Solid wastes generation in India and their recycling potential in building materials

Presently in India, about 960 million tonnes of solid waste is being generated annually as by-products during industrial, mining, municipal, agricultural and other processes. Of this ∼350 million tonnes are organic wastes from agricultural sources; ∼290 million tonnes are inorganic waste of industrial and mining sectors and ∼4.5 million tonnes are hazardous in nature. Advances in solid waste management resulted in alternative construction materials as a substitute to traditional materials like bricks, blocks, tiles, aggregates, ceramics, cement, lime, soil, timber and paint. To safeguard the environment, efforts are being made for recycling different wastes and utilise them in value added applications. In this paper, present status on generation and utilization of both non-hazardous and hazardous solid wastes in India, their recycling potentials and environmental implication are reported and discussed in details.     

Inventory of aquatic contaminant flux arising from historical metal mining in England and Wales

The impact of discharges from abandoned metal and ironstone mines has been a much studied form of aquatic pollution in recent decades. Few attempts however, have been made to accurately determine the overall contaminant mass flux arising from abandoned mine sites at scales above catchment level. Such assessments are critical to determine the significance of former mining to national, regional and ultimately global trace metal flux. This paper presents the most comprehensive national survey to date across England and Wales of the total pollution burden discharged at source from abandoned non-coal mine sites. 338 discharges have been identified (from 4923 known abandoned metal mines) and while concurrent flow and contaminant concentration records are only available for around 30% of these, significant quantities of metals (and As) have been quantified to be discharged. A minimum of 193 tonnes of Zn, 18.5 tonnes of Pb, 0.64 tonnes Cd, 19.1 tonnes of Cu, 551 tonnes Fe, 72 tonnes Mn and 5.1 tonnes As are released in water discharges from abandoned non-coal mines to the surface water environment of England and Wales each year. Precautionary extrapolation of mass fluxes based on the frequency distribution of measured concentration and flow data, for discharges with absent data, suggests that the actual total mass flux for these contaminants could be up to 41% higher. The mass flux of Pb released from mines exceeds that of all currently permitted discharges (e.g. active industrial sites and wastewater treatment works) to surface waters across England and Wales, while those of As, Cd and Zn are of a similar magnitude. These data put into context the enduring legacy of historic mining on the water environment, highlighting its significance relative to more highly regulated polluting sites. Comparison of the figures with estimates of global trace metal flux suggests that the national total identified here is significant on a global scale.     

Does the reuse of PET bottles during solar water disinfection pose a health risk due to the migration of plasticisers and other chemicals into the water?

Solar water disinfection (SODIS) is a simple, effective and inexpensive water treatment procedure suitable for application in developing countries. Microbially contaminated water is filled into transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles and exposed to full sunlight for at least 6 h. Solar radiation and elevated temperature destroy pathogenic germs efficiently. Recently, concerns have been raised insinuating a health risk by chemicals released from the bottle material polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Whereas the safety of PET for food packaging has been assessed in detail, similar investigations for PET bottles used under conditions of the SODIS treatment were lacking until now. In the present study, the transfer of organic substances from PET to water was investigated under SODIS conditions using used colourless transparent beverage bottles of different origin. The bottles were exposed to sunlight for 17 h at a geographical latitude of 47° N. In a general screening of SODIS treated water, only food flavour constituents of previous bottle contents could be identified above a detection limit of 1 μg/L. Quantitative determination of plasticisers di(2-ethylhexyl)adipate (DEHA) and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) revealed maximum concentrations of 0.046 and 0.71 μg/L, respectively, being in the same range as levels of these plasticisers reported in studies on commercial bottled water. Generally, only minor differences in plasticiser concentrations could be observed in different experimental setups. The most decisive factor was the country of origin of bottles, while the impact of storage conditions (sunlight exposure and temperature) was less distinct. Toxicological risk assessment of maximum concentrations revealed a minimum safety factor of 8.5 and a negligible carcinogenic risk of 2.8 × 10⁻⁷ for the more critical DEHP. This data demonstrate that the SODIS procedure is safe with respect to human exposure to DEHA and DEHP.     

Assessment of pollution from livestock and poultry breeding in China

Livestock and poultry husbandry is a major source of agricultural pollution in China. Thus far, national-scale approaches to estimating pollutant loads from livestock and poultry rearing remain limited. This impedes effective water quality assessment and relevant policy making. Applying unit load and export coefficient modelling, we estimated pollutant loads from livestock and poultry raising from 2000 to 2010. Results show that the total annual pollutant loads generated from the faeces and urine of livestock and poultry in 2010 had a chemical oxygen demand of 78.2?million metric tonnes; biochemical oxygen demand of 72.7?million tonnes; ammonia nitrogen of 7.4?million tonnes; total phosphorus of 6.0?million tonnes; and total nitrogen of 18.0?million tonnes. Livestock and poultry husbandry has been one of the main pollution sources in China. The significant contributors are pigs and cattle. In particular, pollution from livestock and poultry raising in China spatially overlaps with industrial and domestic pollution. South eastern regions face the difficult challenge of controlling and managing agricultural, industrial and domestic pollution.     

基于机器学习方法的有毒有害气体监测系统设计

针对近年来石油化工厂区、危险化学品存放港口火灾事故多发,消防员在灭火救援过程中多有人员伤亡的现状,提出一种专用于消防救援现场的有毒有害气体监测系统,阐述了系统的构成、工作原理,建立了现场有毒有害气体监测区域危险性和消防员现场作业危险性权值模型。应用机器学习方法对数据模型进行训练,在灭火救援现场为指挥员调度指挥提供科学的辅助决策支撑,有利于保障现场参战消防员的生命安全。     

Criteria for use of groundwater as renewable energy source in geothermal heat pump systems for building heating/cooling purposes

Environmental protection measures are conducted directly by the use of renewable energy sources. The energy development of cities in Europe is aimed at the sustainable use of renewable energy sources in order to achieve the substitution of fossil fuels and the reduction of the hazardous gas emission into the atmosphere. Geothermal resources of medium and low enthalpy in Europe being used for obtaining heat energy are providing about 6600 MW_t, currently having the growth trend of 50 MW_t annually. The use of geothermal low enthalpy, namely of subgeothermal groundwater resources, has even higher annual growth rate, and if such a trend is kept till the year 2010, the produced energy will amount about 8000 MW_t. Criteria of the groundwater use as a hydrogeothermal energy resource in heat pumps are complex, and they deal with aspects of incoming temperatures and groundwater quantities. The precise limit temperature of groundwater that would separate the direct use of geothermal energy (only by the use of heat exchangers), and indirectly by the use of a heat pump has not been determined in the professional and scientific practice of Serbia so far. Taking into account that relatively small number of new flat is being built in Serbia nowadays, if we want to save energy it is necessary to carry out the energy reconstruction of the existing flats whose number is estimated to be more than 2.8 million. By the application of subgeothermal energy and the use of heat pumps, energy consumption would be significantly reduced.     

Proximity to chipboard industries increases the risk of respiratory and irritation symptoms in children: The Viadana study

Emissions related to wood production processes are a recognized health hazard for professionally exposed subjects. The health effects of living close to wood industries are not known, particularly in the pediatric population. We aimed at investigating if living close to chipboard industries is a health hazard for the children in the Viadana district (Northern Italy).In December 2006, all the children (3-14 years) living in the Viadana district, where two big chipboard industries are located, were surveyed through a parental questionnaire (n = 3854). The children were geocoded, and the distance of their houses/schools from the closest wood plant was computed.Independently of sex, age, nationality, residential area, traffic, parents' education, passive/parental smoking, questionnaire compiler and his/her environmental concern, the children living at < 2 km from chipboard industries had a greater prevalence of respiratory (OR = 1.33, 95%CI: 1.11, 1.60), cough/phlegm (OR = 1.43, 95%CI: 1.08, 1.88), nose/throat/mouth (OR = 1.47, 95%CI: 1.23, 1.75), eye (OR = 1.24, 95%CI: 1.04, 1.48) symptoms, school-days lost (OR = 1.24, 95%CI: 1.04, 1.48), and emergency (OR = 2.14, 95%CI: 1.47, 3.11) and hospital (OR = 2.21, 95%CI: 1.17, 4.18) admissions. There was an inverse dose-response relationship between the adverse health outcomes considered and the distance from the plants. The attributable fractions for the children living close to the chipboard industries were substantial, ranging from 13% (eye symptoms) to 27% (cough/phlegm).The present findings suggest that emissions from chipboard industries might have a serious impact on children's health status and should therefore be reduced and closely monitored.     

