Review of Russian language studies on radionuclide behaviour in agricultural animals: 3. Transfer to muscle

Over 150 publications reporting studies conducted in the former USSR were reviewed to provide transfer coefficients (F_f) to the muscle of domestic animals from experiments using chronic administration, often for long timescales in large scale experiments. Only a few of these studies were made available in the English language literature or taken into account in international reviews. The values derived have been compared with expected values reported by the IAEA's Handbook of parameter values for the prediction of radionuclide transfer in temperate environments (TRS 364) where possible. The information presented here has been used in the current updating of parameters recommended for environmental assessments by the IAEA. Many of the reported values are for Sr due to the Mayak accident and Cs due to the Chernobyl accident. Nevertheless, the reported data for a wide range of radionuclides, in particular for Ru, Sb, and Zn markedly improve the extent of available data.     

Composition of pied flycatcher (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ficedula hypoleuca</Emphasis> Pall.) nestling diet in industrially polluted area

The composition of pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca Pall.) nestling diet was studied in the zone of strong pollution with emissions from the Middle Ural Copper Smelter (Revda, Sverdlovsk oblast) and in the background area from 2005 to 2007. The results show that diversity of the diet decreases and prevalence in it of one insect taxon (Lepidoptera) increases near the source of emissions. The proportion of uncharacteristic food objects (orthopterans, herpetobiont invertebrates) and variation in the size of invertebrates brought by parents to their nestlings increase, which is explained by degradation of forest habitats in the polluted area. Pied flycatchers provide nestlings with sufficient quantities of food, but its quality in the polluted zone is lower than in the background area.     

Specific features of early stages of progressive succession in an anthropogenic landscape: An example from southeastern Belarus

Specific features of progressive succession in the vegetation of anthropogenically transformed landscapes in southeastern Belarus have been studied in permanent test plots. Using phytoindication scales proposed by Ellenberg (1974) and Tsyganov (1983), trends of changes in ecological conditions in the first years of succession have been revealed.     

On causes of gigantism in herbaceous plants

Landscape-geochemical features providing for manifestation of gigantism in herbaceous plants have been revealed in natural habitats in the south of Sakhalin and Kunashir islands. Tall herb assemblages have proved to be associated with geochemical landscapes characterized by reducing (gley or hydrogen sulfide) conditions and increased contents of petroleum hydrocarbons and some trace elements (total and movable forms). A hypothesis is put forward that gigantism in herbaceous plants is manifested in zones of active faults, which serve as a kind of conduits supplying endogenous heat, matter, and water to the root systems.     

Species composition and quantitative representation of fishes in biotopes with the riffle minnow <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alburnoides bipunctatus</Emphasis>

Species composition of fishes was studied in rivers (capture sites) inhabited by the riffle minnow. In some localities, this species proved to occupy a leading position in the ichthyofauna, being obviously dominant. In small rivers, 16 species were caught together with it, including seven species regularly occurring in catches. The relative abundance of riffle minnow showed a moderate positive correlation with that of the gudgeon (0.568) and a nonsignificant negative correlation (?0.399) with that of the bleak. It is probable that the population dynamics of riffle minnow are determined mainly by natural intraspecific mechanisms rather than by water quality, which has changed only slightly in the rivers studied.     

Simulating the fate and transport of TCE from groundwater to indoor air

This work provides an exploratory analysis on the relative importance of various factors controlling the fate and transport of volatile organic contaminants (in this case, TCE) from a DNAPL source zone located below the water table and into the indoor air. The analysis is conducted using the multi-phase compositional model CompFlow Bio, with the base scenario problem geometry reminiscent of a field experiment conducted by Rivett [Rivett, M.O., (1995), Soil–gas signatures from volatile chlorinated solvents: Borden field experiments. Groundwater, 33(1), 84–98.] at the Borden aquifer where groundwater was observed to transport a contaminant plume a substantial distance without vertical mass transport of the contaminant across the capillary fringe and into the vadose zone. Results for the base scenario model indicate that the structure of the permeability field was largely responsible for deflecting the groundwater plume upward towards the capillary fringe, permitting aqueous phase diffusion to transport the TCE into the vadose zone. Alternative permeability realizations, generated as part of a Monte Carlo simulation process, at times deflected the groundwater plume downwards causing the extended thickness of the saturated zone to insulate the vadose zone from exposure to the TCE by upward diffusive transport. Comparison of attenuation coefficients calculated using the CompFlow Bio and Johnson and Ettinger [Johnson, P.C. and Ettinger, R.A., (1991), Heuristic model for predicting the intrusion rate of contaminant vapors into buildings. Environmental Science and Technology, 25, 1445–1452.] heuristic model exhibited fortuitous agreement for the base scenario problem geometry, with this agreement diverging for the alternative permeability realizations as well as when parameters such as the foundation slab fracture aperture, the indoor air pressure drop, the capillary fringe thickness, and the infiltration rate were varied over typical ranges.     

A detailed field-based evaluation of naphthenic acid mobility in groundwater

An anaerobic plume of process-affected groundwater was characterized in a shallow sand aquifer adjacent to an oil sands tailings impoundment. Based on biological oxygen demand measurements, the reductive capacity of the plume is considered minimal. Major dissolved components associated with the plume include HCO₃, Na, Cl, SO₄, and naphthenic acids (NAs). Quantitative and qualitative NA analyses were performed on groundwater samples to investigate NA fate and transport in the subsurface. Despite subsurface residence times exceeding 20 years, significant attenuation of NAs by biodegradation was not observed based on screening techniques developed at the time of the investigation. Relative to conservative tracers (i.e., Cl), overall NA attenuation in the subsurface is limited, which is consistent with batch sorption and microcosm studies performed by other authors. Insignificant biological oxygen demand and low concentrations of dissolved As (< 10 µg L^− 1) in the plume suggest that the potential for secondary trace metal release, specifically As, via reductive dissolution reactions driven by ingress of process-affected water is minimal. It is also possible that readily leachable As is not present in significant quantities within the sediments of the study area. Thus, for similar plumes of process-affected groundwater in shallow sand aquifers which may occur as oil sands mining expands, a reasonable expectation is for NA persistence, but minimal trace metal mobilization.     

Mercury bioaccumulation and risk to three waterbird foraging guilds is influenced by foraging ecology and breeding stage

We evaluated mercury (Hg) in five waterbird species representing three foraging guilds in San Francisco Bay, CA. Fish-eating birds (Forster's and Caspian terns) had the highest Hg concentrations in thier tissues, but concentrations in an invertebrate-foraging shorebird (black-necked stilt) were also elevated. Foraging habitat was important for Hg exposure as illustrated by within-guild differences, where species more associated with marshes and salt ponds had higher concentrations than those more associated with open-bay and tidal mudflats. Importantly, Hg concentrations increased with time spent in the estuary. Surf scoter concentrations tripled over six months, whereas Forster's terns showed an up to 5-fold increase between estuary arrival and breeding. Breeding waterbirds were at elevated risk of Hg-induced reproductive impairment, particularly Forster's terns, in which 48% of breeding birds were at high risk due to their Hg levels. Our results highlight the importance of habitat and exposure timing, in addition to trophic position, on waterbird Hg bioaccumulation and risk.