The urban landscape is comprised of many land uses, none more intensively managed than turfgrass; however, quantification of nutrient losses from specific land uses within urban watersheds, specifically golf courses is limited. Nitrate (NO3-N) and dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) were measured on a golf course in Austin, TX, USA from April 1, 1998 to March 31, 2003. NO3-N and DRP concentrations measured in storm flow were significantly greater exiting the course compared to those entering the course. Significant differences were also measured in baseflow NO3-N concentrations. The measured loading from the course was 4.0 kg NO3-N ha 1 yr 1 (11% of applied) and 0.66 kg DRP ha 1 yr 1 (8% of applied). The resulting concentrations contributed by the course were 1.2 mg L 1 NO3-N and 0.2 mg L 1 DRP. At these levels, NO3-N poses minimal environmental risk. However, the DRP concentration is twice the recommended level to guard against eutrophication

The phytotoxic risk of ambient air pollution to local vegetation was assessed in Selangor State, Malaysia. The AOT40 value was calculated by means of the continuously monitored daily maximum concentration and the local diurnal pattern of O3. Together with minor risks associated with the levels of NO2 and SO2, the study found that the monthly AOT40 values in these peri-urban sites were consistently over 1.0 ppm·h, which is well in exceedance of the given European critical level. Linking the O3 level to actual agricultural crop production in Selangor State also indicated that the extent of yield losses could have ranged from 1.6 to 5.0% (by weight) in 2000. Despite a number of uncertainties, the study showed a simple but useful methodological framework for phytotoxic risk assessment with a limited data set, which could contribute to appropriate policy discussion and countermeasures in countries under similar conditions. There is a large potential of phytotoxic risk on vegetation in Selangor State, Malaysia.

We attempted to elucidate seasonal variations in fossil-fuel-derived carbon (FC) and biomass-derived carbon (BC) in urban atmospheric aerosols. We undertook continuous measurements of the composition of fine particle (PM₂.₁) in central Tokyo, including the ¹⁴C/¹²C ratio. The percent modern carbon (pMC) contained in all samples averaged 43, and the highest was 54 in late December and the lowest was 31 in early August. From the observed carbonaceous component concentrations and the pMC we could calculate the content ratio of FC and BC in PM₂.₁ and investigate their seasonal variations. Although there was almost no seasonal variation in the ratio of FC, the ratio of BC was observed to rise in early winter. This indicates that FC is influenced by the emission sources without seasonal variations (such as automobiles driven in urban areas). Furthermore, there is significant correlation between BC and organic carbon (OC), and even for urban areas, it is considered that the contribution of biomass carbon to OC in PM₂.₁ is high.

A biomonitoring study using the ozone-sensitive bioindicator plant Nicotiana tabacum cv. Bel-W3 was conducted in the city of Valencia (eastern Spain) and surrounding areas in 2002. Plants were exposed to ambient air at seven sites, including four traffic-exposed urban sites, a large urban garden and a suburban and a rural station, for six consecutive 2-week periods using highly standardised methods. Foliar injury was registered at all stations in at least one of the exposure periods. The urban stations submitted to intense traffic showed lower ozone injury than the less traffic-exposed stations. Strong changes in the intensity of ozone injury were observed for the different exposure periods. Leaf injury was significantly related to both mean ozone values (24 and 12 h means) and cumulative exposure indices (AOT20, AOT40). However, correlation strength was moderate (r s = 0.39 to 0.58), suggesting that the plant response to ozone was modified by environmental factors. The use of sensitive bioindicators like tobacco Bel-W3 in cities provides complementary information to that of continuously operating air quality monitors, as the impact of ambient ozone levels is directly measured.

This study deals with Particle Matter (PM) levels in the metropolitan area of Lisbon and shows that EU directive is exceeded in a systematic way, mainly due to the inner city traffic. Results show that it is important to develop an epidemiological study in Lisbon to find a possible association between PM levels, sources and morbidity. Some important issues related with a monitor's representation of regional, sub-regional, and local air pollution exposures to the population in the metropolitan area are highlighted. PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀ total mass concentration measured in several places located in both centre of Lisbon and the outskirts are quite well correlated, mainly considering that two measuring methodologies (automatic and gravimetric) were used and areas with different classifications (urban and suburban) were analysed. However, the results imply that a source-oriented evaluation of PM health effects needs to take into account the uncertainty associated with spatial representativity of the species measured at a single sampling station. Temporal correlation across sampling stations, within relatively short separation distances, varied considerably for some important elements (Zn, Sb, Cu, As and Br), indicating that the precision of population exposure estimates for specific elements can vary depending on the species.