Import-export balance of nitrogen and phosphorus in food, fodder and fertilizers in the Baltic Sea drainage area

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are essential elements for life, but in excess they contribute to aquatic eutrophication. The Baltic Sea is a brackish semi-enclosed sea that is heavily influenced by anthropogenic loading of nutrients, resulting in a major environmental problem, eutrophication. In this study, the nutrient balance of the food production and consumption system in seven countries in the Baltic Sea drainage area was quantified for the period 2002-2005. The food production and consumption system accumulates nutrients in the Baltic Sea drainage area, due to extensive imports to the system. The average annual net surplus of nutrients was 1 800 000 tons N and 320 000 tons P in 2002-2005, or annually 28 kg N and 5 kg P per capita. The average total annual import was 2 100 000 tons N and 340 000 tons P during 2002-2005. The largest imports to the system were fertilizers, totaling 1 700 000 tons N and 290 000 tons P. Traded nutrients in food and fodder amounted to a net annual surplus of 180 000 tons N and 25 000 tons P. The nutrient load to the Baltic Sea due to the food consumption and production system was 21% N and 6% P of the respective annual net inputs to the region. This study shows that large amounts of nutrients to Baltic Sea drainage area are inputs from outside the region, eventually contributing to eutrophication. To reduce the nutrient imports, fertilizers should be used more efficiently, nutrients should be recycled more efficiently inside the region, and food system should be guided toward low-nutrient intensive diets.     

Contaminant blubber burdens in Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from two southeastern US estuarine areas: Concentrations and patterns of PCBs, pesticides, PBDEs, PFCs, and PAHs

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chlorinated pesticides (i.e., dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites, chlordanes (CHLs), dieldrin, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and mirex), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in blubber biopsy samples collected from 139 wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) during 2003-2005 in Charleston (CHS), SC and the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), FL. Dolphins accumulated a similar suite of contaminants with ∑ PCB dominating (CHS 64%, IRL 72%), followed by ∑ DDT (CHS 20%, IRL 17%), ∑ CHLs (CHS 7%; IRL 7%), ∑ PBDE (CHS 4%, IRL 2%), PAH at 2%, and dieldrin, PFCs and mirex each 1% or less. Together ∑ PCB and ∑ DDT concentrations contributed ∼ 87% of the total POCs measured in blubber of adult males. ∑ PCBs in adult male dolphins exceed the established PCB threshold of 17 mg/kg by a 5-fold order of magnitude with a 15-fold increase for many animals; 88% of the dolphins exceed this threshold. For male dolphins, CHS (93,980 ng/g lipid) had a higher ∑ PCBs geomean compared to the IRL (79,752 ng/g lipid) although not statistically different. In adult males, the PBDE geometric mean concentration was significantly higher in CHS (5920 ng/g lipid) than the IRL (1487 ng/g). Blubber ∑ PFCs concentrations were significantly higher in CHS dolphins. In addition to differences in concentration of PCB congeners, ∑ PBDE, TEQ, ∑ CHLs, mirex, dieldrin, and the ratios ∑ DDE/∑DDT and trans-nonachlor/cis-nonachlor were the most informative for discriminating contaminant loads in these two dolphin populations. Collectively, the current ∑ PCB, ∑ DDT, and ∑ PBDEs blubber concentrations found in CHS dolphins are among the highest reported values in marine mammals. Both dolphin populations, particularly those in CHS, carry a suite of organic chemicals at or above the level where adverse effects have been reported in wildlife, humans, and laboratory animals warranting further examination of the potential adverse effects of these exposures.     

