Research Watch: Sustainable development - Environmental Science


Research Watch: Sustainable development - Environmental Science...

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Policy Brownfields redevelopment. The issues and attendant obstacles to redeveloping brownfield sites are discussed, and some of the more successful approaches are examined. (Gibbons, J. S.; Attoh-Okine, N. O.; Laha, S. "Brownfields Redevelopment Issues Revisited," Int. J. Environ. Pollut. 1998, 10(1), ,l1-162) Sustainable development. A fresh water resource base is used to illustrate different interpretations of sustainability, with key concepts showing a need to reduce the urban ecological sphere of influence in order to maintain the functional integrity of ecosystems. (Hunter, C. "Perceptions of the Sustainable City and Implications for Fresh Water Resources Management," Int. J. Environ. Pollut. 1998, 20(1), 84-103)

Pollution prevention Catalysts. Natural izukalite anchored with copper, manganese, cobalt, and vanadium was shown to be a highly active catalyst for die reduction of nitric oxide with ammonia, and its application to diesel engine exhaust was explored. (Mishima, H.; Hashmoto, K.; Ono, T.; Anpo, M. "Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO witii NH 3 Over Natural Zeolites and Its Application to Stationary Diesel Engine Exhaust," Appl. Catal, B 1998, 19(2), 119-126)

Sediments Bioavailability. Experimental data for fluorantiiene and feeding selectivity in combination witii reaction diffusion modeling suggest mat ingestion of contaminated sediment may often be the dominant uptake pathway for deposit-feeding invertebrates in sediments. (Forbes, T. L.; Forbes, V E.; Giessing, A.; Hansen, R.; Kure, L. K. "Relative Role of Pore Water Versus Ingested Sediment in Bioavailability of Organic Contaminants in Marine Sediments " Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 1998 17(12) 2453-2462) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The half-life of most PAHs found in the wood preservative creosote was shown to be about one week, whereas removal pathways in sediments appear to be inhibited. (Bestari, K.T.J.; Robinson, R. D.; Solomon, K. R.; Steele, T. S.; Day, K. E.; Sibley, P. K. "Distribution and Composition of Polycyclic Aromatic Hy-

Contamination from incinerators Declining atmospheric lead concentrations in urban centers during the 1970s and 1980s have been assumed to be due to increasing use of unleaded gasoline. S. Chillrud and coworkers examined this assumption by analyzing trace metal and radionuclide data from sediment cores in Central Park Lake in New York City (NYC). The data indicated that leaded gasoline combustion was not the dominant source of atmospheric lead in NYC. Maximum atmospheric influx values occurred instead from the late 1930s to early 1960s decades before maximum emissions from combustion of leaded gasoline On the basis of temporal trends in lead zinc and tin deposition derived from lake sediments the authors concluded that these metal deposits originated from the widespread use of solid wasto inrinoratnrc in tho city and cunnost that incineratinn may have provided the dominant source of atmosphedic lead and other metals to many urban centers. (Environ. Sca. TBChnol. thia issue, nn. 657-662)

drocarbons Within Experimental Microcosms Treated With Liquid Creosote," Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 1998, 17(12), 2359-2368) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. PAHs, which leak into die water from creosote-treated wood, are lost via natural physical and biological patfiways, resulting in insignificant accumulations in sediments. (Bestari, K.T.J.; Robinson, R. D.; Solomon, K. R.; Steele, T. S.; Day, K. E.; Sibley, R K. "Distribution and Composition of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Within Experimental Microcosms Treated With Creosote-Impregnated Douglas Fir Pilings," Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 1998 i7(12) 2369-2377)

Soils Contaminant bioavailability. The bioavailability of phenanthrene and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate sequestered in soil may be altered by subjecting the samples to wetting and drying cycles during or after aging. (White, J. C; Quinones-Rivera, A.; Alexander, M. "Effect of Wetting and

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Drying on the Bioavailability of Organic Compounds Sequestered in Soil," Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 1998, 17(12), 2378-2382) Sulfur oxidation. Sulfur K-edge Xray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy was used to identify multiple organic sulfur oxidation states in aquatic and soil humic substances. (Xia, K.; Weesner, E; Bleam, W E; Bloom, E R.; Skyllberg, U. L.; Helmke, P. A. "XANES Studies of Oxidation States of Sulfur in Aquatic and Soil Humic Substances," Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 1998, 62, 1240-1246)

Wastewater Membrane technology. The membrane bioreactor is an emerging technology for reclaiming municipal waste water in water limited areas. (Cicek, N.; Franco, J. E; Suidan, M. T; Urbain, V "Using a Membrane Bioreactor To Reclaim Wastewater," /. Am. Water Works Assoc. 1998, 90(11), 105-113)

Water Atmospheric mercury deposition. A literature review illustrates how levels of mercury species in the atmosphere are effectively transported into the aquatic arena, where chemical parameters combine to detect bioaccumulation rates in fish. (Downs, S. G.; Macleod, C. L.; Lester, J. N. "Mercury in Precipitation and Its Relation to Bioaccumulation in Fish: A Literature Review," Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 1998, i 08(1-2), 149-187)

Wetlands Virus transport. Coliphage removal efficiency and the effects of wetland hydrology on virus transport were determined for constructed wetlands. (Chendorain, M.; Yates, M.; Villegas, F. "The Fate and Transport of Viruses Through Surface Water Constructed Wetiands," /. Environ. Qual. 1998, 27(6), 1451-1458)

Contributors: Michael Brauer, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Brian Eitzer, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Conn.; Stephen Geiger, ThermoRetec, Fairfax, Va.; Vincent Hand, Miami University, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Oxford, Ohio; Louis Kovach, Ecolife Associates, Wiimington, Del.; and Raewyn Town, Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland.