Metal Fractionation Studies in Surfacial and Core Sediments in the Achankovil River Basin in India

The Fractionation of Fe, Zn, Cu, Pb, Mn and Cd in the sediments of the Achankovil River, Western Ghats, India using a sequential extraction method was carried out to understand the metal availability in the basin for biotic and abiotic activities. Spatial distribution of heavy metals has been studied. Sediment grain size has significant control over the heavy metal distribution. The fluctuations in their concentration partly depend upon the lithology of the river basin and partly the anthropogenic activities. The sediments are dominated by sand and are moderately to strongly positively skewed and are very leptokurtotic in nature. The quartzite and feldspars are abundant minerals along with significant amount of mica with low clay content. The core sediments show increasing trend of heavy metal concentration with depth due to the recent addition of anthropogenic sources and post-diagenic activities. Significant amount of Cd (18%) was found in carbonate fraction, which may pose environmental problems due to its toxic nature. Small concentrations of metals, except Cd and Cu, are in exchangeable fraction, which indicate low bio-availability. Enrichment Factor (EF) for individual metals shows the contribution from terrregious and in part from anthropogenic sources. Selective Sequential Extraction (SSE) study shows the variation in specific metal distribution pattern, their distribution in different phases and their bio-availability. Maximum amount of the metals were bound to the non-residual fractions (mainly Fe-oxides). Overall, bio-availability of these micronutrients from sediments seems to be very less. Non-residual phase is the most important phase for majority of heavy metals studied. Among the non-residual fraction, maximum amount of the heavy metals bound to Fe-oxides. The study high lights the need for in-depth study of heavy metals distribution and fractionation in the smaller river basins to get precise information on the behavior and transport of heavy metals in the fluvial environment and their contribution to the world ocean.     

Water Quality during Development and Apportionment of Pollution from Rivers in Tapeng Lagoon, Taiwan

This work investigated water samples collected from Tapeng Lagoon, Taiwan. Factor analysis was conducted to explain the characteristics and the variation in the quality of water during the disassembly of oyster frames and fishery boxes. The result shows that the most important latent factors in Tapeng Lagoon are the ocean factor, primary productivity factor, and the fishery pollution factor. Canonical discriminant analysis is applied to identify the source of pollution in neighboring rivers outside Tapeng Lagoon. The two constructed discriminant functions (CDFs) showed markedly contribution to all discriminant variables, and that total nitrogen, algae, dissolved oxygen and total phosphate, combined in the nutrient effect factor. The recognition capacities in these two CDFs were 95.6%, 4.4%, respectively. The water quality in the Kaoping river most strongly determined that in the Tapeng Lagoon the best is. And disassembling the oyster frames and fishery boxes improves the water quality markedly. However, environmental topographic conditions indicate that strengthening stream pollution prevention and to constructing another entrance to the ocean are the best approaches for improving the quality of water in Tapeng Lagoon, especially by reducing eutrophication. These approaches and results yield useful information concerning habitat recovery and water resource management.     

Sediment and Suspended Matter Lead Contamination in the Gulf of Kavala, Greece

Sediment and suspended particulate matter samples from 24 stations in the Gulf of Kavala have been examined for lead contamination. Grain size analysis and organic matter content were also performed. Total – anthropogenic sediment lead concentrations and enrichment factors at stations close to harbors and chemical industries were found higher (up to 209–135μg/g and 4.12 respectively), in relation to concentrations from the rest of the coastal zone. In the above areas, increased suspended particulate lead in the bottom of the water column was also recorded (up to 109μg/g). Total sediment lead concentrations composed of high natural Pb background increased with decreasing grain size, suggesting their association with the fine fractions of the sediments (31.1–66.0% mud presence) and the organic matter content (6–9% higher values). Overall, higher total lead concentrations in the sediments, determined by this work, appear to be significantly different from those reported for the Gulf of Kavala in previous studies and similar to those detected in other highly contaminated eastern Mediterranean coastal areas.     

