Search results for " pollutant"
showing 10 items of 1149 documents
Effect of 30 years of road traffic abandonment on epiphytic moss diversity
2014
Road traffic emits a cocktail of pollutants that can influence the vegetation and plant diversity in neighboring areas. However, the recovery potential of bryophytes after traffic abandonment is still little explored. In addition, the effects of the main pollutants of road verges, such as metals and salinity, on moss flora need to be investigated. In our study, we compared the moss richness and diversity in two closely related veteran tree allees of high conservation importance. The allees in Gryżów and Lubrza, Poland, were chosen because of their similarity in age, geographical location, type of surrounding areas, and tree species. The only difference was that the trees in Gryżów had not b…
Isolation of Gram-positive n-alkane degraders from a hydrocarbon-contaminated Mediterranean shoreline.
2007
Aims: To investigate the petroleum hydrocarbon (HC)-degrading potential of indigenous micro-organisms in a sandy Mediterranean coast, accidentally contaminated with petroleum-derived HCs. Methods and Results: Using culturable methods, a population of Gram-positive n-alkane degraders was detected in the contaminated soil. Five isolates, identified as one Nocardia, two Rhodococcus and two Gordonia strains, were able to degrade medium- and long-chain n-alkanes up to C36 as assessed by growth assays and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. Diverging alkane hydroxylase-encoding genes (alkB) were detected by PCR, using degenerated primers, in all the strains; multiple sequences were obt…
CFD simulation of heavy pollutants in urban areas: the case study of Messina.
2008
Narażenie na zanieczyszczenia zawarte w pyłach PM10 i PM2,5 drogami wchłaniania: inhalacyjną, dermalną i pokarmową
2022
W artykule zaprezentowano wyniki pomiarów stężeń pyłu PM10 w powietrzu atmosferycznym wraz z zawartymi metalami ciężkimi (arsenem, kadmem, niklem i ołowiem). Przeanalizowano dane z okresu 2016-2020 dla ośmiu stacji monitoringu jakości powietrza zlokalizowanych w województwie śląskim. Wyniki pomiarów dotyczyły stężeń średniorocznych uzyskanych z rejestru Głównego Inspektoratu Ochrony Środowiska. Najwyższe stężenia pyłu PM10 odnotowano w latach 2016 i 2017, sięgały one 160 μg/m3 przekraczając tym samym wartość dopuszczalną (40 μg/m3) prawie 4-krotnie. Spośród przeanalizowanych metali, dla arsenu w roku 2016 zaobserwowano przekroczenia wartości dopuszczalnej, która wynosi 6 ng/m3. Spośród sied…
A Short Review of Simple Analytical Methods for the Evaluation of PAHs and PAEs as Indoor Pollutants in House Dust Samples
2022
Studies on indoor air quality are indispensable when considering that people spend approximately 85% of their time in confined environments. This short review mostly takes into consideration research that uses passive samplers to evaluate the quality of indoor environments (houses, school, cars, etc.). This short review summarizes most analytical methods to detect and quantify PAHs and PAEs in house dust used as a passive sampler. The objective of house dust analysis is to identify the presence, amount and distribution of specific hazardous substances in confined spaces and, if possible, to identify their sources. Household dust and the compounds present in it can enter the human body by in…
Air Quality Assessment by the Determination of Trace Elements in Lichens (Xanthoria calcicola) in an Industrial Area (Sicily, Italy)
2022
This study provides data on variation in the content of metals and metalloids measured in the lichens (Xanthoria calcicola Oxner) collected in the Syracusan petrochemical complex (Sicily, Italy) which is considered one of the largest in Europe. Concentrations of eighteen trace elements measured in the lichens that were collected from 49 different points were analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS) device. The concentrations of the typical elements of industrial emissions (As, Cr, Ni, and V) highlight the environmental criticality that exists in the study area. The interpretation of the data in terms of multi-element statistical analysis (FA) and enrichment factor (EFs) proved …
Ammonium adsorption, desorption and recovery by acid and alkaline treated zeolite
2021
In this study, the suitability of zeolite as a possible medium for ammonium adsorption, desorption and recovery from wastewater was investigated. Specifically, batch adsorption and desorption studies with solutions enriched in NH$_4^+$ were conducted employing zeolite to evaluate how the chemical treatment and contact time affect adsorption and desorption. Several experimental tests were carried out considering both untreated and treated zeolite. Untreated and HCl-Na treated zeolite adsorbed up to 11.8 mg NH$_4^+$ g$^{-1}$ and showed the highest efficiency in recovering NH$_4^+$ from aqueous solution. Regardless of pre-treatment, treatments with NaCl resulted in higher and faster adsorption…
The impact of a disused mine on uranium transport in the River Fal, South West England.
2004
Unfiltered and filtered (0.45 and 0.2 microm) water samples and sediment samples (sieved to180 microm and 180-1000 microm) were collected along an approximately 15 km transect of the River Fal, Cornwall, UK, to examine the impact of the disused South Terras uranium mine on the uranium concentrations of the river water and underlying sediments. The uranium concentration of the water samples fluctuated along the river, with the 0.45 microm filtered water showing the largest, seven-fold, difference between minimum (0.19 microg L(-1)) and maximum (1.34 microg L(-1)) concentrations. The historical uranium mine and spoil heaps were not a significant source of uranium to the river water, as water …
Nitrous oxide emissions in a membrane bioreactor treating saline wastewater contaminated by hydrocarbons
2016
The joint effect of wastewater salinity and hydrocarbons on nitrous oxide emission was investigated. The membrane bioreactor pilot plant was operated with two phases: i. biomass acclimation by increasing salinity from 10 gNaCl L−1 to 20 gNaCl L−1 (Phase I); ii. hydrocarbons dosing at 20 mg L−1 with a constant salt concentration of 20 gNaCl L−1 (Phase II). The Phase I revealed a relationship between nitrous oxide emissions and salinity. During the end of the Phase I, the activity of nitrifiers started to recover, indicating a partial acclimatization. During the Phase II, the hydrocarbon shock induced a temporary inhibition of the biomass with the suppression of nitrous oxide emissions. The r…
Sorption of uranium(VI) onto ferric oxides in sulfate-rich acid waters.
2003
The mechanisms of the uranium(VI) sorption on schwertmannite and goethite in acid sulfate-rich solutions were studied by Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. The samples were prepared under N2 atmosphere and initial uranium(VI) concentrations of 1 x 10(-5) (pH 6.5) to 5 x 10(-5) M (pH 4.2). The ionic strength was adjusted using 0.01 M Na2SO4 or 0.01 M NaClO4, respectively. The EXAFS structural parameters for uranium(VI) sorbed on goethite in sulfate-rich, acid and near-neutral solutions indicate that uranium(VI) forms an inner-sphere, mononuclear, bidentate surface complex. This complex is characterized by a uranium-ferric-iron distance of approximately 3.45 A. Ura…