Mercury vapor in residential building common areas in communities where mercury is used for cultural purposes versus a reference community

BACKGROUND: Exposure to elemental mercury (Hg0) in residential buildings can occur from accidental spills, broken objects (thermometers, fluorescent fixtures, thermostats), and deliberate introduction, one mode of which involves cultural practices by individuals who believe dispersal of mercury in a residence will bring luck, enhance health or ward off harm. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether mercury vapor levels in common areas of residential buildings is higher in a community where cultural uses are likely (study areas S1, S2) than in a reference community (C1) where cultural use is unlikely, and whether levels can serve as a signal of significant cultural mercury use. METHODS: We monitored Hg0 vapor with a portable spectrophotometer in the three communities. We randomly selected sites in S1 and C1 community, and also include sites in S2 specified by local health officials who suspected cultural mercury use. We evaluated 122 multifamily buildings and 116 outdoor locations. FINDINGS: We found >25 ng/m3 Hg0 in 14% of buildings in study areas compared to only one reference building. In the latter we identified an accidental mercury spill from a bottle that had been brought into the building. Both the mean and maximum indoor mercury vapor levels were greater in the study communities than in the reference community. In all communities, we observed mean indoor Hg0 vapor concentration greater than outdoors, although in two-thirds of buildings, indoor levels did not exceed the area-specific outdoor upper-limit concentration. CONCLUSION: After controlling for factors that might influence Hg0 vapor levels, the most plausible explanation for greater Hg0 levels in the study area is a relationship to cultural use of mercury. None of the measured levels exceeded the ATSDR minimum risk level for residences of 200 ng/m3 Hg0 although levels in living quarters might be greater than those in the common areas.     

Compositional changes in the hydrophobic acids fraction of drainage water from different land management practices

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) can play a key role in many environmental processes, including carbon cycling, nutrient transport and the fates of contaminants and of agrochemicals. Hydrophobic acids (Ho), the major components of the DOM, were recovered from the drainage waters from well-drained (WDS) and poorly-drained (PDS) Irish grassland soils in lysimeters, amended with N fertiliser (F) and with bovine urine (U) and were studied using 1D and 2D solution-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The Diffusion Edited (DE) ¹H NMR spectra indicated that the Ho consisted largely of larger molecules, or of molecules that formed rigid aggregates, and the 1D and the 2D (Heteronuclear Multiple Quantum Coherence - HMQC, the Total Correlation Spectroscopy - TOCSY, and the Nuclear Overhauser Effect - NOESY) spectra indicated that the samples were composed of lignin residues, carbohydrates, protein/peptides, and aliphatic components derived from plant waxes/cuticular materials and from microbial lipids. The F amendments increased the concentrations of Ho in the waters by 1.5 and 2.5 times those in the controls in the cases of WDS and PDS, respectively. The lignin-derived components were increased by 50% and 300% in the cases of the Ho from the WDS and PDS, respectively. Applications of F + U decreased the losses of Ho, (compared to the F amendments alone) and very significantly decreased those of the lignin-derived materials, indicating that enhanced microbial activity from U gave rise to enhanced metabolism of the Ho components, and especially of lignin. In contrast the less biodegradable aliphatic components containing cuticular materials increased as the result of applications of F + U. This study helps our understanding of how management practices influence the movement of C between terrestrial and aquatic environments.     

Identification of nanominerals and nanoparticles in burning coal waste piles from Portugal

A range of carbon nanoparticles, agglomerates and mineral phases have been identified in burning coal waste pile materials from the Douro Coalfield of Portugal, as a basis for identifying their potential environmental and human health impacts. The fragile nature and fine particle size of these materials required novel characterization methods, including energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) techniques. The chemical composition and possible correlations with morphology of the nanominerals and associated ultra-fine particles have been evaluated in the context of human health exposure, as well as in relation to management of such components in coal-fire environments.     

"It Gets You Away From Everyday Life": Local Woodlands and Community Use—What Makes a Difference?

This paper explores who uses woodlands near their homes, why they visit, what benefits they believe they obtain and what makes the difference between them choosing to visit or not. In the research, supported by the Forestry Commission, a multi-method, user-led approach was used, based on focus groups, questionnaire surveys and on-site observation in relation to five different communities in the central belt of Scotland. The conclusions demonstrate the overriding importance of childhood woodland visits as predictors of adult patterns of use. Proximity of woodlands is important for regular woodland users and freedom from rubbish is the physical quality people care most about. The physical qualities that make a difference as to whether people visit woodlands or not include directional signs, good information boards, variety of trees and tidiness of appearance. Perceptions of woodlands differ according to age and sex but are predominantly positive across all groups sampled: most people feel at peace in a woodland.     

Measuring the concentrations of drinking water disinfection by-products using capillary membrane sampling-flow injection analysis

A capillary membrane sampling-flow injection analysis method is presented for selectively measuring the concentrations of total trihalomethanes (THMs) and total haloacetic acids (HAAs) in drinking water. The method is based on the reaction between nicotinamide and THM or HAA species to yield a fluorescent product. Two configurations are presented, one selective for total THMs and another selective for total HAAs. The construction of a capillary membrane sampler is described, and the results of method detection limit, accuracy and precision studies are reported for each method. Interference, selectivity and linearity studies are reported as well as the effect of temperature and ionic strength changes. Drinking water samples were analyzed by each proposed method and the results were compared to USEPA methods 502.2 and 552.3.     

