SEM-EDX analysis in the source apportionment of particulate matter on Hypogymnia physodes lichen transplants around the Cu smelter and former mining town of Karabash, South Urals, Russia

Scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX) of particulate matter on lichen transplant thalli (Hypogymnia physodes) was assessed as a complementary technique to wet chemical analysis for source apportionment of airborne contaminants. Transplants (2 month exposure) stationed in the Cu smelter and former mining town of Karabash were compared with those from a control site 30 km south. Particulate matter in Karabash samples (715 analyses) showed higher levels of S, Pb, Cu, Sn and Zn compared with the control (598 analyses). Complex element associations among the particles confounded detailed mineralogical identifications, and therefore a simplified particle classification scheme was devised for source apportionment. Karabash samples contained high levels of particles classified as mining-related (MRP), and these were also identified in control samples, indicating wide spatial dispersion from the smelter and highlighting the sensitivity of the method. It was noted that MRP <2.5-microm diameter were poorly represented on lichen surfaces suggesting this may limit the usefulness of Hypogymnia transplants as proxies when assessing human health impacts from airborne particulates. Analyses of the lichen thallus surface (away from surface particulates) revealed high levels of Cu, Zn, Fe and Pb associated with organics in the Karabash samples compared with the control, with a proportionate loss of K, interpreted as being due to a stress-related increase in cell membrane permeability. This type of analysis may provide a novel SEM-EDX-based method for assessing lichen vitality. The techniques developed are presented and further implications of the study are discussed.     

Design of tall bridge piers by ant colony optimization

This paper describes a methodology for the analysis and design of Reinforced Concrete (RC) tall bridge piers with hollow rectangular sections, which are typically used in deep valley bridge viaducts. Piers are usually considered tall when the shaft has a height of 50 m or more. Three different types of rectangular hollow tall piers have been studied for road piers of 90.00 m in height: RTRA90, RLON90 and RLT90. RTRA90 has the two side walls inclined, RLON90 has the two frontal walls inclined and RLT90 has all four walls inclined. The procedure used in the present study to solve the combinatorial problem is a variant of the ant colony optimization. RTRA90 leads to the most economical pier, both in column and foundation cost, since it is the most efficient set up for horizontal loads. Regarding the cost of the vertical column only, i.e. excluding the foundation, the cost of RTRA90 and RLON90 are similar, but the cost of the column RLT90 is higher due to its larger unit cost of interior formwork.     

Environmental exposure to lead and its correlation with biochemical indices in children

Lead is a global concern because of its ubiquity in the environment and known to be associated with abnormal neurobehavioral and cognitive development of young children. There is no study from India to describe a composite profile of blood lead and its biochemical influences in children. The present study was aimed at determining the proportion of children with >10 mug/dL blood lead levels (BLLs), association between BLLs, and sociodemographic characteristics, if any, and alterations in biochemical indices in the blood as an underlying mechanism of lead intoxication. A total of 62 children (4--12 y) of Lucknow and nearby areas were recruited to determine BLLs, delta-amimolevulinic acid dehydratase (delta-ALAD) activity, catalase (CAT) activity, and malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels in the blood. Mean level of blood lead was 7.47+/-3.06 microg/dL (2.78--15.0) and 29%-exceeded 10 microg/dL, CDC intervention level. The BLLs were found to be significantly influenced by social status, area of residence, source of water supply, maternal educational status (p<0.001), type of house, and proximity to traffic density (p<0.01). delta-ALAD was significantly lower in the group of children with BLLs 11.39+/-1.39 microg/dL when compared to children with BLLs 7.11+/-1.25 microg/dL and 3.93+/-0.61 microg/dL (p=0.0007, 0.0005, respectively). However, CAT activity was higher in the groups of children with higher blood levels than with lower BLLs (p=0.0159, 0.0001, respectively). There was an increase in MDA level with a concomitant decrease of GSH in children with BLLs 11.39+/-1.39 microg/dL compared with those of children with BLLs 7.11+/-1.25 microg/dL and 3.93+/-0.61 microg/dL (p=0.0001, 0.0002, and p=0.0001, respectively). There was statistically significant correlation of BLLs with delta-ALAD (r=-0.44, p=0.00035), MDA (r=0.46, p=0.00018), GSH (r=-0.62, p=0.00001), and CAT (r=0.44, p=0.00035). Significantly, CAT activity, MDA, and GSH levels were in turn, found to be correlated with delta-ALAD (r=-0.45, p=0.00024; r=-0.43, p=0.00053; r=0.43, p=0.00053, respectively). Results of the present study indicate a declining trend of BLLs in children when compared with those reported from metropolitan cities of India when leaded gasoline was in practice and that the BLLs were significantly associated with biochemical indices in the blood which have the potential to be used as biomarkers of lead intoxication.     

