Sample records for priority organic pollutants
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Direct analysis of organic priority pollutants by IMS
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Giam, C. S.; Reed, G. E.; Holliday, T. L.; Chang, L.; Rhodes, B. J.
1995-01-01
Many routine methods for monitoring of trace amounts of atmospheric organic pollutants consist of several steps. Typical steps are: (1) collection of the air sample; (2) trapping of organics from the sample; (3) extraction of the trapped organics; and (4) identification of the organics in the extract by GC (gas chromatography), HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography), or MS (Mass Spectrometry). These methods are often cumbersome and time consuming. A simple and fast method for monitoring atmospheric organics using an IMS (Ion Mobility Spectrometer) is proposed. This method has a short sampling time and does not require extraction of the organics since the sample is placed directly in the IMS. The purpose of this study was to determine the responses in the IMS to organic 'priority pollutants'. Priority pollutants including representative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalates, phenols, chlorinated pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) were analyzed in both the positive and negative detection mode at ambient atmospheric pressure. Detection mode and amount detected are presented.
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Markiewicz, Anna; Björklund, Karin; Eriksson, Eva; Kalmykova, Yuliya; Strömvall, Ann-Margret; Siopi, Anna
2017-02-15
A large number of organic pollutants (OPs) emitted from vehicles and traffic-related activities exhibit environmental persistence and a tendency to bioaccumulate, and may have detrimental long-term effects on aquatic life. The aim of the study was to establish a list of significant sources of OPs occurring in road runoff, identify the OPs emitted from these sources, select a number of priority pollutants (PP), and estimate the quantity of PPs emitted in a road environment case study using substance flow analysis (SFA). The priority pollutants included in the SFA were selected from a list of approximately 1100 compounds found after comprehensive screening, including literature and database searches, expert judgments, the Ranking and Identification of Chemical Hazards method, and chemical analysis of sediments. The results showed the following priority order: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)>alkanes C 20 -C 40 >alkylphenols>phthalates>aldehydes>phenolic antioxidants>bisphenol A>oxygenated-PAHs>naphtha C 5 -C 12 >amides>amines. Among these, PAHs were chosen for a SFA, which was performed for a highway case study area in Gothenburg (Sweden). The SFA showed that the main sources of PAHs emitted in the area were vehicle exhaust gases, followed by tyre wear, motor lubricant oils, road surface wear, and brake linings. Only 2-6% of the total 5.8-29kg annually emitted PAHs/ha ended up in the stormwater sewer system. The measured PAH loads were found in much smaller amounts than the calculated loads and the outflow to stormwater contained much more of the hazardous PAHs than the total loads emitted in the catchment area. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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[Priority pollutants ranking and screening of coke industry based on USEtox model].
Hao, Tian; Du, Peng-Fei; Du, Bin; Zeng, Si-Yu
2014-01-01
Thesis aims at evaluating and setting priority to human toxicity and ecotoxicity of coking pollutants. A field research and sampling project are conducted in coke plant in Shanxi so as to complete the coke emission inventory. The USEtox model representing recommended practice in LCIA characterization is applied to the emission inventory to quantify the potential impacts on human toxicity and ecotoxicity of emerging pollutants. Priority pollutants, production procedures and effects of changing plant site on the toxicity are analyzed. As conclusions, benzo(a) pyrene, benzene, Zn and As are identified as the priority pollutants in human toxicity, while pyrene and anthracene in ecotoxicity. Coal charging is the dominant procedure for organic toxicity and priority pollutants include benzo (a) pyrene, benzene, naphthalene, etc. While coke drenching is the dominant procedure for metal toxicity and priority pollutants include Zn, As, Ti, Hg etc. Emission to rural environment can reduce the organic toxicity significantly compared to the emission to urban environment. However, the site changing has no effect on metal toxicity and might increase the risk of the metal pollution to rural water and soil.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Sena, Rennio F. de; Institute of Environmental Engineering; Tambosi, Jose L.
2009-09-15
The biosolids (BS) generated in the wastewater treatment process of a meat processing plant were monitored and the priority pollutant content was characterized. The trace metal and organic pollutant content - polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF) - were determined quantitatively and compared to guideline limits established by the US EPA and EU. PCBs were not detected in the solid samples, while trace metals, PAHs and PCDD/PCDF were detected in concentrations below the limits established by international standards. Toxic equivalent factors were evaluated for the biosolids, and the results proved that these wastesmore » can be safely deposited on land or used in combustion/incineration plants. Since no previous data were found for meat processing waste, comparisons were made using municipal sewage sludge data reported in the literature. Since, this report monitored part of the priority pollutants established by the US EPA for meat and poultry processing wastewater and sludge, the results verified that low pollution loads are generated by the meat processing plant located in the southern part of Brazil. However, the BS generated in the treatment processes are in accordance with the limits established for waste disposal and even for soil fertilizer.« less
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Research was undertaken to demonstrate and evaluate the capacity of landfill systems to assimilate and attenuate inorganic and organic priority pollutants loadings codisposed with municipal refuse and to determine the fate and effect of the codisposed pollutants as landfill stabi...
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Selected stormwater priority pollutants: a European perspective.
Eriksson, E; Baun, A; Scholes, L; Ledin, A; Ahlman, S; Revitt, M; Noutsopoulos, C; Mikkelsen, P S
2007-09-20
The chemical characteristics of stormwater are dependent on the nature of surfaces (roads, roofs etc.) with which it comes into contact during the runoff process as well as natural processes and anthropogenic activities in the catchments. The different types of pollutants may cause problems during utilisation, detention or discharge of stormwater to the environment and may pose specific demands to decentralised treatment. This paper proposes a scientifically justifiable list of selected stormwater priority pollutants (SSPP) to be used, e.g., for evaluation of the chemical risks occurring in different handling strategies. The SSPP-list consists of 25 pollutant parameters including eight of the priority pollutants currently identified in the European Water Framework Directive. It contains general water quality parameters (organic and suspended matter, nutrients and pH); metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Pt and Zn); PAH (naphthalene, pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene); herbicides (pendimethalin, phenmedipham, glyphosate and terbutylazine); and other representative industrially derived compounds (nonylphenol ethoxylates, pentachlorophenol, di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, PCB-28 and methyl tert-butyl ether). Tools for flux modelling, enabling calculation of predicted environmental concentrations (PECs), and for ranking the susceptibility of a pollutant to removal within a range of structural stormwater treatment systems or best management practices (BMPs) have been developed, but further work is required to allow all SSPPs to be addressed in the development of future stormwater pollution control measures. In addition, the identified SSPPs should be considered for inclusion in stormwater related monitoring campaigns.
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Occurrence of priority organic pollutants in the fertilizers, China.
Mo, Ce-Hui; Cai, Quan-Ying; Li, Yun-Hui; Zeng, Qiao-Yun
2008-04-15
The use of large quantities of chemical fertilizers is usually associated with environmental problems. A lot of work has been done on the concentrations of heavy metals and radionuclides in chemical fertilizers, but little work has focused on the occurrence of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs). In this study the occurrence of 43 SVOCs listed as priority pollutants in 22 widely used-fertilizers of China was determined by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Twenty-six SVOCs were detected with different detection frequencies and concentrations. The most abundant compounds were phthalic acid esters (PAEs; ranging from 1.17 to 2795 microg kg(-1) dry weight, d.w.) and nitroaromatics (up to 9765 microg kg(-1) d.w.), followed by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; <140 microg kg(-1) d.w.) and halogenated hydrocarbons (<900 microg kg(-1) d.w.). Chlorobenzenes and haloethers occurred generally at low concentrations. There are large variations in concentrations of various compounds in different fertilizers, and the total concentrations of each class of contaminants varied widely, too. The highest levels of sum concentration for 16 PAHs, for 6 PAEs and for nitroaromatics were found in organic fertilizer containing pesticide and soil amendments. Concentrations of SVOCs in coated fertilizers (the controlled release fertilizer with coating) were considerably higher than those in the corresponding fertilizers without coating. The occurrence frequencies of SVOCs in the straight fertilizers (containing only one of the major plant nutrients) were lower than in the other fertilizers.
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Priority organic pollutants in the urban water cycle (Toulouse, France).
Sablayrolles, C; Breton, A; Vialle, C; Vignoles, C; Montréjaud-Vignoles, M
2011-01-01
Application of the European Water Framework Directive requires Member States to have better understanding of the quality of surface waters in order to improve knowledge of priority pollutants. Xenobiotics in urban receiving waters are an emerging concern. This study proposes a screening campaign of nine molecular species of xenobiotics in a separated sewer system. Five sites were investigated over one year in Toulouse (France) using quantitative monitoring. For each sample, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, nonylphenols, diethelhexylphthalate, linear alkylbenzene sulphonates, methyl tert-butylether, total hydrocarbons, estradiol and ethinylestradiol were analysed. Ground, rain and roof collected water concentrations are similar to treated wastewater levels. Run-off water was the most polluted of the five types investigated, discharged into the aquatic environment. The wastewater treatment plant reduced xenobiotic concentrations by 66% before discharge into the environment. Regarding environmental quality standards, observed concentrations in waters were in compliance with standards. The results show that xenobiotic concentrations are variable over time and space in all urban water compartments.
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Direct screening and confirmation of priority volatile organic pollutants in drinking water.
Caro, J; Serrano, A; Gallego, M
2007-01-05
A screening tool was proposed for the rapid detection of eight priority volatile organic pollutants according to European standards in drinking water. The method is based on the direct coupling of a headspace sampler with a mass spectrometer, using a chromatographic column heated to 175 degrees C as an interface. The water sample was subjected to the headspace extraction process and the volatile fraction was introduced directly into the mass spectrometer, without prior chromatographic separation, achieving low detection limits (0.6-1.2 ng/ml) for all compounds. The mass spectrum resulting from the simultaneous ionization and fragmentation of the mixture of molecules constitutes the volatile profile of each sample. An appropriate chemometric treatment of these signals permitted them to be classified, on the basis of their volatile composition, as contaminated or uncontaminated with respect to the legally established concentration levels for these compounds in drinking water, and providing no false negatives. A conventional confirmation method was carried out to analyze positive water samples by using the same instrumental setup as in the screening method, but using an appropriate temperature program in the chromatographic column to separate, identify and quantify each analyte.
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[Preliminary determination of organic pollutants in agricultural fertilizers].
Mo, Ce-hui; Li, Yun-hui; Cai, Quan-ying; Zeng, Qiao-yun; Wang, Bo-guang; Li, Hai-qin
2005-05-01
Organic pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in agricultural fertilizers are new problem deserved more study. Eight kinds of organic pollutants including 43 compounds classified as US EPA priority pollutants in twenty one agricultural fertilizers which were universally used in China were determined by Gas chromatography-mass spectrum (GC-MS). Three kinds of organic pollutants including more than 5 compounds were detected in most fertilizers, composing mainly of phthalic acid esters (PAEs), nitrobenzenes (NBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). There were 26 compounds detected in at least one fertilizer, five of them especially PAEs detected in most fertilizer and even in all fertilizers. Benzo(a)pyrene, a strongly carcinogenic compound was detected in two fertilizers. Higher concentrations of compounds were determined in those fertilizers such as multifunction compound fertilizers and coated fertilizers.
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Bercaru, Ofelia; Gawlik, Bernd Manfred; Ulberth, Franz; Vandecasteele, Carlo
2003-08-01
During recent years, the awareness of quality assurance and quality control in environmental analyses has constantly increased, especially due to the implementation of new guidelines and regulations at both the national and international level. Achieving comparable results by using certified reference materials is one of the primary concerns of the scientific community. As a result, there is a growing demand for certified reference materials to cover different matrices and pollutants. Moreover, these CRMs should be in close relationship to the determinants and target concentrations required by environmental bodies and European Directives as well. Supplementary information to this paper presents an inventory of reference materials available on the market from different suppliers against the priority pollutants listed in the Water Framework Directive. These CRMs cover matrices such as water, sediment and biota. The use of CRMs in relationship to appropriate analytical methods and relevant determinants is discussed and the need for matrix-CRMs, particularly for organic pollutants is emphasised. The use of proficiency testing schemes as an alternative for the lack of appropriate CRMs and future trends in the production of CRMs within the BCR framework are also discussed.
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Fungal Unspecific Peroxygenases Oxidize the Majority of Organic EPA Priority Pollutants
Karich, Alexander; Ullrich, René; Scheibner, Katrin; Hofrichter, Martin
2017-01-01
Unspecific peroxygenases (UPOs) are secreted fungal enzymes with promiscuity for oxygen transfer and oxidation reactions. Functionally, they represent hybrids of P450 monooxygenases and heme peroxidases; phylogenetically they belong to the family of heme-thiolate peroxidases. Two UPOs from the basidiomycetous fungi Agrocybe aegerita (AaeUPO) and Marasmius rotula (MroUPO) converted 35 out of 40 compounds listed as EPA priority pollutants, including chlorinated benzenes and their derivatives, halogenated biphenyl ethers, nitroaromatic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phthalic acid derivatives. These oxygenations and oxidations resulted in diverse products and—if at all—were limited for three reasons: (i) steric hindrance caused by multiple substitutions or bulkiness of the compound as such (e.g., hexachlorobenzene or large PAHs), (ii) strong inactivation of aromatic rings (e.g., nitrobenzene), and (iii) low water solubility (e.g., complex arenes). The general outcome of our study is that UPOs can be considered as extracellular counterparts of intracellular monooxygenases, both with respect to catalyzed reactions and catalytic versatility. Therefore, they should be taken into consideration as a relevant biocatalytic detoxification and biodegradation tool used by fungi when confronted with toxins, xenobiotics and pollutants in their natural environments. PMID:28848501
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DETERMINATION OF HENRY'S LAW CONSTANTS OF SELECTED PRIORITY POLLUTANTS
The Henry's law constants (H) for 41 selected priority pollutants were determined to characterize these pollutants and provide information on their fate as they pass through wastewater treatment systems. All experimental values presented for H are averages of two or more replicat...
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Becouze, C.; Bertrand-Krajewski, J. L.; Coquery, M.; Dembélé, A.; Cren-Olivé, C.
2009-04-01
Keywords: WFD, priority pollutants, stormwater, sewer systems, atmospheric deposition The European Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000) requires both a progressive reduction of priority substances discharges and a cessation of hazardous priority substances discharges into water bodies. In order to define priorities for action in a global and integrated urban water management approach, we need to identify and quantify all sources of pollutants (diffuse agricultural and urban emissions, industrial emissions, effluents from wastewater treatment plants, from separate and combined sewer systems, etc.). The objectives of the ESPRIT collaborative project are to identify, evaluate, characterise and later on model the fluxes of priority substances in urban stormwater, for both combined and separate sewer systems. This paper presents i) the methodology applied to collect representative samples of dry atmospheric deposits, of rainwater and of stormwater discharges at the outlet of experimental catchments, ii) the EMC (Event Mean Concentrations) values and the fluxes of 36 organic substances and of 26 metals calculated for various storm events, and iii) the discussion of these results. Two experimental sites have been selected in Lyon for the project: Ecully (combined sewer system draining a 245 ha residential catchment) and Chassieu (separate stormwater system draining a 185 ha industrial catchment). Each catchment outlet is equipped with sensors measuring various parameters (flow depth and velocity, pH, conductivity, turbidity, temperature) and with refrigerated automatic samplers. Each site is also equipped with prototype devices collecting separately samples of both dry atmospheric deposits and rainwater. All sampling devices comply with requirements for trace micro-pollutants monitoring (Teflon tubing, clean glass bottles, etc.). Field and laboratory blank procedures were carried out to quantify the possible contamination along the sampling/conditioning chain. Event mean
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CHARACTERIZATION OF PRIORITY POLLUTANTS FROM A SECONDARY LEAD AND BATTERY MANUFACTURING FACILITY
A plant site at which secondary lead is produced from old batteries was sampled utilizing the U.S. EPA protocol for the priority pollutants. The waste treatment plant at this site uses lime and settle techniques to remove pollutants from the wastewater before it is discharged int...
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2013-10-31
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Priority pollutants in urban stormwater: part 2 - case of combined sewers.
Gasperi, Johnny; Zgheib, Sally; Cladière, Mathieu; Rocher, Vincent; Moilleron, Régis; Chebbo, Ghassan
2012-12-15
This study has evaluated the quality of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) in an urban watershed, such as Paris, by providing accurate data on the occurrence of priority pollutants (PPs) and additional substances, as well as on the significance of their concentrations in comparison with wastewater and stormwater. Of the 88 substances monitored, 49 PPs were detected, with most of these also being frequently encountered in wastewater and stormwater, thus confirming their ubiquity in urban settings. For the majority of organic substances, concentrations range between 0.01 and 1 μgl(-1), while metals tend to display concentrations above 10 μgl(-1). Despite this ubiquity, CSO, wastewater and stormwater feature a number of differences in both their concentration ranges and pollutant patterns. For most hydrophobic organic pollutants and some particulate-bound metals, CSOs exhibit higher concentrations than those found in stormwater and wastewater, due to the contribution of in-sewer deposit erosion. For pesticides and Zn, CSOs have shown concentrations close to those of stormwater, suggesting runoff as the major contributor, while wastewater appears to be the main source of volatile organic compounds. Surprisingly, similar concentration ranges have been found for DEHP and tributyltin compounds in CSOs, wastewater and stormwater. The last section of this article identifies substances for which CSO discharges might constitute a major risk of exceeding Environmental Quality Standards in receiving waters and moreover indicates a significant risk for PAHs, tributyltin compounds and chloroalkanes. The data generated during this survey can subsequently be used to identify PPs of potential significance that merit further investigation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Setting priorities for research on pollution reduction functions of agricultural buffers.
Dosskey, Michael G
2002-11-01
The success of buffer installation initiatives and programs to reduce nonpoint source pollution of streams on agricultural lands will depend the ability of local planners to locate and design buffers for specific circumstances with substantial and predictable results. Current predictive capabilities are inadequate, and major sources of uncertainty remain. An assessment of these uncertainties cautions that there is greater risk of overestimating buffer impact than underestimating it. Priorities for future research are proposed that will lead more quickly to major advances in predictive capabilities. Highest priority is given for work on the surface runoff filtration function, which is almost universally important to the amount of pollution reduction expected from buffer installation and for which there remain major sources of uncertainty for predicting level of impact. Foremost uncertainties surround the extent and consequences of runoff flow concentration and pollutant accumulation. Other buffer functions, including filtration of groundwater nitrate and stabilization of channel erosion sources of sediments, may be important in some regions. However, uncertainty surrounds our ability to identify and quantify the extent of site conditions where buffer installation can substantially reduce stream pollution in these ways. Deficiencies in predictive models reflect gaps in experimental information as well as technology to account for spatial heterogeneity of pollutant sources, pathways, and buffer capabilities across watersheds. Since completion of a comprehensive watershed-scale buffer model is probably far off, immediate needs call for simpler techniques to gage the probable impacts of buffer installation at local scales.
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2011-07-29
... and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List: Notice of Intent for..., as amended, is an appendix of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan... PBL Superfund Site without prior Notice of Intent for Deletion because EPA views this as a...
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2012-11-14
... and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan National Priorities List: Deletion of the Waste... and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). EPA and the State of Michigan, through the...-Holland Lagoons Superfund Site without prior Notice of Intent to Delete because we view this as a...
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2013-11-05
...] National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List: Deletion of the... Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the State of South Carolina, through the South... because we view this as a noncontroversial revision and anticipate no adverse comment. We have explained...
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2011-08-15
... and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List: Deletion of the... Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the State of New Jersey, through the New Jersey... Deletion of the Sayreville Landfill Superfund Site without prior Notice of Intent to Delete because we view...
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2013-10-02
...] National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List: Deletion of the... Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). EPA and the State of New York, through the New York State... Deletion of the Site without prior Notice of Intent to Delete because EPA views this as a noncontroversial...
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2013-08-12
... and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List: Deletion of the Mosley... National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the State of Oklahoma... Deletion of the MRSL Superfund Site without prior Notice of Intent to Delete because we view this as a...
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Organic and inorganic priority pollutants codisposed with municipal solid waste (MSW) in ten pilot-scale simulated landfill columns, operated under single pass leaching or leachate recycle, were capable of being attenuated by microbially-mediated landfill stabilization processes....
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2010-09-09
... and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List; Intent for Partial... amended, is an Appendix of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The... Superfund Site without prior Notice of Intent for Partial Deletion because EPA views this as a...
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2010-08-06
... and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List: Intent To Delete the... appendix of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the... Corporation (Markhams) Superfund Site without prior notice of intent to delete because we view this as a...
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zoppini, Annamaria; Ademollo, Nicoletta; Amalfitano, Stefano; Dellisanti, Walter; Lungarini, Silvia; Miserocchi, Stefano; Patrolecco, Luisa; Langone, Leonardo
2015-04-01
PERSEUS EU FP7 Project aims to identify the interacting patterns of natural and human-derived pressures to assess their impact on marine ecosystems and, using the objectives and principles of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) as a vehicle, to design an effective and innovative research governance framework based on sound scientific knowledge. In the frame of this Project (subtask 1.3.3 ADREX: Adriatic and Ionian Seas Experiment), monitoring surveys were conducted in the Adriatic Sea (Italy) in order to study the variation of structural and functional characteristics of native bacterial communities and the occurrence of selected classes of organic priority substances in sediments. The study area represents a good natural laboratory sensitive to climate variability and human pressure, owing to the semi-enclosed nature of the Adriatic Sea and to the increasing trend of human activities in the coastal regions. During the cruise ADRI-13 (November 2013) and ADRI-14 (October 2014) we sampled several coastal sites from the mouth of the Po River to the Otranto strait. Surface sediments were collected in all areas, while sediment cores were sampled in selected sites. Microbes associated with marine sediments play an important role in the C-flux being responsible for the transformation of organic detritus (autochthonous and allochthonous) into biomass. The sediment bacterial abundance was determined by epifluorescence microscopy and the rate of bacterial carbon production by measuring the 3H-leucine uptake rates. The community respiration rate was estimated by the measurement of the electron transport system (ETS) activity. The sediment contamination level was determined by measuring the concentration of contaminants included in the list of organic priority substances: PAHs, bisphenol A (BPA), alkylphenols (APs). The extraction/clean-up of PAHs, BPA and APs was performed by ultrasonic bath with the appropriate solvents, followed by analytical determination with
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This report presents the development of a preliminary priority ranking of potential pollution sources with respect to groundwater quality and the associated pollutants for oil shale operations such as proposed for Federal Prototype Leases U-a and U-b in Eastern Utah. The methodol...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-07-01
... 40 Protection of Environment 29 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false BAT and NSPS Effluent Limitations for Priority Pollutants for Direct Discharge Point Sources That use End-of-Pipe Biological Treatment 4 Table 4... Limitations for Priority Pollutants for Direct Discharge Point Sources That use End-of-Pipe Biological...
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Setting priorities in health care organizations: criteria, processes, and parameters of success.
Gibson, Jennifer L; Martin, Douglas K; Singer, Peter A
2004-09-08
Hospitals and regional health authorities must set priorities in the face of resource constraints. Decision-makers seek practical ways to set priorities fairly in strategic planning, but find limited guidance from the literature. Very little has been reported from the perspective of Board members and senior managers about what criteria, processes and parameters of success they would use to set priorities fairly. We facilitated workshops for board members and senior leadership at three health care organizations to assist them in developing a strategy for fair priority setting. Workshop participants identified 8 priority setting criteria, 10 key priority setting process elements, and 6 parameters of success that they would use to set priorities in their organizations. Decision-makers in other organizations can draw lessons from these findings to enhance the fairness of their priority setting decision-making. Lessons learned in three workshops fill an important gap in the literature about what criteria, processes, and parameters of success Board members and senior managers would use to set priorities fairly.
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2010-07-21
... and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List: Partial Deletion of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Federal Facility AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency. ACTION: Proposed rule... Notice of Intent to Delete portions of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Federal Facility (RMA) from the...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS WATER QUALITY STANDARDS Federally Promulgated Water Quality Standards § 131.38 Establishment of Numeric Criteria for priority toxic pollutants for the State... Concentration (CMC) equals the highest concentration of a pollutant to which aquatic life can be exposed for a...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-07-01
... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS WATER QUALITY STANDARDS Federally Promulgated Water Quality Standards § 131.38 Establishment of Numeric Criteria for priority toxic pollutants for the State... Concentration (CMC) equals the highest concentration of a pollutant to which aquatic life can be exposed for a...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
2011-07-01
... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS WATER QUALITY STANDARDS Federally Promulgated Water Quality Standards § 131.38 Establishment of Numeric Criteria for priority toxic pollutants for the State... Concentration (CMC) equals the highest concentration of a pollutant to which aquatic life can be exposed for a...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
2012-07-01
... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS WATER QUALITY STANDARDS Federally Promulgated Water Quality Standards § 131.38 Establishment of Numeric Criteria for priority toxic pollutants for the State... Concentration (CMC) equals the highest concentration of a pollutant to which aquatic life can be exposed for a...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
2014-07-01
... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS WATER QUALITY STANDARDS Federally Promulgated Water Quality Standards § 131.38 Establishment of Numeric Criteria for priority toxic pollutants for the State... Concentration (CMC) equals the highest concentration of a pollutant to which aquatic life can be exposed for a...
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Noreña-Barroso, E; Gold-Bouchot, G; Ceja-Moreno, V
2007-08-01
Bay of Chetumal is a transboundary priority area for the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef Systems project, which has been studied because it is the receiving body of pollutants from a large agricultural area and the city of Chetumal. Levels of persistent organic pollutants in sediments from the Bay were assessed a few years after a mass mortality event of Mayan catfish (Ariopsis assimilis) occurred in 1996. Recent sediments were collected in the rainy season (1999) and dry season (2000); results show concentrations in general lower than those reported after the fish kill, and a change of chemical profiles in chemical pollution.
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Zgheib, S; Moilleron, R; Chebbo, G
2011-01-01
This paper presents the results of the concentrations (μg/L) and fluxes (g/ha) of priority substances in stormwater from three watersheds with different land use patterns (namely, residential, urban dense, high urban density). Samples were collected at the outlet of these watersheds. Thirteen chemical groups were investigated corresponding to 88 individual substances before treatment. Results showed that stormwater discharges contained 55 substances, among them some metals, organotins, PAHs, PCBs, alkylphenols, pesticides, phthalates, cholorophenols and volatile organic compounds. Therefore, stormwater was highly contaminated. However, this contamination was often comparable from site to site, since no significant difference of the pollutant load was observed between the land use patterns.
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2011-12-06
... and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List: Notice of Intent for Deletion of the State Marine of Port Arthur Superfund Site AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency. ACTION... Delete the State Marine of Port Arthur (SMPA) Superfund Site located in Port Arthur, Texas, from the...
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2011-08-18
... and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List: Deletion of the... Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, through the Puerto Rico Environmental... Site without prior Notice of Intent to Delete because we view this as a noncontroversial revision and...
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2013-08-05
... and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List: Deletion of the... Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the State of Oklahoma, through the Oklahoma Department of Environmental... without prior Notice of Intent to Delete because we view this as a noncontroversial revision and...
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Developing risk-based priorities for reducing air pollution in urban settings in Ukraine.
Brody, Michael; Caldwell, Jane; Golub, Alexander
2007-02-01
Ukraine, when part of the former Soviet Union, was responsible for about 25% of its overall industrial production. This aging industrial infrastructure continues to emit enormous volumes of air and water pollution and wastes. The National Report on the State of Environment in Ukraine 1999 (Ukraine Ministry of Environmental Protection [MEP], 2000) shows significant air pollution. There are numerous emissions that have been associated with developmental effects, chronic long-term health effects, and cancer. Ukraine also has been identified as a major source of transboundary air pollution for the eastern Mediterranean region. Ukraine's Environment Ministry is not currently able to strategically target high-priority emissions and lacks the resources to address all these problems. For these reasons, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set up a partnership with Ukraine's Ministry of Environmental Protection to strengthen its capacity to set environmental priorities through the use of comparative environmental risk assessment and economic analysis--the Capacity Building Project. The project is also addressing improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of the use of its National Environmental Protection Fund. The project consists of a series of workshops with Ukrainian MEP officials in comparative risk assessment of air pollutant emissions in several heavily industrialized oblasts; cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis; and environmental finance. Pilot risk assessment analyses have been completed. At the end of the Capacity Building Project it is expected that the use of the National Environmental Protection fund and the regional level oblast environmental protection funds will begin to target and identify the highest health and environmental risk emissions.
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2011-07-29
... and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List: Notice of Intent for... Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the State of Texas, through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality... Notice of Deletion for SMPA Superfund Site without prior Notice of Intent for Deletion because EPA views...
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2012-07-25
... and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List: Deletion of the Fort... Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the State of New Jersey, through the NJ Department of Environmental... Intent to Delete because we view this as a noncontroversial revision and anticipate no adverse comment...
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Determination of phenolic priority pollutants utilizing permeation sampling method
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Zhang, Guozheng.
1990-01-01
A passive permeation sampling method for the determination of phenolic priority pollutants in water was developed. Phenols in an aqueous solution permeate a polymeric membrane and are collected on a solid adsorbent in a sampling device. Both solvent and thermal desorption techniques were employed to recovery phenolic pollutants collected. In the solvent desorption, phenolic compounds collected on the XAD-7 resin, and then desorbed by acetonitrile. In the thermal desorption, phenolic compounds collected on Tenax-TA were recovered thermally, Separation and quantification is achieved by a SPB-5 capillary column gas chromatography using a flame ionization detector. There are linear relationships between themore » amount of phenolic compounds collected and the products of the exposure times and concentrations over the range from 5 ppb to 20 ppm with precisions no worse than 13%. The permeation rates of the phenolic pollutants depend upon the exposure temperature, solution pH and membrane area. Samples collected can be stored for up to two weeks without loss. This method provides a simple, convenient and inexpensive way for monitoring the time-weighted-average concentration without the use of a pumping system. An automated sampler which combines the permeation and the thermal desorption techniques together was also developed for water sample obtained from grab sampling. The on-line setup provides a high degree of automation. Detection limits at 10 ppb can be achieved using this sampler.« less
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Global research priorities to mitigate plastic pollution impacts on marine wildlife
Vegter, Amanda C.; Barletta, Mário; Beck, Cathy A.; Borrero, Jose C.; Burton, Harry; Campbell, Marnie L.; Costa, Monica F.; Eriksen, Marcus; Eriksson, Cecilia; Estrades, Andres; Gilardi, Kirsten V.; Hardesty, Britta D.; do Sul, Juliana A. Ivar; Lavers, Jennifer L.; Lazar, Bojan; Lebreton, Laurent; Nichols, Wallace J.; Ribic, Christine A.; Ryan, Peter G.; Schuyler, Qamar A.; Smith, Stephen D. A.; Takada, Hideshige; Townsend, Kathy A.; Wabnitz, Colette C. C.; Wilcox, Chris; Young, Lindsay C.; Hamann, Mark
2014-01-01
Marine wildlife faces a growing number of threats across the globe, and the survival of many species and populations will be dependent on conservation action. One threat in particular that has emerged over the last 4 decades is the pollution of oceanic and coastal habitats with plastic debris. The increased occurrence of plastics in marine ecosystems mirrors the increased prevalence of plastics in society, and reflects the high durability and persistence of plastics in the environment. In an effort to guide future research and assist mitigation approaches to marine conservation, we have generated a list of 16 priority research questions based on the expert opinions of 26 researchers from around the world, whose research expertise spans several disciplines, and covers each of the world’s oceans and the taxa most at risk from plastic pollution. This paper highlights a growing concern related to threats posed to marine wildlife from microplastics and fragmented debris, the need for data at scales relevant to management, and the urgent need to develop interdisciplinary research and management partnerships to limit the release of plastics into the environment and curb the future impacts of plastic pollution.
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Organic crop production's top research priority: Pestiphytology
USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
Pestiphytology is the study of pest plants, commonly referred to as weeds. In a recent national survey, weed research was designated as the top research priority by organic producers. Manual weed control is a costly practice that can quickly decrease return on investment, while the absence of weed...
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Kasiotis, Konstantinos M; Emmanouil, Christina; Anastasiadou, Pelagia; Papadi-Psyllou, Asimina; Papadopoulos, Antonis; Okay, Oya; Machera, Kyriaki
2015-01-01
Persistent chemicals and emerging pollutants are continuously detected in marine waters and biota. Out of these, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCs) are significant contaminants with decades of presence in the marine environment. The Mediterranean Sea is an ecosystem directly affected by a variety of anthropogenic activities including industry, municipal, touristic, commercial and agricultural. The Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) is a filter feeder, which presents wide distribution. In this regard, the specific organism was used as a biological indicator for the monitoring and evaluation of pollution in the studied areas with focus on the mentioned chemical groups. Pristine Turkish sites with minimum effect from anthropogenic activities, in contrast with Greek sites which were subjected to heavy industrial and shipping activity, were selected. A gas chromatographic tandem mass spectrometric method (GC-MS/MS) was developed and validated to monitor 34 compounds (16 EPA priority PAHs and 18 OCs). Analyses of mussel samples in 2011 from sites with the limited anthropogenic pollution shores have shown the occurrence of 11 pollutants (6 PAHs, 5 OCs), while in the samples from sites with intensive activity and expected pollution, 12 PAHs and 6 OCs were detected. Biochemical and biological responses studied only in mussels samples from the sites with the highest contamination showed a situation that was under strong seasonal influence. The intensity of the response was also influenced by deployment duration. Noteworthy correlations were detected among biochemical/biological effects and between mussel body burden and these effects. Continuous monitoring of priority pollutants of East Mediterranean Sea is vital both for ecological and human risk assessment purposes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Decontaminating soil organic pollutants with manufactured nanoparticles.
Li, Qi; Chen, Xijuan; Zhuang, Jie; Chen, Xin
2016-06-01
Organic pollutants in soils might threaten the environmental and human health. Manufactured nanoparticles are capable to reduce this risk efficiently due to their relatively large capacity of sorption and degradation of organic pollutants. Stability, mobility, and reactivity of nanoparticles are prerequisites for their efficacy in soil remediation. On the basis of a brief introduction of these issues, this review provides a comprehensive summary of the application and effectiveness of various types of manufactured nanoparticles for removing organic pollutants from soil. The main categories of nanoparticles include iron (oxides), titanium dioxide, carbonaceous, palladium, and amphiphilic polymeric nanoparticles. Their advantages (e.g., unique properties and high sorption capacity) and disadvantages (e.g., high cost and low recovery) for soil remediation are discussed with respect to the characteristics of organic pollutants. The factors that influence the decontamination effects, such as properties, surfactants, solution chemistry, and soil organic matter, are addressed.
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Ex-Situ Remediation Technologies for Environmental Pollutants: A Critical Perspective.
Kuppusamy, Saranya; Palanisami, Thavamani; Megharaj, Mallavarapu; Venkateswarlu, Kadiyala; Naidu, Ravi
2016-01-01
Pollution and the global health impacts from toxic environmental pollutants are presently of great concern. At present, more than 100 million people are at risk from exposure to a plethora of toxic organic and inorganic pollutants. This review is an exploration of the ex-situ technologies for cleaning-up the contaminated soil, groundwater and air emissions, highlighting their principles, advantages, deficiencies and the knowledge gaps. Challenges and strategies for removing different types of contaminants, mainly heavy metals and priority organic pollutants, are also described.
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Chinese hamster ovary cells were exposed to 29 toxic chemical substances which were representative of several classes of compounds listed by the Natural Resources Defense Council Consent Decree as priority toxic pollutants. After cell cultures were exposed to the test substance, ...
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Klopov, V; Odland, J O; Burkow, I C
1998-10-01
Under the auspices of Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), a Russian-Norwegian co-operation project was established to assess the exposure of delivering women to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Arctic areas of Russia. In the period 1993-95 blood and breast milk samples were collected from 94 delivering women in Yamal and Tajmyr Autonomous Regions of Siberia. Concentrations of chlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined by high resolution gas chromatography with electron capture detection. The POP levels in maternal plasma among the non-indigenous women were higher than the native population, especially in total PCB, HCHs (hexachlorocyclohexanes) and the DDT-group. The dietary questionnaires showed that the non-indigenous populations consumed considerably less local food items like reindeer meat and fresh water fish. There was no correlation between local food consumption and elevated levels of pollutants. Even if the indigenous groups had lower concentrations of the most important pollutants than the non-indigenous population, they were still higher than the levels measured in the Scandinavian countries of the AMAP-study and up to levels of medical concern. The most important sources of organic pollutants for the Russian Arctic populations of Yamal and Tajmyr seems to be imported food from other areas of Russia and local use of pesticides. It must be a high priority concern to further elucidate these trends and initiate prophylactic measures for the exposed population groups.
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Development of a screening method for the determination of 49 priority pollutants in soil
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Kiang, P.H.; Grob, R.L.
1986-01-01
A screening procedure was develop for the determination of 49 priority pollutants in soil. An extraction procedure followed by the capillary gas chromatographic technique was used. Dual pH solutions with methylene chloride were used as extraction solvent system; no sample clean-up procedure was applied. Both base/neutral and acid fractions were analyzed on the same capillary column (SPB-1). The relative standard deviation for 5.1 ppm (51 ..mu..g/ 10 g) concentration in zero soil was less than 25%.
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Barco-Bonilla, Nieves; Romero-González, Roberto; Plaza-Bolaños, Patricia; Martínez Vidal, José L; Garrido Frenich, Antonia
2013-03-01
The occurrence of priority organic pollutants in wastewater (WW) effluents was evaluated in a semi-arid area, characterized by a high agricultural and tourism activity, as Almeria province (Southeastern Spain). Twelve wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were sampled in three campaigns during 2011, obtaining a total of 33 WW samples, monitoring 226 compounds, including pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phenolic compounds and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Certain banned organochlorine pesticides such as aldrin, pentachlorobenzene, o,p'-DDD and endosulfan lactone were found, and the most frequently detected pesticides were herbicides (diuron, triazines). PAHs and VOCs were also detected, noting that some of these pollutants were ubiquitous. Regarding phenolic compounds, 4-tertoctylphenol was found in all the WW samples at high concentration levels (up to 89.7 μg/L). Furthermore, it was observed that WW effluent samples were less contaminated in the second and third sampling periods, which corresponded to dry season. This evaluation revealed that despite the WW was treated in the WWTP, organic contaminants are still being detected in WW effluents and therefore they are released into the environment. Finally the risk of environmental threat due to the presence of some compounds in WWTP effluents, especially concerning 4-tertoctylphenol must be indicated. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Investigation of priorities in water quality management based on correlations and variations.
Boyacıoğlu, Hülya; Gündogdu, Vildan; Boyacıoğlu, Hayal
2013-04-15
The development of water quality assessment strategies investigating spatial and temporal changes caused by natural and anthropogenic phenomena is an important tool in management practices. This paper used cluster analysis, water quality index method, sensitivity analysis and canonical correlation analysis to investigate priorities in pollution control activities. Data sets representing 22 surface water quality parameters were subject to analysis. Results revealed that organic pollution was serious threat for overall water quality in the region. Besides, oil and grease, lead and mercury were the critical variables violating the standard. In contrast to inorganic variables, organic and physical-inorganic chemical parameters were influenced by variations in physical conditions (discharge, temperature). This study showed that information produced based on the variations and correlations in water quality data sets can be helpful to investigate priorities in water management activities. Moreover statistical techniques and index methods are useful tools in data - information transformation process. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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SELECTED ORGANIC POLLUTANT EMISSIONS FROM UNVENTED KEROSENE HEATERS
An exploratory study was performed to assess the semivolatile and nonvolatile organic pollutant emission rates from unvented kerosene space heaters. A well-tuned radiant heater and maltuned convective heater were tested for semivolatile and nonvolatile organic pollutant emiss...
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Priority substances in combined sewer overflows: case study of the Paris sewer network.
Gasperi, J; Garnaud, S; Rocher, V; Moilleron, R
2011-01-01
This study was undertaken to supply data on both priority pollutant (PP) occurrence and concentrations in combined sewer overflows (CSOs). A single rain event was studied on 13 sites within the Paris sewer network. For each sample, a total of 66 substances, including metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, organotins, volatile organic compounds, chlorobenzenes, phthalates and alkylphenols were analyzed. Of the 66 compounds analyzed in all, 40 PPs including 12 priority hazardous substances were detected in CSOs. As expected, most metals were present in all samples, reflecting their ubiquitous nature. Chlorobenzenes and most pesticides were never quantified above the limit of quantification, while the majority of the other organic pollutants, except DEHP (median concentration: 22 μg.l(-1)), were found to lie in the μg.l(-1) range. For the particular rain event studied, the pollutant loads discharged by CSOs were evaluated and then compared to pollutant loads conveyed by the Seine River. Under the hydraulic conditions considered and according to the estimations performed, this comparison suggests that CSOs are potentially significant local source of metals, PAHs and DEHP. Depending on the substance, the ratio between the CSO and Seine River loads varied from 0.5 to 26, underscoring the important local impact of CSOs at the scale of this storm for most pollutants.
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Estevez, Esmeralda; Cabrera, María del Carmen; Fernández-Vera, Juan Ramón; Molina-Díaz, Antonio; Robles-Molina, José; Palacios-Díaz, María del Pino
2016-05-01
Irrigation with reclaimed water (R) is necessary to guarantee the sustainability of semi-arid areas. Results obtained during a two years monitoring network (2009-2011) in Gran Canaria are presented, including the analysis of chemical parameters, N and S isotopes, priority substances (2008/105/EC, 2013/39/EU), other organic contaminants and heavy metals in groundwater and R used to irrigate a golf course. The aims of this work are to evaluate the contamination in a volcanic aquifer, relate the presence of organic contaminants and heavy metals with the hydrogeochemistry and identify pollution sources in the area. No priority substance exceeded the EU thresholds for surface water, although seventeen were detected in R. The most frequent compounds were hexachlorobenzene, chlorpyrifos ethyl, fluorene, phenanthrene and pyrene. These compounds were detected at low concentration, except chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos ethyl, terbuthylazine, diuron, terbutryn, procymidone, atrazine and propazine exceeded the European threshold concentration for pesticides in groundwater (100ngL(-1)). Therefore, the priority substances chlorpyrifos ethyl and diuron must be included in monitoring studies. The priority pesticides chlorfenvinphos and diazinon were always detected in R but rarely in groundwater. Besides, the existence of contaminants not related to the current R irrigation has been identified. Absence of environmental problems related to heavy metals can be expected. The relationship among contaminant presence, hydrogeochemistry, including the stable isotopic prints of δ(18)O, δ(15)N and δ(34)S and preferential recharge paths has been described. The coastal well shows high values of EC, nitrate, a variable chemistry, and 50% of organic contaminants detected above 100ngL(-1). The well located in the recharge area presents a stable hydrochemistry, the lowest value of δ(15)N and the lowest contaminants occurrence. The area is an example of a complex volcanic media with several
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Removal of Organic Pollutants from Water Using Superwetting Materials.
Li, Lingxiao; Zhang, Junping; Wang, Aiqin
2018-02-01
The frequent occurrence of water pollution accidents and the leakage of organic pollutants have caused severe environmental and ecological crisis. It is thus highly imperative to find efficient materials to solve the problem. Inspired by the lotus leaf, superwetting materials are receiving increasing attention in the field of removal of organic pollutants from water. Various superwetting materials have been successfully generated and integrated into devices for removal of organic pollutants from water. On the basis of our previous work in the field, we summarized in this account the progress of removal of (1) floating and underwater insoluble, (2) emulsified insoluble, and (3) both insoluble and soluble organic pollutants from water using superwetting materials including superhydrophobic & superoleophilic materials, superhydrophilic & underwater superoleophobic materials, and materials with controllable wettability. The superwetting materials are in the forms of 2D porous materials, 3D porous materials and particles, etc. Finally, the current state and future challenges in this field are discussed. We hope this account could shed light on the design of novel superwetting materials for efficient removal of organic pollutants from water. © 2018 The Chemical Society of Japan & Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
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Increasing organ donation by presumed consent and allocation priority: Chile
2015-01-01
Abstract Chile, a middle-income country, recently joined Israel and Singapore as the world’s only countries to require reciprocity as a precondition for organ transplantation. The Chilean reform includes opt-out provisions designed to foster donation and priority for organ transplantation for registered people. Although the reform has had serious difficulties in achieving its mission, it can be reviewed by other countries that seek to address the serious shortage of organs. As increased organ donation can substantially enhance or save more lives, the effect on organ availability due to incentives arising from rules of preference should not be underestimated. PMID:25767299
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Increasing organ donation by presumed consent and allocation priority: Chile.
Zúñiga-Fajuri, Alejandra
2015-03-01
Chile, a middle-income country, recently joined Israel and Singapore as the world's only countries to require reciprocity as a precondition for organ transplantation. The Chilean reform includes opt-out provisions designed to foster donation and priority for organ transplantation for registered people. Although the reform has had serious difficulties in achieving its mission, it can be reviewed by other countries that seek to address the serious shortage of organs. As increased organ donation can substantially enhance or save more lives, the effect on organ availability due to incentives arising from rules of preference should not be underestimated.
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Cravotta, III, Charles A.; Brady, Keith B.C.
2015-01-01
Findings from this study suggest that typical chemical or aerobic treatment of CMD to pH > 6 with removal of Fe to <7 mg/L and Mn to <5 mg/L may provide a reasonable measure of protection for aquatic life from priority pollutant metals and other toxic or hazardous constituents in effluent but may not be effective for achieving permissible or background levels for TDS, SC, osmotic pressure, or concentrations of SO4 and some other pollutants, including Se, Br, and Cl, if present.
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[Groundwater organic pollution source identification technology system research and application].
Wang, Xiao-Hong; Wei, Jia-Hua; Cheng, Zhi-Neng; Liu, Pei-Bin; Ji, Yi-Qun; Zhang, Gan
2013-02-01
Groundwater organic pollutions are found in large amount of locations, and the pollutions are widely spread once onset; which is hard to identify and control. The key process to control and govern groundwater pollution is how to control the sources of pollution and reduce the danger to groundwater. This paper introduced typical contaminated sites as an example; then carried out the source identification studies and established groundwater organic pollution source identification system, finally applied the system to the identification of typical contaminated sites. First, grasp the basis of the contaminated sites of geological and hydrogeological conditions; determine the contaminated sites characteristics of pollutants as carbon tetrachloride, from the large numbers of groundwater analysis and test data; then find the solute transport model of contaminated sites and compound-specific isotope techniques. At last, through groundwater solute transport model and compound-specific isotope technology, determine the distribution of the typical site of organic sources of pollution and pollution status; invest identified potential sources of pollution and sample the soil to analysis. It turns out that the results of two identified historical pollution sources and pollutant concentration distribution are reliable. The results provided the basis for treatment of groundwater pollution.
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Priority and emerging pollutants in sewage sludge and fate during sludge treatment.
Mailler, R; Gasperi, J; Chebbo, G; Rocher, V
2014-07-01
This paper aims at characterizing the quality of different treated sludges from Paris conurbation in terms of micropollutants and assessing their fate during different sludge treatment processes (STP). To achieve this, a large panel of priority and emerging pollutants (n=117) have been monitored in different STPs from Parisian wastewater treatment plants including anaerobic digestion, thermal drying, centrifugation and a sludge cake production unit. Considering the quality of treated sludges, comparable micropollutant patterns are found for the different sludges investigated (in mg/kg DM - dry matter). 35 compounds were detected in treated sludges. Some compounds (metals, organotins, alkylphenols, DEHP) are found in every kinds of sludge while pesticides or VOCs are never detected. Sludge cake is the most contaminated sludge, resulting from concentration phenomenon during different treatments. As regards treatments, both centrifugation and thermal drying have broadly no important impact on sludge contamination for metals and organic compounds, even if a slight removal seems to be possible with thermal drying for several compounds by abiotic transfers. Three different behaviors can be highlighted in anaerobic digestion: (i) no removal (metals), (ii) removal following dry matter (DM) elimination (organotins and NP) and iii) removal higher than DM (alkylphenols - except NP - BDE 209 and DEHP). Thus, this process allows a clear removal of biodegradable micropollutants which could be potentially significantly improved by increasing DM removal through operational parameters modifications (retention time, temperature, pre-treatment, etc.). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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The Effects of Organic Pollutants in Soil on Human Health
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Burgess, Lynn
2013-04-01
The soil has always been depository of the organic chemicals produced naturally or anthropogenically. Soil contamination is a serious human and environmental problem. A large body of evidence has shown the risks of adverse health effects with the exposure to contaminated soil due to the large quantities of organic chemicals used in agriculture and urban areas that have a legacy of environmental pollution linked to industrial activities, coal burning, motor vehicle emissions, waste incineration and waste dumping. In agricultural areas, because of the effort to provide adequate quantities of agricultural products, farmers have been using an increasing amount of organic chemicals, but the resulting pollution has enormous potential for environmental damage. The types of organic pollutants commonly found in soils are polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organophosphorus and carbamate insecticides, herbicides and organic fuels, especially gasoline and diesel. Another source of soil pollution is the complex mixture of organic chemicals, metals and microorganisms in the effluent from septic systems, animal wastes and other sources of biowaste. The soils of the world are a vast mixture of chemicals and although conditions are such that an individual is rarely exposed to a single compound, the great majority of people are exposed to a vast chemical mixture of organics, their metabolites, and other compounds at low concentrations Human exposure to organic pollutants in the soil is an area of toxicology that is very difficult to study due to the low concentration of the pollutants. The toxicological studies of single organic pollutants found in soils are limited and research on the metabolites and of chemical mixtures is very limited. The majority of toxicological studies are conducted at relatively high doses and for short periods of exposure. This makes the application of this data to exposure
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Removing environmental organic pollutants with bioremediation and phytoremediation.
Kang, Jun Won
2014-06-01
Hazardous organic pollutants represent a threat to human, animal, and environmental health. If left unmanaged, these pollutants could cause concern. Many researchers have stepped up efforts to find more sustainable and cost-effective alternatives to using hazardous chemicals and treatments to remove existing harmful pollutants. Environmental biotechnology, such as bioremediation and phytoremediation, is a promising field that utilizes natural resources including microbes and plants to eliminate toxic organic contaminants. This technology offers an attractive alternative to other conventional remediation processes because of its relatively low cost and environmentally-friendly method. This review discusses current biological technologies for the removal of organic contaminants, including chlorinated hydrocarbons, focusing on their limitation and recent efforts to correct the drawbacks.
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Matrix effects on organic pollutants analysis in marine sediment
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Azis, M. Y.; Asia, L.; Piram, A.; Buchari, B.; Doumenq, P.; Setiyanto, H.
2018-05-01
Interference from the matrix sample can influence of the accurate analytical method. Accelerated Solvent Extraction and their purification methods were tried to separate the organic micropollutants respectively in marine sediment. Those matrix were as organic pollutants evaluation in marine environment. Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are two examples organic pollutant in environment which are carcinogenic and mutagenic. Marine sediments are important matrices of information regarding the human activities in coastal areas as well as the fate and behavior of organic pollutants, which are persistent in long-term. This research purpose to evaluate the matrice effect and the recovery from marine sediment spiking with several standar solution and deuterium of molecular target from organic pollutants in not polluted sample of sediment. Matrice samples was tested from indicate in unpolluted location. The methods were evaluated with standard calibration curve (linearity < 0.999, LOQ various ranged 0.5-1000 pg.μL-1 and LOD > LOQ). Recovery (YE) relative, Matrice Effect (ME) relative correction with deuteriated standar were evaluated the interference the matrix. Interference effect for OCPs compounds were higher than PCBs in marine sediment.
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Determining organic pollutants in automotive industry sludge.
Munaretto, Juliana S; Wonghon, Audrey L; von Mühlen, Carin
2012-12-01
In Brazil, the policy for disposing industrial sludge is changing from an emphasis on using controlled landfills to other treatment or co-processing methods; however, the monitoring of organic pollutants is not mandatory. The present study evaluated two general screening methods for organic pollutants in sludge generated in an automotive industrial complex in southern Brazil. The screening was performed using Soxhlet and sonication extractions and Gas Chromatograph coupled with Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry (GC/qMS). It was concluded that both techniques were effective and that most of the compounds identified were alkanes, phenols and esters. Important pollutants were detected in the sludge, which confirms the necessity of monitoring this type of residue.
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Sousa, Ana C A; Teixeira, Isa Sofia de Sá; Marques, Bruna; Vilhena, Hugo; Vieira, Lisete; Soares, Amadeu M V M; Nogueira, António J A; Lillebø, Ana I
2013-11-01
Pet cats and dogs have been successfully used as indicators of environmental pollution by a great variety of chemicals, including metals. However, information on mercury (a well know priority environmental pollutant) concentrations in household pets tissues and/or organs is scarce. Thus, in the present work we quantified total mercury (Hg(Total)) in blood and hair samples from twenty-six household dogs. The obtained results disclose relatively low levels of total mercury in the surveyed dogs, with values ranging from 0.16 to 12.38 ng g(-1) in blood; and from 24.16 to 826.30 ng g(-1) in hair. Mercury concentrations were independent of gender, age and diet type. A highly significant positive correlation was established between total mercury in blood and hair, validating the latter as a surrogate, non-invasive matrix for mercury exposure evaluation. Additionally, the obtained blood to hair ratio (200) is similar to the one described for humans reinforcing the suitability of dogs as sentinels. Overall, the determination of total mercury levels in dogs' hair samples proved to be a good screening method for the estimation of mercury burden in this species. We propose the quantification of Hg(Total) in hair as a screening method for sentinels like household pets to be performed in routine veterinary visits.
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Launay, Marie A; Dittmer, Ulrich; Steinmetz, Heidrun
2016-11-01
To characterise emissions from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) regarding organic micropollutants, a monitoring study was undertaken in an urban catchment in southwest Stuttgart, Germany. The occurrence of 69 organic micropollutants was assessed at one CSO outfall during seven rain events as well as in the sewage network at the influent of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and in the receiving water. Several pollutant groups like pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), urban biocides and pesticides, industrial chemicals, organophosphorus flame retardants, plasticisers and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were chosen for analysis. Out of the 69 monitored substances, 60 were detected in CSO discharges. The results of this study show that CSOs represent an important pathway for a wide range of organic micropollutants from wastewater systems to urban receiving waters. For most compounds detected in CSO samples, event mean concentrations varied between the different events in about one order of magnitude range. When comparing CSO concentrations with median wastewater concentrations during dry weather, two main patterns could be observed depending on the source of the pollutant: (i) wastewater is diluted by stormwater; (ii) stormwater is the most important source of a pollutant. Both wastewater and stormwater only play an important role in pollutant concentration for a few compounds. The proportion of stormwater calculated with the conductivity is a suitable indicator for the evaluation of emitted loads of dissolved wastewater pollutants, but not for all compounds. In fact, this study demonstrates that remobilisation of in-sewer deposits contributed from 10% to 65% to emissions of carbamazepine in CSO events. The contribution of stormwater to CSO emitted loads was higher than 90% for all herbicides as well as for PAHs. Regarding the priority substance di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), this contribution varied between 39% and 85%. The PAH
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Delgado, Alejandra; Posada-Ureta, Oscar; Olivares, Maitane; Vallejo, Asier; Etxebarria, Nestor
2013-12-15
In this study a priority organic pollutants usually found in environmental water samples were considered to accomplish two extraction and analysis approaches. Among those compounds organochlorine compounds, pesticides, phthalates, phenols and residues of pharmaceutical and personal care products were included. The extraction and analysis steps were based on silicone rod extraction (SR) followed by liquid desorption in combination with large volume injection-programmable temperature vaporiser (LVI-PTV) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Variables affecting the analytical response as a function of the programmable temperature vaporiser (PTV) parameters were firstly optimised following an experimental design approach. The SR extraction and desorption conditions were assessed afterwards, including matrix modification, time extraction, and stripping solvent composition. Subsequently, the possibility of performing membrane enclosed sorptive coating extraction (MESCO) as a modified extraction approach was also evaluated. The optimised method showed low method detection limits (3-35 ng L(-1)), acceptable accuracy (78-114%) and precision values (<13%) for most of the studied analytes regardless of the aqueous matrix. Finally, the developed approach was successfully applied to the determination of target analytes in aqueous environmental matrices including estuarine and wastewater samples. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Zhu, Xiaolin; Wu, Guanlan; Lu, Nan; Yuan, Xing; Li, Baikun
2017-02-15
The study presented a sensitive and miniaturized cell-based electrochemical biosensor to assess the toxicity of priority pollutants in the aquatic environment. Human hepatoma (HepG2) cells were used as the biological recognition agent to measure the changes of electrochemical signals and reflect the cell viability. The graphene oxide quantum dots/carboxylated carbon nanotubes hybrid was developed in a facile and green way. Based on the hybrid composite modified pencil graphite electrode, the cell culture and detection vessel was miniaturized to a 96-well plate instead of the traditional culture dish. In addition, three sensitive electrochemical signals attributed to guanine/xanthine, adenine, and hypoxanthine were detected simultaneously. The biosensor was used to evaluate the toxicity of six priority pollutants, including Cd, Hg, Pb, 2,4-dinitrophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, and pentachlorophenol. The 24h IC 50 values obtained by the electrochemical biosensor were lower than those of conventional MTT assay, suggesting the enhanced sensitivity of the electrochemical assay towards heavy metals and phenols. This platform enables the label-free and sensitive detection of cell physiological status with multi-parameters and constitutes a promising approach for toxicity detection of pollutants. It makes possible for automatical and high-throughput analysis on nucleotide catabolism, which may be critical for life science and toxicology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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AN ORGANIZATION GUIDE TO POLLUTION PREVENTION
This Pollution Prevention (P2) Guide provides information to help organizations get P2 programs started on t re-evaluate existing P2 programs. It presents an alternative method for working on P2 projects and four approaches to implementing a P2 program in an organization. The int...
