Abstract Analytical
methods for the analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and
organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are widely available and are the
result of a vast amount of environmental analytical method development
and research on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) over the past
30–40 years. This review summarizes procedures and examines new
approaches for extraction, isolation, identification and quantification
of individual congeners/isomers of the PCBs and OCPs. Critical to the
successful application of this methodology is the collection,
preparation, and storage of samples, as well as specific quality
control and reporting criteria, and therefore these are also discussed.
With the signing of the Stockholm convention on POPs and the
development of global monitoring programs, there is an increased need
for laboratories in developing countries to determine PCBs and OCPs.
Thus, while this review attempts to summarize the current best
practices for analysis of PCBs and OCPs, a major focus is the need for
low-cost methods that can be easily implemented in developing
countries. A “performance based” process is described whereby
individual laboratories can adapt methods best suited to their
situations. Access to modern capillary gas chromatography (GC)
equipment with either electron capture or low-resolution mass
spectrometry (MS) detection to separate and quantify OCP/PCBs is
essential. However, screening of samples, especially in areas of known
use of OCPs or PCBs, could be accomplished with bioanalytical methods
such as specific commercially available enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent
assays and thus this topic is also reviewed. New analytical techniques
such two-dimensional GC (2D-GC) and “fast GC” using GC–ECD may be
well-suited for broader use in routine PCB/OCP analysis in the near
future given their relatively low costs and ability to provide
high-resolution separations of PCB/OCPs. Procedures with low
environmental impact (SPME, microscale, low solvent use, etc.) are
increasingly being used and may be particularly suited to developing
countries. Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00216-006-0765-y and is accessible for authorized users.
We characterize the uptake and loss of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) by sampling and analyzing their terrestrial and marine foods and fecal material from a remote coastal watershed in British Columbia. We estimate that grizzly bears consume 341 to 1,120 µg of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 3.9 to 33 µg of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) daily in the fall when they have access to an abundant supply of returning salmon. We estimate that POP elimination...
BACKGROUNDThe Methods Section of the EPA Office of Solid Waste (OSW) has stated a need for more rapid, less expensive field screening procedures that do not compromise the accuracy of contaminant evaluation. The OSW screening approach incorporates a single point threshold or multiple individual point discriminators giving results in semiquantitative ranges lying between these points. SDI has validated all of the RaPID Assays using a calibration curve to convert an absorbance response to a numerical value. The...
The Fifth Workshop on Environmental Monitoring of Persistent Organic Pollutants in East Asian Countries was held at Kyoto International Conference Center in Kyoto on 20th – 22nd November, 2007.
2. The Workshop was organised by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOE), and participants, both government officials and technical experts, from 10 countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam).
3. Dr. Hirotsugu KIMURA, Director of...
Musk xylene (MX) is frequently used as fragrances in formulation of personal care products. Quantification of a bound 4-amino-MX(4-AMX) as cysteine adducts in trout hemoglobin (Hb) was made by gas chromatography-ion trap-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The Hb samples were collected from trout after 24 h exposure to MX at 10µg/g, and or menhaden oil (control). The formation of cysteine-Hb adduct was observed from nitroso derivative of MX, released by alkaline hydrolysis. The released 4-AMX metabolite was extracted in...
ABSTRACTThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) current ambient water quality criteria (AWQC) for cyanide were developed in 1984. Since this time, additional research on cyanide toxicity and analytical chemistry has suggested that cyanide AWQC values need to be updated to reflect the current state-of-the-science and to ensure that the methods for implementing the cyanide AWQC reflect the bioavailable and toxic forms of cyanide. Therefore, the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) sponsored a...
Abstract Analytical techniques for the determination of polychorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins
(PCDD), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF) and dioxin-like PCBs
(DLPCB) are reviewed. The focus of the review is on recent advances in
methodology and analytical procedures. The paper also reviews
toxicology, the development of toxic equivalent factors (TEF) and the
determination of toxic equivalent quantity (TEQ) values. Sources,
occurrence and temporal trends of PCDD/PCDF are summarized to provide
examples of...
Abstract: Benzene Exposure was evaluated in adults and children living in Adelaide, South Australia by measuring benzene and urinary s-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA). To determine of benzene exposure in each subject the personal passive samplers was used and samples were analyzed by gas chromatography system equipped to flame ionization detector. The level of SPMA was determined by competitive enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in children. The mean concentration of benzene in Summer and Winter were 1.62±1.43...
The analytical chemistry of PCB’s is rigorous,
demanding the highest quality in sample
preparation and analytical technique.
