A ten year summary of concurrent ambient water column and sediment toxicity tests in the Chesapeake Bay watershed: 1990-1999

The goal of this study was to identify the relative toxicity ofambient areas in the Chesapeake Bay watershed by using a suiteof concurrent water column and sediment toxicity tests at seventy-five ambient stations in 20 Chesapeake Bay rivers from1990 through 1999. Spatial and temporal variability was examinedat selected locations throughout the 10 yr study. Inorganicand organic contaminants were evaluated in ambient water andsediment concurrently with water column and sediment tests toassess possible causes of toxicity although absolute causalitycan not be established. Multivariate statistical analysis wasused to develop a multiple endpoint toxicity index (TOX-INDEX) at each station for both water column and sediment toxicity data. Water column tests from the 10 yr testing period showed that49% of the time, some degree of toxicity was reported. The mosttoxic sites based on water column results were located inurbanized areas such as the Anacostia River, Elizabeth River andthe Middle River. Water quality criteria for copper, lead,mercury, nickel and zinc were exceeded at one or more of thesesites. Water column toxicity was also reported in localizedareas of the South and Chester Rivers. Both spatial and temporalvariability was reported from the suite of water column toxicitytests. Some degree of sediment toxicity was reported from 62% of the tests conducted during the ten year period. The ElizabethRiver and Baltimore Harbor stations were reported as the most toxic areas based on sediment results.Sediment toxicity guidelines were exceeded for one or more of thefollowing metals at these two locations: arsenic, cadmium,chromium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc. At the Elizabeth Riverstations nine of sixteen semi-volatile organics and two of sevenpesticides measured exceeded the ER-M values in 1990. Ambientsediment toxicity tests in the Elizabeth River in 1996 showedreduced toxicity. Various semi-volatile organics exceeded the ER-M values at a number of Baltimore Harbor sites; pyrene anddibenzo(a,h)anthracene were particularly high at one of thestations (Northwest Harbor). Localized sediment toxicity was alsoreported in the Chester, James, Magothy, Rappahannock, andPotomac Rivers but the link with contaminants was not determined.Both spatial and temporal variability was less for sedimenttoxicity data when compared with water column toxicity data. Acomparison of water column and sediment toxicity data for thevarious stations over the 10 yr study showed that approximatelyhalf the time agreement occurred (either both suite of testsshowed toxicity or neither suite of tests showed toxicity).     

Biomonitoring heavy metals in estuaries: a field comparison of two brown algae species inhabiting upper estuarine reaches

Biomonitoring dissolved heavy metals within estuaries,particularly at their upper reaches, frequently has to relyon several biomonitors; rarely a single species thrives allalong the salinity gradient. To properly do so, it must beestablished whether those biomonitors actually accumulateheavy metals alike. In this study, two brown seaweeds fromthe upper section of three NW Spain estuaries – the widely-known Fucus vesiculosus and the estuarine Fucusceranoides – were compared as metal biomonitors. Bothspecies were collected at five locations where they eithercoexist or live close to each other and their heavy metalcontent (Cu, Cr, Mn, Zn, Fe, Al) was measured. Analyseswere appropriately replicated for each species x locationcombination to allow a statistically reliable detection ofdifferences in bioaccumulation, with particular emphasis onthe magnitude of interspecific differences. The lack of significant differences for Cu, Mn, and Zncontents in F. ceranoides and F. vesiculosussupports the feasibility of their joint use to monitorthese metals along the estuaries. Conversely, F.ceranoides concentrated significantly higher levels of Cr,Fe, and Al than F. vesiculosus and hence combiningdata for both fucoids to monitor these elements seemsimpractical. The correlation of species differencestogether with a similar Al:Fe ratio in both weed tissue andsediment suggest that Cr, Fe, and Al tissue-burdens mightbe considerably biased by sediment retained on the surfaceof the weed. Parallel analyses of Al and/or Fe in seaweedsand sediments could serve to keep track of thisinterference and may help to combine data from both fucoidsfor monitoring elements like Cr.     

The Variability of Estimates of Variance, and Its Effect on Power Analysis in Monitoring Design

Power analysis can be a valuable aid in the design of monitoringprograms. It requires an estimate of variance, which may come from a pilot study or an existing study in a similar habitat. For marine benthic infauna, natural variation in abundances canbe considerable, raising the question of reliability of varianceestimates. We used two existing monitoring programs to generatemultiple estimates of variance. These estimates were found to differ from nominated best estimates by 50% or more in 43% of cases, in turn leading to under or over-estimation of samplesize in the design of a notional monitoring program. The twostudies, from the same general area, using the same samplingmethods and spanning a similar time scale, gave estimatesvarying by more than an order of magnitude for 25% of taxa.We suggest that pilot studies for ecological monitoring programsof marine infauna should include at least two sampling times.     