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Application of nano filter for organic pollutant degradation
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Qandalee, Mohammad; Hatami, Mehdi; Majedi, Ali; Bateni, Mohsen; Vahdat, Seyed Mohammad
2012-12-01
In this study, the possibility of using a novel nanocomposite structure based on nanoscale titanium dioxide as a filter toward elimination of organic pollutant was investigated. Methyl Orange (MO) was selected as a typical organic pollutant and effect of lamp intensity, addition of hydrogen peroxide and MO concentration were investigated. The photocatalytic degradation of MO was modeled using Langmuir-Hinshelwood equation and the removal rates were simulated.
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Immunomodulation by Persistent Organic Pollutants
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are widely distnbuted in the environment, are resistant to degradation, and increase in concentration (biomagnify) in the food chain. Concentrations in apical predators may be tens to hundreds of times greater than concentrations in their pref...
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Selected organic pollutant emissions from unvented kerosene space heaters
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Traynor, G.W.; Apte, M.G.; Sokol, H.A.
1990-08-01
An exploratory study was performed to assess the semivolatile and nonvolatile organic pollutant emissions rates from unvented kerosene space heaters. A well-tuned radiant heater and maltuned convective heater were tested for semivolatile and nonvolatile organic pollutant emissions. Each heater was operated in a 27-m{sup 3} chamber with a prescribed on/off pattern. Organic compounds were collected on Teflon-impregnated glass filters backed by XAD-2 resin and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Pollutant source strengths were calculated by use of a mass balance equation. The results show that kerosene heaters can emit polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); nitrated PAHs; alkylbenzenes, phthalates; hydronaphthalenes; aliphatic hydrocarbons,more » alcohols, and ketones; and other organic compounds, some of which are known mutagens.« less
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Williamson, K.S.; Petty, J.D.; Huckins, J.N.; Lebo, J.A.; Kaiser, E.M.
2002-01-01
High performance liquid chromatography coupled with programmable fluorescence detection was employed for the determination of 15 priority pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPPAHs) in water, sediment, and semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs). Chromatographic separation using this analytical method facilitates selectivity, sensitivity (ppt levels), and can serve as a non-destructive technique for subsequent analysis by other chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. Extraction and sample cleanup procedures were also developed for water, sediment, and SPMDs using various chromatographic and wet chemical methods. The focus of this publication is to examine the enrichment techniques and the analytical methodologies used in the isolation, characterization, and quantitation of 15 PPPAHs in different sample matrices.
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Balakrishnan, Kalpana; Ramaswamy, Padmavathi; Sambandam, Sankar; Thangavel, Gurusamy; Ghosh, Santu; Johnson, Priscilla; Mukhopadhyay, Krishnendu; Venugopal, Vidhya; Thanasekaraan, Vijayalakshmi
2011-01-01
Environmental and occupational risk factors contribute to nearly 40% of the national burden of disease in India, with air pollution in the indoor and outdoor environment ranking amongst leading risk factors. It is now recognized that the health burden from air pollution exposures that primarily occur in the rural indoors, from pollutants released during the incomplete combustion of solid fuels in households, may rival or even exceed the burden attributable to urban outdoor exposures. Few environmental epidemiological efforts have been devoted to this setting, however. We provide an overview of important available information on exposures and health effects related to household solid fuel use in India, with a view to inform health research priorities for household air pollution and facilitate being able to address air pollution within an integrated rural-urban framework in the future.
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Mailler, R; Gasperi, J; Rocher, V; Gilbert-Pawlik, S; Geara-Matta, D; Moilleron, R; Chebbo, G
2014-04-01
This paper compares the removal performances of two complete wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for all priority substances listed in the Water Framework Directive and additional compounds of interest including flame retardants, surfactants, pesticides, and personal care products (PCPs) (n = 104). First, primary treatments such as physicochemical lamellar settling (PCLS) and primary settling (PS) are compared. Similarly, biofiltration (BF) and conventional activated sludge (CAS) are then examined. Finally, the removal efficiency per unit of nitrogen removed of both WWTPs for micropollutants is discussed, as nitrogenous pollution treatment results in a special design of processes and operational conditions. For primary treatments, hydrophobic pollutants (log K ow > 4) are well removed (>70 %) for both systems despite high variations of removal. PCLS allows an obvious gain of about 20 % regarding pollutant removals, as a result of better suspended solids elimination and possible coagulant impact on soluble compounds. For biological treatments, variations of removal are much weaker, and the majority of pollutants are comparably removed within both systems. Hydrophobic and volatile compounds are well (>60 %) or very well removed (>80 %) by sorption and volatilization. Some readily biodegradable molecules are better removed by CAS, indicating a better biodegradation. A better sorption of pollutants on activated sludge could be also expected considering the differences of characteristics between a biofilm and flocs. Finally, comparison of global processes efficiency using removals of micropollutants load normalized to nitrogen shows that PCLS + BF is as efficient as PS + CAS despite a higher compactness and a shorter hydraulic retention time (HRT). Only some groups of pollutants seem better removed by PS + CAS like alkylphenols, flame retardants, or di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), thanks to better biodegradation and sorption resulting from HRT
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Links between global meat trade and organic river pollution
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wen, Yingrong; Schoups, Gerrit; van de Giesen, Nick
2017-04-01
Rising demand of meat boosts livestock farming intensification. Due to international meat trade, the environmental costs of production are becoming increasingly separated from where the meat is consumed. However, little is known about the impact of trade on the environment for both importers and exporters. Combining multi-scale (national, regional and gridded) data, we present a new method to quantify the impacts of international meat trade on global river organic pollution. We computed spatially distributed organic pollution in global river networks with and without meat trade, where the without-trade scenario assumes that meat imports are replaced by local production. Our analysis indicates high potential savings of livestock population and pollutants production at the global scale due to the international meat trade. The spatially detailed analysis shows that current trade contributes to organic pollution reductions in meat importing regions, especially in rich nations. The deterioration of river water quality, especially in developing regions, points to an urgent need for affordable infrastructure and technology development and wastewater solutions.
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
... 40 Protection of Environment 31 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false BAT and NSPS Effluent Limitations for Priority Pollutants for Direct Discharge Point Sources That use End-of-Pipe Biological Treatment 4 Table 4... AND STANDARDS (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE CHEMICALS Pt. 455, Table 4 Table 4 to Part 455—BAT and NSPS...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
2014-07-01
... 40 Protection of Environment 30 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false BAT and NSPS Effluent Limitations for Priority Pollutants for Direct Discharge Point Sources That Do Not Use End-of-Pipe Biological Treatment 5 Table 5 to Part 455 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS (CONTINUED)...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
2012-07-01
... 40 Protection of Environment 31 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false BAT and NSPS Effluent Limitations for Priority Pollutants for Direct Discharge Point Sources That Do Not Use End-of-Pipe Biological Treatment 5 Table 5 to Part 455 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS (CONTINUED)...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
... 40 Protection of Environment 31 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false BAT and NSPS Effluent Limitations for Priority Pollutants for Direct Discharge Point Sources That Do Not Use End-of-Pipe Biological Treatment 5 Table 5 to Part 455 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS (CONTINUED)...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
2011-07-01
... 40 Protection of Environment 30 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false BAT and NSPS Effluent Limitations for Priority Pollutants for Direct Discharge Point Sources That Do Not Use End-of-Pipe Biological Treatment 5 Table 5 to Part 455 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS PESTICIDE CHEMICALS...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-07-01
... 40 Protection of Environment 29 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false BAT and NSPS Effluent Limitations for Priority Pollutants for Direct Discharge Point Sources That Do Not Use End-of-Pipe Biological Treatment 5 Table 5 to Part 455 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS PESTICIDE CHEMICALS...
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Endophytic bacteria: prospects and applications for the phytoremediation of organic pollutants.
Afzal, Muhammad; Khan, Qaiser M; Sessitsch, Angela
2014-12-01
Recently, there has been an increased effort to enhance the efficacy of phytoremediation of contaminated environments by exploiting plant-microbe interactions. The combined use of plants and endophytic bacteria is an emerging approach for the clean-up of soil and water polluted with organic compounds. In plant-endophyte partnerships, plants provide the habitat as well as nutrients to their associated endophytic bacteria. In response, endophytic bacteria with appropriate degradation pathways and metabolic activities enhance degradation of organic pollutants, and diminish phytotoxicity and evapotranspiration of organic pollutants. Moreover, endophytic bacteria possessing plant growth-promoting activities enhance the plant's adaptation and growth in soil and water contaminated with organic pollutants. Overall, the application of endophytic bacteria gives new insights into novel protocols to improve phytoremediation efficiency. However, successful application of plant-endophyte partnerships for the clean-up of an environment contaminated with organic compounds depends on the abundance and activity of the degrading endophyte in different plant compartments. Although many endophytic bacteria have the potential to degrade organic pollutants and improve plant growth, their contribution to enhance phytoremediation efficiency is still underestimated. A better knowledge of plant-endophyte interactions could be utilized to increase the remediation of polluted soil environments and to protect the foodstuff by decreasing agrochemical residues in food crops. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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[Characteristics of organic pollutants in the sediments from a typical electronics industrial zone].
Liu, Jin; Deng, Dai-Yong; Xu, Mei-Ying; Sun, Guo-Ping
2013-03-01
In order to investigate the contamination status of organic pollutants in a river of a typical electrical equipment industrial area, Ronggui, Foshan, the sediments were sampled for the composition, concentration and occurrence analysis of organic pollutants. The polar and non-polar fractionation methods were employed for the fingerprint establishment of organic pollutants. One hundred and seventy-one of organic chemicals including ten categories of alkanes, alkenes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene, heterocyclic compounds, phthalate esters, aldehydes, ketones, polar compounds, silicon-containing material as well as alkyl esters were examined. The number of different categories of the detected organic pollutants in a descending order was: alkanes > polar compounds > polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons > aldehydes and ketones > heterocyclic compounds > benzene homologues, phthalate ester > alkyl esters > silicon material > olefins. The abundance of detected organic pollutants in a descending order was: alkanes > polar compounds > alkyl esters > olefins > polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons > phthalates > silicon material > aldehydes and ketones > heterocyclic compounds > benzene homologues. Among the 51 kinds of alkanes detected, nonadecane accounted for 14.83%, and the persistent organic pollutants accounted for 2.33% of the total organic matter. Compared to similar studies, there were 51 kinds of alkanes and they accounted for 55.5% of the total organic chemicals, showing high diversity and abundance. In addition, some electronics industry-related organic pollutants such as silicone materials were also detected in high frequency.
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Reductive transformations are important processes for determining the fate of organic pollutants in anoxic environments. These processes are most often microbially mediated by both direct and indirect means. For example, specific bacteria transform organic pollutants directly as ...
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STRESS IN THE AIR: INHALED POLLUTANTS AND MULTI-ORGAN IMPAIRMENT
Air pollution has been blamed for nearly 7 million premature deaths worldwide. For decades, the research on how air pollution impacts human health has centered on cardiopulmonary consequences. However, more recently it is clearly evident that air pollution affects every organ in ...
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Case studies in organic contaminant hydrogeology
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Baker, John A.
1989-07-01
The effective management of domestic solid waste and hazardous, toxic, and radioactive waste is a major problem in the area of environmental geology and water sciences over the world. This series of case studies of organic contaminants from both solid and hazardous waste disposal facilities provides examples of these problems. The facilities were investigated to determine risks and liabilities before acquisition, to determine the site hydrogeologic conditions for design of appropriate groundwater monitoring plans, and/or to determine the potential for groundwater contamination. The results of these studies and investigations by Waste Management Inc. (WMI) and its consultants have shown certain relationships in the distribution of organic pollutants to the different geologic and hydrogeologic charac teristics of each facility. In each of the case studies, all 129 priority pollutants were analyzed in private wells and/or monitoring wells at the request of regulatory agencies. The 31 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of the priority pollutant list were the majority of the organic compounds detected and these data are evaluated in each case study. The case studies are on disposal facilities located in glacial tills, carbonaceous weathered clay soils, weathered shale, limestone bedrock, dolomite bedrock, and alluvial and sedimentary deposits. A brief discussion of groundwater quality impacts and remedial measures also is included.
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40 CFR Table 2 to Subpart F of... - Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
... CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants From the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry Pt. 63, Subpt. F, Table 2 Table 2 to Subpart F of Part 63—Organic Hazardous... 40 Protection of Environment 10 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants 2...
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40 CFR Table 2 to Subpart F of... - Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants
Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
2011-07-01
... CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants From the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry Pt. 63, Subpt. F, Table 2 Table 2 to Subpart F of Part 63—Organic Hazardous... 40 Protection of Environment 9 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants 2...
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40 CFR Table 2 to Subpart F of... - Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants
Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
2014-07-01
... CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants From the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry Pt. 63, Subpt. F, Table 2 Table 2 to Subpart F of Part 63—Organic Hazardous... 40 Protection of Environment 10 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants 2...
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Toxic organic pollutants from kerosene space heaters in Iran.
Keyanpour-Rad, Mansoor
2004-03-01
The aim of this study was to investigate qualitatively the emission of toxic organic pollutants from an unventilated conventional kerosene space heater commonly used in Iran. A brand new common convective kerosene space heater, the "Aladdin," was used for this study. The well-tuned convective heater was operated in a 2.6-m(3) test chamber and then the emission was tested for organic pollutants. The emission was collected on Teflon-impregnated glass-fiber filters and XAD-2 resin and then analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy. It was found that in addition to the ordinary pollutant gases, the heater emits aliphatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and the related nitrated compounds, phthalates, naphthalenes, and some other toxic organic compounds. However, it was found that the heater did not emit fluoranthene, cyclohexane, benzoic acid, and higher-molecular-weight alkylbenzenes, which could have resulted from the combustion of some other types of kerosene.
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Fuerhacker, Maria
2009-08-01
Water is a renewable resource and acceptable quality is important for human health, ecological and economic reasons, but human activity can cause great damage to the natural aquatic environment. Managing the water cycle in a sustainable way is the key to protect natural resources and human health. On a global level, the microbiological contamination of water sources is a major problem in connection with poverty and the United Nations Millennium Development Declaration is an important initiative to handle this problem. In terms of environmental health, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) circulate globally; as they travel long distances, they are found in remote areas far from their original source of application and can cause damage wherever they move to. On a global scale, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) issued the Stockholm Convention to reduce POPs; in the European Union (EU), one intention of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is to reach the good chemical status of waters; beside these regulations, there are other directives in support of these goals. The aim of this paper is to discuss whether the Stockholm Convention and the WFD allows meeting the targets of protection of human and environmental health, which are established in the different directives and how could we approach the targets. The aims and scopes of different directives are compiled and compared with the actual quality of water, different approaches of standard settings are compared and potential treatment options are discussed. Under the Stockholm Convention on POPs, which came into force in May 2004, governments are required to develop a National Implementation Plan (NIP) setting out how they will address their obligations under the convention and how they will take measures to eliminate or reduce the release of POPs into the environment by the use of best available techniques (BAT) and application of best environmental practices (BEP). On a European level, the WFD has been in
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Organic pollutant removal from edible oil process wastewater using electrocoagulation
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sharma, S.; Can, O. T.; Hammed, M.; Nawarathna, D.; Simsek, H.
2018-03-01
Wastewaters generated from vegetable oil industries contain a high concentration of organic pollutants that are detrimental to the aquatic ecosystem. Electrochemical processes are gaining importance in the treatment of inorganic and resistant organic pollutants in wastewaters. In this study, electrocoagulation (EC) was applied to remove organic pollutants and oil and grease from canola oil wastewater using aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) electrodes. The application of EC in the wastewater achieved more than 80% removal of organic carbon and nearly 100% removal of suspended solids (SS). The effectiveness of EC is influenced mainly by current density, pH, electrolyte (NaCl), electrode contact time and electrode type. It was observed that Al electrode combination yielded better removal at a lesser time compared to that of Fe electrodes. However, varying current densities had its significance in terms of coagulation time only. Increase in current density achieved decrease in coagulation time. Both Al and Fe could remove between 52-59% of oil and grease from canola oil wastewater
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Zinc oxide tetrapods as efficient photocatalysts for organic pollutant degradation
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Liu, Fangzhou; Leung, Yu Hang; Djurisić, Aleksandra B.; Liao, Changzhong; Shih, Kaimin
2014-03-01
Bisphenol A (BPA) and other organic pollutants from industrial wastewater have drawn increasing concern in the past decades regarding their environmental and biological risks, and hence developing strategies of effective degradation of BPA and other organic pollutants is imperative. Metal oxide nanostructures, in particular titanium oxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO), have been demonstrated to exhibit efficient photodegradation of various common organic dyes. ZnO tetrapods are of special interest due to their low density of native defects which consequently lead to lower recombination losses and higher photocatalytic efficiency. Tetrapods can be obtained by relatively simple and low-cost vapor phase deposition in large quantity; the micron-scale size would also be advantageous for catalyst recovery. In this study, the photodegradation of BPA with ZnO tetrapods and TiO2 nanostructures under UV illumination were compared. The concentration of BPA dissolved in DI water was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) at specified time intervals. It was observed that the photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO tetrapods eventually surpassed Degussa P25 in free-standing form, and more than 80% of BPA was degraded after 60 min. Photodegradation of other organic dye pollutants by tetrapods and P25 were also examined. The superior photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO tetrapods for degradation of BPA and other organic dye pollutants and its correlation with the material properties were discussed.
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Marine environment pollution: The contribution of mass spectrometry to the study of seawater.
Magi, Emanuele; Di Carro, Marina
2016-09-09
The study of marine pollution has been traditionally addressed to persistent chemicals, generally known as priority pollutants; a current trend in environmental analysis is a shift toward "emerging pollutants," defined as newly identified or previously unrecognized contaminants. The present review is focused on the peculiar contribution of mass spectrometry (MS) to the study of pollutants in the seawater compartment. The work is organized in five paragraphs where the most relevant groups of pollutants, both "classical" and "emerging," are presented and discussed, highlighting the relative data obtained by the means of different MS techniques. The hyphenation of MS and separative techniques, together with the development of different ion sources, makes MS and tandem MS the analytical tool of choice for the determination of trace organic contaminants in seawater. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Karapanagioti, H K; Endo, S; Ogata, Y; Takada, H
2011-02-01
Plastic pellets found stranded on beaches are hydrophobic organic materials and thus, they are a favourable medium for persistent organic pollutants to absorb to. In the present study, plastic pellets are used to determine the diffuse pollution of selected Greek beaches. Samples of pellets were taken from these beaches and were analyzed for PCBs, DDTs, HCHs, and PAHs. The observed differences among pellets from various sampling sites are related to the pollution occurring at each site. Plastic pellets collected in Saronikos Gulf beaches demonstrate much higher pollutant loading than the ones collected in a remote island or close to an agricultural area. Based on data collected in this study and the International Pellet Watch program, pollution in Saronikos Gulf, Greece, is comparable to other heavily industrialized places of the world. The present study demonstrates the potential of pellet watch to be utilized as a detailed-scale monitoring tool within a single country. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Health effects associated with exposure to ambient air pollution.
Samet, Jonathan; Krewski, Daniel
2007-02-01
The World Health Organization has identified ambient air pollution as a high public health priority, based on estimates of air pollution related death and disability-adjusted life years derived in its Global Burden of Disease initiative. The NERAM Colloquium Series on Health and Air Quality was initiated to strengthen the linkage between scientists, policymakers, and other stakeholders by reviewing the current state of science, identifying policy-relevant gaps and uncertainties in the scientific evidence, and proposing a path forward for research and policy to improve air quality and public health. The objective of this paper is to review the current state of science addressing the impacts of air pollution on human health. The paper is one of four background papers prepared for the 2003 NERAM/AirNet Conference on Strategies for Clean Air and Health, the third meeting in the international Colloquium Series. The review is based on the framework and findings of the U.S. National Research Committee (NRC) on Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter and addresses key questions underlying air quality risk management policy decisions.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fatimah, P. L. Rika; Jemain, A. A.; Ibrahim, K.; Nasir, S. Mohammad; Anuar, M. A. Khairul
2009-01-01
Determining priority importance is a matter of concerns among the organization to improve their performance. One of the important aspects that should be considered by the organization is management of human resources, comprising of members who have their own family life. In this paper, we deliver a new perspective for organization to provide…
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Jahnke, Sara A.; Haddock, Christopher K.; Carlos Poston, Walker S.; Jitnarin, Nattinee
2014-01-01
Military and Veterans Service Organizations (MVSOs) have a unique opportunity to influence legislation and advocate for the interests of their members. However, little is known about what legislative priorities MVSOs see as important. Understanding the legislative priorities of MVSOs can inform efforts by health scientists to promote policy and laws designed to improve the health of our nation’s veterans. Using a mixed methods approach, we conducted a thematic analysis of legislative priorities MVSOs promote with their legislative agendas. Most commonly, MVSOs addressed issues related to disability evaluations and ratings with the Veterans Administration (VA) and access to VA services. Other common themes identified as priorities include benefits such as retirement, education, housing assistance for veterans, and TRICARE benefits. Findings highlight the broad range of topics MVSOs identify as legislative priorities as well as some health issues that receive relatively limited attention. PMID:25373063
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Interaction of engineered nanomaterials with hydrophobic organic pollutants
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sahle-Demessie, E.; Han, Changseok; Zhao, Amy; Hahn, Bill; Grecsek, Heidi
2016-07-01
As nanomaterials become an increasing part of everyday consumer products, it is imperative to monitor their potential release during production, use and disposal, and to assess their impact on the health of humans and the ecosystem. This necessitates research to better understand how the properties of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) lead to their accumulation and redistribution in the environment, and to assess whether they could become novel pollutants or if they can affect the mobility and bioavailability of other toxins. This study focuses on understanding the influence of nanostructured-TiO2 and the interaction of multi-walled carbon nanotubes with organic pollutants in water. We studied the adsorption and water phase dispersion of model pollutants with relatively small water solubility (i.e., two- and three-ring polyaromatic hydrocarbons and insecticides) with respect to ENMs. The sorption of pollutants was measured based on water phase analysis, and by separating suspended particles from the water phase and analyzing dried samples using integrated thermal-chromatographic-mass spectroscopic (TGA/GC/MS) techniques. Solid phase analysis using a combination of TGA/GC/MS is a novel technique that can provide real-time quantitative analysis and which helps to understand the interaction of hydrophobic organic pollutants and ENMs. The adsorption of these contaminants to nanomaterials increased the concentration of the contaminants in the aqueous phase as compared to the ‘real’ partitioning due to the octanol-water partitioning. The study showed that ENMs can significantly influence the adsorption and dispersion of hydrophobic/low water soluble contaminants. The type of ENM, the exposure to light, and the water pH have a significant influence on the partitioning of pollutants.
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A review of soil heavy metal pollution from mines in China: pollution and health risk assessment.
Li, Zhiyuan; Ma, Zongwei; van der Kuijp, Tsering Jan; Yuan, Zengwei; Huang, Lei
2014-01-15
Heavy metal pollution has pervaded many parts of the world, especially developing countries such as China. This review summarizes available data in the literature (2005-2012) on heavy metal polluted soils originating from mining areas in China. Based on these obtained data, this paper then evaluates the soil pollution levels of these collected mines and quantifies the risks these pollutants pose to human health. To assess these potential threat levels, the geoaccumulation index was applied, along with the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) recommended method for health risk assessment. The results demonstrate not only the severity of heavy metal pollution from the examined mines, but also the high carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks that soil heavy metal pollution poses to the public, especially to children and those living in the vicinity of heavily polluted mining areas. In order to provide key management targets for relevant government agencies, based on the results of the pollution and health risk assessments, Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Hg, As, and Ni are selected as the priority control heavy metals; tungsten, manganese, lead-zinc, and antimony mines are selected as the priority control mine categories; and southern provinces and Liaoning province are selected as the priority control provinces. This review, therefore, provides a comprehensive assessment of soil heavy metal pollution derived from mines in China, while identifying policy recommendations for pollution mitigation and environmental management of these mines. © 2013.
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Using biochar for remediation of soils contaminated with heavy metals and organic pollutants.
Zhang, Xiaokai; Wang, Hailong; He, Lizhi; Lu, Kouping; Sarmah, Ajit; Li, Jianwu; Bolan, Nanthi S; Pei, Jianchuan; Huang, Huagang
2013-12-01
Soil contamination with heavy metals and organic pollutants has increasingly become a serious global environmental issue in recent years. Considerable efforts have been made to remediate contaminated soils. Biochar has a large surface area, and high capacity to adsorb heavy metals and organic pollutants. Biochar can potentially be used to reduce the bioavailability and leachability of heavy metals and organic pollutants in soils through adsorption and other physicochemical reactions. Biochar is typically an alkaline material which can increase soil pH and contribute to stabilization of heavy metals. Application of biochar for remediation of contaminated soils may provide a new solution to the soil pollution problem. This paper provides an overview on the impact of biochar on the environmental fate and mobility of heavy metals and organic pollutants in contaminated soils and its implication for remediation of contaminated soils. Further research directions are identified to ensure a safe and sustainable use of biochar as a soil amendment for remediation of contaminated soils.
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COP-compost: a software to study the degradation of organic pollutants in composts.
Zhang, Y; Lashermes, G; Houot, S; Zhu, Y-G; Barriuso, E; Garnier, P
2014-02-01
Composting has been demonstrated to be effective in degrading organic pollutants (OP) whose behaviour depends on the composting conditions, the microbial populations activated and interactions with organic matters. The fate of OP during composting involves complex mechanisms and models can be helpful tools for educational and scientific purposes, as well as for industrialists who want to optimise the composting process for OP elimination. A COP-Compost model, which couples an organic carbon (OC) module and an organic pollutant (OP) module and which simulates the changes of organic matter, organic pollutants and the microbial activities during the composting process, has been proposed and calibrated for a first set of OP in a previous study. The objectives of the present work were (1) to introduce the COP-Compost model from its convenient interface to a potential panel of users, (2) to show the variety of OP that could be simulated, including the possibility of choosing between degradation through co-metabolism or specific metabolism and (3) to show the effect of the initial characteristics of organic matter quality and its microbial biomass on the simulated results of the OP dynamic. In the model, we assumed that the pollutants can be adsorbed on organic matter according to the biochemical quality of the OC and that the microorganisms can degrade the pollutants at the same time as they degrade OC (by co-metabolism). A composting experiment describing two different (14)C-labelled organic pollutants, simazine and pyrene, were chosen from the literature because the four OP fractions simulated in the model were measured during the study (the mineralised, soluble, sorbed and non-extractable fractions). Except for the mineralised fraction of simazine, a good agreement was achieved between the simulated and experimental results describing the evolution of the different organic fractions. For simazine, a specific biomass had to be added. To assess the relative importance
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Jahnke, Sara A; Haddock, Christopher K; Carlos Poston, Walker S; Jitnarin, Nattinee
2014-11-01
Military and Veterans Service Organizations (MVSOs) have a unique opportunity to influence legislation and advocate for the interests of their members. However, little is known about what legislative priorities MVSOs see as important. Understanding the legislative priorities of MVSOs can inform efforts by health scientists to promote policy and laws designed to improve the health of our nation's veterans. Using a mixed methods approach, we conducted a thematic analysis of legislative priorities MVSOs promote with their legislative agendas. Most commonly, MVSOs addressed issues related to disability evaluations and ratings with the Veterans Administration and access to Veterans Administration services. Other common themes identified as priorities include benefits such as retirement, education, housing assistance for veterans, and TRICARE benefits. Findings highlight the broad range of topics MVSOs identify as legislative priorities as well as some health issues that receive relatively limited attention. Reprint & Copyright © 2014 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.
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Cobbett, Christopher S.; Meagher, Richard B.
2002-01-01
In a process called phytoremediation, plants can be used to extract, detoxify, and/or sequester toxic pollutants from soil, water, and air. Phytoremediation may become an essential tool in cleaning the environment and reducing human and animal exposure to potential carcinogens and other toxins. Arabidopsis has provided useful information about the genetic, physiological, and biochemical mechanisms behind phytoremediation, and it is an excellent model genetic organism to test foreign gene expression. This review focuses on Arabidopsis studies concerning: 1) the remediation of elemental pollutants; 2) the remediation of organic pollutants; and 3) the phytoremediation genome. Elemental pollutants include heavy metals and metalloids (e.g., mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic) that are immutable. The general goal of phytoremediation is to extract, detoxify, and hyperaccumulate elemental pollutants in above-ground plant tissues for later harvest. A few dozen Arabidopsis genes and proteins that play direct roles in the remediation of elemental pollutants are discussed. Organic pollutants include toxic chemicals such as benzene, benzo(a)pyrene, polychlorinated biphenyls, trichloroethylene, trinitrotoluene, and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. Phytoremediation of organic pollutants is focused on their complete mineralization to harmless products, however, less is known about the potential of plants to act on complex organic chemicals. A preliminary survey of the Arabidopsis genome suggests that as many as 700 genes encode proteins that have the capacity to act directly on environmental pollutants or could be modified to do so. The potential of the phytoremediation proteome to be used to reduce human exposure to toxic pollutants appears to be enormous and untapped. PMID:22303204
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Effects of organic pollution on biological communities of marine biofilm on hard substrata.
Sanz-Lázaro, C; Fodelianakis, S; Guerrero-Meseguer, L; Marín, A; Karakassis, I
2015-06-01
We examined the effect of organic enrichment on diatom and bacterial assemblages of marine epilithic biofilms on two locations in the Mediterranean, one situated in Spain and the other in Greece. Total organic carbon, total organic nitrogen, stable isotopes (δ(13)C and δ(15)N) and chlorophyll a indicated significant incorporation of organic wastes, increased primary production and trophic niche modifications on the biofilms close to the organic enrichment source. In Spain, where the organic load was higher than in Greece, diatom and, to some extent, bacterial assemblages varied following the organic enrichment gradient. The taxonomic richness of diatom and bacterial communities was not influenced by organic enrichment. Classical community parameters showed consistent patterns to organic pollution in both locations, whereas community assemblages were only influenced when organic pollution was greatest. The successional patterns of these communities were similar to other epilithic communities. The modification of community assemblages induced by organic pollution may affect ecological functions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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International Occupational Therapy Research Priorities.
Mackenzie, Lynette; Coppola, Susan; Alvarez, Liliana; Cibule, Lolita; Maltsev, Sergey; Loh, Siew Yim; Mlambo, Tecla; Ikiugu, Moses N; Pihlar, Zdenka; Sriphetcharawut, Sarinya; Baptiste, Sue; Ledgerd, Richard
2017-04-01
Occupational therapy is a global profession represented by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT). International research priorities are needed for strategic guidance on global occupational therapy practice. The objective of this study was to develop international research priorities to reflect global occupational therapy practice. A Delphi study using three rounds of electronic surveys, distributed to WFOT member organizations and WFOT accredited universities, was conducted. Data were analyzed after each round, and priorities were presented for rating and ranking in order of importance. Forty-six (53%) out of 87 WFOT member countries participated in the Delphi process. Eight research priorities were confirmed by the final electronic survey round. Differences were observed in rankings given by member organizations and university respondents. Despite attrition at Round 3, the final research priorities will help to focus research efforts in occupational therapy globally. Follow-up research is needed to determine how the research priorities are being adopted internationally.
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[Identification of using organic carbon isotopic composition of soil pollution process].
Guo, Qing-Jun; Chen, Tong-Bin; Yang, Jun; Strauss, Harald; Lei, Mei; Zhu, Guang-Xu; Li, Yan-Mei; Zhou, Xiao-Yong; Li, Xiao-Yan
2011-10-01
This study has taken advantage of the characteristics of concentration of soil organic matter (SOC) and delta13 C(SOC) values to provide proofs for environment quality assessment and to know more about polluted sources, sizes and processes in Beijing steel company area. delta13C values of SOC is good for tracing sources and documenting shifts in community composition and distribution. Two sections (Beijing steel company area and Yongledian, Tongzhou) which belong to two different soil types collected in Beijing, and organic carbon isotopic composition and total soil organic carbon were analyzed. These results shows that SOC of soil samples from Beijing steel company area are quite high, and even 9.7% at the surface sample, however SOC from unpolluted area (Yongledian area) is lower than those of industrial area. delta13 C(SOC) from soils of Beijing steel company area and Yongledian area respectively vary from -24.8 per thousand to -23.1 per thousand and -26.4 per thousand to -20.5 per thousand, the results are quite different. The results reflect that there are different organic carbon sources in different types' soil: Organic carbon from Beijing steel company area has been mainly affected by coal burning, soil organic carbon concentrations are quite high, and pollution can affect on soils 70 cm deep underground; and soils from Yongledian area, have been not polluted, and organic matter is from natural litter (C3 plants). Although there are different soil organic carbon concentrations and isotope compositions, two soil sections have similar variation trends. This study provides proofs for environment quality assessment and know more about polluted and natural sources, sizes in Beijing.
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Exploring Citizen Infrastructure and Environmental Priorities in Mumbai, India
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Sperling, Joshua; Romero-Lankao, Patricia; Beig, Gufran
Many cities worldwide seek to understand local policy priorities among their general populations. This study explores how differences in local conditions and among citizens within and across Mumbai, India shape local infrastructure (e.g. energy, water, transport) and environmental (e.g. managing pollution, climate-related extreme weather events) policy priorities for change that may or may not be aligned with local government action or global environmental sustainability concerns such as low-carbon development. In this rapidly urbanizing city, multiple issues compete for prominence, ranging from improved management of pollution and extreme weather to energy and other infrastructure services. To inform a broader perspective ofmore » policy priorities for urban development and risk mitigation, a survey was conducted among over 1200 citizens. The survey explored the state of local conditions, the challenges citizens face, and the ways in which differences in local conditions (socio-institutional, infrastructure, and health-related) demonstrate inequities and influence how citizens perceive risks and rank priorities for the future design and implementation of local planning, policy, and community-based efforts. With growing discussion and tensions surrounding the new urban sustainable development goal, announced by the UN in late September 2015, and a new global urban agenda document to be agreed upon at 'Habitat III', issues on whether sustainable urbanization priorities should be set at the international, national or local level remain controversial. As such, this study aims to first understand determinants of and variations in local priorities across one city, with implications discussed for local-to-global urban sustainability. Findings from survey results indicate the determinants and variation in conditions such as age, assets, levels of participation in residential action groups, the health outcome of chronic asthma, and the infrastructure service of piped
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75 FR 64976 - National Priorities List, Proposed Rule No. 53
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2010-10-21
... Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the known... submit comments after the public comment period is over? I. May I view public comments submitted by..., EPA promulgated the revised National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP...
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Article "403. Toxicology of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)"
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are all synthetic chemicals, either intentionally or unintentionally produced/released. Some POPs are pesticides. Others are industrial products or unintended by-products resulting from industrial processes or combustions (see figure 1). POPs ...
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Applicability of Fluorescence and Absorbance Spectroscopy to Estimate Organic Pollution in Rivers
Knapik, Heloise Garcia; Fernandes, Cristovão Vicente Scapulatempo; de Azevedo, Júlio Cesar Rodrigues; do Amaral Porto, Monica Ferreira
2014-01-01
Abstract This article explores the applicability of fluorescence and absorbance spectroscopy for estimating organic pollution in polluted rivers. The relationship between absorbance, fluorescence intensity, dissolved organic carbon, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and other water quality parameters were used to characterize and identify the origin and the spatial variability of the organic pollution in a highly polluted watershed. Analyses were performed for the Iguassu River, located in southern Brazil, with area about 2,700 km2 and ∼3 million inhabitants. Samples were collect at six monitoring sites covering 107 km of the main river. BOD, COD, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentration indicates a high input of sewage to the river. Specific absorbance at 254 and 285 nm (SUVA254 and A285/COD) did not show significant variation between sites monitored, indicating the presence of both dissolved compounds found in domestic effluents and humic and fulvic compounds derived from allochthonous organic matter. Correlations between BOD and tryptophan-like fluorescence peak (peak T2, r=0.7560, and peak T1, r=0.6949) and tyrosine-like fluorescence peak (peak B, r=0.7321) indicated the presence of labile organic matter and thus confirmed the presence of sewage in the river. Results showed that fluorescence and absorbance spectroscopy provide useful information on pollution in rivers from critical watersheds and together are a robust method that is simpler and more rapid than traditional methods employed by regulatory agencies. PMID:25469076
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Stevanovic-Carapina, Hristina; Milic, Jelena; Curcic, Marijana; Randjelovic, Jasminka; Krinulovic, Katarina; Jovovic, Aleksandar; Brnjas, Zvonko
2016-07-01
Sustainable solid waste management needs more dedicated attention in respect of environmental and human health protection. Solid waste containing persistent organic pollutants is of special concern, since persistent organic pollutants are persistent, toxic and of high risk to human health and the environment. The objective of this investigation was to identify critical points in the Serbian system of solid waste and persistent organic pollutants management, to assure the life cycle management of persistent organic pollutants and products containing these chemicals, including prevention and final destruction. Data were collected from the Serbian competent authorities, and led us to identify preventive actions for solid waste management that should reduce or minimise release of persistent organic pollutants into the environment, and to propose actions necessary for persistent organic pollutants solid waste. The adverse impact of persistent organic pollutants is multidimensional. Owing to the lack of treatment or disposal plants for hazardous waste in Serbia, the only option at the moment to manage persistent organic pollutants waste is to keep it in temporary storage and when conditions are created (primarily financial), such waste should be exported for destruction in hazardous waste incinerators. Meanwhile, it needs to be assured that any persistent organic pollutants management activity does not negatively impact recycling flows or disturb progress towards a more circular economy in Serbia. © The Author(s) 2016.
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Directory of National Organizations Concerned With Land Pollution Control.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Freed Publishing Co., New York, NY.
Included in this directory are 133 national organizations, agencies, institutes and/or private groups concerned with the reduction or prevention of land pollution. Arranged in alphabetical order, each annotation gives the complete name of the organization, its address, telephone number, person to contact, and a short description of the scope of…
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UTILITY OF ZEOLITES IN REMOVAL OF INORGANIC AND ORGANIC WATER POLLUTANTS
Zeolites are well known for their ion exchange, adsorption and acid catalysis properties. Different inorganic and organic pollutants have been removed from water at room temperature using various zeolites. Synthetic zeolite Faujasite Y has been used to remove inorganic pollutants...
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wen, Yingrong; Schoups, Gerrit; van de Giesen, Nick
2017-02-01
Organic pollution of rivers by wastewater discharge from human activities negatively impacts people and ecosystems. Without treatment, pollution control relies on a combination of natural degradation and dilution by natural runoff to reduce downstream effects. We quantify here for the first time the global sanitation crisis through its impact on organic river pollution from the threats of (1) increasing wastewater discharge due to urbanization and intensification of livestock farming, and (2) reductions in river dilution capacity due to climate change and water extractions. Using in-stream Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) as an overall indicator of organic river pollution, we calculate historical (2000) and future (2050) BOD concentrations in global river networks. Despite significant self-cleaning capacities of rivers, the number of people affected by organic pollution (BOD >5 mg/l) is projected to increase from 1.1 billion in 2000 to 2.5 billion in 2050. With developing countries disproportionately affected, our results point to a growing need for affordable wastewater solutions.
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Wen, Yingrong; Schoups, Gerrit; van de Giesen, Nick
2017-01-01
Organic pollution of rivers by wastewater discharge from human activities negatively impacts people and ecosystems. Without treatment, pollution control relies on a combination of natural degradation and dilution by natural runoff to reduce downstream effects. We quantify here for the first time the global sanitation crisis through its impact on organic river pollution from the threats of (1) increasing wastewater discharge due to urbanization and intensification of livestock farming, and (2) reductions in river dilution capacity due to climate change and water extractions. Using in-stream Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) as an overall indicator of organic river pollution, we calculate historical (2000) and future (2050) BOD concentrations in global river networks. Despite significant self-cleaning capacities of rivers, the number of people affected by organic pollution (BOD >5 mg/l) is projected to increase from 1.1 billion in 2000 to 2.5 billion in 2050. With developing countries disproportionately affected, our results point to a growing need for affordable wastewater solutions. PMID:28230079
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Wen, Yingrong; Schoups, Gerrit; van de Giesen, Nick
2017-02-23
Organic pollution of rivers by wastewater discharge from human activities negatively impacts people and ecosystems. Without treatment, pollution control relies on a combination of natural degradation and dilution by natural runoff to reduce downstream effects. We quantify here for the first time the global sanitation crisis through its impact on organic river pollution from the threats of (1) increasing wastewater discharge due to urbanization and intensification of livestock farming, and (2) reductions in river dilution capacity due to climate change and water extractions. Using in-stream Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) as an overall indicator of organic river pollution, we calculate historical (2000) and future (2050) BOD concentrations in global river networks. Despite significant self-cleaning capacities of rivers, the number of people affected by organic pollution (BOD >5 mg/l) is projected to increase from 1.1 billion in 2000 to 2.5 billion in 2050. With developing countries disproportionately affected, our results point to a growing need for affordable wastewater solutions.
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Del Rio, Mateo; Palomino Cabello, Carlos; Gonzalez, Veronica; Maya, Fernando; Parra, Jose B; Cerdà, Victor; Turnes Palomino, Gemma
2016-08-08
Dense and homogeneous metal-organic framework (MOF) coatings on functional bead surfaces are easily prepared by using intermediate sacrificial metal oxide coatings containing the metal precursor of the MOF. Polystyrene (PS) beads are coated with a ZnO layer to give ZnO@PS core-shell beads. The ZnO@PS beads are reactive in the presence of 2-methylimidazole to transform part of the ZnO coating into a porous zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) external shell positioned above the internal ZnO precursor shell. The obtained ZIF-8@ZnO@PS beads can be easily packed in column format for flow-through applications, such as the solid-phase extraction of trace priority-listed environmental pollutants. The prepared material shows an excellent permeance to flow when packed as a column to give high enrichment factors, facile regeneration, and excellent reusability for the extraction of the pollutant bisphenol A. It also shows an outstanding performance for the simultaneous enrichment of mixtures of endocrine disrupting chemicals (bisphenol A, 4-tert-octylphenol and 4-n-nonylphenol), facilitating their analysis when present at very low levels (<1 μg L(-1) ) in drinking waters. For the extraction of the pollutant bisphenol A, the prepared ZIF-8@ZnO@PS beads also show a superior extraction and preconcentration capacity to that of the PS beads used as precursors and the composite materials obtained by the direct growth of ZIF-8 on the surface of the PS beads in the absence of metal oxide intermediate coatings. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
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Emissions of air pollutants from scented candles burning in a test chamber
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Derudi, Marco; Gelosa, Simone; Sliepcevich, Andrea; Cattaneo, Andrea; Rota, Renato; Cavallo, Domenico; Nano, Giuseppe
2012-08-01
Burning of scented candles in indoor environment can release a large number of toxic chemicals. However, in spite of the large market penetration of scented candles, very few works investigated their organic pollutants emissions. This paper investigates volatile organic compounds emissions, with particular reference to the priority indoor pollutants identified by the European Commission, from the burning of scented candles in a laboratory-scale test chamber. It has been found that BTEX and PAHs emission factors show large differences among different candles, possibly due to the raw paraffinic material used, while aldehydes emission factors seem more related to the presence of additives. This clearly evidences the need for simple and cheap methodologies to measure the emission factors of commercial candles in order to foresee the expected pollutant concentration in a given indoor environment and compare it with health safety standards.
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Historic and newer persistent organic pollutants in food
USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
This book chapter reviews the literature published over the past five years with regard to the concentrations of historic and newly-listed persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in foods. The chemical classes selected for this review include historic POPs (dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls, and DDT) ...
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The Response of Living Benthic Foraminifera at an Organically Polluted Locality in Eastern Bahrain
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Arslan, Muhammad; Kaminski, Michael; Frontalini, Fabrizio
2017-04-01
This study examines the response of living benthic foraminifera at a polluted site in eastern Bahrain, with the aim to determine the effects of anthropogenic pollution on their distribution patterns and the occurrence of morphological deformities. The boat harbor in Askar (Bahrain) is subjected to pollution by nutrients, organic matter, and hydrocarbons. Foraminiferal density is found to be higher at the polluted site compared with a nearby unpolluted site, suggesting a higher amount of available food for the benthic foraminifera. Seven taxonomical groups were recognized in the organically polluted transect including Ammonia, Glabratellina, Murrayinella, Elphidium, Brizalina, miliolids, and peneroplids. By comparing the foraminiferal assemblages with a nearby unpolluted transect, the genus Murrayinella appeared to be a dominant and pervasive taxon that was able to proliferate in an organically polluted environment. Strong correlations of Murrayinella with nitrates, sulfates, TOC, and THC put forward the opportunistic behavior of this taxon. Our results contrast with previously published findings on modern foraminiferal assemblage in the Arabian Gulf, as Murrayinella is rarely reported. The population of miliolids was drastically reduced at the polluted site, which suggests that the group was adversely affected by organic pollution when compared with the unpolluted transect. This reaffirms the sensitive nature of the miliolid group of foraminifera, supporting the findings of previous studies of the effect of historical coastal eutrophication on foraminiferal assemblages in the Gulf of Mexico and Japan. Therefore, the miliolids might be considered as a pollution proxy for future biomonitoring studies in the Gulf region.
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Sadef, Yumna; Poulsen, Tjalfe Gorm; Bester, Kai
2015-06-01
Knowledge about the effects of oxygen concentration, nutrient availability and moisture content on removal of organic micro-pollutants during aerobic composting is at present very limited. Impact of oxygen concentration, readily available nitrogen content (NH4(+), NO3(-)), and moisture content on biological transformation of 15 key organic micro-pollutants during composting, was therefore investigated using bench-scale degradation experiments based on non-sterile compost samples, collected at full-scale composting facilities. In addition, the adequacy of bench-scale composting experiments for representing full-scale composting conditions, was investigated using micro-pollutant concentration measurements from both bench- and full-scale composting experiments. Results showed that lack of oxygen generally prevented transformation of organic micro-pollutants. Increasing readily available nitrogen content from about 50 mg N per 100 g compost to about 140 mg N per 100 g compost actually reduced micro-pollutant transformation, while changes in compost moisture content from 50% to 20% by weight, only had minor influence on micro-pollutant transformation. First-order micro-pollutant degradation rates for 13 organic micro-pollutants were calculated using data from both full- and bench-scale experiments. First-order degradation coefficients for both types of experiments were similar and ranged from 0.02 to 0.03 d(-1) on average, indicating that if a proper sampling strategy is employed, bench-scale experiments can be used to represent full-scale composting conditions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Toxicity of natural mixtures of organic pollutants in temperate and polar marine phytoplankton.
Echeveste, Pedro; Galbán-Malagón, Cristóbal; Dachs, Jordi; Berrojalbiz, Naiara; Agustí, Susana
2016-11-15
Semivolatile and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) undergo atmospheric transport before being deposited to the oceans, where they partition to phytoplankton organic matter. The goal of this study was to determine the toxicity of naturally occurring complex mixtures of organic pollutants to temperate and polar phytoplankton communities from the Mediterranean Sea, the North East (NE) Atlantic, and Southern Oceans. The cell abundance of the different phytoplankton groups, chlorophyll a concentrations, viability of the cells, and growth and decay constants were monitored in response to addition of a range of concentrations of mixtures of organic pollutants obtained from seawater extracts. Almost all of the phytoplankton groups were significantly affected by the complex mixtures of non-polar and polar organic pollutants, with toxicity being greater for these mixtures than for single POPs or simple POP mixtures. Cocktails' toxicity arose at concentrations as low as tenfold the field oceanic levels, probably due to a higher chemical activity of the mixture than of simple POPs mixtures. Overall, smaller cells were the most affected, although Mediterranean picophytoplankton was significantly more tolerant to non-polar POPs than picophytoplankton from the Atlantic Ocean or the Bellingshausen Sea microphytoplankton. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Yang, Qianqi; Li, Zhiyuan; Lu, Xiaoning; Duan, Qiannan; Huang, Lei; Bi, Jun
2018-06-14
Soil heavy metal pollution has been becoming serious and widespread in China. To date, there are few studies assessing the nationwide soil heavy metal pollution induced by industrial and agricultural activities in China. This review obtained heavy metal concentrations in soils of 402 industrial sites and 1041 agricultural sites in China throughout the document retrieval. Based on the database, this review assessed soil heavy metal concentration and estimated the ecological and health risks on a national scale. The results revealed that heavy metal pollution and associated risks posed by cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) are more serious. Besides, heavy metal pollution and associated risks in industrial regions are severer than those in agricultural regions, meanwhile, those in southeast China are severer than those in northwest China. It is worth noting that children are more likely to be affected by heavy metal pollution than adults. Based on the assessment results, Cd, Pb and As are determined as the priority control heavy metals; mining areas are the priority control areas compared to other areas in industrial regions; food crop plantations are the priority control areas in agricultural regions; and children are determined as the priority protection population group. This paper provides a comprehensive ecological and health risk assessment on the heavy metals in soils in Chinese industrial and agricultural regions and thus provides insights for the policymakers regarding exposure reduction and management. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.
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40 CFR 300.317 - National response priorities.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
2011-07-01
... 40 Protection of Environment 28 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false National response priorities. 300.317 Section 300.317 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SUPERFUND, EMERGENCY PLANNING, AND COMMUNITY RIGHT-TO-KNOW PROGRAMS NATIONAL OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES POLLUTION CONTINGENCY...
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40 CFR 300.317 - National response priorities.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
... 40 Protection of Environment 29 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false National response priorities. 300.317 Section 300.317 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SUPERFUND, EMERGENCY PLANNING, AND COMMUNITY RIGHT-TO-KNOW PROGRAMS NATIONAL OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES POLLUTION CONTINGENCY...
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40 CFR 300.317 - National response priorities.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
2014-07-01
... 40 Protection of Environment 28 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false National response priorities. 300.317 Section 300.317 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SUPERFUND, EMERGENCY PLANNING, AND COMMUNITY RIGHT-TO-KNOW PROGRAMS NATIONAL OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES POLLUTION CONTINGENCY...
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40 CFR 300.317 - National response priorities.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
2012-07-01
... 40 Protection of Environment 29 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false National response priorities. 300.317 Section 300.317 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SUPERFUND, EMERGENCY PLANNING, AND COMMUNITY RIGHT-TO-KNOW PROGRAMS NATIONAL OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES POLLUTION CONTINGENCY...
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Hydroxylamine Promoted Goethite Surface Fenton Degradation of Organic Pollutants.
Hou, Xiaojing; Huang, Xiaopeng; Jia, Falong; Ai, Zhihui; Zhao, Jincai; Zhang, Lizhi
2017-05-02
In this study, we construct a surface Fenton system with hydroxylamine (NH 2 OH), goethite (α-FeOOH), and H 2 O 2 (α-FeOOH-HA/H 2 O 2 ) to degrade various organic pollutants including dyes (methyl orange, methylene blue, and rhodamine B), pesticides (pentachlorophenol, alachlor, and atrazine), and antibiotics (tetracycline, chloramphenicol, and lincomycin) at pH 5.0. In this surface Fenton system, the presence of NH 2 OH could greatly promote the H 2 O 2 decomposition on the α-FeOOH surface to produce ·OH without releasing any detectable iron ions during the alachlor degradation, which was different from some previously reported heterogeneous Fenton counterparts. Moreover, the ·OH generation rate constant of this surface Fenton system was 10 2 -10 4 times those of previous heterogeneous Fenton processes. The interaction between α-FeOOH and NH 2 OH was investigated with using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. The effective degradation of organic pollutants in this surface Fenton system was ascribed to the efficient Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycle on the α-FeOOH surface promoted by NH 2 OH, which was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The degradation intermediates and mineralization of alachlor in this surface Fenton system were then systematically investigated using total organic carbon and ion chromatography, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. This study offers a new strategy to degrade organic pollutants and also sheds light on the environmental effects of goethite.
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Mass fluxes of organic pollutants between groundwater, streambed sediments and surface water
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Schirmer, Mario; Kalbus, Edda; Schmidt, Christian
2010-05-01
Rivers and groundwater are commonly hydraulically connected and thus also pollutants migrate between one and the other. Particularly in small lowland streams, pollutant transport by discharging groundwater can deteriorate the surface water quality. Moreover, in urban and industrial areas streambed sediments are often polluted with a variety of organic and inorganic substances. For planning measures to improve surface water quality or to mitigate pollutant migration, it is an essential prerequisite to understand pollutant pathways and mass fluxes between the stream, the streambed sediment and the connected aquifer. We present methodological approaches and results of a study conducted at a small man-made stream located in the industrial area of Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany. This site is characterized by a diffuse groundwater contamination with a variety of aliphatic and aromatic organic substances. The underlying approach of this study was to quantify the mass fluxes between the aquifer, the streambed and the stream by combining high-resolution with integral monitoring approaches. Magnitudes and pattern of water fluxes were obtained by mapping streambed temperatures. The method was applied to a reach of 280 m in length. The mass fluxes from the aquifer towards the stream were estimated by combining the water fluxes with representative, average pollutant concentrations. The concentrations were obtained from an integral pumping test with four simultaneously pumped wells operated for the period of five days. For monochlorobenzene (MCB), the main groundwater pollutant at the site, the resulting average mass flux from the aquifer towards the stream was estimated to 724 µg/m²/d. Mass flux calculations with average aqueous concentrations of MCB in the streambed were found to be higher than those originating from the aquifer. Consequently, the streambed sediments represent a secondary pollutant source for the surface water. Pollutant concentrations in the streambed were
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Ginsbach, Jake W; Killops, Kato L; Olsen, Robert M; Peterson, Brittney; Dunnivant, Frank M
2010-05-01
The resuspension of large volumes of sediments that are contaminated with chlorinated pollutants continues to threaten environmental quality and human health. Whereas kinetic models are more accurate for estimating the environmental impact of these events, their widespread use is substantially hampered by the need for costly, time-consuming, site-specific kinetics experiments. The present study investigated the development of a predictive model for desorption rates from easily measurable sorbent and pollutant properties by examining the relationship between the fraction of organic carbon (fOC) and labile release rates. Duplicate desorption measurements were performed on 46 unique combinations of pollutants and sorbents with fOC values ranging from 0.001 to 0.150. Labile desorption rate constants indicate that release rates predominantly depend upon the fOC in the geosorbent. Previous theoretical models, such as the macro-mesopore and organic matter (MOM) diffusion model, have predicted such a relationship but could not accurately predict the experimental rate constants collected in the present study. An empirical model was successfully developed to correlate the labile desorption rate constant (krap) to the fraction of organic material where log(krap)=0.291-0.785 . log(fOC). These results provide the first experimental evidence that kinetic pollution releases during resuspension events are governed by the fOC content in natural geosorbents. Copyright (c) 2010 SETAC.
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Defect engineered oxides for enhanced mechanochemical destruction of halogenated organic pollutants.
Cagnetta, Giovanni; Huang, Jun; Lu, Mengnan; Wang, Bin; Wang, Yujue; Deng, Shubo; Yu, Gang
2017-10-01
Mechanochemical activation of metal oxides is studied by a novel methodology based on solid state reaction with a stable radical specie. Such approach corroborates that vacancy formation by high energy ball milling, also in nonreducible oxides, is responsible for electron release on particles' surfaces. This finding suggests a new defect engineering strategy to improve effectiveness of metal oxides as co-milling reagent for halogenated organic pollutant destruction. Results prove that high valent metal doping of a commonly employed co-milling reagent such as CaO determines 2.5 times faster pollutant degradation rate. This enhancement is due to electron-rich defects generated by the dopant; electrons are transferred to the organic pollutant thus causing its mineralization. The proposed strategy can be easily applied to other reagents. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Abatement of organic pollutants using fly ash based adsorbents.
