Search results for "environmental monitoring"

Ecotoxicity assessment of natural attenuation effects at a historical dumping site in the western Baltic Sea.

2005

During the late 1950s and early 1960s of the past century, industrial waste material highly enriched in various contaminants (heavy metals, PAHs) was dumped in the inner Mecklenburg Bay, western Baltic Sea. Large-scale shifts in the spatial distribution of heavy metals in surface sediments were mapped by geochemical monitoring in the mid-1980s and 12 years later in 1997. A further study in 2001 was designed to investigate the small-scale spatial distribution of contaminants inside, on top of, and around the historical dumping ground and to examine possible effects to benthic organisms (Arctica islandica, microbiological toxicity tests). The site is located within an area characterized by a …

Occurrence of acidic pharmaceuticals and personal care products in Turia River Basin: From waste to drinking water

2014

The occurrence of 21 acidic pharmaceuticals, including illicit drugs, and personal care products (PPCPs) in waste, surface and drinking water and in sediments of the Turia River Basin (Valencia, Spain) was studied. A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed for the determination of these PPCPs with electrospray (ESI) in negative ionization (NI) mode. Ammonium fluoride in the mobile phase improved ionization efficiency by an average increase in peak area of 5 compared to ammonium formate or formic acid. All studied compounds were detected and their concentration was waste water>surface water>drinking water. PPCPs were in waste water treatment plants (WWT…

La qualità dell’aria indoor: una priorità ambientale e sanitaria

2009

Quantifying the Indicator Power of an Indicator Species

2009

Biodiversity indicator species are needed for classifying biotopes and sites for conservation, and a number of methods have been developed for determining indicator species for this purpose. Nevertheless, in addition to site classification, there is sometimes a need to define an indicator species that indicates the occurrence of another species. For example, when a species of interest (target species) is difficult to detect or identify, a reliable indicator species can function as a tool that saves time and money. We derived a method that provides a quantitative measure of the indicator power (IP) of an indicator species for the target species or any species assemblage. We calculated the me…

Effect of indoor nitrogen dioxide on lung function in urban environment

2015

BACKGROUND: High levels of indoor NO2 are associated with increased asthma symptoms and decreased expiratory peak flows in children. We investigated the association of exposure to domestic indoor NO2, objectively measured in winter and spring, with respiratory symptoms and lung function in a sample of adolescents from a southern Mediterranean area. METHODS: From a large school population sample (n=2150) participating in an epidemiological survey in the urban area of the City of Palermo (southern Italy), a sub-sample of 303 adolescents was selected which furnished an enriched sample for cases of current asthma. All subjects were evaluated by a health questionnaire, skin prick tests and spiro…

Metal concentrations and detoxification mechanisms in Solea solea and Solea senegalensis from NW Mediterranean fishing grounds

2013

10 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables

Spatio-temporal distribution of microplastics in a Mediterranean river catchment: The importance of wastewater as an environmental pathway.

2021

Abstract Microplastics (MPs) are considered to be ubiquitous contaminants in freshwater ecosystems, yet their sources and pathways at the river catchment scale need to be better determined. This study assessed MP (55–5000 µm) pollution in a Mediterranean river catchment (central Spain) and aimed to identify the importance of wastewater as an environmental pathway. We sampled treated and untreated wastewaters, and raw and digested sludge from five WWTPs during two seasons. River water and sediments were sampled at three locations with different anthropogenic influences during three seasons. On average, 93% (47–99%) of MPs were retained by WWTPs. Concentrations in river water and sediment ran…

Who's better at spotting? A comparison between aerial photography and observer-based methods to monitor floating marine litter and marine mega-fauna.

2020

Pollution by marine litter is raising major concerns due to its potential impact on marine biodiversity and, above all, on endangered mega-fauna species, such as cetaceans and sea turtles. The density and distribution of marine litter and mega-fauna have been traditionally monitored through observer-based methods, yet the advent of new technologies has introduced aerial photography as an alternative monitoring method. However, to integrate results produced by different monitoring techniques and consider the photographic method a viable alternative, this ‘new’ methodology must be validated. This study aims to compare observations obtained from the concurrent application of observer-based and…

Acute toxicity of toluene, hexane, xylene, and benzene to the rotifers Brachionus calyciflorus and Brachionus plicatilis.

1992

A large number of studies on the biological effects of oil pollution in the aquatic environment deal with the effects of whole crude or refined oils or their water-soluble fractions. However, low boiling, aromatic hydrocarbons, which are probably the most toxic constituents of oil, have until now not been examined in sufficient detail. Toluene, benzene and xylene, constitute a major component of various oils. They may be readily lost by weathering but are toxic in waters that are relatively stagnant and are chronically polluted. Korn et al. have stated that toluene is more toxic than many other hydrocarbons such as benzene, though the latter are more water-soluble. Report of the effects of …

Presence and biodistribution of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in Paracentrotus lividus highlight its potential application for environmental biomonit…

2021

AbstractThe first determination of presence and biodistribution of PFOA in ninety specimens of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus from two differently contaminated sites along Palermo’s coastline (Sicily) is reported. Analyses were performed on the sea urchins’ coelomic fluids, coelomocytes, gonads or mixed organs, as well as on seawater and Posidonia oceanica leaves samples from the collection sites. PFOA concentration ranged between 1 and 13 ng/L in seawater and between 0 and 794 ng/g in P. oceanica. The analyses carried out on individuals of P. lividus from the least polluted site (A) showed PFOA median values equal to 0 in all the matrices (coelomic fluid, coelomocytes and gonads). Conver…