Fluoride distibution and the effect of some ions along Alexandria coastal Mediterranean seawater of Egypt

The coastal seawater of Mediterranean of Alexandria receives large amount of discharged waters containing industrial wastes, sewage, and agricultural and domestic drainage. Fluoride and some parameters were(chemical and physical) determined. The data gave indication that the content and the amount of the discharged water largely affect the chemical composition of the coastal water. Stepwise regression analysis was highly significant and the model was very fruitful, where the observed and calculated values were mostly concordant. This may indicated that there was a relation between fluoride content in coastal seawater and its content in the discharged water.     

不同离子对黑土胶体在土壤中运移的影响

黑土样品采自于黑龙江海伦市,提取胶体并对其主要理化性质进行定性定量表征,通过淋滤实验研究胶体在土柱中的运移特征以及不同离子及其强度对胶体运移的影响。结果显示:所提取胶体粒径与理论计算基本吻合,粒径主要分布在2~5μm;当pH由4上升到9时,胶体的zeta电位则由-26.43mV降低到-34.52mV;红外光谱显示胶体颗粒的有机机团主要为-OH、CH-、C=O、多糖;X射线衍射表明其主要矿物组成是石英(56.9%)。不同离子及其强度对胶体的在土壤中的运移有较为明显的影响,当pH由4增加到9时,k值由6.020×10-4降低至3.858×10-4,Ca2+、K+、Na+当离子强度由0.5mmol/L变化到0.001mmol/L时,k值分别由6.087×10-4降低至4.024×10-4、5.518×10-4降低至3.818×10-4、5.401×10-4降低至4.109×10-4。     

An assessment of the risks associated with PCDDs and PCDFs following the application of sewage sludge to agricultural land in the UK

A model has been developed to describe the transfer of PCDDs and PCDFs from sludge-amended soils to the human foodchain. The model is conservative and assumes that all foods consumed by an individual are derived from sludge-amended soils. Predicted concentrations of PCDDs and PCDFs in potatoes, cereals, root vegetables and leafy vegetables were in close agreement with mean concentrations reported in the food survey conducted by MAFF in the UK. Predicted concentrations in milk were well below the Maximum Tolerable Concentration adopted by MAFF. Assuming a half-life of ten years in sludge-amended soils, the maximum estimated incremental daily intake (IDI) predicted by the model following ten applications of sludge to agricultural land was 0.80 pg I-TEQ kg⁻¹ day⁻¹, representing an increase of approximately 45% on current levels of background exposure. For an individual whose diet is solely derived from sludge-amended soils, the total exposure is predicted to be approximately 181 pg I-TEQ day⁻¹ or 2.6 pg I-TEQ kg⁻¹ day⁻¹. This compares with an average background exposure of approximately 2 pg I-TEQ kg⁻¹ day⁻¹, well within the TDI of 10 pg I-TEQ kg⁻¹ day⁻¹ and indicates that the application of sewage sludge to agricultural land under the conditions assumed would not appear to present a significant health risk under the conservative scenarios considered in this assessment.     

Simulation of pollution buffering capacity of wetlands fringing the Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria has undergone substantial and most negative changes, especially over the last 30 years. One of the driving factors is nutrient enrichment from human activities in the catchment, which is causing eutrophication. This has been associated with, among others, the rapid proliferation of water hyacinth, alga blooms, and with general disruption of the lake ecosystem. Most of pollution to the lake flow via the natural wetlands. In order to understand how wetlands function within the Lake Victoria ecosystem a wetland model has been developed. The main objective of the model is to establish and simulate the buffering processes and capacity of individual wetlands (that is, their ability to absorb sediments, nutrients and pollutants) within the Lake Victoria basin. It was found that in both seasonal and permanent swamp there is a net export of organic matter produced in the wetlands. Most of the inorganic phosphorous were retained in the wetlands (60% to 90% removal) while there was a negative retention of nitrates probably due to the export of organic matter which associate very much with nitrates.     

