Six seaweed species of the Rhodophyta family were sampled for atwo-year period from June 1996 to August 1998 along the Atlanticcoast of Ghana (part of the Atlantic Ocean). The species wereanalysed to determine the levels of eleven chemicalelements namely: Al, As, Br, Cd, Fe, La, Mn, Ni, Hg, V and Zn byInstrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). Al, Br, Ni, andZn were measured in all the seaweed species studied. The elementAl generally showed the highest concentrations in most of thespecies analysed while Hg levels were the lowest. Precision andaccuracy of the method have been evaluated and the detectionlimits also calculated. The results showed high variability inand between species, among sampling sites and times ofcollection. The high values of metal concentrations in themacroalgae suggest that these marine organisms can be used asbiological indicators for studing marine pollution.

A 2-yr (1997–1998) survey aiming at the establishment of national data bases concerning the quality of surface waters has been conducted in the major river systems of Macedonia, N. Greece. This paper presents the physicochemical parameters(pH, conductivity, total suspended solids, temperature and DO),the organic pollution parameters (BOD₅, COD) and the major N and P species (NO₃ ⁻, NO₂ ⁻,NH₄ ⁺,organic N, orthophosphates and total P) determined at 25 sampling sites located on main rivers, tributaries, streams andditches that drain the major rural, agricultural, urban and industrial areas of N. Greece. Use of multivariate statistics is also made to identify the principal factors which influencethe chemistry of the water in individual river systems.The eutrophication status of the examined systems was evaluatedby means of N/P ratios. Mean N/P ratios showed large variationsamong sampling sites ranging from potential N- to P-limitationconditions. N/P ratios at particular sampling sites showed also great temporal variability thus suggesting temporary states of N- or P- limitation. Most frequently, highest ratio values wereobserved during winter and early spring. Comparisons are made between data from this study region and literature on rivers elsewhere.

Atmospheric emission of volatilepesticides can be a significant source of airpollution. A field study was conducted to reduce1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) emission by applying thechemical via subsurface drip irrigation with a reduceddosage (4.7 g m⁻² or 47 kg ha⁻¹). Comparisons were made between ashallow drip application with the plot covered with apolyethylene film, a deep drip application and aconventional shank injection (at 11.2 g m⁻²) withthe plots left as bare soil surface. For eachtreatment, seven replicated active flux chambers wereused continuously to measure 1,3-D loss until nomeasurable emission was found. Results indicated thattotal 1,3-D emission loss was over 90% for the shankinjection, and 66 and 57% for the shallow and deepdrip plots, respectively. The emission loss wasextremely high for shank injection since about 80%were lost from the bed furrows where the slantedshanks left uncompacted fractures. On mass basis, theshank plot lost 10.4 g m⁻², whereas the shallow-and deep-drip plots lost 3.1 and 2.7 g m⁻²,respectively. Applying 1,3-D using subsurface dripirrigation with reduced dosage has a great potentialfor emission reduction.

Rainwater samples (N = 51) were collected at Rampur, an areafree from anthropogenic activity during the monsoon of 1997 and1998. The concentration of ions follows a general pattern as Ca> NH₄ > Mg > SO₄ > Cl > F >Na > NO₃ > K > HCOO >CH₃ COO. The pH of precipitation ranges between 5.9 and 7.4. The levels of Ca and Mg at this site are higher than otherremote sites, probably dominated by particles of soil origin.Good correlation between Ca, NO₃, SO₄, HCOO and CH₃COO indicate that a fraction of NO₃, SO₄, HCOOand CH₃COO may be derived from soil or associated with Ca and Mg after neutralization. The order of neutralization factorCa (2.19) > NH₄ (1.26) = Mg (1.26) indicates that majorneutralization occurred by Ca. Factor analysis suggested thatCa, Mg, Na, K, NO₃, SO₄, HCOO and CH₃COO arecontributed by soil. NH₃ is known to exist as(NH₄)₂SO₄, NH₄NO₃ and NH₄Cl. Theymay be formed in the atmospheric water droplets by scavenging ofaerosols and reaction of gaseous species.

This research was done on the effectof high concentration of negative ions in the air onchlorophyll contents and photosynthetic efficiency in leavesof Zea mays L. In vivo reflectance and chlorophyllfluorescence were measured in intact maize leaves before andafter exposing to the high concentration of negative ions inthe air. Reflectance, yield of chlorophyll fluorescence, redshift in chlorophyll fluorescence and blue shift inreflectance are observed in exposed species. These resultsindicate that high concentrations of negative ions inair cause significant change in: a) chlorophyll content andb) photosynthetic efficiency.

