Sea to land transfer of anthropogenic radionuclides to the North Wales coast, Part II: aerial modelling and radiological assessment

Modelling calculations have been performed to predict the radiological impact of the sea to land transfer pathway to members of the public in North Wales from 1952 to 2004. The radionuclides of interest were (99)Tc, (137)Cs, (239,240)Pu and (241)Am and the exposure routes considered were food consumption, external and inhalation. The consumption of locally grown terrestrial food in the early to mid 1980s was the most significant source of exposure to all of the groups considered, with (239,240)Pu being the radionuclide contributing most to the dose. A maximum dose of 1.46muSvy(-1) was calculated for adult members of the critical consumption group in 1985, with doses for 2004 reducing to 0.59muSvy(-1). Despite the conservative approach of the dose calculations, the dose rate values are very low, less than 0.15% of the annual limit of 1000muSvy(-1) for the UK public from controlled radiation sources (excluding medical).     

Differential aggressiveness between fire salamander (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Salamandra infraimmaculata</Emphasis>) larvae covaries with their genetic similarity

Responding differentially to kin and non-kin is known to be adaptive in many species. One example is the inclusive fitness benefits of reducing aggression toward closer relatives. Little is known, however, about the ability of animals to assess differential degrees of genetic relatedness and to respond accordingly with differential levels of aggression. In the present study, we tested whether aggressiveness between body mass-matched pairs of fire salamander (Salamandra infraimmaculata) larvae covaried with the genetic similarity between them. We quantified aggressiveness at three levels of genetic similarity by selecting pairs within and across pools from recently genotyped populations. We also assessed aggression between pairs of siblings. Aggression and associated injuries decreased as genetic similarity increased across the groups. These findings suggest that cannibalistic salamanders can assess their degree of genetic relatedness to conspecifics and vary their behavioral responses depending on the degree of similarity between them along a genetic relatedness continuum.     

Basic features,conjunctive searches,and the confusion effect in predator–prey interactions

The confusion effect describes the observed decrease in the likelihood that a predator will successfully catch any prey when attacking larger groups of moving prey. We introduce readers to the work of cognitive psychologists interested in human visual attention who have been studying their own version of the confusion effect for many years, developing methods and concepts that may be of fundamental utility to behavioral ecologists. In psychology, ‘basic features’ are characteristics unique to a target object in the visual field that no distracter objects share. Images containing targets with basic features are often less likely to induce the confusion effect in human subjects. Target objects with conjunctions of features, on the other hand, have no individual characteristics unique from distracters, but unique characteristics in combination. Such targets more often induce the confusion effect in humans. We propose the ‘basic feature’ (vs. conjunctions of features) as a new organizing concept for studies on the occurrence of the confusion effect in nature, potentially allowing predictions about which types of prey groups are likely to induce the confusion effect in predators.     

Development and field validation of a community-engaged particulate matter air quality monitoring network in Imperial,California, USA

The Imperial County Community Air Monitoring Network was developed as part of a community-engaged research study to provide real-time particulate matter (PM) air quality information at a high spatial resolution in Imperial County, California. The network augmented the few existing regulatory monitors and increased monitoring near susceptible populations. Monitors were both calibrated and field validated, a key component of evaluating the quality of the data produced by the community monitoring network. This paper examines the performance of a customized version of the low-cost Dylos optical particle counter used in the community air monitors compared with both PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters <2.5 and <10 μm, respectively) federal equivalent method (FEM) beta-attenuation monitors (BAMs) and federal reference method (FRM) gravimetric filters at a collocation site in the study area. A conversion equation was developed that estimates particle mass concentrations from the native Dylos particle counts, taking into account relative humidity. The R² for converted hourly averaged Dylos mass measurements versus a PM_2.5 BAM was 0.79 and that versus a PM₁₀ BAM was 0.78. The performance of the conversion equation was evaluated at six other sites with collocated PM_2.5 environmental beta-attenuation monitors (EBAMs) located throughout Imperial County. The agreement of the Dylos with the EBAMs was moderate to high (R² = 0.35–0.81).

Implications: The performance of low-cost air quality sensors in community networks is currently not well documented. This paper provides a methodology for quantifying the performance of a next-generation Dylos PM sensor used in the Imperial County Community Air Monitoring Network. This air quality network provides data at a much finer spatial and temporal resolution than has previously been possible with government monitoring efforts. Once calibrated and validated, these high-resolution data may provide more information on susceptible populations, assist in the identification of air pollution hotspots, and increase community awareness of air pollution.     

From fatalism to resilience: reducing disaster impacts through systematic investments

This paper describes a method for reducing the economic risks associated with predictable natural hazards by enhancing the resilience of national infrastructure systems. The three-step generalised framework is described along with examples. Step one establishes economic baseline growth without the disaster impact. Step two characterises economic growth constrained by a disaster. Step three assesses the economy's resilience to the disaster event when it is buffered by alternative resiliency investments. The successful outcome of step three is a disaster-resistant core of infrastructure systems and social capacity more able to maintain the national economy and development post disaster. In addition, the paper considers ways to achieve this goal in data-limited environments. The method provides a methodology to address this challenge via the integration of physical and social data of different spatial scales into macroeconomic models. This supports the disaster risk reduction objectives of governments, donor agencies, and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.     