Characterization and Identification of the Sources of Chromium, Zinc, Lead, Cadmium, Nickel, Manganese and Iron in Pm10 Particulates at the Two Sites of Kolkata, India

Monitoring of ambient PM₁₀ (particulate matter which passes through a size selective impactor inlet with a 50% efficiency cut-off at 10 μm aerodynamic diameter) has been done at residential (Kasba) and industrial (Cossipore) sites of an urban region of Kolkata during November 2003 to November 2004. These sites were selected depending on the dominant anthropogenic activities. Metal constituents of atmospheric PM₁₀ deposited on glass fibre filter paper were estimated using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometer (ICP-AES). Chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe) are the seven toxic trace metals quantified from the measured PM₁₀ concentrations. The 24 h average concentrations of Cr, Zn, Pb, Cd, Ni, Mn and Fe from ninety PM₁₀ particulate samples of Kolkata were found to be 6.9, 506.1, 79.1, 3.3, 7.4, 2.4 and 103.6 ng/m³, respectively. The 24 h average PM₁₀ concentration exceeded national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) as specified by central pollution control board, India at both residential (Kasba) and industrial (Cossipore) areas with mean concentration of 140.1 and 196.6 μg/m³, respectively. A simultaneous meteorology study was performed to assess the influence of air masses by wind speed, wind direction, rainfall, relative humidity and temperature. The measured toxic trace metals generally showed inverse relationship with wind speed, relative humidity and temperature. Factor analysis, a receptor modeling technique has been used for identification of the possible sources contributing to the PM₁₀. Varimax rotated factor analysis identified four possible sources of measured trace metals comprising solid waste dumping, vehicular traffic with the influence of road dust, road dust and soil dust at residential site (Kasba), while vehicular traffic with the influence of soil dust, road dust, galvanizing and electroplating industry, and tanning industry at industrial site (Cossipore).     

Temperature Effect on Migration of Zn and Cd Through Natural Clay

To investigate the effect of temperature on effective diffusion coefficients and retardation factors for Zn and Cd, combined diffusion and sequential extraction analyses were conducted at 15 ^˚C and 55 ^˚C. The effective diffusion coefficients of the metals increased up to ten times according to the increased temperature. On the other hand, the effect of temperature on the retardation factor depended on the retention mechanisms of the metals. The distribution coefficient for Zn, which was mainly partitioned in the carbonate phase, increased up to two times with the increase in temperature. On the other hand, the distribution coefficient for Cd, which was mainly partitioned in the exchangeable phase, was hardly affected by the temperature change. Results of combined diffusion and sequential extraction analysis showed that the effect of temperature on the heavy metals’ (Zn and Cd) migration through the compacted natural clay was influenced by the combined effects of the diffusion coefficient and the retardation factor. Additionally, we could also observe the change in retention mechanism for the metals with the change in pore water concentration.     

Cancer and Non-Cancer Health Risk from Eating Cassava Grown in Some Mining Communities in Ghana

Food crops such as cassava, cocoyam and other tuber crops grown in mining communities uptake toxic or hazardous chemicals such as arsenic, and cadmium, from the soil. Cassava is a stable food for Ghanaians. This study evaluated human health risk from eating cassava grown in some mining communities in Ghana such as Bogoso, Prestea, Tarkwa and Tamso, which are important mining towns in the Western Region of Ghana. The study evaluated cancer and non-cancer health effects from eating cassava grown in the study areas in accordance with US Environmental Protection Agency’s Risk Assessment guidelines. The results of the study revealed the following: cancer health risk for Tamso, 0.098 (RME – Reasonable Maximum Exposure) and 0.082 (CTE – Central Tendency Exposure). This means that approximately 10 and 8 out of 100 resident adults are likely to suffer from cancer related cases by RME and CTE parameters respectively. For Prestea, we have 0.010 and 0.12, which also means that approximately 1 out of 100 and 10 resident adults out of 100 are also likely to suffer from cancer related diseases by RME and CTE parameters. The results of the study obtained were found to be above the acceptable cancer risk range of 1× 10⁻⁶ to 1× 10⁻⁴, i.e., 1 case of cancer out of 1 million or 100,000 people respectively.     