Risk of malignancies in relation to terrestrial gamma radiation in a Swedish population cohort

Results of epidemiological studies on terrestrial gamma radiation (TGR) and related malignancies have not been consistent. This study is a thorough examination of this relationship. Records on all individuals living in two Swedish counties in 1973, along with their annual dwelling coordinates during the 28-year follow-up period, were retrieved from the National Archives and Statistics Sweden. We used Geographical Information System (GIS) to match the individuals' dwelling coordinates annually to the TGR given in 200 × 200 m grids produced by the Geological Survey of Sweden. Cases of malignancies and deaths were retrieved from the Swedish Cancer Register. During the follow-up period 61,503 incident cases were included in the analyses and in total 11 million person-years were recorded. Cox regression was used both in a linear continuous model and analyses of six exposure categories. Adjustments were made for sex, age, and population density. The hazard ratio (HR) per 100 nanoGray/hour (nGy/h) was significantly increased for total malignancies and for several sites; however, contrary to expectations, an obvious and anticipated linear exposure-response relationship could not be identified. With the lowest exposure category (0-60 nGy/h) as reference, a statistically significantly increased HR for total malignancies was seen in all exposure categories, except in the highest category 96-366 nGy/h. For breast cancer, thyroid cancer and leukaemia an obvious exposure-response could not be seen.     

Effect of redox conditions on bacterial and fungal biomass and carbon dioxide production in Louisiana coastal swamp forest sediment

Fungal and bacterial carbon dioxide (CO₂) production/emission was determined under a range of redox conditions in sediment from a Louisiana swamp forest used for wastewater treatment. Sediment was incubated in microcosms at 6 Eh levels (-200, -100, 0, + 100, + 250 and + 400 mV) covering the anaerobic range found in wetland soil and sediment. Carbon dioxide production was determined by the substrate-induced respiration (SIR) inhibition method. Cycloheximide (C₁₅H₂₃NO₄) was used as the fungal inhibitor and streptomycin (C₂₁H₃₉N₇O₁₂) as the bacterial inhibitor. Under moderately reducing conditions (Eh > + 250 mV), fungi contributed more than bacteria to the CO₂ production. Under highly reducing conditions (Eh ≤ 0 mV), bacteria contributed more than fungi to the total CO₂ production. The fungi/bacteria (F/B) ratios varied between 0.71-1.16 for microbial biomass C, and 0.54-0.94 for microbial biomass N. Under moderately reducing conditions (Eh ≥ + 100 mV), the F/B ratios for microbial biomass C and N were higher than that for highly reducing conditions (Eh ≤ 0 mV). In moderately reducing conditions (Eh ≥ + 100 mV), the C/N microbial biomass ratio for fungi (C/N: 13.54-14.26) was slightly higher than for bacteria (C/N: 9.61-12.07). Under highly reducing redox conditions (Eh ≤ 0 mV), the C/N microbial biomass ratio for fungi (C/N: 10.79-12.41) was higher than for bacteria (C/N: 8.21-9.14). For bacteria and fungi, the C/N microbial biomass ratios under moderately reducing conditions were higher than that in highly reducing conditions. Fungal CO₂ production from swamp forest could be of greater ecological significance under moderately reducing sediment conditions contributing to the greenhouse effect (GHE) and the global warming potential (GWP). However, increases in coastal submergence associated with global sea level rise and resultant decrease in sediment redox potential from increased flooding would likely shift CO₂ production to bacteria rather than fungi.     

Recent trends of research in plastic building materials in India

Of the total World production of plastics over 25 by value goes into various building applications. In India, this figure is considerably lower. The main reasons for this situation are lack of knowledge amongst engineers and architects about plastics, lack of availability of performance data and high cost. The present paper is a review of research work carried out on Plastics in Buildings at this institute as well as in other laboratories in the country.

Use of plastics in exposed conditions requires great care particularly in climatic conditions of tropical countries like India. Considerable work has been done to evaluate weathering performance of a number of plastic products such as GRP sheets polyethylene films, PVC and PMMA sheets and plastic water storage tanks.