Modeling of hurricane damage for Hawaii residential construction

Past information on Hurricane Iniki damage to Hawaii buildings of residential, commercial, and resort occupancies has been gathered and geo-referenced on GIS. Comprehensive reconstruction cost documentation has been combined with post-hurricane aerial photography and linked to a robust property tax database of construction type attributes and property valuation. Using the data available in the property tax records to define construction attributes, residential building fragilities and loss functions have been developed along with risk relativity factors. The resultant Damage Curves estimate hurricane damage to a wide variety of Hawaii building types as a function of peak gust windspeed.     

Application of confocal scanning laser microscopy in experimental pathology

Confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM) represents an exciting new tool for scientific disciplines which focus on mechanistic studies such as experimental pathology. Enhanced resolution in the specimen plane and rejection of out-of-focus fluorescence flare allow analysis of specific nucleic acid sequences, enzymes, structural macromolecules, and cellular homeostasis utilizing fluorescent probes. Four different experimental applications are discussed which utilize CSLM to evaluate pathological processes at the subcellular, cellular, and tissue levels. Programmed cell death, or apoptosis, is a natural process of significance both during development and as a response to toxic stimuli. CSLM-imaging of nuclei of human B lymphoblastoid cells following exposure to a monofunctional alkylating agent suggests that the degradation of chromatin characteristic of apoptosis may occur in asymmetric patterns. Surfactant apoprotein-A is the major non-serum protein component of pulmonary surfactant and is essential for the extracellular function of surfactant. CSLM of alveolar type II cells suggests that apoprotein-A is present in both the cytoplasm, predominantly in lamellar bodies, and in the nucleus. The tumor promoter, phorbol myristate acetate, rapidly stimulated the formation of vacuoles in human neutrophils. CSLM using Lucifer Yellow as a probe suggests that cylindrical vacuoles are formed by fluid-phase pinocytosis. The blood-nerve barrier (BNB) in peripheral nerves may be an important target during toxin-induced neuropathies. Ricin-induced permeability of the BNB in the rat was rapidly visualized by CSLM as leakage of fluorescein isothiocynate (FITC)-dextran into the endoneurial compartment.     

Perceptions of Antarctic tourism: A question of tolerance

Perceptions of tourism held by a sample of New Zealand's Antarctic community are explored, and the small, mixed group of scientists and support workers that populate Scott Base (New Zealand's research base in the Ross Dependency, Antarctica) are treated as proxy for a ‘host’ community. This exploration is part of a wider study that set out to investigate the nature and meanings of Antarctic heritage. Although the research did not explicitly set out to survey perceptions of tourism, approximately one-half of those interviewed in the wider study gave an insight into this topic. The qualitative data reported were gathered during two visits to Scott Base in 1999. From the responses a three-fold classification was derived, indicating degrees of tolerance toward tourism: cautious, complex and comfortable tolerance.     

Editorial

Clydeside has been a distinctive case of British regional planning and administration since 1944. With the abolition of the English Metropolitan County Councils in 1986, it became unique. Clydeside's experience has been associated with special Scottish political circumstances, protecting the idea of regional planning which Scottish interests harnessed to bargain for favours in government resources.

The Clyde Valley Plan of 1946, West Central Scotland Plan of 1974 and Strathclyde Regional Council of 1975, reflected evolving ideas of the Clydeside region, of planning and administration. The performance and strategic influence of the two advisory Plans is compared with experience under the succeeding Regional Council. Against the successful long‐term achievement of the Clyde Valley Plan's proposals and its significant influence on Scottish public affairs, its historic dispute with Glasgow over the role of the new towns is re‐examined in the light of present circumstances.

It is suggested that the unforeseen increase of government intervention in Scottish strategic regional development, through a range of government agencies whose roles have become collectively more significant since the creation of Strathclyde Regional Council, has coincidentally reduced the planning case for local government reorganization but helped stabilize regional administration in Scotland when it was collapsing in England.     

Nitrate and chloride concentrations in the high plains aquifer,Texas

Groundwater nitrate and chloride concentrations were compiled for 122 wells in a rural, three‐county area of northwest Texas. The counties are located on the High Plains aquifer, a major source of groundwater in the region. Cropland/pasture is the predominant land use in the study area. The area also contains numerous cattle feedlots. Fertilizer and manure associated with those land uses are potential sources of ground‐water contamination. Although locally elevated above background levels, none of the chemical concentrations exceeded the primary drinking water standard of 44.27 mg/L for nitrate (10mg/L for NO₃ — N) or secondary standard of 250mg/L for chloride. Rank correlations between nitrate and chloride were statistically significant in two of the three counties, where the solutes may have originated from a common surface source. Denitrification and scant precipitation recharge may account for an absence of nitrate levels above the drinking water standard.