Aerosol Scavenging: Model Application and Sensitivity Analysis in the Indian Context

Sulfate aerosols have been found to bethe major contributors to precipitation acidity. Thus,in view of the long-term ecological repercussions theyhave on aquatic ecosystems and their acidity-potential,the present analysis focuses on a case study applicationof the layer-averaged aerosol-scavenging model (Okita et al., 1996) for predicting values of the wet scavengingcoefficient and sulfate concentrations in precipitationsamples on the basis of the information available forsome selected Indian cities. Through sensitivityanalysis (Pandey et al., 1997) the scavengingcoefficient has been found to be very strongly dependenton precipitation intensity. Comparison of modelpredictions has been done with the measured values forDelhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai in India.     

省级环境监测站在建设项目竣工验收监测中的地位和作用

建设项目竣工验收监测是环境监测工作的一项重要工作,也是"一控双达标"工作的重要一环.从锻炼队伍、保护队伍、巩固队伍、稳定队伍和纯洁队伍等方面综合分析,省级监测站在此项工作中应承担相应的责任,才能更好地发挥技术中心、信息中心、网络中心和培训中心的作用.     

水中呋喃丹气相色谱-质谱的测定方法研究

建立了气相色谱-质谱联用法测定水中呋喃丹的方法。用二氯甲烷萃取酸性水样中的呋喃丹,浓缩后加入内标苊-d10,采用气-质联用仪中选择离子检测(SIM)模式进行监测,提取目标化合物的特征离子进行定量,该方法灵敏度高,水中呋喃丹的最低检测浓度可达0.05μg/L;准确度好,样品添加回收率在100.5%-111.0%之间;平行5次进行精密度试验,相对标准偏差低于6.21%。结果表明,方法简便、快速、准确、重现性好,适合各种水中呋喃丹的测定。     

关于对"碱性高锰酸钾指数标准分析方法的错误"的讨论

《中国环境监测》于2006年8月第22卷第4期发表了一篇名为“碱性高锰酸钾指数标准分析方法的错误”的文章,该文作者通过配制不同浓度的葡萄糖标准溶液,分别用酸性法与碱性法来测定其高锰酸盐指数值,对相应的结果与计算公式进行讨论,指出碱性高锰酸钾操作方法与计算公式均存在错误,并提出了碱性高锰酸钾测定的修正方法与公式。文章对上述观点和结论有不同的看法,从碱性高锰酸钾指数标准分析方法的试验操作步骤及方法原理的理解入手,进行相关的阐述和讨论。     

C OD在线分析仪比对中应注意的问题

分析了COD在线分析仪和实验室比对结果人为差异的原因是样品不均匀,在线分析仪取样装置滤过,取样层面和采样方式以及沉淀消除的方法不同造成的.提出应在相同的地点、层面和同一容器取样,用相同沉淀消除方法去除样品中氯离子干扰,保证两方法比对中使用水样的一致均匀,使测试结果正确可信.     

Prediction of Leachate Level in Kimpo Metropolitan Landfill Site by Total Water Balance

Kimpo metropolitan landfill has received various kinds of wastessince January 1992. The leachate level was measured to be 10.3 m in May 1995 and the level increased to 12.2 m in August 1996. Therefore, to prove the reason for the increasing leachate level, we calibrated hydraulic conductivity of each waste andintermediate layer using the HELP (Hydrologic Evaluation ofLandfill Performance) model. The leachate generation data measured from February 1993 to October 1995 was used in the model calibration. As a result of a model calibration, we obtained anaverage infiltration ratio and used this in analysis of the total water balance to predict elevation of leachate level. Main causes of the elevation of the leachate level were the high water content of the waste and the degradation of the leachate-drainage system caused by the subsidence of a naturalbarrier layer.     

Monitoring of Seasonal Vegetables for Pesticide Residues

Market samples (60) of six seasonal vegetables were monitoredduring 1996–1997 to determine the magnitude of pesticidalcontamination. The estimation of insecticide residuesrepresenting four major chemical groups i.e. organochlorine,organophosphorous, synthetic pyrethroid and carbamate, was doneby adopting a multiresidue analytical technique employingGC-ECD and GC-NPD systems with capillary columns. The testedsamples showed 100% contamination with low but measurableamounts of residues. Among the four chemical groups, theorganophosphates were dominant followed by organochlorines,synthetic pyrethroids and carbamates. About 23% of the samplesshowed contamination with organophosphorous compounds abovetheir respective MRL values. More extensive studies coveringdifferent regions of Haryana state are suggested to get a clearidea of the magnitude of vegetable contamination with pesticideresidues.