We investigated for the first time the occurrence, stability and antibiotic resistance of 593 enterococci in six samples collected from three urban sewage treatment plants (STPs) located in the north, south and west part of Tehran, Iran between October 2004 and September of 2005. Isolates were typed with a biochemical fingerprinting method (the PhPlate system) and tested for their resistance to six antibiotics. The most prevalent species in all three STPs were E. faecium followed by E. hirae and E. faecalis accounting for 93% of the total isolates examined. In all, 317 (55%) isolates were susceptible to all six antibiotics tested and the remaining isolates were resistant to between 1 and 6 antibiotics. Biochemical fingerprinting with PhPlate system showed a high diversity for E. faecalis (D i = 0.95), E. hirae (D i = 0.93) and E. faecium (D i = 0.95) populations with an overall diversity of D i = 0.97 for the whole enterococcal populations found in all three STPs. Our data indicate a high degree of polyclonality among the enterococci populations of human origin. This study suggest that the municipal wastewaters might be an important source of dissemination of antibiotic-resistant enterococci in Iran.

The main factors determining the geochemical fate of copper in urban freshwaters affected by raw sewage discharges were investigated in this work. Water samples from the Iraí and Iguaçu rivers were collected monthly during a 1-year period at two points located upstream and downstream from the city of Curitiba, in Brazil. Results revealed that raw sewage discharges from the heavily urbanized area caused an enhancement of humic-coated suspended solids in the Iguaçu River. In these waters copper is predominantly associated with the humic-coated particles whereas in the Iraí River copper was found primarily in the aqueous phase. The transfer of copper from the aqueous to the solid phase changed its physical speciation along the watercourse. Thus, aspects related to the overall transport of trace metals in watercourses become an important issue to be considered in further studies concerning the effect of sewage discharges on the geochemical speciation and fate of trace metals in urban rivers.

Fluvial bed sediments are widely used for characterizing anthropogenic contaminant signals in urban watersheds. This study presents the first preliminary examination of sequentially extracted Pb from grain size fractionated bed sediments using the optimized (standardized) BCR procedure. Baseline sediment samples and samples from the vicinity of three storm-sewer outlets in Nuuanu Stream, Honolulu, Hawaii, were examined. The weighted average Pb liberated from four sequentially extracted phases was 144 ± 26 mg/kg (±SD). These Pb concentrations are high compared to 3 mg/kg leached by a 0.5 M HCl solution, and 13 mg/kg from a 4-acid total digestion of baseline sediments. Over a 1.8 km section of stream channel, land use variations and traffic density differences had little impact on the magnitude of Pb in specific phases for each of the six grain size fractions examined. Regardless of grain size or spatial location, Pb in the reducible phase exceeded that in oxidizable, residual and acid extractable phases. Weighted reducible Pb concentrations for three sewer outlet sites ranged from 69 to 92 mg/kg, and this phase typically accounted for 70-80% of all labile Pb. The <63 μm grain size class did not exhibit the highest Pb concentration, instead this was found in either the 125-250 μm or 500-1,000 μm fractions. Examining bed sediment phase associations of Pb over a smaller length dimension (i.e., 40 m) centered around one sewer outlet, indicated higher concentrations at the outlet (180 mg/kg) compared to upstream (132 mg/kg) or downstream (150 mg/kg). The differences were primarily associated with higher Pb concentrations in the reducible and oxidizable phases of the coarse sand fractions (500-2,000 μm) at the outlet. Overall, all data point to a significant anthropogenic signal for Pb in bed sediments in the urbanized section of Nuuanu Stream.

Aquifer vulnerability assessments can be incorporated in groundwater contamination studies. Atmospheric pollutants as vanadium, V, can reach aquifers after soil deposition if the system is vulnerable. Vanadium concentrations were detected in soil and groundwater in Salamanca Mexico. V origin is related mainly to particulate emissions from a thermoelectric plant that is using fuel oil number 6 with high V content. To determine the V origin in groundwater, a soil and groundwater monitoring was carried out. A SINTACS vulnerability zoning was done. Vanadium in soil, emissions and groundwater is well correlated. The V input is associated to aquifer vulnerable zones.

An important component of monitoring pollution of urban road-deposited sediment (RDS) is an understanding of the temporal variability in its composition and physical characteristics. This study set out to determine what the monthly variability in metal concentrations, organic matter content, grain-size and grain-size fraction metal-loadings are in inner city sites in Manchester, northwest England. The results show that there is significant temporal variability in metal (Pb, Zn, Fe, Mn) concentration in RDS from inner city Manchester. There was no significant temporal variability in grain-size characteristics or organic matter content, indicting that these metal variations were the result of variation in sources and accumulation processes. Pb and Zn displayed local variability, suggesting local controls on variability, whereas Fe and Mn displayed consistent variability across all sites, suggesting a common, larger-scale control on variability. The finest grain-size fraction (<63 μm) contained the highest Pb, Cu and Zn concentrations, but for the case of Fe and Mn, the coarser fractions (>300 μm) commonly contained the highest concentrations, again suggesting differing controls. For all metals, due to the weight percent dominance of the coarser fractions, the dominant loading of metals is in the coarser fractions. This has implications on management strategies, via street sweeping and the subsequent waste disposal, and on the modelling of the input of RDS and associated metals into surface waterways. The recognition of significant temporal variability of metal concentrations in RDS, independent of grain-size changes, implies that the monitoring of urban road sediment pollution will require not just consideration of spatial variability, but the design of schemes that will capture temporal variability also.