Phosphorus in surface runoff from calcareous arable soils of the semiarid Western United States

Management strategies that minimize P transfer from agricultural land to water bodies are based on relationships between P concentrations in soil and runoff. This study evaluated such relationships for surface runoff generated by simulated sprinkler irrigation onto calcareous arable soils of the semiarid western United States. Irrigation was applied at 70 mm h(-1) to plots on four soils containing a wide range of extractable P concentrations. Two irrigation events were conducted on each plot, first onto dry soil and then after 24 h onto wet soil. Particulate P (>0.45 microm) was the dominant fraction in surface runoff from all soils and was strongly correlated with suspended sediment concentration. For individual soil types, filterable reactive P (<0.45 microm) concentrations were strongly correlated with all soil-test P methods, including environmental tests involving extraction with water (1:10 and 1:200 soil to solution ratio), 0.01 M CaCl(2), and iron strips. However, only the Olsen-P agronomic soil-test procedure gave models that were not significantly different among soils. Soil chemical differences, including lower CaCO(3) and water-extractable Ca, higher water-extractable Fe, and higher pH, appeared to account for differences in filterable reactive P concentrations in runoff from soils with similar extractable P concentrations. It may therefore be possible to use a single agronomic test to predict filterable reactive P concentrations in surface runoff from calcareous soils, but inherent dangers exist in assuming a consistent response, even for one soil within a single field.     

Peak exposures in aluminium potrooms: instrument development and field calibration

Aluminium smelter potrooms are unique in that workplace exposures to hydrogen fluoride (HF), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter occur simultaneously for some tasks. The peak exposures to these contaminants are of increasing interest in discovering the etiology of respiratory health effects. While a variety of direct-reading instruments are available for sulfur dioxide and particulate matter, only a few exist for hydrogen fluoride. The sensors in these HF instruments have a cross-sensitivity to sulfur dioxide making it difficult to monitor HF in an environment that also contains SO2. To overcome this problem, we assessed the simultaneous use of two electrochemical instruments: one with a SO2 sensor that does not respond to HF and the second with a hydrogen fluoride sensor that responds to both HF and SO2 in a 1 : 1 ratio, termed 'total acid gas'. The difference in the response between the two instruments should indicate the HF concentration: [HF + SO2] minus SO2 equals HF. The performance characteristics of this sampling train were evaluated in the laboratory through the generation of both HF and SO2 with permeation tubes. The response and recovery times for the SO2 only instrument were acceptable (6 and 15 s, respectively), but the "total acid gas" instrument exhibited both slow response and slow recovery approaching three and six min. The association between the traditional integrated filter sampling method and the direct-reading instrument for SO2 is 0.80 (Spearman's rho). The use of the digital filter strengthens the association between the HF direct-reading instrument and the integrated samples from 0.41 to 0.68.     

Driving while impaired (DWI) by alcohol convictions among alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis clients in treatment

OBJECTIVE: Although studies have demonstrated that clients in treatment for alcohol abuse are more at risk of driving while impaired (DWI) by alcohol than normal licensed drivers from the general population, no research was found on DWI convictions among those in treatment for abusing cannabis or cocaine. The purpose of this article is to compare DWI convictions among clients in treatment for alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, or various combinations of these substances, compared to a matched population control group. METHOD: A stratified random sample of driver records was drawn from seven client groups who sought treatment in 1994 for alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, or any combination of these substances (n = 445). A random sample of drivers, frequency matched by age and sex (n = 566), served as control subjects. RESULTS: Logistic regression analysis, controlling for sex and age, was conducted to assess whether DWI convictions were elevated for each of the client groups, compared to controls. Two sets of analyses were conducted, before treatment (from 1985 to 1993) and after treatment (from 1995 to 2000). In the time period before treatment, every drug group except the "cannabis only" group had significantly more DWI convictions than controls (p < .05). In the period after treatment, the "alcohol only," "cocaine only," "alcohol and cocaine," and the "cocaine and cannabis" groups still had significantly more DWI convictions than controls (p < .05). CONCLUSION: The results show that DWI convictions are elevated among those who abused cocaine but not among those who abused cannabis. The results suggest that cross-addiction of alcohol and cocaine is common, and problematic drinking among cocaine clients can go undetected when clients are being diagnosed for treatment.     