Insufficient sample extraction and
inappropriate methods of sample clean-up are
the most common sources of error in PCB
analysis, which causes significant interference
in the chromatography. However, even in
relatively clean samples the problem remains
to confidently distinguish PCB’s from other
compounds in the sample. Since PCB’s are
extremely complex mixtures of congeners,
they...
Common loons (Gavia immer) were studied to assess the biomagnification of persistent contaminants in lake ecosystems in Atlantic Canada. Forty-two breeding adults and 20 juvenile loons were captured in August, 1995–1997 on lakes in four areas of southern New Brunswick (Lepreau and Fundy National Park) and Nova Scotia (Halifax and Kejimkujik National Park). Blood samples were collected for analysis of mercury, methylmercury, lead, and selenium. Plasma samples from adult loons were analyzed for PCB congeners and...
Applications of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) in the measurement of very hydrophobic organic compounds (VHOCs) are limited, partly due to the difficulty of calibrating SPME fibers for VHOCs. This study used a static SPME strategy with a large sample volume (1.6 L) and a five-point calibration procedure to determine the distribution coefficients for a large suite of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides between a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) phase (100 m thickness) coated on a glass...
The intention of this article is to explain how to improve design and product development. The objective is to point out different functions or mechanisms of the core of design tasks. Furthermore the aim is to analyse systematic control procedures in creative work. This review consists of extensively processed theoretical material connected to experiences in practical design. The beginning of the article is a fundamental antithesis between creative and systematic approaches and also a theoretical basis for the...
Untitled Document
ABSTRACT: Reductive dechlorination of chlorinated organic compounds can be
promoted through the addition of electron donors to the subsurface. The presence
of ferric iron that is bioavailable can affect reductive dechlorination by supporting
the growth of iron-reducing bacteria. These bacteria can maintain sufficiently low
dissolved hydrogen concentrations to prevent reductive dechlorination of cisdichloroethene
(cDCE) for example. Evaluation of data from 13 sites that have...
1.1 Scope and Objectives
A small number of viable options are presently available for the bleaching of wood pulp (delignification and brightening) during the manufacture of pulp and paper. The use of chlorine dioxide (ClO2) in the bleaching process has largely superceded the earlier use of Cl2, or elemental chlorine, in the majority of North American pulp mills: It was discovered over a decade ago that the previous widespread use of Cl2 contributed to the production and subsequent release to the environment of...
A wave of privatization is rolling through the water industry – at the environment‘s expense? In order to provide an answer to this question, the Environmental-Rating agency oekom research AG, Munich, put a number of water supply companies and manufacturers of water appliances to the environmental test. In results published today, oekom identifies the British water supplier Severn Trent as the environmental leader of the water supply group with a B grade in the overall Environmental-Rating. The Austrian water...
This publication is intended to serve as a first guide on identifying PCBs and materials containing PCBs to assure the environmentally sound management of PCBs. It provides information on the known names, characteristics, and the uses for PCBs, as well as on the sampling and analysis techniques to indicate their presence.
Executive Summary
This case study describes a field analytical method that was used to measure PCB surficial contamination in empty drums to be cleaned by a new process. Approximately 7,000 empty 55-gallon drums that previously contained PCB-contaminated material had accumulated at the Department of Energy (DOE)’s East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge, TN. Because disposal of these drums following regulator-approved methods would have been very costly, DOE requested permission from the Environmental...
Abstract
The Flemish Government has defined a sectoral implementation strategy for construction and demolition waste (CDW). This implies a maximisation of the valorisation, the aim is to reuse at least 75% of the CDW by the year 2000. One of the important topics in this strategic plan is the study on environmental impact and regulation. In this study the technical quality and leaching characteristics of various types of CDW were assessed. Waste from buildings as well as from road construction was studied.The...
The activities of the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry (IWC) embrace: the creation of a scientific background and the development of process for obtaining, production, utilization and recycling of plant biomass derived materials with controlled biodegradability by studying the materials structure and properties; the assesment of quality and other criteria, that characterize the attraction of some newly designed materials. The report reviews the results of programme `New Materials of Wood and Plant...
Abstract
Thermolysis of plastic wastes could have an important role in converting the enormous amounts of plastic wastes produced all over the world into economical valuable hydrocarbons, which can be used both as fuels or as a feed stock in petrochemical industry. The aim of this study was to optimise PE and PP pyrolysis experimental conditions. Although some changes were detected either in products yields or composition, they changes were not enough to supply clear information about which chemical bonds were...
ABSTRACT
The inhomogenous lead-in-soil matrix can present serious obstacles to accurate sample collection and handling. In typical lead-in-soil measurement, particle size related errors in sampling and sample handling often exceed all other sources of error. The magnitude of error can vary widely depending on the particulate nature of the lead contaminant and the effectiveness of control measures. Large particle contaminants, such as lead bearing paint chips, pose a much greater challenge to accurate sample...