Twelve Mediterranean hydrophyte species collected inLebanon were evaluated for their potential asbioindicator species for heavy metal pollution innutrient cultures enriched with 1 ppm Cr, Ni and Cd.These were: Nasturtium officinale R.Br, Apium nodiflorum L., Veronica beccabunga L., Veronica anagallis aquatica L., Veronicalysimachioides L., Veronica anagalloides L., Mentha longifolia L., Mentha aquatica L., Mentha pulegium L., Potentilla reptansL., Mentha sylvestris L., and Cardamine uliginosa L.. Large variability in responseto exposure to the heavy metals was observed. Growthrates remained high during the experimental period,indicating that the plants were little affected by thepresence of the metal at the experimentalconcentration. Metal accumulation and bioconcentrationvaried within at least one order of magnitude, andranged from less than 10 to over 200. Cr waspreferentially accumulated in the roots. All speciesbut M. pulegium, P. reptans and V. anagallisaquatica accumulated and bioconcentrated sufficientCr to qualify as bioindicator species. Five of thespecies that accumulated Cr also accumulated Ni, withthe same partitioning into the root. These were: N. officinale, C. uliginosa sp., M. longifolia, M. aquatica and M. sylvestris, all of which mayalso be used as bioindicators of Ni pollution. Onlyone species, M. aquatica, accumulated Cdsignificantly, and may, therefore, be used as abioindicator for all three metals.

The determination of chlorocarbons in drinking wateris described. The chlorocarbons studied include:tetrachloromethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, tribromomethane,bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane. Three methods ofsample preparation were compared: liquid-liquid extraction(LLE), purge & trap (P&T) and direct aqueous injection (DAI).The samples of drinking water were taken from Toruń (Poland):local sources, municipal water intake, drilled wells. Theobtained data allowed to create the map of chlorocarbonscontamination for Toruń town. Repeatability, linearity anddetection limits of LLE, P&T, DAI were evaluated forhalocarbons under investigation.

The focus in the present study is the spatialvariation of anthropogenic volatile organic carbon compounds (VOC), mainly benzene and toluene, in parks and their built-up surroundings. Case studies were located in two large Scandinavian cities and measurements were made two meters aboveground level in maximum traffic periods. The results showedlarge variations in time and space but despite high pollutionlevels in the streets the air in parks and non-traffickedbuilt-up areas are substantially cleaner. The pollutantconcentration inside a large park decreased to a low level(i.e. 1/3 to 1/9 the concentration at the source) in a shortdistance (<40 m). An analysis showed that measured VOC wasassociated with fresh emissions, suggesting that the localtraffic intensity was the main governing parameter. It is,however, obvious that the spatial pattern of pollution is theresult of a combination of many different factors and variablesincluding traffic intensity, weather, local climate, land useand the character of park border.

Corrosion products have been takenfrom 130 copper or bronze outdoor objects all overEurope. Their chemical composition and crystalsymmetry have been determined by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDS) and X-ray powderdiffraction. Data on location, sampling, objectcharacteristics, general environment and air pollutionlevel; type, colour and chemical composition of thecorrosion layers have been obtained and evaluated by multivariate statistical analysis. The resultsverify that the highest air pollution levels are usually associated with the occurrence of thick,black or dark grey corrosion layers on copper orbronze objects, preferentially containing soot, ironoxide hydroxides, and antlerite,Cu₃(SO₄)(OH)₄. Pale green corrosionusually contains brochantite,Cu₄(SO₄)(OH)₆, and is rather associatedwith less polluted areas. Atacamite, a copper hydroxide chloride with the chemical formula Cu₂Cl(OH)₃, is preferentially observed in coastal regions.In addition, sulphur isotope analyses have beenperformed on eleven corrosion samples from citycenters. The δ³⁴S values are typically inthe region from +4 to +6‰ relative to the sulphurisotope standard CDT (Canyon Diablo Troilite) with amean value of 4.7±1.2 (1σ), therebyindicating that the sulphur in the corrosion layers,in the form of brochantite or antlerite, mainlyoriginates from a similar source despite geographicvariation, most likely sulphur contained in air pollutants.