Traditional Farming Landscapes for Sustainable Living in Scandinavia and Japan: Global Revival Through the Satoyama Initiative

Traditional, pre-industrial farming was adapted to the natural environment—topography, geology, hydrology, climate, and biota. Traditional land use systems are still to be traced in Scandinavia as an “infield/outland landscape”, and in Japan as a “Satoyama landscape.” There are obvious similarities and differences in land use—the main difference being that pasturing of cattle and sheep has been less important in Japan. These land use systems can be traced back to early sedentary settlements 1500–2500 years ago. In both regions, traditional management almost ceased in the mid-twentieth century leading to afforestation and decreased biological diversity. Today, there is in Japan a growing movement for landscape restoration and promotion of a sustainable living countryside based on local agrarian and forestry production, local energy, tourism, etc. With this background, the so-called Satoyama Initiative has been organized and introduced as a global socio-ecological project with ecosystem services for human well-being.     

Fluctuations of the red tide flagellates Chattonella spp. (Raphidophyceae) and the algicidal bacterium Cytophaga sp. in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan

A marine algicidal gliding bacterium Cytophaga sp. strain J18/M01 was isolated in 1990 from a station in northern Harima-Nada, the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, using the harmful red tide alga Chattonella antiqua (Hada) Ono as a susceptible organism. The bacterium can prey upon various species of microalgae. Temporal fluctuations of this bacterium and Chattonella spp. [C. antiqua and C. marina (Subrahmanyan) Hara et Chihara] were investigated weekly at the above station in the summer of 1997 and 1998, using immunofluorescence assay employing highly specific polyclonal antibodies for the bacterium. In the summer of 1997, the cell density of Chattonella spp. showed a maximum value (70 cells ml⁻¹) on 8 July, and decreased thereafter. The bacterium Cytophaga sp. J18/M01 was commonly detected around a few hundreds of cells per milliliter or less. The number of Cytophaga sp. J18/M01 increased after the peak of Chattonella spp., and the maximum cell number of the bacterium was 1350 ml⁻¹. This algicidal bacterium also followed the changes of total amounts of microalgal biomass (chlorophyll a+pheophytin) when Chattonella spp. were absent. In the summer of 1998, Chattonella spp. were relatively less abundant (maximum 21 cells ml⁻¹), and the algicidal bacterium Cytophaga sp. J18/M01 showed a close relationship with the change of total microalgal biomass. The present study suggests that the algicidal bacterium Cytophaga sp. J18/M01 preyed upon, not only harmful red tide microalgae, but also other common microalgae such as diatoms, and the bacterium presumably plays an important role in regulating microalgal biomass in natural marine environments. Received: 20 April 2000 / Accepted: 1 December 2000     

Alkaline hydrolysis of photovoltaic backsheet containing PET and PVDF for the recycling of PVDF

Recovering fluorine from end-of-life products is crucial for the sustainable production and consumption of fluorine-containing compounds because fluorspar, an important natural resource for fluorine, is currently at a supply risk. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of chemically recycling a fluorine-containing photovoltaic (PV) backsheet for fluoropolymer recycling. Herein, a PV backsheet consisting of laminated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) was treated with different concentrations of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to hydrolyze the PET layer to water-soluble sodium terephthalate (Na₂TP) and to separate pure PVDF layer as a solid material. Optimized alkaline conditions (up to 10 M NaOH at 100 °C for 2 h) were determined, under which 87% of the PET layer could be decomposed without any significant deterioration of the PVDF layer. The hydrolysis kinetics of PET layer in NaOH could be explained by the modified shrinking-core model. Considering that the mass of end-of-life PV panels in Japan is estimated to increase to approximately 280,000 tons per year by 2036, PV backsheets are attractive candidates for fluoropolymer recycling, which can be effectively achieved using chemical recycling approach demonstrated in this study.

     

COVID-19 pandemic: environmental and social factors influencing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in São Paulo,Brazil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has infected more than 14 million people worldwide so far. Brazil is currently the second leading country in number of...     

Black carbon concentrations in a goods-movement neighborhood of Philadelphia,PA

Communities along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, USA such as Port Richmond, are subject to traffic associated with goods movement to and from port facilities and local industry. Air pollution associated with this traffic poses an environmental health concern in this and other urban areas. Our study measures black carbon (BC) in Port Richmond and examines its relationship to expected sources such as truck traffic. We used a participatory sampling method to conduct 1-min measurements over 8-hour periods at 14 homes, a school and park, during a 4-week period in June 2012. Measurements over 9 sampling days had a 30-min average BC concentration of 1.2 μg m^?3, and a maximum of 12 μg m^?3. Statistical analyses showed some effect of traffic, but greater association between BC concentrations and weather and time of day. BC concentrations varied more by location than by day, and distance to traffic arterials and interstate freeway was a predictor of this variance. While our dataset is limited by number and variety of observations, major findings indicate that BC concentration varies more by location than by day, there is a decrease in median BC concentration with increased distance from an interstate highway, and an expected effect of diesel traffic on average daily BC concentrations. Our findings are an important step towards understanding patterns and determinants of BC concentration in communities colocated with major ports. Our study also demonstrates that participatory methods in air pollution monitoring can help increase awareness of local air pollution levels.     

