Mercury Vapor Determination in Hospitals

The measurements of metallic mercury vapor were carried out in seven local hospitals, where mercury-containing products are widely used, as well as in one residence to check effectiveness of decontamination after mercury spillage. Hopcalite as a solid sorbent was used in active and passive sampling methods, and mercury was analyzed by CV-AAS technique. Good agreement was found between results of mercury measurements using active samplers (pumped hopcalite adsorption tubes) and passive (diffusion) monitors applied in indoor atmosphere. The results indicated the presence of metallic mercury vaporization sources in the assessed hospital rooms but in the majority of cases mercury levels did not exceed 1 g/m³ i.e. Polish permissible concentration for residence. However, in some of the hospital rooms, elevated concentrations of mercury vapor were found and airborne levels of up to 13.9 g/m³ were recorded. Higher concentrations of mercury vapor were observed in autumn season when compared to summer.     

氯磺酚偶氮硫代若丹宁光度法测定环境水样中的汞

研究了氯磺酚偶氮硫代若丹宁(HSCT)与汞的显色反应。在pH3 8的HAc-NaAc缓冲介质中,TritonX-100存在下,HSCT与汞反应生成2∶1稳定络合物,λmax=550nm,体系ε=8 46×104L·mol-1·cm-1。汞含量在0—1 5mg/L内符合比耳定律。方法可用于水样中痕量汞含量的测定。     

An investigation on biological stability of product water generated by lab-scale and pilot-scale distillation systems

Material Disposal Area G is the primary low-levelradioactive waste disposal site at Los Alamos NationalLaboratory, New Mexico, and is adjacent to Pueblo of SanIldefonso lands. Pueblo residents and Los Alamos scientists areconcerned about radiological doses resulting from uptake of AreaG radionuclides by mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) andRocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus), then consumption ofdeer and elk meat by humans. Tissue samples were collected fromdeer and elk accidentally killed near Area G and were analyzedfor ³H, ⁹⁰Sr, total U, ²³⁸Pu, ^{239, 240}Pu,²⁴¹Am, and ¹³⁷Cs. These data were used to estimatehuman doses based on meat consumption of 23 kg y^-1. Humandoses were also modeled using RESRAD, and dose rates to deer andelk were estimated with a screening model. Dose estimates tohumans from tissue consumption were 2.9 × 10^-3 mSv y^-1and 1.6 × 10^-3 mSv y^-1 from deer and elk, respectively,and RESRAD dose estimates were of the same order of magnitude. Estimated dose rates to deer and elk were 2.1 × 10^-4 mGyd^-1 and 4.7 × 10^-4 mGy d^-1, respectively. Allestimated doses were significantly less than established exposurelimits or guidelines.     

Occurrence of potential bacterial pathogens in coastal areas of the Adriatic Sea

A monitoring program was carried out in bathing waters along the sea-coast of the Adriatic Sea. The investigation was aimedat obtaining a quali-quantitative picture of microorganisms ofanthropic origin and of a more strictly autochthonous origin and at verifying the existence of possible reciprocal correlations and combinations of relationship between them. Results showed that the concentrations of indicators of faecal contamination, whether within or over the values established by legislation, are not always related to the presence and density of microorganisms of environmental origin but the regression modelsused can help to describe how these latter microorganisms can bein relation to levels of the other parameters. The difficultyis evident of the predictability of health effects swimming-associated; for this reason more complex models that are currently used should be taken into account for minimising the risk for bathers.     

Development of a Model for Simulation of Solute Transport in a Stream–Aquifer System

A model for simulation of solute transport in a dynamic stream–aquifer system is developed by integrating four existing sub-models. Interface packages are created to link the sub-models. The developed model is successfully used to simulate chloride transport in the stream–aquifer system of the Arkansas River and the Equus Beds Aquifer in Kansas and demonstrates that chloride concentration in the aquifer decreases in the vicinity of the simulated channel over time.     

原子荧光光度法测定水中汞的不确定度分析

用原子荧光光度法对测定水中汞的不确定度进行分析,找出影响不确定的因素,对测量不确定度进行计算和评定,结果表明影响其测量不确定度主要因素是原子荧光光强度值带来的不确定度,其它因素是次要的.     