The Metallic Composition of Aerosols at Three Monitoring Sites in Korea During Winter 2002

In the present study, the distribution patterns of various metals were analyzed and compared using PM samples collected concurrently from three monitoring sites located in Korea (Seoul, Busan, and Jeju island) in December 2002. As these sites can represent metal pollution with different degrees of anthropogenic activities, their concentration levels were distinguished in a systematic manner in the order of Jeju, Busan, and Seoul. By comparing the present data sets with those measured previously from other locations in Korea and around the world, we attempted to diagnose the general status of elemental pollution on the Korean peninsula. Through an application of different statistical approaches, the major processes controlling elemental levels were assessed for each of the three study sites. The results indicated the importance of both crustal and anthropogenic sources in all sites with their relative roles varying significantly from each other. The results of the metal analysis data, when examined in relation to back trajectory analysis, confirmed that their concentration changes are affected quite sensitively with air mass movement patterns. The overall results of this study consistently indicated the contribution of a strong anthropogenic source area (e.g., China) to the observed metal concentration levels in the study area, but the strengths of such signals vary considerably across the Korean peninsula.     

测定总氮的影响因素探讨

针对水质中总氮测定时蒸馏水、消解剂和消化过程等影响因素进行了讨论,并提出了减小空白值的对策。     

金华市大气降水的化学组成特征及来源解析

对2004年大气降水样品监测资料的综合分析和研究表明,金华市降水样品pH值的分布范围在3.64~6.76之间,降水的酸雨率为79.3%。SO24-和NO-3是降水中主要的阴离子,分别占降水中阴离子总量的66.1%和21.7%。NH 4和Ca2 是降水中含量最高的阳离子,分别占阴离子总量的56.6%和33.4%。降水中这些离子的浓度水平一般比世界上其它地方高,但大大低于国内的北方地区。由于降水中缺乏足够的中和物质,大约76%的降水酸度被NH 4、Ca2 和K 等碱性成分中和。陆源型离子Ca2 、Mg2 和K 以及海盐性离子Na 和Cl-之间存在明显的相关关系,另外Ca2 和SO24-、Mg2 和SO24-、Mg2 和NO-3以及Mg2 和Cl-之间也可以观察到比较好的相关关系。土壤和海水的富集系数表明,研究区域的Ca2 和K 主要来源于岩石/土壤风化,SO24-和NO-3主要归因于人为活动的影响。     

The Influence of a Coal-Fired Power Plant in Turkey on the Chemical Composition of Rain Water in a Certain Region

In this study, the chemical composition of the rainwater in Yatağan, which is a region surrounding a coal power plant was investigated from February to April 2002. Rainwater samples were obtained from Yatağan, located northwest of Muğla City in Turkey. pH values and concentrations of major ions (Ca²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, , , ) in the rainwater samples were analyzed. The pH varied from 5.1 to 7.9 with an average of 6.7 which was in alkaline range considering 5.6 as the neutral pH of cloud water in equilibrium with atmospheric CO₂. In the total of 30 rain events, only three events were observed with water in the acidic range (<5.6), which occurred after continuous rains. The equivalent concentration of components followed the order: Ca²⁺ > > Na⁺ > > > K⁺ > H⁺. The anion and cation concentrations in the rainwater samples showed a high sulphate concentration (131 μEq/l), as well as high sodium (40 μEq/l) and calcium (298 μEq/l) concentrations. These values indicate that one probable source of the high sodium concentration is fly ash, after the coal burning process and the power plant can be effective on level concentrations in rainwater. In addition, the dust-rich local and surrounding limestone environment might have caused the high concentration of Ca²⁺ in rainwater of the Yatağan Basin. Due to a large contribution of these cations to the sulphate neutralization action, the rainwater of this region displays only a moderate acidity, which does not cause significant environmental impact.