Correlations in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in UK ambient air and implications for source apportionment

The extent of correlation in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentration data obtained by the UK PAH Monitoring and Analysis Air Quality Network from March 2008 to November 2010 has been assessed. Application of principal component analysis (PCA) to the dataset has revealed that the concentrations of the vast majority of PAHs are very highly correlated. The use of diagnostic PAH ratios (including a new benzo[b]naph[2,1-d]thiophene/benzo[a]pyrene diagnostic ratio), and a novel 'combined diagnostic ratio - PCA' approach has revealed information about the main sources of PAH at individual Network sites, allowing the sites to be grouped in terms of those influenced by solid fuel use, industry and traffic, and those of an urban or rural nature. Solid fuel use has also been delineated from other fuel burning. Conclusions are drawn about a number of UK PAH Network sites - four sites are shown to be influenced significantly by solid fuel use, and the sites in South Wales and at London Marylebone Road are found to be located in distinct and unusual PAH pollution climates - the identification of a unique PAH pollution climate in South Wales is a key and novel conclusion of the work.     

Variation of raw wastewater microbiological quality in dry and wet weather conditions

The microbiological quality of urban wastewaters presents important environmental, sanitary, and political challenges. However, the variability of untreated wastewater quality is seldom known when it comes to microbial parameters. This study aims to evaluate the variability of microbiological quality in wastewater influents from different wastewater treatment plants connected to combined and partially separate sewer networks in the Parisian area and to evaluate the impact of this variability on the treatment efficiency and on the accuracy of wastewater effluent monitoring. The densities of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci, and their partitioning on settleable particles were analyzed at the inlet of two wastewater treatment plants during dry weather (130 composite samples and 7 days sampled every 2 hours) and storm events (39 composite samples, and 7 rain courses) from 2008 to 2012. The results showed that fecal indicator densities vary according to the network characteristics and according to the meteorological conditions. During storm events, a significant dilution of E. coli and enterococci was observed, as well as a decrease in the settleable fraction of E. coli during the maximal impact of the storm. However, storm events did not significantly impact the regular FIB monitoring. FIB removals by primary and secondary treatment were significantly correlated with FIB densities in influent wastewater; however, meteorological conditions also influenced the removal of FIB.     

Micropollutants in urban stormwater: occurrence,concentrations, and atmospheric contributions for a wide range of contaminants in three French catchments

This study aimed at: (a) providing information on the occurrence and concentration ranges in urban stormwater for a wide array of pollutants (n?=?77); (b) assessing whether despite the differences between various catchments (land use, climatic conditions, etc.), the trends in terms of contamination level are similar; and (c) analyzing the contribution of total atmospheric fallout (TAF) with respect to sources endogenous to this contamination. The studied contaminants include conventional stormwater contaminants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), Zn, Cu, Pb, etc.), in addition to poorly or undocumented pollutants such as nonylphenol and octylphenol ethoxylates (NPnEO and OPnEO), bisphenol A (BPA), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a wide variety of pesticides, and various metals of relevance (As, Ti, Sr, V). Sampling and analysis were performed using homogeneous methods on three urban catchments with different land use patterns located in three distinct French towns. For many of these pollutants, the results do not allow highlighting a significant difference in stormwater quality at the scale of the three urban catchments considered. Significant differences were, however, observed for several metals (As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Sr and Zn), PAHs, and PBDEs, though this assessment would need to be confirmed by further experiments. The pollutant distributions between dissolved and particulate phases were found to be similar across the three experimental sites, thus suggesting no site dependence. Lastly, the contributions of TAF to stormwater contamination for micropollutants were quite low. This finding held true not only for PAHs, as previously demonstrated in the literature, but also for a broader range of molecules such as BPA, NPnEO, OPnEO, and PBDEs, whose high local production is correlated with the leaching of urban surfaces, buildings, and vehicles.     

Effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of metallic compounds on the flatfish Scophthalmus maximus: biomarkers of neurotoxicity,oxidative stress and metabolism

Flatfish species, such as the turbot (Scophthalmus maximus), are common targets for toxic effects, since they are exposed through the food chain (ingestion of contaminated preys) and are in direct contact with the waterborne contaminant and sediments. Furthermore, these fish species live in close proximity to interstitial water that frequently dissolves high amounts of contaminants, including metals. Despite this significant set of characteristics, the present knowledge concerning flatfish contamination and toxicity by metals is still scarce. To attain the objective of assessing the effects of metals on a flatfish species, S. maximus specimens were chronically exposed to lead, copper and zinc, at ecologically relevant concentrations, and biochemical (oxidative stress: catalase and glutathione S-transferases activities, and lipid peroxidation; neurotoxicity: cholinesterase activity) parameters were assessed on selected tissues (gills and liver). Copper had no significant effects on all tested parameters; lead was causative of significant increases in liver GSTs activities and also in lipoperoxidation of gill tissue; exposure to zinc caused a significant increase in catalase activity of gill tissue. None of the tested metals elicited noteworthy effects in terms of neurotoxicity. The obtained results showed that only the metal lead is of some environmental importance, since it was able to cause deleterious modifications of oxidative nature at relevant concentrations.     

Estimated crop yield losses due to surface ozone exposure and economic damage in India

In this study, we estimate yield losses and economic damage of two major crops (winter wheat and rabi rice) due to surface ozone (O₃) exposure using hourly O₃ concentrations for the period 2002–2007 in India. This study estimates crop yield losses according to two indices of O₃ exposure: 7-h seasonal daytime (0900–1600 hours) mean measured O₃ concentration (M7) and AOT40 (accumulation exposure of O₃ concentration over a threshold of 40 parts per billion by volume during daylight hours (0700–1800 hours), established by field studies. Our results indicate that relative yield loss from 5 to 11 % (6–30 %) for winter wheat and 3–6 % (9–16 %) for rabi rice using M7 (AOT40) index of the mean total winter wheat 81 million metric tons (Mt) and rabi rice 12 Mt production per year for the period 2002–2007. The estimated mean crop production loss (CPL) for winter wheat are from 9 to 29 Mt, account for economic cost loss was from 1,222 to 4,091 million US$ annually. Similarly, the mean CPL for rabi rice are from 0.64 to 2.1 Mt, worth 86–276 million US$. Our calculated winter wheat and rabi rice losses agree well with previous results, providing the further evidence that large crop yield losses occurring in India due to current O₃ concentration and further elevated O₃ concentration in future may pose threat to food security.     

Characterization of carbonaceous aerosols over Delhi in Ganga basin: seasonal variability and possible sources

The mass concentration of carbonaceous species, organic carbon (OC), and elemental carbon (EC) using a semicontinuous thermo-optical EC-OC analyzer, and black carbon (BC) using an Aethalometer were measured simultaneously at an urban mega city Delhi in Ganga basin from January 2011 to May 2012. The concentrations of OC, EC, and BC exhibit seasonal variability, and their concentrations were ～2 times higher during winter (OC 38.1?±?17.9 μg m^?3, EC 15.8?±?7.3 μg m^?3, and BC 10.1?±?5.3 μg m^?3) compared to those in summer (OC 14.1?±?4.3 μg m^?3, EC 7.5?±?1.5 μg m^?3, and BC 4.9?±?1.5 μg m^?3). A significant correlation between OC and EC (R?=?0.95, n?=?232) indicate their common emission sources with relatively lower OC/EC ratio (range 1.0–3.6, mean 2.2?±?0.5) suggests fossil fuel emission as a major source of carbonaceous aerosols over the station. On average, mass concentration of EC was found to be ～38 % higher than BC during the study period. The measured absorption coefficient (b_abs) was significantly correlated with EC, suggesting EC as a major absorbing species in ambient aerosols at Delhi. Furthermore, the estimated mass absorption efficiency (σ_abs) values are similar during winter (5.0?±?1.5 m² g^?1) and summer (4.8?±?2.8 m² g^?1). Significantly high aerosol loading of carbonaceous species emphasize an urgent need to focus on air quality management and proper impact assessment on health perspective in these regions.     