Sensitivity of Native Desert Vegetation To SO2 and to SO2 and NO2 Combined

Interest in air pollution injury to native vegetation has been generated with the construction and planned construction of large coal-fired power plants near the coal reserves in the southwest desert areas of the United States. Since information on the effects of SO₂ on these native species was not available in the literature, fumigation studies were conducted with portable chambers placed over native species in the field with SO₂ and SO₂ + NO₂. Pollutant concentrations were measured and controlled with instruments located in a mobile laboratory. Each fumigation was of two hours duration and the concentration ranged from 0.5 to 11 ppm SO₂ and from 0.1 to 5 ppm NO₂. Concentrations of SO₂ above 2 ppm were required to cause injury to all but a few of the 87 species studied. Many of the native desert species proved to be highly resistant to injury from these gases.     

Evaluation of the giant reed (Arundo donax) in horizontal subsurface flow wetlands for the treatment of dairy processing factory wastewater

Two emergent macrophytes, Arundo donax and Phragmites australis, were established in experimental horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF), gravel-based constructed wetlands (CWs) and challenged by treated dairy processing factory wastewater with a median electrical conductivity of 8.9 mS cm(-1). The hydraulic loading rate was tested at 3.75 cm day(-1). In general, the plants grew well during the 7-month study period, with no obvious signs of salt stress. The major water quality parameters monitored (biological oxygen demand (BOD), suspended solids (SS) and total nitrogen (TN) but not total phosphorus) were generally improved after the effluent had passed through the CWs. There was no significance different in removal efficiencies between the planted beds and unplanted gravel beds (p?>?0.007), nor was there any significant difference in removal efficiencies between the A. donax and P. australis beds for most parameters. BOD, SS and TN removal in the A. donax and P. australis CWs was 69, 95 and 26 % and 62, 97 and 26 %, respectively. Bacterial removal was observed but only to levels that would allow reuse of the effluent for use on non-food crops under Victorian state regulations. As expected, the A. donax CWs produced considerably more biomass (37?±?7.2 kg wet weight) than the P. australis CWs (11?±?1.4 kg wet weight). This standing crop equates to approximately 179 and 68 tonnes ha(-1) year(-1) biomass (dry weight) for A. donax and P. australis, respectively (assuming a 250-day growing season and single-cut harvest). The performance similarity of the A. donax and P. australis planted CWs indicates that either may be used in HSSF wetlands treating dairy factory wastewater, although the planting of A. donax provides additional opportunities for secondary income streams through utilisation of the biomass produced.     

Guidelines for copper in sediments with varying properties

A major weakness of sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) is their poor ability to predict how toxicity thresholds change for different sediment types. Using species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) of copper effects data, new guidelines were derived for copper in non-sulfidic marine sediments in which organic carbon (OC) and particle size strongly influence copper bioavailability. The derived SQGs varied in a predictable manner with changes in sediment particle size and organic carbon (OC), and were shown to offer a significant improvement on the existing ‘single value’ SQG. Adequate protection for all benthic organisms is expected to be achieved for a OC-normalised copper concentration of 3.5 mg Cu g⁻¹ OC in the <63 μm sediment fraction. For short-term exposures, the equivalent acute guideline is 11 mg < 63 μm Cu g⁻¹ OC. The new SQGs incorporate a high degree of conservatism owing to the use of copper-spiked sediments and laboratory-based bioassays that were expected to result in greater metal exposure of organisms to bioavailable copper than would be expected for field-contaminated sediments with similar total copper concentrations. SQGs that vary with sediment properties were prepared in an easily referenced tabular format.     

Open Air Laboratories (OPAL): a community-driven research programme

OPAL is an English national programme that takes scientists into the community to investigate environmental issues. Biological monitoring plays a pivotal role covering topics of: i) soil and earthworms; ii) air, lichens and tar spot on sycamore; iii) water and aquatic invertebrates; iv) biodiversity and hedgerows; v) climate, clouds and thermal comfort. Each survey has been developed by an inter-disciplinary team and tested by voluntary, statutory and community sectors. Data are submitted via the web and instantly mapped. Preliminary results are presented, together with a discussion on data quality and uncertainty. Communities also investigate local pollution issues, ranging from nitrogen deposition on heathlands to traffic emissions on roadside vegetation. Over 200,000 people have participated so far, including over 1000 schools and 1000 voluntary groups. Benefits include a substantial, growing database on biodiversity and habitat condition, much from previously unsampled sites particularly in urban areas, and a more engaged public.     

Prediction of PAH biodegradation in field contaminated soils using a cyclodextrin extraction technique

Biodegradation has been identified as a major loss process for organic contaminants in soils and, as a result, microbial strategies have been developed for the remediation of contaminated land. Prediction of the biodegradable fraction would be important for determining bioremediation end-points in the clean-up of contaminated land. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of a cyclodextrin extraction to predict the extent to which polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) would be degraded microbiologically in field contaminated soils; further testing the robustness and reproducibility of this extraction in chemically complex systems. Dichloromethane and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD) extractable fractions were measured together with the PAH biodegradable fraction in each of the six field contaminated soils. The amounts of PAHs degraded by the catabolic activity of the indigenous microflora in each of the soils were correlated with HPCD-extractable PAH concentrations. The regressions showed that the amounts of lower molecular weight PAHs extracted by the HPCD were not significantly (P > 0.05) different to the amounts that were degraded. However, higher molecular weight PAHs that were extracted by HPCD did differ significantly (P < 0.05) from the amounts degraded. Although the HPCD extraction did overestimate the microbially degradable fraction of the higher molecular weight PAHs, overall the correlations between the HPCD extractable fraction and the microbially degradable fraction were very close, with mean values of the slope of line for the six soils equalling 1. This study further describes the robust and reproducible nature of the aqueous-based soil extraction technique reliably measuring the extent to which PAHs will be microbially degraded in soil.