Microbial activity and distribution during enhanced contaminant dissolution from a NAPL source zone

Laboratory experiments were conducted to assess microbial reductive dechlorination in one-dimensional sand columns containing a 10 cm long source zone of uniformly distributed residual tetrachloroethene (PCE) nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL), a 10 cm long transition zone directly down-gradient of the source zone containing some nonuniformly distributed NAPL ganglia, and a 40 cm long plume region down-gradient of the transition zone. The activity and distribution of Sulfurospirillum multivorans, a PCE-to-1,2-cis-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) dechlorinating bacterium, was evaluated in columns containing either a mixed-NAPL (0.25 mol/mol PCE in hexadecane) or pure PCE-NAPL. Significant dechlorination of PCE to cis-DCE was observed in the mixed-NAPL column, resulting in 53% PCE-NAPL mass recovery in the effluent with PCE-NAPL dissolution enhanced by up to 13.6-fold (maximum) and 4.6-fold (cumulative) relative to abiotic dissolution. Quantitative real-time PCR targeting pceA, the PCE reductive dehalogenase gene of S. multivorans, revealed that S. multivorans cells were present in the NAPL source zone, and increased in numbers (i.e., grew) throughout the source and transition zones. In contrast, minimal reductive dechlorination and microbial growth were observed in the column containing pure PCE-NAPL, where aqueous-phase PCE concentrations reached saturation. These results demonstrate that microbial growth within NAPL source zones is possible, provided that contaminant concentrations remain below levels toxic to the dechlorinating organisms, and that microbial growth can result in significant bioenhanced NAPL dissolution.     

Haloacetic acids and trihalomethanes in finished drinking waters from heterogeneous sources

Trihalomethanes (THM) and haloacetic acids (HAA) are the most frequent chlorination by-products (CBP) in finished drinking waters. Traditionally, THM have been used as surrogates for CBP although the quantitative association between THM and other CBP is not well established. This problem is addressed in the present study from the analysis of THM and HAA in drinking water samples from four Spanish regions, representing areas with very different CBP composition, e.g. between 86 and 8.0 microg/l of THM and 50-3.0 microg/l of HAA.The resulting dataset exhibit a statistically significant correlation between total THM and HAA (Pearson's correlation coefficient, r(p)=0.815,p<0.0005). Furthermore, specific HAA are highly correlated with specific THM or their combinations. Accordingly, multivariate linear regression analysis of the concentrations observed show that the levels in total and specific HAA can be predicted from the THM content. These results are relevant for epidemiological studies on health effects from CBP exposure since they usually involve comparison of populations consuming waters of very distinct quality.     

Radionuclide contamination of foods imported into Iraq following the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident

Since early 1986, a monitoring program for radionuclides in imported foods has been carried out by the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission. After the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in the Soviet Union, the program was expanded; our laboratory was officially designated by the Iraqi Government to measure radionuclide activity concentrations in foodstuff imported from countries known to be severely contaminated by Chernobyl radioactive fallout. Gamma-spectrometric analysis was used. Food items such as powdered milk, lamb meat, poultry, cereals and grains imported into Iraq before the Chernobyl accident did not contain any detectable fission products. However, all lamb meat, 81% of the lentil, 44% of the powdered milk and chick-pea, and 17% of the roast beef samples were contaminated with 137Cs or 134Cs and 137Cs. The highest 137Cs contamination levels found were 82, 147, 420, 6 and 4 Bq kg-1, respectively. Contamination by 134Cs was approximately 50% of the values given above.     