High efficiencies in the electrochemical oxidation of an anthraquinonic dye with conductive-diamond anodes

Oxidation of anthraquinonic dye Acid Blue 62 by electrolysis with conductive-diamond electrodes is studied in this work. COD, TOC, and color have been selected to monitor the degradation of the molecule as a function of several operating inputs (current density, pH, temperature, and NaCl concentration). Results show that the electrochemical oxidation of this model of large molecules follows a first order kinetics in all the conditions assessed, and it does not depend on the pH and temperature. The occurrence of chloride ions in wastewaters increases the rate of color and COD removal as a consequence of the mediated oxidation promoted by the chlorinated oxidizing species. However, chloride occurrence does not have an influence on the mineralization rate. First-order kinetic-constants for color depletion (attack to chromophores groups), oxidation (COD removal), and mineralization (TOC removal) were found to depend on the current density and to increase significantly with its value. A single model was proposed to explain these changes in terms of the mediated oxidation processes. Rate of mineralization remained very close to that expected for a purely mass transfer-controlled process. This was explained assuming that mediated oxidation does not have a significant influence on the mineralization in spite it has some effect on intermediate oxidation stages. The efficiency of the oxidation was found to depend mainly on the concentration of COD being negligible the effect of the other inputs assessed except for the occurrence of chloride ions. Opposite, the efficiency of mineralization depends on concentration of TOC and current density and it did not depend on the chloride occurrence. This observation was found to have an important influence on the power required to remove a given percentage of the initial TOC or COD. To decrease COD efficiently, the occurrence of chloride in the solution is very important, while to remove TOC efficiently, it is more important to work at low current densities and chloride effect is negligible. Energy consumption could be decreased by folds using the proper conditions.     

DNA and chromosomal damage induced in fish (Anguilla anguilla L.) by aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA)—the major environmental breakdown product of glyphosate

The assessment of the direct impact of breakdown products of pesticide components on aquatic wildlife is ecotoxicologically relevant, but frequently disregarded. In this context, the evaluation of the genotoxic hazard posed by aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA—the major natural degradation product of glyphosate) to fish emerges as a critical but unexplored issue. Hence, the main goal of the present research was to assess the AMPA genotoxic potential to fish following short-term exposures (1 and 3 days) to environmentally realistic concentrations (11.8 and 23.6 μg L^?1), using the comet and erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities (ENA) assays, as reflecting different levels of damage, i.e. DNA and chromosomal damage, respectively. Overall, the present findings pointed out the genotoxic hazard of AMPA to fish and, subsequently, the importance of including it in future studies concerning the risk assessment of glyphosate-based herbicides in the water systems.     

Strategies to evaluate biodegradability: application to chlorinated herbicides

The biodegradability of nitrochlorinated (diuron and atrazine) and chlorophenoxy herbicides (2,4-D and MCPA) has been studied through several bioassays using different testing times and biomass/substrate ratios. A fast biodegradability test using unacclimated activated sludge yielded no biodegradation of the herbicides in 24 h. The inherent biodegradability test gave degradation percentages of around 20–30 % for the nitrochlorinated herbicides and almost complete removal of the chlorophenoxy compounds. Long-term biodegradability assays were performed using sequencing batch reactor (SBR) and sequencing batch membrane bioreactor (SB-MBR). Fixed concentrations of each herbicide below the corresponding EC₅₀ value for activated sludge were used (30 mg L^?1 for diuron and atrazine and 50 mg L^?1 for 2,4-D and MCPA). No signs of herbicide degradation appeared before 35 days in the case of diuron and atrazine and 21 days for 2,4-D, whereas MCPA was partially degraded since the early stages. Around 25–36 % degradation of the nitrochlorinated herbicides and 53–77 % of the chlorophenoxy ones was achieved after 180 and 135 days, respectively, in SBR, whereas complete disappearance of 2,4-D was reached after 80 days in SB-MBR.     

A new bioseed for determination of wastewater biodegradability: analysis of the experimental procedure

A new bioassay proposed in the patent P201300029 was applied to a pre-treated wastewater containing a mixture of commercial pesticides to simulate a recalcitrant industrial wastewater in order to determine its biodegradability. The test uses a mixture of standardized inoculum of the lyophilized bacteria Pseudomonas putida with the proper proportion of salts and minerals. The results highlight that biodegradation efficiency can be calculated using a gross parameter (chemical oxygen demand (COD)) which facilitates the biodegradability determination for routine water biodegradability analysis. The same trend was observed throughout the assay with the dehydrated and fresh inoculums, and only a difference of 5 % in biodegradation efficiency (E _f) was observed. The obtained results showed that the P. putida biodegradability assay can be used as a commercial test with a lyophilized inoculum in order to monitor the ready biodegradability of an organic pollutant or a WWTP influent. Moreover, a combination of the BOD₅/COD ratio and the P. putida biodegradability test is an attractive alternative in order to evaluate the biodegradability enhancement in water pre-treated with advanced oxidation processes (AOPs).