Search results for " Pollution"
showing 10 items of 1010 documents
Aggregate air pollution indices: a new proposal
2009
A new aggregate Air Quality Index (I2) to represent the global air pollution situation for a given city/region is proposed. Accounting for simultaneous exposure to common pollutants and their effects on human health, this index overcomes existing AQIs. Its goodness and utility is shown by a simulation plan and by an application to a real dataset on main pollutants.
Aqueous solubility diagrams for cementitious waste stabilization systems. 3. Mechanism of zinc immobilizaton by calcium silicate hydrate.
2002
Zinc oxide was added during hydration of alite (C3S) as an analogue for solidification/stabilization by cement of metal-bearing hazardous waste. Curing of samples was stopped at various intervals between 8 h and 100 d, and the reaction products were analyzed by both X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS at Zn, Ca, and Si K-edges). Calcium zincate hydrate (CaZn2(OH)6 x 2H2O) initially formed together with calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) vanishes from X-ray diffractograms after 14 d, and no other crystalline Zn-bearing phase could be detected thereafter. EXAFS Zn K-edge data analysis reveals that Zn(O,OH)4 tetrahedra continue to determine the first shell coordination…
Green aspects, developments and perspectives of liquid phase microextraction techniques.
2014
Determination of analytes at trace levels in complex samples (e.g. biological or contaminated water or soils) are often required for the environmental assessment and monitoring as well as for scientific research in the field of environmental pollution. A limited number of analytical techniques are sensitive enough for the direct determination of trace components in samples and, because of that, a preliminary step of the analyte isolation/enrichment prior to analysis is required in many cases. In this work the newest trends and innovations in liquid phase microextraction, like: single-drop microextraction (SDME), hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME), and dispersive liquid-liqu…
Determination of the herbicide benfuresate by its photo-induced chemiluminescence using flow multicommutation methodology.
2007
The present paper deals with an analytical strategy based on coupling photo-induced chemiluminescence in a multicommutation continuous-flow methodology for the determination of the herbicide benfuresate. The solenoid valve inserted as small segments of the analyte solution was sequentially alternated with segments of the NaOH solution for adjusting the medium for the photodegradation. Both flow rates (sample and medium) were adjusted to required time for photodegradation, 90 s; and then, the resulting solution was also sequentially inserted as segments alternated with segments of the oxidizing solution system, hexacyanoferrate (III) in alkaline medium. The calibration range from 1 microg L(…
Presence of plastic particles in waterbirds faeces collected in Spanish lakes
2017
Plastic intake by marine vertebrates has been widely reported, but information about its presence in continental waterfowl is scarce. Here we analyzed faeces of waterbirds species (European coot, Fulica atra, mallard, Anas platyrhynchos and shelduck, Tadorna tadorna) for plastic debris in five wetlands in Central Spain. We collected 89 faeces of shelduck distributed in four lakes, 43.8% of them presented plastic remnants. Sixty percent of 10 faeces of European coot and 45% of 40 faeces of mallard contained plastic debris. Plastic debris found was of two types, threads and fragments, and were identified as remnants of plastic objects used in agricultural fields surrounding the lakes. Differe…
Analysis of Archaeological Bones for the Purpose of Reconstructing the Paleodiet of Medieval Inhabitants
2010
Bone is one of the few materials that are consistently recovered from archaeological and paleontological sites; its chemical composition has the potential to provide valuable information about ancient human and faunal diet and health status. Diet is one aspect of the development of human culture; changes in dietary regimes occurred together with changes in the manner of food procurement. Gathering, hunting and, after domestication, cattle breeding, and finally agriculture, each stage of development of the dietary process also brought social stratification, which in turn led to a preferred diet for certain individuals (Smrcka 2005). The most frequently examined elements for the reconstructio…
Historical Contaminant Records from Sclerochronological Archives
2015
A number of marine and freshwater organisms, including scleractinian and proteinacious corals, coralline algae, sclerosponges, and bivalve mollusks, secrete skeletons that grow larger over time and may record environmental contaminants over the lifespan of an individual. Most of these organisms also form periodic growth patterns (growth increments, lines or bands) that can be used to accurately date contaminant archives produced from chemical or physical analysis of sequential skeletal samples (termed sclerochronology). The majority of records produced from these organisms thus far have focused on paleoclimate reconstructions, but there is a vast potential for information on changes in cont…
Concentrations and forms of heavy metals in Slovak soils
2005
The risk assessment of heavy-metal contamination in soils requires knowledge of the controls of metal concentrations and speciation. We tested the relationship between soil properties (pH, CEC, Corg, oxide concentrations, texture) and land use (forest, grassland, arable) and the partitioning of Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn among the seven fractions of a sequential extraction procedure in 146 A horizons from Slovakia. Using a cluster analysis, we identified 92 soils as representing background metal concentrations while the remaining 54 soils showed anthropogenic contamination. Among the background soils, forest soils had the lowest heavy-metal concentrations except for Pb (highest)…
Effects of diclofenac on the gametes and embryonic development of Arbacia lixula
2022
Diclofenac (DCF), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), is among the main pollutants of aquatic environments. Nevertheless, even if several authors evaluated its effects on marine organisms, no work has ever analysed its impact on the sea urchin Arbacia lixula. The purpose of this study was to analyse, for the first time, the impact of DCF at different concentrations (50 mg/l, 5 mg/l, 0.5 mg/l, 0.05 mg/l) on A. lixula embryos and gametes to indicate possible safe minimum levels of release of this drug in marine environments. Our results showed significant concentration-dependent effects on embryonic development (decrease in the number of developed embryos and increase in the quant…
Green Homeowners? An Empirical Application of Fischel’s Homevoter Hypothesis
2021
It is a no-brainer that owners of private property usually care about their personal possessions. But does this also apply to public goods? Fischel’s homevoter hypothesis argues that property owners—in this case homeowners—will exhibit more than average concern with regard to public goods, particularly local public goods in their own neighborhood such as the local crime rate, nearby schools, and environmental quality. This contribution applies Fischel’s hypothesis to the public good of residential environmental conditions. Based on survey and administrative data collected in two cities, Mainz in Germany and Zurich in Switzerland, it examines whether house and apartment owners, as compared t…