Adegoke, Kayode Adesina; Oyewole, Rhoda Oyeladun; Lasisi, Bukola Morenike; Bello, Olugbenga Solomon
2017-11-01
The presence of organic pollutants in the environment is of major concern because of their toxicity, bio-accumulating tendency, threat to human life and the environment. It is a well-known fact that, these pollutants can damage nerves, liver, and bones and could also block functional groups of essential enzymes. Conventional methods for removing dissolved pollutants include chemical precipitation, chemical oxidation or reduction, filtration, ion-exchange, electrochemical treatment, application of membrane technology, evaporation recovery and biological treatment. Although all the pollutant treatment techniques can be employed, they have their inherent advantages and limitations. Among all these methods, adsorption process is considered better than other methods because of convenience, easy operation and simplicity of design. A fundamentally important characteristic of good adsorbents is their high porosity and consequent larger surface area with more specific adsorption sites. This paper presents a review of adsorption of different pollutants using activated carbon prepared from fly ash sources and the attendant environmental implications. Also, the ways of overcoming barriers to fly ash utilization together with regeneration studies are also discussed.
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Directory of National Organizations Concerned with Land Pollution Control, 1971.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Freed Publishing Co., New York, NY.
Included in this directory are 204 national organizations, agencies, institutes, and/or private groups concerned with the reduction or prevention of land pollution. Arranged in alphabetical order, each annotation gives the complete name of the organization, its address, telephone number, person to contact, and a short description of the scope of…
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Setting research priorities for Type 1 diabetes.
Gadsby, R; Snow, R; Daly, A C; Crowe, S; Matyka, K; Hall, B; Petrie, J
2012-10-01
Research priorities are often set by academic researchers or the pharmaceutical industry. The interests of patients, carers and clinicians may therefore be overlooked and research questions that matter may be neglected. The aims of this study were to collect uncertainties about the treatment of Type 1 diabetes from patients, carers and health professionals, and to collate and prioritize these uncertainties to develop a top 10 list of research priorities, using a structured priority-setting partnership of patients, carers, health professionals and diabetes organizations, as described by the James Lind Alliance. A partnership of interested organizations was set up, and from this a steering committee of 10 individuals was formed. An online and paper survey was used to identify uncertainties. These were collated, and the steering group carried out an interim priority-setting exercise with partner organizations. This group of uncertainties was then voted on to give a smaller list that went forward to the final priority-setting workshop. At this meeting, a final list of the top 10 research priorities was agreed. An initial 1141 uncertainties were described. These were reduced to 88 indicative questions, 47 of which went out for voting. Twenty-four were then taken forward to a final priority-setting workshop. This workshop resulted in a list of top 10 research priorities in Type 1 diabetes. We have shown that it is possible using the James Lind Alliance process to develop an agreed top 10 list of research priorities for Type 1 diabetes from health professionals, patients and carers. © 2012 The Authors. Diabetic Medicine © 2012 Diabetes UK.
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Priority pollutants in urban stormwater: part 1 - case of separate storm sewers.
Zgheib, Sally; Moilleron, Régis; Chebbo, Ghassan
2012-12-15
Organic and mineral pollutants have become part of today's urban environment. During a rain event, stormwater quality as well as the corresponding contaminant loads is affected by both atmospheric deposition and the various types of impervious surfaces (roads, rooftops, parking lots etc.) on which runoff occurs. This study provides results on stormwater pollution in Paris and its suburbs from three separate storm sewers (n=20 samples). These results show that the stormwater had been contaminated by 55 chemical substances out of the 88 investigated. A particular attention was given to stormwater particle contamination. Concentrations are provided for: metals, PAHs, PCBs, organotins, alkylphenols, phthalates, pesticides, and VOCs. Our findings are among the first available in the literature since the relevant analyses were all conducted on both the particulate (P) and dissolved (D) phases. For most substances, particles from the three storm sewers were more heavily contaminated than dredged sediments and settleable particles from the Seine River. As a consequence of this finding, the release of untreated stormwater discharges may impact the receiving waters and contribute to sediment contamination. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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In Situ Miniaturised Solid Phase Extraction (m-SPE) for Organic Pollutants in Seawater Samples
Abaroa-Pérez, B.; Sánchez-Almeida, G.; Hernández-Brito, J. J.
2018-01-01
Solid phase extraction (SPE) is a consolidated technique for determining pollutants in seawater samples. The current tendency is to miniaturise systems that extract and determine pollutants in the environment, reducing the use of organic solvents, while maintaining the quality in the extraction and preconcentration. On the other hand, there is a need to develop new extraction systems that can be fitted to in situ continual monitoring buoys, especially for the marine environment. This work has developed a first model of a low-pressure micro-SPE (m-SPE) for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that can be simply applied to in situ monitoring in the marine environment. This system reduces the volumes of sample and solvents required in the laboratory in comparison with conventional SPE. In the future, it could be used in automated or robotic systems in marine technologies such as marine gliders and oceanographic buoys. This system has been optimised and validated to determine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in seawater samples, but it could also be applied to other kinds of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and emerging pollutants. PMID:29805837
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Zhang, Rui; Wang, Xiaoxiang; Zhou, Lei; Liu, Zhu; Crump, Doug
2018-05-15
Sulfate radical (SO 4 .- )-induced oxidation is an important technology in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for the removal of pollutants. To date, few studies have assessed the effects of dissolved oxygen (DO) on the SO 4 .- -induced oxidation of organic micro-pollutants. In the present work, a quantum chemical calculation was used to investigate the influence of the external oxygen molecule on the Gibbs free energy (G pollutant ) and HOMO-LUMO gap (ΔE) of 15 organic micro-pollutants representing four chemical categories. Several thermodynamic and statistical models were combined with the data from the quantum chemical calculation to illustrate the impact of DO on the oxidation of organic micro-pollutants by SO 4 .- . Results indicated that the external oxygen molecule increased G pollutant of all studied chemicals, which implies DO has the potential to decrease the energy barrier of the SO 4 .- -induced oxidation and shift the chemical equilibrium of the reaction towards the side of products. From the perspective of kinetics, DO can accelerate the oxidation by decreasing ΔE of organic micro-pollutants. In addition, changes of G pollutant and ΔE of the SO 4 .- -induced oxidation were both significantly different between open-chain and aromatic chemicals, and these differences were partially attributed to the difference of polarizability of these two types of chemicals. Furthermore, we revealed that all changes of G pollutant and ΔE induced by DO were dependent on the DO content. Our study emphasizes the significance of DO on the oxidation of organic micro-pollutants by SO 4 .- , and also provides a theoretical method to study the effect of components in wastewater on removal of organic pollutants in AOPs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Historical trends of organic pollutants in sediment cores from Hong Kong.
Wei, S; Wang, Y; Lam, James C W; Zheng, Gene J; So, M K; Yueng, Leo W Y; Horii, Y; Chen, L Q; Yu, Hongxia; Yamashita, N; Lam, Paul K S
2008-01-01
Recent studies have indicated the occurrence of a wide range of trace organic contaminants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the Hong Kong environment. These contaminants are potentially harmful to ecological systems, particularly in coastal areas. In this study, two sediment cores (4m) were collected from southern waters of Hong Kong in 2004 to study the historical trends, distribution patterns, and potential sources of trace organic contaminants. DDTs (p,p'-DDT, o,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDD, o,p'-DDD and p,p'-DDE), hexachlorohexanes (HCHs) (alpha and gamma), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and PCBs were detected in the samples, whereas other target compounds were all below detection limits. Many OCPs have not been produced or used for many years due to toxicological or environmental concerns and PCB use is prohibited in Hong Kong. However, some compounds were still detectable in recent years, and were found to be widely distributed in the environment, likely because of pollutant inputs from the highly industrialized Pearl River Delta region. These results provide important information on current and historical contamination in Hong Kong, and help to reconstruct the pollution history of these trace organic pollutants in Hong Kong coastal waters.
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[Field investigations of the air pollution level of populated territories].
Vinokurov, M V
2014-01-01
The assessment and management of air quality of settlements is one of the priorities in the field of environmental protection. In the management of air quality the backbone factor is the methodology of the organization, performance and interpretation of data of field investigations. The present article is devoted to the analysis of the existing methodological approaches and practical aspects of their application in the organization and performance of field investigations with the aim to confirm the adequacy of the boundaries of the sanitary protection zone in the old industrial regions, hygienic evaluation of the data of field investigations of the air pollution level.
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Williamson, Kelly S; Petty, Jimmie D; Huckins, James N; Lebo, Jon A; Kaiser, Edwin M
2002-11-01
Semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) were employed to sample sediment pore water in static exposure studies under controlled laboratory conditions using (control pond and formulated) sediments fortified with 15 priority pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPPAHs). The sediment fortification level of 750 ng/g was selected on the basis of what might be detected in a sediment sample from a contaminated area. The sampling interval consisted of 0, 4, 7, 14, and 28 days for each study. The analytical methodologies, as well as the extraction and sample cleanup procedures used in the isolation, characterization, and quantitation of 15 PPPAHs at different fortification levels in SPMDs, water, and sediment were reported previously (Williamson, M.S. Thesis, University of Missouri-Columbia, USA; Williamson et al., Chemosphere (This issue--PII: S0045-6535(02)00394-6)) and used for this project. Average (mean) extraction recoveries for each PPPAH congener in each matrix are reported and discussed. No procedural blank extracts (controls) were found to contain any PPPAH residues above the method quantitation limit, therefore, no matrix interferences were detected. The focus of this publication is to demonstrate the ability to sequester environmental contaminants, specifically PPPAHs, from sediment pore water using SPMDs and two different types of fortified sediment.
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Williamson, K.S.; Petty, J.D.; Huckins, J.N.; Lebo, J.A.; Kaiser, E.M.
2002-01-01
Semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) were employed to sample sediment pore water in static exposure studies under controlled laboratory conditions using (control pond and formulated) sediments fortified with 15 priority pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPPAHs). The sediment fortification level of 750 ng/g was selected on the basis of what might be detected in a sediment sample from a contaminated area. The sampling interval consisted of 0, 4, 7, 14, and 28 days for each study. The analytical methodologies, as well as the extraction and sample cleanup procedures used in the isolation, characterization, and quantitation of 15 PPPAHs at different fortification levels in SPMDs, water, and sediment were reported previously (Williamson, M.S. Thesis, University of Missouri - Columbia, USA; Williamson et al., Chemosphere (This issue - PII: S0045-6535(02)00394-6)) and used for this project. Average (mean) extraction recoveries for each PPPAH congener in each matrix are reported and discussed. No procedural blank extracts (controls) were found to contain any PPPAH residues above the method quantitation limit, therefore, no matrix interferences were detected. The focus of this publication is to demonstrate the ability to sequester environmental contaminants, specifically PPPAHs, from sediment pore water using SPMDs and two different types of fortified sediment.
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Synthesis and characterization of the removal of organic pollutants in effluents.
Bakayoko, Moussa; Kalakodio, Loissi; Kalagodio, Adiara; Abo, Bodjui Olivier; Muhoza, Jean Pierre; Ismaila, El Moctar
2018-06-27
The use of a large number of organic pollutants results in the accumulation of effluents at the places of production and the environment. These substances are, therefore, dangerous for living organisms and can cause heavy environmental damage. Hence, to cure these problems certain methods were used for the elimination of organic effluents. Indeed, the methods of elimination through magnetic adsorption and/or separation prove to be effective in the treatment of certain wastes, but the effectiveness of each one of these methods depends on several characteristics and also present limitations according to the pollutants they adsorb. This review examines on the one hand the capacity of certain elements of these methods in the elimination of certain pollutants and on the other hand the advantages and limits of these methods. Elements like biochars, biosorbents and composite materials are used due to their very strong porosity which makes it possible for them to develop an important contact surface with the external medium, at low costs, and the possibility of producing them from renewable sources. The latter still run up however against the problems of formation of mud and regeneration. Depollution by magnetic separation is also used due to its capacity to mitigate the disadvantages of certain methods which generally lead to the formation of mud and overcoming also the difficulties like obtaining an active material and at the same time being able to fix the pollutants present in the effluents to treat and sensitize them to external magnetic fields.
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Arkas, Michael; Allabashi, Roza; Tsiourvas, Dimitris; Mattausch, Eva-Maria; Perfler, Reinhard
2006-04-15
Long-alkyl chain functionalized poly(propylene imine) dendrimer, poly(ethylene imine) hyperbranched polymer, and beta-cyclodextrin derivatives, which are completely insoluble in water, have the property of encapsulating organic pollutants from water. Ceramic porous filters can be impregnated with these compounds resulting in hybrid organic/ inorganic filter modules. These hybrid filter modules were tested for the effective purification of water, by continuous filtration experiments, employing a variety of water pollutants. It has been established that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be removed very efficiently (more than 95%), and final concentrations of several ppb (microg/ L) are easily obtained. Representatives of the pollutant group of trihalogen methanes (THMs), monoaromatic hydrocarbons (BTX), and pesticides (simazine) can also be removed (>80%), although the filters are saturated considerably faster in these cases.
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Elimination of persistent organic pollutants from fish oil with solid adsorbents.
Ortiz, X; Carabellido, L; Martí, M; Martí, R; Tomás, X; Díaz-Ferrero, J
2011-02-01
Fish oils are one of the main sources of ω-3 fatty acids in animal and human diet. However, they can contain high concentrations of persistent organic pollutants due to their lipophilic properties. The aim of this study is the reduction of persistent organic pollutants in fish oil using silicon-based and carbon-based solid adsorbents. A wide screening study with different commercially available adsorbents was carried out, in order to determine their capacity of pollutant removal from fish oil. Moreover, adsorption conditions were evaluated and optimized with using an experimental design and adjustment of the experimental results to response surfaces, obtaining removals rates of more than 99% of PCDD/Fs, 81% of dioxin-like PCBs, 70% of HCB, 41% of DDTs, 16% of marker PCBs and 10% of PBDEs. Finally, fish oil fatty acids were analyzed before and after the treatment with solid adsorbents, confirming that it did not affect its nutritive properties. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Plant-bacteria partnerships for the remediation of persistent organic pollutants.
Arslan, Muhammad; Imran, Asma; Khan, Qaiser Mahmood; Afzal, Muhammad
2017-02-01
High toxicity, bioaccumulation factor and widespread dispersal of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) cause environmental and human health hazards. The combined use of plants and bacteria is a promising approach for the remediation of soil and water contaminated with POPs. Plants provide residency and nutrients to their associated rhizosphere and endophytic bacteria. In return, the bacteria support plant growth by the degradation and detoxification of POPs. Moreover, they improve plant growth and health due to their innate plant growth-promoting mechanisms. This review provides a critical view of factors that affect absorption and translocation of POPs in plants and the limitations that plant have to deal with during the remediation of POPs. Moreover, the synergistic effects of plant-bacteria interactions in the phytoremediation of organic pollutants with special reference to POPs are discussed.
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Tong, Kun; Lin, Aiguo; Ji, Guodong; Wang, Dong; Wang, Xinghui
2016-05-05
The adsorption of organic pollutants from super heavy oil wastewater (SHOW) by lignite activated coke (LAC) was investigated. Specifically, the effects of LAC adsorption on pH, BOD5/COD(Cr)(B/C), and the main pollutants before and after adsorption were examined. The removed organic pollutants were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Boehm titrations, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and liquid chromatography with organic carbon detection (LC-OCD). FTIR spectra indicated that organic pollutants containing -COOH and -NH2 functional groups were adsorbed from the SHOW. Boehm titrations further demonstrated that carboxyl, phenolic hydroxyl, and lactonic groups on the surface of the LAC increased. GC-MS showed that the removed main organic compounds are difficult to be degraded or extremely toxics to aquatic organisms. According to the results of LC-OCD, 30.37 mg/L of dissolved organic carbons were removed by LAC adsorption. Among these, hydrophobic organic contaminants accounted for 25.03 mg/L. Furthermore, LAC adsorption was found to increase pH and B/C ratio of the SHOW. The mechanisms of adsorption were found to involve between the hydrogen bonding and the functional groups of carboxylic, phenolic, and lactonic on the LAC surface. In summary, all these results demonstrated that LAC adsorption can remove bio-refractory DOCs, which is beneficial for biodegradation. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.
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Organic Liquids Distribution: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP)
National emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for organic liquidsdistribution (OLD) (non-gasoline) operations. Includes rule history, Federal Registry citations, implementation and compliance information.
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[Snow cover pollution monitoring in Ufa].
Daukaev, R A; Suleĭmanov, R A
2008-01-01
The paper presents the results of examining the snow cover polluted with heavy metals in the large industrial town of Ufa. The level of man-caused burden on the snow cover of the conventional parts of the town was estimated and compared upon exposure to a wide range of snow cover pollutants. The priority snow cover pollutants were identified among the test heavy metals.
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Sophisticated Clean Air Strategies Required to Mitigate Against Particulate Organic Pollution
Grigas, T.; Ovadnevaite, J.; Ceburnis, D.; Moran, E.; McGovern, F. M.; Jennings, S. G.; O’Dowd, C.
2017-01-01
Since the 1980’s, measures mitigating the impact of transboundary air pollution have been implemented successfully as evidenced in the 1980–2014 record of atmospheric sulphur pollution over the NE-Atlantic, a key region for monitoring background northern-hemisphere pollution levels. The record reveals a 72–79% reduction in annual-average airborne sulphur pollution (SO4 and SO2, respectively) over the 35-year period. The NE-Atlantic, as observed from the Mace Head research station on the Irish coast, can be considered clean for 64% of the time during which sulphate dominates PM1 levels, contributing 42% of the mass, and for the remainder of the time, under polluted conditions, a carbonaceous (organic matter and Black Carbon) aerosol prevails, contributing 60% to 90% of the PM1 mass and exhibiting a trend whereby its contribution increases with increasing pollution levels. The carbonaceous aerosol is known to be diverse in source and nature and requires sophisticated air pollution policies underpinned by sophisticated characterisation and source apportionment capabilities to inform selective emissions-reduction strategies. Inauspiciously, however, this carbonaceous concoction is not measured in regulatory Air Quality networks. PMID:28303958
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Sophisticated Clean Air Strategies Required to Mitigate Against Particulate Organic Pollution
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Grigas, T.; Ovadnevaite, J.; Ceburnis, D.; Moran, E.; McGovern, F. M.; Jennings, S. G.; O'Dowd, C.
2017-03-01
Since the 1980’s, measures mitigating the impact of transboundary air pollution have been implemented successfully as evidenced in the 1980-2014 record of atmospheric sulphur pollution over the NE-Atlantic, a key region for monitoring background northern-hemisphere pollution levels. The record reveals a 72-79% reduction in annual-average airborne sulphur pollution (SO4 and SO2, respectively) over the 35-year period. The NE-Atlantic, as observed from the Mace Head research station on the Irish coast, can be considered clean for 64% of the time during which sulphate dominates PM1 levels, contributing 42% of the mass, and for the remainder of the time, under polluted conditions, a carbonaceous (organic matter and Black Carbon) aerosol prevails, contributing 60% to 90% of the PM1 mass and exhibiting a trend whereby its contribution increases with increasing pollution levels. The carbonaceous aerosol is known to be diverse in source and nature and requires sophisticated air pollution policies underpinned by sophisticated characterisation and source apportionment capabilities to inform selective emissions-reduction strategies. Inauspiciously, however, this carbonaceous concoction is not measured in regulatory Air Quality networks.
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Sophisticated Clean Air Strategies Required to Mitigate Against Particulate Organic Pollution.
Grigas, T; Ovadnevaite, J; Ceburnis, D; Moran, E; McGovern, F M; Jennings, S G; O'Dowd, C
2017-03-17
Since the 1980's, measures mitigating the impact of transboundary air pollution have been implemented successfully as evidenced in the 1980-2014 record of atmospheric sulphur pollution over the NE-Atlantic, a key region for monitoring background northern-hemisphere pollution levels. The record reveals a 72-79% reduction in annual-average airborne sulphur pollution (SO 4 and SO 2 , respectively) over the 35-year period. The NE-Atlantic, as observed from the Mace Head research station on the Irish coast, can be considered clean for 64% of the time during which sulphate dominates PM 1 levels, contributing 42% of the mass, and for the remainder of the time, under polluted conditions, a carbonaceous (organic matter and Black Carbon) aerosol prevails, contributing 60% to 90% of the PM 1 mass and exhibiting a trend whereby its contribution increases with increasing pollution levels. The carbonaceous aerosol is known to be diverse in source and nature and requires sophisticated air pollution policies underpinned by sophisticated characterisation and source apportionment capabilities to inform selective emissions-reduction strategies. Inauspiciously, however, this carbonaceous concoction is not measured in regulatory Air Quality networks.
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A REVIEW OF BIOACCUMULATION MODELING APPROACHES FOR PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS
Persistent organic pollutants and mercury are likely to bioaccumulate in biological components of the environment, including fish and wildlife. The complex and long-term dynamics involved with bioaccumulation are often represented with models. Current scientific developments in t...
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Metcalfe, Leanne; O’Donoghue, Katriona; Ball, Simon T.; Beale, Angela; Beale, William; Hilton, Rachel; Hodkinson, Keith; Lipkin, Graham W.; Loud, Fiona; Marson, Lorna P.; Morris, Peter J.
2016-01-01
Background It has been suggested that the research priorities of those funding and performing research in transplantation may differ from those of end service users such as patients, carers and healthcare professionals involved in day-to-day care. The Kidney Transplant Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) was established with the aim of involving all stakeholders in prioritising future research in the field. Methods The PSP methodology is as outlined by the James Lind Alliance. An initial survey collected unanswered research questions from patients, carers and clinicians. Duplicate and out-of-scope topics were excluded and the existing literature searched to identify topics answered by current evidence. An interim prioritisation survey asked patients and professionals to score the importance of the remaining questions to create a ranked long-list. These were considered at a final consensus workshop using a modified nominal group technique to agree a final top ten. Results The initial survey identified 497 questions from 183 respondents, covering all aspects of transplantation from assessment through to long-term follow-up. These were grouped into 90 unanswered “indicative” questions. The interim prioritisation survey received 256 responses (34.8% patients/carers, 10.9% donors and 54.3% professionals), resulting in a ranked list of 25 questions that were considered during the final workshop. Participants agreed a top ten priorities for future research that included optimisation of immunosuppression (improved monitoring, choice of regimen, personalisation), prevention of sensitisation and transplanting the sensitised patient, management of antibody-mediated rejection, long-term risks to live donors, methods of organ preservation, induction of tolerance and bioengineering of organs. There was evidence that patient and carer involvement had a significant impact on shaping the final priorities. Conclusions The final list of priorities relates to all stages of the
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Knight, Simon R; Metcalfe, Leanne; O'Donoghue, Katriona; Ball, Simon T; Beale, Angela; Beale, William; Hilton, Rachel; Hodkinson, Keith; Lipkin, Graham W; Loud, Fiona; Marson, Lorna P; Morris, Peter J
2016-01-01
It has been suggested that the research priorities of those funding and performing research in transplantation may differ from those of end service users such as patients, carers and healthcare professionals involved in day-to-day care. The Kidney Transplant Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) was established with the aim of involving all stakeholders in prioritising future research in the field. The PSP methodology is as outlined by the James Lind Alliance. An initial survey collected unanswered research questions from patients, carers and clinicians. Duplicate and out-of-scope topics were excluded and the existing literature searched to identify topics answered by current evidence. An interim prioritisation survey asked patients and professionals to score the importance of the remaining questions to create a ranked long-list. These were considered at a final consensus workshop using a modified nominal group technique to agree a final top ten. The initial survey identified 497 questions from 183 respondents, covering all aspects of transplantation from assessment through to long-term follow-up. These were grouped into 90 unanswered "indicative" questions. The interim prioritisation survey received 256 responses (34.8% patients/carers, 10.9% donors and 54.3% professionals), resulting in a ranked list of 25 questions that were considered during the final workshop. Participants agreed a top ten priorities for future research that included optimisation of immunosuppression (improved monitoring, choice of regimen, personalisation), prevention of sensitisation and transplanting the sensitised patient, management of antibody-mediated rejection, long-term risks to live donors, methods of organ preservation, induction of tolerance and bioengineering of organs. There was evidence that patient and carer involvement had a significant impact on shaping the final priorities. The final list of priorities relates to all stages of the transplant process, including access to
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Davison, Brian H.
1999-06-01
Biofiltration systems can be used for treatment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs); however, the systems are poorly understood and are currently operated as ''black boxes''. Common operational problems associated with biofilters include fouling, deactivation, and overgrowth, all of which make them ineffective for continuous, long-term use. The objective of this investigation is to develop generic methods for longterm stable operation, in particular by using selective limitation of supplemental nutrients while maintaining high activity. As part of this effort, we will provide deeper fundamental understanding of the important biological and transport mechanisms in biodestruction of sparingly soluble VOCs and extend thismore » approach and mathematical models to additional systems of high priority EM relevance--direct degradation and cometabolic degradation of priority pollutants such as BTEX and chlorinated organics.« less
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Davison, Brian H.; Klasson, K. Thomas; Barton, John W.
2000-06-01
Biofiltration systems can be used for treatment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs); however, the systems are poorly understood and are currently operated as ''black boxes''. Common operational problems associated with biofilters include fouling, deactivation, and overgrowth, all of which make them ineffective for continuous, long-term use. The objective of this investigation is to develop generic methods for long-term stable operation, in particular by using selective limitation of supplemental nutrients while maintaining high activity. As part of this effort, we will provide deeper fundamental understanding of the important biological and transport mechanisms in biodestruction of sparingly soluble VOCs and extend thismore » approach and mathematical models to additional systems of high priority EM relevance--direct degradation and cometabolic degradation of priority pollutants such as BTEX and chlorinated organics.« less
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A review on environmental monitoring of water organic pollutants identified by EU guidelines.
Sousa, João C G; Ribeiro, Ana R; Barbosa, Marta O; Pereira, M Fernando R; Silva, Adrián M T
2018-02-15
The contamination of fresh water is a global concern. The huge impact of natural and anthropogenic organic substances that are constantly released into the environment, demands a better knowledge of the chemical status of Earth's surface water. Water quality monitoring studies have been performed targeting different substances and/or classes of substances, in different regions of the world, using different types of sampling strategies and campaigns. This review article aims to gather the available dispersed information regarding the occurrence of priority substances (PSs) and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) that must be monitored in Europe in surface water, according to the European Union Directive 2013/39/EU and the Watch List of Decision 2015/495/EU, respectively. Other specific organic pollutants not considered in these EU documents as substances of high concern, but with reported elevated frequency of detection at high concentrations, are also discussed. The search comprised worldwide publications from 2012, considering at least one of the following criteria: 4 sampling campaigns per year, wet and dry seasons, temporal and/or spatial monitoring of surface (river, estuarine, lake and/or coastal waters) and ground waters. The highest concentrations were found for: (i) the PSs atrazine, alachlor, trifluralin, heptachlor, hexachlorocyclohexane, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate; (ii) the CECs azithromycin, clarithromycin, erythromycin, diclofenac, 17α-ethinylestradiol, imidacloprid and 2-ethylhexyl 4-methoxycinnamate; and (iii) other unregulated organic compounds (caffeine, naproxen, metolachlor, estriol, dimethoate, terbuthylazine, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, trimethoprim, ciprofloxacin, ketoprofen, atenolol, Bisphenol A, metoprolol, carbofuran, malathion, sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine and ofloxacin). Most frequent substances as well as those found at highest concentrations in different seasons and regions, together with
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Monsores Paixão, Monique; Tadeu Gomes Vianna, Marco; Marques, Marcia
2018-01-01
Aromatic organic pollutants are highly toxic to the human and environmental health and are considered as priority pollutants by regulatory agencies. Managing contaminated sites with organic pollutants is one of the major environmental challenges today. Of all technologies that have been proposed to remove contaminants, adsorption is recognized worldwide as an attractive option due to its versatility, wide applicability and economic viability. Recent studies report the use of graphene (GN), a recently carbon nanomaterial, and its derivatives in sorption processes for the removal of aromatic organic compounds. The present review has shown that GN structures are a promising alternative to traditional adsorbent materials, with excellent results in the removal of organic compounds from water, due to their unique structural characteristics and great adsorption capacity for organic compounds. Although, there is still a long way to go until that practical applications can be implemented.
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Analysis of marine sediment, water and biota for selected organic pollutants
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Murray, H.E.; Ray, L.E.; Giam, C.S.
1981-12-01
The concentrations of various organic pollutants (benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and pentachlorophenol (PCP) were determined in samples of water, sediment and biota (flounder, killifish, shrimp, crabs, and squid) from San Luis Pass, Texas. Sediment was also analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), phthalic acid esters (PAEs) and various pesticides. Only PCP was detectable in water. In sediment, the relative concentrations were PAEs >> BaP > (PCBs approx. HCB) > PCP. In biota, BaP was not detectable in any animal; HCB was highest in crabs and PCP was highest in all others (flounder, killifish, shrimp and squid). The relative concentrations of HCBmore » and PCP were different in the different organisms. The differences between the relative concentrations in the biota and in sediment are discussed. The results of this study are compared to values measured at other sites. This study is part of a larger effort to identify and quantitate pollutants in various Texas estuaries and to serve as a basis for monitoring marine pollution.« less
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Redlarski, Grzegorz; Lewczuk, Bogdan; Żak, Arkadiusz; Koncicki, Andrzej; Krawczuk, Marek; Piechocki, Janusz; Jakubiuk, Kazimierz; Tojza, Piotr; Jaworski, Jacek; Ambroziak, Dominik; Skarbek, Łukasz; Gradolewski, Dawid
2015-01-01
Current technologies have become a source of omnipresent electromagnetic pollution from generated electromagnetic fields and resulting electromagnetic radiation. In many cases this pollution is much stronger than any natural sources of electromagnetic fields or radiation. The harm caused by this pollution is still open to question since there is no clear and definitive evidence of its negative influence on humans. This is despite the fact that extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields were classified as potentially carcinogenic. For these reasons, in recent decades a significant growth can be observed in scientific research in order to understand the influence of electromagnetic radiation on living organisms. However, for this type of research the appropriate selection of relevant model organisms is of great importance. It should be noted here that the great majority of scientific research papers published in this field concerned various tests performed on mammals, practically neglecting lower organisms. In that context the objective of this paper is to systematise our knowledge in this area, in which the influence of electromagnetic radiation on lower organisms was investigated, including bacteria, E. coli and B. subtilis, nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, land snail, Helix pomatia, common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and clawed frog, Xenopus laevis.
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Health effects associated with passenger vehicles: monetary values of air pollution.
Marzouk, Mohamed; Madany, Magdy
2012-01-01
Air pollution is regarded as one of the highest priorities in environmental protection in both developed and developing countries. High levels of air pollution have adverse effects on human health that might cause premature death. This study presents the monetary value estimates for the adverse human health effects resulted from ambient air pollution. It aids decision makers to set priorities in the public health relevance of pollution abatement. The main driver of policymaker is the need to reduce the avoidable cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality from pollutant exposures. The monetary valuation involves 2 steps: (i) relate levels of pollutants to mortality and morbidity (concentration-response relationships) and (ii) apply unit economic values. Cost of air pollution associated with passenger vehicles running over a major traffic bridge (6th of October Elevated Highway) is presented as a case study to demonstrate the use of monetary value of air pollution. The study proves that the cost of air pollution is extremely high and should not be overlooked.
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Ahmed, Ashour A; Thiele-Bruhn, Sören; Aziz, Saadullah G; Hilal, Rifaat H; Elroby, Shaaban A; Al-Youbi, Abdulrahman O; Leinweber, Peter; Kühn, Oliver
2015-03-01
The fate of organic pollutants in the environment is influenced by several factors including the type and strength of their interactions with soil components especially SOM. However, a molecular level answer to the question "How organic pollutants interact with SOM?" is still lacking. In order to explore mechanisms of this interaction, we have developed a new SOM model and carried out molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in parallel with sorption experiments. The new SOM model comprises free SOM functional groups (carboxylic acid and naphthalene) as well as SOM cavities (with two different sizes), simulating the soil voids, containing the same SOM functional groups. To examine the effect of the hydrophobicity on the interaction, the organic pollutants hexachlorobenzene (HCB, non-polar) and sulfanilamide (SAA, polar) were considered. The experimental and theoretical investigations explored four major points regarding sorption of SAA and HCB on soil, yielding the following results. 1--The interaction depends on the SOM chemical composition more than the SOM content. 2--The interaction causes a site-specific adsorption on the soil surfaces. 3--Sorption hysteresis occurs, which can be explained by inclusion of these pollutants inside soil voids. 4--The hydrophobic HCB is adsorbed on soil stronger than the hydrophilic SAA. Moreover, the theoretical results showed that HCB forms stable complexes with all SOM models in the aqueous solution, while most of SAA-SOM complexes are accompanied by dissociation into SAA and the free SOM models. The SOM-cavity modeling had a significant effect on binding of organic pollutants to SOM. Both HCB and SAA bind to the SOM models in the order of models with a small cavity>a large cavity>no cavity. Although HCB binds to all SOM models stronger than SAA, the latter is more affected by the presence of the cavity. Finally, HCB and SAA bind to the hydrophobic functional group (naphthalene) stronger than to the hydrophilic one (carboxylic acid
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Public awareness, concerns, and priorities about anthropogenic impacts on marine environments.
Gelcich, Stefan; Buckley, Paul; Pinnegar, John K; Chilvers, Jason; Lorenzoni, Irene; Terry, Geraldine; Guerrero, Matias; Castilla, Juan Carlos; Valdebenito, Abel; Duarte, Carlos M
2014-10-21
Numerous international bodies have advocated the development of strategies to achieve the sustainability of marine environments. Typically, such strategies are based on information from expert groups about causes of degradation and policy options to address them, but these strategies rarely take into account assessed information about public awareness, concerns, and priorities. Here we report the results of a pan-European survey of public perceptions about marine environmental impacts as a way to inform the formation of science and policy priorities. On the basis of 10,106 responses to an online survey from people in 10 European nations, spanning a diversity of socioeconomic and geographical areas, we examine the public's informedness and concern regarding marine impacts, trust in different information sources, and priorities for policy and funding. Results show that the level of concern regarding marine impacts is closely associated with the level of informedness and that pollution and overfishing are two areas prioritized by the public for policy development. The level of trust varies greatly among different information sources and is highest for academics and scholarly publications but lower for government or industry scientists. Results suggest that the public perceives the immediacy of marine anthropogenic impacts and is highly concerned about ocean pollution, overfishing, and ocean acidification. Eliciting public awareness, concerns, and priorities can enable scientists and funders to understand how the public relates to marine environments, frame impacts, and align managerial and policy priorities with public demand.
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Public awareness, concerns, and priorities about anthropogenic impacts on marine environments
Gelcich, Stefan; Buckley, Paul; Pinnegar, John K.; Chilvers, Jason; Lorenzoni, Irene; Terry, Geraldine; Guerrero, Matias; Castilla, Juan Carlos; Valdebenito, Abel; Duarte, Carlos M.
2014-01-01
Numerous international bodies have advocated the development of strategies to achieve the sustainability of marine environments. Typically, such strategies are based on information from expert groups about causes of degradation and policy options to address them, but these strategies rarely take into account assessed information about public awareness, concerns, and priorities. Here we report the results of a pan-European survey of public perceptions about marine environmental impacts as a way to inform the formation of science and policy priorities. On the basis of 10,106 responses to an online survey from people in 10 European nations, spanning a diversity of socioeconomic and geographical areas, we examine the public’s informedness and concern regarding marine impacts, trust in different information sources, and priorities for policy and funding. Results show that the level of concern regarding marine impacts is closely associated with the level of informedness and that pollution and overfishing are two areas prioritized by the public for policy development. The level of trust varies greatly among different information sources and is highest for academics and scholarly publications but lower for government or industry scientists. Results suggest that the public perceives the immediacy of marine anthropogenic impacts and is highly concerned about ocean pollution, overfishing, and ocean acidification. Eliciting public awareness, concerns, and priorities can enable scientists and funders to understand how the public relates to marine environments, frame impacts, and align managerial and policy priorities with public demand. PMID:25288740
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Statistical Survey of Persistent Organic Pollutants: Risk ...
U.S. EPA conducted a national statistical survey of fish tissue contamination at 540 river sites (representing 82 954 river km) in 2008–2009, and analyzed samples for 50 persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including 21 PCB congeners, 8 PBDE congeners, and 21 organochlorine pesticides. The survey results were used to provide national estimates of contamination for these POPs. PCBs were the most abundant, being measured in 93.5% of samples. Summed concentrations of the 21 PCB congeners had a national weighted mean of 32.7 μg/kg and a maximum concentration of 857 μg/kg, and exceeded the human health cancer screening value of 12 μg/kg in 48% of the national sampled population of river km, and in 70% of the urban sampled population. PBDEs (92.0%), chlordane (88.5%) and DDT (98.7%) were also detected frequently, although at lower concentrations. Results were examined by subpopulations of rivers, including urban or nonurban and three defined ecoregions. PCBs, PBDEs, and DDT occur at significantly higher concentrations in fish from urban rivers versus nonurban; however, the distribution varied more among the ecoregions. Wildlife screening values previously published for bird and mammalian species were converted from whole fish to fillet screening values, and used to estimate risk for wildlife through fish consumption. This work presents the results of the 2008-2009 National Rivers and Streams Assessment Survey (NRSA) where 50 persistent organic pollutants (POPs
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-07-01
... Categories Priority Number 1 Source Category 1. Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry (SOCMI) and Volatile Organic Liquid Storage Vessels and Handling Equipment (a) SOCMI unit processes (b) Volatile organic liquid (VOL) storage vessels and handling equipment (c) SOCMI fugitive sources (d) SOCMI secondary...
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Prioritizing research for trace pollutants and emerging contaminants in the freshwater environment.
Murray, Kyle E; Thomas, Sheeba M; Bodour, Adria A
2010-12-01
Organic chemicals have been detected at trace concentrations in the freshwater environment for decades. Though the term trace pollutant indicates low concentrations normally in the nanogram or microgram per liter range, many of these pollutants can exceed an acceptable daily intake (ADI) for humans. Trace pollutants referred to as emerging contaminants (ECs) have recently been detected in the freshwater environment and may have adverse human health effects. Analytical techniques continue to improve; therefore, the number and frequency of detections of ECs are increasing. It is difficult for regulators to restrict use of pollutants that are a human health hazard; scientists to improve treatment techniques for higher priority pollutants; and the public to modify consumption patterns due to the vast number of ECs and the breadth of literature on the occurrence, use, and toxicity. Hence, this paper examines literature containing occurrence and toxicity data for three broad classes of trace pollutants and ECs (industrials, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs)), and assesses the relevance of 71 individual compounds. The evaluation indicates that widely used industrials (BPF) and PPCPs (AHTN, HHCB, ibuprofen, and estriol) occur frequently in samples from the freshwater environment but toxicity data were not available; thus, it is important to establish their ADI. Other widely used industrials (BDE-47, BDE-99) and pesticides (benomyl, carbendazim, aldrin, endrin, ethion, malathion, biphenthrin, and cypermethrin) have established ADI values but occurrence in the freshwater environment was not well documented. The highest priority pollutants for regulation and treatment should include industrials (PFOA, PFOS and DEHP), pesticides (diazinon, methoxychlor, and dieldrin), and PPCPs (EE2, carbamazepine, βE2, DEET, triclosan, acetaminophen, and E1) because they occur frequently in the freshwater environment and pose a human health hazard at
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Organic pollution and salt intrusion in Cai Nuoc District, Ca Mau Province, Vietnam.
Tho, Nguyen; Vromant, Nico; Hung, Nguyen Thanh; Hens, Luc
2006-07-01
In Ca Mau, Vietnam, farmers converted from rice to shrimp farming, while ignoring the degradation of the aquatic environment. We assessed the seasonal variations in organic pollution of the surface water and salt intrusion in one district and assessed the difference in chemical characteristics of the surface water of shrimp ponds and canals. Several variables reflecting salinity and organic pollution were measured in the wet and dry season. The results show that in the dry season salinity increased to 37.36-42.73 g l(-1) and COD and suspended solids increased to a maximum of 268.7 mg l(-1) and 1312.0 mg l(-1), respectively. In the wet season salinity values of 8.16 to 10.60 g l(-1) were recorded, indicating that salinity could no longer be washed out completely in this season. It is concluded that salinity and suspended solids in the aquatic environment in the Cai Nuoc district are increased by shrimp monoculture, whereas organic pollution is contributed by human population pressure.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Feldstein, Tamar; Kashman, Yoel; Abelson, Avigdor; Fishelson, Lev; Mokady, Ofer; Bresler, Vladimir; Erel, Yigal
2003-10-01
Concentrations of trace elements and organic pollutants were determined in marine sediments and molluscs from the Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts of Israel. Two bivalve species (Donax trunculus, Pteria aegyptia), two gastropod species (Patella caerulea, Cellana rota) and sediments were sampled at polluted and relatively clean, reference, sites. Along the Mediterranean coast of Israel, sediments and molluscs from Haifa Bay stations were enriched with both organic and trace element contaminants. In the Red Sea, differences between the polluted and reference sites were less pronounced. Bio-concentration factors indicate a significant concentration of Zn, As, Cd, Sn and Pb in animal tissue relative to the concentrations of these elements in the sediments. In contrast, Ce, La and U were not concentrated in molluscs. The trace element results indicate a saturation of the detoxification mechanisms in molluscs from polluted sites. The concentrations of organic pollutants at the same sites are at the lower range of values recorded in other studies. However, synergistic effects between these compounds and between them and metals can lead to acute toxicity.
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Future Research Priorities for Morbidity Control of Lymphedema.
Narahari, S R; Aggithaya, Madhur Guruprasad; Moffatt, Christine; Ryan, T J; Keeley, Vaughan; Vijaya, B; Rajendran, P; Karalam, S B; Rajagopala, S; Kumar, N K; Bose, K S; Sushma, K V
2017-01-01
Innovation in the treatment of lower extremity lymphedema has received low priority from the governments and pharmaceutical industry. Advancing lymphedema is irreversible and initiates fibrosis in the dermis, reactive changes in the epidermis and subcutis. Most medical treatments offered for lymphedema are either too demanding with a less than satisfactory response or patients have low concordance due to complex schedules. A priority setting partnership (PSP) was established to decide on the future priorities in lymphedema research. A table of abstracts following a literature search was published in workshop website. Stake holders were requested to upload their priorities. Their questions were listed, randomized, and sent to lymphologists for ranking. High ranked ten research priorities, obtained through median score, were presented in final prioritization work shop attended by invited stake holders. A free medical camp was organized during workshop to understand patients' priorities. One hundred research priorities were selected from priorities uploaded to website. Ten priorities were short listed through a peer review process involving 12 lymphologists, for final discussion. They were related to simplification of integrative treatment for lymphedema, cellular changes in lymphedema and mechanisms of its reversal, eliminating bacterial entry lesions to reduce cellulitis episodes, exploring evidence for therapies in traditional medicine, improving patient concordance to compression therapy, epidemiology of lymphatic filariasis (LF), and economic benefit of integrative treatments of lymphedema. A robust research priority setting process, organized as described in James Lind Alliance guidebook, identified seven priority areas to achieve effective morbidity control of lymphedema including LF. All stake holders including Department of Health Research, Government of India, participated in the PSP.
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Phelps, Harriette L
2016-07-01
The freshwater Anacostia River watershed (Maryland, DC, USA) was surveyed for the sources of bioavailable US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Priority Pollutants and toxic metals by active biomontoring (ABM) using the freshwater Asiatic clam Corbicula fluminea. The Anacostia River is a 456 km(2) tributary of the tidal freshwater Potomac River that includes the city of Washington, DC where edible fish are highly contaminated with PCBs and chlordane. From 1999 to 2011, Corbicula were collected for ABM from a Potomac reference site and translocated in cages placed at 45 sites in the tidal and nontidal Anacostia watershed. Minimum clam mortality and maximum contaminant bioaccumulation was with 2-week translocation. The clam tissues (28-50) were combined at sites and analyzed by TestAmerica for 66 USEPA Priority Pollutants plus technical chlordane, benz(e) pyrene, and 6 metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb). Tissue contaminants reflected water, not sediment, levels. To compare sites, all contaminant data above detection or reference were grouped as total metals (TMET), total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (TPAH), total PCB congeners (TPCB), total pesticides (TPEST), and total technical chlordane (TCHL). Tidal Anacostia ABM found highest TPAH and TCHL upstream at Bladensburg Marina (MD) except for TCHL at site PP near the confluence. Five nontidal MD subtributaries (94% of flow) had 17 sites with bioavailable TPAH, TPCB, or TCHL 2 to 3 times higher than found at the toxic-sediment "hotspots" near Washington. The only TMET noted was Fe at 1 site. TPAH in MD subtributaries was highest near industrial parks and Metro stations. A naphthalene spill was detected in Watts Branch. TPCB (low molecular weight) originated upstream at 1 industrial park. Total technical chlordane (80% of TPEST) was 2 to 5 times the US Food and Drug Administration action in 4 nontidal tributaries where heptachlor indicated legacy chlordane dumpsites. Total technical chlordane fell to reference
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Atmospheric Concentrations of Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Southern Ocean
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Vlahos, P.; Edson, J.; Cifuentes, A.; McGillis, W. R.; Zappa, C.
2008-12-01
Long-range transport of persistent organic pollutant (POPs) is a global concern. Remote regions such as the Southern Ocean are greatly under-sampled though critical components in understanding POPs cycling. Over 20 high-volume air samples were collected in the Southern Ocean aboard the RV Brown during the GASEX III experiment between Mar 05 to April 9 2008. The relatively stationary platform (51S,38W) enabled the collection of a unique atmospheric time series at this open ocean station. Air sampling was also conducted across transects from Punto Arenas, Chile and to Montevideo, Uruguay. Samples were collected using glass sleeves packed with poly-urethane foam plugs and C-18 resin in order to collect target organic pollutants (per-fluorinated compounds, currently and historically used pesticides) in this under-sampled region. Here we present POPs concentrations and trends over the sampled period and compare variations with air parcel back trajectories to establish potential origins of their long-range transport.
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Żak, Arkadiusz; Koncicki, Andrzej; Piechocki, Janusz; Jakubiuk, Kazimierz; Tojza, Piotr; Jaworski, Jacek; Ambroziak, Dominik; Skarbek, Łukasz
2015-01-01
Current technologies have become a source of omnipresent electromagnetic pollution from generated electromagnetic fields and resulting electromagnetic radiation. In many cases this pollution is much stronger than any natural sources of electromagnetic fields or radiation. The harm caused by this pollution is still open to question since there is no clear and definitive evidence of its negative influence on humans. This is despite the fact that extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields were classified as potentially carcinogenic. For these reasons, in recent decades a significant growth can be observed in scientific research in order to understand the influence of electromagnetic radiation on living organisms. However, for this type of research the appropriate selection of relevant model organisms is of great importance. It should be noted here that the great majority of scientific research papers published in this field concerned various tests performed on mammals, practically neglecting lower organisms. In that context the objective of this paper is to systematise our knowledge in this area, in which the influence of electromagnetic radiation on lower organisms was investigated, including bacteria, E. coli and B. subtilis, nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, land snail, Helix pomatia, common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and clawed frog, Xenopus laevis. PMID:25811025
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Current advancements of magnetic nanoparticles in adsorption and degradation of organic pollutants.
Ul-Islam, Mazhar; Ullah, Muhammad Wajid; Khan, Shaukat; Manan, Shehrish; Khattak, Waleed Ahmad; Ahmad, Wasi; Shah, Nasrullah; Park, Joong Kon
2017-05-01
Nanotechnology is a fast-emerging field and has received applications in almost every field of life. Exploration of new synthetic technologies for size and shape control of nanomaterials is getting immense consideration owing to their exceptional properties and applications. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are among the most important group of nanoparticles thanks to their diverse applications in medical, electronic, environmental, and industrial sectors. There have been numerous synthetic routes of MNPs including thermal decomposition, co-precipitation, microemulsion, microwave assisted, chemical vapor deposition, combustion synthesis, and laser pyrolysis synthesis. The synthesized MNPs have been successfully applied in medical fields for therapy, bioimaging, drug delivery, and so on. Among environmental aspects, there has been great intimidation of organic pollutants in air and water. Utilization of various wastes as adsorbents has removed 80 to 99.9% of pollutants from contaminated water. MNPs as adsorbents compared to coarse-grained counterparts have seven times higher capacity in removing water pollutants and degrading organic contaminants. This study is focused to introduce and compile various routes of MNP synthesis together with their significant role in water purifications and degradation of organic compounds. The review has compiled recent investigation, and we hope it will find the interest of researchers dealing with nanoparticles and environmental research. Graphical abstract Synthesis and applications of magnetic nanoparticles.
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Voloshenko-Rossin, A; Gasser, G; Cohen, K; Gun, J; Cumbal-Flores, L; Parra-Morales, W; Sarabia, F; Ojeda, F; Lev, O
2015-01-01
Water quality characteristics and emerging organic pollutants were sampled along the San Pedro-Guayllabamba-Esmeraldas River and its main water pollution streams in the summer of 2013. The annual flow rate of the stream is 22 000 Mm(3) y(-1) and it collects the wastewater of Quito-Ecuador in the Andes and supplies drinking water to the city of Esmeraldas near the Pacific Ocean. The most persistent emerging pollutants were carbamazepine and acesulfame, which were found to be stable along the San Pedro-Guayllabamba-Esmeraldas River, whereas the concentration of most other organic emerging pollutants, such as caffeine, sulfamethoxazole, venlafaxine, O-desmethylvenlafaxine, and steroidal estrogens, was degraded to a large extent along the 300 km flow. The mass rate of the sum of cocaine and benzoylecgonine, its metabolite, was increased along the stream, which may be attributed to coca plantations and wild coca trees. This raises the possibility of using river monitoring as an indirect way to learn about changes in coca plantations in their watersheds. Several organic emerging pollutants, such as venlafaxine, carbamazepine, sulphamethoxazole, and benzoylecgonine, survived even the filtration treatment at the Esmeraldas drinking water system, though all except for benzoylecgonine are found below 20 ng L(-1), and are therefore not likely to cause adverse health effects. The research provides a way to compare drug consumption in a major Latin American city (Quito) and shows that the consumption of most sampled drugs (carbamazepine, venlafaxine, O-desmethylvenlafaxine, sulphamethoxazole, ethinylestradiol) was below their average consumption level in Europe, Israel, and North America.
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Domene, Xavier; Alcañiz, Josep M; Andrés, Pilar
2008-02-01
Development of methodologies to assess the safety of reusing polluted organic wastes in soil is a priority in Europe. In this study, and coupled with chemical analysis, seven organic wastes were subjected to different aquatic and soil bioassays. Tests were carried out with solid-phase waste and three different waste eluates (water, methanol, and dichloromethane). Solid-phase assays were indicated as the most suitable for waste testing not only in terms of relevance for real situations, but also because toxicity in eluates was generally not representative of the chronic effects in solid-phase. No general correlations were found between toxicity and waste pollutant burden, neither in solid-phase nor in eluate assays, showing the inability of chemical methods to predict the ecotoxicological risks of wastes. On the contrary, several physicochemical parameters reflecting the degree of low organic matter stability in wastes were the main contributors to the acute toxicity seen in collembolans and daphnids.
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Han, Shenjie; Sun, Qingfeng; Zheng, Huanhuan; Li, Jingpeng; Jin, Chunde
2016-01-20
Carbon-based aerogel fabricated from waste biomass is a potential absorbent material for solving organic pollution. Herein, the lightweight, hydrophobic and porous carbon aerogels (CAs) have been synthesized through freezing-drying and post-pyrolysis by using waste newspaper as the only raw materials. The as-prepared CAs exhibited a low density of 18.5 mg cm(-3) and excellent hydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 132° and selective absorption for organic reagents. The absorption capacity of CA for organic compounds can be 29-51 times its own weight. Moreover, three methods (e.g., squeezing, combustion, and distillation) can be employed to recycle CA and harvest organic pollutants. Combined with waste biomass as raw materials, green and facile fabrication process, excellent hydrophobicity and oleophilicity, CA used as an absorbent material has great potential in application of organic pollutant solvents absorption and environmental protection. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Setting research priorities by applying the combined approach matrix.
Ghaffar, Abdul
2009-04-01
Priority setting in health research is a dynamic process. Different organizations and institutes have been working in the field of research priority setting for many years. In 1999 the Global Forum for Health Research presented a research priority setting tool called the Combined Approach Matrix or CAM. Since its development, the CAM has been successfully applied to set research priorities for diseases, conditions and programmes at global, regional and national levels. This paper briefly explains the CAM methodology and how it could be applied in different settings, giving examples and describing challenges encountered in the process of setting research priorities and providing recommendations for further work in this field. The construct and design of the CAM is explained along with different steps needed, including planning and organization of a priority-setting exercise and how it could be applied in different settings. The application of the CAM are described by using three examples. The first concerns setting research priorities for a global programme, the second describes application at the country level and the third setting research priorities for diseases. Effective application of the CAM in different and diverse environments proves its utility as a tool for setting research priorities. Potential challenges encountered in the process of research priority setting are discussed and some recommendations for further work in this field are provided.
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Semi volatile organic compounds in the snow of Russian Arctic islands: Archipelago Novaya Zemlya.
Lebedev, A T; Mazur, D M; Polyakova, O V; Kosyakov, D S; Kozhevnikov, A Yu; Latkin, T B; Andreeva Yu, I; Artaev, V B
2018-04-18
Environmental contamination of the Arctic has widely been used as a worldwide pollution marker. Various classes of organic pollutants such as pesticides, personal care products, PAHs, flame retardants, biomass burning markers, and many others emerging contaminants have been regularly detected in Arctic samples. Although numerous papers have been published reporting data from the Canadian, Danish, and Norwegian Arctic regions, the environmental situation in Russian Arctic remains mostly underreported. Snow analysis is known to be used for monitoring air pollution in the regions with cold climate in both short-term and long-term studies. This paper presents the results of a nontargeted study on the semivolatile organic compounds detected and identified in snow samples collected at the Russian Artic Archipelago Novaya Zemlya in June 2016. Gas chromatography coupled to a high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer enabled the simultaneous detection and quantification of a variety of pollutants including those from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) priority pollutants list, emerging contaminants (plasticizers, flame retardants-only detection), as well as the identification of novel Arctic organic pollutants, (e.g., fatty acid amides and polyoxyalkanes). The possible sources of these novel pollutants are also discussed. GC-HRMS enabled the detection and identification of emerging contaminants and novel organic pollutants in the Arctic, e.g., fatty amides and polyoxyalkanes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Future Research Priorities for Morbidity Control of Lymphedema
Narahari, S R; Aggithaya, Madhur Guruprasad; Moffatt, Christine; Ryan, T J; Keeley, Vaughan; Vijaya, B; Rajendran, P; Karalam, S B; Rajagopala, S; Kumar, N K; Bose, K S; Sushma, K V
2017-01-01
Background: Innovation in the treatment of lower extremity lymphedema has received low priority from the governments and pharmaceutical industry. Advancing lymphedema is irreversible and initiates fibrosis in the dermis, reactive changes in the epidermis and subcutis. Most medical treatments offered for lymphedema are either too demanding with a less than satisfactory response or patients have low concordance due to complex schedules. A priority setting partnership (PSP) was established to decide on the future priorities in lymphedema research. Methods: A table of abstracts following a literature search was published in workshop website. Stake holders were requested to upload their priorities. Their questions were listed, randomized, and sent to lymphologists for ranking. High ranked ten research priorities, obtained through median score, were presented in final prioritization work shop attended by invited stake holders. A free medical camp was organized during workshop to understand patients’ priorities. Results: One hundred research priorities were selected from priorities uploaded to website. Ten priorities were short listed through a peer review process involving 12 lymphologists, for final discussion. They were related to simplification of integrative treatment for lymphedema, cellular changes in lymphedema and mechanisms of its reversal, eliminating bacterial entry lesions to reduce cellulitis episodes, exploring evidence for therapies in traditional medicine, improving patient concordance to compression therapy, epidemiology of lymphatic filariasis (LF), and economic benefit of integrative treatments of lymphedema. Conclusion: A robust research priority setting process, organized as described in James Lind Alliance guidebook, identified seven priority areas to achieve effective morbidity control of lymphedema including LF. All stake holders including Department of Health Research, Government of India, participated in the PSP. PMID:28216723
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Liu, Wei-jing; Zhang, Long; Wu, Wei; Tu, Yong
2010-04-01
In order to analyze the advantages/disadvantages of the combined treatment process between "physicochemical + biochemical" and "biochemical + physicochemical" in treatment of textile wastewater, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to determine the degradation process of organic pollutants in this two totally different treatment processes. The same analysis was also conducted to the sludge and discharged water. The results showed that the "physicochemical + biochemical" process displayed a poorer effect than "biochemical + physicochemical" in degrading the organic pollutants. The latter was 6.2% higher than the former in removing the organic pollutants averagely. The difference was mainly manifested in the efficiency of anaerobic hydrolysis in the two coupled processes. Moreover, the implement of "physicochemical + biochemical" process resulted in the migration of plenty of typical organic pollutants to sludge from primary coagulation sedimentation process and to the discharged water, which would cause secondary pollution easily.