Plastic pipes are considerably more economical compared to GI pipes and are being used in many parts of the country. But there are complaints of leakage and unsatisfactory performance in some cases. Other doubts raised are danger from rodents and termites.

Resin bonded building materials find limited use because of high cost of UF and PF resins. Attempts have been made to find alternative resinous materials or to use extenders. This includes work done on CNSL resins, tannin based resins and blending of proteinous materials with thermosetting resins.

Other developmental work includes evaluation of protective coatings for concrete and for reinforcement in brick work, studies on polymer impregnated concrete, wood plastic composites and plastic sandwich panels and utilisation of agricultural wastes to produce low cost plastics building materials.

The paper briefly reviews the work on all above aspects and lists 28 references. Emphasis has been laid on greater cooperation between industry and research organisation to win the confidence of the user.     

Ultrasonic enhancement of waste activated sludge hydrolysis and volatile fatty acids accumulation at pH 10.0

Volatile fatty acids (VFA), the preferred carbon source for biological nutrients removal, can be produced by waste activated sludge (WAS) anaerobic fermentation. However, because the rate of VFA accumulation is limited by that of WAS hydrolysis and VFA is always consumed by methanogens at acidic or neutral pHs, the ultrasonic pretreatment which can accelerate the rate of WAS hydrolysis, and alkaline adjustment which can inhibit the activities of methanogens, were, therefore, used to improve WAS hydrolysis and VFA accumulation in this study. Experiment results showed that the combination of ultrasonic pretreatment and alkaline adjustment caused significant enhancements of WAS hydrolysis and VFA accumulation. The study of ultrasonic energy density effect revealed that energy density influenced not only the total VFA accumulation but also the percentage of individual VFA. The maximal VFA accumulation (3109.8 mg COD/L) occurred at ultrasonic energy density of 1.0 kW/L and fermentation time of 72 h, which was more than two times that without ultrasonic treatment (1275.0 mg COD/L). The analysis of VFA composition showed that the percentage of acetic acid ranked the first (more than 40%) and those of iso-valeric and propionic acids located at the second and third places, respectively. Thus, the suitable ultrasonic conditions combined with alkaline adjustment for VFA accumulation from WAS were ultrasonic energy density of 1.0 kW/L and fermentation time of 72 h. Also, the key enzymes related to VFA formation exhibited the highest activities at ultrasonic energy density of 1.0 kW/L, which resulted in the greatest VFA production during WAS fermentation at pH 10.0.     

Global and regional analysis of climate and human drivers of wildfire

Identifying and quantifying the statistical relationships between climate and anthropogenic drivers of fire is important for global biophysical modelling of wildfire and other Earth system processes. This study used regression tree and random forest analysis on global data for various climatic and human variables to establish their relative importance. The main interactions found at the global scale also apply regionally: greatest wildfire burned area is associated with high temperature (> 28 °C), intermediate annual rainfall (350-1100 mm), and prolonged dry periods (which varies by region). However, the regions of highest fire incidence do not show clear and systematic behaviour. Thresholds seen in the regression tree split conditions vary, as do the interplay between climatic and anthropogenic variables, so challenges remain in developing robust predictive insight for the most wildfire-threatened regions.Anthropogenic activities alter the spatial extent of wildfires. Gross domestic product (GDP) density is the most important human predictor variable at the regional scale, and burned area is always greater when GDP density is minimised. South America is identified as a region of concern, as anthropogenic factors (notably land conversions) outweigh climatic drivers of wildfire burned area.     