Organochlorine insecticides and PCB'S in sediments of Lake St. Claire (1970 and 1974) and Lake Erie (1971).

Sediments were collected on a grid from Lake St. Clair in 1970 and 1974 and from Lake Erie in 1971 and analysed for organochlorine insecticides and PCBs. Suspended solids were centrifuged from pumped water in the Detroit River in 1974. Residues of DDE, TDE and DDT were highest in sediment from the Western Basin (70.3 ppb) Lake Erie and lowest in sediment from Lake St. Clair (6.6 ppb in 1970 and 2.6 ppb in 1974). The Central and Eastern Basins of Lake Erie contained residues that fell about mid-way between these means. TDE was the predominant component of ΣDDT and was followed by DDE at approximately half this residue. While DDT represented the lowest component in lake sediments, it was the highest component in suspended solids from the Detroit River.HEOD was present in the entire lake system but at only a fraction of the level of ΣDDT. The mean residue in Lake St. Clair was only 0.1 ppb while Lake Erie sediments contained 1–2 ppb. The highest mean residue (3.6 ppb) was in suspended solids in the Detroit River. Other organochlorine insecticides were only occasionally identified.PCB residues in sediment were approximately 3 times higher than the total organochlorine insecticide residue, being highest in the Western Basin (252 ppb) and lowest in Lake St. Clair (19 ppb in 1970 and 10 ppb in 1974). The Detroit River and Central and Eastern Basins of Lake Erie had intermediate residues.Residues in Lake St. Clair indicated a decline in ΣDDT, HEOD, and PCB residues between 1970 and 1974, and this coincided with the restrictions on the materials. A core sample from the Western Basin of Lake Erie indicated that ΣDDT, HEOD and PCB began to accumulate in sediments in 1958, 1953, and 1956, respectively. This appeared to indicate a lag period of 2–5 years after wide-spread use occurred.     

Biodegradation of urea in river waters under controlled laboratory conditions

The biodegradation of urea in river waters has been evaluated under laboratory conditions. Urea will degrade to ammonia at a rate depending on the bacterial state of the river water and on the water temperature. Under normal conditions no breakdown may be expected to occur at temperatures below 8°C for 14 days contact. In river waters with a high suspended solids content, simulating extreme winter river conditions, a maximum breakdown of 3–6 per cent daily of the original urea levels was found for temperatures not exceeding 8°C during the first 7 days contact.     

Predictions of nitrate diffusion in sediment using horizontal attenuated total reflection (HATR) by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry

Using a novel and simple method based on horizontal attenuated total reflection (HATR) by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry, the effective diffusion coefficient, De, of nitrate in a contaminated anthropogenic sediment was estimated as 7.34 x 10(-6)cm2 s(-1). This method, which requires as little as 1 mL of sediment sample, was able to measure the De of a chemical species with a reproducibility of +/-3% in about 5h. Based on this De and a pre-determined nitrate reduction rate, the profiles of nitrate concentration in two sediment columns were satisfactorily predicted from a mathematical model. Results showed that the profile in this aged sediment depended mainly on the diffusion of nitrate and, only to a much lesser degree, the rate of nitrate reduction. Measurements in 55 anthropogenic sediment samples collected from five locations and various depths of a contaminated site further showed that the De of nitrate increased linearly with the water content of the sediment, but decreased with the sediment density. The technique demonstrated in this study shall be applicable for the risk assessment of toxic pollutants in contaminated sediments, and for planning the spatial and time intervals of nitrate injection strategy in bioremediation.