Estimation of Efficiency of Processing Soil Samples for Pesticide Residues Analysis

The efficiency of four sample processing methods was tested with eight different types of soils representing the major proportion of cultivated soils. The principle of sampling constant was applied for characterizing the efficiency of the procedures and testing the well-mixed status of the prepared soil. The test material was 14C-labeled atrazine that enabled keeping the random error of analyses ≤ about 1%. Adding water to the soil proved to be the most efficient and generally applicable procedure resulting in about 6% relative sample processing uncertainty for 20 g test portions. The expected error is inversely proportional to the mass of test portion. Smashing and manual mixing of soil resulted in about four times higher uncertainty than mixing with water. Grinding of soil is applicable for dry soils only, but the test procedure applied was not suitable for estimating a typical uncertainty of processing dry soil samples. Adding dry ice did not improve the efficiency of sample processing.     

Printed in great Britain Cr(VI) and other metallic mutagens in fly ash and welding fumes†

Particulate samples taken from both the indoor (working) and outdoor (community) environments contain a wide range of metallic trace elements most of which are mutagenic in at least one of the short term tests for genotoxicity currently in use. Because of the demonstrated presence of a short lived biologically active species (Cr(VI)), and the uncertainty with which the results of the screening of metallic compounds in short term tests can be interpreted in terms of human risk, great care must be taken to assure the appropriate collection, storage, and chemical and biological assay of such material. The sensitivity of the results for fly ash and welding fumes to variations in these protocols is demonstrated and discussed.     

Much Ado: How Big Is the Problem of Hydrolysis of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MtBE) to Form Tertiary Butyl Alcohol (tBA)?

Groundwater contaminated by the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MtBE) is also frequently impacted by tertiary butyl alcohol (tBA). The USEPA recently sponsored a study that discusses the possibility of hydrolysis of MtBE to form tBA during analytical procedures. This finding is important because it suggests that existing tBA data may not accurately depict tBA or MtBE concentrations in groundwater. This article discusses the mechanism and kinetics of MtBE hydrolysis, then presents three case studies of analytical results from sites in California, USA. Although these case studies are limited in scope, the data do not support the occurrence of the hydrolysis of MtBE to form tBA due to acid preservation of groundwater samples. At a minimum, this suggests that MtBE hydrolysis may not be as pervasive a problem as suggested in USEPA's study; therefore, concerns about the validity of historical tBA data may not be warranted. The reason for this result may be simple: there are two necessary factors that promote hydrolysis: low pH and high temperature (above 40°C). Although the static headspace analysis method used to obtain the data in the White et al. study may require heating to achieve adequate sensitivity, many laboratories perform purge-and-trap analyses without heating. Under those conditions, hydrolysis may not occur. However, it may be prudent to preserve samples with alkaline preservatives, to eschew high temperatures during the analysis of groundwater samples, or to neutralize the sample pH before heating.     

Comparison of two sample preparation methods for analysis of organochlorine pesticides residues in fish muscle

The aim of this study was to compare recoveries of organochlorine pesticides (heptachlor, α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, op′-DDD, pp′-DDD, pp′-DDE, op′-DDT, pp′-DDT) from fish muscle dried by two alternative methods: (i) grinding with anhydrous sodium sulphate and (ii) freeze drying. Pesticide residues content was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GS-MS) method. For four pesticides (γ-HCH, α-HCH, heptachlor and pp;-DDD) in four of five fish species, higher recoveries were obtained from the freeze-dried samples. For five remaining pesticides, correlations between fish species and drying method were not found. The results of this study do not clearly indicate which drying method caused lower losses of analytes. Recoveries from the freeze-dried samples ranged from 69.9 to 117.6 %, while recoveries from the samples ground with sodium sulphate varied from 64.4 to 126.7 %. Either of the methods gave satisfactory recoveries and they both can be used interchangeably.     

