_X), and PM emissions collected from four HD vehicles during several driving cycles on a chassis dynamometer. We examined the fuel-based emission factors corresponding to possible exceedances of emission standards as a function of vehicle power. Our analysis suggests that a typical HD vehicle will exceed the model year (MY) 2010 emission standards (of 0.2 g NO_X/bhp-hr and 0.01 g PM/bhp-hr) by three times when fuel-based emission factors are 9.3 g NO_X/kg fuel and 0.11 g PM/kg using the roadside plume measurement approach. Reported limits correspond to 99% confidence levels, which were calculated using the detection uncertainty of emissions analyzers, accuracy of vehicle power calculations, and actual emissions variability of fixed operational parameters. The PM threshold was determined for acceleration events between 0.47 and 1.4 mph/sec only, and the NO_X threshold was derived from measurements where after-treatment temperature was above 200°C. Anticipating a growing interest in real-world driving emissions, widespread implementation of roadside exhaust plume measurements as a compliment to in-use vehicle programs may benefit from expanding this analysis to a larger sample of in-use HD vehicles.

Implications: Regulatory agencies, civil society, and the public at large have a growing interest in vehicle emission compliance in the real world. Leveraging roadside plume measurements to identify vehicles with malfunctioning emission control systems is emerging as a viable new and useful method to assess in-use performance. This work proposes fuel-based emission factor thresholds for PM and NOx that signify exceedances of emission standards on a work-specific basis by analyzing real-time emissions in the laboratory. These thresholds could be used to prescreen vehicles before roadside enforcement inspection or other inquiry, enhance and further develop emission inventories, and potentially develop new requirements for heavy-duty inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs, including but not limited to identifying vehicles for further testing.