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40 CFR 47.125 - Eligible and priority projects and activities.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
2014-07-01
... environmental pollution problems; (3) Projects to understand and assess a specific environmental issue or a... activities. 47.125 Section 47.125 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GRANTS AND OTHER FEDERAL ASSISTANCE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ACT GRANTS § 47.125 Eligible and priority projects and...
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40 CFR 47.125 - Eligible and priority projects and activities.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
... environmental pollution problems; (3) Projects to understand and assess a specific environmental issue or a... activities. 47.125 Section 47.125 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GRANTS AND OTHER FEDERAL ASSISTANCE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ACT GRANTS § 47.125 Eligible and priority projects and...
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40 CFR 47.125 - Eligible and priority projects and activities.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
2012-07-01
... environmental pollution problems; (3) Projects to understand and assess a specific environmental issue or a... activities. 47.125 Section 47.125 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GRANTS AND OTHER FEDERAL ASSISTANCE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ACT GRANTS § 47.125 Eligible and priority projects and...
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40 CFR 47.125 - Eligible and priority projects and activities.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-07-01
... environmental pollution problems; (3) Projects to understand and assess a specific environmental issue or a... activities. 47.125 Section 47.125 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GRANTS AND OTHER FEDERAL ASSISTANCE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ACT GRANTS § 47.125 Eligible and priority projects and...
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40 CFR 47.125 - Eligible and priority projects and activities.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
2011-07-01
... environmental pollution problems; (3) Projects to understand and assess a specific environmental issue or a... activities. 47.125 Section 47.125 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GRANTS AND OTHER FEDERAL ASSISTANCE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ACT GRANTS § 47.125 Eligible and priority projects and...
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77 FR 27368 - National Priorities List, Final Rule No. 54
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2012-05-10
... Contingency Plan (``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the known releases or threatened..., the EPA promulgated the revised National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan... imply that the Jones company is responsible for the contamination located on the plant site. EPA...
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Environmental pollutants and breast cancer.
Brody, Julia Green; Rudel, Ruthann A
2003-01-01
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and the leading cause of cancer death among women 35-54 years of age. Rising incidence, increased risk among migrants to higher risk regions, and poor prediction of individual risk have prompted a search for additional modifiable factors. Risk factors for breast cancer include reproductive characteristics associated with estrogen and other hormones, pharmaceutical hormones, and activities such as alcohol use and lack of exercise that affect hormone levels. As a result, investigation of hormonally active compounds in commercial products and pollution is a priority. Compounds that cause mammary tumors in animals are additional priorities. Animal models provide insight into possible mechanisms for effects of environmental pollutants on breast cancer and identify chemical exposures to target in epidemiologic studies. Although few epidemiologic studies have been conducted for chemical exposures, occupational studies show associations between breast cancer and exposure to certain organic solvents and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Population-based studies have been limited to a few organochlorine compounds and PAHs and have been mostly negative. A variety of challenges in studies of breast cancer and the environment may have contributed to negative findings. Lack of exposure assessment tools and few hypothesis-generating toxicologic studies limit the scope of epidemiologic studies. Issues of timing with respect to latency and periods of breast vulnerability, and individual differences in susceptibility pose other challenges. Substantial work is needed in exposure assessment, toxicology, and susceptibility before we can expect a pay-off from large epidemiologic studies of breast cancer and environment. PMID:12826474
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Research priorities in occupational health in Italy
Iavicoli, S; Marinaccio, A; Vonesch, N; Ursini, C; Grandi, C; Palmi, S
2001-01-01
OBJECTIVE—To find a broad consensus on research priorities and strategies in the field of occupational health and safety in Italy. METHODS—A two phase questionnaire survey was based on the Delphi technique previously described in other reports. 310 Occupational safety and health specialists (from universities and local health units) were given an open questionnaire (to identify three priority research areas). The data obtained from respondents (175, 56.4%) were then used to draw up a list of 27 priority topics grouped together into five macrosectors. Each of these was given a score ranging from 1 (of little importance) to 5 ( extremely important). With the mean scores obtained from a total of 203 respondents (65.4%), it was possible to place the 27 topics in rank order according to a scale of priorities. RESULTS—Among the macrosectors, first place was given to the question of methodological approach to research in this field, and for individual topics, occupational carcinogenesis and quality in occupational medicine were ranked first and second, respectively. The question of exposure to low doses of environmental pollutants and multiple exposures ranked third among the priorities; the development of adequate and effective approaches and methods for worker education and participation in prevention was also perceived as being an important issue (fourth place). CONCLUSIONS—This study (the first of its kind in Italy) enabled us to achieve an adequate degree of consensus on research priorities related to the protection of occupational health and safety. Disparities in the mean scores of some of the issues identified overall as being research priorities, seem to be linked both to geographical area and to whether respondents worked in local health units or universities. This finding requires debate and further analysis. Keywords: research priorities; occupational health; strategies PMID:11303082
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Ruzzin, Jérôme
2012-04-20
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are hazardous chemicals omnipresent in our food chain, which have been internationally regulated to ensure public health. Initially described for their potency to affect reproduction and promote cancer, recent studies have highlighted an unexpected implication of POPs in the development of metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes and obesity. Based on this novel knowledge, this article aims at stimulating discussion and evaluating the effectiveness of current POP legislation to protect humans against the risk of metabolic diseases. Furthermore, the regulation of POPs in animal food products in the European Union (EU) is addressed, with a special focus on marine food since it may represent a major source of POP exposure to humans. There is mounting scientific evidence showing that current POP risk assessment and regulation cannot effectively protect humans against metabolic disorders. Better regulatory control of POPs in dietary products should be of high public health priority. The general population is exposed to sufficient POPs, both in term of concentration and diversity, to induce metabolic disorders. This situation should attract the greatest attention from the public health and governmental authorities.
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Zhuo, Jian-Fu; Guo, Wei-Dong; Deng, Xun; Zhang, Zhi-Ying; Xu, Jing; Huang, Ling-Feng
2010-06-01
Fluorescence excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy (EEMs) combined with absorption spectroscopy were applied to study the optical properties of CDOM samples from highly-polluted Yundang Lagoon in Xiamen in order to demonstrate the feasibility of using these spectral properties as a tracer of the degree of organic pollution in similar polluted coastal waters. Surface water samples were collected from 13 stations 4 times during April and May, 2008. Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) model was used to resolve the EEMs of CDOM. Five separate fluorescent components were identified, including two humic-like components (C1: 240, 325/422 nm; C5: 260, 380/474 nm), two protein-like components (C2: 225, 275/350 nm; C4: 240, 300/354 nm) and one xenobiotic-like component (C3: 225/342 nm), which could be used as a good tracer for the input of the anthropogenic organic, pollutants. The concentrations of component C3 and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) are much higher near the inlet of sewage discharge, demonstrating that the discharge of surrounding sewage is a major source of organic pollutants in Yundang Lagoon. CDOM absorption coefficient alpha (280) and the score of humic-like component C1 showed significant linear relationships with COD(Mn), and a strong positive correlation was also found between the score of protein-like component C2 and BOD5. This suggested that the optical properties of CDOM may provide a fast in-situ way to monitor the variation of the water quality in Yundang Lagoon and that of similar polluted coastal waters.
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Vision-related research priorities and how to finance them.
McCarty, Catherine A
2012-01-01
A number of organizations have employed a consultative process with the vision community to engage relevant parties in identifying needs and opportunities for vision research. The National Eye Institute in the US and the European Commission are currently undergoing consultation to develop priorities for vision research. Once these priorities have been established, the challenge will be to identify the resources to advance these research agendas. Success rates for Federal funding for research have decreased recently in the USA, UK, and Australia. Researchers should consider various potential funding sources for their research. The universal consideration for funding is that the reason for funding should align with the mission of the funding organization. In addition to Federal research organizations that fund investigator-initiated research, other potential funding sources include nongovernmental organizations, for-profit companies, individual philanthropy, and service organizations. In addition to aligning with organizational funding priorities, researchers need to consider turn-around time and total funds available including whether an organization will cover institutional indirect costs. Websites are useful tools to find information about organizations that fund research, including grant deadlines. Collaboration is encouraged.
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Assessment of Groundwater Pollution Potential Resulting From Stormwater Infiltration BMPs
DOT National Transportation Integrated Search
1995-08-01
Washington State has begun a program to dispose of highway runoff in which a priority has been given to the use of infiltration type technologies (e.g., infiltration basins, dry wells, etc.). Heavy metals are the most prevalent priority pollutant in ...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
2011-07-01
... STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants From the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry Pt. 63, Subpt. F, Table... 40 Protection of Environment 9 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
2014-07-01
... STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants From the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry Pt. 63, Subpt. F, Table... 40 Protection of Environment 10 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
... STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants From the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry Pt. 63, Subpt. F, Table... 40 Protection of Environment 10 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants...
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Hunchak-Kariouk, K.
1992-01-01
Pore water dissolved organic matter is an overlooked pool of organic matter important to the environmental fate of hydrophobic organic pollutants. The association of polychlorinated biphenyls, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and chlorinated pesticides with pore water dissolved organic matter influences their distribution and mobility within the bottom sediment environment. Steep physical, biological and chemical gradients at the sediment/water interface isolate the pore water and create unique conditions within the sediment. This study indicates that any disturbance of this environment will alter the distribution and mobility of organic pollutants by changing their association to the pore water dissolved organic matter. A small volumemore » closed equilibration method was developed to measure the solubility enhancement of 2,2' 4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (TeCB) by natural dissolved organic matter. Chemical coated micro-glass beads were equilibrated with anoxic and laboratory aerated (oxic) pore water samples in flame sealed ampules. The TeCB enhanced solubilities were used to determine the pore water dissolved organic matter partition coefficient, K[sub pwdom]. The measured TeCB solubility and K[sub pwdom] were much smaller for anoxic than oxic pore waters. The dissolved organic matter sorptive capacity for the TeCB increased as the water was aerated. This change is attributed to coagulative fractionation and structural changes of the pore water dissolved organic matter during aeration and was characterized by differences in the dissolved organic matter concentration, UV absorption at 254 nm, interfacial surface tension, and sorption capacity of molecular weight fractions of anoxic and oxic pore water dissolved organic matter. The increase in partitioning indicates that there will be an increase in the mobility of the TeCB as an anoxic bottom sediment environment is disturbed and aerated.« less
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78 FR 75534 - National Priorities List, Proposed Rule No. 59
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2013-12-12
... Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the...-Alport Chemical Company......... Ridgewood, NY EPA-HQ-SFUND-2013-0638 Walker Machine Products, Inc...? H. May I submit comments after the public comment period is over? I. May I view public comments...
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Engel, Maya; Chefetz, Benny
2016-12-01
Adsorption of organic pollutants by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the environment or removal of pollutants during water purification require deep understanding of the impacts of the presence of dissolved organic matter (DOM). DOM is an integral part of environmental systems and plays a key role affecting the behavior of organic pollutants. In this study, the effects of solution chemistry (pH and ionic strength) and the presence of DOM on the removal of atrazine and lamotrigine by single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) was investigated. The solubility of atrazine slightly decreased (∼5%) in the presence of DOM, whereas that of lamotrigine was significantly enhanced (by up to ∼70%). Simultaneous introduction of DOM and pollutant resulted in suppression of removal of both atrazine and lamotrigine, which was attributed to DOM-pollutant competition or blockage of adsorption sites by DOM. However the decrease in removal of lamotrigine was also a result of its complexation with DOM. Pre-introduction of DOM significantly reduced pollutant adsorption by the SWCNTs, whereas introduction of DOM after the pollutant resulted in the release of adsorbed atrazine and lamotrigine from the SWCNTs. These data imply that DOM exhibits higher affinity for the adsorption sites than the triazine-based pollutants. In the absence of DOM atrazine was a more effective competitor than lamotrigine for adsorption sites in SWCNTs. However, competition between pollutants in the presence of DOM revealed lamotrigine as the better competitor. Our findings help unravel the complex DOM-organic pollutant-CNT system and will aid in CNT-implementation in water-purification technologies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Pollution Abatement Management System--Concept Definition.
1978-05-01
and (3) identify priority ranking of environmental pollution problems within the Department of the Army. This report formalizes the overall concept development of PAMS and the system’s developmental strategy.
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UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION ON HUMAN HEALTH
Modern air pollution regulation is first and foremost motivated by concerns about the effects of air pollutants on human health and secondarily by concerns about its effects on ecosystems, cultural artifacts, and quality of life values such as visibility. This order of priority ...
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75 FR 59983 - National Priorities List, Final Rule-Newtown Creek
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2010-09-29
... Contingency Plan (``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the known releases or threatened... National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP''), 40 CFR part 300, on July 16... site. For example, the name ``Jones Co. plant site,'' does not imply that the Jones company is...
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75 FR 9790 - National Priorities List, Final Rule-Gowanus Canal
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2010-03-04
... Contingency Plan (``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the known releases or threatened... National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP''), 40 CFR part 300, on July 16... site. For example, the name ``Jones Co. plant site,'' does not imply that the Jones company is...
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Wu, Qimei; Wang, Xin; Zhou, Qixing
2014-05-01
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have aroused environmentalists and public concerns due to their toxicity, bioaccumulation and persistency in the environment. However, monitoring atmospheric POPs using conventional instrumental methods is difficult and expensive, and POP levels in air samples represent an instantaneous value at a sampling time. Biomonitoring methods can overcome this limitation, because biomonitors can accumulate POPs, serve as long-term integrators of POPs and provide reliable information to assess the impact of pollutants on the biota and various ecosystems. Recently, mosses are increasingly employed to monitor atmospheric POPs. Mosses have been applied to indicate POP pollution levels in the remote continent of Antarctica, trace distribution of POPs in the vicinity of pollution sources, describe the spatial patterns at the regional scale, and monitor the changes in the pollution intensity along time. In the future, many aspects need to be improved and strengthened: (i) the relationship between the concentrations of POPs in mosses and in the atmosphere (different size particulates and vapor phases); and (ii) the application of biomonitoring with mosses in human health studies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Rios, Lorena M; Jones, Patrick R; Moore, Charles; Narayan, Urja V
2010-12-01
Floating marine plastic debris was found to function as solid-phase extraction media, adsorbing and concentrating pollutants out of the water column. Plastic debris was collected in the North Pacific Gyre, extracted, and analyzed for 36 individual PCB congeners, 17 organochlorine pesticides, and 16 EPA priority PAHs. Over 50% contained PCBs, 40% contained pesticides, and nearly 80% contained PAHs. The PAHs included 2, 3 and 4 ring congeners. The PCBs were primarily CB-11, 28, 44, 52, 66, and 101. The pesticides detected were primarily p,p-DDTs and its metabolite, o,p-DDD, as well as BHC (a,b,g and d). The concentrations of pollutants found ranged from a few ppb to thousands of ppb. The types of PCBs and PAHs found were similar to those found in marine sediments. However, these plastic particles were mostly polyethylene which is resistant to degradation and although functioning similarly to sediments in accumulating pollutants, these had remained on or near the ocean surface. Particles collected included intact plastic items as well as many pieces less than 5 mm in size.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Xuguang, Tao; Chuan-jie, Hong; Shun-zhang, Yu
The purpose of our study is to determine the priority among ambient sulphur dioxide (SO{sub 2}), inhalable particulates (IP), and indoor use of coal for cooking or heating to prevent COPD in residents of Shanghai city proper. We describe spatial and temporal distribution of the concentration of ambient SO{sub 2}, IP, and the proportion of families who use coal (1980-1985) by the trend surface simulating method and other statistics. Stratified by two sets of extreme levels of ambient SO{sub 2}, IP, and the proportion of coal-using families, we selected eight groups with different combinations of exposure levels. We analyzed themore » relationship between air pollution factors and their health effects at levels of mortality (1978-1987, 232,459 person years), prevalence (1987, 12,037 persons), lung function and local immunologic function (1987, 514 women) with logistic and stepwise regression, and ridit analysis. After controlling for possible confounders, e.g., tobacco smoking and occupational exposure, we found that indoor use of coal is a more important risk factor than ambient SO{sub 2} and IP. We then used canonical correlation analysis to evaluate the overall exposure-effect relationship between one set of air pollution and confounding factors and the other set of health effect indices. High correlation is found between the two. The indoor use of coal is more important for the overall health effects than the ambient SO{sub 2} and IP, to change from coal to gas could reduce the environmental exposure canonical variable more readily, with an effect equivalent to a reduction of 0.1839 mg/m{sup 3} for ambient SO{sub 2}, or 0.2806 mg/m{sup 3} for ambient IP in concentration.« less
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The Outdoor Air Pollution and Brain Health Workshop
Block, Michelle L.; Elder, Alison; Auten, Rick L.; Bilbo, Staci D.; Chen, Honglei; Chen, Jiu-Chiuan; Cory-Slechta, Deborah A.; Costa, Daniel; Diaz-Sanchez, David; Dorman, David C.; Gold, Diane; Gray, Kimberly; Jeng, Hueiwang Anna; Kaufman, Joel D.; Kleinman, Michael T.; Kirshner, Annette; Lawler, Cindy; Miller, David S.; Nadadur, Sri; Ritz, Beate; Semmens, Erin O.; Tonelli, Leonardo H.; Veronesi, Bellina; Wright, Robert O.; Wright, Rosalind
2013-01-01
Accumulating evidence suggests that outdoor air pollution may have a significant impact on central nervous system (CNS) health and disease. To address this issue, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/National Institute of Health convened a panel of research scientists that was assigned the task of identifying research gaps and priority goals essential for advancing this growing field and addressing an emerging human health concern. Here, we review recent findings that have established the effects of inhaled air pollutants in the brain, explore the potential mechanisms driving these phenomena, and discuss the recommended research priorities/approaches that were identified by the panel. PMID:22981845
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The Pilot Study of Children's Total Exposure to Persistent Pesticides and Other Persistent Organic Pollutants (CTEPP) investigated the aggregate exposures of 257 preschool children and their primary adult caregivers to pollutants commonly detected in their everyday environments. ...
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wen, Yingrong; Schoups, Gerrit; van de Giesen, Nick
2018-01-01
In many regions of the world, intensive livestock farming has become a significant source of organic river pollution. As the international meat trade is growing rapidly, the environmental impacts of meat production within one country can occur either domestically or internationally. The goal of this paper is to quantify the impacts of the international meat trade on global organic river pollution at multiple scales (national, regional and gridded). Using the biological oxygen demand (BOD) as an overall indicator of organic river pollution, we compute the spatially distributed organic pollution in global river networks with and without a meat trade, where the without-trade scenario assumes that meat imports are replaced by local production. Our analysis reveals a reduction in the livestock population and production of organic pollutants at the global scale as a result of the international meat trade. However, the actual environmental impact of trade, as quantified by in-stream BOD concentrations, is negative; i.e. we find a slight increase in polluted river segments. More importantly, our results show large spatial variability in local (grid-scale) impacts that do not correlate with local changes in BOD loading, which illustrates: (1) the significance of accounting for the spatial heterogeneity of hydrological processes along river networks, and (2) the limited value of looking at country-level or global averages when estimating the actual impacts of trade on the environment.
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The Pollution of the Oceans and Great Lakes by Persistent Organic Pollutants
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lohmann, R.; Muir, D.
2012-12-01
The presence of man-made organic chemicals across the Great Lakes and Oceans is widespread. Especially in the northern hemisphere, legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls or DDT can be detected almost everywhere. Despite their ban several decades ago, concentrations are only declining slowly in the atmosphere, while time trends are not available for the waters of the world. While concentrations are often low (picogram per liter range), their bioaccumulation still causes adverse effects in top predators, including humans. Our results for legacy POPs highlight that oceans and the Great Lakes are by now re-releasing these compounds back to the atmosphere. More recently banned POPs include brominated flame retardants and perfluorinated compounds. Atmospheric concentrations are slowly declining, while their impacts on the aquatic environment will be felt for decades to come. Due to the paucity of aqueous data on POPs, we called for a global effort to monitor key POPs using passive samplers (AQUA-GAPS). Our recent cruise results show perfluorinated compounds to be present in all ocean basins, suggesting that they will remain for good. As of yet unknown are the presence and effects of additional hundreds to thousands industrial chemicals that are suspected of being persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic. Several of these have been identified as compounds of potential concern, but few have been investigated in the oceans. The solution to the pollution of POPs will have to rely on better chemical screening prior to high-volume production. The recent REACH legislation by the EU is a step in the right direction, but will not prevent the on-going release of man-made chemicals over the next few decades, many of which are already in use and will continue to be released over time.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Li, Yungui; Li, Qingqing; Chen, Baoliang
2016-03-01
The surface of plants is covered by a continuous but heterogeneous cuticular membrane (CM). Serving as the first protective barrier, the uptake and transport behavior of organic pollutants at this interface continue to engage the research efforts of environmental chemist. To date, the contributions of cuticular components as a defense against the organic pollutants penetration remain unresolved. In this study, the unsteady-state penetration characteristics of phenanthrene (PHE) through isolated fruit CM was investigated. PHE penetration was differentiated by three cuticular compartments: epicuticular waxes (EW), cuticle proper (CP) and cuticular layer (CL). The driving force for PHE penetration was ascribed to the sharp concentration gradient built up endogenously by cuticular compartments with different lipophilic affinities. A modified penetration model was established and verified in terms of its general suitability for the hydrophobic chemicals and CMs of various plant species (apple, tomato and potato). The new three-compartment model demonstrates much higher accuracy in characterizing the uptake and transport behavior of semivolatile chemicals with fewer limitations in terms of environmental conditions and complexity (e.g., coexisting contaminants and temperature). This model could contribute to a more comprehensive understanding on the role of polymeric lipids in the organic pollutant sorption and transport into plants.
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Li, Yungui; Li, Qingqing; Chen, Baoliang
2016-03-24
The surface of plants is covered by a continuous but heterogeneous cuticular membrane (CM). Serving as the first protective barrier, the uptake and transport behavior of organic pollutants at this interface continue to engage the research efforts of environmental chemist. To date, the contributions of cuticular components as a defense against the organic pollutants penetration remain unresolved. In this study, the unsteady-state penetration characteristics of phenanthrene (PHE) through isolated fruit CM was investigated. PHE penetration was differentiated by three cuticular compartments: epicuticular waxes (EW), cuticle proper (CP) and cuticular layer (CL). The driving force for PHE penetration was ascribed to the sharp concentration gradient built up endogenously by cuticular compartments with different lipophilic affinities. A modified penetration model was established and verified in terms of its general suitability for the hydrophobic chemicals and CMs of various plant species (apple, tomato and potato). The new three-compartment model demonstrates much higher accuracy in characterizing the uptake and transport behavior of semivolatile chemicals with fewer limitations in terms of environmental conditions and complexity (e.g., coexisting contaminants and temperature). This model could contribute to a more comprehensive understanding on the role of polymeric lipids in the organic pollutant sorption and transport into plants.
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Li, Yungui; Li, Qingqing; Chen, Baoliang
2016-01-01
The surface of plants is covered by a continuous but heterogeneous cuticular membrane (CM). Serving as the first protective barrier, the uptake and transport behavior of organic pollutants at this interface continue to engage the research efforts of environmental chemist. To date, the contributions of cuticular components as a defense against the organic pollutants penetration remain unresolved. In this study, the unsteady-state penetration characteristics of phenanthrene (PHE) through isolated fruit CM was investigated. PHE penetration was differentiated by three cuticular compartments: epicuticular waxes (EW), cuticle proper (CP) and cuticular layer (CL). The driving force for PHE penetration was ascribed to the sharp concentration gradient built up endogenously by cuticular compartments with different lipophilic affinities. A modified penetration model was established and verified in terms of its general suitability for the hydrophobic chemicals and CMs of various plant species (apple, tomato and potato). The new three-compartment model demonstrates much higher accuracy in characterizing the uptake and transport behavior of semivolatile chemicals with fewer limitations in terms of environmental conditions and complexity (e.g., coexisting contaminants and temperature). This model could contribute to a more comprehensive understanding on the role of polymeric lipids in the organic pollutant sorption and transport into plants. PMID:27009902
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Vision-related research priorities and how to finance them
McCarty, Catherine A
2012-01-01
A number of organizations have employed a consultative process with the vision community to engage relevant parties in identifying needs and opportunities for vision research. The National Eye Institute in the US and the European Commission are currently undergoing consultation to develop priorities for vision research. Once these priorities have been established, the challenge will be to identify the resources to advance these research agendas. Success rates for Federal funding for research have decreased recently in the USA, UK, and Australia. Researchers should consider various potential funding sources for their research. The universal consideration for funding is that the reason for funding should align with the mission of the funding organization. In addition to Federal research organizations that fund investigator-initiated research, other potential funding sources include nongovernmental organizations, for-profit companies, individual philanthropy, and service organizations. In addition to aligning with organizational funding priorities, researchers need to consider turn-around time and total funds available including whether an organization will cover institutional indirect costs. Websites are useful tools to find information about organizations that fund research, including grant deadlines. Collaboration is encouraged. PMID:22944760
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75 FR 59975 - National Priorities List, Final Rule No. 50
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2010-09-29
... Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the known... Contingency Plan (``NCP''), 40 CFR part 300, on July 16, 1982 (47 FR 31180), pursuant to CERCLA section 105... site. For example, the name ``Jones Co. plant site,'' does not imply that the Jones company is...
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76 FR 57662 - National Priorities List, Final Rule No. 52
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2011-09-16
... Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the known... Contingency Plan (``NCP''), 40 CFR part 300, on July 16, 1982 (47 FR 31180), pursuant to CERCLA section 105... site. For example, the name ``Jones Co. plant site,'' does not imply that the Jones company is...
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Sanganyado, Edmond; Rajput, Imran Rashid; Liu, Wenhua
2018-06-01
Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) are chronically exposed to organic pollutants since they inhabit shallow coastal waters that are often impacted by anthropogenic activities. The aim of this review was to evaluate existing knowledge on the occurrence of organic pollutants in Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, identify knowledge gaps, and offer recommendations for future research directions. We discussed the trends in the bioaccumulation of organic pollutants in Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins focusing on sources, physicochemical properties, and usage patterns. Furthermore, we examined factors that influence bioaccumulation such as gender, age, dietary intake and tissue-specific distribution. Studies on bioaccumulation in Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin remain scarce, despite high concentrations above 13,000 ng/g lw we previously detected for PFOS, ∑PBDE and chlorinated paraffins. The maximum concentration of organochlorines detected was 157,000 ng/g wt. Furthermore, variations in bioaccumulation were shown to be caused by factors such as usage patterns and physicochemical properties of the pollutant. However, restrictions in sampling inhibit investigations on exposure pathway and toxicity of organic pollutants in Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin. We proposed the use of biopsy sampling, predictive bioaccumulation and toxicity modeling, and monitoring other emerging contaminants such as microplastics and pharmaceuticals for future health risk assessment on this critically endangered marine mammal species. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wang, Y. Z.; Lin, C.; Zhou, X. S.; Zhang, Y.; Han, C. G.
2017-08-01
Ecological restoration of polluted river water was carried out in South Canal by adding microbial water purifying agents and biological compound enzymes. The objective of present study was to investigate the ecological restoration effect of organic pollutants by this efficient immobilized microbial technologies, analysis the occurrence and composition of organic pollutants including fifteen persistent organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), seventeen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and eighteen organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) both in natural water environment and ecological restoration area of South Canal, China. Results showed that the total concentrations of OCPs ranged from 1.11 to 1.78 ng·L-1, PAHs from 52.76 to 60.28 ng·L-1, and OPPs from 6.51 to 17.50 ng·L-1. Microbial water purifying agents and biological compound enzymes essentially had no effects on biological degradation of OCPs and PAHs in the river, but could remove OPPs with degradation rates ranging from 19.6% to 62.8% (35.2% in average). Degradation mechanisms of microbial water purifying agents and biological compound enzymes on OCPs, PAHs and OPPs remained to be further studied. This technology has a certain value in practical ecological restoration of organic pollutants in rivers and lakes.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Castillo, M.; Alonso, M.C.; Riu, J.
1999-04-15
This paper presents a generic protocol for the determination of polar, ionic, and highly water soluble organic pollutants on untreated industrial wastewaters involving the use of two different solid-phase extraction (SPE) methodologies followed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Untreated industrial wastewaters might contain natural and synthetic dissolved organic compounds with total organic carbon (TOC) values varying between 100 and 3000 mg/L. All polar, ionic and highly water soluble compounds comprising more than 95% of the organic content and with major contribution to the total toxicity of the sample cannot be analyzed by conventional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and LC-MS ismore » a good alternative. In this work two extraction procedures were used to obtain fractionated extracts of the nonionic polar compounds: a polymeric Isolute ENV + SPE cartridge for the preconcentration of anionic analytes and a sequential solid-phase extraction (SSPE) method percolating the samples first in octadecylsilica cartridge in series with the polymeric Lichrolut EN cartridge. Average recoveries ranging from 72% to 103% were obtained for a variety of 23 different analytes. Determination of nonionic pollutants was accomplished by reverse-phase liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-APCI-MS), while anionic compounds were analyzed by ion pair chromatography-electrospray-mass spectrometry (IP-ESI-MS) and LC-ESI-MS. This protocol was applied to a pilot survey of textile and tannery wastewaters leading to the identification and quantification of 33 organic pollutants.« less
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Biodegradation of organic pollutants in saline wastewater by halophilic microorganisms: a review.
Castillo-Carvajal, Laura C; Sanz-Martín, José Luis; Barragán-Huerta, Blanca E
2014-01-01
Agro-food, petroleum, textile, and leather industries generate saline wastewater with a high content of organic pollutants such as aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, nitroaromatics, and azo dyes. Halophilic microorganisms are of increasing interest in industrial waste treatment, due to their ability to degrade hazardous substances efficiently under high salt conditions. However, their full potential remains unexplored. The isolation and identification of halophilic and halotolerant microorganisms from geographically unrelated and geologically diverse hypersaline sites supports their application in bioremediation processes. Past investigations in this field have mainly focused on the elimination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and phenols, whereas few studies have investigated N-aromatic compounds, such as nitro-substituted compounds, amines, and azo dyes, in saline wastewater. Information regarding the growth conditions and degradation mechanisms of halophilic microorganisms is also limited. In this review, we discuss recent research on the removal of organic pollutants such as organic matter, in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD), dyes, hydrocarbons, N-aliphatic and N-aromatic compounds, and phenols, in conditions of high salinity. In addition, some proposal pathways for the degradation of aromatic compounds are presented.
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Setting Priorities: Personal Values, Organizational Results. Ideas into Action Guidebooks
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cartwright, Talula
2007-01-01
Successful leaders get results. To get results, you need to set priorities. This book can help you do a better job of setting priorities, recognizing the personal values that motivate your decision making, the probable trade-offs and consequences of your decisions, and the importance of aligning your priorities with your organization's…
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Assessment of toxicity and biodegradability on activated sludge of priority and emerging pollutants.
Tobajas, Montserrat; Verdugo, Verónica; Polo, Alicia M; Rodriguez, Juan J; Mohedano, Angel F
2016-01-01
Several methods for evaluating the toxicity and biodegradability of hazardous pollutants (chlorinated compounds, chemical additives and pharmaceuticals) have been studied in this work. Different bioassays using representative bacteria of marine and terrestrial ecosystems such as Vibrio fischeri and Pseudomonas putida have been used to assess the ecotoxicity. Activated sludge was used to analyse the effect of those pollutants in a biological reactor of a sewage treatment plant (STP). The results demonstrate that none of the compounds is toxic to activated sludge, except ofloxacin to P. putida. The additives tested can be considered moderately toxic according to the more sensitive V. fischeri assays, whereas the EC50 values of the pharmaceuticals depend on the specific microorganism used in each test. Regarding the biodegradability, respirometric measurements were carried out for fast biodegradability assessment and the Zahn-Wellens test for inherent biodegradability. The evolution of the specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR) showed that only diethyl phthalate was easily biodegradable and acetylsalicylic acid was partially biodegradable (98% and 65% degradation, respectively). The persistence of dichloromethane, ofloxacin and hidrochlorothiazide was confirmed along the 28 days of the Zahn-Wellens test whereas 1,1,1-trichloroethane showed inherent biodegradability (74% removal). Most of the chlorinated compounds, pharmaceuticals, bisphenol A and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid were partially degraded in 28 d with total organic carbon (TOC) reduction ranging from 21% to 51%. Sulphamethoxazole showed certain biodegradation (50% removal) with TOC decrease around 31%, which indicates the formation of non-biodegradable by-products.
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Zhu, Xiuping; Logan, Bruce E
2013-05-15
Electro-Fenton reactions can be very effective for organic pollutant degradation, but they typically require non-sustainable electrical power to produce hydrogen peroxide. Two-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have been proposed for pollutant treatment using Fenton-based reactions, but these types of MFCs have low power densities and require expensive membranes. Here, more efficient dual reactor systems were developed using a single-chamber MFC as a low-voltage power source to simultaneously accomplish H2O2 generation and Fe(2+) release for the Fenton reaction. In tests using phenol, 75 ± 2% of the total organic carbon (TOC) was removed in the electro-Fenton reactor in one cycle (22 h), and phenol was completely degraded to simple and readily biodegradable organic acids. Compared to previously developed systems based on two-chamber MFCs, the degradation efficiency of organic pollutants was substantially improved. These results demonstrate that this system is an energy-efficient and cost-effective approach for industrial wastewater treatment of certain pollutants. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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New evidence for high sorption capacity of hydrochar for hydrophobic organic pollutants
USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
This study investigated the sorption potential of hydrochars, produced from hydrothermally carbonizing livestock wastes, towards organic pollutants (OPs) with a wide range of hydrophobicity, and compared their sorption capacity with that of pyrochars obtained from conventional dry pyrolysis from the...
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Harman, Christopher; Grung, Merete; Djedjibegovic, Jasmina; Marjanovic, Aleksandra; Fjeld, Eirik; Braaten, Hans Fredrik Veiteberg; Sober, Miroslav; Larssen, Thorjørn; Ranneklev, Sissel Brit
2018-04-15
There is an overall lack of data concerning the pollution status of Bosnia Herzegovina, which is confounded by fragmented national environmental management. The present study aimed to provide some initial data for concentrations of priority substances in two major Bosnian Rivers, using two types of passive sampler (PS) as well as by using high volume water sampling (HVWS). Overall, concentrations of most persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and legacy pesticides, were shown to be low. However, around the town of Doboj on the Bosna River, concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) breached European standards for several compounds and reached 67 ng L -1 for freely dissolved concentrations and 250 ng L -1 for total concentrations. In general, contamination was lower in the Neretva River compared to the Bosna, although for brominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), results suggested an active source of PBDEs at one location based on the ratio of congeners 47 and 99. Direct comparisons between the different sampling techniques used are not straightforward, but similar patterns of PAH contamination were shown by HVWS and PS in the Bosna River. There are both scientific and practical considerations when choosing which type of sampling technique to apply, and this should be decided based on the goals of each individual study.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Alemu, Keneni; Assefa, Berhanu; Kifle, Demeke; Kloos, Helmut
2018-05-01
The discharge of inadequately treated municipal wastewater has aggravated the pollution load in developing countries including Ethiopia. Conventional wastewater treatment methods that require high capital and operational costs are not affordable for many developing nations, including Ethiopia. This study aimed to investigate the performance of two high-rate algal ponds (HRAPs) in organic pollutant removal from primary settled municipal wastewater under highland tropical climate conditions in Addis Ababa. The experiment was done for 2 months at hydraulic retention times (HRTs) ranging from 2 to 8 days using an organic loading rates ranging 333-65 kg {BOD}5 /ha/day using two HRAPs, 250 and 300 mm deep, respectively. In this experiment, Chlorella sp., Chlamydomonas sp., and Scenedesmus sp., the class of Chlorophyceae, were identified as the dominant species. Chlorophyll-a production was higher in the shallower ponds (250 mm) throughout the course of the study, whereas the deeper HRAP (300 mm) showed better dissolved oxygen production. The maximum COD and {BOD}5 removal of 78.03 and 81.8% was achieved at a 6-day HRT operation in the 250-mm-deep HRAP. Therefore, the 300-mm-deep HRAP is promising for scaling up organic pollutant removal from municipal wastewater at a daily average organic loading rate of 109.3 kg {BOD}5 /ha/day and a 6-day HRT. We conclude that the removal of organic pollutants in HRAP can be controlled by pond depth, organic loading rate, and HRT.
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van den Dungen, Myrthe W; Kok, Dieuwertje E; Polder, Anuschka; Hoogenboom, Ron L A P; van Leeuwen, Stefan P J; Steegenga, Wilma T; Kampman, Ellen; Murk, Albertinka J
2016-12-01
Globally, many river sediments are seriously contaminated with persistent organic pollutants (POPs) known to accumulate in aquatic food. In the Netherlands, toxicological risks of human exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like compounds led to a ban on eel fishing in the Rhine-Meuse delta. The aim of this study is to investigate differences in serum POP levels in consumers of eel from high-polluted areas and consumers of eel from low-polluted areas or aquaculture. In total 80 Dutch men were included, aged 40-70 years, with a habitual eel consumption of at least one portion (150 g) per month. Total levels of dioxins and dioxin-like compounds were measured in serum of all participants with the DR CALUX bioassay, validated with GC-MS. For a subgroup of 38 participants extensive POP measurements were performed. We revealed that consumption of eel from polluted rivers resulted in 2.5 and up to 10 times increased levels of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) respectively compared to controls. The highest PCB levels were detected for PCB 153, with a median level of 896 ng/g lipid and a maximum level of 5000 ng/g lipid in the high-exposed group. Furthermore, hydroxylated PCB metabolites (OH-PCBs: sum of 4-OH-CB107, 4-OH-CB146, 4'-OH-CB172, and 4-OH-CB187) were 8 times higher in men who consumed eel from polluted areas, and detected at levels (median 4.5 ng/g ww) reported to cause adverse health effects. Also, the majority of the perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were significantly higher in consumers of eel from pullulated areas. In conclusion, this study is the first to reveal that (past) consumption of eel from polluted rivers resulted in high body burdens of dioxins, PCBs, OH-PCBs and PFASs. We confirmed the predictions made in a former risk assessment, and the high levels of dioxins and dioxin-like compounds as well as the OH-PCBs are of health concern. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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75 FR 20618 - Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research (ICCOPR); Public Meeting
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2010-04-20
... Committee on Oil Pollution Research (ICCOPR); Public Meeting AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research (ICCOPR) will hold a public meeting in Seattle, Washington to hear comments on the priorities of oil pollution research...
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75 FR 51473 - Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research (ICCOPR); Public Meeting
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2010-08-20
... Committee on Oil Pollution Research (ICCOPR); Public Meeting AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research (ICCOPR) will hold a public meeting in Washington, DC to hear comments on the priorities of oil pollution research, including...
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Health risk assessment of semi-volatile organic pollutants in Lhasa River China.
Liu, Feng; Liu, Yan; Jiang, Dongsheng; Zhang, Rongfei; Cui, Yibin; Li, Mei
2014-05-01
The semi-volatile organic compounds in Lhasa River were determined qualitatively and quantitatively by gas chromatography method with mass spectrometric detection. Total concentrations of 23 organic pollutants in samples from five sites ranged from 1.56 to 2.78 μg/L. The average concentrations for ΣPAEs, ΣPAHs and ΣBTEXs obtained in this study were 1.53, 0.33 and 0.51 μg/L, respectively. Moreover, the results of analysis of variable showed that there were significant differences (P < 0.05) among the sites for levels of ΣPAHs, ΣPAEs and ΣBTEXs. Cluster analysis was applied to detect spatial similarity for grouping of sites under the monitoring network. The results indicated that the five sites in this study could be divided into two significant groups, i.e. low and high pollutant groups. Health risk assessment was conducted by multimedia environmental goals (MEG), risk quotient (RQ) for each pollutant and hazard quotient (HQ) approach from USA ecological risk assessment (ERA) for screening stage. Calculated both total ambient severity and RQ were less than 1 and therefore minimal risk to human and ecological health. For analysis results of HQ, whether for the ingestion exposure or dermal adsorption pathway were all less than 1, the results also agreed with the RQ model and MEG model for evaluating the potential for adverse health effects due to exposure semi-volatile organic compounds from surface water. Therefore, SVOCs in Lhasa River posed little or no threat to the health of local consumers and ecological environment.
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75 FR 64321 - Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research (ICCOPR); Public Meeting
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2010-10-19
... Committee on Oil Pollution Research (ICCOPR); Public Meeting AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research (ICCOPR) will hold a public meeting in New Orleans, LA to hear comments on the priorities of oil pollution research, including...
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Ng, Nyuk-Ting; Kamaruddin, Amirah Farhan; Wan Ibrahim, Wan Aini; Sanagi, Mohd Marsin; Abdul Keyon, Aemi S
2018-01-01
The efficiency of the extraction and removal of pollutants from food and the environment has been an important issue in analytical science. By incorporating inorganic species into an organic matrix, a new material known as an organic-inorganic hybrid material is formed. As it possesses high selectivity, permeability, and mechanical and chemical stabilities, organic-inorganic hybrid materials constitute an emerging research field and have become popular to serve as sorbents in various separaton science methods. Here, we review recent significant advances in analytical solid-phase extraction employing organic-inorganic composite/nanocomposite sorbents for the extraction of organic and inorganic pollutants from various types of food and environmental matrices. The physicochemical characteristics, extraction properties, and analytical performances of sorbents are discussed; including morphology and surface characteristics, types of functional groups, interaction mechanism, selectivity and sensitivity, accuracy, and regeneration abilities. Organic-inorganic hybrid sorbents combined with extraction techniques are highly promising for sample preparation of various food and environmental matrixes with analytes at trace levels. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
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Persistent organic pollutants in selected fishes of the Gulf of Finland
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Järv, Leili; Kiviranta, Hannu; Koponen, Jani; Rantakokko, Panu; Ruokojärvi, Päivi; Radin, Maia; Raid, Tiit; Roots, Ott; Simm, Mart
2017-07-01
Fish samples of Baltic herring, sprat, flounder, perch, salmon, and river lamprey were collected from the Gulf of Finland in 2013 and 2014 with the aim to get an overview of the occurrence of pollutants in fish caught in Estonian waters. The content of non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (ndl PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organic tin (OT) and perfluorocompounds (PFAS) are examined and discussed in the study. The results revealed that potentially higher content of organo-tin compounds, perfluorocompounds and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in Baltic herring, salmon and river lamprey may cause concern regarding human exposure. It is important to link pollutant content to lipid content of fish taking into account their seasonal variation in different age classes.
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Zoppini, Annamaria; Ademollo, Nicoletta; Amalfitano, Stefano; Casella, Patrizia; Patrolecco, Luisa; Polesello, Stefano
2014-06-15
Flood and drought events of higher intensity and frequency are expected to increase in arid and semi-arid regions, in which temporary rivers represent both a water resource and an aquatic ecosystem to be preserved. In this study, we explored the variation of two classes of hazardous substances (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Nonylphenols) and the functioning of the microbial community in river sediments subject to hydrological fluctuations (Candelaro river basin, Italy). Overall, the concentration of pollutants (∑PAHs range 8-275ngg(-1); ∑NPs range 299-4858ngg(-1)) suggests a moderate degree of contamination. The conditions in which the sediments were tested, flow (high/low) and no flow (wet/dry/arid), were associated to significant differences in the chemical and microbial properties. The total organic carbon contribution decreased together with the stream flow reduction, while the contribution of C-PAHs and C-NPs tended to increase. NPs were relatively more concentrated in sediments under high flow, while the more hydrophobic PAHs accumulated under low and no flow conditions. Passing from high to no flow conditions, a gradual reduction of microbial processes was observed, to reach the lowest specific bacterial carbon production rates (0.06fmolCh(-1)cell(-1)), extracellular enzyme activities, and the highest doubling time (40h) in arid sediments. In conclusion, different scenarios for the mobilization of pollutants and microbial processes can be identified under contrasting hydrological conditions: (i) the mobilization of pollutants under high flow and a relatively higher probability for biodegradation; (ii) the accumulation of pollutants during low flow and lower probability for biodegradation; (iii) the drastic reduction of pollutant concentrations under dry and arid conditions, probably independently from the microbial activity (abiotic processes). Our findings let us infer that a multiple approach has to be considered for an appropriate water
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Multiplex screening of persistent organic pollutants in fish using spectrally encoded microspheres
USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are food contaminants of global public health concern and known to be carcinogenic and endocrine disruptors. Their monitoring is essential and an easy-to-use, rapid and affordable multi-analyte screening method with simplified sample preparation can be a valuable...
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Jensen, L. D.
1972-01-01
The characteristics and effects of industrial waste pollution in the Chesapeake Bay are discussed. The sources of inorganic and organic pollution entering the bay are described. The four types of pollutants are defined as: (1) inorganic chemical wastes, (2) naturally occurring organic wastes, (3) synthetic organic wastes (exotics) and (4) thermal effluents. The ecological behavior of industrial wastes in the surface waters is analyzed with respect to surface film phenomena, interfacial phenomena, and benthis phenomena
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Priorities for toxic wastewater management in Pakistan
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Rahman, A.
1996-12-31
This study assesses the number of industries in Pakistan, the total discharge of wastewater, the biological oxygen demand (BOD) load, and the toxicity of the wastewater. The industrial sector is a major contributor to water pollution, with high levels of BOD, heavy metals, and toxic compounds. Only 30 industries have installed water pollution control equipment, and most are working at a very low operational level. Priority industrial sectors for pollution control are medium- to large-scale textile industries and small-scale tanneries and electroplating industries. Each day the textile industries discharge about 85,000 m{sup 3} of wastewater with a high BOD, whilemore » the electroplating industries discharge about 23,000 m{sup 3} of highly toxic and hazardous wastewater. Various in-plant modifications can reduce wastewater discharges. Economic incentives, like tax rebates, subsidies, and soft loans, could be an option for motivating medium- to large-scale industries to control water pollution. Central treatment plants may be constructed for treating wastewater generated by small-scale industries. The estimated costs for the treatment of textile and electroplating wastewater are given. The legislative structure in Pakistan is insufficient for control of industrial pollution; not only do existing laws need revision, but more laws and regulations are needed to improve the state of affairs, and enforcement agencies need to be strengthened. 15 refs., 1 fig., 9 tabs.« less
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Brooker, M R; Longnecker, K; Kujawinski, E B; Evert, M H; Mouser, P J
2018-06-19
Phosphorus loads are strongly associated with the severity of harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie, a Great Lake situated between the United States and Canada. Inorganic and total phosphorus measurements have historically been used to estimate nonpoint and point source contributions, from contributing watersheds with organic phosphorus often neglected. Here, we used ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry to characterize the dissolved organic matter and specifically dissolved organic phosphorus composition of several nutrient pollutant source materials and aqueous samples in a Lake Erie tributary. We detected between 23 and 313 organic phosphorus formulas across our samples, with manure samples having greater abundance of phosphorus- and nitrogen containing compounds compared to other samples. Manures also were enriched in lipids and protein-like compounds. The greatest similarities were observed between the Sandusky River and wastewater treatment plant effluent (WWTP), or the Sandusky River and agricultural edge of field samples. These sample pairs shared 84% of organic compounds and 59-73% of P-containing organic compounds, respectively. This similarity suggests that agricultural and/or WWTP sources dominate the supply of organic phosphorus compounds to the river. We identify formulas shared between the river and pollutant sources that could serve as possible markers of source contamination in the tributary.
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Foliar sorption of emerging and priority contaminants under controlled conditions.
Calderón-Preciado, Diana; Matamoros, Víctor; Biel, Carmen; Save, Robert; Bayona, Josep M
2013-09-15
Agricultural irrigation water contains a variety of contaminants that can be introduced into the food chain through intake by irrigated crops. This paper describes an experiment under controlled conditions designed to simulate sprinkle irrigation with polluted water at two different relative humidities (40 and 90%). Specifically, shed lettuce-heart leaves were spiked with an aqueous solution containing organic microcontaminants, including pharmaceuticals (ibuprofen, diclofenac, clofibric acid, and carbamazepine), fragrances (tonalide), biocides (triclosan), insecticides (lindane), herbicides (atrazine), phenolic estrogen (bisphenol A), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (phenanthrene and pyrene). Following an incubation period (48 h), the treated leaves were rinsed with water, and both the solution used to rinse them and the leaves themselves were independently analyzed to investigate the foliar sorption and uptake of the spiked organic contaminants through cuticle. The results showed that the foliar sorption of emerging and priority microcontaminants in leaves wetted by irrigation practices is related to their polarity (logD(ow)) and volatility (logk(H)), regardless of their compound class and the relative humidity. The results thus underscore the need to improve the quality of reclaimed water in crop irrigation, particularly when sprinkle irrigation is used. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Study of the influence of different organic pollutants on Cu accumulation by Halimione portulacoides
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Almeida, C. Marisa R.; Claúdia Dias, A.; Mucha, Ana P.; Bordalo, A. A.; Vasconcelos, M. Teresa S. D.
2009-12-01
The influence of each of four organic pollutants selected from among those commonly found in coastal areas, 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl) ethylene (DDE), monobutyltin (MBT), Triton X-100 and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), on Cu accumulation by Halimione portulacoides was investigated. Experiments were carried out in a laboratory setting, either in hydroponics (sediment elutriate) or in a salt marsh sediment ( Cávado River, NW Portugal) soaked in elutriate. Groups of H. portulacoides were exposed to media for 6 days spiked with 10 mg/L Cu(II) and with one of the selected pollutants, at an environmentally realistic concentration. DDE and MBT did not cause any major change on Cu accumulation by H. portulacoides, whereas PAHs slightly increased accumulation only in hydroponics i.e. in the absence of sediment. On the other hand, the non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 markedly favoured Cu accumulation on plant roots both in the presence and absence of sediment. The addition of DDE, MBT and Triton X-100 also favoured Cu solubility from sediments. Therefore, the simultaneous presence of pollutants from different nature (inorganic and organic) in the estuarine environment may result in a composition of water column, pore water, sediment or biota different of that expected considering the effect of each individual pollutant.
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Organic contamination and remediation in the agricultural soils of China: A critical review.
Sun, Jianteng; Pan, Lili; Tsang, Daniel C W; Zhan, Yu; Zhu, Lizhong; Li, Xiangdong
2018-02-15
Soil pollution is a global problem in both developed and developing countries. Countries with rapidly developing economies such as China are faced with significant soil pollution problems due to accelerated industrialization and urbanization over the last decades. This paper provides an overview of published scientific data on soil pollution across China with particular focus on organic contamination in agricultural soils. Based on the related peer-reviewed papers published since 2000 (n=203), we evaluated the priority organic contaminants across China, revealed their spatial and temporal distributions at the national scale, identified their possible sources and fates in soil, assessed their potential environmental risks, and presented the challenges in current remediation technologies regarding the combined organic pollution of agricultural soils. The primary pollutants in Northeast China were polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) due to intensive fossil fuel combustion. The concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and phthalic acid esters (PAEs) were higher in North and Central China owing to concentrated agricultural activities. The levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were higher in East and South China primarily because of past industrial operations and improper electronic waste processing. The co-existence of organic contaminants was severe in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, which are the most populated and industrialized regions in China. Integrated biological-chemical remediation technologies, such as surfactant-enhanced bioremediation, have potential uses in the remediation of soil contaminated by multiple contaminants. This critical review highlighted several future research directions including combined pollution, interfacial interactions, food safety, bioavailability, ecological effects, and integrated remediation methods for combined organic pollution in soil. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B
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Simulation of Organic Matter and Pollutant Evolution during Composting: The COP-Compost Model.
Lashermes, G; Zhang, Y; Houot, S; Steyer, J P; Patureau, D; Barriuso, E; Garnier, P
2013-01-01
Organic pollutants (OPs) are potentially present in composts and the assessment of their content and bioaccessibility in these composts is of paramount importance. In this work, we proposed a model to simulate the behavior of OPs and the dynamic of organic C during composting. This model, named COP-Compost, includes two modules. An existing organic C module is based on the biochemical composition of the initial waste mixture and simulates the organic matter transformation during composting. An additional OP module simulates OP mineralization and the evolution of its bioaccessibility. Coupling hypotheses were proposed to describe the interactions between organic C and OP modules. The organic C module, evaluated using experimental data obtained from 4-L composting pilots, was independently tested. The COP-Compost model was evaluated during composting experiments containing four OPs representative of the major pollutants detected in compost and targeted by current and future regulations. These OPs included a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (fluoranthene), two surfactants (4--nonylphenol and a linear alkylbenzene sulfonate), and an herbicide (glyphosate). Residues of C-labeled OP with different bioaccessibility were characterized by sequential extraction and quantified as soluble, sorbed, and nonextractable fractions. The model was calibrated and coupling the organic C and OP modules improved the simulation of the OP behavior and bioaccessibility during composting. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.
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Establishing and agreeing on research priorities
Ian de Ia Roche
1999-01-01
The organizers asked me to share with you my experiences in developing and implementing a process for establishing and agreeing on research priorities in a multi-stakeholder research institute such as Forintek. The mechanism we have in place has been well received by Forintek's membership and certain aspects have been adopted by other research organizations. While...
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Noreña-Barroso, E; Simá-Alvarez, R; Gold-Bouchot, G; Zapata-Pérez, O
2004-02-01
Livers of catfish (Ariopsis assimilis) from the Bay of Chetumal were analyzed for organochlorine compounds and hydrocarbons as part of a study to diagnose the environmental health of the Bay after a catfish mass mortality that occurred in 1996. The presence of histological lesions in several organs of the fish as result of chemical exposure was also evaluated. The concentrations of organic pollutants found in the Bay may be considered high if compared to the levels reported for sites affected by chemical pollution. High prevalences of cellular alteration histopathologies were found in liver, including hepatic tumors. The presence of some lesions may be related statistically to environmental pollution in the Bay, specially with chlorinated compounds.
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Indicators of Marine Pollution in the North Pacific Ocean.
Brown, Tanya M; Takada, Hideshige
2017-08-01
The complex nature of ocean pollution underscores the utility in identifying and characterizing a limited number of "indicators" that enables scientists and managers to track trends over space and time. This paper introduces a special issue on indicators of marine pollution in the North Pacific Ocean and builds on a scientific session that was held at the North Pacific Marine Science Organization. The special issue highlights studies using a variety of indicators to provide insight into the identification of legacy and emerging contaminants, the ranking of priority pollutants from various sources, and the effects of contaminants on ecosystem health in the North Pacific Ocean. Examples include the use of mussels to illustrate spatial and temporal trends of a number of contaminants following the 2011 tsunami in Japan, the use of molecular marker (linear alkylbenzenes, hopanes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) profiles to identify pollution sources, and the use of plastic resin pellets to illustrate spatial trends of petroleum pollution around the world. Stable isotopes were used to strengthen the utility of the Glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens) as an indicator of marine pollution. Examples also demonstrate the development and application of biomarker approaches, including gene transcripts, oxidative stress, estradiol, hatchability, and respiration and swimming behavior abnormalities, as a function of exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls, sulfur-diesel, Pinghu crude oil, galaxolide and antifouling biocides. We provide a brief review of indicators of marine pollution, identify research gaps, and summarize key findings from the articles published within the issue. This special issue represents the first compilation of research pertaining to marine pollution indicators in the North Pacific Ocean and provides guidance to inform mitigation and monitoring efforts of contaminants in the region.
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The monitoring of organic waste pollution in the sibelis river
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Huda, Thorikul; Jannah, Wirdatul
2017-03-01
Has conducted monitoring of organic waste pollution in the River Sibelis of Tegal City of Central Java. Organic wastes that pollute River Sibelis can degrade the quality of well water along the river. Monitoring carried out in the upstream and downstream by chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) parameters. COD test methods by titration and the results are used to determine the test sample comparison with the volume of diluent required for analysts BOD. COD test results on the upstream and downstream Sibelis River respectively 58.13 mg/L and 73.97 mg / L so that the ratio of the test sample with diluent volume for BOD analysis is 20: 280 (Sawyer, 1978). BOD test principle is based on the reduction of dissolved oxygen zero day (DO0) and five days (DO5). The result of observation BOD samples at upstream and downstream Sibelis Rivers are 10.7212 mg / L and 5.3792 mg / L respectively. Quality control of BOD testing conducted with measurement accuracy and precision and obtained result are 85.36% and 0.27% respectively. The result of uncertainty measurement for BOD testing at upstream and downstream are ±0.4469 mg/L and ±0.22188 mg/L.
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Impacts of National Decarbonization Targets for Subnational Societal Priorities
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Peng, W.; Iyer, G.
