Search results for "WASTE"
showing 10 items of 2580 documents
Microbial environmental contamination in Italian dental clinics: A multicenter study yielding recommendations for standardized sampling methods and t…
2012
A microbiological environmental investigation was carried out in ten dental clinics in Italy. Microbial contamination of water, air and surfaces was assessed in each clinic during the five working days, for one week per month, for a three-month period. Water and surfaces were sampled before and after clinical activity; air was sampled before, after, and during clinical activity. A wide variation was found in microbial environmental contamination, both within the participating clinics and for the different sampling times. Before clinical activity, microbial water contamination in tap water reached 51,200cfu/mL (colony forming units per milliliter), and that in Dental Unit Water Systems (DUWS…
Chloroanisoles in soils and earthworms
1993
One important group of metabolites of chlorophenols in Finnish soils is their methylation products, i.e. chloroanisoles. Bioaccumulation of chloroanisoles into the biomass of earthworms was studied both in laboratory and by taking earthworm samples from contaminated soils. Concentrations of these compounds in the soils were also analysed. In the laboratory experiment, concentrations of 2,3,4,6-tetrachloroanisole (2346-TeCA) and pentachloroanisole (PeCA) were high in earthworms 1 week after introduction (approx. 50 μ/g fat). Later on, the concentrations decreased to a low level at a considerable rate, bcth in soil and in earthworms. The higher the concentration of chloroanisoles in the soil …
Ecotoxicological studies with the freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus. Resource competition between rotifers and daphnids under toxic stress
1993
Abstract This study examined the ability of the freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus to coexist with the large cladoceran Daphnia magna, and the effect of sublethal concentrations of copper on the competition between both species. Preliminary laboratory experiments showed that large Daphnia (> 1.2 mm) can kill and rapidly exclude the rotifer B. calyciflorus in mixed-species cultures. Brachionus populations were suppressed by Daphnia both through exploitative competition for shared, limited food resources and through mechanical interference. At a food concentration of 1 X 105 cells/ml of Nannochloris oculata, competition caused high mortality rates and decreased fertility in the rotife…
Biogas production from boreal herbaceous grasses – Specific methane yield and methane yield per hectare
2009
Abstract The objective of this study was to determine the specific methane yields of four grass species (cocksfoot, tall fescue, reed canary grass and timothy) cultivated under boreal conditions as well as how harvesting time and year of cultivation affects the specific methane yields per ha. The specific methane yields of all grasses and all harvests varied from 253 to 394 Nl CH4/kg volatile solids (VS) added. The average specific methane yield of the 1st harvest of all grasses was higher than the 2nd harvests. In this study the methane and energy yields from different harvest years were ranged from 1200 to 3600 Nm3 CH4/ha/a, corresponding from 12 to 36 MWh CH 4 /ha/a. The methane yield pe…
Selection of biological and chemical parameters indicating or affecting the vitality of Norway spruce
1991
Abstract Thirty-two young and old Norway spruce trees ( Picea abies (L.) Karst.) showing different degrees of damage were investigated in a forest stand in the Taunus Mountains (FRG). The old trees showed visual symptoms of damage such as discolouration of the needles and needle loss. Over 70 biometric, physiological and chemical parameters were determined for needle and soil samples. Interrelationships between these variables were described by correlation analysis. The most discriminant variables between different groups of trees were found by Fisher weighing. This reduced data set was used for principal component analysis and for the classification of various parameters according to diffe…
Effect of the insecticide methylparathion on filtration and ingestion rates of Brachionus calyciflorus and Daphnia magna
1993
The freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus and the cladocera Daphnia magna were exposed to sublethal levels of methylparathion to determine the effect on filtration and ingestion rates. The experiments were performed using the unicellular algae, Nannochloris oculata in a density of 5 × 105 cell/ml. Prior to feeding experiments, preliminary acute toxicity tests were carried out to determine 24-h LC50 values for both species, these values indicated that Daphnia magna was more sensitive to methylparathion acute exposure than Brachionus calyciflorus was. Rates of filtration and ingestion declined with increasing methylparathion concentrations after an exposure of 5 h to this toxicant. The e…
Chlorinated phenolic compounds in coniferous needles. Effects of metal and paper industry and incineration
1997
Abstract Pine needles were analyzed for their contents of chlorinated phenolic compounds. Altogether about 30 samples from surroundings of a metal scrap plant, a pulp and paper mill, a hazardous waste incinerator and reference samples outside of the immediate influence of these were analyzed by GC/ECD and GC/MS. Most phenolic compounds in the needles were found to be bound to the plant material and were not extractable as such by organic solvents. The concentrations of some bound chlorinated phenolic compounds were on level of 1–300 ng/g in dried needle. For many compounds the concentrations were remarkably higher in the three years old needles compared to the concentrations in the one and …
PCDDs, PCDFs, PCDTs, PCBs and some other organochlorine compounds in pine needles exposed to pulp and paper mill emissions and effects of waste combu…
1997
Concentrations of semivolatile chlorinated organic compounds α-HCH, lindane, HCB, DDT, DDE, DDD, chlordanes and PCBs, and low-volatility compounds PCDDs, PCDFs and PCDTs in pine needles in a recipient area of the emissions from a pulp and paper mill where also waste combustion was done were measured. Mostly, the concentrations were found to be near the background levels. Elevated concentrations of HCB, some PCB congeners and some HxCDF isomers in samples from two sampling points were observed. Some other possible point sources of these compounds are situated in the vicinity of the pulp and paper mill.. Also the community of Pietarsaari is one possible source of the slightly elevated concent…
Swimming pool water--fractionation and genotoxicological characterization of organic constituents.
2005
Swimming pool water treatment in general includes flocculation, sand filtration, and subsequent disinfection with chlorine. The continuous chlorination and input of organic material by bathers in combination with recirculation of the pool water leads to an accumulation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in the water. Several DBPs have been identified as human carcinogens and are thought to cause allergic asthma. Therefore, the elimination of DBPs is one major aim of pool water treatment. Using membrane filtration as an alternative treatment technology, DBPs can be removed more efficiently than with conventional treatment. In this study membrane filtration and genotoxicity testing were appli…
Emerging technologies for enhanced removal of residual antibiotics from source-separated urine and wastewaters: A review.
2022
Antibiotic residues are of significant concern in the ecosystem because of their capacity to mediate antibiotic resistance development among environmental microbes. This paper reviews recent technologies for the abatement of antibiotics from human urine and wastewaters. Antibiotics are widely distributed in the aquatic environment as a result of the discharge of municipal sewage. Their existence is a cause for worry due to the potential ecological impact (for instance, antibiotic resistance) on bacteria in the background. Numerous contaminants that enter wastewater treatment facilities and the aquatic environment, as a result, go undetected. Sludge can act as a medium for some chemicals to …