Assessment of anthropogenic influences on surface water quality in urban estuary, northern New Jersey: multivariate approach

Concentrations of selected heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni, Fe, and Zn), nutrients (NO ₃ ^? and NH₃), fecal coliform colonies, and other multiple physical–chemical parameters were measured seasonally from 12 locations in an urban New Jersey estuary between 1994 and 2008. Stepwise regression, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis were used to group water quality results and sampling locations, as well as to assess these data’s relationship to sewage treatment effluents and the distance to the mouth of the river. The BOD₅, NH₃, NO ₃ ^? and fecal coliform counts clustered as one group and positively correlated to the distances from treated effluent and the measures of magnitude at the discharge points. Dissolved solids and most metal species scored high along a single principal component axes and were significantly correlated with the proximity to the industrialized area. From these data, one can conclude that the effluent discharge has been a main source of anthropogenic input to the Hackensack River over the past 15 years. Therefore, the greatest improvement to water quality would come from eliminating the few remaining combined sewer overflows and improving the removal of nutrients from treated effluents before they are discharged into the creeks and river.     

Rapid in situ assessment for predicting soil quality using an algae-soaked disc seeding assay

The soil quality of remediated land is altered and this land consequently exerts unexpected biological effects on terrestrial organisms. Therefore, field evaluation of such land should be conducted using biological indicators. Algae are a promising new biological indicator since they are a food source for organisms in higher soil trophic levels and easily sampled from the soil. Field evaluation of soil characteristics is preferred to be testing in laboratory conditions because many biological effects cannot be duplicated during laboratory evaluations. Herein, we describe a convenient and rapid algae-soaked disc seeding assay for assessing soil quality in the field based on soil algae. The collection of algae is easy and rapid and the method predicts the short-term quality of contaminated, remediated, and amended farm and paddy soils. The algae-soaked disc seeding assay is yet to be extensively evaluated, and the method cannot be applied to loamy sand soil in in situ evaluations. The algae-soaked disc seeding assay is recommended for prediction of soil quality in in situ evaluations because it reflects all variations in the environment. The algae-soaked disc seeding assay will help to develop management strategies for in situ evaluation.     

A new multipollutant, no-threshold air quality health index based on short-term associations observed in daily time-series analyses

Air quality indices currently in use have been criticized because they do not capture additive effects of multiple pollutants, or reflect the apparent no-threshold concentration-response relationship between air pollution and health. We propose a new air quality health index (AQHI), constructed as the sum of excess mortality risk associated with individual pollutants from a time-series analysis of air pollution and mortality in Canadian cities, adjusted to a 0-10 scale, and calculated hourly on the basis of trailing 3-hr average pollutant concentrations. Extensive sensitivity analyses were conducted using alternative combinations of pollutants from single and multipollutant models. All formulations considered produced frequency distributions of the daily maximum AQHI that were right-skewed, with modal values of 3 or 4, and less than 10% of values at 7 or above on the 10-point scale. In the absence of a gold standard and given the uncertainty in how to best reflect the mix of pollutants, we recommend a formulation based on associations of nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter of median aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 microm with mortality from single-pollutant models. Further sensitivity analyses revealed good agreement of this formulation with others based on alternative sources of coefficients drawn from published studies of mortality and morbidity. These analyses provide evidence that the AQHI represents a valid approach to formulating an index with the objective of allowing people to judge the relative probability of experiencing adverse health effects from day to day. Together with health messages and a graphic display, the AQHI scale appears promising as an air quality risk communication tool.     

Spatial trends of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in avian species: utilization of stored samples in the Environmental Specimen Bank of Ehime University (es-Bank)

The present study determined concentrations and patterns of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in specimens of open sea, and Japanese coastal and inland avian species, which have been stored in the Environmental Specimen Bank of Ehime University (es-Bank), to examine the spatial trends. PBDEs and PCBs were detected in all the muscle samples analyzed, suggesting that PBDE pollution has spread even to the remote open sea areas, as in the case of PCBs. Japanese coastal and inland birds accumulated higher concentrations of PBDEs than open sea birds. In addition, higher PBDE/PCB concentration ratios were observed in Japanese coastal and inland birds than in open sea birds, indicating the input of PBDEs into the Japanese terrestrial environment. Compositions of PBDEs varied among avian species with a predominance of BDE47 or BDE153. This could be due to differences in their habitat, food habit and/or biotransformation capacity of PBDEs.     

Characteristics of liquid product from the pyrolysis of waste plastic mixture at low and high temperatures: influence of lapse time of reaction

Pyrolysis of a waste plastic mixture (high-density polyethylene: low-density polyethylene: polypropylene: polystyrene = 3:2:3:1) into a liquid product was carried out in a stirred semi-batch reactor at low (350 degrees C) and high (400 degrees C) temperatures. The effect of lapse time of reaction in the reactor and also degradation temperature on the characteristics of the liquid product from pyrolysis of the mixture was investigated. Liquid products were described by cumulative amount distribution, paraffin, olefin, naphthene and aromatic (PONA) distribution and molecular weight distribution. Their characteristic was quite differed with a lapse time of reaction and also at a low and high degradation temperatures, because of the different physicochemical properties of the plastic types in the mixture. With increase of lapse time of reaction, the order for the main products in PONA components obtained at 350 degrees C was firstly aromatic products and then olefin products, while at 400 degrees C the order was firstly aromatic products, then olefin products and finally paraffin products. The experiments also showed from the molecular weight distribution of liquid PONA components that the paraffin and olefin products had a wide distribution by mainly random scission of polymer, but in the case of olefin products were produced by an end-chain scission mechanism as well as random scission mechanism, as evidenced by much more light olefin products. This phenomenon was evident at a higher degradation temperature. Also, both the light olefin and naphthene products with a molecular weight of around 120, as a main product, showed a similar trend as a function of lapse time, which had a maximum fraction at 343 min (at 350 degrees C) and 83 min (at 400 degrees C). Among PONA components, the highest concentrations of aromatic products were obtained with a molecular weight of around 100 at the fastest lapse time of reaction, regardless of degradation temperature. It was concluded that the characteristics of liquid product on the pyrolysis of plastic mixtures were strongly influenced by lapse time of reaction and degradation temperature.     