2017-12-01
Carbon mitigation has well-recognized linkages with other environmental and socioeconomic priorities, such as air pollution, economic development, employment, etc. While climate change is a global issue, many other societal priorities are local concerns. Since local efforts form the pillars of achieving co-benefits and avoiding dis-benefits at the national level, it is critical to go beyond national-level analyses and focus on the synergies and tradeoffs at the subnational level. Here we use the United States as an example to evaluate the impacts of mid-century national-level deep decarbonization target for state-level societal priorities. Based on the Global Change Assessment Model with state-level details for the US (GCAM-USA), we design two mid-century scenarios: A Reference scenario that assumes the U.S. undertakes no additional climate mitigation policy, and a Deep Decarbonization Scenario that assumes the U.S. achieves the NDC goal through 2025 (26-28% reduction relative to 2005 levels) and then follows a straight-line trajectory to 80% reductions in economy-wide GHG emissions by 2050 relative to 2005. We then compare these two scenarios for a variety of metrics of carbon mitigation and other societal priorities in 2050. We highlight two findings. First, the synergies and tradeoffs of carbon mitigation with other societal goals at the subnational level can be quite different from the national level. For example, while deep decarbonization could improve national energy security by reducing the overall dependence on energy imports, it may exacerbate energy independence goals for some states by increasing inter-state electricity imports. Second, achieving national-level decarbonization target could result in unequal regional impacts across states. We find uneven geographic impacts for air pollution (more co-reductions occur in the eastern states), economic costs (energy prices increase more in the northeastern states) and employment (jobs increase in the western
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Priorities for Implementation of the Northern Pacific Coast Regional Shorebird Management Plan
Joseph B. Buchanan
2005-01-01
Marine and upland habitats in western Washington and Oregon provide essential conditions for many wintering and migratory shorebird species along the Pacific Flyway. Known or potential threats to shorebirds include loss or degradation of habitat, invasion of exotic vegetation and invertebrates, environmental pollution, and human disturbance. Initial priority activities...
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Selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Italian environment.
Miniero, Roberto; De Felip, Elena; Magliuolo, Mariella; Ferri, Fabiola; Di Domenico, Alessandro
2005-01-01
The ratification of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is a departure point for several considerations on their presence in environmental matrices. In this paper, the Italian situation is presented with emphasis on the most toxic compounds--chemicals with dioxin-like toxic action, and the activity in the area of interest of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità. Biotic, as well as abiotic matrices have been taken in consideration and, where possible, a comparation between their contamination levels with the levels reported on similar matrices by other European countries has been reported.
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Leadership and priority setting: the perspective of hospital CEOs.
Reeleder, David; Goel, Vivek; Singer, Peter A; Martin, Douglas K
2006-11-01
The role of leadership in health care priority setting remains largely unexplored. While the management leadership literature has grown rapidly, the growing literature on priority setting in health care has looked in other directions to improve priority setting practices--to health economics and ethical approaches. Consequently, potential for improvement in hospital priority setting practices may be overlooked. A qualitative study involving interviews with 46 Ontario hospital CEOs was done to describe the role of leadership in priority setting through the perspective of hospital leaders. For the first time, we report a framework of leadership domains including vision, alignment, relationships, values and process to facilitate priority setting practices in health services' organizations. We believe this fledgling framework forms the basis for the sharing of good leadership practices for health reform. It also provides a leadership guide for decision makers to improve the quality of their leadership, and in so doing, we believe, the fairness of their priority setting.
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Wang, Hao; Jiang, Dengling; Yang, Yong; Cao, Guoping
2013-01-01
Four subsurface constructed wetlands were built to treat the secondary effluent of a wastewater treatment plant in Tangshan, China. The chemical pollutant indexes of chemical oxygen demand (COD) were analyzed to evaluate the removal efficiency of organic pollutants from the secondary effluent of the wastewater treatment plant. In all cases, the subsurface constructed wetlands were efficient in treating organic pollutants. Under the same hydraulic loading condition, the horizontal flow wetlands exhibited better efficiency of COD removal than vertical flow wetlands: the removal rates in horizontal flow wetlands could be maintained at 68.4 ± 2.42% to 92.2 ± 1.61%, compared with 63.8 ± 1.19% to 85.0 ± 1.25% in the vertical flow wetlands. Meanwhile, the chemical reaction kinetics of organic pollutants was analyzed, and the results showed that the degradation courses of the four subsurface wetlands all corresponded with the first order reaction kinetics to a large extent.
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Waste minimization/pollution prevention study of high-priority waste streams
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Ogle, R.B.
1994-03-01
Although waste minimization has been practiced by the Metals and Ceramics (M&C) Division in the past, the effort has not been uniform or formalized. To establish the groundwork for continuous improvement, the Division Director initiated a more formalized waste minimization and pollution prevention program. Formalization of the division`s pollution prevention efforts in fiscal year (FY) 1993 was initiated by a more concerted effort to determine the status of waste generation from division activities. The goal for this effort was to reduce or minimize the wastes identified as having the greatest impact on human health, the environment, and costs. Two broadmore » categories of division wastes were identified as solid/liquid wastes and those relating to energy use (primarily electricity and steam). This report presents information on the nonradioactive solid and liquid wastes generated by division activities. More specifically, the information presented was generated by teams of M&C staff members empowered by the Division Director to study specific waste streams.« less
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Priority Setting for Improvement of Cervical Cancer Prevention in Iran.
Majidi, Azam; Ghiasvand, Reza; Hadji, Maryam; Nahvijou, Azin; Mousavi, Azam-Sadat; Pakgohar, Minoo; Khodakarami, Nahid; Abedini, Mehrandokht; Amouzegar Hashemi, Farnaz; Rahnamaye Farzami, Marjan; Shahsiah, Reza; Sajedinejhad, Sima; Mohagheghi, Mohammad Ali; Nadali, Fatemeh; Rashidian, Arash; Weiderpass, Elisabete; Mogensen, Ole; Zendehdel, Kazem
2015-11-22
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide. Organized cervical screening and vaccination against human papilloma virus (HPV) have been successful interventions for prevention of invasive cervical cancer (ICC). Because of cultural and religious considerations, ICC has low incidence in Iran and many other Muslim countries. There is no organized cervical screening in these countries. Therefore, ICC is usually diagnosed in advanced stages with poor prognosis in these countries. We performed a priority setting exercise and suggested priorities for prevention of ICC in this setting. We invited experts and researchers to a workshop and asked them to list important suggestions for ICC prevention in Iran. After merging similar items and removing the duplicates, we asked the experts to rank the list of suggested items. We used a strategy grid and Go-zone analysis to determine final list of priorities for ICC prevention in Iran. From 26 final items suggested as priorities for prevention of ICC, the most important priorities were developing national guidelines for cervical screening and quality control protocol for patient follow-up and management of precancerous lesions. In addition, we emphasized considering insurance coverage for cervical screening, public awareness, and research priorities, and establishment of a cervical screening registry. A comprehensive approach and implementation of organized cervical screening program is necessary for prevention of ICC in Iran and other low incidence Muslim countries. Because of high cost for vaccination and low incidence of cervical cancer, we do not recommend HPV vaccination for the time being in Iran. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.
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Priority Setting for Improvement of Cervical Cancer Prevention in Iran
Majidi, Azam; Ghiasvand, Reza; Hadji, Maryam; Nahvijou, Azin; Mousavi, Azam-Sadat; Pakgohar, Minoo; Khodakarami, Nahid; Abedini, Mehrandokht; Amouzegar Hashemi, Farnaz; Rahnamaye Farzami, Marjan; Shahsiah, Reza; Sajedinejhad, Sima; Mohagheghi, Mohammad Ali; Nadali, Fatemeh; Rashidian, Arash; Weiderpass, Elisabete; Mogensen, Ole; Zendehdel, Kazem
2016-01-01
Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide. Organized cervical screening and vaccination against human papilloma virus (HPV) have been successful interventions for prevention of invasive cervical cancer (ICC). Because of cultural and religious considerations, ICC has low incidence in Iran and many other Muslim countries. There is no organized cervical screening in these countries. Therefore, ICC is usually diagnosed in advanced stages with poor prognosis in these countries. We performed a priority setting exercise and suggested priorities for prevention of ICC in this setting. Methods: We invited experts and researchers to a workshop and asked them to list important suggestions for ICC prevention in Iran. After merging similar items and removing the duplicates, we asked the experts to rank the list of suggested items. We used a strategy grid and Go-zone analysis to determine final list of priorities for ICC prevention in Iran. Results: From 26 final items suggested as priorities for prevention of ICC, the most important priorities were developing national guidelines for cervical screening and quality control protocol for patient follow-up and management of precancerous lesions. In addition, we emphasized considering insurance coverage for cervical screening, public awareness, and research priorities, and establishment of a cervical screening registry. Conclusion: A comprehensive approach and implementation of organized cervical screening program is necessary for prevention of ICC in Iran and other low incidence Muslim countries. Because of high cost for vaccination and low incidence of cervical cancer, we do not recommend HPV vaccination for the time being in Iran. PMID:27239863
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Organic pollution removal from coke plant wastewater using coking coal.
Gao, Lihui; Li, Shulei; Wang, Yongtian; Sun, Hao
2015-01-01
Coke plant wastewater (CPW) is an intractable chemical wastewater, and it contains many toxic pollutants. This article presents the results of research on a semi-industrial adsorption method of coking wastewater treatment. As a sorbent, the coking coal (CC) was a dozen times less expensive than active carbon. The treatment was conducted within two scenarios, as follows: (1) adsorption after biological treatment of CPW with CC at 40 g L(-1); the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was 75.66%, and the concentration was reduced from 178.99 to 43.56 mg L(-1); (2) given an adsorption by CC of 250 g L(-1) prior to the biological treatment of CPW, the eliminations of COD and phenol were 58.08% and 67.12%, respectively. The CC that adsorbed organic pollution and was returned to the coking system might have no effect on both coke oven gas and coke.
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Persistent organic pollutants in human breast milk from Asian countries.
Tanabe, Shinsuke; Kunisue, Tatsuya
2007-03-01
In this paper, we concisely reviewed the contamination of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs), biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), chlordane compounds (CHLs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in human breast milk collected from Asian countries such as Japan, China, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Malaysia, and Indonesia during 1999-2003. Dioxins, PCBs, CHLs in Japanese, and DDTs in Vietnamese, Chinese, Cambodian, Malaysian, and HCHs in Chinese, Indian, and HCB in Chinese breast milk were predominant. In India, levels of dioxins and related compounds (DRCs) in the mothers living around the open dumping site were notably higher than those from the reference site and other Asian developing countries, indicating that significant pollution sources of DRCs are present in the dumping site of India and the residents there have been exposed to relatively higher levels of these contaminants possibly via bovine milk.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fox, Donald L.
1989-01-01
Materials related to air pollution are reviewed for the period January 1987, to October 1988. The topics are pollution monitoring, air pollution, and environmental chemistry. The organization consists of two major analytical divisions: (1) gaseous methods; and (2) aerosol and particulate methods. (MVL)
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Zhao, Xinyue; Yang, Jixian; Ma, Fang
2018-02-01
For wastewater-related issues (WRI), life cycle assessment (LCA) is often used to evaluate environmental impacts and derive optimization strategies. To promote the application of LCA for WRI, it is critical to incorporate local impact of water pollutants. Organic pollution, a main type of water pollution, has not been given much consideration in current LCA systems. This paper investigates the necessity of setting a regionalized impact category to reflect the local impact of organic pollution. A case study is conducted concerning an upgraded wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in China, which is assumed to meet different sewage control strategies. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is selected to represent the organic pollution and treated as an individual impact category. CML 2002 is used to quantify the environmental impacts of different strategies. Results show that abnormal LCA results are generated with the traditional eutrophication impact category, and after the introduction of COD, more reasonable LCA results are obtained, making the entire comparison of different control strategies more meaningful and compelling. Moreover, BEES, Ecovalue 08, and Chinese factors are adopted here as different weighting methods. Different weighting results exhibited various trade-offs for the increasingly strict control strategies; the results of BEES and Ecovalue08 underlined the potential environmental burden, but the results of Chinese factors only emphasized the local environmental improvement. It is concluded that setting regionalized impact category for organic pollution can make LCA results more reasonable in wastewater treatment, especially in evaluating Chinese cases because of the serious water pollution caused by large quantities of COD emission.
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Plint, Amy C; Stang, Antonia S; Calder, Lisa A
2015-01-01
Patient safety in the context of emergency medicine is a relatively new field of study. To date, no broad research agenda for patient safety in emergency medicine has been established. The objective of this study was to establish patient safety-related research priorities for emergency medicine. These priorities would provide a foundation for high-quality research, important direction to both researchers and health-care funders, and an essential step in improving health-care safety and patient outcomes in the high-risk emergency department (ED) setting. A four-phase consensus procedure with a multidisciplinary expert panel was organized to identify, assess, and agree on research priorities for patient safety in emergency medicine. The 19-member panel consisted of clinicians, administrators, and researchers from adult and pediatric emergency medicine, patient safety, pharmacy, and mental health; as well as representatives from patient safety organizations. In phase 1, we developed an initial list of potential research priorities by electronically surveying a purposeful and convenience sample of patient safety experts, ED clinicians, administrators, and researchers from across North America using contact lists from multiple organizations. We used simple content analysis to remove duplication and categorize the research priorities identified by survey respondents. Our expert panel reached consensus on a final list of research priorities through an in-person meeting (phase 3) and two rounds of a modified Delphi process (phases 2 and 4). After phases 1 and 2, 66 unique research priorities were identified for expert panel review. At the end of phase 4, consensus was reached for 15 research priorities. These priorities represent four themes: (1) methods to identify patient safety issues (five priorities), (2) understanding human and environmental factors related to patient safety (four priorities), (3) the patient perspective (one priority), and (4) interventions for
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Otte, Jens C.; Keiter, Steffen; Faßbender, Christopher; Higley, Eric B.; Rocha, Paula Suares; Brinkmann, Markus; Wahrendorf, Dierk-Steffen; Manz, Werner; Wetzel, Markus A.; Braunbeck, Thomas; Giesy, John P.; Hecker, Markus; Hollert, Henner
2013-01-01
The estuary of the River Elbe between Hamburg and the North Sea (Germany) is a sink for contaminated sediment and suspended particulate matter (SPM). One major concern is the effect of human activities on the hydrodynamics, particularly the intensive dredging activities in this area that may result in remobilization of sediment-bound pollutants. The aim of this study was to identify pollutants contributing to the toxicological risk associated with re-suspension of sediments in the Elbe Estuary by use of an effect-directed analysis that combines chemical and biological analyses in with specific fractionation techniques. Sediments were collected from sites along the Elbe Estuary and a site from a small harbor basin of the Elbe Estuary that is known to be polluted. The sixteen priority EPA-PAHs were quantified in organic extracts of sediments. In addition, dioxin equivalents of sediments were investigated by use of the 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase assay with RTL-W1 cells and the Ah receptor-mediated luciferase transactivation assay with H4IIE-luc cells. Quantification of the 16 priority PAHs revealed that sediments were moderately contaminated at all of the sites in the Elbe River Estuary (<0.02–0.906 µg/g dw). Sediments contained relatively small concentrations of dioxin equivalents (Bio-TEQ) with concentrations ranging from 15.5 to 322 pg/g dw, which were significantly correlated with dioxin equivalents calculated based on toxicity reference values and concentrations of PAH. The concentration of Bio-TEQ at the reference site exceeded 200,000 pg/g dw. In a potency balance the 16 PAHs explained between 47 and 118% of the Bio-TEQ in the luciferase assay, which can be explained by the constant input of PAHs bound to SPM from the upper course of the Elbe River into its estuary. Successful identification of a significant portion of dioxin-like activity to priority PAHs in complex environmental samples such as sediments has rarely been reported. PMID:24146763
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A quantitative speciation model for the adsorption of organic pollutants on activated carbon.
Grivé, M; García, D; Domènech, C; Richard, L; Rojo, I; Martínez, X; Rovira, M
2013-01-01
Granular activated carbon (GAC) is commonly used as adsorbent in water treatment plants given its high capacity for retaining organic pollutants in aqueous phase. The current knowledge on GAC behaviour is essentially empirical, and no quantitative description of the chemical relationships between GAC surface groups and pollutants has been proposed. In this paper, we describe a quantitative model for the adsorption of atrazine onto GAC surface. The model is based on results of potentiometric titrations and three types of adsorption experiments which have been carried out in order to determine the nature and distribution of the functional groups on the GAC surface, and evaluate the adsorption characteristics of GAC towards atrazine. Potentiometric titrations have indicated the existence of at least two different families of chemical groups on the GAC surface, including phenolic- and benzoic-type surface groups. Adsorption experiments with atrazine have been satisfactorily modelled with the geochemical code PhreeqC, assuming that atrazine is sorbed onto the GAC surface in equilibrium (log Ks = 5.1 ± 0.5). Independent thermodynamic calculations suggest a possible adsorption of atrazine on a benzoic derivative. The present work opens a new approach for improving the adsorption capabilities of GAC towards organic pollutants by modifying its chemical properties.
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Xu, Yongfeng; Dai, Shixiang; Meng, Ke; Wang, Yuting; Ren, Wenjie; Zhao, Ling; Christie, Peter; Teng, Ying
2018-07-15
The residual levels and risk assessment of several potentially toxic elements (PTEs), phthalate esters (PAEs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in rural soils near different types of pollution sources in Tianjin, China, were studied. The soils were found to be polluted to different extents with PTEs, PAEs and PAHs from different pollution sources. The soil concentrations of chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), acenaphthylene (Any) and acenaphthene (Ane) were higher than their corresponding regulatory reference limits. The health risk assessment model used to calculate human exposure indicates that both non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks from selected pollutants were generally acceptable or close to acceptable. Different types of pollution sources and soil physicochemical properties substantially affected the soil residual concentrations of and risks from these pollutants. PTEs in soils collected from agricultural lands around industrial and residential areas and organic pollutants (PAEs and PAHs) in soils collected from agricultural areas around livestock breeding were higher than those from other types of pollution sources and merit long-term monitoring. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Priority setting in the provincial health services authority: survey of key decision makers
Teng, Flora; Mitton, Craig; MacKenzie, Jennifer
2007-01-01
Background In recent years, decision makers in Canada and elsewhere have expressed a desire for more explicit, evidence-based approaches to priority setting. To achieve this aim within health care organizations, knowledge of both the organizational context and stakeholder attitudes towards priority setting are required. The current work adds to a limited yet growing body of international literature describing priority setting practices in health organizations. Methods A qualitative study was conducted using in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 25 key decision makers of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) of British Columbia. Major themes and sub-themes were identified through content analysis. Results Priorities were described by decision makers as being set in an ad hoc manner, with resources generally allocated along historical lines. Participants identified the Strategic Plan and a strong research base as strengths of the organization. The main areas for improvement were a desire to have a more transparent process for priority setting, a need to develop a culture which supports explicit priority setting, and a focus on fairness in decision making. Barriers to an explicit allocation process included the challenge of providing specialized services for disparate patient groups, and a lack of formal training in priority setting amongst decision makers. Conclusion This study identified factors important to understanding organizational context and informed next steps for explicit priority setting for a provincial health authority. While the PHSA is unique in its organizational structure in Canada, lessons about priority setting should be transferable to other contexts. PMID:17565691
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Montone, Rosalinda C; Taniguchi, Satie; Colabuono, Fernanda I; Martins, César C; Cipro, Caio Vinícius Z; Barroso, Hileia S; da Silva, Josilene; Bícego, Márcia C; Weber, Rolf R
2016-05-15
Persistent organic pollutants were assessed in fat samples of the Gentoo (Pygoscelis papua), Chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarcticus) and Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) penguins collected during the austral summers of 2005/06 and 2006/07 in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica. The predominant organic pollutants were PCB (114 to 1115), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (60.1 to 238.7), HCB (<0.3 to 132.2) and BDE-47 (<1.0 to 10.7) in ng g(-1) wet weight. The mean concentrations of the majority of organic pollutants were similar among the three species of penguins. Chicks of all three species showed similar profiles of PCB congeners, with predominance of lower chlorinated compounds. The distribution of PAHs was similar in all birds, with a predominance of naphthalene and alkyl-naphthalene, which are the main constituents of arctic diesel fuel. These data contribute to the monitoring of the continued exposure to organic pollutants in the Antarctic biota. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Perioperative leadership: managing change with insights, priorities, and tools.
Taylor, David L
2014-07-01
The personal leadership of the perioperative director is a critical factor in the success of any change management initiative. This article presents an approach to perioperative nursing leadership that addresses obstacles that prevent surgical departments from achieving high performance in clinical and financial outcomes. This leadership approach consists of specific insights, priorities, and tools: key insights include self-understanding of personal barriers to leadership and accuracy at understanding economic and strategic considerations related to the OR environment; key priorities include creating a customer-centered organization, focusing on process improvement, and concentrating on culture change; and key tools include using techniques (e.g., direct engagement, collaborative leadership) to align surgical organizations with leadership priorities and mitigate specific perioperative management risks. Included in this article is a leadership development plan for perioperative directors. Copyright © 2014 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Biogenic organic emissions, air quality and climate
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Guenther, A. B.
2015-12-01
Living organisms produce copious amounts of a diverse array of metabolites including many volatile organic compounds that are released into the atmosphere. These compounds participate in numerous chemical reactions that influence the atmospheric abundance of important air pollutants and short-lived climate forcers including organic aerosol, ozone and methane. The production and release of these organics are strongly influenced by environmental conditions including air pollution, temperature, solar radiation, and water availability and they are highly sensitive to stress and extreme events. As a result, releases of biogenic organics to the atmosphere have an impact on, and are sensitive to, air quality and climate leading to potential feedback couplings. Their role in linking air quality and climate is conceptually clear but an accurate quantitative representation is needed for predictive models. Progress towards this goal will be presented including numerical model development and assessments of the predictive capability of the Model of Emission of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN). Recent studies of processes controlling the magnitude and variations in biogenic organic emissions will be described and observations of their impact on atmospheric composition will be shown. Recent advances and priorities for future research will be discussed including laboratory process studies, long-term measurements, multi-scale regional studies, global satellite observations, and the development of a next generation model for simulating land-atmosphere chemical exchange.
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The Children's Total Exposure to Persistent Pesticides and Other Persistent Organic Pollutants (CTEPP) study was designed by the U.S. EPA to collect data on young children's exposures to pesticides and other pollutants in their everyday environments in support of the Food Quality...
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Priority One: Environment. Air Pollution and Your Health, Teacher's Guide.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McCutcheon, Patricia; And Others
This teaching guide is designed to be used with secondary school students and the unit Air Pollution and Your Health. Material for the teacher includes the following: (1) an introduction to the unit; (2) a discussion of the sections of the unit; (3) instructional objectives; (4) suggestions for use of filmstrips, worksheets, reference materials,…
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
El Rahman Hassoun, Abed
2017-04-01
Aiming to evaluate the effects of organic pollution, environmental parameters and phytoplankton community were monitored during a two-year period (from April 2010 till March 2012) in the central coast of Lebanon in the Levantine Sub-basin. Data were collected for hydrological (temperature and salinity), chemical (nitrites, nitrates and phosphates), and biological (chlorophyll-a and phytoplankton populations) parameters. Our results show that temperature follows its normal seasonal and annual cycles, usually noted in the Lebanese coastal waters. Salinity presents spatial and temporal variations with low values (19.07 - 39.6) in the areas affected by continental inputs. Significant fluctuations (P < 0.05) of nutrients, Chl-a concentrations and density of total phytoplanktonic cells were observed between the sites and through the years. Moreover, a perturbation of the natural phytoplanktonic succession and an occurrence of toxic or potentially harmful algae were noticed in the polluted sites, reflecting the influence of wastewater effluents on the coastal seawater equilibrium and thus on the Lebanese marine biodiversity. This study sheds the light on the current environmental condition of few coastal areas which could facilitate the management of their pollution sources. Keywords: Organic pollution, phytoplankton community, toxic algae, coastal water quality, Lebanon, Mediterranean Sea.
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Activated boron nitride as an effective adsorbent for metal ions and organic pollutants
Li, Jie; Xiao, Xing; Xu, Xuewen; Lin, Jing; Huang, Yang; Xue, Yanming; Jin, Peng; Zou, Jin; Tang, Chengchun
2013-01-01
Novel activated boron nitride (BN) as an effective adsorbent for pollutants in water and air has been reported in the present work. The activated BN was synthesized by a simple structure-directed method that enabled us to control the surface area, pore volume, crystal defects and surface groups. The obtained BN exhibits an super high surface area of 2078 m2/g, a large pore volume of 1.66 cm3/g and a special multimodal microporous/mesoporous structure located at ~ 1.3, ~ 2.7, and ~ 3.9 nm, respectively. More importantly, the novel activated BN exhibits an excellent adsorption performance for various metal ions (Cr3+, Co2+, Ni2+, Ce3+, Pb2+) and organic pollutants (tetracycline, methyl orange and congo red) in water, as well as volatile organic compounds (benzene) in air. The excellent reusability of the activated BN has also been confirmed. All the features render the activated BN a promising material suitable for environmental remediation. PMID:24220570
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Robles-Molina, José; Gilbert-López, Bienvenida; García-Reyes, Juan F; Molina-Díaz, Antonio
2014-05-01
The province of Jaén counts with four natural parks, numerous rivers, reservoirs and wetlands; moreover, it is probably the region with higher olive oil production in the world, which makes this zone a proper target to be studied based on the European Water Framework Directive 2000/60/CE. The aim of this survey is to monitor a total number of 373 compounds belonging to different families (pesticides, PAHs, nitrosamines, drugs of abuse, pharmaceuticals and life-style compounds) in surface waters located at different points of the province of Jaén. Among these compounds some priority organic substances (regulated by the EU Directive 2008/105/EC) and pollutants of emerging concern (not regulated yet) can be found. A liquid chromatography electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-TOFMS) method covering 340 compounds was developed and applied, together with a gas chromatography triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) method which enabled the analysis of 63 organic contaminants (30 of these compounds are analyzed by LC-TOFMS as well). From April 2009 to November 2010 a total of 83 surface water samples were collected (rivers, reservoirs and wetlands). In this period numerous organic contaminants were detected, most of them at the ng L(-1) level. The most frequently priority substances found were chlorpyrifos ethyl, diuron and hexachlorobenzene. Within the other groups, the most frequently detected compounds were: terbuthylazine, oxyfluorfen, desethyl terbuthylazine, diphenylamine (pesticide family); fluorene, phenanthrene, pyrene (PAHs group), codeine, paracetamol (pharmaceuticals compounds) and caffeine, nicotine (life-style compounds). As is could be expected, the total concentration of emerging contaminants is distinctly larger than that of priority pollutants, highlighting the importance of continuing with the study of their presence, fate and effects in aquatic environments. However, concentration levels (at the ng per liter level) are low in
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Degradation of organic pollutants by Vacuum-Ultraviolet (VUV): Kinetic model and efficiency.
Xie, Pengchao; Yue, Siyang; Ding, Jiaqi; Wan, Ying; Li, Xuchun; Ma, Jun; Wang, Zongping
2018-04-15
Vacuum-Ultraviolet (VUV), an efficient and green method to produce hydroxyl radical (•OH), is effective in degrading numerous organic contaminants in aqueous solution. Here, we proposed an effective and simple kinetic model to describe the degradation of organic pollutants in VUV system, by taking the •OH scavenging effects of formed organic intermediates as co-existing organic matter in whole. Using benzoic acid (BA) as a •OH probe, •OH was regarded vital for pollutant degradation in VUV system, and the thus developed model successfully predicted its degradation kinetics under different conditions. Effects of typical influencing factors such as BA concentrations and UV intensity were investigated quantitatively by the model. Temperature was found to be an important influencing factor in the VUV system, and the quantum yield of •OH showed a positive linear dependence on temperature. Impacts of humic acid (HA), alkalinity, chloride, and water matrices (realistic waters) on the oxidation efficiency were also examined. BA degradation was significantly inhibited by HA due to its scavenging of •OH, but was influenced much less by the alkalinity and chloride; high oxidation efficiency was still obtained in the realistic water. The degradation kinetics of three other typical micropollutants including bisphenol A (BPA), nitrobenzene (NB) and dimethyl phthalate (DMP), and the mixture of co-existing BA, BPA and DMP were further studied, and the developed model predicted the experimental data well, especially in realistic water. It is expected that this study will provide an effective approach to predict the degradation of organic micropollutants by the promising VUV system, and broaden the application of VUV system in water treatment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kallenborn, R.; Breivik, K.; Eckhardt, S.; Lunder, C. R.; Manø, S.; Schlabach, M.; Stohl, A.
2013-07-01
A first long-term monitoring of selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Antarctic air has been conducted at the Norwegian research station Troll (Dronning Maud Land). As target contaminants 32 PCB congeners, α- and γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), trans- and cis-chlordane, trans- and cis-nonachlor, p,p'- and o,p-DDT, DDD, DDE as well as hexachlorobenzene (HCB) were selected. The monitoring program with weekly samples taken during the period 2007-2010 was coordinated with the parallel program at the Norwegian Arctic monitoring site (Zeppelin mountain, Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard) in terms of priority compounds, sampling schedule as well as analytical methods. The POP concentration levels found in Antarctica were considerably lower than Arctic atmospheric background concentrations. Similar to observations for Arctic samples, HCB is the predominant POP compound, with levels of around 22 pg m-3 throughout the entire monitoring period. In general, the following concentration distribution was found for the Troll samples analyzed: HCB > Sum HCH > Sum PCB > Sum DDT > Sum chlordanes. Atmospheric long-range transport was identified as a major contamination source for POPs in Antarctic environments. Several long-range transport events with elevated levels of pesticides and/or compounds with industrial sources were identified based on retroplume calculations with a Lagrangian particle dispersion model (FLEXPART).
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In the summer of 1997, we measured the aggregate exposures of nine preschool children, ages two to five years, to a suite of organic pesticides and other persistent organic pollutants that are commonly found in the home and school environment. The children attended either of t...
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Davison, B.H.; Klasson, K.T.; Barton, J.W.
1998-06-01
'Biofiltration systems can be used for treatment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs); however, the systems are poorly understood and are currently operated as black boxes. Common operational problems associated with biofilters include fouling, deactivation, and overgrowth, all of which make them ineffective for continuous, long-term use. The objective of this investigation is to develop generic methods for long-term stable operation, in particular by using selective limitation of supplemental nutrients while maintaining high activity. As part of this effort, the author will provide deeper fundamental understanding of the important biological and transport mechanisms in biodestruction of sparingly soluble VOCs and extendmore » this approach and mathematical models to additional systems of high priority EM relevance--direct degradation and cometabolic degradation of priority pollutants such as BTEX and chlorinated organics. This report summarizes work after 2 years of a 3-year project. Major results are enumerated and discussed'« less
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Priority arbitration mechanism
Garmire, Derrick L [Kingston, NY; Herring, Jay R [Poughkeepsie, NY; Stunkel, Craig B [Bethel, CT
2007-03-06
A method is provided for selecting a data source for transmission on one of several logical (virtual) lanes embodied in a single physical connection. Lanes are assigned to either a high priority class or to a low priority class. One of six conditions is employed to determine when re-arbitration of lane priorities is desired. When this occurs a next source for transmission is selected based on a the specification of the maximum number of high priority packets that can be sent after a lower priority transmission has been interrupted. Alternatively, a next source for transmission is selected based on a the specification of the maximum number of high priority packets that can be sent while a lower priority packet is waiting. If initialized correctly, the arbiter keeps all of the packets of a high priority packet contiguous, while allowing lower priority packets to be interrupted by the higher priority packets, but not to the point of starvation of the lower priority packets.
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Bower, Jonathan P; Anastasio, Cort
2014-04-01
Singlet molecular oxygen (¹O₂*) can be a significant sink for a variety of electron-rich pollutants in surface waters and atmospheric drops. We recently found that ¹O₂* concentrations are enhanced by up to a factor of 10(4) on illuminated ice compared to in the equivalent liquid solution, suggesting that ¹O₂* could be an important oxidant for pollutants in snow. To examine this, here we study the degradation of three model organic pollutants: furfuryl alcohol (to represent furans), tryptophan (for aromatic amino acids), and bisphenol A (for phenols). Each compound was studied in illuminated aqueous solution and ice containing Rose Bengal (RB, a sensitizer for ¹O₂*) and sodium chloride (to adjust the concentration of total solutes). The RB-mediated loss of each organic compound is enhanced on illuminated ice compared to in solution, by factors of 6400 for furfuryl alcohol, 8300 for tryptophan, and 50 for bisphenol A for ice containing 0.065 mM total solutes. Rates of loss of furfuryl alcohol and tryptophan decrease at a higher total solute concentration, in qualitative agreement with predictions from freezing-point depression. In contrast, the loss of bisphenol A on ice is independent of total solute concentration. Relative to liquid tests, the enhanced loss of tryptophan on ice during control experiments made with deoxygenated solutions and solutions in D₂O show that the triplet excited state of Rose Bengal may also contribute to loss of pollutants on ice.
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Atmospheric Pollution: Its Origins and Prevention.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Meetham, A. R.
Although atmospheric pollution can be reduced or eliminated in many different ways, each way involves questions of economics, the time factor, availability of materials, priority over other urgent reforms, and individual and social psychology. To provide a basis for consideration of these questions, this book gives information not only about the…
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Zhang, Yue; Wang, Lei; Hu, Yu; Xi, Xuefei; Tang, Yushu; Chen, Jinhai; Fu, Xiaohua; Sun, Ying
2015-01-01
Undisturbed natural wetlands are important carbon sinks due to their low soil respiration. When compared with inland alpine wetlands, estuarine wetlands in densely populated areas are subjected to great pressure associated with environmental pollution. However, the effects of water pollution and eutrophication on soil respiration of estuarine and their mechanism have still not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, two representative zones of a tidal wetland located in the upstream and downstream were investigated to determine the effects of water organic pollution and eutrophication on soil respiration of estuarine wetlands and its mechanism. The results showed that eutrophication, which is a result of there being an excess of nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorus, and organic pollutants in the water near Shang shoal located upstream were higher than in downstream Xia shoal. Due to the absorption and interception function of shoals, there to be more nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter in Shang shoal soil than in Xia shoal. Abundant nitrogen, phosphorus and organic carbon input to soil of Shang shoal promoted reproduction and growth of some highly heterotrophic metabolic microorganisms such as β-Proteobacteria, γ-Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria which is not conducive to carbon sequestration. These results imply that the performance of pollutant interception and purification function of estuarine wetlands may weaken their carbon sequestration function to some extent.
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Zhang, Yue; Wang, Lei; Hu, Yu; Xi, Xuefei; Tang, Yushu; Chen, Jinhai; Fu, Xiaohua; Sun, Ying
2015-01-01
Undisturbed natural wetlands are important carbon sinks due to their low soil respiration. When compared with inland alpine wetlands, estuarine wetlands in densely populated areas are subjected to great pressure associated with environmental pollution. However, the effects of water pollution and eutrophication on soil respiration of estuarine and their mechanism have still not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, two representative zones of a tidal wetland located in the upstream and downstream were investigated to determine the effects of water organic pollution and eutrophication on soil respiration of estuarine wetlands and its mechanism. The results showed that eutrophication, which is a result of there being an excess of nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorus, and organic pollutants in the water near Shang shoal located upstream were higher than in downstream Xia shoal. Due to the absorption and interception function of shoals, there to be more nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter in Shang shoal soil than in Xia shoal. Abundant nitrogen, phosphorus and organic carbon input to soil of Shang shoal promoted reproduction and growth of some highly heterotrophic metabolic microorganisms such as β-Proteobacteria, γ-Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria which is not conducive to carbon sequestration. These results imply that the performance of pollutant interception and purification function of estuarine wetlands may weaken their carbon sequestration function to some extent. PMID:25993326
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Fischer, Anko; Manefield, Mike; Bombach, Petra
2016-10-01
Stable isotope tools are increasingly applied for in-depth evaluation of biodegradation of organic pollutants at contaminated field sites. They can be divided into three methods i) determination of changes in natural abundance of stable isotopes using compound-specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA), ii) detection of incorporation of stable-isotope label from a stable-isotope labelled target compound into degradation and/or mineralisation products and iii) determination of stable-isotope label incorporation into biomarkers using stable isotope probing (SIP). Stable isotope tools have been applied as key monitoring tools for multiple-line-of-evidence-approaches (MLEA) for sensitive evaluation of pollutant biodegradation. This review highlights the application of CSIA, SIP and MLEA including stable isotope tools for assessing natural and stimulated biodegradation of organic pollutants in field studies dealing with soil and groundwater contaminations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Zhang, Kai; Wei, Yan-Li; Zeng, Eddy Y
2013-10-01
Rapid economic growth in South China (including Guangdong Province, Hong Kong, and Macau), particularly within the Pearl River Delta region, has resulted in severe pollution of the natural eco-environment in the last three decades. Large amounts of monitoring data on organic pollution in the Pearl River Delta have been accumulated, which allows us to conduct a fairly comprehensive assessment of the state of the Pearl River Delta and elucidate spatial and temporal patterns of pollution on a regional scale. Of various causes for environmental deterioration, negative impact from persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is a global concern. This review examines the current levels and distribution patterns of several POPs, namely DDT (and its metabolites DDD and DDE), hexachlorocyclohexanes, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers, in various environmental compartments of South China. The general information on environmental occurrence, regional behaviors, ecological effects, and human exposure of these POPs in this region are reviewed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Read about the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry. Read the rules, find the CFR text, dockets, effective dates, rule history and compliance information.
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INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION PREVENTION OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE 1990S
A set of criteria was developed for the purpose of subjectively prioritizing industry segments for their pollution prevention potential and their opportunity for improvement. Using this set of criteria, high priority industries were selected from a Standard Industry Classificatio...
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lee, E.; Sun, S.; Kim, Y.
2011-12-01
Nonpoint source (NPS) pollutants are the remaining cause of the environment problems, significantly impairing the hydrologic and biologic function of urban water systems and human health. Managing the NPS loads to urban aquatic systems remains a challenge because of ubiquitous contaminant sources and large pollutants loads in the first flush. Best management practices (BMPs) exist for reducing the NPS pollutants in urban storm waters, but the remedial efficiencies of these passive schemes are unpredictable. This study aims to develop a controlled-release system as part of an in situ chemical oxidation scheme designed for on-site treatment of organic pollutants in urban runoff. Controlled-release hydrogen peroxide (CR-HP) solids were manufactured by dispersing fine sodium percarbonate granules in paraffin wax matrices. Release kinetics and treatment efficiencies of CR-HP for BTEX and MTBE were investigated through a series of column tests. Release data indicated that the CR-HP could continually release hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in flowing water at controlled rates over 276-1756 days, and the release rates could be adjusted by changing the mixing ratios of sodium percarbonate and wax matrices. Additional column tests and model calculations demonstrated that CR-HP/UV systems can provide low-cost, target-specific, and persistent source of oxidants for efficient treatment of organic compounds in urban storm runoff.
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Li, Lei; Wang, Tie-yu; Wang, Xiaojun; Xiao, Rong-bo; Li, Qi-feng; Peng, Chi; Han, Cun-liang
2016-04-15
Based on comprehensive consideration of soil environmental quality, pollution status of river, environmental vulnerability and the stress of pollution sources, a technical method was established for classification of priority area of soil environmental protection around the river-style water sources. Shunde channel as an important drinking water sources of Foshan City, Guangdong province, was studied as a case, of which the classification evaluation system was set up. In detail, several evaluation factors were selected according to the local conditions of nature, society and economy, including the pollution degree of heavy metals in soil and sediment, soil characteristics, groundwater sensitivity, vegetation coverage, the type and location of pollution sources. Data information was mainly obtained by means of field survey, sampling analysis, and remote sensing interpretation. Afterwards, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was adopted to decide the weight of each factor. The basic spatial data layers were set up respectively and overlaid based on the weighted summation assessment model in Geographical Information System (GIS), resulting in a classification map of soil environmental protection level in priority area of Shunde channel. Accordingly, the area was classified to three levels named as polluted zone, risky zone and safe zone, which respectively accounted for 6.37%, 60.90% and 32.73% of the whole study area. Polluted zone and risky zone were mainly distributed in Lecong, Longjiang and Leliu towns, with pollutants mainly resulted from the long-term development of aquaculture and the industries containing furniture, plastic constructional materials and textile and clothing. In accordance with the main pollution sources of soil, targeted and differentiated strategies were put forward. The newly established evaluation method could be referenced for the protection and sustainable utilization of soil environment around the water sources.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pramaningsih, Vita; Suprayogi, Slamet; Purnama, Setyawan
2018-02-01
Water Pollution in Karang Mumus River caused society behavior along the river. Daily activity such as bath, washing and defecate at the river. Garbage, sediment, domestic waste and flood are river problems should be solved. Purpose this research is make strategy of water pollution control in the Karang Mumus River. Method used observation in the field, interview to the society, industry, public activity along the river and government of environment department. Further create data using tool of Analysis Hierarchy Process (AHP) to get the strategy to control water pollution in the river. Actors have contribute pollution control are government, industry and society. Criteria to pollution control are society participation, low, human resources and sustainable. Alternative of pollution control are unit garbage storage; license loyalty for industry and waste; communal waste water installation; monitoring of water quality. Result for actor priority are government (0.4); Industry (0.4); Society (0.2). Result for priority criteria are society participation (0.338), low (0.288), human resources (0.205) and sustainable (0.169). Result for priority alternative are unit garbage storage (0.433); license loyalty for industry and waste (0.238); communal waste water installation (0.169); monitoring of water quality (0.161).
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The Clean Water Act (CWA) Action Plan Implementation Priorities describes the new approaches to revamp the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting, compliance and enforcement program.Issued May 11, 2011
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A checklist for health research priority setting: nine common themes of good practice.
Viergever, Roderik F; Olifson, Sylvie; Ghaffar, Abdul; Terry, Robert F
2010-12-15
Health research priority setting processes assist researchers and policymakers in effectively targeting research that has the greatest potential public health benefit. Many different approaches to health research prioritization exist, but there is no agreement on what might constitute best practice. Moreover, because of the many different contexts for which priorities can be set, attempting to produce one best practice is in fact not appropriate, as the optimal approach varies per exercise. Therefore, following a literature review and an analysis of health research priority setting exercises that were organized or coordinated by the World Health Organization since 2005, we propose a checklist for health research priority setting that allows for informed choices on different approaches and outlines nine common themes of good practice. It is intended to provide generic assistance for planning health research prioritization processes. The checklist explains what needs to be clarified in order to establish the context for which priorities are set; it reviews available approaches to health research priority setting; it offers discussions on stakeholder participation and information gathering; it sets out options for use of criteria and different methods for deciding upon priorities; and it emphasizes the importance of well-planned implementation, evaluation and transparency.
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Spatial And Temporal Trends Of Organic Pollutants In Vegetation From Remote And Rural Areas
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Bartrons, Mireia; Catalan, Jordi; Penuelas, Josep
2016-05-01
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) used in agricultural, industrial, and domestic applications are widely distributed and bioaccumulate in food webs, causing adverse effects to the biosphere. A review of published data for 1977-2015 for a wide range of vegetation around the globe indicates an extensive load of pollutants in vegetation. On a global perspective, the accumulation of POPs and PAHs in vegetation depends on the industrialization history across continents and distance to emission sources, beyond organism type and climatic variables. International regulations initially reduced the concentrations of POPs in vegetation in rural areas, but concentrations of HCB, HCHs, and DDTs at remote sites did not decrease or even increased over time, pointing to a remobilization of POPs from source areas to remote sites. The concentrations of compounds currently in use, PBDEs and PAHs, are still increasing in vegetation. Differential congener specific accumulation is mostly determined by continent—in accordance to the different regulations of HCHs, PCBs and PBDEs in different countries—and by plant type (PAHs). These results support a concerning general accumulation of toxic pollutants in most ecosystems of the globe that for some compounds is still far from being mitigated in the near future.
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Coupling of phytoplankton uptake and air-water exchange of persistent organic pollutants
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Dachs, J.; Eisenreich, S.J.; Baker, J.E.
1999-10-15
A dynamic model that couples air-water exchange and phytoplankton uptake of persistent organic pollutants has been developed and then applied to PCB data from a small experimental lake. A sensitivity analysis of the model, taking into account the influence of physical environmental conditions such as temperature, wind speed, and mixing depth as well as plankton-related parameters such as biomass and growth rate was carried out for a number of PCBs with different physical-chemical properties. The results indicate that air-water exchange dynamics are influenced not only by physical parameters but also by phytoplankton biomass and growth rate. New phytoplankton production resultsmore » in substantially longer times to reach equilibrium. Phytoplankton uptake-induced depletion of the dissolved phase concentration maintains air and water phases out of equilibrium. Furthermore, PCBs in phytoplankton also take longer times to reach equilibrium with the dissolved water phase when the latter is supported by diffusive air-water exchange. However, both model analysis and model application to the Experimental Lakes Area of northwestern Ontario (Canada) suggest that the gas phase supports the concentrations of persistent organic pollutants, such as PCBs, in atmospherically driven aquatic environments.« less
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2012-04-12
... Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). EPA and the State of Illinois, through the Illinois Environmental.... List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300 Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Chemicals... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 300 [EPA-HQ-SFUND-1983-0002; FRL-9657-6] National Oil...
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Evaluation of organic compounds and trace elements in Amazon Creek Basin, Oregon, September 1990
Rinella, F.A.
1993-01-01
Water and bottom sediment were collected from Amazon Creek, Oregon during a summer low-flow condition and analyzed for different classes of organic compounds, including many from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's priority pollutant list. Bottom sediment also was analyzed for trace elements typically associated with urban runoff. Trace-element concentrations in the less than 63 micrometer fraction of Amazon Creek bottom-sediment samples were compared with baseline concentrations (expected 95 percent confidence range) for soils from the Western United States and with concen- trations found in bottom sediment from the Willamette River Basin. Total-digestion concentrations of antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, silver, titanium, and zinc were enriched at some or all sites sampled. Whole-water samples from some sites contained concentrations of several chlorophenoxy-acid herbicides, the organophosphorus insecticide diazinon, and several semivolatile priority pollutants. Classes of compounds not detected in whole-water samples included carbamate insecticides, triazine and other nitrogen-containing herbicides, and purgeable organic compounds. Bottom-sediment samples contained many organochlorine compounds, including chlordane, DDT plus metabolites, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor epoxide (a metabolite of heptachlor), and PCBs at some or all sites sampled. Twenty-four of 54 semivolatile compounds were detected in bottom- sediment samples at some or all sites sampled.
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Screening of organic pollutants in pet hair samples and the significance of environmental factors.
González-Gómez, Xiana; Cambeiro-Pérez, Noelia; Martínez-Carballo, Elena; Simal-Gándara, Jesús
2018-06-01
Organic pollutants (OPs) represent a wide range of chemicals that are potentially harmful for human and wildlife health. Many of these pollutants have been identified as endocrine disruptors that can alter hormonal balance producing adverse biological effects such as neurotoxicity, reproductive disorders, carcinogenicity and hepatotoxicity. For years, hair has been selected as a non-invasive source to assess levels of animal contamination. In the present study, a multiclass screening method for determining about 60 organic pollutants in pet hair was designed and validated for qualitative and quantitative purposes. Concentrations from different classes of organochlorine, and organophosphate pesticides (OCPs, and OPPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (NDL-PCBs and DL-PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and organophosphate esters (OPEs) were identified in the selected pet hair samples from Ourense (NW, Spain). We detected most of these pollutants in the selected hair pets. The mean concentrations found ranged from 89 to 6556ng/g for OPEs, from 8.6 to 1031ng/g for PAHs, from 8.6 to 256ng/g for PBDEs, from 29 to 184ng/g for OPPs, from 0.29 to 139 for OCPs, from 0.30 to 59ng/g for NDL-PCBs and from 1.2 to 14ng/g for DL-PCBs. To our knowledge, this is the first study to document the presence of OPs in pets from North-West Spain and it could provide baseline information for future monitoring of OPs in the area. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Tadevosian, N S; Muradian, S A; Tadevosian, A E; Khachatrian, B G; Dzhandzhapanian, A N; Parsadanian, G G; Pogosian, S B; Gevorkian, N B; Guloian, A A
2012-01-01
Investigations aimed at the study on the state of environment from the point of pollution by organochlorine pesticides and their metabolites (HCH, DDT, DDE and DDD), as well as on possible unfavorable impact due to carriage of mentioned persistent organic pollutants (POPs) towards reproductive health and cytogenetic status of organism were done. In parallel, monitoring of possible mutagenic components of the environment was also conducted. As to obtained data, residues of organochlorine pesticides are continually determined with high frequency both in environmental media, agricultural foodstuffs and biomedia of rural population of observed region (Aragatsotn marz, Armenia). No changes in mutagenic background were registered. The represented results of the study make fragment of complex social-hygienic, monitoring investigations on environmental quality that would further serve as a platform for working out the recommendations on reduction of environmental pollution and improvement of health protection issues in Armenia.
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Priority setting in clinical nursing practice: literature review.
Hendry, Charles; Walker, Anne
2004-08-01
Time is a valuable resource. When nurses experience demands on their services which exceed their available time, then 'rationing' must occur. In clinical practice such rationing requires practitioners to set priorities for care. The aim of this paper is establish what is currently known about priority setting in nursing, including how nurses set priorities and what factors influence this. CINAHL, Medline, ASSIA, and PsychLit databases for the years 1982-2002 were searched, using the terms (clinical decision-making or problem-solving or planning) and (setting priorities or prioriti*). The publications found were used in a selective, descriptive review. Priority setting is an important skill in nursing, and a skill deficit can have serious consequences for patients. Recent studies have suggested that it is a difficult skill for newly qualified nurses to acquire and may not be given sufficient attention in nurse education. Priority setting can be defined as the ordering of nursing problems using notions of urgency and/or importance, in order to establish a preferential order for nursing actions. A number of factors that may impact on priority setting have been identified in the literature. These include: the expertise of the nurse; the patient's condition; the availability of resources; ward organization; philosophies and models of care; the nurse-patient relationship; and the cognitive strategy used by the nurse to set priorities. However, very little empirical work has been conducted in this area. Further study of priority setting in a range of clinical practice settings is necessary. This could inform both practice and education, promote better use of limited resources and maximize patient outcomes.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Davison,Brian H.
2000-12-31
Biofiltration systems can be used for treatment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs); however, the systems are poorly understood and are normally operated as ''black boxes''. Common operational problems associated with biofilters include fouling, deactivation, and overgrowth, all of which make them ineffective for continuous, long-term use. The objective of this investigation was to develop generic methods for long-term stable operation, in particular by using selective limitation of supplemental nutrients while maintaining high activity. As part of this effort, we have provided a deeper fundamental understanding of the important biological and transport mechanisms in biodestruction of sparingly soluble VOCs and havemore » extended this approach and mathematical models to additional systems of high priority EM relevance--direct degradation and cometabolic degradation of priority pollutants such as BTEX and chlorinated organics. Innovative aspects of this project included development of a user-friendly two-dimensional predictive model/program for MS Windows 95/98/2000 to elucidate mass transfer and kinetic limitations in these systems, isolation of a unique microorganism capable of using sparingly soluble organic and chloroorganic VOCs as its sole carbon and energy source, and making long-term growth possible by successfully decoupling growth and degradation metabolisms in operating trickle bed bioreactors.« less
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Beckers, Liza-Marie; Busch, Wibke; Krauss, Martin; Schulze, Tobias; Brack, Werner
2018-05-15
Sites of wastewater discharge are hotspots for pollution of freshwaters with organic micropollutants and are often associated with adverse effects to aquatic organisms. The assessment, monitoring and managment of these hotspots is challenged by variations in the pollutant mixture composition due to season, weather conditions and random spills. In this study, we unraveled temporal exposure patterns in organic micropollutant mixtures from wastewater discharge and analyzed respective acute and sublethal risks for aquatic organisms. Samples were taken from two components of a separate sewer system i) a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and ii) a rain sewer of a medium size town as well as from the receiving river in different seasons. Rain sewer samples were separately collected for rain and dry - weather conditions. We analyzed 149 compounds by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). By considering the pollution dynamics in the point sources, we reduced the complexity of pollutant mixtures by k-means clustering to a few emission groups representing temporal and weather-related pollution patterns. From these groups, we derived biological quality element (BQE) - specific risk patterns. In most cases, one main risk driving emission group and a few individual risk driving compounds were identified for each BQE. While acute risk for fish was quite low, algae were exposed to seasonally emitted herbicides (terbuthylazine, spiroxamine) and crustaceans to randomly spilled insecticides (diazinon, dimethoate). Sublethal risks for all BQE were strongly influenced by constantly emitted pollutants, above all, pharmaceuticals. Variability of risks in the river was mainly driven by water discharge of the river rather than by season or peak events. Overall, the studied WWTP represented the major pollution source with a specific emission of agricultural compounds. However, the investigated rain sewer showed to be a constant pollution source due to illicit connections
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Pollution data analysis and characteristics of volatile organic compounds in the environment
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wang, Qi; Wang, Chěn; Hou, Lujian; Lv, Bo; WANG, Chén
2018-06-01
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have a wide range of sources and have a significant impact on the ecological environment and human health, which have attracted wide attention of many researchers. In this paper, the pollution characteristics of VOCs, the role of VOCs in atmospheric chemistry including OH reaction reactivity (LOH), Ozone Formation Potential (OFP) and SOA generation potential (SOAP), VOCs source apportionment were discussed and reviewed.
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Global Conservation Priorities for Marine Turtles
Wallace, Bryan P.; DiMatteo, Andrew D.; Bolten, Alan B.; Chaloupka, Milani Y.; Hutchinson, Brian J.; Abreu-Grobois, F. Alberto; Mortimer, Jeanne A.; Seminoff, Jeffrey A.; Amorocho, Diego; Bjorndal, Karen A.; Bourjea, Jérôme; Bowen, Brian W.; Briseño Dueñas, Raquel; Casale, Paolo; Choudhury, B. C.; Costa, Alice; Dutton, Peter H.; Fallabrino, Alejandro; Finkbeiner, Elena M.; Girard, Alexandre; Girondot, Marc; Hamann, Mark; Hurley, Brendan J.; López-Mendilaharsu, Milagros; Marcovaldi, Maria Angela; Musick, John A.; Nel, Ronel; Pilcher, Nicolas J.; Troëng, Sebastian; Witherington, Blair; Mast, Roderic B.
2011-01-01
Where conservation resources are limited and conservation targets are diverse, robust yet flexible priority-setting frameworks are vital. Priority-setting is especially important for geographically widespread species with distinct populations subject to multiple threats that operate on different spatial and temporal scales. Marine turtles are widely distributed and exhibit intra-specific variations in population sizes and trends, as well as reproduction and morphology. However, current global extinction risk assessment frameworks do not assess conservation status of spatially and biologically distinct marine turtle Regional Management Units (RMUs), and thus do not capture variations in population trends, impacts of threats, or necessary conservation actions across individual populations. To address this issue, we developed a new assessment framework that allowed us to evaluate, compare and organize marine turtle RMUs according to status and threats criteria. Because conservation priorities can vary widely (i.e. from avoiding imminent extinction to maintaining long-term monitoring efforts) we developed a “conservation priorities portfolio” system using categories of paired risk and threats scores for all RMUs (n = 58). We performed these assessments and rankings globally, by species, by ocean basin, and by recognized geopolitical bodies to identify patterns in risk, threats, and data gaps at different scales. This process resulted in characterization of risk and threats to all marine turtle RMUs, including identification of the world's 11 most endangered marine turtle RMUs based on highest risk and threats scores. This system also highlighted important gaps in available information that is crucial for accurate conservation assessments. Overall, this priority-setting framework can provide guidance for research and conservation priorities at multiple relevant scales, and should serve as a model for conservation status assessments and priority-setting for
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Setting priorities for reducing risk and advancing patient safety.
Gaffey, Ann D
2016-04-01
We set priorities every day in both our personal and professional lives. Some decisions are easy, while others require much more thought, participation, and resources. The difficult or less appealing priorities may not be popular, may receive push-back, and may be resource intensive. Whether personal or professional, the urgency that accompanies true priorities becomes a driving force. It is that urgency to ensure our patients' safety that brings many of us to work each day. This is not easy work. It requires us to be knowledgeable about the enterprise we are working in and to have the professional skills and competence to facilitate setting the priorities that allow our organizations to minimize risk and maximize value. © 2016 American Society for Healthcare Risk Management of the American Hospital Association.
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Public health research priorities in Europe seen by non-governmental organizations.
Gulis, Gabriel; Garrido-Herrero, Lara; Katreniakova, Zuzana; Harvey, Gabrielle; McCarthy, Mark
2008-12-01
Public health research is concerned with population health, determinants of health, health systems research, health promotion, environmental health, health protection, disease prevention and research in other fields of public health. During the last decades, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are more often entering the field of public health research. This paper presents results of work within SPHERE (Strengthening Public Health Research in Europe), a European Commission funded study aimed to gather information and produce knowledge on the state of public health research in Europe. A questionnaire survey was developed and conducted among NGOs enrolled in a database held by the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA). There were 80 replies, and the response rate for NGOs that were members of EPHA was 53%. There were no significant statistical differences in the responses when analysed for three European groups ['old' member states (EU 15), accession members states in 2004 (EU 10) and EU-associated countries]. The NGOs reported a relatively large international experience, expressed by participation in international public health research, and more often practice work. The main research priorities reported were general public health, environmental health, ADHD, obesity, nutrition, tobacco control. NGOs showed low correlation between their work field and their proposed public health research priorities. There are growing numbers of NGOs in Europe concerned with public health. This survey indicates their interest also in public health research priorities.