湖泊水体悬浮物中痕量砷的测定方法

重金属在悬浮物和水相中的分配是水体重金属形态研究的重要组成部分,对于追踪水体中重金属元素的来源、迁移转化规律以及重金属生态与健康效应具有重要意义.水中砷元素以其极强的毒性严重危害人类的健康,已越来越引起政府和社会的广泛关注.然而,目前关于痕量悬浮物中砷测定的前处理过程及室内分析的方法与质量控制的叙述不够详尽,有必要对此做深入的研究.本文针对悬浮物较少的水域,选用7个滇池水样,采用不同滤膜、不同预处理方法、不同消解用酸及消解时间,测定并比较砷空白值,试图通过改变实验条件降低空白值,探索前处理的最佳条件及步骤.结果表明,对于悬浮物较少的湖泊水域,采用预称重的醋酸纤维膜过滤水样、载有颗粒物的滤膜冷冻干燥、HNO3-HCl O4加热共消解36 h,消解上清液用氢化物发生原子荧光光度计测定砷空白值低于悬浮物一个数量级以上,膜空白砷相对标准偏差为2.80%~11.38%,膜空白加标回收率为83%~103%;与滇池5个实际样品验证误差范围0.27%~6.92%.此方法可以可靠地获得悬浮物中的砷含量,在砷含量较低的水体悬浮物测定方面具有优势.     

温度对煤体坚固性系数的影响试验

为了研究煤体坚固性系数(f)随温度变化的规律,对f的测量试验装置进行了改进,然后在温度为-20-60℃时测定了若干组贵州煤样的f,并对温度为0～60℃时的数据进行了分析.结果表明,无论是突出还是非突出煤体的f均随温度升高而变小,随温度降低而增大,且呈线性关系;非突出煤样的f随温度变化的幅度往往大于突出煤样.研究表明,尽管f受温度影响较小,但当f接近现行的突出指标临界值0.5时,须根据井下煤层的环境温度测定其对应的f,才可将此时的f作为判断突出危险性的可信参数,否则容易误判.     

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) requirement for the oxidation of crude oil in contaminated soils by a modified Fenton's reagent

The oxidation of soil organic matter (SOM) and total petroleum hydrocarbon were investigated in two soils at eight different hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) concentrations to determine the optimal H₂O₂ dosage for the efficient remediation of soils contaminated by crude oil with minimal SOM removal. In our study, H₂O₂ concentrations up to 1100 mM increased the SOM destruction up to 10%–15% in the two soils while no improvement of the crude oil removal efficiencies was observed. The results indicate that the destruction of SOM significantly limits the oxidation of crude oil because SOM might consume H₂O₂ more effectively than crude oil at H₂O₂ concentrations above 1100 mM. In addition, H₂O₂ concentrations higher than 1100 mM were not expected for both soils because of the extremely rapid H₂O₂ decomposition, and low H₂O₂ utilization, of both soils.     

分散液液微萃取-气相色谱/质谱法测定水中阿特拉津

建立了简便、快速、有效的分散液液微萃取(DLLME)-气相色谱/质谱技术萃取水样中痕量阿特拉津的新方法。通过试验确定最佳萃取条件。     

间接竞争ELISA方法测定水中2，4-D的研究

以2,4-D-BSA为包被抗原,采用自行制备的2,4-D单克隆特异性抗体6D11建立了水中2,4-D的间接竞争 ELISA检测方法．本研究比较了包被抗原2,4-D-BSA浓度分别为240ng·mL-1、120ng·mL-1和60ng·mL-1的反应体系和竞争反应时间为60min和15min的间接竞争ELISA剂量-反应曲线,确定了当包被抗原浓度为60 ng·mL-1、竞争反应时间为15min时,剂量-反应曲线的IC50值较低．采用上述实验条件分别测定了由PBS缓冲溶液、饮用水、清华大学地下水和圆明园福海地表水配制的2,4-D标准溶液的剂量．反应曲线,发现实际水样的基质效应对检测结果的影响较大;采用实际水样和PBS缓冲溶液配水在含有5％乙醇的PBS缓冲体系中反应的方法,基本上消除了基质效应对检测结果的干扰．采用上述优化试验条件,测定2,4-D浓度分别为0．5mg·L-1、0．125mg·L-1和0．03mg·L-1的加标样品,测定数据的准确度符合痕量有机污染物定量检测对准确度的要求,但是平行样品测定数据之间的变异系数较大,需要进一步改进检测方法,用于实际水样的检测．     

NON-ZERO LOWER LIMIT IN LOW FLOW FREQUENCY ANALYSIS?1

ABSTRACT: The implications of fitting distributions with non-zero lower limits to low flow data are examined. The 3-parameter Weibull distribution is fitted to annual minimum flow series from 60 long term stations in Canada. The relations between the estimated lower limit and three sampling variables (skewness, smallest, and largest observations) were investigated. The lower limit strongly depends on the sample skewness; it varies directly with the sample skewness, which in turn is highly influenced by the largest observation. For a given skewness, the value of the estimated lower limit is determined by the value of the smallest observation. Therefore, the lower limit cannot be accurately determined, and the resulting low flow estimates will be either too small or too high.