Microbial degradation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and its influence on phenanthrene-DOM interactions

Microbial degradation-induced changes in the characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM), and the subsequent effects on phenanthrene-DOM interactions were investigated based on the microbial incubation of DOM collected from four different sources for 28 d. Partially biodegraded DOM presented higher specific UV absorbance (SUVA), lower protein-like fluorescence, higher humic-like fluorescence, lower aliphatic carbon fraction, and higher hydrophobic neutral fractions compared to the original DOM. Microbial changes in DOM led to an increase in the isotherm nonlinearity as well as the extent of phenanthrene binding. A negative relationship between SUVA and the Freundlich n values was established for the original and the biodegraded DOM, suggesting that aromatic condensed structures may play important roles in providing nonlinear strong binding sites irrespective of microbial degradation. In contrast, there were two separate slopes of the correlations between the percentage of hydrophobic acid (HoA) fraction and the n values for the original and the biodegraded DOM with a higher slope exhibited for the latter, implying that the microbial utilization of oxygen-containing structures in the HoA fractions may contribute to enhancing the associated isotherm nonlinearity.     

Study on integrated management of PCB containing waste and PCB contaminated waste: proposal of new congeners for quantification

In the present study, new congeners were selected for the efficient management of PCB containing waste and PCB contaminated waste, and the applicability of these new indicators was confirmed. As a result, 8 indicator congeners and 4 index peaks which were named “Proposed new method 1” and “Proposed new method 2” were selected. For the assessment of a novel quantitative method, comparative tests using conventional methods were conducted, and the factors for total PCB were calculated for each method. Results from these tests showed that the average values for the factors of CEN/TC19/WG22, DIN 51527, and the test method by the disposal regulation for ocean dumping in Korea were 1.86, 3.47, and 2.52, respectively, while those for the proposed new method 1 and proposed new method 2 were 2.98 and 5.56, respectively. For PCB contaminated waste, the factor was found to be 1.99, 3.42, and 3.02 using the conventional methods, 2.67 using the proposed new method 1, and 5.57 using the proposed new method 2. It is expected that, in accordance with the results of the present study, the management of PCB waste can be integrated, regardless of the type of waste involved.     

Butyltin residues in blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) and arkshells (Scapharca broughtonii) collected from Korean coastal waters

Butyltin compounds (BTs) including tributyltin (TBT) and its degradation products, di- (DBT) and mono-butyltin (MBT), were determined in bivalves such as blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) and arkshells (Scapharca broughtonii) collected from Korean coastal waters. BTs were detected in all the blue mussels and arkshells analyzed. The concentrations of total butyltin (sigmaBTs: MBT + DBT + TBT) in blue mussels and arkshells ranged from 49 to 2500 ng/g and 29 to 87 ng/g wet weight, respectively. Higher concentrations of BTs were found in blue mussels collected from Okpo and Kohyonsong Bays and Jangsengpo Harbor where large shipyards and harbors are located with dry-dock facilities. This suggested that maritime activities nearby the harbors play a major role as the source of BTs. Concentrations of TBT in mussels collected from Korea were one of the highest values reported, suggesting ongoing TBT contamination in Korea. Among BTs, TBT was the predominant compound both in blue mussels and arkshells collected from almost all the sampling locations, indicating the fresh input of TBT in Korean coastal waters. Smaller mussels tended to accumulate BTs at higher concentrations than larger ones, which may be due to higher filtration rate of small mussels and/or contact with surface microlayer in intertidal zones.     

Precipitation of swine and cattle manure phosphorous using limestone dust

The effectiveness of SPS and PULPRO, fine limestone dusts, in precipitating swine and dairy manure phosphorous (P) was determined in the laboratory. Both manures were sieved before being treated with limestone, to reproduce the treatment of mechanically separated manure and to observe the precipitation effect of limestone without that of the large manure solid particles. P precipitation was optimized by varying precipitation conditions (propeller blade speeds, mixing time and limestone levels) and limestone particle size. P precipitation was optimized using a propeller blade mixing speed of 0.3 m s(-1) for at least 5 minutes, using 3% limestone (dry limestone mass over wet manure mass). In terms of particle size, PULPRO 20 (limestone with a particle size of 0.02 mm) produced the most P precipitation and the smallest volume and mass of sludge, as compared to PULPRO 10, PULPRO 3 and SPS (limestone with a particle size of 0.01, 0.003 and 0.3 to 0.003 mm, respectively). For both 9.5% TS (total solids) dairy and 8.8% TS swine manure, mechanical separation followed by limestone precipitation concentrated 90% of manure TS and TP in a sludge volume representing 45% of the initial raw manure mass.