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Priorities in pediatric epilepsy research
Baca, Christine B.; Loddenkemper, Tobias; Vickrey, Barbara G.; Dlugos, Dennis
2013-01-01
The Priorities in Pediatric Epilepsy Research workshop was held in the spirit of patient-centered and patient-driven mandates for developing best practices in care, particularly for epilepsy beginning under age 3 years. The workshop brought together parents, representatives of voluntary advocacy organizations, physicians, allied health professionals, researchers, and administrators to identify priority areas for pediatric epilepsy care and research including implementation and testing of interventions designed to improve care processes and outcomes. Priorities highlighted were 1) patient outcomes, especially seizure control but also behavioral, academic, and social functioning; 2) early and accurate diagnosis and optimal treatment; 3) role and involvement of parents (communication and shared decision-making); and 4) integration of school and community organizations with epilepsy care delivery. Key factors influencing pediatric epilepsy care included the child's impairments and seizure presentation, parents, providers, the health care system, and community systems. Care was represented as a sequential process from initial onset of seizures to referral for comprehensive evaluation when needed. We considered an alternative model in which comprehensive care would be utilized from onset, proactively, rather than reactively after pharmacoresistance became obvious. Barriers, including limited levels of evidence about many aspects of diagnosis and management, access to care—particularly epilepsy specialty and behavioral health care—and implementation, were identified. Progress hinges on coordinated research efforts that systematically address gaps in knowledge and overcoming barriers to access and implementation. The stakes are considerable, and the potential benefits for reduced burden of refractory epilepsy and lifelong disabilities may be enormous. PMID:23966254
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Katz, Alison Rosamund
2013-01-01
The promotion of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) as a global health priority started a decade ago and culminated in a 2011 United Nations high-level meeting. The focus is on four diseases (cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases, cancers, and diabetes) and four risk factors (tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and harmful alcohol use). The message is that disease and death are now globalized, risk factors are overwhelmingly behavioral, and premature NCD deaths, especially in low- and middle-income countries, are the concern. The NCD agenda is promoted by United Nations agencies, foundations, institutes, and organizations in a style that suggests a market opportunity. This "hard sell" of NCDs contrasts with the sober style of the World Health Organization's Global Burden of Disease report, which presents a more nuanced picture of mortality and morbidity and different implications for global health priorities. This report indicates continuing high levels of premature death from infectious disease and from maternal, perinatal, and nutritional conditions in low-income countries and large health inequalities. Comparison of the reports offers an illustration of the World Health Organization at its worst, operating under the influence of the private sector, and at its best, operating according to its constitutional mandate.
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Water Pollution, Causes and Cures.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Manufacturing Chemists Association, Washington, DC.
This commentary on sources of water pollution and water pollution treatment systems is accompanied by graphic illustrations. Sources of pollution such as lake bottom vegetation, synthetic organic pollutants, heat pollution, radioactive substance pollution, and human and industrial waste products are discussed. Several types of water purification…
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Bakir, Adil; Rowland, Steven J; Thompson, Richard C
2014-02-01
Microplastics have the potential to uptake and release persistent organic pollutants (POPs); however, subsequent transfer to marine organisms is poorly understood. Some models estimating transfer of sorbed contaminants to organisms neglect the role of gut surfactants under differing physiological conditions in the gut (varying pH and temperature), examined here. We investigated the potential for polyvinylchloride (PVC) and polyethylene (PE) to sorb and desorb (14)C-DDT, (14)C-phenanthrene (Phe), (14)C-perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and (14)C-di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP). Desorption rates of POPs were quantified in seawater and under simulated gut conditions. Influence of pH and temperature was examined in order to represent cold and warm blooded organisms. Desorption rates were faster with gut surfactant, with a further substantial increase under conditions simulating warm blooded organisms. Desorption under gut conditions could be up to 30 times greater than in seawater alone. Of the POP/plastic combinations examined Phe with PE gave the highest potential for transport to organisms. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Smith, Carla Breedlove
2013-01-01
The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of how human resource development (HRD) can align more closely with the healthcare system's strategic priorities from the perspective of chief financial officers (CFOs). Five common themes emerged: (a) training is well aligned to the strategic priority to optimize clinical…
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Persistent organic pollutant concentrations in first birth mothers across Mexico.
Rodríguez-Dozal, Sandra; Riojas Rodríguez, Horacio; Hernández-Ávila, Mauricio; Van Oostdam, Jay; Weber, Jean Philippe; Needham, Larry L; Trip, Luke
2012-01-01
This project was initiated by the North America Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). Its main purpose was to obtain an initial profile on pregnant woman's exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in North America (Canada, the United States and Mexico). Persistent organic pollutants are transferred to the fetus via the placenta during the pregnancy or to the infant via maternal milk; therefore, the pregnant woman's body burden is important because of the higher exposures and potential health effects in the fetus and infant. This paper presents the results from 240 pregnant women in 10 Mexican cities, and includes the concentrations of various POPs such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated dibenzo dioxins and furans (PCDDs and PCDFs) in maternal plasma. We found concentrations of p,p'-DDE in maternal samples from Coatzacoalcos to be ∼60% higher than those found in Ciudad Obregon, which had the second highest concentration. Pregnant women from Merida had higher mean concentrations of PCBs than all women in other regions. Results for PCDDs and PCDFs plus dioxin-like PCBs data were only available on the basis of composite samples, and their concentrations are similar in most cities except for Coatzacoalcos, which had more than double the concentration found in other cities. Although this study provides useful information on the variability of POPs in specific populations and possible regional/local differences, these results cannot be generalized to the entire Mexican population because of differences in age, gender, sources of exposure and nonrandom nature of the sample.
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Setting priorities for research on pollution reduction functions of agricultural buffers
Michael G. Dosskey
2002-01-01
The success of buffer installation initiatives and programs to reduce nonpoint source pollution of streams on agricultural lands will depend the ability of local planners to locate and design buffers for specific circumstances with substantial and predictable results. Current predictive capabilities are inadequate, and major sources of uncertainty remain. An...
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Emerging Persistent Organic Pollutants in Chinese Bohai Sea and Its Coastal Regions
Wang, Yawei; Pan, Yuanyuan
2014-01-01
Emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have widely aroused public concern in recent years. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride/perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (POSF/PFOS) had been newly listed in Stockholm Convention in 2009, and short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) were listed as candidate POPs. Bohai Sea is located in the arms of numbers of industrial cities, the semienclosed location of which makes it an ideal sink of emerging pollutants. In the present paper, latest contamination status of emerging POPs in Bohai Sea was reviewed. According to the literature data, Bohai Sea areas are not heavily contaminated by emerging POPs (PBDE: 0.01–720 ng/g; perfluorinated compounds: 0.1–304 ng/g; SCCPs: 64.9–5510 ng/g; HBCDs: nd-634 ng/g). Therefore, humans are not likely to be under serious risk of emerging POPs exposure through consuming seafood from Bohai Sea. However, the ubiquitous occurrence of emerging POPs in Bohai Sea region might indicate that more work should be done to expand the knowledge about potential risk of emerging POPs pollution. PMID:24688410
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Setting stroke research priorities: The consumer perspective.
Sangvatanakul, Pukkaporn; Hillege, Sharon; Lalor, Erin; Levi, Christopher; Hill, Kelvin; Middleton, Sandy
2010-12-01
To test a method of engaging consumers in research priority-setting using a quantitative approach and to determine consumer views on stroke research priorities for clinical practice recommendations with lower levels of evidence (Level III and Level IV) and expert consensus opinion as published in the Australian stroke clinical practice guidelines. Survey Urban community Eighteen stroke survivors (n = 12) and carers (n = 6) who were members of the "Working Aged Group - Stroke" (WAGS) consumer support group. Phase I: Participants were asked whether recommendations were "worth" researching ("yes" or "no"); and, if researched, what potential impact they likely would have on patient outcomes. Phase II: Participants were asked to rank recommendations rated by more than 75% of participants in Phase I as "worth" researching and "highly likely" or "likely" to generate research with a significant effect on patient outcomes (n = 13) in order of priority for future stroke research. All recommendations were rated by at least half (n = 9, 50%) of participants as "worth" researching. The majority (67% to 100%) rated all recommendations as "highly likely" or "likely" that research would have a significant effect on patient outcomes. Thirteen out of 20 recommendations were ranked for their research priorities. Recommendations under the topic heading Getting to hospital were ranked highest and Organization of care and Living with stroke were ranked as a lower priority for research. This study provided an example of how to involve consumers in research priority setting successfully using a quantitative approach. Stroke research priorities from the consumer perspective were different from those of health professionals, as published in the literature; thus, consumer opinion should be considered when setting research priorities. Copyright © 2010 Society for Vascular Nursing, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2011-07-15
... Hipps Road Landfill Superfund Site AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency. ACTION: Proposed rule... Hipps Road Landfill Superfund Site (Site) located in Jacksonville, Florida, from the National Priorities..., have determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA, other than operation, maintenance...
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Mijangos, Leire; Ziarrusta, Haizea; Olivares, Maitane; Zuloaga, Olatz; Möder, Monika; Etxebarria, Nestor; Prieto, Ailette
2018-01-01
A new procedure using polyethersulfone (PES) microextraction followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis was developed in this work for the simultaneous determination of 41 multiclass priority and emerging organic pollutants including herbicides, hormones, personal care products, and pharmaceuticals, among others, in seawater, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents, and estuary samples. The optimization of the analysis included two different chromatographic columns and different variables (polarity, fragmentor voltage, collision energy, and collision cell accelerator) of the mass spectrometer. In the case of PES extraction, ion strength of the water, pH, addition of EDTA, and the amount of the polymeric material were thoroughly investigated. The developed procedure was compared with a previously validated one based on a standard solid-phase extraction (SPE). In contrast to the SPE protocol, the PES method allowed a cost-efficient extraction of complex aqueous samples with lower matrix effect from 120 mL of water sample. Satisfactory and comparable apparent recovery values (80-119 and 70-131%) and method quantification limits (MQLs, 0.4-26 and 0.2-23 ng/L) were obtained for PES and SPE procedures, respectively, regardless of the matrix. Repeatability values lower than 27% were obtained. Finally, the developed methods were applied to the analysis of real samples from the Basque Country and irbesartan, valsartan, acesulfame, and sucralose were the analytes most often detected at the highest concentrations (51-1096 ng/L). Graphical abstract Forty-one multiclass pollutant determination in environmental waters by means of PES/SPE-LC-MS/MS.
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[Development and current status of atmospheric pollution].
Elichegaray, C; Bouallala, S; Maitre, A; Ba, M
2009-02-01
Air quality is a public health issue and this article includes a reminder of the related causes and issues and a description of the monitoring of ambient air quality in France. It also provides a review of major developments in recent years of the pollutants measured. Emissions of major air pollutants have declined significantly since the 1970s, and this is reflected in an overall improvement in the quality of ambient air. Nevertheless, various forms of air pollution remain a concern (in the case of photochemical pollution) and health data show that air pollution is still a cause of morbidity and mortality. The fight against air pollution must remain a priority and requires multi-pollutant and multi-effect approaches. The National Health and Environment Program adopted during the Grenelle environment stakeholder consultation processes includes targets for reducing human exposure to air pollution, especially particulate matter, as well as measures to improve indoor air quality. In a context dominated by the struggle against the emission of greenhouse gases, problems of air quality should not be underestimated and policies relating to climate protection must be taken into account.
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Health and household air pollution from solid fuel use: the need for improved exposure assessment.
Clark, Maggie L; Peel, Jennifer L; Balakrishnan, Kalpana; Breysse, Patrick N; Chillrud, Steven N; Naeher, Luke P; Rodes, Charles E; Vette, Alan F; Balbus, John M
2013-10-01
Nearly 3 billion people worldwide rely on solid fuel combustion to meet basic household energy needs. The resulting exposure to air pollution causes an estimated 4.5% of the global burden of disease. Large variability and a lack of resources for research and development have resulted in highly uncertain exposure estimates. We sought to identify research priorities for exposure assessment that will more accurately and precisely define exposure-response relationships of household air pollution necessary to inform future cleaner-burning cookstove dissemination programs. As part of an international workshop in May 2011, an expert group characterized the state of the science and developed recommendations for exposure assessment of household air pollution. The following priority research areas were identified to explain variability and reduce uncertainty of household air pollution exposure measurements: improved characterization of spatial and temporal variability for studies examining both short- and long-term health effects; development and validation of measurement technology and approaches to conduct complex exposure assessments in resource-limited settings with a large range of pollutant concentrations; and development and validation of biomarkers for estimating dose. Addressing these priority research areas, which will inherently require an increased allocation of resources for cookstove research, will lead to better characterization of exposure-response relationships. Although the type and extent of exposure assessment will necessarily depend on the goal and design of the cookstove study, without improved understanding of exposure-response relationships, the level of air pollution reduction necessary to meet the health targets of cookstove interventions will remain uncertain.
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Liu, Huijuan; Ru, Jia; Qu, Jiuhui; Dai, Ruihua; Wang, Zijian; Hu, Chun
2009-06-01
A new biomimetic absorbent, cellulose acetate (CA) embedded with triolein (CA-triolein), was prepared and applied for the removal of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from micro-polluted aqueous solution. The comparison of CA-triolein, CA and granular activated carbon (GAC) for dieldrin removal was investigated. Results showed that CA-triolein absorbent gave a lowest residual concentration after 24 h although GAC had high removal rate in the first 4 h adsorption. Then the removal efficiency of mixed POPs (e.g. aldrin, dieldrin, endrin and heptachlor epoxide), absorption isotherm, absorbent regeneration and initial column experiments of CA-triolein were studied in detail. The linear absorption isotherm and the independent absorption in binary isotherm indicated that the selected POPs are mainly absorbed onto CA-triolein absorbent by a partition mechanism. The absorption constant, K, was closely related to the hydrophobic property of the compound. Thermodynamic calculations showed that the absorption was spontaneous, with a high affinity and the absorption was an endothermic reaction. Rinsing with hexane the CA-triolein absorbent can be regenerated after absorption of POPs. No significant decrease in the dieldrin removal efficiency was observed even when the absorption-regeneration process was repeated for five times. The results of initial column experiments showed that the CA-triolein absorbent did not reach the breakthrough point at a breakthrough empty-bed volume (BV) of 3200 when the influent concentration was 1-1.5 microg/L and the empty-bed contact time (EBCT) was 20 min.
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Takaki, Koki; Wade, Andrew J; Collins, Chris D
2017-02-01
New models for estimating bioaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants in the agricultural food chain were developed using recent improvements to plant uptake and cattle transfer models. One model named AgriSim was based on K OW regressions of bioaccumulation in plants and cattle, while the other was a steady-state mechanistic model, AgriCom. The two developed models and European Union System for the Evaluation of Substances (EUSES), as a benchmark, were applied to four reported food chain (soil/air-grass-cow-milk) scenarios to evaluate the performance of each model simulation against the observed data. The four scenarios considered were as follows: (1) polluted soil and air, (2) polluted soil, (3) highly polluted soil surface and polluted subsurface and (4) polluted soil and air at different mountain elevations. AgriCom reproduced observed milk bioaccumulation well for all four scenarios, as did AgriSim for scenarios 1 and 2, but EUSES only did this for scenario 1. The main causes of the deviation for EUSES and AgriSim were the lack of the soil-air-plant pathway and the ambient air-plant pathway, respectively. Based on the results, it is recommended that soil-air-plant and ambient air-plant pathway should be calculated separately and the K OW regression of transfer factor to milk used in EUSES be avoided. AgriCom satisfied the recommendations that led to the low residual errors between the simulated and the observed bioaccumulation in agricultural food chain for the four scenarios considered. It is therefore recommended that this model should be incorporated into regulatory exposure assessment tools. The model uncertainty of the three models should be noted since the simulated concentration in milk from 5th to 95th percentile of the uncertainty analysis often varied over two orders of magnitude. Using a measured value of soil organic carbon content was effective to reduce this uncertainty by one order of magnitude.
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Data-to-Decisions S&T Priority Initiative
2011-11-08
Context Mapping − Track Performance Model Multi-Source Tracking − Track Fusion − Track through Gaps − Move-Stop-Move Performance Based ...Decisions S&T Priority Initiative Dr. Carey Schwartz PSC Lead Office of Naval Research NDIA Disruptive Technologies Conference November 8-9, 2011...PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Office of Naval Research ,875 North Randolph Street , Arlington,VA,2217 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT
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Tiruta-Barna, Ligia; Fantozzi-Merle, Catherine; de Brauer, Christine; Barna, Radu
2006-11-16
The aim of this paper is the investigation of the leaching behaviour of different porous materials containing organic pollutants (PAH: naphthalene and phenanthrene). The assessment methodology of long term leaching behaviour of inorganic materials was extended to cement solidified organic pollutants. Based on a scenario-approach considering environmental factors, matrix and pollutants specificities, the applied methodology is composed of adapted equilibrium and dynamic leaching tests. The contributions of different physical and chemical mechanisms were identified and the leaching behaviour was modelled. The physical parameters of the analysed reference and polluted materials are similar. A difference in the pore size distribution appears for higher naphthalene content. The solubility of the PAH contained in the material is affected by the ionic strength and by the presence of a co-solvent; the solution pH does not influence PAH solubility. The solubility of the major mineral species is not influenced by the presence of the two PAH nor by the presence of the methanol as co-solvent in the range of the tested material compositions. In the case of the leaching of a monolith material the main transport mechanism is the diffusion in the porous system. For both mineral and organic species we observed at least two dynamic domains. At the beginning of the leaching process the released flux is due to the surface dissolution and to the diffusion of the main quantity dissolved in the initial pore solution. The second period is governed by a stationary regime between dissolution in pore water and diffusion. The model, coupling transport and chemical phenomena in the pore solution, at the monolith surface and in the leachate simulates satisfactory the release for both mineral and organic species.
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Necchi Júnior, O; Branco, H Z; Dip, M R
1994-01-01
The Preto River, located in the northwest of São Paulo State, receives a total wastewater load of 15.150 kg DBO day-1, from which 13.685 kg DBO day-1 (90.5%) corresponds to domestic sewage, and the city of São José do Rio Preto contributes with 12.400 kg DBO day-1 (90% of domestic sewage). During the period from August 1990 through January 1991, monthly sampling was carried out to evaluate the use of macroalgae as bioindicator of organic pollution. Five sampling sites were established along the main river and the following variables were analised: temperature, conductance, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, BOD, COD, total and fecal coliforms, and composition and abundance of macroalgal communities. Data were submitted to analysis of variance, correlation coefficient, cluster analysis (four different approaches) and converted to biological indices (species deficit, relative pollution, saprobity, diversity and uniformity indices). A wide range in water quality was found (particularly for conductance, oxygen, BOD and COD) among the sampling sites, which were classified into three groups (polluted, moderately polluted and unpolluted/weakly polluted). As regards the occurrence and abundance of macroalgae the Rhodophyta were found only in unpolluted or weakly polluted sites, whereas Cyanophyta occurred mostly under high pollution load; the Chlorophyta species were observed under a wide range of conditions. Among the biological indices, saprobity was the most sensitive and correlated to all water variables and the other indices. Cluster analyses showed that the composition of macroalgal communities was consistent with the levels of organic pollution in the Preto River.
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40 CFR 35.2015 - State priority system and project priority list.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-07-01
... achieve optimum water quality management consistent with the goals and requirements of the Act. All..., needs and priorities set forth in areawide water quality management plans, and any other factors... priority to projects in priority water quality areas. The priority system may also include the...
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AIR POLLUTION MIXTURES: HEALTH EFFECTS ACROSS LIFE STAGES
Our Center will address four of the six research priorities of the EPA solicitation to establish Clean Air Centers. It will: I) investigate the effects of pollutants and mixtures through animal and human studies; 2) identify sub-populations that are at increased risk through t...
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Yang, Guanghong; Zhou, Zhiwei; Cen, Yanli; Gui, Xiaolin; Zeng, Qibing; Ao, Yunxia; Li, Qian; Wang, Shiran; Li, Jun; Zhang, Aihua
2015-01-01
Persistent organic pollutants in drinking water impose a substantial risk to the health of human beings, but the evidence for liver toxic effect and the underlying mechanism is scarce. This study aimed to examine the liver toxicity and elucidate the molecular mechanism of organic pollutants in drinking water in normal human liver cell line L02 cells and rats. The data showed that organic extraction from drinking water remarkably impaired rat liver function, evident from the increase in the serum level of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and cholinesterase, and decrease in the serum level of total protein and albumin. Organic extraction dose-dependently induced apoptotic cell death in rat liver and L02 cells. Administration of rats with organic extraction promoted death receptor signaling pathway through the increase in gene and protein expression level of Fas and FasL. Treatment of rats with organic extraction also induced mitochondria-mediated apoptosis via increasing the expression level of proapoptotic protein, Bax, but decreasing the expression level of antiapoptotic protein, Bcl-2, resulting in an upregulation of cytochrome c and activation of caspase cascade at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Moreover, organic extraction enhanced rat liver glutathione S-transferases activity and reactive oxygen species generation, and upregulated aryl hydrocarbon receptor and glutathione S-transferase A1 at both transcriptional and translational levels. Collectively, the results indicate that organic extraction from drinking water impairs liver function, with the involvement of death receptor and mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in rats. The results provide evidence and molecular mechanisms for organic pollutants in drinking water-induced liver dysfunction, which may help prevent and treat organic extraction-induced liver injury. PMID:26316710
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Yang, Guanghong; Zhou, Zhiwei; Cen, Yanli; Gui, Xiaolin; Zeng, Qibing; Ao, Yunxia; Li, Qian; Wang, Shiran; Li, Jun; Zhang, Aihua
2015-01-01
Persistent organic pollutants in drinking water impose a substantial risk to the health of human beings, but the evidence for liver toxic effect and the underlying mechanism is scarce. This study aimed to examine the liver toxicity and elucidate the molecular mechanism of organic pollutants in drinking water in normal human liver cell line L02 cells and rats. The data showed that organic extraction from drinking water remarkably impaired rat liver function, evident from the increase in the serum level of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and cholinesterase, and decrease in the serum level of total protein and albumin. Organic extraction dose-dependently induced apoptotic cell death in rat liver and L02 cells. Administration of rats with organic extraction promoted death receptor signaling pathway through the increase in gene and protein expression level of Fas and FasL. Treatment of rats with organic extraction also induced mitochondria-mediated apoptosis via increasing the expression level of proapoptotic protein, Bax, but decreasing the expression level of antiapoptotic protein, Bcl-2, resulting in an upregulation of cytochrome c and activation of caspase cascade at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Moreover, organic extraction enhanced rat liver glutathione S-transferases activity and reactive oxygen species generation, and upregulated aryl hydrocarbon receptor and glutathione S-transferase A1 at both transcriptional and translational levels. Collectively, the results indicate that organic extraction from drinking water impairs liver function, with the involvement of death receptor and mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in rats. The results provide evidence and molecular mechanisms for organic pollutants in drinking water-induced liver dysfunction, which may help prevent and treat organic extraction-induced liver injury.
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Mid-Infrared Sensing of Organic Pollutants in Aqueous Environments
Pejcic, Bobby; Myers, Matthew; Ross, Andrew
2009-01-01
The development of chemical sensors for monitoring the levels of organic pollutants in the aquatic environment has received a great deal of attention in recent decades. In particular, the mid-infrared (MIR) sensor based on attenuated total reflectance (ATR) is a promising analytical tool that has been used to detect a variety of hydrocarbon compounds (i.e., aromatics, alkyl halides, phenols, etc.) dissolved in water. It has been shown that under certain conditions the MIR-ATR sensor is capable of achieving detection limits in the 10–100 ppb concentration range. Since the infrared spectral features of every single organic molecule are unique, the sensor is highly selective, making it possible to distinguish between many different analytes simultaneously. This review paper discusses some of the parameters (i.e., membrane type, film thickness, conditioning) that dictate MIR-ATR sensor response. The performance of various chemoselective membranes which are used in the fabrication of the sensor will be evaluated. Some of the challenges associated with long-term environmental monitoring are also discussed. PMID:22454582
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QSAR models for degradation of organic pollutants in ozonation process under acidic condition.
Zhu, Huicen; Guo, Weimin; Shen, Zhemin; Tang, Qingli; Ji, Wenchao; Jia, Lijuan
2015-01-01
Although some researches about the degradation of organic pollutants have been carried out during recent years, reaction rate constants are available only for homologue compounds with similar structures or components. Therefore, it is of great significance to find a universal relationship between reaction rate and certain parameters of several diverse organic pollutants. In this study, removal ratio and kinetics of 33 kinds of organic substances were investigated by ozonation process, including azo dyes, heterocyclic compounds, ionic compounds and so on. Most quantum chemical parameters were conducted by using Gaussian 09 at the DFT B3LYP/6-311G level, including μ, q H(+), q(C)minq(C)max, ELUMO and EHOMO. Other descriptors, bond order (BO) as well as Fukui indices (f(+), f(-) and f(0)), were calculated by Material Studio 6.1 at Dmol(3)/GGA-BLYP/DNP(3.5) basis for each organic compound. The recommended model for predicting rate constants was lnk'=1.978-95.484f(0)x-3.350q(C)min+38.221f(+)x, which had the squared regression coefficient R(2)=0.763 and standard deviation SD=0.716. The results of t test and the Fisher test suggested that the model exhibited optimum stability. Also, the model was validated by internal and external validations. Recommended QSAR model showed that the highest f(0) value of main-chain carbons (f(0)x) is more closely related to lnk' than other quantum descriptors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Effects of Pollution on Marine Organisms.
Mearns, Alan J; Reish, Donald J; Oshida, Philip S; Ginn, Thomas; Rempel-Hester, Mary Ann; Arthur, Courtney; Rutherford, Nicolle; Pryor, Rachel
2015-10-01
This review covers selected 2014 articles on the biological effects of pollutants and human physical disturbances on marine and estuarine plants, animals, ecosystems and habitats. The review, based largely on journal articles, covers field and laboratory measurement activities (bioaccumulation of contaminants, field assessment surveys, toxicity testing and biomarkers) as well as pollution issues of current interest including endocrine disrupters, emerging contaminants, wastewater discharges, dredging and disposal, etc. Special emphasis is placed on effects of oil spills and marine debris due in part to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico and the 2011 Japanese tsunami. Several topical areas reviewed in the past (ballast water and ocean acidification) were dropped this year. The focus of this review is on effects, not pollutant fate and transport. There is considerable overlap across subject areas (e.g.some bioaccumulation papers may be cited in other topical categories). Please use keyword searching of the text to locate related but distributed papers. Use this review only as a guide and please consult the original papers before citing them.
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Effects of Pollution on Marine Organisms.
Mearns, Alan J; Reish, Donald J; Oshida, Philip S; Morrison, Ann Michelle; Rempel-Hester, Mary Ann; Arthur, Courtney; Rutherford, Nicolle; Pryor, Rachel
2017-10-01
This review covers selected 2016 articles on the biological effects of pollutants and human physical disturbances on marine and estuarine plants, animals, ecosystems and habitats. The review, based largely on journal articles, covers field and laboratory measurement activities (bioaccumulation of contaminants, field assessment surveys, toxicity testing and biomarkers) as well as pollution issues of current interest including endocrine disrupters, emerging contaminants, wastewater discharges, dredging and disposal etc. Special emphasis is placed on effects of oil spills and marine debris due largely to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. Several topical areas reviewed in the past (ballast water and ocean acidification) were dropped this year. The focus of this review is on effects, not pollutant fate and transport. There is considerable overlap across subject areas (e.g.some bioaccumulation papers may be cited in other topical categories). Please use keyword searching of the text to locate related but distributed papers. Use this review only as a guide and please consult the original papers before citing them.
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Effects of Pollution on Marine Organisms.
Mearns, Alan J; Reish, Donald J; Oshida, Philip S; Morrison, Ann Michelle; Rempel-Hester, Mary Ann; Arthur, Courtney; Rutherford, Nicolle; Pryor, Rachel
2016-10-01
This review covers selected 2015 articles on the biological effects of pollutants and human physical disturbances on marine and estuarine plants, animals, ecosystems and habitats. The review, based largely on journal articles, covers field and laboratory measurement activities (bioaccumulation of contaminants, field assessment surveys, toxicity testing and biomarkers) as well as pollution issues of current interest including endocrine disrupters, emerging contaminants, wastewater discharges, dredging and disposal, etc. Special emphasis is placed on effects of oil spills and marine debris due largely to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. Several topical areas reviewed in the past (ballast water and ocean acidification) were dropped this year. The focus of this review is on effects, not pollutant fate and transport. There is considerable overlap across subject areas (e.g.some bioaccumulation papers may be cited in other topical categories). Please use keyword searching of the text to locate related but distributed papers. Use this review only as a guide and please consult the original papers before citing them.
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The report describes the development of a sampler for particulate-associated and low volatility organic pollutants in residential air. The performance of the sampler inlet, which is compatible with the proposed PM-10 regulations for particulate sampling, is documented under a var...
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Assessment of secondary sources of Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Arctic
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pisso, Ignacio; Eckhardt, Sabine; Breivik, Knut
2014-05-01
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including highly toxic pesticides and other chemicals accumulate in living tissues and magnify in food chains. POPs are subject to long-range transport and hence represent a serious public health issue even in regions where their production is regulated. Rational control strategies require an understanding of the overall relationship between environmental emissions of contaminants and environmental / human exposure. In this study, we assess the relationships between environmental emissions and potential human exposure of organic contaminants with emphasis on long-range atmospheric transport. We investigate whether atmospheric levels of POPs measured at Zeppelin observatory in Svalbard since the early '90s are controlled by primary or secondary emissions. We present statistical indications that the measurements are affected by secondary ocean emissions and discuss the applicability of different inverse modeling approaches.
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The influence of organic amendment and nickel pollution on tomato fruit yield and quality.
Palacios, G; Carbonell-Barrachina, A; Gómez, I; Mataix, J
1999-01-01
The effects of organic fertilization (sludge application) and/or different levels of Ni pollution on tomato fruit yield, quality, nutrition, and Ni accumulation were investigated. The mass loading of sewage sludge solids used in this study for the amendment of a calcareous soil with low organic matter content was 2% (w/w). A control with no sewage sludge amendment was also included (S). Nickel was added to the sludge amended soil at 0, 60, 120 and 240 mg kg-1 concentrations. Sewage sludge addition to the calcareous soil significantly increased fruit yield but did not adversely affect the quality and nutritional status of the tomato fruit. The results demonstrated that sewage sludge could be successfully used as a horticultural fertilizer. Only the highest addition rate of Ni (240 mg kg-1) to an organic amended calcareous soil had negative effects on fruit yield and quality, and caused a Ni accumulation in fruit that could be considered as a hazard for human health. Thus, no toxic problems will be encountered in tomato fruit due to Ni pollution provided the total Ni (soil Ni plus Ni incorporated with sludge amendment) concentration is kept below the maximum concentration of Ni allowed for agricultural alkaline soils in Spain (112 mg Ni kg-1).
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Modeling of Electrochemical Process for the Treatment of Wastewater Containing Organic Pollutants
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Rodrigo, Manuel A.; Cañizares, Pablo; Lobato, Justo; Sáez, Cristina
Electrocoagulation and electrooxidation are promising electrochemical technologies that can be used to remove organic pollutants contained in wastewaters. To make these technologies competitive with the conventional technologies that are in use today, a better understanding of the processes involved must be achieved. In this context, the development of mathematical models that are consistent with the processes occurring in a physical system is a relevant advance, because such models can help to understand what is happening in the treatment process. In turn, a more detailed knowledge of the physical system can be obtained, and tools for a proper design of the processes, or for the analysis of operating problems, are attained. The modeling of these technologies can be carried out using single-variable or multivariable models. Likewise, the position dependence of the model species can be described with different approaches. In this work, a review of the basics of the modeling of these processes and a description of several representative models for electrochemical oxidation and coagulation are carried out. Regarding electrooxidation, two models are described: one which summarizes the pollution of a wastewater in only one model species and that considers a macroscopic approach to formulate the mass balances and other that considers more detailed profile of concentration to describe the time course of pollutants and intermediates through a mixed maximum gradient/macroscopic approach. On the topic of electrochemical coagulation, two different approaches are also described in this work: one that considers the hydrodynamic conditions as the main factor responsible for the electrochemical coagulation processes and the other that considers the chemical interaction of the reagents and the pollutants as the more significant processes in the description of the electrochemical coagulation of organic compounds. In addition, in this work it is also described a multivariable model
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The feasibility of using hard and soft wood tree mulch and processed jute fiber, as filter media, for treating mixtures of dissolved pollutants (toxic organic compounds and heavy metals) in urban stormwater (SW) runoff was evaluated. Copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr+6), l...
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Robles-Molina, José; Gilbert-López, Bienvenida; García-Reyes, Juan F; Molina-Díaz, Antonio
2013-12-15
The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC establishes guidelines to control the pollution of surface water by sorting out a list of priority substances that involves a significant risk to or via the aquatic systems. In this article, the analytical performance of three different sample preparation methodologies for the GC-MS/MS determination of multiclass organic contaminants-including priority comprounds from the WFD-in wastewater samples using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was evaluated. The methodologies tested were: (a) liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) with n-hexane; (b) solid-phase extraction (SPE) with C18 cartridges and elution with ethyl acetate:dichloromethane (1:1 (v/v)), and (c) headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) using two different fibers: polyacrylate and polydimethylsiloxane/carboxen/divinilbenzene. Identification and confirmation of the selected 57 compounds included in the study (comprising polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides and other contaminants) were accomplished using gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) with a triple quadrupole instrument operated in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Three MS/MS transitions were selected for unambiguous confirmation of the target chemicals. The different advantages and pitfalls of each method were discussed. In the case of both LLE and SPE procedures, the method was validated at two different concentration levels (15 and 150 ng L(-1)) obtaining recovery rates in the range 70-120% for most of the target compounds. In terms of analyte coverage, results with HS-SPME were not satisfactory, since 14 of the compounds tested were not properly recovered and the overall performance was worse than the other two methods tested. LLE, SPE and HS-SPME (using polyacrylate fiber) procedures also showed good linearity and precision. Using any of the three methodologies tested, limits of quantitation obtained for most of the detected compounds were in
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Scholz-Starke, Björn; Ottermanns, Richard; Rings, Ursula; Floehr, Tilman; Hollert, Henner; Hou, Junli; Li, Bo; Wu, Ling Ling; Yuan, Xingzhong; Strauch, Katrin; Wei, Hu; Norra, Stefan; Holbach, Andreas; Westrich, Bernhard; Schäffer, Andreas; Roß-Nickoll, Martina
2013-10-01
The impounding of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) at the Yangtze River caused large flooding of urban, industrial, and agricultural areas, and profound land use changes took place. Consequently, substantial amounts of organic and inorganic pollutants were released into the reservoir. Additionally, contaminants and nutrients are entering the reservoir by drift, drainage, and runoff from adjacent agricultural areas as well as from sewage of industry, aquacultures, and households. The main aim of the presented research project is a deeper understanding of the processes that determines the bioaccumulation and biomagnification of organic pollutants, i.e., mainly pesticides, in aquatic food webs under the newly developing conditions of the TGR. The project is part of the Yangtze-Hydro environmental program, financed by the German Ministry of Education and Science. In order to test combinations of environmental factors like nutrients and pollution, we use an integrated modeling approach to study the potential accumulation and biomagnification. We describe the integrative modeling approach and the consecutive adaption of the AQUATOX model, used as modeling framework for ecological risk assessment. As a starting point, pre-calibrated simulations were adapted to Yangtze-specific conditions (regionalization). Two exemplary food webs were developed by a thorough review of the pertinent literature. The first typical for the flowing conditions of the original Yangtze River and the Daning River near the city of Wushan, and the second for the stagnant reservoir characteristics of the aforementioned region that is marked by an intermediate between lake and large river communities of aquatic organisms. In close cooperation with German and Chinese partners of the Yangtze-Hydro Research Association, other site-specific parameters were estimated. The MINIBAT project contributed to the calibration of physicochemical and bathymetric parameters, and the TRANSMIC project delivered
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pan, Yuepeng; Wang, Yuesi; Zhang, Junke; Liu, Zirui; Wang, Lili; Tian, Shili; Tang, Guiqian; Gao, Wenkang; Ji, Dongsheng; Song, Tao; Wang, Yonghong
2016-09-01
Nitrate salts represent a major component of fine mode aerosols, which play an important role in air pollution worldwide. Based on on-line and off-line aerosol measurements in urban Beijing for both clean and haze conditions, we demonstrate that the absolute and relative concentrations of nitrate increased with visibility degradation (relative humidity), whereas the variations of organics tracked the patterns of mixing-layer height and temperature. We propose that the increase in the relative contribution of nitrate to PM1 observed during the early stages of haze pollution was due to new particle formation, whereas the nitrate formed in PM1-2.5 during the latter stages was due to heterogeneous formation and hygroscopic growth. The increasing trend of nitrate (and also sulfate and ammonium) but decreasing trends of organics during haze development, together with the increase of the NO2/SO2 molar ratio with increasing proximity to downtown Beijing and with visibility degradation, provide further evidence that controlling NOx emissions should be a priority for improving air quality in mega cities. Additional large-scale investigation is required to adequately characterize the regional features of NOx-induced haze pollution in China. Such studies may provide insight into the formation of critical nuclei or the subsequent growth of freshly nucleated particles and advance our understanding of the role of nitrate in new particle formation.
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Health and Household Air Pollution from Solid Fuel Use: The Need for Improved Exposure Assessment
Peel, Jennifer L.; Balakrishnan, Kalpana; Breysse, Patrick N.; Chillrud, Steven N.; Naeher, Luke P.; Rodes, Charles E.; Vette, Alan F.; Balbus, John M.
2013-01-01
Background: Nearly 3 billion people worldwide rely on solid fuel combustion to meet basic household energy needs. The resulting exposure to air pollution causes an estimated 4.5% of the global burden of disease. Large variability and a lack of resources for research and development have resulted in highly uncertain exposure estimates. Objective: We sought to identify research priorities for exposure assessment that will more accurately and precisely define exposure–response relationships of household air pollution necessary to inform future cleaner-burning cookstove dissemination programs. Data Sources: As part of an international workshop in May 2011, an expert group characterized the state of the science and developed recommendations for exposure assessment of household air pollution. Synthesis: The following priority research areas were identified to explain variability and reduce uncertainty of household air pollution exposure measurements: improved characterization of spatial and temporal variability for studies examining both short- and long-term health effects; development and validation of measurement technology and approaches to conduct complex exposure assessments in resource-limited settings with a large range of pollutant concentrations; and development and validation of biomarkers for estimating dose. Addressing these priority research areas, which will inherently require an increased allocation of resources for cookstove research, will lead to better characterization of exposure–response relationships. Conclusions: Although the type and extent of exposure assessment will necessarily depend on the goal and design of the cookstove study, without improved understanding of exposure–response relationships, the level of air pollution reduction necessary to meet the health targets of cookstove interventions will remain uncertain. Citation: Clark ML, Peel JL, Balakrishnan K, Breysse PN, Chillrud SN, Naeher LP, Rodes CE, Vette AF, Balbus JM. 2013. Health
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Clarke, Bradley O; Smith, Stephen R
2011-01-01
A broad spectrum of organic chemicals is essential to modern society. Once discharged from industrial, domestic and urban sources into the urban wastewater collection system they may transfer to the residual solids during wastewater treatment and assessment of their significance and implications for beneficial recycling of the treated sewage sludge biosolids is required. Research on organic contaminants (OCs) in biosolids has been undertaken for over thirty years and the increasing body of evidence demonstrates that the majority of compounds studied do not place human health at risk when biosolids are recycled to farmland. However, there are 143,000 chemicals registered in the European Union for industrial use and all could be potentially found in biosolids. Therefore, a literature review of 'emerging' OCs in biosolids has been conducted for a selection of chemicals of potential concern for land application based upon human toxicity, evidence of adverse effects on the environment and endocrine disruption. To identify monitoring and research priorities the selected chemicals were ranked using an assessment matrix approach. Compounds were evaluated based upon environmental persistence, human toxicity, evidence of bioaccumulation in humans and the environment, evidence of ecotoxicity and the number and quality of studies focussed on the contaminant internationally. The identified chemicals of concern were ranked in decreasing order of priority: perfluorinated chemicals (PFOS, PFOA); polychlorinated alkanes (PCAs), polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs); organotins (OTs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), triclosan (TCS), triclocarban (TCC); benzothiazoles; antibiotics and pharmaceuticals; synthetic musks; bisphenol A, quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), steroids; phthalate acid esters (PAEs) and polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMSs). A number of issues were identified and recommendations for the prioritisation of further research and monitoring of 'emerging' OCs for the
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Effect of environmental air pollution on cardiovascular diseases.
Meo, S A; Suraya, F
2015-12-01
Environmental air pollution has become a leading health concern especially in the developing countries with more urbanization, industrialization and rapidly growing population. Prolonged exposure to air pollution is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of environmental air pollution on progression of cardiovascular problems. In this study, we identified 6880 published articles through a systematic database including ISI-Web of Science, PubMed and EMBASE. The allied literature was searched by using the key words such as environmental pollution, air pollution, particulate matter pollutants PM 2.5 μm-PM 10 μm. Literature in which environmental air pollution and cardiac diseases were discussed was included. Descriptive information was retrieved from the selected literature. Finally, we included 67 publications and remaining studies were excluded. Environmental pollution can cause high blood pressure, arrhythmias, enhanced coagulation, thrombosis, acute arterial vasoconstriction, atherosclerosis, ischemic heart diseases, myocardial infarction and even heart failure. Environmental air pollution is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Environmental pollution exerts its detrimental effects on the heart by developing pulmonary inflammation, systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction and prothrombotic changes. Environmental protection officials must take high priority steps to minimize the air pollution to decrease the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases.
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Toxic influence of key organic soil pollutants on the total flavonoid content in wheat leaves.
Copaciu, Florina; Opriş, Ocsana; Niinemets, Ülo; Copolovici, Lucian
2016-06-01
Textile dyes and antibiotics are two main classes of environmental pollutants which could be found in soil and water. Those persistent pollutants can have a negative influence on plant growth and development and affect the level of secondary metabolites. In the present work we studied the effect of textile dyes and antibiotics on total leaf flavonoid contents in wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.). Contaminant solutions were applied daily using concentrations of 0.5 mg L -1 (lower) and 1.5 mg L -1 (higher dose) for either one or two weeks. We observed that exposure to the higher concentration of textile dyes resulted in a reduction in flavonoid content while antibiotics enhanced flavonoid contents at lower doses of exposure, and reduced at higher doses of exposure. These results suggest that diffuse chronic pollution by artificial organic contaminants can importantly alter antioxidative capacity of plants.
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Analysis of Critical Earth Observation Priorities for Societal Benefit
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zell, E. R.; Huff, A. K.; Carpenter, A. T.; Friedl, L.
2011-12-01
To ensure that appropriate near real-time (NRT) and historical Earth observation data are available to benefit society and meet end-user needs, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) sponsored a multi-disciplinary study to identify a set of critical and common Earth observations associated with 9 Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs): Agriculture, Biodiversity, Climate, Disasters, Ecosystems, Energy, Health, Water, and Weather. GEO is an intergovernmental organization working to improve the availability, access, and use of Earth observations to benefit society through a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). The study, overseen by the GEO User Interface Committee, focused on the "demand" side of Earth observation needs: which users need what types of data, and when? The methodology for the study was a meta-analysis of over 1,700 publicly available documents addressing Earth observation user priorities, under the guidance of expert advisors from around the world. The result was a ranking of 146 Earth observation parameters that are critical and common to multiple SBAs, based on an ensemble of 4 statistically robust methods. Within the results, key details emerged on NRT observations needed to serve a broad community of users. The NRT observation priorities include meteorological parameters, vegetation indices, land cover and soil property observations, water body and snow cover properties, and atmospheric composition. The results of the study and examples of NRT applications will be presented. The applications are as diverse as the list of priority parameters. For example, NRT meteorological and soil moisture information can support monitoring and forecasting for more than 25 infectious diseases, including epidemic diseases, such as malaria, and diseases of major concern in the U.S., such as Lyme disease. Quickly evolving events that impact forests, such as fires and insect outbreaks, can be monitored and forecasted with a combination of vegetation indices, fuel
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Physiotherapy Research Priorities in Switzerland: Views of the Various Stakeholders.
Nast, Irina; Tal, Amir; Schmid, Stefan; Schoeb, Veronika; Rau, Barbara; Barbero, Marco; Kool, Jan
2016-09-01
Research priorities, defined by multiple stakeholders, can proximally facilitate the coordination of research projects and national and international cooperation and distally further improve the quality of physiotherapy practice. The aim of this study was therefore to establish physiotherapy research priorities in Switzerland considering multiple stakeholders' opinions. A mixed methods design was chosen. For a qualitative identification of physiotherapy research topics, 18 focus group discussions and 23 semi-structured interviews/written commentaries were conducted. For the quantitative analysis, 420 participants prioritized research topics using a two-round Delphi questionnaire survey. The following stakeholder groups were surveyed in the German-speaking, French-speaking and Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland: physiotherapy researchers, practitioners and educators, representatives of patient organizations, public health organizations, health insurers, physicians, nurses, occupational therapists and other health professionals, as well as physical educators. The top five overall physiotherapy research priorities identified were as follows: physiotherapy treatment, physiotherapy assessment and diagnosis, prevention, physiotherapist-patient interaction and physiotherapy professional education at the bachelor level. With regard to diagnostic groups, the highest priorities were placed on musculoskeletal disorders, neurology, orthopaedics, geriatrics and ergonomics/occupational health. Consensus was moderate to high, and only few differences between stakeholder groups were revealed. Research directly related to physiotherapy treatment is of highest priority. It should focus on diagnostic groups related to chronicity in anticipation of demographic changes. Multidisciplinary networks for research and practice, alongside sound coordination of research projects, should increase the impact of physiotherapy research. An accurate dissemination of research priorities
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2011-09-30
... property located at 11701 Mount Holly Road in Charlotte, North Carolina, from the National Priorities List..., maintenance, and five-year reviews, have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future..., located at 11701 Mount Holly Road, Charlotte, NC, from the NPL and requests public comment on this...
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Outdoor air pollution and human infertility: a systematic review.
Checa Vizcaíno, Miguel A; González-Comadran, Mireia; Jacquemin, Benedicte
2016-09-15
Air pollution is a current research priority because of its adverse effects on human health, including on fertility. However, the mechanisms through which air pollution impairs fertility remain unclear. In this article, we perform a systematic review to evaluate currently available evidence on the impact of air pollution on fertility in humans. Several studies have assessed the impact of air pollutants on the general population, and have found reduced fertility rates and increased risk of miscarriage. In subfertile patients, women exposed to higher concentrations of air pollutants while undergoing IVF showed lower live birth rates and higher rates of miscarriage. After exposure to similar levels of air pollutants, comparable results have been found regardless of the mode of conception (IVF versus spontaneous conception), suggesting that infertile women are not more susceptible to the effects of pollutants than the general population. In addition, previous studies have not observed impaired embryo quality after exposure to air pollution, although evidence for this question is sparse. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Costa, R A; Torres, J; Vingada, J V; Eira, C
2016-07-15
This study presents the first data on trace element and organic pollutant concentrations in the Critically Endangered Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus collected in 2010 and 2011 in Portugal. Trace element levels were below the threshold levels for adverse effects on birds, despite the Hg concentrations in feathers (4.35μg·g-1ww). No significant differences were detected between individuals from 2010 and 2011 except for Se concentrations in liver, feathers and muscle (higher in 2010) and Ag in liver and muscle (higher in 2011). No significant differences were detected in total concentrations of organochlorine compounds in Balearic shearwaters between years, although PCB congeners -101 and -180 presented higher concentrations in individuals from 2010. The PCB congeners -138, -153 and -180, and 4.4-DDE were detected in all individuals. This study on toxic elements and organic pollutants in wintering Balearic shearwaters provides baseline data from which deviations can be detected in the future. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Incorporating national priorities into the curriculum.
Lewis, Deborah Y
2012-01-01
There are many aspects of care that need an overhaul to function safely, efficiently, and effectively. There needs to be a new culture in health care that focuses on safety and quality, and it will take many shareholders working together to make this possible. The National Priorities Partnership is a group of 28 national organizations from across the health care spectrum collaborating to change the health care delivery system. The Partners acknowledged four challenges individuals face in the current U.S. system: harm, disparity, disease burden, and waste. To meet these challenges and improve performance, the Partners identified six priorities: patient and family engagement, population health, safety, care coordination, palliative and end-of-life care, and overuse (National Priorities Partnership). It is hopeful that when put into practice, these essentials will have a significant impact on improving health care. It comes down to creating a culture of safety and quality. This culture should start during entry-level education for health care providers, such as nursing schools. The priorities and goals provide a framework that can be incorporated into the curriculum so future nurses are aware of the issues and challenges in health care today. Each challenge needs evidence-based strategies for achieving the desired results. It is time to create a culture of safety and quality in health care. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2010-05-11
... publishing a direct final Notice of Deletion of the Asbestos Dump Superfund Site (Site), located in Long Hill... Deletion of the Asbestos Dump Superfund site (Site), from the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL... discusses the Asbestos Dump Superfund Site and demonstrates how it meets the deletion criteria. Section V...
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Zhu, Xiuping; Ni, Jinren; Wei, Junjun; Xing, Xuan; Li, Hongna
2011-05-15
Electrochemical oxidation of biologically-pretreated dye wastewater was performed in a boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode system. After electrolysis of 12h, the COD was decreased from 532 to 99 mg L(-1) (<100 mg L(-1), the National Discharge Standard of China). More importantly, the destination of organic pollutants during electrochemical oxidation process was carefully investigated by molecular weight distribution measurement, resin fractionation, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, HPLC and GC-MS analysis, and toxicity test. As results, most organic pollutants were completely removed by electrochemical oxidation and the rest was primarily degraded to simpler compounds (e.g., carboxylic acids and short-chain alkanes) with less toxicity, which demonstrated that electrochemical oxidation of biologically-pretreated dye wastewater with BDD anode was very effective and safe. Especially, the performance of BDD anode system in degradation of large molecular organics such as humic substances makes it very promising in practical applications as an advanced treatment of biologically-pretreated wastewaters. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Open burning of waste is the most significant source of polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF) in many national inventories prepared pursuant to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). This is particularly true for developing ...
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GENASIS national and international monitoring networks for persistent organic pollutants
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Brabec, Karel; Dušek, Ladislav; Holoubek, Ivan; Hřebíček, Jiří; Kubásek, Miroslav; Urbánek, Jaroslav
2010-05-01
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) remain in the centre of scientific attention due to their slow rates of degradation, their toxicity, and potential for both long-range transport and bioaccumulation in living organisms. This group of compounds covers large number of various chemicals from industrial products, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, etc. The GENASIS (Global Environmental Assessment and Information System) information system utilizes data from national and international monitoring networks to obtain as-complete-as-possible set of information and a representative picture of environmental contamination by persistent organic pollutants (POPs). There are data from two main datasets on POPs monitoring: 1.Integrated monitoring of POPs in Košetice Observatory (Czech Republic) which is a long term background site of the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) for the Central Europe; the data reveals long term trends of POPs in all environmental matrices. The Observatory is the only one in Europe where POPs have been monitored not only in ambient air, but also in wet atmospheric deposition, surface waters, sediments, soil, mosses and needles (integrated monitoring). Consistent data since the year 1996 are available, earlier data (up to 1998) are burdened by high variability and high detection limits. 2.MONET network is ambient air monitoring activities in the Central and Eastern European region (CEEC), Central Asia, Africa and Pacific Islands driven by RECETOX as the Regional Centre of the Stockholm Convention for the region of Central and Eastern Europe under the common name of the MONET networks (MONitoring NETwork). For many of the participating countries these activities generated first data on the atmospheric levels of POPs. The MONET network uses new technologies of air passive sampling, which was developed, tested, and calibrated by RECETOX in cooperation with Environment Canada and Lancaster University, and was originally launched as a
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The report describes the use of a pilot-scale catalytic incineration unit/solvent generation system to investigate the effectiveness of catalytic incineration as a way to destroy volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous/toxic air pollutants (HAPs). Objectives of the study ...
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DEVELOPMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF IMPACT ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGIES FOR POLLUTION PREVENTION
Pollution prevention requires the assessment of various multimedia environmental impacts to ensure that the alternative selected most closely represents the environmental goals and priorities of the facility. While some facility's environmental policies are easy to assess, others...
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Alonso, Álvaro; Figueroa, Ricardo; Castro-Díez, Pilar
2017-05-01
The water demand for human activities is rapidly increasing in developing countries. Under these circumstances, preserving aquatic ecosystems should be a priority which requires the development of quality criteria. In this study we perform a preliminary prioritization of the risky substances based on reported ecotoxicological studies and guidelines for the Biobío watershed (Central Chile). Our specific aims are (1) reviewing the scientific information on the aquatic pollution of this watershed, (2) determining the presence and concentration of potential toxic substances in water, sediment and effluents, (3) searching for quality criteria developed by other countries for the selected substances and (4) prioritizing the most risky substances by means of deterministic ecotoxicological risk assessment. We found that paper and mill industries were the main sources of point pollution, while forestry and agriculture were mostly responsible for non-point pollution. The most risky organic substances in the water column were pentachlorophenol and heptachlor, while the most relevant inorganic ones were aluminum, copper, unionized ammonia and mercury. The most risky organic and inorganic substances in the sediment were phenanthrene and mercury, respectively. Our review highlights that an important effort has been done to monitor pollution in the Biobío watershed. However there are emerging pollutants and banned compounds-especially in sediments-that require to be monitored. We suggest that site-specific water quality criteria and sediment quality criteria should be developed for the Biobío watershed, considering the toxicity of mixtures of chemicals to endemic species, and the high natural background level of aluminum in the Biobío.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Alonso, Álvaro; Figueroa, Ricardo; Castro-Díez, Pilar
2017-05-01
The water demand for human activities is rapidly increasing in developing countries. Under these circumstances, preserving aquatic ecosystems should be a priority which requires the development of quality criteria. In this study we perform a preliminary prioritization of the risky substances based on reported ecotoxicological studies and guidelines for the Biobío watershed (Central Chile). Our specific aims are (1) reviewing the scientific information on the aquatic pollution of this watershed, (2) determining the presence and concentration of potential toxic substances in water, sediment and effluents, (3) searching for quality criteria developed by other countries for the selected substances and (4) prioritizing the most risky substances by means of deterministic ecotoxicological risk assessment. We found that paper and mill industries were the main sources of point pollution, while forestry and agriculture were mostly responsible for non-point pollution. The most risky organic substances in the water column were pentachlorophenol and heptachlor, while the most relevant inorganic ones were aluminum, copper, unionized ammonia and mercury. The most risky organic and inorganic substances in the sediment were phenanthrene and mercury, respectively. Our review highlights that an important effort has been done to monitor pollution in the Biobío watershed. However there are emerging pollutants and banned compounds—especially in sediments—that require to be monitored. We suggest that site-specific water quality criteria and sediment quality criteria should be developed for the Biobío watershed, considering the toxicity of mixtures of chemicals to endemic species, and the high natural background level of aluminum in the Biobío.
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Monitoring key organic indoor pollutants and their elimination in a biotrickling biofilter.
Saucedo-Lucero, José Octavio; Revah, Sergio
2018-04-01
A biotrickling filter was evaluated to treat the air of the interior of a bioprocess research laboratory. Initially, various solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers were used to identify and quantify the volatile organic pollutants and hexane, methyl isobutyl ketone, benzene, toluene, and xylene were further selected as indicators due to their prevalence and relative abundance. The system treated organic loading rates between 0.16 mg carbon m -3 h -1 and close to 30 mg carbon m -3 h -1 achieving removal efficiencies (RE) over 85% during 136 operational days. Respirometry experiments demonstrated that moderate acidification (below 5.0), due to microbial activity, adversely affected biofilter performance and consequently pH control was necessary to maintain performance.