Introduction
There is considerable public, scientific and regulatory concern over the possible adverse health effects of chronic exposure to trace levels of persistent organic pollutants. The class of compounds made up of the polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF), often collectively known as dioxins, has received widespread attention and attracted a great deal of research, following the accidental release of the most toxic of these (2,3,7,8 TCDD) at Seveso in 1976.
Diox...
Abstract
The possibility of high temperature pyrolysis for gasification of plastics as a thermal recycling method has been investigated. A laboratory apparatus for high temperature pyrolysis was built up which consists of an inductive furnace with an equipment to collect the products of pyrolysis and to allow pyrolysis to take place in various gas atmospheres, e. g. argon and oxygen and mixtures of nitrogen and oxygen, which have been used in fact. The plastic material could be dipped below the surface being...
SCREENING AND GRINDING
When materials from CR&R and other generators are unloaded, a preliminary screening separates out nonorganic contaminants. Even though there are source separated programs in places like Temecula and Lake Elsinore, there is the occasional appearance of plastic and glass that needs to be sorted out. Next, Bodlak’s crews put materials through a Vermeer tub grinder that can process up to 200 tons (or 720 cubic yards) a day.
After the initial grinding, water is sprayed onto the piles,...
Decontamination companies and researchers in France are working to restore polluted soil using treatments that range from biological methods to soil washing and incineration. The problem of polluted soil was dramatically illustrated prior to construction of the Stade de France soccer stadium built for the 1998 World Cup. The location of the site, on industrial wasteland just north of Paris, caused immense difficulties for the developers. Tens of thousands of cubic meters of earth contaminated by a gasworks had to...
If you live in a house, apartment or similar abode, you produce waste. Right? You probably can`t go a week without producing waste. All kinds of waste. Call it trash if you want. It`s still waste. And if you don`t live where recycling is mandatory or there is no outlet for your voluntary environmental tendencies, everything goes into the trash - bottles, cans, cardboard, plastics, bottle caps, paint cans, light bulbs, fluorescent lamps, camera and flashlight batteries, pesticide bottles, pressurized spray cans,...
Abstract
In this study, field analytical instrumentation and methods were used to support a risk assessment study at the airfield at Hanscom Air Force Base (HAFB, Bedford, Massachusetts). The site investigation is part of an ongoing effort to determine contaminant risk to ground water from soil. The field tools supported a dynamic workplan/adaptive sampling and analysis demonstration. Over a two-week period, 601 soil samples were screened (30-sec/sample) for volatile organic compounds by direct measuring thermal...
The minimization of wastes requiring disposal is increasingly important as available disposal options become more and more constrained, and particularly as more substances enter everyday use which are not readily decomposed in the natural environment and which can present long term hazards. This note sets out some basic principles for waste minimization in industrial processes, where `minimization` is taken to include avoidance of the generation of wastes where practical and the productive utilization of any...
Introduction
The utilization of fungal biodegradation involves the controlled usage of these specially cultivated fungi to treat contaminants.
White Rot Fungus
White rot fungus has been reported to degrade a wide variety of organopollutants because of its lignin-degrading or wood-rotting enzymes. Two different treatment configurations have been tested for white rot fungus, in situ and bioreactor. An aerobic system using moisturized air on wood chips is used in a reactor for biodegradation. A reactor was used...
Slurry phase biological treatment involves the controlled treatment of excavated soil in a bioreactor. The excavated soil is first processed to physically separate stones and rubble. The soil is then mixed with water to a predetermined concentration dependent upon the concentration of the contaminants, the rate of biodegradation, and the physical nature of the soils. Some processes pre-wash the soil to concentrate the contaminants. Clean sand may then be discharged, leaving only contaminated fines and washwater...
` Comparative risk assessment provides a systematic way to compare environmental problems that pose different types and degrees of health risk. It combines information on the inherent hazards of pollutants, exposure levels and population characteristics to predict the resulting health effects. Using data from available sources, rapid, inexpensive comparative risk assessments can identify the most significant health problems. Together with consideration of costs, technical feasibility and other factors, the...
Summary
Appreciation of a membrane`s surface chemistry and steric exclusion character is needed to truly understand and predict membrane performance for specific industrial separations. The interpreter of membrane characterization data must consider both factors in the assessment of separation potential. The test conditions employed will strongly influence the separation data outcome, as will inherent surface force interactions between the membrane and solution components. Sepa® CF cell solute challenges and...
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