License extensions for clean-record drivers: A 4-year follow-up

Over 4,000,000 of California's 17,000,000 licensed drivers used to come to the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) annually to take written and vision tests in order to renew their driver licenses. In an effort to increase public convenience and reduce costs, extension of the license by mail was implemented for selected groups of drivers with clean records over the life of their previous licenses. Continued implementation of the program was subject to evaluation of its effect on traffic safety. Since clean-record drivers make up about 50% of the renewal population, this program made it possible for some 2,000,000 drivers annually to avoid coming to the DMV for license renewal. Two studies of program safety effects were conducted, one evaluating a 2-year extension (760,000 subjects), and the other a 4-year extension (407,000 subjects). Random assignment to a group offered extension by mail or to a control group undergoing standard renewal testing and procedures was followed by careful tracking of accident and conviction activity. During the 48-month period following mailing of renewal notices or extension offers, the extension group had a slightly higher accident rate than did the in-person renewal group — an increase of 1%, or 13 accidents for every 10,000 extension offers. Although this small increase in accident rate would translate into about 2,500 additional accident involvements per year if applied to the current volume of clean-record drivers eligible for extension, statistical tests of significance indicated that the increase could easily be due to sampling error (p>.10). A supplemental Bayesian analysis resulted in a .24 probability that there was no true increase. The administrative cost savings attributable to the extension program were conservatively estimated to be $3,000,000 per year.     

Nutrient and sediment removal by a restored wetland receiving agricultural runoff

Few studies have measured removal of pollutants by restored wetlands that receive highly variable inflows. We used automated flow-proportional sampling to monitor the removal of nutrients and suspended solids by a 1.3-ha restored wetland receiving unregulated inflows from a 14-ha agricultural watershed in Maryland, USA. Water entered the wetland mainly in brief pulses of runoff, which sometimes exceeded the 2500-m3 water holding capacity of the wetland. Half of the total water inflow occurred in only 24 days scattered throughout the two-year study. Measured annual water gains were within 5% of balancing water losses. Annual removal of nutrients differed greatly between the two years of the study. The most removal occurred in the first year, which included a three-month period of decreasing water level in the wetland. In that year, the wetland removed 59% of the total P, 38% of the total N, and 41% of the total organic C it received. However, in the second year, which lacked a drying period, there was no significant (p > 0.05) net removal of total N or P, although 30% of the total organic C input was removed. For the entire two-year period, the wetland removed 25% of the ammonium, 52% of the nitrate, and 34% of the organic C it received, but there was no significant net removal of total suspended solids (TSS) or other forms of N and P. Although the variability of inflow may have decreased the capacity of the wetland to remove materials, the wetland still reduced nonpoint-source pollution.     

Laboratory evaluation of zero-valent iron to treat water impacted by acid mine drainage

This study examines the applicability and limitations of granular zero-valent iron for the treatment of water impacted by mine wastes. Rates of acid-neutralization and of metal (Cu, Cd, Ni, Zn, Hg, Al, and Mn) and metalloid (As) uptake were determined in batch systems using simulated mine drainage (initial pH 2.3-4.5; total dissolved solids 14000-16000 mgl(-1)). Metal removal from solution and acid-neutralization occurred simultaneously and were most rapid during the initial 24 h of reaction. Reaction half-lives ranged from 1.50+/-0.09 h for Al to 8.15+/-0.36 h for Zn. Geochemical model results indicate that metal removal is most effective in solutions that are highly undersaturated with respect to pure-metal hydroxides suggesting that adsorption is the initial and most rapid metal uptake mechanism. Continued adsorption onto or co-precipitation with iron corrosion products are secondary metal uptake processes. Sulfate green rust was identified as the primary iron corrosion product, which is shown to be the result of elevated [SO(4)(2-)]/[HCO(3)(-)] ratios in solution. Reversibility studies indicate that zero-valent iron will retain metals after shifts in redox states are imposed, but that remobilization of metals may occur after the acid-neutralization capacity of the material is exhausted.     

Evaluation of soil-washing process for “unwashable” clays and silts from the palmerton zinc site

The Palmerton Zinc Site is a Superfund site in Palmerton, Pennsylvania. Its former mineral processing operations have contaminated nearby wells and soils with zinc and cadmium. Preliminary analysis of soil and dust sampling conducted in May 1991 has revealed that the dust poses a potential threat to human health. Based on the results of a previous study, which showed a high percentage of silt and clay in soils from Palmerton residential properties, it was concluded that soil washing is not likely to be a viable method to treat the soil and dust contamination in Palmerton. However, since the completion of this study, a soil-washing process for “unwashable” clays and silts has been developed. A residential soil sample from Palmerton, which had low concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, and lead, and a somewhat high concentration of zinc, was washed in a bench-scale version of this process. The results showed that the new soil-washing process for “unwashable” clays and silts may be a viable method to treat the soil and dust contamination in Palmerton, depending on the soil quality criteria concentrations selected for site cleanup.