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Shivaraju, H P; Byrappa, K
2012-07-01
This work deals with the non-biodegradable micro-pollutants degradation by supported photocatalyst based heterogeneous photocatalytic reaction. TiO2 based supported photocatalyst was prepared by the hydrothermal technique to improve the photocatalytic performance along with easy recovery of suspended photocatalyst from aqueous medium after photoreaction. TO2 deposited calcium alumino-silicate beads (CASB) supports were prepared under mild hydrothermal conditions (Temparature-200 degrees C, Duration-24 h). In the present study, industrial dyes such as Amaranth and Brilliant Yellow were used as model micro-pollutants in aqueous solution. A real time pesticide industrial effluent was tested for its photocatalytic removal of organic pollutants using TO2 deposited CASB supported photocatalytic composite as an effective photocatalyst. Photocatalytic degradation of micro-pollutants present in aqueous medium was carried out in a batch photoreactor, at atmospheric pressure and temperature (28 degrees C). The influence of different light sources, irradiation time, catalyst load and catalytic performance is discussed. The photocatalytic degradation of micro-pollutants in aqueous medium was evaluated by determination of COD and %T. Easy separation and recovery of suspended photocatalysts from aqueous solution is the major advantage of hydrothermally prepared supported photocatalytic composite.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Clozel, Blandine
2017-04-01
As part of the Regional Health Plan for the Rhône-Alpes area (France), a cartography of soil contamination by persistent organic pollutants (dioxins/furans (PCDD/PCDF) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)) was undertaken in order to define the background concentrations of soils located away from point source pollution. In the natural environment, PCDD/PCDF and PCB comes from air pollution and accumulate in the upper part of the soils. To define the background concentration of persistent organic pollutants from diffuse atmospheric origin in soils, sampling was carried out within the first 5 centimeters of soils that have been very little anthropized and untilled for more than 15 years. In such soils mixing and dilution of the pollutants is very limited. 170 samples were collected following a systematic plan of grid type (mesh of 8 x 8 km) in an area of 14 000km2, avoiding soil of high altitude and from urban area. Beyond their total concentration, the ratio of the congeners of PCBs (7 indicators and 12 dioxin-like) and of the 17 dioxins/furans was also used for interpretation. As expected, the concentrations in pollutants are globally lower in the rural zones than in the more industrialized ones. However, the pollutants are relatively enriched in valleys, confirming that the meteorological conditions and the local topography play a significant role in the repartition of the diffuse atmospheric pollution. For the vast majority of samples, even some of those presenting the highest total concentration, the ratio of the various congeners argues for an ancient origin of the contamination. All studies at the French or European level of the atmospheric concentration of organic pollutants indicate a progressive decrease in emissions of these contaminants for about 20 years. However, the soils have been receptors since a long time and such pollutants have accumulated. The congeners ratio give evolved signature of pollution indicating, on one hand, it is mainly due to past
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Toxic influence of key organic soil pollutants on the total flavonoid content in wheat leaves
Copaciu, Florina; Opriş, Ocsana; Niinemets, Ülo; Copolovici, Lucian
2018-01-01
Textile dyes and antibiotics are two main classes of environmental pollutants which could be found in soil and water. Those persistent pollutants can have a negative influence on plant growth and development and affect the level of secondary metabolites. In the present work we studied the effect of textile dyes and antibiotics on total leaf flavonoid contents in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Contaminant solutions were applied daily using concentrations of 0.5 mg L–1 (lower) and 1.5 mg L–1 (higher dose) for either one or two weeks. We observed that exposure to the higher concentration of textile dyes resulted in a reduction in flavonoid content while antibiotics enhanced flavonoid contents at lower doses of exposure, and reduced at higher doses of exposure. These results suggest that diffuse chronic pollution by artificial organic contaminants can importantly alter antioxidative capacity of plants. PMID:29386693
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Zhang, Yixiang; Liang, Xinqiang; Wang, Zhibo; Xu, Lixian
2015-01-01
High content of organic matter in the downstream of watersheds underscored the severity of non-point source (NPS) pollution. The major objectives of this study were to characterize and quantify dissolved organic matter (DOM) in watersheds affected by NPS pollution, and to apply self-organizing map (SOM) and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) to assess fluorescence properties as proxy indicators for NPS pollution and labor-intensive routine water quality indicators. Water from upstreams and downstreams was sampled to measure dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and excitation-emission matrix (EEM). Five fluorescence components were modeled with PARAFAC. The regression analysis between PARAFAC intensities (Fmax) and raw EEM measurements indicated that several raw fluorescence measurements at target excitation-emission wavelength region could provide similar DOM information to massive EEM measurements combined with PARAFAC. Regression analysis between DOC concentration and raw EEM measurements suggested that some regions in raw EEM could be used as surrogates for labor-intensive routine indicators. SOM can be used to visualize the occurrence of pollution. Relationship between DOC concentration and PARAFAC components analyzed with SOM suggested that PARAFAC component 2 might be the major part of bulk DOC and could be recognized as a proxy indicator to predict the DOC concentration. PMID:26526140
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Air pollution and non-respiratory health hazards for children
Poursafa, Parinaz
2010-01-01
Air pollution is a global health issue with serious public health implications, particularly for children. Usually respiratory effects of air pollutants are considered, but this review highlights the importance of non-respiratory health hazards. In addition to short-term effects, exposure to criteria air pollutants from early life might be associated with low birth weight, increase in oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction, which in turn might have long-term effects on chronic non-communicable diseases. In view of the emerging epidemic of chronic disease in low- and middle- income countries, the vicious cycle of rapid urbanization and increasing levels of air pollution, public health and regulatory policies for air quality protection should be integrated into the main priorities of the primary health care system and into the educational curriculum of health professionals. PMID:22371790
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Rillo, Thomas J.
1974-01-01
Discusses damages of oil tanker spillage to the marine organisms and scientists' research in oil pollution removal techniques. Included is a list of learning activities concerning the causes and effects of oil pollution and methods of solving the problem. (CC)
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The presence of bromuconazole fungicide pollutant in organic waste anaerobic fermentation
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hariyadi, H. R.
2017-03-01
The presence of bromuconazole fungicide pollutant in organic waste anaerobic fermentation was carried out as well as the influence phenol and benzoate, and biodegradation of bromuconazole. Bromuconazole is a fungicide effective against Ascomycetes, Basidiomycetes and fungi imperfecti in cereals, grapes, top fruits and vegetables. It is also effective against Alternaria and Fusarium sp. The remaining fungicide in leaves might contaminates landfill. One month of organic waste added with bromuconazole was anaerobically incubated in 500 mL bottles at 30°C without shaking in dark room. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with UV detector and a 100 RP 185μm Lichrosphere column was used to determine bromuconazole concentration. Methane content was determined by Gas Chromatography (GC) method equipped with a flame ionization detector and a metal column packed with 5% neopentyl glycol sebacate and 1% H3PO4 on Chromosorb W-AW (mesh 80-100). After incubation for 225 days, bromuconazole of 200 mg/L inhibited the production of methane (99.5 mM) significantly, but did not inhibit the production of volatile fatty acids. The addition of 100 mg/L phenol or 146 mg/L benzoate increased the production of methane, 143 mM and 135.2 mM, respectively compared with control (121.8 mM). In anaerobic conditions, the presence of toxic pollutants such as fungicide bromuconazole in landfills sites may cause further problems with the accumulation of volatile fatty acids in leachate. Further study to determine the threshold, the presence of bromconazole in low concentration (less than 200 mg/L) on the methane production is recommended.
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Biological monitoring of Persistent Organic Pollutants in human milk in Israel.
Wasser, Janice; Berman, Tamar; Lerner-Geva, Liat; Grotto, Itamar; Rubin, Lisa
2015-10-01
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of POPs around the globe. The Ministry of Health, collaborating with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, measured the exposure of the population to POPs as part of the WHO-coordinated exposure study. Human milk, with a relatively high fat content is a preferred matrix for the monitoring of exposure. Donors of breast milk were recruited from three hospitals after signing informed consent forms. Breast milk was collected from 52 primipara women, aged 23-35, living in Israel for the last 10 years who gave birth to singleton full term healthy infants. Samples, collected at 3-17 weeks postpartum, were stored at -20 °C until sent to the WHO Reference Laboratory, State Laboratory for Chemical and Veterinary Analysis of Food (CVUA), in Frieburg, Germany for a single pooled analysis. Mothers were provided with the pooled analysis results. Out of over 50 Persistent Organic Pollutants listed in the analysis, 16, including aldrin, endrin, parlar and mirex were not found at detectable levels in the Israeli pooled sample. For the indicator compounds found at detectable levels, most were lower than those reported in European countries. Since 1982, levels of POPs contamination as measured in breast milk have declined significantly. This is likely due to restrictions on agricultural, industrial, and other uses of many POPs in Israel. Ongoing biomonitoring in Israel and inter-ministerial collaboration supports the elimination of POPs in the environment and human milk. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Transport of persistent organic pollutants by microplastics in estuarine conditions
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Bakir, Adil; Rowland, Steven J.; Thompson, Richard C.
2014-03-01
Microplastics represent an increasing source of anthropogenic contamination in aquatic environments, where they may also act as scavengers and transporters of persistent organic pollutants. As estuaries are amongst the most productive aquatic systems, it is important to understand sorption behaviour and transport of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) by microplastics along estuarine gradients. The effects of salinity sorption equilibrium kinetics on the distribution coefficients (Kd) of phenanthrene (Phe) and 4,4‧-DDT, onto polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and onto polyethylene (PE) were therefore investigated. A salinity gradient representing freshwater, estuarine and marine conditions, with salinities corresponding to 0 (MilliQ water, 690 μS/cm), 8.8, 17.5, 26.3 and 35 was used. Salinity had no significant effect on the time required to reach equilibrium onto PVC or PE and neither did it affect desorption rates of contaminants from plastics. Although salinity had no effect on sorption capacity of Phe onto plastics, a slight decrease in sorption capacity was observed for DDT with salinity. Salinity had little effect on sorption behaviour and POP/plastic combination was shown to be a more important factor. Transport of Phe and DDT from riverine to brackish and marine waters by plastic is therefore likely to be much more dependent on the aqueous POP concentration than on salinity. The physical characteristics of the polymer and local environmental conditions (e.g. plastic density, particle residence time in estuaries) will affect the physical transport of contaminated plastics. A transport model of POPs by microplastics under estuarine conditions is proposed. Transport of Phe and DDT by PVC and PE from fresh and brackish water toward fully marine conditions was the most likely net direction for contaminant transport and followed the order: Phe-PE >> DDT-PVC = DDT-PE >> Phe-PVC.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Domenech, Xavier; Ayllon, Jose Antonio; Peral, Jose
2006-01-01
The environmental fate and behavior of different organic pollutants based on the qualitative analysis of thermodynamic and kinetic data is presented. The Fugacity model allows the use of different partition constants in an easy way, to determine the distribution of chemical between different phases in equilibrium of an environmental system.
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Razdan, Neil K; Koshy, David M; Prausnitz, John M
2017-11-07
A group-contribution method based on scaled-particle theory was developed to predict Henry's constants for six families of persistent organic pollutants: polychlorinated benzenes, polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, polychlorinated naphthalenes, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers. The group-contribution model uses limited experimental data to obtain group-interaction parameters for an easy-to-use method to predict Henry's constants for systems where reliable experimental data are scarce. By using group-interaction parameters obtained from data reduction, scaled-particle theory gives the partial molar Gibbs energy of dissolution, Δg̅ 2 , allowing calculation of Henry's constant, H 2 , for more than 700 organic pollutants. The average deviation between predicted values of log H 2 and experiment is 4%. Application of an approximate van't Hoff equation gives the temperature dependence of Henry's constants for polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated naphthalenes, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the environmentally relevant range 0-40 °C.
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Bernhard, M.C.; Evans, M.B.; Kent, S.T.; Johnson, E.; Threadgill, S.L.; Tyson, S.; Becker, S.M.; Gohlke, J.M.
2013-01-01
Objectives Understanding and effectively addressing persistent health disparities in minority communities requires a clear picture of members’ concerns and priorities. This study was intended to engage residents in urban and rural communities in order to identify environmental health priorities. Specific emphasis was placed on how the communities defined the term environment, their perceptions of environmental exposures as affecting their health, specific priorities in their communities, and differences in urban versus rural populations. Study design A community-engaged approach was used to develop and implement focus groups and compare environmental health priorities in urban versus rural communities. Methods A total of eight focus groups were conducted: four in rural and four in urban communities. Topics included defining the term environment, how the environment may affect health, and environmental priorities within their communities, using both open discussion and a predefined list. Data were analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively to identify patterns and trends. Results There were important areas of overlap in priorities between urban and rural communities; both emphasized the importance of the social environment and shared a concern over air pollution from industrial sources. In contrast, for urban focus groups, abandoned houses and their social and physical sequelae were a high priority while concerns about adequate sewer and water services and road maintenance were high priorities in rural communities. Conclusions This study was able to identify environmental health priorities in urban versus rural minority communities. In contrast to some previous risk perception research, the results of this study suggest prioritization of tangible, known risks in everyday life instead of rare, disaster-related events, even in communities that have recently experienced devastating damage from tornadoes. The findings can help inform future efforts to study
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Ortiz, X; Martí, R; Montaña, M J; Gasser, M; Margarit, L; Broto, F; Díaz-Ferrero, J
2010-09-01
The analysis of persistent organic pollutants in foodstuffs has become necessary for control of their levels in products for human and animal consumption. These analytical procedures usually require a fractionation step in order to separate the different families of pollutants to avoid interferences during the instrumental determination. In this study the separation was carried out on a 2-(1-pyrenyl)ethyl silica column, where analyte fractionation was based on differences in planarity and aromaticity. The fractionation of several types of persistent organic pollutants found in fish oil samples was studied; the pollutants included polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and some organochlorine pesticides. Fractions were analyzed by high-resolution gas chromatography with electron-capture detection and high-resolution gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectroscopy. Finally, the whole method (including the purification, fractionation, and instrumental determination steps) was validated and successfully applied to the analysis of several samples of fish oil.
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PHARMACEUTICALS AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS: ISSUES REGARDING HUMAN EXPOSURE
Since the 1970s, the impact of chemical pollution has focused almost exclusively on conventional "priority pollutants", especially on those collectively referred to as "persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic" (PBT) pollutants, persistent organic pollutants" (POPs) or "bioaccumulative...
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Removal of organic pollutants and heavy metals in soils by electrokinetic remediation.
Ricart, M T; Pazos, M; Gouveia, S; Cameselle, C; Sanroman, M A
2008-07-01
In this work, the feasibility of electrokinetic remediation for the restoration of polluted soil with organic and inorganic compounds had been development and evaluated using a model soil sample. The model soil was prepared with kaolinite clay artificially polluted in the laboratory with chromium and an azo dye: Reactive Black 5 (RB5). The electromigration of Cr in a spiked kaolinite sample was studied in alkaline conditions. Despite of the high pH registered in the kaolinite sample (around pH 9.5), Cr migrated towards the cathode and it was accumulated in the cathode chamber forming a white precipitate. The removal was not complete, and 23% of the initial Cr was retained into the kaolinite sample close to the cathode side. The azo dye RB5 could be effectively removed from kaolinite by electrokinetics and the complete cleanup of the kaolinite could be achieved in alkaline environment. In this condition, RB5 formed an anion that migrated towards the anode where it was accumulated and quickly degraded upon the electrode surface. The electrokinetic treatment of a kaolinite sample polluted with both Cr and RB5 yielded very good results. The removal of Cr was improved compared to the experiment where Cr was the only pollutant, and RB5 reached a removal as high as 95%. RB5 was removed by electromigration towards the anode, where the dye was degraded upon the surface of the electrode by electrochemical oxidation. Cr was transported towards the cathode by electromigration and electroosmosis. It is supposed that the interaction among RB5 and Cr into the kaolinite sample prevented premature precipitation and allow Cr to migrate and concentrate in the cathode chamber.
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Huang, Mei-Chuan; Lin, Jim Juimin
2007-10-01
The concentrations and characteristics of volatile organic hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in the urban city of Kaohsiung from motor vehicles and dense pollutant sources has become a national concern. To continuously monitor volatile organic HAPs, sampling sites were selected near the four air-quality monitoring stations established by Ethe nvironmental Protection Administration of Taiwan ROC, namely Nan-tz, Tso-ying, San-min and Hsiao-kang, from north to south. An on-site automated online monitor of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was used for continuous monitoring. This study performed two consecutive days of 24-h monitoring of five volatile organic HAPs form August to October 2005 at the four monitoring sites, which cover the northern, central, and southern areas of Kaohsiung city. The average monitored concentration was 2.78-4.84 ppb for benzene, 5.90-9.66 ppb for toluene, 3.62-5.90 ppb for ethylbenzene, 3.73-5.34 ppb for m,p-xylene, 3.38-4.22 ppb for o-xylene, and 4.48-7.00 ppb for styrene. The average monitored concentrations of the major volatile organic HAPs tended to follow the pattern San-min > Nan-tz > Hsiao-kang > Tso-ying. Among all the species monitored in this study, toluene had the highest ambient concentration, followed by styrene, m,p-xylene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, and benzene. The results showed that the concentration at night was higher than that in the day for toluene at Nan-tz, San-min, Hsiao-kang, and for benzene at Nan-tz and Hsiao-kang.
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[Hygienic evaluation of transboundary pollution of the Ural River basin].
Iskakov, A Zh; Lestsova, N A; Zasorin, B V; Boev, M V
2009-01-01
The anthropogenic pollution of the Ural River and its tributaries is the most important problem of the Ural-Caspian basin. Transboundary inflow from Kazakhstan to Russian is 30.9 km3/year. The border Ilek river pollution was hygienically evaluated and the contribution of pollution sources was ascertained, with the seasonal variations and hydrochemical background being kept in mind, from 2002 to 2007. The monitoring data on the content of priority pollutants of the surface waters of the basin of the Ilek River, a tributary of the Ural River, which come from the Republic of Kazakhstan, are given. Semiquantitative spectral estimation and the atomic absorption method were used to study the chemical composition of bottom sediments in the Ilek River and its tributaries. The magnitude and sources of influence of man-caused pollution on the quality of the river water were established.
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Tackling pollution by organic farming is capable of increasing fortified foods.
Navarro-Aviñó, J P; Navarro, J J Fernández; Castro, V Vargas; Ripoll, I Ilzarbe; Sahuquillo, M J Márquez
2016-01-01
The global pollution stage is poisoning the biosphere and causing global temperatures to rise, necessitating a drastic change in the way man is dealing with nature. One change that may produce many beneficial effects on the biosphere and human health is the use of specific organic farming to produce food in a more integrated way in nature and to increase the capacity of man's own response. Despite many experts' opinion another way to deal with environmental contamination is possible: organic farming, which can increase man's ability to fortify foods. After more than 20 years working under this discipline, Bodegas Dagon is able to achieve the highest stilbenes concentrations (as resveratrol). Versus 14.3 mg/l, "Bodegas Dagón" wines contain resveratrol (HPLC and UV-spectroscopy) up to 1611.73 ± 72.66 mg/l, standing as world's potentially healthiest wine reported to date.
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Zhou, Liang; Xu, Jian-Gang; Sun, Dong-Qi; Ni, Tian-Hua
2013-02-01
Agricultural non-point source pollution is of importance in river deterioration. Thus identifying and concentrated controlling the key source-areas are the most effective approaches for non-point source pollution control. This study adopts inventory method to analysis four kinds of pollution sources and their emissions intensity of the chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) in 173 counties (cities, districts) in Huaihe River Basin. The four pollution sources include livestock breeding, rural life, farmland cultivation, aquacultures. The paper mainly addresses identification of non-point polluted sensitivity areas, key pollution sources and its spatial distribution characteristics through cluster, sensitivity evaluation and spatial analysis. A geographic information system (GIS) and SPSS were used to carry out this study. The results show that: the COD, TN and TP emissions of agricultural non-point sources were 206.74 x 10(4) t, 66.49 x 10(4) t, 8.74 x 10(4) t separately in Huaihe River Basin in 2009; the emission intensity were 7.69, 2.47, 0.32 t.hm-2; the proportions of COD, TN, TP emissions were 73%, 24%, 3%. The paper achieves that: the major pollution source of COD, TN and TP was livestock breeding and rural life; the sensitivity areas and priority pollution control areas among the river basin of non-point source pollution are some sub-basins of the upper branches in Huaihe River, such as Shahe River, Yinghe River, Beiru River, Jialu River and Qingyi River; livestock breeding is the key pollution source in the priority pollution control areas. Finally, the paper concludes that pollution type of rural life has the highest pollution contribution rate, while comprehensive pollution is one type which is hard to control.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
van Zelm, Rosalie; Preiss, Philipp; van Goethem, Thomas; Van Dingenen, Rita; Huijbregts, Mark
2016-06-01
We developed regionalized characterization factors (CFs) for human health damage from particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone, and for damage to vegetation from ozone, at the global scale. These factors can be used in the impact assessment phase of an environmental life cycle assessment. CFs express the overall damage of a certain pollutant per unit of emission of a precursor, i.e. primary PM2.5, nitrogen oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH3), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs). The global chemical transport model TM5 was used to calculate intake fractions of PM2.5 and ozone for 56 world regions covering the whole globe. Furthermore, region-specific effect and damage factors were derived, using mortality rates, background concentrations and years of life lost. The emission-weighted world average CF for primary PM2.5 emissions is 629 yr kton-1, varying up to 3 orders of magnitude over the regions. Larger CFs were obtained for emissions in central Asia and Europe, and smaller factors in Australia and South America. The world average CFs for PM2.5 from secondary aerosols, i.e. NOx, NH3, and SO2, is 67.2 to 183.4 yr kton-1. We found that the CFs for ozone human health damage are 2-4 orders of magnitude lower compared to the CFs for damage due to primary PM2.5 and PM2.5 precursor emissions. Human health damage due to the priority air pollutants considered in this study was 1.7·10-2 yr capita-1 worldwide in year 2010, with primary PM2.5 emissions as the main contributor (62%). The emission-weighted world average CF for ecosystem damage due to ozone was 2.5 km2 yr kton-1 for NMVOCs and 8.7 m2 yr kg-1 for NOx emissions, varying 2-3 orders of magnitude over the regions. Ecosystem damage due to the priority air pollutants considered in this study was 1.6·10-4 km2 capita-1 worldwide in 2010, with NOx as the main contributor (72%). The spatial range in CFs stresses the importance of including spatial variation in life cycle impact assessment of
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W. James Catallo
2000-01-01
This work addressed the influence of tidal vs. static hydrologic conditions on biogeochemical processes and the transformation of pollutant organic chemicals (eight representative N-, O-, and S-heterocycles (NOSHs) from coal chemicals, crude oils, and pyrogenic mixtures) in salt marsh sediments. The goals were to: (1) determine the effects of static (flooded, drained)...
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High elevation ecosystems in the western USA and Canada are receiving deposition of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that presumably originate in the USA as well as outside its borders. In April 1992 we obtained paired snowpack samples from each of two watersheds located in t...
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Fu, J; Wang, Z; Mai, B; Kang, Y
2001-01-01
Field monitoring of the toxic organic compounds (PCBs, PAHs, organochlorine pesticides) in the top sediments of Pearl River Estuary and its up-streams were made. It was found that the highest concentrations of these toxic organic compounds occurred in the sediment sampled at Macau inner harbor (ZB013), which is a sink of suspended fine particles transported from the upstream waterways. Because of the affinity of the hydrophobic organic compounds (PAHs, PCBs) for the solid phase, these fine particle depositions led to accumulation of these compounds in the sediment of Macau. The atmospheric dry deposition may be another source of the toxic organic pollution in the sediment.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Czarnecki, Sezin; Colak Esetlili, Bihter; Esetlili, Tolga; Tepecik, Mahmut; Anac, Dilek; Düring, Rolf-Alexander
2014-05-01
The study area Güzelhisar Basin is 6 km far from the city Aliaga, Aegean Region in Turkey which represents a rather industrialized area having five large iron and steel factories, but also areas of agriculture. Steel industry in Aliaga is causing metal pollution. Around Güzelhisar Basin and nearby, the dominant crop fields are cotton, maize, vegetables, olive trees and vineyards. Güzelhisar stream and dam water is used for irrigation of the agricultural land. Due to contamination from metal industry in Aliaga, organic farming is not allowed in this region. Industrial activities in the region present a threat on sustainable agriculture. The region is a multi-impacted area in terms of several pollutant sources affecting soil and water quality. The overall objective of the project is to trace back plant nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and B), hazardous substances (i. e. persistent organic pollutants), radionuclides (40K, 232Th, 226Ra/238U), and metal contents (As, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) by examining the soils, agricultural crops and natural plants from Güzelhisar Basin and water and sediments from Güzelhisar stream and dam. Spatial distribution of pollution will be evaluated by regionalization methods. For this, an advanced analytical methodology will be applied which provides an understanding of sources and occurrence of the respective substances of concern. An innovative multi-tracer approach comprising organic and inorganic marker substances, will identify and quantitatively assess sources and their impact on water pollution and the pollutant pathways in this agricultural crop production system.
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Martín, J; Zafra-Gómez, A; Hidalgo, F; Ibáñez-Yuste, A J; Alonso, E; Vilchez, J L
2017-05-01
Marine echinoderms are filter-feeding invertebrates widely distributed along the coasts, and which are therefore extensively exposed to anthropogenic xenobiotics. They can serve as good sentinels for monitoring a large variety of contaminants in marine ecosystems. In this context, a multi-residue analytical method has been validated and applied to Holothuria tubulosa specimens and marine sediments for the determination of 36 organic compounds, which belong to some of the most problematic groups of emerging and priority pollutants (perfluoroalkyl compounds, estrogens, parabens, benzophenones, plasticizers, surfactants, brominated flame retardants and alkylphenols). Lyophilization of samples prior to solvent extraction and clean-up of extracts with C18, followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis, is proposed. A Box-Behnken design was used for optimization of the most influential variables affecting the extraction and clean-up steps. For validation, matrix-matched calibration and recovery assay were applied. Linearity (% r 2 ) higher than 99%, recoveries between 80% and 114% (except in LAS and NP1EO), RSD (precision) lower than 15% and limits of quantification between 0.03 and 12.5ngg -1 dry weight (d.w.) were achieved. The method was applied to nine samples of Holothuria collected along the coast of Granada (Spain), and to marine sediments around the animals. The results demonstrated high bioaccumulation of certain pollutants. A total of 25 out of the 36 studied compounds were quantified, being surfactants, alkylphenols, perfluoroalkyl compounds, triclocarban and parabens the most frequently detected. Nonylphenol was found in the highest concentration (340 and 323ngg -1 d.w. in sediment and Holothuria samples, respectively). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Exposure of ruminants to persistent organic pollutants and potential of decontamination.
Rychen, Guido; Jurjanz, Stefan; Fournier, Agnès; Toussaint, Hervé; Feidt, Cyril
2014-05-01
Human activities are emitting persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to the environment. These compounds have raised concerns about the risk of transfer through the food chain via animal products. They are characterized by a strong persistence in environmental matrices and a lipophilicity which may lead to their accumulation in fat tissues. In EU Regulations (no. 1881/2006, 1259/2011), maximum acceptable levels for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), and dioxin-like or nondioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in food of animal origin have been set. Transfer rates from contaminated fodder to milk have been established: for PCBs, the rate of transfer varies from 5 to 90% and for PCDD/Fs from 1 to 40%. The differential transfer of the compounds towards milk is related to the hydrophobicity of the pollutants and to their metabolic susceptibility. According to numerous authors, soil is the major reservoir for POPs, and its involuntary ingestion by farm animals reared outdoors may be the main cause of animal product contamination (meat, milk, or eggs). Recent studies seem to indicate that soil is a real risk matrix in terms of transfer of pollutants to the food chain. A POP crisis management is extremely difficult, since it impacts many farmers located in the contaminated area. The question arising is to know if livestock contaminated by POPs may be decontaminated and further used for their initial purpose. Recent data demonstrate that the decontamination process appear feasible and depends on initial level of contamination or the physiological status of the animals.
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Kaufman, Nancy J.; Castrucci, Brian C.; Pearsol, Jim; Leider, Jonathon P.; Sellers, Katie; Kaufman, Ira R.; Fehrenbach, Lacy M.; Liss-Levinson, Rivka; Lewis, Melissa; Jarris, Paul E.; Sprague, James B.
2014-01-01
Context: Discipline-specific workforce development initiatives have been a focus in recent years. This is due, in part, to competency-based training standards and funding sources that reinforce programmatic silos within state and local health departments. Objective: National leadership groups representing the specific disciplines within public health were asked to look beyond their discipline-specific priorities and collectively assess the priorities, needs, and characteristics of the governmental public health workforce. Design: The challenges and opportunities facing the public health workforce and crosscutting priority training needs of the public health workforce as a whole were evaluated. Key informant interviews were conducted with 31 representatives from public health member organizations and federal agencies. Interviews were coded and analyzed for major themes. Next, 10 content briefs were created on the basis of priority areas within workforce development. Finally, an in-person priority setting meeting was held to identify top workforce development needs and priorities across all disciplines within public health. Participants: Representatives from 31 of 37 invited public health organizations participated, including representatives from discipline-specific member organizations, from national organizations and from federal agencies. Results: Systems thinking, communicating persuasively, change management, information and analytics, problem solving, and working with diverse populations were the major crosscutting areas prioritized. Conclusions: Decades of categorical funding created a highly specialized and knowledgeable workforce that lacks many of the foundational skills now most in demand. The balance between core and specialty training should be reconsidered. PMID:24667228
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Kaufman, Nancy J; Castrucci, Brian C; Pearsol, Jim; Leider, Jonathon P; Sellers, Katie; Kaufman, Ira R; Fehrenbach, Lacy M; Liss-Levinson, Rivka; Lewis, Melissa; Jarris, Paul E; Sprague, James B
2014-01-01
Discipline-specific workforce development initiatives have been a focus in recent years. This is due, in part, to competency-based training standards and funding sources that reinforce programmatic silos within state and local health departments. National leadership groups representing the specific disciplines within public health were asked to look beyond their discipline-specific priorities and collectively assess the priorities, needs, and characteristics of the governmental public health workforce. The challenges and opportunities facing the public health workforce and crosscutting priority training needs of the public health workforce as a whole were evaluated. Key informant interviews were conducted with 31 representatives from public health member organizations and federal agencies. Interviews were coded and analyzed for major themes. Next, 10 content briefs were created on the basis of priority areas within workforce development. Finally, an in-person priority setting meeting was held to identify top workforce development needs and priorities across all disciplines within public health. Representatives from 31 of 37 invited public health organizations participated, including representatives from discipline-specific member organizations, from national organizations and from federal agencies. Systems thinking, communicating persuasively, change management, information and analytics, problem solving, and working with diverse populations were the major crosscutting areas prioritized. Decades of categorical funding created a highly specialized and knowledgeable workforce that lacks many of the foundational skills now most in demand. The balance between core and specialty training should be reconsidered.
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Amorri, Jalila; Geffroy-Rodier, Claude; Boufahja, Fehmi; Mahmoudi, Ezzeddine; Aïssa, Patricia; Ksibi, Mohamed; Amblès, André
2011-11-01
Complex organic compounds found in oil and sediments linked with a particular source (such as algae, bacteria or vascular plants) are defined as biomarkers and are useful dating indicators in organic geochemistry. This paper presents the composition of the organic matter (OM) on marine surface sediments from a degraded Tunisian coast analysed by pyrolysis and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). High total OM contents (0.3-4.2%) were detected with high levels of saturated linear hydrocarbons. The aliphatic lipids had contributed with up to 11.7% of the total OM, and their distribution had consisted of resolved compounds (n-alkanes and fatty acid (FAs)) and an unresolved complex mixture. Hydrocarbons, primarily n-alkanes, were ranged from 368 to 3,886 μg g(-1). The FAs (674-2,568 μg g(-1)) were dominated by derived primary production, and the short chain FAs (C16 and C18) were the most abundant throughout. The ubiquitous presence of petroleum contamination, mainly from offshore oil exploration, discharge of pollutants from rivers, shipping activities and atmospheric deposition was found in all samples. The Gabès littoral seems to be quite to very polluted near the industrial zone of Ghannouch. The C/H ratio (generally around 5.9), the thermal analysis and GC-MS of n-alkanes and FAs showed that the OM in the studied area was composed of anthropogenic/petrogenic, marine and continental sources. Our study represents an innovative approach to assessing environmental pollution. The evaluation of organic matter by examination of sterols, alkanes and fatty acids allows the identification of source, both anthropogenic and natural.
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Essue, Beverley M; Kapiriri, Lydia
2018-02-20
The double burden of infectious diseases coupled with noncommunicable diseases poses unique challenges for priority setting and for achieving equitable action to address the major causes of disease burden in health systems already impacted by limited resources. Noncommunicable disease control is an important global health and development priority. However, there are challenges for translating this global priority into local priorities and action. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of national, sub-national and global factors on priority setting for noncommunicable disease control in Uganda and examine the extent to which priority setting was successful. A mixed methods design that used the Kapiriri & Martin framework for evaluating priority setting in low income countries. The evaluation period was 2005-2015. Data collection included a document review (policy documents (n = 19); meeting minutes (n = 28)), media analysis (n = 114) and stakeholder interviews (n = 9). Data were analysed according to the Kapiriri & Martin (2010) framework. Priority setting for noncommunicable diseases was not entirely fair nor successful. While there were explicit processes that incorporated relevant criteria, evidence and wide stakeholder involvement, these criteria were not used systematically or consistently in the contemplation of noncommunicable diseases. There were insufficient resources for noncommunicable diseases, despite being a priority area. There were weaknesses in the priority setting institutions, and insufficient mechanisms to ensure accountability for decision-making. Priority setting was influenced by the priorities of major stakeholders (i.e. development assistance partners) which were not always aligned with national priorities. There were major delays in the implementation of noncommunicable disease-related priorities and in many cases, a failure to implement. This evaluation revealed the challenges that low income countries are
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Cornelissen, Evelyn; Mitton, Craig; Davidson, Alan; Reid, Colin; Hole, Rachelle; Visockas, Anne-Marie; Smith, Neale
2014-08-01
Techniques to manage scarce healthcare resources continue to evolve in response to changing, growing and competing demands. Yet there is no standard definition in the priority setting literature of what might constitute the desired impact or success of resource management activities. In this 2006-09 study, using action research methodology, we determined the impact of implementing a formal priority setting model, Program Budgeting and Marginal Analysis (PBMA), in a Canadian health authority. Qualitative data were collected through post year-1 (n = 12) and year-2 (n = 9) participant interviews, meeting observation and document review. Interviews were analyzed using a constant comparison technique to identify major themes. Impact can be defined as effects at three levels: system, group, and individual. System-level impact can be seen in the actual selection of priorities and resource re-allocation. In this case, participants prioritized a list of $760,000 worth of investment proposals and $38,000 of disinvestment proposals; however, there was no clear evidence as to whether financial resources were reallocated as a result. Group and individual impacts, less frequently reported in the literature, included changes in priority setting knowledge, attitudes and practice. PBMA impacts at these three levels were found to be interrelated. This work argues in favor of attempts to expand the definition of priority setting success by including both desired system-level outcomes like resource re-allocation and individual or group level impacts like changes to priority setting knowledge, attitudes and practice. These latter impacts are worth pursuing as they appear to be intrinsic to successful system-wide priority setting. A broader definition of PBMA impact may also suggest conceptualizing PBMA as both a priority setting approach and as a tool to develop individual and group priority setting knowledge and practice. These results should be of interest to researchers and
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The research study, "Children's Total Exposure to Persistent Pesticides and Other Persistent Organic Pollutants," (CTEPP) is a pilot-scale project involving about 260 children in their everyday surroundings. The objectives of CTEPP are twofold: (1) To measure the agg...
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Wani, Owies M; Safdar, Muhammad; Kinnunen, Niko; Jänis, Janne
2016-01-22
Manganese oxide (MnO2 ) based micromotors exhibiting a dual effect, that is, catalytic degradation and adsorptive bubble separation, were employed for water remediation. The dual effect of MnO2 microparticles led to a greater than 90 % of decolorization of non-biodegradable organic dyes in just 1 h, without the need for external agitation or bubble generation. These findings suggest high potential of MnO2 micromotors for decontamination of organic pollutants from wastewaters or natural water reserves. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
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Using evaluation theory in priority setting and resource allocation.
Smith, Neale; Mitton, Craig; Cornelissen, Evelyn; Gibson, Jennifer; Peacock, Stuart
2012-01-01
Public sector interest in methods for priority setting and program or policy evaluation has grown considerably over the last several decades, given increased expectations for accountable and efficient use of resources and emphasis on evidence-based decision making as a component of good management practice. While there has been some occasional effort to conduct evaluation of priority setting projects, the literatures around priority setting and evaluation have largely evolved separately. In this paper, the aim is to bring them together. The contention is that evaluation theory is a means by which evaluators reflect upon what it is they are doing when they do evaluation work. Theories help to organize thinking, sort out relevant from irrelevant information, provide transparent grounds for particular implementation choices, and can help resolve problematic issues which may arise in the conduct of an evaluation project. A detailed review of three major branches of evaluation theory--methods, utilization, and valuing--identifies how such theories can guide the development of efforts to evaluate priority setting and resource allocation initiatives. Evaluation theories differ in terms of their guiding question, anticipated setting or context, evaluation foci, perspective from which benefits are calculated, and typical methods endorsed. Choosing a particular theoretical approach will structure the way in which any priority setting process is evaluated. The paper suggests that explicitly considering evaluation theory makes key aspects of the evaluation process more visible to all stakeholders, and can assist in the design of effective evaluation of priority setting processes; this should iteratively serve to improve the understanding of priority setting practices themselves.
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Roadside vegetation barrier designs to mitigate near-road air pollution impacts
With increasing evidence that exposures to air pollution near large roadways increases risks of a number of adverse human health effects, identifying methods to reduce these exposures has become a public health priority. Roadside vegetation barriers have shown the potential to re...
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Priority setting: what constitutes success? A conceptual framework for successful priority setting.
Sibbald, Shannon L; Singer, Peter A; Upshur, Ross; Martin, Douglas K
2009-03-05
The sustainability of healthcare systems worldwide is threatened by a growing demand for services and expensive innovative technologies. Decision makers struggle in this environment to set priorities appropriately, particularly because they lack consensus about which values should guide their decisions. One way to approach this problem is to determine what all relevant stakeholders understand successful priority setting to mean. The goal of this research was to develop a conceptual framework for successful priority setting. Three separate empirical studies were completed using qualitative data collection methods (one-on-one interviews with healthcare decision makers from across Canada; focus groups with representation of patients, caregivers and policy makers; and Delphi study including scholars and decision makers from five countries). This paper synthesizes the findings from three studies into a framework of ten separate but interconnected elements germane to successful priority setting: stakeholder understanding, shifted priorities/reallocation of resources, decision making quality, stakeholder acceptance and satisfaction, positive externalities, stakeholder engagement, use of explicit process, information management, consideration of values and context, and revision or appeals mechanism. The ten elements specify both quantitative and qualitative dimensions of priority setting and relate to both process and outcome components. To our knowledge, this is the first framework that describes successful priority setting. The ten elements identified in this research provide guidance for decision makers and a common language to discuss priority setting success and work toward improving priority setting efforts.
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Priority setting: what constitutes success? A conceptual framework for successful priority setting
Sibbald, Shannon L; Singer, Peter A; Upshur, Ross; Martin, Douglas K
2009-01-01
Background The sustainability of healthcare systems worldwide is threatened by a growing demand for services and expensive innovative technologies. Decision makers struggle in this environment to set priorities appropriately, particularly because they lack consensus about which values should guide their decisions. One way to approach this problem is to determine what all relevant stakeholders understand successful priority setting to mean. The goal of this research was to develop a conceptual framework for successful priority setting. Methods Three separate empirical studies were completed using qualitative data collection methods (one-on-one interviews with healthcare decision makers from across Canada; focus groups with representation of patients, caregivers and policy makers; and Delphi study including scholars and decision makers from five countries). Results This paper synthesizes the findings from three studies into a framework of ten separate but interconnected elements germane to successful priority setting: stakeholder understanding, shifted priorities/reallocation of resources, decision making quality, stakeholder acceptance and satisfaction, positive externalities, stakeholder engagement, use of explicit process, information management, consideration of values and context, and revision or appeals mechanism. Conclusion The ten elements specify both quantitative and qualitative dimensions of priority setting and relate to both process and outcome components. To our knowledge, this is the first framework that describes successful priority setting. The ten elements identified in this research provide guidance for decision makers and a common language to discuss priority setting success and work toward improving priority setting efforts. PMID:19265518
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San, Vibol; Spoann, Vin; Schmidt, Johannes
2018-02-15
Approximately 56% out of the total 1302 Cambodian firms are operated in the Capital city of Cambodia. The necessary information on industrial pollution to set strategies, priorities and action plans on environmental protection issues is absent in Cambodia. In the absence of this data, effective environmental protection cannot be implemented. The objective of this study is to estimate industrial pollution load by employing the Industrial Pollution Projection System, a rapid environmental management tool for assessment of pollution load, to produce a scientific rational basis for preparing future policy direction to reduce industrial pollution in Phnom Penh city. Factory data between 1994 and 2014 obtained from the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft of Cambodia were used in our study. Due to the high number of employees, the total environmental load generated in Phnom Penh city was estimated to be 476,981Mg in 2014. Phnom Penh city generated 189,109Mg of VOC, 165,411Mg of toxic chemicals to air, 38,523Mg of toxic chemicals to land, and 28,968Mg of SO 2 in 2014. The results of the estimation show that the Textiles and Apparel sector was the highest generators of toxic chemicals into land and air, and toxic metals into land, air and water, while the Basic Metal sector was the greatest contributor of toxic chemicals to water. The Textiles and Apparel sector alone emitted 436,016Mg of total pollution load. The results indicate that the Dangkao and Meanchey districts were the greatest emitters of all pollutants in Phnom Penh. The results suggest that reduction in industrial pollution could be achieved by focusing on the most polluting sectors and areas. Adopting waste minimization strategies, which include cleaner production processes, will not only reduce the cost of controlling pollution, it will also make manufacturing more efficient thereby increasing profits while reducing pollution load in the long run. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Many urban centers have population centers near river ports, which may be affected by volatile organic compound (VOC) and hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions from tank barge traffic. This study will examine Memphis, Tennessee and West Memphis, Arkansas. Both cities (located ...
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Peacock, Stuart J; Mitton, Craig; Ruta, Danny; Donaldson, Cam; Bate, Angela; Hedden, Lindsay
2010-10-01
Economists' approaches to priority setting focus on the principles of opportunity cost, marginal analysis and choice under scarcity. These approaches are based on the premise that it is possible to design a rational priority setting system that will produce legitimate changes in resource allocation. However, beyond issuing guidance at the national level, economic approaches to priority setting have had only a moderate impact in practice. In particular, local health service organizations - such as health authorities, health maintenance organizations, hospitals and healthcare trusts - have had difficulty implementing evidence from economic appraisals. Yet, in the context of making decisions between competing claims on scarce health service resources, economic tools and thinking have much to offer. The purpose of this article is to describe and discuss ten evidence-based guidelines for the successful design and implementation of a program budgeting and marginal analysis (PBMA) priority setting exercise. PBMA is a framework that explicitly recognizes the need to balance pragmatic and ethical considerations with economic rationality when making resource allocation decisions. While the ten guidelines are drawn from the PBMA framework, they may be generalized across a range of economic approaches to priority setting.
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PERSISTENT CONTAMINANTS: NEW PRIORITIES, NEW CONCERNS
The Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) was adopted in 2001 to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that are highly toxic, persistent, bioaccumulative, and undergo long range transport. These POPs include 9 pesticides, polychlorin... -
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2010-07-23
... pertains to the soil and groundwater of parcels 24, 27, 28, 2-53, 2-53L, 2-54, 2-54L, 2-70, 2-70L, 3-89, 3... Priorities List (NPL). This partial deletion pertains to the soil and groundwater of parcels 24, 27, 28, 2-53... 24 Phase I ROD, SEP 1998.. Soil & Groundwater. Phase III ROD, AUG 2003 Soil & Groundwater. 27, 2-27B...
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Marine pollution and management of shores; Pollutions marines et amenagement des rivages
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Aubert, M.; Aubert, J.
1973-01-01
The fourteen chapters of the book are presented in three sections entitled description of marine pollution, oceanographic techniques in marine pollution studies, and prevention of marine pollution and management of shores. The first section discusses thermal, bacterial, radioactive, chemical and organic pollution. In the chapter on thermal pollution, emphasis is placed on the effects of heated effluents on the ecological balance of estuaries. Effects of waste products from nuclear industries are discussed in the chapter on radioactive pollution as well as the development of fission products, radioactive wastes from nuclear-propulsion ships, wastes from nuclear accidents, and wastes from atomic bombmore » explosions. Measures for prevention of pollution include management of stream mouths and studies on pollution of parts and artificial beaches. (approximately 200 references) (HLW)« less
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Setting conservation priorities.
Wilson, Kerrie A; Carwardine, Josie; Possingham, Hugh P
2009-04-01
A generic framework for setting conservation priorities based on the principles of classic decision theory is provided. This framework encapsulates the key elements of any problem, including the objective, the constraints, and knowledge of the system. Within the context of this framework the broad array of approaches for setting conservation priorities are reviewed. While some approaches prioritize assets or locations for conservation investment, it is concluded here that prioritization is incomplete without consideration of the conservation actions required to conserve the assets at particular locations. The challenges associated with prioritizing investments through time in the face of threats (and also spatially and temporally heterogeneous costs) can be aided by proper problem definition. Using the authors' general framework for setting conservation priorities, multiple criteria can be rationally integrated and where, how, and when to invest conservation resources can be scheduled. Trade-offs are unavoidable in priority setting when there are multiple considerations, and budgets are almost always finite. The authors discuss how trade-offs, risks, uncertainty, feedbacks, and learning can be explicitly evaluated within their generic framework for setting conservation priorities. Finally, they suggest ways that current priority-setting approaches may be improved.
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Martins, Marta; Costa, Pedro M
2015-01-01
Determining the genotoxic effects of pollutants has long been a priority in Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) for coastal ecosystems, especially of complex areas such as estuaries and other confined waterbodies. The acknowledged link between DNA damage, mutagenicity and carcinogenicity to the exposure to certain toxicants has been responsible to the growing interest in determining the genotoxic effects of xenobiotics to wildlife as a measure of environmental risk. The comet assay, although widely employed in in vivo and in vitro toxicology, still holds many constraints in ERA, in large part owing to difficulties in obtaining conclusive cause-effect relationships from complex environments. Nevertheless, these challenges do not hinder the attempts to apply the alkaline comet assay on sentinel organisms, wild or subjected to bioassays in or ex situ (from fish to molluscs) as well to standardise protocols and establish general guidelines to the interpretation of findings. Fish have been regarded as an appealing subject due to the ease of performing the comet assay in whole blood. However, the application of the comet assay is becoming increasingly common in invertebrates (e.g. in molluscan haemocytes and solid tissues such as gills). Virtually all sorts of results have been obtained from the application of the comet assay in ERA (null, positive and inconclusive). However, it has become clear that interpreting DNA damage data from wild organisms is particularly challenging due to their ability to adapt to continuous environmental stressors, including toxicants. Also, the comet assay in non-model organisms for the purpose of ERA implies different constraints, assumptions and interpretation of findings, compared with the in vitro procedures from which most guidelines have been derived. This paper critically reviews the application of the comet assay in ERA, focusing on target organisms and tissues; protocol developments, case studies plus data handling and
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Examples of successful pollution prevention programs
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Natan, T.E. Jr.
1995-09-01
Motivation for implementing a pollution prevention program can come from many sources: federal, state, or local mandates; community involvement; cost analyses; or companies` own desires for superior environmental management. However, the decision to apply pollution prevention techniques is often part of a larger process of reducing environmental releases and transfers of toxic chemicals. When corporations are given the opportunity to choose pollution prevention as a part of total environmental management, the result can be an extremely successful program. The US Environmental Protection Agency`s (EPA`s) 33/50 program, begun in 1991, provides an example of a diverse population of companies in variousmore » industries creating pollution prevention opportunities in response to an invitation to reduce their environmental releases and transfers of 17 priority chemicals 33% by 1992 and 50% by 1995, using 1988 Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data as a baseline. This chapter profiles three companies participating in the 33/50 Program that have provided details of interesting and successful pollution prevention programs resulting in varying degrees of reduction of environmental releases and transfers. The companies, Grumman Corporation of Bethpage, New York; Panel Processing of Alpena, Michigan; and Avondale Industries of New Orleans, Louisiana, were chosen for the range of industries represented: manufacture of transportation equipment, coating and lamination of wood products, and shipbuilding. Examples of other interesting pollution prevention plans will also be discussed.« less
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Competitive sorption of persistent organic pollutants onto microplastics in the marine environment.
Bakir, Adil; Rowland, Steven J; Thompson, Richard C
2012-12-01
Plastics are known to sorb persistent organic pollutants from seawater. However, studies to quantify sorption rates have only considered the affinity of chemicals in isolation, unlike the conditions in the environment where contaminants are present as complex mixtures. Here we examine whether phenanthrene and 4,4'-DDT, in a mixture, compete for sorption sites onto PVC with no added additives (unplasticised PVC or uPVC) and Ultra-High Molecular Weight polyethylene. Interactions were investigated by exposing particles of uPVC and UHMW PE to mixtures of 3H and 14C radiolabelled Phe and DDT. Changes in sorption capacity were modelled by applying a Freundlich binding sorption isotherms. An Extended Langmuir Model and an Interaction Factor Model were also applied to predict equilibrium concentrations of pollutants onto plastic. This study showed that in a bi-solute system, DDT exhibited no significantly different sorption behaviour than in single solute systems. However, DDT did appear to interfere with the sorption of Phe onto plastic, indicating an antagonistic effect. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
2011-07-01
... (HAP) From the Manufacture of Amino/Phenolic Resins 2 Table 2 to Subpart OOO of Part 63 Protection of... Pollutant Emissions: Manufacture of Amino/Phenolic Resins Pt. 63, Subpt. OOO, Table 2 Table 2 to Subpart OOO of Part 63—Known Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP) From the Manufacture of Amino/Phenolic Resins...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-07-01
... (HAP) From the Manufacture of Amino/Phenolic Resins 2 Table 2 to Subpart OOO of Part 63 Protection of... Pollutant Emissions: Manufacture of Amino/Phenolic Resins Pt. 63, Subpt. OOO, Table 2 Table 2 to Subpart OOO of Part 63—Known Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP) From the Manufacture of Amino/Phenolic Resins...
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Global health priorities – priorities of the wealthy?
Ollila, Eeva
2005-01-01
Health has gained importance on the global agenda. It has become recognized in forums where it was once not addressed. In this article three issues are considered: global health policy actors, global health priorities and the means of addressing the identified health priorities. I argue that the arenas for global health policy-making have shifted from the public spheres towards arenas that include the transnational for-profit sector. Global health policy has become increasingly fragmented and verticalized. Infectious diseases have gained ground as global health priorities, while non-communicable diseases and the broader issues of health systems development have been neglected. Approaches to tackling the health problems are increasingly influenced by trade and industrial interests with the emphasis on technological solutions. PMID:15847685
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New perspectives on pollution control: Cross-media problems
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Not Available
Although there is only one natural environment, many environmental institutions and policies attempt to control pollutants in air, water, and land separately, often by merely transferring the pollutants from one medium to another. Water pollutants may be volatilized into the air or collected and disposed of on land as sludge, thereby allowing the possibility for contamination of another medium. Present policies often fail to reduce levels of some pollutants in the overall environment. To examine this cross-media problem and what can be done about it, The conservation Foundation sponsored a conference in November 1984 on the new dimensions of pollutionmore » problems. The papers presented at that conference along with comments and additional discussion are compiled in this report. The perspectives included represent those of government officials, corporate executives, environmentalists, researchers, and others. The extent of the cross-media problem, priorities for future research, and the implications that cross-media problems have for environmental policy are considered.« less
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Research priorities on ending child marriage and supporting married girls.
Svanemyr, Joar; Chandra-Mouli, Venkatraman; Raj, Anita; Travers, Ellen; Sundaram, Lakshmi
2015-09-03
Over the past few years the issue of child marriage has received growing political and programmatic attention. In spite of some progress in a number of countries, global rates have not declined over the past decade. Knowledge gaps remain in understanding trends, drivers and approaches to ending child marriage, especially to understand what is needed to achieve results on a large scale. This commentary summarizes the outcomes of an Expert Group Meeting organized by World Health Organization to discuss research priorities on Ending Child Marriage and Supporting Married Girls. It presents research gaps and recommends priorities for research in five key areas; (i) prevalence and trends of child marriage; (ii) causes of child marriage (iii) consequences of child marriage; (iv) efforts to prevent child marriage; (v) efforts to support married girls.
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Nazarenko, Yevgen; Kurien, Uday; Nepotchatykh, Oleg; Rangel-Alvarado, Rodrigo B; Ariya, Parisa A
2016-02-01
Exposure to vehicle exhaust can drive up to 70 % of excess lifetime cancer incidences due to air pollution in urban environments. Little is known about how exhaust-derived particles and organic pollutants, implicated in adverse health effects, are affected by freezing ambient temperatures and the presence of snow. Airborne particles and (semi)volatile organic constituents in dilute exhaust were studied in a novel low-temperature environmental chamber system containing natural urban snow under controlled cold environmental conditions. The presence of snow altered the aerosol size distributions of dilute exhaust in the 10 nm to 10 μm range and decreased the number density of the nanoparticulate (<100 nm) fraction of exhaust aerosols, yet increased the 100-150 nm fraction. Upon 1 hour exhaust exposure, the total organic carbon increased in the natural snow from 0.218 ± 0.014 to 0.539 ± 0.009 mg L(-1), and over 40 additional (semi)volatile organic compounds and a large number of exhaust-derived carbonaceous and likely organic particles were identified. The concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) increased from near the detection limit to 52.48, 379.5, 242.7, and 238.1 μg kg(-1) (± 10 %), respectively, indicating the absorption of exhaust-derived toxic organic compounds by snow. The alteration of exhaust aerosol size distributions at freezing temperatures and in the presence of snow, accompanied by changes of the organic pollutant content in snow, has potential to alter health effects of human exposure to vehicle exhaust.
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Sun, Mingming; Ye, Mao; Wu, Jun; Feng, Yanfang; Wan, Jinzhong; Tian, Da; Shen, Fangyuan; Liu, Kuan; Hu, Feng; Li, Huixin; Jiang, Xin; Yang, Linzhang; Kengara, Fredrick Orori
2015-11-01
Co-contaminated soils by organic pollutants (OPs), antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been becoming an emerging problem. However, it is unclear if an interaction exists between mixed pollutants and ARG abundance. Therefore, the potential relationship between OP contents and ARG and class 1 integron-integrase gene (intI1) abundance was investigated from seven dairy farms in Nanjing, Eastern China. Phenanthrene, pentachlorophenol, sulfadiazine, roxithromycin, associated ARG genes, and intI1 had the highest detection frequencies. Correlation analysis suggested a stronger positive relationship between the ARG abundance and the bioaccessible OP content than the total OP content. Additionally, the significant correlation between the bioaccessible mixed pollutant contents and ARG/intI1 abundance suggested a direct/indirect impact of the bioaccessible mixed pollutants on soil ARG dissemination. This study provided a preliminary understanding of the interaction between mixed pollutants and ARGs in co-contaminated soils. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Jahnke, Annika; MacLeod, Matthew; Wickström, Håkan; Mayer, Philipp
2014-10-07
Equilibrium partitioning (EqP) theory is currently the most widely used approach for linking sediment pollution by persistent hydrophobic organic chemicals to bioaccumulation. Most applications of the EqP approach assume (I) a generic relationship between organic carbon-normalized chemical concentrations in sediments and lipid-normalized concentrations in biota and (II) that bioaccumulation does not induce levels exceeding those expected from equilibrium partitioning. Here, we demonstrate that assumption I can be obviated by equilibrating a silicone sampler with chemicals in sediment, measuring chemical concentrations in the silicone, and applying lipid/silicone partition ratios to yield concentrations in lipid at thermodynamic equilibrium with the sediment (CLip⇌Sed). Furthermore, we evaluated the validity of assumption II by comparing CLip⇌Sed of selected persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic pollutants (polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB)) to lipid-normalized concentrations for a range of biota from a Swedish background lake. PCBs in duck mussels, roach, eel, pikeperch, perch and pike were mostly below the equilibrium partitioning level relative to the sediment, i.e., lipid-normalized concentrations were ≤CLip⇌Sed, whereas HCB was near equilibrium between biota and sediment. Equilibrium sampling allows straightforward, sensitive and precise measurement of CLip⇌Sed. We propose CLip⇌Sed as a metric of the thermodynamic potential for bioaccumulation of persistent organic chemicals from sediment useful to prioritize management actions to remediate contaminated sites.
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Establishing Priorities for Oncology Nursing Research: Nurse and Patient Collaboration.