Effects of biologically-active chemical mixtures on fish in a wastewater-impacted urban stream

Stream flow in urban aquatic ecosystems often is maintained by water-reclamation plant (WRP) effluents that contain mixtures of natural and anthropogenic chemicals that persist through the treatment processes. In effluent-impacted streams, aquatic organisms such as fish are continuously exposed to biologically-active chemicals throughout their life cycles. The North Shore Channel of the Chicago River (Chicago, Illinois) is part of an urban ecosystem in which > 80% of the annual flow consists of effluent from the North Side WRP. In this study, multiple samplings of the effluent and stream water were conducted and fish (largemouth bass and carp) were collected on 2 occasions from the North Shore Channel. Fish also were collected once from the Outer Chicago Harbor in Lake Michigan, a reference site not impacted by WRP discharges. Over 100 organic chemicals with differing behaviors and biological effects were measured, and 23 compounds were detected in all of the water samples analyzed. The most frequently detected and highest concentration (> 100 μg/L) compounds were ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and 4-nonylphenolmono-to-tetraethoxycarboxylic acids. Other biologically-active chemicals including bisphenol A, 4-nonylphenol, 4-nonylphenolmono-to-tetraethoxylates, 4-tert-octylphenol, and 4-tert-octylphenolmono-to-tetraethoxylates were detected at lower concentrations (< 5 μg/L). The biogenic steroidal hormones 17β-estradiol, estrone, testosterone, 4-androstene-3,17-dione, and cis-androsterone were detected at even lower concentrations (< 0.005 μg/L). There were slight differences in concentrations between the North Side WRP effluent and the North Shore Channel, indicating minimal in-stream attenuation. Fish populations are continuously exposed to mixtures of biologically-active chemicals because of the relative persistency of the chemicals with respect to stream hydraulic residence time, and the lack of a fresh water source for dilution. The majority of male fish exhibited vitellogenin induction, a physiological response consistent with exposure to estrogenic compounds. Tissue-level signs of reproductive disruption, such as ovatestis, were not observed.     

Bioaccumulation of silver in ectomycorrhizal and saprobic macrofungi from pristine and polluted areas

Macrofungi are effective accumulators of Ag. This study provides a comprehensive review of this phenomenon supported by original data on the Ag concentrations of macrofungi from pristine and Ag-polluted areas. In pristine areas, the median Ag concentrations of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) and saprobic (SAP) macrofungi were 0.79 and 2.94 mg kg^− 1, respectively. In these areas, hyperaccumulation thresholds for Ag in ECM and SAP macrofungi are proposed as 100 and 300 mg kg^− 1, respectively. In a Ag-polluted area, the Ag concentrations in macrofungi (ECM and SAP) were significantly elevated with the median value of 24.7 mg kg^− 1 and the highest concentrations in Amanita spp. of the section Vaginatae (304-692 mg kg^− 1). The intracellular speciation of Ag in fruit-bodies of the Ag-accumulator Amanita submembranacea was inspected by size exclusion chromatography followed by sulfhydryl-specific fluorimetric assays of ligands using reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography and improved polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Virtually all Ag was found to be intracellular and sequestered in the major 7 kDa and minor 3.3 kDa complexes. The lack of glutathione and phytochelatins and the presence of a single 3 kDa sulfhydryl-containing peptide in the isolated Ag-complexes suggest that detoxification of Ag in A. submembranacea may rely on metallothionein. Vertical distribution of Ag in a polluted forest soil profile has shown substantial enrichment in organic horizons; in polluted technosol, the highest Ag concentrations were found in surface layers. Standardized EDTA extraction of Ag in both the investigated soil profiles showed relatively low Ag extractibility, generally within the range of 2.2-7.7% of total Ag content.     

Altered developmental timing in early life stages of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) exposed to p,p'-DDE

