Thermische Schlammkonditionierung nach dem Porteous-Verfahren

In Nuremberg (Germany), each year about 25,000 tons (dry matter) of sewage sludge are obtained as by-product of waste water treatment. The digested sludge consists of 96% water. Until 1992 it was thermally stabilized using the Porteous procedure: the sludge was heated in an autoclave up to a temperature of 180–200 °C at a pressure of 28 bar. After pressure reduction and moving to a thickener, a substantial part of the liquid could be removed. After running through a chamber filter, the sludge contained only about 50% dry matter. This treatment does not only remove water; organic matter is also degraded or evaporated. Between November 1991 and May 1992, the sludge was analyzed four times before and after the drying process and examined for heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Hg, Zn), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and PCDD/F. The concentration of heavy metals and PCB (related to dry matter) increased by a faktor of 1.3 after the drying process. This effect may be explained by the decrease of organic matter during drying. In the case of PCDD/F, the ITQ increased by a factor of 3.2, for some congeners even by a factor of 8. The only explanation can be that during thermal conditioning PCDD/F is formed by precursors as chlorophenols. This formation is probably catalyzed by metals as copper or nickel and sped up by the higher temperatures.     

Correlation of urinary nickel excretion with observed 'total' and inhalable aerosol exposures of nickel refinery workers

An investigation of the relationship between observed nickel aerosol exposures and urinary nickel excretion was undertaken at a Scandinavian nickel refinery. The goal of the study was to assess the impact of nickel aerosol speciation, the use of particle size-selective sampling instrumentation and adjustment of urinary levels for creatinine excretion on the usefulness of urinary nickel excretion as a marker for exposure. Urinary nickel measurements and paired 'total' and inhalable aerosol exposure measurements were collected each day for one week from refinery workers in four process areas. The mean observed urinary nickel concentration was 12 micrograms L-1 (11 micrograms of Ni per g of creatinine). The strongest relationships between urinary excretion and aerosol exposure were found when urinary nickel levels were adjusted for creatinine excretion and when exposure to only soluble forms of nickel aerosol was considered. No significant difference was observed between measures of 'total' and inhalable aerosol in the ability to predict urinary excretion patterns. In the light of these results, it is recommended that consideration be given to the chemical species distribution of nickel aerosol in the use of urinary nickel measurements as a screening tool for cancer risk in occupationally-exposed populations.     

a study of the temporal variability of atrazine in private well water. part i: study design, implementation, and database development

In 1988, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, along withthe University of Iowa conducted the Statewide Rural WellWater Survey, commonly known as SWRL. A total of 686private rural drinking water wells was selected by use of aprobability sample and tested for pesticides and nitrates. Sixty-eight of these wells, the 10% repeat wells, were additionallysampled in October, 1990 and June, 1991. Starting inNovember, 1991, the University of Iowa, with sponsorshipfrom the United States Environmental Protection Agency,revisited these wells to begin a study of the temporalvariability of atrazine and nitrates in wells. Other wells, whichhad originally tested positive for atrazine in SWRL but werenot in the 10% repeat population, were added to the studypopulation. Temporal sampling for a year-long period beganin February of 1992 and concluded in January of 1993. Allwells were sampled monthly, one subset was sampled weekly,and a second subset was sampled for 14-day consecutiveperiods. Two unique aspects of this study were the use of animmunoassay technique to screen for triazines before gaschromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis andquantification of atrazine, and the use of well owners to samplethe wells. A total of 1771 samples from 83 wells are in thefinal data base for this study. This paper reviews the studydesign, the analytical methodologies, and development of thedata base. A companion paper (Pinsky et al., 1997) discussesthe analysis of the data from this survey.     

Stress ethylene: A bioassay for rhizosphere-applied phytotoxicants

A bioassay for rhizosphere-applied phytotoxicants was developed and evaluated with a broad range of chemicals. Test substances were applied to the rhizosphere of whole, intact bush bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Bush Blue Lake 290) grown in a solid support medium and the resultant ethylene production was measured to detect the presence of phytotoxic materials. The beans were encapsulated in plastic bags for 2 hr following treatment and then incubated for 24 hr in the dark. Ethylene and ethane accumulating within the bags were quantified via gas-solid chromatography. The application of various concentrations of inorganic and organic chemicals induced various responses. No single equation adequately described the dose-response curves; therefore, a critical value (a statistically significant increase in stress ethylene) was computed for each test substance. A phytotoxic-response threshold for each test substance was defined as the test-substance concentration that caused ethylene production to exceed its respective critical-value concentration. Based on threshold concentrations determined by analysis of stress ethylene production, the relative phytotoxicity rankings of the inorganic test substances were: CdCl₂>CuCl₂>Pb(C₂H₃O₂)₂>LiCl, while those of the organic test substances were 2,4-D esters>paraquat dichloride>1-butanol>2-propanone>2-propanol. Both stress ethylene and ethane production were nonresponsive to hydrogen-ion concentration (measured before application) over a broad pH range. However, significant ethane production was detected at pH 2 and stress ethylene was produced at pH 1. The measurement of stress-induced ethylene provides a rapid and simple means to determine the relative phytoxicity of rhizosphere-applied substances.     

Butterfly community shifts over two centuries

Environmental changes strongly impact the distribution of species and subsequently the composition of species assemblages. Although most community ecology studies represent temporal snap shots, long‐term observations are rather rare. However, only such time series allow the identification of species composition shifts over several decades or even centuries. We analyzed changes in the species composition of a southeastern German butterfly and burnet moth community over nearly 2 centuries (1840–2013). We classified all species observed over this period according to their ecological tolerance, thereby assessing their degree of habitat specialisation. This classification was based on traits of the butterfly and burnet moth species and on their larval host plants. We collected data on temperature and precipitation for our study area over the same period. The number of species declined substantially from 1840 (117 species) to 2013 (71 species). The proportion of habitat specialists decreased, and most of these are currently endangered. In contrast, the proportion of habitat generalists increased. Species with restricted dispersal behavior and species in need of areas poor in soil nutrients had severe losses. Furthermore, our data indicated a decrease in species composition similarity between different decades over time. These data on species composition changes and the general trends of modifications may reflect effects from climate change and atmospheric nitrogen loads, as indicated by the ecological characteristics of host plant species and local changes in habitat configuration with increasing fragmentation. Our observation of major declines over time of currently threatened and protected species shows the importance of efficient conservation strategies.