Atmospheric pollution is known to induce corrosion effects on various materials. For Greece, stone deterioration could emerge severe costs in the case of damaging cultural monuments. This work aims to investigate the corrosion process on materials of archaeological importance (marble, limestone, and sandstone) in the Greater Athens Area (GAA) by using sophisticated geoanalytical methods together with dose–response functions for selected materials, in order to derive corrosion maps for GAA in the period 2000–2009. Also, a corrosion trend analysis is performed, which can be a very helpful tool for the prediction of potential risks to monuments of cultural heritage due to atmospheric pollution. The corrosion effects on the selected materials are generally weak. Nevertheless, increasing corrosion trends are found in the eastern regions of GAA for all sheltered materials and in the northern parts of GAA for unsheltered marble. The technique is finally applied to 12 locations in GAA, which include some of the most important archaeological monuments of Athens, and provides comprehensive results for the estimation of the impact of atmospheric corrosion on the structural materials of these archaeological sites.

A batch equilibrium experiment was conducted to determine the adsorption and desorption isotherms of chlorothalonil for a range of agricultural soils in Ireland. The sorption isotherms in tillage soils were described by the Freundlich model in a nonlinear form while in the grassland soil, the adsorption was almost linear. The experimental sorption data fit the Freundlich (R ² > 0.99) and the linear (R ² > 0.99) model very well. Chlorothalonil exhibited fast initial adsorption within the first hour until steady state, after which the sorption potential decreased and varied by about 3 % up to 10 h. Desorption equilibrium took twice the time needed for adsorption. The adsorption of chlorothalonil onto the soils studied was strong and the experimental Freundlich adsorption coefficients (K f) ranged from 17.74 to 78.19 (mg¹ ⁻ ¹/ⁿ kg⁻¹) (L)¹/ⁿ , and these were correlated with cation exchange capacity and organic carbon content. All tillage soils exhibited L-type isotherm, whereas Elton grassland soil showed near C-type (linear) isotherm, probably due to the highest organic carbon content among other soil. Desorption process revealed hysteresis with the Freundlich desorption coefficients being greater than for adsorption, meaning that not all chlorothalonil adsorbed could be easily desorbed. Only 3 to 8 % was desorbed in the single desorption step during the batch equilibrium experiment. Calculated K ₒc values showed that chlorothalonil has slight to low mobility in the soils studied associated with high adsorption, and hence may constitute a greater risk to surface waters by runoff than to ground waters by leaching.

A low-cost carbon black has been used as an adsorbent for the removal of trimethoprim (TMP) from aqueous solution. The kinetic and equilibrium aspects of the adsorption of TMP by this adsorbent were studied. The influence of different operation conditions, namely temperature (20–40 °C), pH (4–8), and ionic strength (0.001–0.1 M) on the removal efficiency of TMP by the adsorbent has been analyzed by applying a statistical design of experiments. Response surface methodology technique was used to optimize TMP removal. Temperature resulted to be the main variable influencing TMP removal, followed by pH. Analysis of variance test reported significance for three of the nine involved variables. An optimum TMP removal was found at pH 9.2, at a temperature of 47 °C and with a value of ionic strength equal to 0.48 M. Under these conditions, a maximum value of removal efficiency equal to 156.2 mg of TMP per gram of adsorbent was attained.

A Cd-, Pb-, Zn-, Cu-resistant endophytic yeast CBSB78 was isolated from surface-sterilized rape roots. The isolate was identified as Cryptococcus sp. based on the ITS1–5.8S–ITS2 sequence analysis. The strain was resistant to 20 mM Cd²⁺, 20 mM Pb²⁺, 10 mM Zn²⁺, and 7 mM Cu²⁺. The yeast CBSB78 was a low indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) producer and possessed low 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase activity. Overall, 29.4–244 % of survival rates increased and the dry weight of Brassica alboglabra showed a 41.1 % increase when it was inoculated into the seedlings. The inoculation of CBSB78 could also increase the extraction amounts of Cd, Pb, and Zn by B. alboglabra simultaneously in the multi-metal contaminated soils, which showed the potential to improve extraction efficacy of Cd, Pb, Zn by B. alboglabra seedlings in the field.

Over the summer and fall seasons, 2006–2010, we surveyed the fish and macroinvertebrate communities of the Tenmile Creek basin in southwestern Pennsylvania, an area undergoing accelerated extraction of energy resources—historically coal and more recently natural gas associated with the Marcellus formation. Tenmile Creek, its major South Fork (SF), and numerous tributaries drain a basin of 875 km². The drainage network is characterized as warm-water, low-gradient, and net alkaline. The purpose was to provide synoptic baseline data on water quality and the resident aquatic communities in terms of species richness, stress tolerance, and trophic structure. Overall, we sampled 20 stations on the 2 main branches and 1 on each of the 12 tributaries. We collected 26,375 fishes representing nine families and 54 species/hybrids along with 989 macroinvertebrates from 25 separate taxa. The parameter which defines water quality here is specific conductance which ranges from natural background levels of about 400 μS/cm on the minimally impaired Tenmile mainstem to 4,500 μS/cm on its SF. Diverse fish and macroinvertebrate communities were documented at levels of specific conductance exceeding 1,000 μS/cm, well above the 300 μS/cm criterion to protect aquatic life proposed by the US Environmental Protection Agency for streams in the Central Appalachian Region. South Fork fish communities exhibit impairment at levels of specific conductance approaching the maximum observed here.