Cox, Anna; Arber, Anne; Gallagher, Ann; MacKenzie, Mairead; Ream, Emma
2017-03-01
To obtain consensus on priorities for oncology nursing research in the United Kingdom. . A three-round online Delphi survey. . Oncology nurses were invited via the United Kingdom Oncology Nursing Society (UKONS) database. Patient participation was invited through patient organizations. . 50 oncology nurses and 18 patients. . Eligible and consenting individuals reported five priorities for oncology nursing research (round 1), rated their level of agreement with them (round 2), and restated and revised their responses in light of the group's responses (round 3). Consensus was defined as 80% agreement. . Research priorities for oncology nursing as reported by oncology nurses and patients. . Consensus was reached on 50 of 107 research priorities. These priorities reflected the entire cancer pathway, from diagnosis to palliative care. Highest agreement was reached within and across groups on the need for research relating to prevention, screening, early diagnosis, and psychological care across the cancer trajectory. Little consensus was reached regarding symptoms and side effects. Some evident divergence existed. Oncology nurses and patients do not necessarily prioritize the same research areas. Prevention, screening, and early diagnosis are of the highest priority for future research among oncology nurses and patients. . Patients usually play little part in priority setting for research. This study provided the opportunity for meaningful patient and nurse involvement in setting a research agenda for oncology nursing that is relevant and beneficial to oncology nurses and patients.
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Influence of operational parameters on electro-Fenton degradation of organic pollutants from soil.
Rosales, E; Pazos, M; Longo, M A; Sanroman, M A
2009-09-01
The combination of the Fenton's reagent with electrochemistry (the electro-Fenton process) represents an efficient method for wastewater treatment. This study describes the use of this process to clean soil or clay contaminated by organic compounds. Model soil of kaolinite clay polluted with the dye Lissamine Green B (LGB) was used to evaluate the capability of the electro-Fenton process. The effects of operating parameters such as electrode material and dye concentration were investigated. Operating in an electrochemical cell under optimized conditions while using electrodes of graphite, a constant potential difference of 5 V, pH 3, 0.2 mM FeSO(4). 7H(2)O, and electrolyte 0.1 M Na(2)SO(4), around 80% of the LGB dye on kaolinite clay was decolorized after 3 hours with an electric power consumption around 0.15 W h g(-1). Furthermore, the efficiency of this process for the remediation of a real soil polluted with phenanthrene, a typical polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, has been demonstrated.
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Winds of change: reducing transboundary air pollutants.
Reuther, C G
2000-04-01
Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, persistent organic pollutants, particulate matter, and heavy metals---air pollutants once thought to be problems that could be solved locally, where the effects occur---are all currently being discussed in international forums. A spate of meetings and agreements in recent months has shown many international governments to be more willing than ever to try to limit the amount of their air pollution that drifts into other countries. Prompting this policy shift are increasing emissions in some parts of the world, better monitoring, and an improved understanding of air pollution transport and the effects of air pollution. In most regions of the world, however, no international agreements on air pollution exist at all, while in others, many overlapping local, multilateral, and global agreements address the problem simultaneously. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution causes nearly 3 million deaths per year, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that ground-level ozone causes damage to U.S. crops totaling $1-2 billion each year.
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Boonnorat, Jarungwit; Chiemchaisri, Chart; Chiemchaisri, Wilai; Yamamoto, Kazuo
2014-08-01
Biodegradation of toxic organic micro-pollutants in municipal solid waste (MSW) leachate by membrane bioreactor (MBR) was investigated. The MBR systems were seeded with different sludge sources, one was from a pilot-scale MBR system treating MSW leachate and the other was from an activated sludge sewage treatment plant. The biodegradation of BPA, 2,6-DTBP, BHT, DEP, DBP and DEHP, DCP and BBzP, by sludge from both reactors were found improved with time. However, enhanced biodegradation of micro-pollutants was observed in MBR operated under long sludge age condition. Bacterial population analyses determined by PCR-DGGE revealed the development of phenol and phthalate degrading bacteria consortium in MBR sludge during its operation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Air pollution monitoring using emission inventories combined with the moss bag approach.
Iodice, P; Adamo, P; Capozzi, F; Di Palma, A; Senatore, A; Spagnuolo, V; Giordano, S
2016-01-15
Inventory of emission sources and biomonitoring with moss transplants are two different methods to evaluate air pollution. In this study, for the first time, both these approaches were simultaneously applied in five municipalities in Campania (southern Italy), deserving attention for health-oriented interventions as part of a National Interest Priority Site. The pollutants covered by the inventory were CO, NOx, particulate matter (PM10), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and some heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn). The biomonitoring survey was based on the use of the devitalized moss Hypnum cupressiforme transplanted into bags, following a harmonized protocol. The exposure covered 40 agricultural and urban/residential sites, with half of them located in proximity to roads. The pollutants monitored were Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn, as well as total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) only in five sites. Using the emission inventory approach, high emission loads were detected for all the major air pollutants and the following heavy metals: Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn, over the entire study area. Arsenic, Pb, and Zn were the elements most accumulated by moss. Total PAH postexposure contents were higher than the preexposure values (~20-50% of initial value). Moss uptakes did not differ substantially among municipalities or within exposure sites. In the five municipalities, a similar spatial pattern was evidenced for Pb by emission inventory and moss accumulation. Both approaches indicated the same most polluted municipality, suggesting their combined use as a valuable resource to reveal contaminants that are not routinely monitored. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Y. Serengil; A. Augustaitis; Andrzej Bytnerowicz; Nancy Grulke; A.R. Kozovitz; R. Matyssek; G. Müller-Starck; M. Schaub; G. Wieser; A.A. Coskun; E. Paoletti
2011-01-01
Climate change and air pollution are two of the anthropogenic stressors that require international collaboration. Influence mechanisms and combating strategies towards them have similarities to some extent. Impacts of air pollution and climate change have long been studied under IUFRO Research Group 7.01 and state of the art findings are presented at biannual meetings...
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This SOP describes the method for collecting soil samples from the child's outdoor play area to measure for persistent organic pollutants. Soil samples are collected by scraping up the top 0.5 cm of soil in a 0.095 m2 (1 ft2) area in the middle of the child's play area.
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Zhu, Liangliang; Fu Tan, Chuan; Gao, Minmin; Ho, Ghim Wei
2015-12-16
A macroporous carbon network combined with mesoporous catalyst immobilization by a template method gives a metal-oxide-organic framework (MoOF) foam microreactor that readily soaks up pollutants and localizes solar energy in itself, leading to effective degradation of water pollutants (e.g., methyl orange (MO) and also hydrogen generation. The cleaned-up water can be removed from the microreactor simply by compression, and the microreactor used repeatedly. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
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Oceanic biogeochemical controls on global dynamics of persistent organic pollutants.
Dachs, Jordi; Lohmann, Rainer; Ockenden, Wendy A; Méjanelle, Laurence; Eisenreich, Steven J; Jones, Kevin C
2002-10-15
Understanding and quantifying the global dynamics and sinks of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is important to assess their environmental impact and fate. Air-surface exchange processes, where temperature plays a central role in controlling volatilization and deposition, are of key importance in controlling global POP dynamics. The present study is an assessment of the role of oceanic biogeochemical processes, notably phytoplankton uptake and vertical fluxes of particles, on the global dynamics of POPs. Field measurements of atmospheric polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), and furans (PCDFs) are combined with remote sensing estimations of oceanic temperature, wind speed, and chlorophyll, to model the interactions between air-water exchange, phytoplankton uptake, and export of organic matter and POPs out of the mixed surface ocean layer. Deposition is enhanced in the mid-high latitudes and is driven by sinking marine particulate matter, rather than by a cold condensation effect. However, the relative contribution of the biological pump is a function of the physical-chemical properties of POPs. It is concluded that oceanic biogeochemical processes play a critical role in controlling the global dynamics and the ultimate sink of POPs.
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Pollution, health and development: the need for a new paradigm.
Landrigan, Philip J; Fuller, Richard
2016-03-01
Pollution is the largest cause of death in low- and middle-income countries. WHO estimates that 8.9 million persons die each year of diseases caused by pollution - 94% of them in poor countries. By comparison, HIV/AIDS causes 1.5 million deaths per year, and malaria and tuberculosis cause fewer than 1 million each. Diseases caused by pollution are very costly. Pollution can be prevented. In high-income countries, legal and technical control strategies have been developed and yielded great health and economic benefits. The removal of lead from gasoline increased the mean IQ of all American children and has generated an annual economic benefit of $213 billion. Unmet need: Despite its enormous human and economic costs, pollution has been overlooked in the international development agenda. Pollution control currently receives <0.5% of development spending. We have formed The Lancet-GAHP-Mount Sinai Commission on Pollution, Health and Development. This Commission will develop robust analyses of the impacts of pollution on health, economics, and development. It will inform heads of state and global funders about the enormous scale pollution's effects. The ultimate goal is to raise the priority of pollution and increase the resources allocated to control of this urgent public health problem.
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Landrigan, Philip J; Fuller, Richard
2014-01-01
Background. Environmental pollution has become the leading risk factor for death in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The World Health Organization and others calculate that exposures to polluted air - indoor and outdoor, water and soil resulted in 8.4 million deaths in LMICs in 2012. By comparison, HIV/AIDS causes 1.5 million deaths per year, and malaria and tuberculosis Less than 1 million each. The diseases caused by pollution include the traditional scourges of pneumonia and diarrhea, but increasingly they also include chronic, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as such as heart disease, stroke and cancer. Method. We review the diseases caused by pollution and the multiple economic and human burdens that these diseases impose on health systems in countries with already limited resources. Results. We find that diseases caused by pollution increase health care costs, especially for high-cost NCDs. They impose an unnecessary load on health care delivery systems by increasing hospital staffing needs and thus diverting resources from essential prevention programmes such as childhood immunizations, infection control and maternal and child health. They undermine the development of poor countries by reducing the health, intelligence and economic productivity of entire generations. Pollution is highly preventable and pollution prevention is highly cost-effective. Yet despite their high economic and human costs and amenability to prevention, the diseases caused by pollution have not received the attention that they deserve in policy planning or in the international development agenda. Conclusion. Pollution is not inevitable. It is a problem that can be solved in our lifetime. Given the great impact of pollution on health and health care resources and the high cost-benefit ratio of pollution prevention, efforts to mitigate pollution should become a key strategic priority for international funders and for governments of LMICs. Recommendation. Assisting LMICs to
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Huang, Danlian; Xu, Juanjuan; Zeng, Guangming; Lai, Cui; Yuan, Xingzhong; Luo, Xiangying; Wang, Cong; Xu, Piao; Huang, Chao
2015-08-01
As lead is one of the most hazardous heavy metals in river ecosystem, the influence of exogenous lead pollution on enzyme activities and organic matter degradation in the surface of river sediment with high moisture content were studied at laboratory scale. The dynamic changes of urease, catalase, protease activities, organic matter content, and exchangeable or ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-extractable Pb concentration in sediment were monitored during different levels of exogenous lead infiltrating into sediment. At the early stage of incubation, the activities of catalase and protease were inhibited, whereas the urease activities were enhanced with different levels of exogenous lead. Organic matter content in polluted sediment with exogenous lead was lower than control and correlated with enzyme activities. In addition, the effects of lead on the three enzyme activities were strongly time-dependent and catalase activities showed lower significant difference (P < 0.05) than urease and protease. Correlations between catalase activities and EDTA-extractable Pb in the experiment were significantly negative. The present findings will improve the understandings about the ecotoxicological mechanisms in sediment.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hamilton, J.; Dixon, W.; Dunmore, R.; Squires, F. A.; Swift, S.; Lee, J. D.; Rickard, A. R.; Sun, Y.; Xu, W.
2017-12-01
There is increasing evidence that exposure to air pollution results in significant impacts on human health. In Beijing, home to over 20 million inhabitants, particulate matter levels are very high by international standards, with official estimates of an annual mean PM2.5 concentration in 2014 of 86 μg m-3, nearly 9 times higher than the WHO guideline. Changes in particle composition during pollution events will provide key information on sources and can be used to inform strategies for pollution mitigation and health benefits. The organic fraction of PM is an extremely complex mixture reflecting the diversity of sources to the atmosphere. In this study we attempt to harness the chemical complexity of OA by developing an extensive database of over 700 mass spectra, built using literature data and sources specific tracers (e.g. diesel emission characterisation experiments and SOA generated in chamber simulations). Using a high throughput analysis method (15 min), involving UHPLC coupled to Orbitrap mass spectrometry, chromatograms are integrated, compared to the library and a list of identified compounds produced. Purpose built software based on R is used to automatically produce time series, alongside common aerosol metrics and data visualisation techniques, dramatically reducing analysis times. Offline measurements of organic aerosol composition were made as part of the Sources and Emissions of Air Pollutants in Beijing project, a collaborative program between leading UK and Chinese research groups. Rather than studying only a small number of 24 hr PM samples, we collected 250 filters samples at a range of different time resolutions, from 30 minutes to 12 hours, depending on the time of day and PM loadings. In total 643 species were identified based on their elemental formula and retention time, with species ranging from C2-C22 and between 1-13 oxygens. A large fraction of the OA species observed were organosulfates and/or nitrates. Here we will present
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Replacement-ready? Succession planning tops health care administrators' priorities.
Husting, P M; Alderman, M
2001-09-01
Nurses' increasing age coupled with health care's rapidly changing environment moves succession planning, originally only a business sector tool, to a top administrative priority. Through active support of your facility's executive leadership and a clear linkage to long range organization objectives, you can implement this progressive procedure.
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Maldonado, M I; Malato, S; Pérez-Estrada, L A; Gernjak, W; Oller, I; Doménech, Xavier; Peral, José
2006-11-16
Aqueous solutions of a mixture of several pesticides (alachlor, atrazine, chlorfenvinphos, diuron and isoproturon), considered PS (priority substances) by the European Commission, and an intermediate product of the pharmaceutical industry (alpha-methylphenylglycine, MPG) chosen as a model industrial pollutant, have been degraded at pilot-plant scale using ozonation. This study is part of a large research project [CADOX Project, A Coupled Advanced Oxidation-Biological Process for Recycling of Industrial Wastewater Containing Persistent Organic Contaminants, Contract No.: EVK1-CT-2002-00122, European Commission, http://www.psa.es/webeng/projects/cadox/index.html] founded by the European Union that inquires into the potential coupling between chemical and biological oxidations for the removal of toxic or non-biodegradable contaminants from water. The evolution of pollutant concentration, TOC mineralization, generation of inorganic species and consumption of O3 have been followed in order to visualize the chemical treatment effectiveness. Although complete mineralization is hard to accomplish, and large amounts of the oxidant are required to lower the organic content of the solutions, the possibility of ozonation cannot be ruled out if partial degradation is the final goal wanted. In this sense, Zahn-Wellens biodegradability tests of the ozonated MPG solutions have been performed, and the possibility of a further coupling with a secondary biological treatment for complete organic removal is envisaged.
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Subjective reactions to volatile organic compounds as air pollutants
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Mølhave, Lars; Grønkjær, John; Larsen, Søren
Human subjective reactions to indoor air pollution in the form of volatile organic compounds in five concentrations ⩽ mg m -3 were examined in a climate chamber under controlled conditions in a balanced experimental design. The reactions of 25 subjects were registered in two questionnaires containing 25 and six questions and on a linear analogue rating scale. Each subject was tested for one day including four runs in each of the five treatments of 50 min duration. Dose effects were found for perceived odour intensity at 3 mgm -3. Air quality, need for ventilation, irritation of eye and nose showed significant effect at 8 mg m -3. Significant reduced well being was reported at 25 mgm -3. The analyses indicated that lower threshold for some of these effects would have been found if more subjects or longer exposure-times had been used. Gender, age, occupational education and smoking habits were co-factors for many of the symptoms reported.
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Acute lethal toxicity of environmental pollutants to aquatic organisms.
Yen, Jui-Hung; Lin, Kuo-Hsiung; Wang, Yei-Shung
2002-06-01
The acute lethal toxicity of environment pollutants including chlorophenol, haloalkane, quinone, and substituted nitrobenzene (i.e., nitrophenol, nitrobenzene, nitrotoluene, and aniline) compounds to aquatic organisms was determined. Determination of toxicity of chemicals was performed with chlorella, daphnia, carp, and tilapia. The toxicity of chlorophenols had no relation to the number of chlorine atoms on the benzene ring, but monochlorophenol had lower activity than more chlorine-substituted compounds. The tolerance levels of daphnia and carp to haloalkanes was found to be higher than that of chlorella; toxicity to chlorella was several hundred times higher than to daphnia. The toxicity of naphthoquinone compounds to chlorella and carp was higher than that of anthraquinone. A compound with a monochloride substitution on anthraquinone ring was less toxic to carp than those substituted with amine, hydroxyl, and dichlorine groups. Nitrobenzene compounds with an additional substitution group on the p position were extremely toxic to daphnia and carp. (c) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).
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Barni, María F Silva; Ondarza, Paola M; Gonzalez, Mariana; Da Cuña, Rodrigo; Meijide, Fernando; Grosman, Fabián; Sanzano, Pablo; Lo Nostro, Fabiana L; Miglioranza, Karina S B
2016-04-15
The occurrence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment can affect organisms inhabiting aquatic systems, in particular shallow lakes that are vulnerable to environmental stressors. This study aimed to assess POPs accumulation and changes at histological and physiological levels in tissues of three fish species with different trophic habits. Gills, brain, muscle, liver and gonads of Odontesthes bonariensis, Oligosarcus jenynsii and Cyphocharax voga were collected from the shallow lake La Peregrina, located in an agricultural area from Argentina. In addition, contaminant levels in surface water (SW), suspended particulate matter (SPM) and bottom sediments (BS) were assessed. Histological lesions were evaluated in fish tissues and levels of vitellogenin (VTG) were assessed in plasma of male fish in order to correlate these alterations with the presence of POPs in the environment. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were determined by GC-ECD. Biotic and abiotic samples showed the same POPs distribution pattern: OCPs>PCBs>PBDEs. Although tissue distribution of OCPs was species-specific, muscle showed the lowest levels in all species. The most abundant contaminants were endosulfans, suggesting their widespread use in the area. O. bonariensis showed the highest endosulfans levels in liver (184.2-219ngg(-1)wet w), which was associated with the high SPM levels considering this species is a filter feeder. The occurrence of PCBs and PBDEs shows the ubiquity of these pollutants in the area. Histological lesions in gills and liver of O. bonariensis and O. jenynsii, might be related with the high levels of endosulfans in these organs. The detection of VTG in males warns about a possible exposure to estrogenic compounds in the environment. In conclusion, the simultaneous exposure of fish to multiple environmental pollutants leads to different alterations, so measures should be taken in
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Assaad, Aziz; Pontvianne, Steve; Pons, Marie-Noëlle
2017-05-01
To rapidly monitor the surface water quality in terms of organic pollution of an industrial river undergoing restoration, optical methods (UV-visible spectrometry and fluorescence) were applied in parallel to classical physical-chemical analyses. UV-visible spectra were analyzed using the maximum of the second derivative at 225 nm (related to nitrates), specific absorbance at 254 nm (SUVA 254 ), and the spectral slope between 275 and 295 nm (S 275-295 ) (related to the aromaticity and molecular weight of dissolved organic carbon). The synchronous fluorescence spectra (wavelength difference = 50 nm) exhibited a high variability in the composition of dissolved organic material between the upstream and downstream sections and also versus time. The principal components analysis of the entire set of synchronous fluorescence spectra helped to define three river sections with different pollution characteristics. Spectral decomposition was applied to the two most upstream sections: five fluorophores, classical in rivers impacted by domestic sewage and related to protein-like (λ ex = 280 nm) and humic-like fluorescence (M-type with λ ex ≈ 305-310 nm and C-type with λ ex ≥ 335 nm), were identified. The irregular shape of the synchronous fluorescence spectra in the most downstream section is likely due to organic pollutants of industrial origin; however, their variability and the complexity of the spectra did not allow the further elucidation of their nature.
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Mazur, D M; Polyakova, O V; Artaev, V B; Lebedev, A T
2017-03-01
The most common mass spectrometry approach analyzing contamination of the environment deals with targeted analysis, i.e. detection and quantification of the selected (priority) pollutants. However non-targeted analysis is becoming more often the method of choice for environmental chemists. It involves implementation of modern analytical instrumentation allowing for comprehensive detection and identification of the wide variety of compounds of the environmental interest present in the sample, such as pharmaceuticals and their metabolites, musks, nanomaterials, perfluorinated compounds, hormones, disinfection by-products, flame retardants, personal care products, and many others emerging contaminants. The paper presents the results of detection and identification of previously unreported organic compounds in snow samples collected in Moscow in March 2016. The snow analysis allows evaluation of long-term air pollution in the winter period. Gas chromatography coupled to a high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer has enabled us with capability to detect and identify such novel analytes as iodinated compounds, polychlorinated anisoles and even Ni-containing organic complex, which are unexpected in environmental samples. Some considerations concerning the possible sources of origin of these compounds in the environment are discussed. Copyright © 2017 LECO. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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Clinical Research Priorities in Adult Congenital Heart Disease
Cotts, Timothy; Khairy, Paul; Opotowsky, Alexander R.; John, Anitha S.; Valente, Anne Marie; Zaidi, Ali N.; Cook, Stephen C.; Aboulhosn, Jamil; Ting, Jennifer Grando; Gurvitz, Michelle; Landzberg, Michael J.; Verstappen, Amy; Kay, Joseph; Earing, Michael; Franklin, Wayne; Kogon, Brian; Broberg, Craig S.
2014-01-01
Background Adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) clinicians are hampered by the paucity of data to inform clinical decision-making. The objective of this study was to identify priorities for clinical research in ACHD. Methods A list of 45 research questions was developed by the Alliance for Adult Research in Congenital Cardiology (AARCC), compiled into a survey, and administered to ACHD providers. Patient input was sought via the Adult Congenital Heart Association at community meetings and online forums. The 25 top questions were sent to ACHD providers worldwide via an online survey. Each question was ranked based on perceived priority and weighted based on time spent in ACHD care. The top 10 topics identified are presented and discussed. Results The final online survey yielded 139 responses. Top priority questions related to tetralogy of Fallot (timing of pulmonary valve replacement and criteria for primary prevention ICDs), patients with systemic right ventricles (determining the optimal echocardiographic techniques for measuring right ventricular function, and indications for tricuspid valve replacement and primary prevention ICDs), and single ventricle/Fontan patients (role of pulmonary vasodilators, optimal anticoagulation, medical therapy for preservation of ventricular function, treatment for protein losing enteropathy). In addition, establishing criteria to refer ACHD patients for cardiac transplantation was deemed a priority. Conclusions The ACHD field is in need of prospective research to address fundamental clinical questions. It is hoped that this methodical consultation process will inform researchers and funding organizations about clinical research topics deemed to be of high priority. PMID:24411207
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Clinical research priorities in adult congenital heart disease.
Cotts, Timothy; Khairy, Paul; Opotowsky, Alexander R; John, Anitha S; Valente, Anne Marie; Zaidi, Ali N; Cook, Stephen C; Aboulhosn, Jamil; Ting, Jennifer Grando; Gurvitz, Michelle; Landzberg, Michael J; Verstappen, Amy; Kay, Joseph; Earing, Michael; Franklin, Wayne; Kogon, Brian; Broberg, Craig S
2014-02-15
Adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) clinicians are hampered by the paucity of data to inform clinical decision-making. The objective of this study was to identify priorities for clinical research in ACHD. A list of 45 research questions was developed by the Alliance for Adult Research in Congenital Cardiology (AARCC), compiled into a survey, and administered to ACHD providers. Patient input was sought via the Adult Congenital Heart Association at community meetings and online forums. The 25 top questions were sent to ACHD providers worldwide via an online survey. Each question was ranked based on perceived priority and weighted based on time spent in ACHD care. The top 10 topics identified are presented and discussed. The final online survey yielded 139 responses. Top priority questions related to tetralogy of Fallot (timing of pulmonary valve replacement and criteria for primary prevention ICDs), patients with systemic right ventricles (determining the optimal echocardiographic techniques for measuring right ventricular function, and indications for tricuspid valve replacement and primary prevention ICDs), and single ventricle/Fontan patients (role of pulmonary vasodilators, optimal anticoagulation, medical therapy for preservation of ventricular function, treatment for protein losing enteropathy). In addition, establishing criteria to refer ACHD patients for cardiac transplantation was deemed a priority. The ACHD field is in need of prospective research to address fundamental clinical questions. It is hoped that this methodical consultation process will inform researchers and funding organizations about clinical research topics deemed to be of high priority. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Arianna Morani; David J. Nowak; Satoshi Hirabayashi; Carlo Calfapietra
2011-01-01
Highest priority zones for tree planting within New York City were selected by using a planting priority index developed combining three main indicators: pollution concentration, population density and low canopy cover. This new tree population was projected through time to estimate potential air quality and carbon bene!ts. Those trees will likely remove more than 10...
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Persistent Organic Pollutants in Biotic and Abiotic Components of Antarctic Pristine Environment
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Bhardwaj, Laxmikant; Chauhan, Abhishek; Ranjan, Anuj; Jindal, Tanu
2018-02-01
Over the past decades, research in Antarctica has built a new understanding of Antarctica, its past, present and future. Human activities and long-range pollutants are increasing on the Antarctic continent. Research on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has been carried out internationally by several countries having their permanent research stations to explain the impact of an ever increasing range of POPs in Antarctic ecosystem. POPs have been detected in Antarctica despite its geographical isolation and almost complete absence of human settlements. The presence of POPs in different abiotic (atmosphere, water bodies, sediments, soil, sea ice) and biotic components (mosses, lichens, krill, penguins, skua, etc.) in Antarctica has been studied and documented around for decades and has either been banned or strictly regulated but is still found in the environment. This review focuses on recent research pertaining to sources and occurrence of POPs in Antarctic lake water, soil, sediment, lichen, mosses and other Antarctic marine community. This review also proposes to summarize the current state of research on POPs in Antarctica environment and draw the earliest conclusions on possible significance of POPs in Antarctica based on presently available information from related Antarctic environment.
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Persistent Organic Pollutants in Biotic and Abiotic Components of Antarctic Pristine Environment
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Bhardwaj, Laxmikant; Chauhan, Abhishek; Ranjan, Anuj; Jindal, Tanu
2018-05-01
Over the past decades, research in Antarctica has built a new understanding of Antarctica, its past, present and future. Human activities and long-range pollutants are increasing on the Antarctic continent. Research on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has been carried out internationally by several countries having their permanent research stations to explain the impact of an ever increasing range of POPs in Antarctic ecosystem. POPs have been detected in Antarctica despite its geographical isolation and almost complete absence of human settlements. The presence of POPs in different abiotic (atmosphere, water bodies, sediments, soil, sea ice) and biotic components (mosses, lichens, krill, penguins, skua, etc.) in Antarctica has been studied and documented around for decades and has either been banned or strictly regulated but is still found in the environment. This review focuses on recent research pertaining to sources and occurrence of POPs in Antarctic lake water, soil, sediment, lichen, mosses and other Antarctic marine community. This review also proposes to summarize the current state of research on POPs in Antarctica environment and draw the earliest conclusions on possible significance of POPs in Antarctica based on presently available information from related Antarctic environment.
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García-Ubaque, César A; García-Ubaque, Juan C; Vaca-Bohórquez, Martha L
2015-12-01
Objective To estimate the economic benefits related to environment and health in the context of the implementation of the Stockholm Convention for the control of Persistent Organic Pollutants in the country. The estimation was conducted based on two scenarios: non-compliance with the agreement and compliance with the Convention. Gross profit was derived from the difference in present value between the health and environmental costs that are assumed in each scenario. Results Gross profit by decreasing health costs arising from the implementation of the Convention was estimated at USD $ 511 and USD $ 501 million. By introducing variables such as management costs and agreement on potential benefits for access to international markets, the benefits to the country were estimated at between USD $1 631 and USD $ 3 118 million. Discussion Despite the economic benefits generated by lower expenditure on health for the Convention implementation, the costs associated with reducing pollutant emissions generated a negative balance, compensated only by the expectation of higher revenues for international market access. We consider this initial economic assessment an important contribution, but it should be reviewed to include valuation methodologies involving other social profitability variables and different scenarios for emerging technologies, new scientific knowledge about these pollutants, changes in legislation and / or changes in trade agreement conditions, among others.
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Cleaveland, Rance; Luettgen, Gerald; Natarajan, V.
1999-01-01
This paper surveys the semantic ramifications of extending traditional process algebras with notions of priority that allow for some transitions to be given precedence over others. These enriched formalisms allow one to model system features such as interrupts, prioritized choice, or real-time behavior. Approaches to priority in process algebras can be classified according to whether the induced notion of preemption on transitions is global or local and whether priorities are static or dynamic. Early work in the area concentrated on global pre-emption and static priorities and led to formalisms for modeling interrupts and aspects of real-time, such as maximal progress, in centralized computing environments. More recent research has investigated localized notions of pre-emption in which the distribution of systems is taken into account, as well as dynamic priority approaches, i.e., those where priority values may change as systems evolve. The latter allows one to model behavioral phenomena such as scheduling algorithms and also enables the efficient encoding of real-time semantics. Technically, this paper studies the different models of priorities by presenting extensions of Milner's Calculus of Communicating Systems (CCS) with static and dynamic priority as well as with notions of global and local pre- emption. In each case the operational semantics of CCS is modified appropriately, behavioral theories based on strong and weak bisimulation are given, and related approaches for different process-algebraic settings are discussed.
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Petriello, Michael C; Newsome, Bradley J; Dziubla, Thomas D; Hilt, J Zach; Bhattacharyya, Dibakar; Hennig, Bernhard
2014-09-01
Environmental pollution is increasing worldwide, and there is evidence that exposure to halogenated persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls can contribute to the pathology of inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, and cancer. Pollutant removal from contaminated sites and subsequent pollutant degradation are critical for reducing the long-term health risks associated with exposure. However, complete remediation of a toxicant from the environment is very difficult and cost-prohibitive. Furthermore, remediation technologies often result in the generation of secondary toxicants. Considering these circumstances, environmentally-friendly and sustainable remediation technologies and biomedical solutions to reduce vulnerability to environmental chemical insults need to be explored to reduce the overall health risks associated with exposure to environmental pollutants. We propose that positive lifestyle changes such as healthful nutrition and consumption of diets rich in fruits and vegetables or bioactive nutrients with antioxidant and/or anti-inflammatory properties will reduce the body's vulnerability to environmental stressors and thus reduce toxicant-mediated disease pathologies. Interestingly, emerging evidence now implicates the incorporation of bioactive nutrients, such as plant-derived polyphenols, in technologies focused on the capture, sensing and remediation of halogenated POPs. We propose that human nutritional intervention in concert with the use of natural polyphenol sensing and remediation platforms may provide a sensible means to develop primary and long-term prevention strategies of diseases associated with many environmental toxic insults including halogenated POPs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Petriello, Michael C.; Newsome, Bradley J.; Dziubla, Thomas D.; Hilt, J. Zach; Bhattacharyya, Dibakar; Hennig, Bernhard
2014-01-01
Environmental pollution is increasing worldwide, and there is evidence that exposure to halogenated persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls can contribute to the pathology of inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, and cancer. Pollutant removal from contaminated sites and subsequent pollutant degradation are critical for reducing the long-term health risks associated with exposure. However, complete remediation of a toxicant from the environment is very difficult and cost-prohibitive. Furthermore, remediation technologies often result in the generation of secondary toxicants. Considering these circumstances, environmentally-friendly and sustainable remediation technologies and biomedical solutions to reduce vulnerability to environmental chemical insults need to be explored to reduce the overall health risks associate with exposure to environmental pollutants. We propose that positive lifestyle changes such as healthful nutrition and consumption of diets rich in fruits and vegetables or bioactive nutrients with antioxidant and/or anti-inflammatory properties will reduce the body’s vulnerability to environmental stressors and thus reduce toxicant-mediated disease pathologies. Interestingly, emerging evidence now implicates the incorporation of bioactive nutrients, such as plant-derived polyphenols, in technologies focused on the capture, sensing and remediation of halogenated POPs. We propose that human nutritional intervention in concert with the use of natural polyphenol sensing and remediation platforms may provide a sensible means to develop primary and long-term prevention strategies of diseases associated with many environmental toxic insults including halogenated POPs. PMID:24530186
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2013-12-06
... Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). This partial deletion pertains to the soil of 1,154 residential parcels identified in the June 4, 2013 FR NOIPD. The remaining residential parcels with soil lead levels...
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Mumford, J.L.; Burton, R.M.; Svendsgaard, D.J.
1991-10-01
This study assessed human exposure to air pollutants from unvented kerosene heaters in mobile homes. Eight electric homes with no smokers were monitored for airborne particles of < 10 {mu}m in diameter (PM{sub 10}), semivolatile organics, and carbon monoxide with the kerosene heaters on and off. The organic emissions were assayed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), nitro-PAH, and for mutagenicity in a Salmonella typhimurium reverse mutation assay. Usage of kerosene heaters resulted in (a) a significant increase in CO and organic levels (including carcinogenic PAH and nitro-PAH), (b) no significant effect on PM{sub 10} levels, except in two homes, (c)more » the presence of unburned kerosene fuel, (d) an increase in mutagenicity (in TA98) of particle-phase organics in five homes, and (e) little mutagenicity in the semivolatile organics in TA98 and TA100. Four of the eight heaters investigated emitted pollutants that exceeded the US ambient air standards for the 24-h PM{sub 10} standard and/or CO standards (the 1-h peak or 8-h average standard). This study showed that kerosene heater emissions can significantly impact indoor air quality in mobile homes.« less
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Colozza, Noemi; Gravina, Maria Flavia; Amendola, Luca; Rosati, Modesto; Akretche, Djamal Eddine; Moscone, Danila; Arduini, Fabiana
2017-04-15
Cadmium and lead are highly toxic heavy metals which cause a severe worldwide pollution. In addition to the toxic effect produced by the direct exposure, they can be bioconcentrated and accumulated in living organisms, including humans. Herein, a miniaturized and disposable electrochemical sensor was improved for the simultaneous detection of cadmium and lead ions to study the bioremediation of polluted seawater in presence of the filter-feeding marine organism Styela plicata. A screen-printed electrode modified in situ with a bismuth film was selected using the anodic stripping analysis as detection technique. This sensor was coupled with a portable potentiostat and the detection of cadmium and lead ions was carried out by Square Wave Anodic Stripping Voltammetry, allowing the simultaneous detection of both heavy metals at ppb level (LOD=0.3ppb for lead, 1.5ppb for cadmium). This analytical tool was then applied to assess the bioremediation capacity of S. plicata through a bioremediation experiment, in which the organism has been exposed to seawater artificially polluted with 1000ppb of Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ . The matrix effect of both seawater and acid digested biological samples was evaluated. A bioconcentration phenomenon was observed for both heavy metals through the analysis of S. plicata tissues. In details, Pb 2+ resulted to be about 2.5 times more bioconcentrated than Cd 2+ , giving an effective bioremediation level in seawater of 13% and 40% for Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ , respectively. Thus, our results demonstrate the capability of S. plicata to bioremediate Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ polluted seawater as well as the suitability of the electrochemical sensor for contaminated marine environment monitoring and bioremediation evaluation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Multi-pollutant interactions in hyporheic zones
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Krause, S.; Weatherill, J.; Bonet, B.; Blaen, P.; Khamis, K.; Cassidy, N. J.; Hannah, D. M.; Rivett, M. O.; Lynch, I.; Ullah, S.
2017-12-01
Hyporheic zones represent hotspots of biogeochemical reactivity, with the potential to attenuate pollutants and ameliorate their impact on ecosystem functioning. Sources and types of pollutants in streambed environments are manifold, with legacy industry contaminants, agricultural pollution and emerging pollutants such as pharmaceuticals or engineered nanoparticles entering hyporheic zones along different flow paths where they mix and potentially react with each other. Current conceptualizations of drivers and controls of biogeochemical turnover in hyporheic zones highlight primarily the role of transport and reaction times but do not account for potential interactions between different pollutants. This study presents two case studies of multi-pollutant interactions to illustrate the need to consider interferences between different pollutants, their transport and reaction pathways for adequate impact assessment. We discuss in the first instance how the natural attenuation of a Trichloroethylene (TCE) groundwater plume in an agricultural catchment is limited by high riparian and hyporheic nitrate concentrations. As nitrate outcompeted TCE in its reaction with organic carbon as electron donor, TCE attenuation was in this case limited to hyporheic denitrification hotspots. Hence any pollution control measures to reduce the impact of this TCE plume require a reduction of agricultural nitrate loads, highlighting the connectedness of legacy (TCE) and more recent (nitrate) pollution problems. In the second case, we investigate how the labile organic carbon content of streambed sediments as main control of hyporheic respiration is overridden by exposure to different silver nanoparticle concentrations, representing emerging pollutants in many of our rivers. Also in this case, the impacts of different stressors (nanoparticle exposure) and drivers (availability of organic matter, water temperature) are interacting in their impacts on hyporheic zone functioning. We argue that
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Su, Shiliang; Zhi, Junjun; Lou, Liping; Huang, Fang; Chen, Xia; Wu, Jiaping
Characterizing the spatio-temporal patterns and apportioning the pollution sources of water bodies are important for the management and protection of water resources. The main objective of this study is to describe the dynamics of water quality and provide references for improving river pollution control practices. Comprehensive application of neural-based modeling and different multivariate methods was used to evaluate the spatio-temporal patterns and source apportionment of pollution in Qiantang River, China. Measurement data were obtained and pretreated for 13 variables from 41 monitoring sites for the period of 2001-2004. A self-organizing map classified the 41 monitoring sites into three groups (Group A, B and C), representing different pollution characteristics. Four significant parameters (dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus and total lead) were identified by discriminant analysis for distinguishing variations of different years, with about 80% correct assignment for temporal variation. Rotated principal component analysis (PCA) identified four potential pollution sources for Group A (domestic sewage and agricultural pollution, industrial wastewater pollution, mineral weathering, vehicle exhaust and sand mining), five for Group B (heavy metal pollution, agricultural runoff, vehicle exhaust and sand mining, mineral weathering, chemical plants discharge) and another five for Group C (vehicle exhaust and sand mining, chemical plants discharge, soil weathering, biochemical pollution, mineral weathering). The identified potential pollution sources explained 75.6% of the total variances for Group A, 75.0% for Group B and 80.0% for Group C, respectively. Receptor-based source apportionment was applied to further estimate source contributions for each pollution variable in the three groups, which facilitated and supported the PCA results. These results could assist managers to develop optimal strategies and determine priorities for river
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15 CFR 700.11 - Priority ratings.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-01-01
... DO-A1 or DX-A1 priority rating. A contract for a radar set will contain a DO-A7 or DX-A7 priority... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Priority ratings. 700.11 Section 700... DEFENSE PRIORITIES AND ALLOCATIONS SYSTEM Industrial Priorities § 700.11 Priority ratings. (a) Levels of...
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Finer, S; Robb, P; Cowan, K; Daly, A; Shah, K; Farmer, A
2018-07-01
To describe processes and outcomes of a priority setting partnership to identify the 'top 10 research priorities' in Type 2 diabetes, involving people living with the condition, their carers, and healthcare professionals. We followed the four-step James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership process which involved: gathering uncertainties using a questionnaire survey distributed to 70 000 people living with Type 2 diabetes and their carers, and healthcare professionals; organizing the uncertainties; interim priority setting by resampling of participants with a second survey; and final priority setting in an independent group of participants, using the nominal group technique. At each step the steering group closely monitored and guided the process. In the first survey, 8227 uncertainties were proposed by 2587 participants, of whom 18% were from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups. Uncertainties were formatted and collated into 114 indicative questions. A total of 1506 people contributed to a second survey, generating a shortlist of 24 questions equally weighted to the contributions of people living with diabetes and their carers and those of healthcare professionals. In the final step the 'top 10 research priorities' were selected, including questions on cure and reversal, risk identification and prevention, and self-management approaches in Type 2 diabetes. Systematic and transparent methodology was used to identify research priorities in a large and genuine partnership of people with lived and professional experience of Type 2 diabetes. The top 10 questions represent consensus areas of research priority to guide future research, deliver responsive and strategic allocation of research resources, and improve the future health and well-being of people living with, and at risk of, Type 2 diabetes. © 2018 The Authors. Diabetic Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Diabetes UK.
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This SOP describes the procedures for homogenizing, extracting and concentrating solid food samples for persistent organic pollutants such as organochlorine compounds, organophosphate compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, substituted phenols, and...
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This SOP describes the procedures for homogenizing, extracting, and concentrating liquid food samples for neutral persistent organic pollutants such as organochlorine compounds, organophosphate compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, and phenols.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hernawati, Kuswari; Insani, Nur; Bambang S. H., M.; Nur Hadi, W.; Sahid
2017-08-01
This research aims to mapping the 33 (thirty-three) provinces in Indonesia, based on the data on air, water and soil pollution, as well as social demography and geography data, into a clustered model. The method used in this study was unsupervised method that combines the basic concept of Kohonen or Self-Organizing Feature Maps (SOFM). The method is done by providing the design parameters for the model based on data related directly/ indirectly to pollution, which are the demographic and social data, pollution levels of air, water and soil, as well as the geographical situation of each province. The parameters used consists of 19 features/characteristics, including the human development index, the number of vehicles, the availability of the plant's water absorption and flood prevention, as well as geographic and demographic situation. The data used were secondary data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia. The data are mapped into SOFM from a high-dimensional vector space into two-dimensional vector space according to the closeness of location in term of Euclidean distance. The resulting outputs are represented in clustered grouping. Thirty-three provinces are grouped into five clusters, where each cluster has different features/characteristics and level of pollution. The result can used to help the efforts on prevention and resolution of pollution problems on each cluster in an effective and efficient way.
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Priority setting and economic appraisal: whose priorities--the community or the economist?
Green, A; Barker, C
1988-01-01
Scarce resources for health require a process for setting priorities. The exact mechanism chosen has important implications for the type of priorities and plans set, and in particular their relationship to the principles of primary health care. One technique increasingly advocated as an aid to priority setting is economic appraisal. It is argued however that economic appraisal is likely to reinforce a selective primary health care approach through its espousal of a technocratic medical model and through its hidden but implicit value judgements. It is suggested that urgent attention is needed to develop approaches to priority setting that incorporate the strengths of economic appraisal, but that are consistent with comprehensive primary health care.
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Reveiz, Ludovic; Elias, Vanessa; Terry, Robert F; Alger, Jackeline; Becerra-Posada, Francisco
2013-07-01
To compare health research priority-setting methods and characteristics among countries in Latin America and the Caribbean during 2002 - 2012. This was a systematic review that identified national health research policies and priority agendas through a search of ministry and government databases related to health care institutions. PubMed, LILACS, the Health Research Web, and others were searched for the period from January 2002 - February 2012. The study excluded research organized by governmental institutions and specific national strategies on particular disease areas. Priority-setting methods were compared to the "nine common themes for good practice in health research priorities." National health research priorities were compared to those of the World Health Organization's Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Of the 18 Latin American countries assessed, 13 had documents that established national health research priorities; plus the Caribbean Health Research Council had a research agenda for its 19 constituents. These 14 total reports varied widely in terms of objectives, content, dissemination, and implementation; most provided a list of strategic areas, suggestions, and/or sub-priorities for each country; however, few proposed specific research topics and questions. Future reports could be improved by including more details on the comprehensive approach employed to identify priorities, on the information gathering process, and on practices to be undertaken after priorities are set. There is a need for improving the quality of the methodologies utilized and coordinating Regional efforts as countries strive to meet the MDG.
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Zhou, Tong; Wu, Longhua; Luo, Yongming; Christie, Peter
2018-01-01
Soil particulate organic matter (POM) has rapid turnover and metal enrichment, but the interactions between organic matter (OM) and metals have not been well studied. The present study aimed to investigate changes in the OM concentration and composition of the POM fraction and their corresponding effects on metal distribution and extractability in long-term polluted paddy soils. Soil 2000-53 μm POM size fractions had higher contents of C-H and C=O bonds, C-H/C=O ratios and concentrations of fulvic acid (FA), humic acid (HA), cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) than the bulk soils. Cadmium and Zn stocks in soil POM fractions were 24.5-27.9% and 7.12-16.7%, respectively, and were more readily EDTA-extractable. Compared with the control soil, the 2000-250 μm POM size fractions had higher organic carbon concentrations and C/N ratios in the polluted soils. However, there were no significant differences in the contents in C-H and C=O bonds or C-H/C=O ratios of POM fractions among the control, slightly and highly polluted soils. In accordance with the lower contents of C=O bonds and FA and HA concentrations, the Cd and Zn concentrations in 250-53 μm POM size fractions were lower than those in 2000-250 μm POM size fractions. Enrichment of Cd in POM fractions increased with increasing soil pollution level. These results support the view that changes in the OM concentration and the size and composition of POM fractions play a key role in determining the distribution of Cd and Zn in paddy soils. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Adsorption of organic stormwater pollutants onto activated carbon from sewage sludge.
Björklund, Karin; Li, Loretta Y
2017-07-15
Adsorption filters have the potential to retain suspended pollutants physically, as well as attracting and chemically attaching dissolved compounds onto the adsorbent. This study investigated the adsorption of eight hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) frequently detected in stormwater - including four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), two phthalates and two alkylphenols - onto activated carbon produced from domestic sewage sludge. Adsorption was studied using batch tests. Kinetic studies indicated that bulk adsorption of HOCs occurred within 10 min. Sludge-based activated carbon (SBAC) was as efficient as tested commercial carbons for adsorbing HOCs; adsorption capacities ranged from 70 to 2800 μg/g (C initial = 10-300 μg/L; 15 mg SBAC in 150 mL solution; 24 h contact time) for each HOC. In the batch tests, the adsorption capacity was generally negatively correlated to the compounds' hydrophobicity (log K ow ) and positively associated with decreasing molecule size, suggesting that molecular sieving limited adsorption. However, in repeated adsorption tests, where competition between HOCs was more likely to occur, adsorbed pollutant loads exhibited strong positive correlation with log K ow . Sewage sludge as a carbon source for activated carbon has great potential as a sustainable alternative for sludge waste management practices and production of a high-capacity adsorption material. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Keller, Jay; Hill, Laura; Kiuru, Kristian
The HySafe research priorities workshop is held on the even years between the International Conference on Hydrogen Safety (ICHS) which is held on the odd years. The research priorities workshop is intended to identify the state-of-the-art in understanding of the physical behavior of hydrogen and hydrogen systems with a focus on safety. Typical issues addressed include behavior of unintended hydrogen releases, transient combustion phenomena, effectiveness of mitigation measures, and hydrogen effects in materials. In the workshop critical knowledge gaps are identified. Areas of research and coordinated actions for the near and medium term are derived and prioritized from these knowledgemore » gaps. The stimulated research helps pave the way for the rapid and safe deployment of hydrogen technologies on a global scale. To support the idea of delivering globally accepted research priorities for hydrogen safety the workshop is organized as an internationally open meeting. In attendance are stakeholders from the academic community (universities, national laboratories), funding agencies, and industry. The industry participation is critically important to ensure that the research priorities align with the current needs of the industry responsible for the deployment of hydrogen technologies. This report presents the results of the HySafe Research Priorities Workshop held in Washing- ton, D.C. on November 10-11, 2014. At the workshop the participants presented updates (since the previous workshop organized two years before in Berlin, Germany) of their research and development work on hydrogen safety. Following the workshop, participants were asked to provide feedback on high-priority topics for each of the research areas discussed and to rank research area categories and individual research topics within these categories. The research areas were ranked as follows (with the percentage of the vote in parenthesis): 1. Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) Tools (23%) 2. Reduced
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Assessment of organic contaminants in emissions from refuse-derived fuel combustion
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Chrostowski, J.; Wait, D.; Kwong, E.
1985-09-01
Organic contaminants in emissions from refuse-derived fuel combustion were investigated in a 20-inch-diameter atmospheric fluidized-bed combustor. Combinations of coal/EcoFuel/MSW/toluene were burned inthe combustor with temperatures ranging from 1250 to 1550 degrees F. A Source Assessment Sampling System (SASS) was used to sample the stack gas; Level 1 methodology was used to analyze the organic-contaminant levels. Combustion efficiencies of 93 to 98 percent were achieved in the test burns. Combustion of the EcoFuel generated fewer organic emissions than combustion of coal at similar combustion temperatures. The fine particulate collected by the SASS train filter contained higher concentrations of extractable organics thanmore » the reactor fly ash and the SASS cyclone samples. Combustion of a toluene/EcoFuel mix generated a large number of benzene derivatives not seen in the combustion of pure EcoFuel. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were the dominant organic compounds contained in the XAD-2 resin extract from coal combustion. A number of different priority pollutants were identified in the samples collected.« less
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Wang, Fei; Sun, Hongwen; Ren, Xinhao; Liu, Yarui; Zhu, Hongkai; Zhang, Peng; Ren, Chao
2017-12-01
The effects of humic acid (HA) and heavy metals (Cu 2+ and Ag + ) on the sorption of polar and apolar organic pollutants onto biochars that were produced at temperatures of 200 °C (BC200) and 700 °C (BC700) were studied. Due to the plentiful polar functional groups on BC200, cationic propranolol exhibited higher levels of sorption than naphthalene on BC200 while naphthalene and propranolol showed similar sorption capacities on BC700. HA changed the characteristics of biochars and generally inhibited the sorption of target organic pollutants on biochars; however, enhancement occurred in some cases depending on the pollutants involved and their concentrations, biochars used and the addition sequences and concentrations of HA. On BC200, HA modifications mainly influenced sorption by decreasing its polarity and increasing its aromaticity, while on BC700, the surface area and pore volume greatly decreased due to the pore-blocking effects of HA. Residue dissolved HA in solution may also contribute to sorption inhibition. Complexation between polar functional groups on BC200 and heavy metals slightly enhanced the sorption of neutral naphthalene and significantly enhanced that of anionic 4-nitro-1-naphtol, while limited the sorption of cationic propranolol. Heavy metals together with their associated water molecules decreased the sorption of target chemicals on BC700 via pore-filling or pore-mouth-covering. Inhibition of heavy metals for 4-nitro-1-naphthol was found to be the weakest due to the bridge effects of heavy metals between 4-nitro-1-naphtol and BC700. The higher polarizability of Ag + led to the increase of its sorption on biochars in the presence of organic aromatic pollutants. The results of the present study shed light on the sorption mechanisms of bi-solute systems and enable us to select suitable biochar sorbents when chemicals co-exist. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Gusso-Choueri, Paloma Kachel; Choueri, Rodrigo Brasil; de Araújo, Giuliana Seraphim; Cruz, Ana Carolina Feitosa; Stremel, Tatiana; Campos, Sandro; Abessa, Denis Moledo de Sousa; Ribeiro, Ciro Alberto Oliveira
2015-11-01
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are vulnerable to many pressures, including pollution. However, environmental quality monitoring in these areas traditionally relies on only water chemistry and microbiological parameters. The goal of the current study was to investigate the role of a set of biomarkers in different target organs (liver, kidney, and gills) of fish in order to assess the environmental quality of an MPA (MTs, GPx, GST, GSH, DNA damage, LPO, AChE, and condition index). Chemical analyses were also performed on liver and muscle tissues to evaluate metal body burdens, and PAHs were identified in bile. A demersal fish (Cathorops spixii) that is widely consumed by the local population was used as bioindicator species, and the results were integrated using multivariate analysis. The use of the biomarker approach allowed for the identification of both seasonal and spatial variations in pollution sources around the Environmental Protected Area of Cananéia-Iguape-Peruíbe (APA-CIP). Higher metal body burdens associated with biological responses were found in the sites under the influence of urban areas during the dry season, and they were found in the sites under the influence of the Ribeira de Iguape River (RIR) during the rainy season. The liver was found to be more responsive in terms of its antioxidant responses, whereas gills were found to be more responsive to biomarkers of effect. These results show that this set of biomarker analyses in different organs of fish is a useful tool for assessing chemical pollution in an MPA.
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Assessment of treatment systems for highway runoff pollution control in Portugal.
Barbosa, A E; Fernandes, J N
2009-01-01
Treatment systems for highway runoff pollution control are now common structures for environmental impacts reduction in Portugal. Such systems must be monitored and its performance periodically assessed, in order to understand if they are accomplishing the targets for environmental protection. Wise management decisions must incorporate the soundness of the project, the construction and maintenance costs, and the ability of the system to reduce the pollution to the level required for environmental protection. To gather, organize and analyse all the existing information concerning the constructed treatment systems, their operation, maintenance and efficiency were understood as a priority by the Portuguese Roads' Institute. The authors of this article were responsible for this 3 years study that finished in May 2008. A total of 27 different systems, corresponding to 13 different project types, located in different places in Portugal have been characterized and evaluated. Several conclusions could be drawn from the evaluation and recommendations were produced concerning the project, the construction and operation phases and the monitoring activities. The recommendations concern tasks to be performed and information that should be gathered and presented to the Portuguese Road's Institute. It is expected that these indications will contribute to improve the future practice in Portugal.
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Sonne, Christian; Dietz, Rune; Born, Erik W; Riget, Frank F; Leifsson, Pall S; Bechshøft, Thea Ø; Kirkegaard, Maja
2007-11-15
Sexual organs and their development are susceptible to atmospheric transported environmental xenoendocrine pollutants and climate change (food availability). We therefore investigated sexual organs from 55 male and 44 female East Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus) to obtain information about growth/size and sexual maturity. Then, the genitalia size was compared with those previously reported from Canadian and Svalbard polar bears. Growth models showed that East Greenland male polar bears reached sexual maturity around 7 years of age and females around 4 years of age. When comparing East Greenland and Svalbard polar bears, the size of baculum and uterus were significantly lower in the East Greenland polar bears (ANOVA: all p < 0.05). Based on previously published baculum mean values from Canadian polar bears, a similar baculum pattern was found for East Greenland vs. Canadian polar bears. It is speculated whether this could be a result of the general high variation in polar bear body size, temporal distribution patterns of anthropogenic long-range transported persistent organic pollutants or climate change (decreasing food availability). The present investigation represents conservation and background data for future spatial and temporal assessments of hunting, pollution and climate change scenarios.
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Tang, Xiaomin; Zheng, Huaili; Gao, Baoyu; Zhao, Chuanliang; Liu, Bingzhi; Chen, Wei; Guo, Jinsong
2017-06-15
Extracellular organic matter (EOM) is ubiquitous in the algae-polluted water and has a significant impact on the human health and drinking water treatment. We investigate the different characteristics of dissolved extracellular organic matter (dEOM) and bound extracellular organic matter (bEOM) recovered from the various growth period of Microcystis aeruginosa and the interactions of them and polyaluminum chloride (PACl). The roles of the different EOM in the algae-polluted water treatment are also discussed. The functional groups of aromatic, OH, NH, CN and NO in bEOM possessing the stronger interaction with hydroxyl aluminum compared with dEOM is responsible for bEOM and algae removal. Some low molecular weight (MW) organic components and protein-like substances in bEOM are most easily removed. And dEOM weakly reacts with PACl or inhibits coagulation, especially dEOM with the high MW organic components. The main coagulation mechanisms of bEOM are the generation of insoluble Al-bEOM through complexation, the bridge of AlO 4 Al 12 (OH) 24 (H 2 O) 12 7+ (Al 13 ), the adsorption of Al(OH) 3(am) and the entrapment of flocs. The adsorption of Al 13 and Al(OH) 3(am) mainly contribute to dEOM removal. It is also recommended to treat the algae with dEOM and bEOM at the initial stage. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Indoor air pollution on nurseries and primary schools: impact on childhood asthma--study protocol.
Sousa, Sofia I V; Ferraz, Catarina; Alvim-Ferraz, Maria C M; Vaz, Luisa G; Marques, Agostinho J; Martins, Fernando G
2012-06-13
Several studies have demonstrated an association between the exposure to indoor air pollution (IAP) and childhood asthma. Evidence is suggesting that several air pollutants may contribute to both exacerbation and development of asthma, but some uncertainty remains concerning the specific causative role of IAP. This paper reports an epidemiologic study aiming to reduce the existing lacks on the association between long-term exposure to pollution mixtures and the development and exacerbation of childhood asthma. Based on the implementation of the study in 8 nurseries and 8 primary schools, from which, 2 nurseries and 2 primary schools in sites influenced by traffic and other 2 nurseries and 2 primary schools in background sites at urban and rural areas, the study will analyse the exposure to both urban and rural pollution as well as to traffic emissions (some homes of the children will be included in the study). Furthermore, based on the answers to validated questionnaires (as those used in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood - ISAAC) filled in by the parents and on medical exams, the study will assess the prevalence, incidence and exacerbation of asthma, thus considering both short and long-term effects. The approximate number of children in the study will never be less than 600, guaranteeing 80% of study power (significant at a 5% level). This study intends to contribute for the understanding of the role of environmental factors, namely indoor air pollution, on asthma considering a risk group of different ages, and for the development of preventive measures, which are considered priority issues by the European Commission, according to the European Environmental Agency and the World Health Organization.