Profile and removal of endocrine disrupting chemicals by using an ER/AR competitive ligand binding assay and chemical analyses

An estrogen receptor (ER)/androgen receptor (AR) ligand competitive binding assay (ER/AR-binding assay) and chemical analyses were used to evaluate the endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) behavior of two municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) (K and S). In the influents, estrone (E1), androsterone (A), androstenedione (AD), BPA (bisphenol A), NP (nonylphenol) and daidzein (DZ) were detected in high amounts with subsequent 24 h-average concentrations of 350, 1000, 29, 1300, 3900, and 5700 ng/L in K-WWTP and of 310, 620, 59, 1600, 2600, and 8400 ng/L in S-WWTP. The estrogenic (androgenic) activity as 17 -estradiol (E2) equivalents (EEQ) or testosterone (Te) equivalents (TEQ) was consequently 620 ng E2/L (570 ng Te/L) and 580 ng E2/L (800 ng Te/L) for the two WWTPs. The removal e ciencies of the above mentioned sole target chemicals were 51%–100% for K-WWTP and 55.6%–100% for S-WWTP. The removal e ciencies of EEQ were about 73% for both WWTPs, while the removal e ciencies of TEQ were 62.1% for K-WWTP and 98.4% for S-WWTP. In addition, chemical-derived EEQ were about 1.2%–52.4% of those by ER-binding assay for K-WWTP and the corresponding ratios were 1.3%–83.3% for S-WWTP, while chemical derived TEQ were less than 3% of values measured by the AR-binding assay for both WWTPs.     

Absorption of atmospheric phenol by various tree species and their tolerance to phenol

To assess the effect of tree planting on atmospheric phenol, a study was made on the absorption of phenol by various tree species and the tolerance of these species to phenol. The absorption rates ranged from 21.3 (camellia) to 129 ng dm^‐2h^‐1 ppb^‐1 (Japanese elm) at 1000 μmol of photons m^‐2 s^‐1, and the absorption rate increased in the following order: coniferous tree species ? evergreen broad‐leaved tree species < deciduous broad‐leaved tree species. When the light intensity was varied, a linear relationship between the phenol absorption rate and the transpiration rate was observed for three tree species. In comparison with the absorption rate estimated from a simplified gas diffusive resistance model, we conclude that phenol is absorbed through the stomata and is metabolized fairly rapidly within the leaf tissue, although the absorption rate is less than the estimated potential absorption rate. At phenol concentrations below 200 ppb, the tree can absorb atmospheric phenol for at least 8 h without any visible foliar injury. Trees in general could act as an important sink for atmospheric phenol at phenol concentrations less than 200 ppb, a concentration about twenty times higher than normal ambient levels.     

Hydroxyl radical concentration profile in photo-Fenton oxidation process: generation and consumption of hydroxyl radicals during the discoloration of azo-dye Orange II

Dynamic behaviors of hydroxyl (OH) radical generation and consumption in photo-Fenton oxidation process were investigated by measuring OH radical concentration during the discoloration of azo-dye Orange II. The effects of operating parameters for photo-Fenton discoloration, i.e. dosages of H₂O₂ and Fe, initial dye concentration, solution pH and UV irradiation, on the generation and consumption of OH radicals playing the main role in advanced oxidation processes were extensively studied. The scavenger probe or trapping technique in which coumarin is scavenger of OH radical was applied to estimate OH radical concentration in the photoreactor during the photo-Fenton discoloration process. The OH radical generation was enhanced with increasing the dosages of Fenton regents, H₂O₂ and Fe. At the initial stage of photo-Fenton discoloration of Orange II, the OH radical concentration rapidly increased (Phase-I) and the OH radical concentration decreased after reaching of OH radical concentration at maximum value (Phase-II). The decrease in OH radical concentration started when the complete discoloration of Orange II was nearly achieved and the H₂O₂ concentration became rather low. The dynamic behavior of OH radical concentration during the discoloration of Orange II was found to be strongly linked with the change in H₂O₂ concentration. The generation of OH radical was maximum at solution pH of 3.0 and decreased with an increase of solution pH. The OH radical generation rate in the Fenton Process was rather slower than that in the photo-Fenton process.     

Novel metabolic pathways of organochlorine pesticides dieldrin and aldrin by the white rot fungi of the genus Phlebia

White rot fungi can degrade a wide spectrum of recalcitrant organic pollutants, including polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In this experiment, 20 white rot fungi, belonging to genus Phlebia, were investigated for their ability to degrade dieldrin. Based on the screening results, we further investigated Phlebia acanthocystis, Phlebia brevispora, and Phlebia aurea to determine their degradation capacity and metabolic products towards dieldrin and aldrin. The three fungi were able to remove over 50% of dieldrin in a low nitrogen medium, after 42 d of incubation. Three hydroxylated products were detected as metabolites of dieldrin, suggesting that in Phlebia strains, hydroxylation reactions might play an important role in the metabolism of dieldrin. In contrast to dieldrin, aldrin exhibited higher levels of degradation activity. Over 90% of aldrin was removed after 28 d of incubation, and several new metabolites of aldrin in microorganisms, including 9-hydroxyaldrin and two carboxylic acid products, were detected in fungal cultures. These results indicate that the methylene moiety of aldrin and dieldrin molecules might be prone to enzymatic attack by white rot fungi. In this study, we describe for the first time a new metabolic pathway of both compounds by fungi of genus Phlebia.     

Safety management by use of laser mass spectrometry of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the processed gas and work environment of a PCB disposal plant

This study demonstrates the applicability of laser mass spectrometry for safety management of the processed gas and the work environment in a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) disposal plant. By utilization of laser ionization/ion trapping storage/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LI-IT-TOFMS), we analyzed gaseous PCBs from scrap capacitors with on-line detection. It was confirmed that few contaminants were detected in the spectrum. By the effect of laser-induced selective ionization, it was considered that there was little interference with the mass range of PCBs. The accuracy of LI-IT-TOFMS when analyzing environmental gas was almost the same as that for the PCB standard gas. It was possible to perform on-line analysis of the work environment for over 2000 h (120 000 data points). LI-IT-TOFMS was thus shown to be a very useful method for ensuring the safety of the work environment in disposal plants for PCBs.