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are persistent, toxic and bioaccumulative anthropogenic organic chemicals, capable of undergoing long range environmental transport to remote areas including the Antarctic. p,p′-dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE) has been identified as a dominant POP accumulating in Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), which is a key Southern Ocean species. This study examined the developmental toxicity of p,p′-DDE via aqueous exposure to Antarctic krill larvae. p,p′-DDE exposure was found to stimulate developmental timing in the first three larval stages of Antarctic krill, while extended monitoring of larvae after a five day exposure period had ended, revealed delayed inhibitory responses during development to the fourth larval stage. Stimulatory responses were observed from the lowest p,p′-DDE body residue tested of 10.1 ± 3.0 μmol/kg (3.2 ± 0.95 mg/kg) preserved wet weight, which is comparable to findings for temperate species and an order of magnitude lower than the exposure level found to cause sublethal behavioural effects in Antarctic krill. The delayed responses included increased mortality, which had doubled in the highest p,p′-DDE treatment (95 ± 8.9% mortality at 20 μg/L p,p′-DDE) compared to the solvent control (44 ± 11% mortality) 2 weeks after end of exposure. Development of surviving metanauplius larvae to calyptopis 1 larvae was delayed by 2 days in p,p′-DDE exposed larvae compared with untreated larvae. Finally, the developmental success of surviving p,p′-DDE exposed larvae was reduced by 50 to 75% compared to the solvent control (100% developmental success). The lowest observed effect concentration for all delayed effects was 1 μg/L, the lowest exposure concentration tested. These findings demonstrate the importance of delayed and indirect effects of toxicant exposure. Further, the findings of this study are important for environmental risk assessment of POPs in the Southern Ocean ecosystem and strongly highlight the significance of developmental endpoints for ecotoxicological testing.     

Using magnetic seeds to improve the aggregation and precipitation of nanoparticles from backside grinding wastewater

Backside grinding (BG) wastewater treatment typically requires large quantities of chemicals, i.e. polyaluminum chloride (PAC) coagulant and produces considerable amounts of sludge, increasing the loading and cost of subsequent sludge treatment and disposal processes. This study investigated the effects of the addition of magnetic seeds (FeO*Fe₂O₃) of selected particle sizes and of optimized combinations of magnetic seeds and PAC on the aggregation of silica nanoparticles from BG wastewater and on the sedimentation time at various pH values (5-9). The results show that the turbidity of BG wastewater was significantly reduced by the magnetic aggregation treatment. The dosage of PAC combined with 2.49 g L⁻¹ or 1.24 g L⁻¹ of magnetic seeds was reduced by 83% (from 60 to 10 mg L⁻¹) compared to the conventional process of using only PAC as a coagulant. The turbidity of the BG wastewater, initially 1900-2500 NTU, could also be successfully decreased about to 23 NTU by the addition of 3.74 g L⁻¹ magnetite (FeO*Fe₂O₃) only at pH 5 with an applied magnetic field of 1000 G. Different coagulation conditions using magnetic seeds combined with coagulant resulted in different aggregation performances. The treatment performance was more effective by using two-stage dosing, in which magnetic seeds and PAC were added separately, than that with one-stage dosing, where the magnetic seeds and PAC were added simultaneously during rapid mixing. The two-stage dosing allowed for a reduction in the optimum dosage of magnetic seeds from 3.74 g L⁻¹ to 2.49 g L⁻¹ or 1.24 g L⁻¹ without affecting performance when coupled with 0.01 g L⁻¹ of PAC coagulant. The developed method effectively reduced the production of waste sludge.     

Mercury emission to atmosphere from primary Zn production in China

Emissions of mercury (Hg) to air have regional and global impacts through long range transport in the atmosphere. Primary Zn production is regarded as an important anthropogenic Hg source in China, but research on its Hg emission is limited. To gain a better understanding of Hg emissions from Zn production activities in China, field investigations at four industrial-scale Zn production plants using electrostatic process with Hg removal (HP-WR), electrostatic process without Hg removal (HP-WOR), retort Zn production (RZ), imperial smelting process (ISP), and one artisanal Zn smelting process (AZ) were carried out. In the investigation, Hg emission factors are defined as how much Hg was emitted to the atmosphere per ton Zn produced during various Zn production methods and were estimated by using mass balance method. The results showed that the estimated Hg emission factors of Zn production were 5.7 ± 4.0 g Hg t⁻¹ Zn for HP-WR, 31 ± 22 g Hg t⁻¹ Zn for HP-WOR, 34 ± 71 g Hg t⁻¹ Zn for RZ, 122 ± 122 g Hg t⁻¹ Zn g t⁻¹ for ISP, and 75 ± 115 g Hg t⁻¹ Zn for AZ. Approximately 80.7-104.2 t year⁻¹ of Hg was emitted to atmosphere from primary Zn production during the period of 2002-2006 in China.