北京市通州污灌区土壤环境质量监测和蔬菜重金属污染状况研究

通过对北京市通州污灌区土壤现状调查与蔬菜重金属污染监测,结合土壤环境质量标准、食品卫生标准及污灌区污染历史,分析对比该区土壤和蔬菜重金属污染状况及其变化。结果表明,本次监测通州污灌区土壤中重金属平均含量均达到土壤环境质量标准(GB15618-1995)中二级标准限量。对照土壤中的重金属Cu、Pb、Cr、Cd和As均达到土壤一级标准。凉水河两岸和通惠北干渠中重金属含量均高于对照土壤,说明污灌区污水灌溉已使土壤受到一定程度的污染。与二十世纪70年代末监测结果相比,土壤中多数重金属含量处于上升趋势。污灌区蔬菜重金属含量监测结果表明,其含量水平均达到食品卫生标准,说明污灌区蔬菜尚未受到严重污染。     

Sources and Concentrations of Mercury and Selenium In Compartments within the Las Vegas Wash During A Period of Rapid Change

The Las VegasWash, which drains the Las Vegas valley watershed and provides the second largest inflow to Lake Mead, is being dramatically altered with erosion control structures and wetland restoration efforts. The impact of these changes on the cycling and distribution of Hg and Se is of particular interest because of their tendency to bioaccumulate and because of a lack of information on these contaminants in the Wash. In this study, we determined concentrations of Hg and Se in surface water (monthly), groundwater (once) and sediments (quarterly) from strategic locations within and along theWash during 2002 and 2003. The data was used to characterize Se sources and loading into theWash. Samples containing resurfacing groundwater and urban runoff (LW10.75 and Duck Creek) had significantly higher yearly means (13.7 ± 4.4 and 23.8 ± 4.1μg/L, respectively) compared with mainstream samples containing primarily treated wastewater (2.8 ± 0.8μg/L). Investigation of Se in tributaries, street runoff and rain suggest that the source of the elevated Se is likely groundwater seeps located within a relatively narrow geographic band on the southeast side of the valley. Se content of sediments was similar, except for LW10.75 which was rich in organic matter. Hg concentrations in the water and sediments were low, averaging 4±5 ng/L and 34±20 ng/g, dw, respectively. Overall, this study suggests that water quality remains relatively stable despite changes in theWash and managers of developing wetlands should not use tributary water as source water.     

A Method of Mercury Removal from Topsoil Using Low-Thermal Application

Mercury contamination in the environment is problematic due to the unusual physical properties and well-recognized toxicity of this common metal. The bioavailability of mercury depends strongly on its chemical speciation. Anthropogenic mercury and its compounds appear in soil as hot spots located close to industrial facilities that used or produced mercury. The nature of the chemical production process, transportation and disposal practices often determined the chemical composition and distribution of mercury in the surrounding soils. Current ex situ soil remediation methods are expensive, produce undesirable side effects to the environment and usually involve transportation of contaminated soil.In this project, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, a low-cost, simple approach to removing mercury from soil was evaluated. The process uses low-temperature thermal desorption of volatile metallic mercury and its compounds, and subsequent vapor capture.The project consisted of laboratory and plot-scale experiments. The laboratory efforts evaluated theoretical calculations of mercury removal as a function of time and temperature. The plot-scale experiment was a practical application of the laboratory results. For both experiments, mercury-polluted soil was obtained from a chemical production facility located in southern Poland. In laboratory experiments, at temperature 373 K total mercury concentration decreased in soil by nearly 32%. In plot-scale experiments, at temperature 440 K, about 60–70% of total mercury was removed from the soil.At the end of the experiment, a test of soil biological activity was performed to check if the high temperature applied to the soil did not impair the soil growth properties. There was no negative effect of temperature found.     

Levels and speciation of heavy metals in soils of industrial Southern Nigeria

A knowledge of the total content of trace metals is not enoughto fully assess the environmental impact of polluted soils. Forthis reason, the determination of metal species in solution isimportant to evaluate their behaviour in the environment andtheir mobilization capacity. Sequential extraction procedure wasused to speciate five heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Ni and Zn) fromfour contaminated soils of Southern Nigeria into sixoperationally defined geochemical species: water soluble,enchangeable, carbonates, Fe-Mn oxide, organic and residual.Metal recoveries were within ± 10% of the independentlydetermined total Cd, Pb, Cu, Ni and Zn concentrations. The highest amount of Cd (avg. 30%) in the nonresidual fractionswas found in the exchangeable fraction, while Cu and Zn weresignificantly associated with the organic fraction. Thecarbonate fraction contained on average 14, 18.6, 12.6, 13 and11% and the residual fraction contained on average 47, 18, 33,50 and 25% of Cd, Pb, Cu, Ni and Zn respectively. Assuming thatmobility and bioavailability of these metals are related to thesolubility of the geochemical form of the metals, and that theydecrease in the order of extraction sequence, the apparentmobility and potential bioavailability for these five metals inthe soil were: Pb > Zn > Cu > Ni > Cd. The mobility indexes ofcopper and nickel correlated positively and significantly withthe total content of metals, while mobility indexes of cadmiumand zinc correlated negatively and significantly with the totalcontent of metals.