Phosphorus leaching from cow manure patches on soil columns

The loss of P in overland flow or leachate from manure patches can impair surface water quality. We studied leaching of P from 10-cm-high lysimeters filled with intact grassland soil or with acid-washed sand. A manure patch was created on two grassland and two sand-filled lysimeters, and an additional two grass lysimeters served as blanks. Lysimeters were leached in the laboratory during 234 d with a diluted salt solution, and column effluent was passed through a 0.45-microm filter, analyzed for pH, dissolved reactive P (DRP), and total dissolved P (TDP). At the end of the experiment lysimeter soil was sampled and analyzed for pH, available P, and oxalate-extractable P, Fe, and Al. The concentration of TDP in the effluent from the sand column increased to 25 mg L-1 during the first weeks and remained above 10 mg L-1 during the rest of the percolation. In effluent from grass + patch lysimeters TDP gradually increased to 4 mg L-1. Both in the manure and in the effluent of the sand lysimeter P was found mainly in the form of DRP, but in the effluent from the grass lysimeters was found mainly as dissolved unreactive P (DUP=TDP-DRP). Earthworm activity was responsible for decomposition of the manure patch on the grass lysimeters. Manure patches and their remains were found to be a long-term source of high concentrations of P in leachates. Spreading of patches after a grazing period could reduce their possible negative impacts on the environment.     

MODELING FLOW IN THE EVERGLADES AGRICULTURAL AREA IRRIGATION/DRAINAGE CANAL NETWORK1

ABSTRACT: The south Florida ecosystem and Lake Okeechobee are important water resource areas that have degraded due to changes in hydroperiod, water supply, and water quality. Approximately 56 percent of the total phosphorus in water discharged from the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) is in particulate form. Currently, farm-level best management practices are being implemented in the effort to reduce total phosphorus and sediment in off-farm discharges. The objective of this work was to develop and calibrate a model describing water movement in primary EAA canals as a first step to development of a water quality (i.e., nutrient, sediment) model. The Netherlands-developed mechanistic flow and water quality model (DUFLOW) was adapted for the EAA. Flow, stage, geometry, canal network, and meteorological data, October 13, 1993, to February 13, 1994, were used to adapt and calibrate the DUFLOW model for EAA water level and flow in primary canals. Direct runoff discharge into the primary canals from farm-pump stations was used as runoff input for the model. The model results are comparable to an independently-calculated water balance for the EAA. The calibrated flow model will be the basis for the calibration of sediment and chemical transport in the future.     

Can time-weighted average concentrations be used to assess the risks of metsulfuron-methyl to Myriophyllum spicatum under different time-variable exposure regimes?

We tested the effects of the herbicide metsulfuron-methyl on growth of the submerged macrophyte Myriophyllum spicatum under laboratory conditions using different exposure scenarios. The exposures of each scenario were comparable in the concentration × time factor, viz., the same 21-d time-weighted average (TWA) concentrations but variable in peak exposure concentrations (ranging from 0.1 to 21 000 ng ai L⁻¹) and exposure periods (1, 3, 7, 14 or 21 d). To study recovery potential of the exposed M. spicatum plants we continued the observation on shoot and root growth for another 21 d in herbicide-free medium so that the total observation period was 42 d. Non-destructive endpoints, length and number of new shoots and roots, were determined weekly from day 14 onwards. Destructive endpoints, dry-weight (DW) of main shoots, new shoots and new roots, were measured at the end of the experiment (t = 42 d).Metsulfuron-methyl exposure in particular inhibited new tissue formation but was not lethal to main shoots. On days 21 and 42 after start exposure, EC₁₀/EC₅₀ values for new tissues expressed in terms of peak concentration (=measured concentration during exposure periods of different length) showed large differences between exposure scenarios in contrast to EC₁₀/EC₅₀ values for days 21 and 42 expressed in terms of 21-d and 42-d TWA concentrations, respectively. At the end of the experiment (day 42), 42-d TWA EC_x values were remarkably similar between exposure scenarios, while a similar trend could already be observed on day 21 for 21-d TWA EC_x values. For the macrophyte M. spicatum and exposure to the herbicide metsulfuron-methyl the TWA approach seems to be appropriate to use in the risk assessment. However, the data from the toxicity experiment suggest that on day 21 also the absolute height of the pulse exposure played a (minor) role in the exposure - response relationships observed.     

Fluoride distribution and the effect of some ions along Alexandria coastal Mediterranean seawater of Egypt

The coastal seawater of Mediterranean of Alexandria receives large amount of discharged waters containing industrial wastes, sewage, and agricultural and domestic drainage. Fluoride and some parameters were( chemical and physical) determined. The data gave indication that the content and the amount of the discharged water largely affect the chemical composition of the coastal water. Stepwise regression analysis was highly significant and the model was very fruitful, where the observed and calculated values were mostly concordant. This may indicated that there was a relation between fluoride content in cosslal seawater and its content in the discharged water.