We assessed the suitability of two nonnative poeciliid fishes—western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) and sailfin mollies (Poecilia latipinna)—for monitoring selenium exposure in desert pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius). Our investigation was prompted by a need to avoid lethal take of an endangered species (pupfish) when sampling fish for chemical analysis. Total selenium (SeTot) concentrations in both poeciliids were highly correlated with SeTot concentrations in pupfish. However, mean SeTot concentrations varied among fish species, with higher concentrations measured in mosquitofish than in mollies and pupfish from one of three sampled agricultural drains. Moreover, regression equations describing the relationship of selenomethionine to SeTot differed between mosquitofish and pupfish, but not between mollies and pupfish. Because selenium accumulates in animals primarily through dietary exposure, we examined fish trophic relationships by measuring stable isotopes (δ 13C and δ 15N) and gut contents. According to δ 13C measurements, the trophic pathway leading to mosquitofish was more carbon-depleted than trophic pathways leading to mollies and pupfish, suggesting that energy flow to mosquitofish originated from allochthonous sources (terrestrial vegetation, emergent macrophytes, or both), whereas energy flow to mollies and pupfish originated from autochthonous sources (filamentous algae, submerged macrophytes, or both). The δ 15N measurements indicated that mosquitofish and mollies occupied similar trophic levels, whereas pupfish occupied a slightly higher trophic level. Analysis of gut contents showed that mosquitofish consumed mostly winged insects (an indication of terrestrial taxa), whereas mollies and pupfish consumed mostly organic detritus. Judging from our results, only mollies (not mosquitofish) are suitable for monitoring selenium exposure in pupfish.

To evaluate plant responses and compare metal uptake by different plants, several parameters and references have been used by researchers in the last few years. However, they express only the first-level comparison, i.e. biogeochemical comparison of different media (plant and soil) occurs in one place, at the same time and under the same circumstances. To integrate information about metal concentration in different media or plant organ and provide comparison of the process between control and treated cases, the second-level factors, the dynamic factors, are needed. Differently from the factors mentioned in the existing literature, they are able to show changes in processes under environmental changes rather than changes only in metal quantities. They are related both to internal (physiological) and external (ecological) factors. The paper introduces the use of dynamic factors for assessment of transfer and translocation of metals (Zn, Pb, Ni, Mn, Cu and Cr) in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), silver birch (Betula pendula) and black alder (Alnus glutinosa). Factor values and their implications are discussed in the paper.

Sulfuric acid leaching is a promising technique to extract toxic metals from polluted soils. The objective of this study was to define the optimum sulfuric acid leaching conditions for decontamination of the fine particle fraction (<125 μm) of an industrial soil polluted by Cd (16.8 mg kg⁻¹), Cu (3,350 mg kg⁻¹), Pb (631 mg kg⁻¹) and Zn (3,010 mg kg⁻¹). Batch leaching tests in Erlenmeyer shake flasks showed that a soil pulp pH between 1.5 and 2.0 using a solid concentration (SC) ranging from 5 to 20 % is adequate to efficiently solubilize toxic metals. Leaching tests performed at different temperatures (20, 40, 60 and 80 °C) also revealed that it is not beneficial to heat the soil suspension during the leaching treatment. The application in a 1-L stirred tank reactor of five consecutive 1-h leaching steps at 10 % SC and ambient temperature, followed by three water washings steps resulted in the following metal extraction yields: 30 % As, 90 % Cd, 43 % Co, 7 % Cr, 88 % Cu, 75 % Mn, 26 % Ni, 18 % Pb and 86 % Zn. The decontaminated soil conformed to Quebec norms for commercial and industrial use of soil.

In this study, an iron–zirconium binary oxide with a molar ratio of 4:1 was synthesized by a simple coprecipitation process for removal of phosphate from water. The effects of contact time, initial concentration of phosphate solution, temperature, pH of solution, and ionic strength on the efficiency of phosphate removal were investigated. The adsorption data fitted well to the Langmuir model with the maximum P adsorption capacity estimated of 24.9 mg P/g at pH 8.5 and 33.4 mg P/g at pH 5.5. The phosphate adsorption was pH dependent, decreasing with an increase in pH value. The presence of Cl⁻, SO ₄ ²⁻ , and CO ₃ ²⁻ had little adverse effect on phosphate removal. A desorbability of approximately 53 % was observed with 0.5 M NaOH, indicating a relatively strong bonding between the adsorbed PO ₄ ³⁻ and the sorptive sites on the surface of the adsorbent. The phosphate uptake was mainly achieved through the replacement of surface hydroxyl groups by the phosphate species and formation of inner-sphere surface complexes at the water/oxide interface. Due to its relatively high adsorption capacity, high selectivity and low cost, this Fe–Zr binary oxide is a very promising candidate for the removal of phosphate ions from wastewater.

Safe drinking water is a luxury to approximately 800 million people worldwide. The number of people without access to clean water has been reduced, thanks to technologies like the biosand filter (BSF), an intermittently operated household scale slow sand filter. The BSF outlet (control diameter 0.5″) was modified in this study by reducing the outlet diameter (0.37″ and 0.25″) to determine the effects of hydraulic retention time on removal rates. Filters were dosed with 20 L of spiked lake water daily and observed for pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), fecal coliforms (FC), turbidity, nitrate, nitrite, sulfate, and ammonia until initial flow rates dropped below 0.2 L/min. Consistent with previous studies, the average turbidity was reduced to below 1 NTU; the average DO was reduced by 45 %. No significant difference was observed between the modified BSFs and the control BSF. Removal efficiency of FC was not significantly different between the modified BSFs (93.3 % and 91.9 %) and the control BSF (89.6 %). Mean FC reduction during the startup period (17 days) was significantly greater in the modified 0.25″ BSF when compared with the control during the same time period. After the first 17 days of the experiment, the average reduction efficiency of all filters was >97 %. While source water was below guideline values for nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and sulfate during the course of the experiment, total nitrogen reduction was observed. The reduction indicates that the plastic BSF is capable of accomplishing limited denitrification during the filtering process.