Phosphorus and nitrogen can leach from porous golf greens potentially causing degradation of ground water quality. Agreenhouse experiment was carried out with 52 cm columns (15 cm diam.) made to USGA green specifications and sodded to `Tifdwarf' bermudagrass to determine the effects of fertilizer sources at various rates on P and N leaching. Fertilizers were balanced soluble and controlled-release (polyand sulfur coated) sources at N rates of 0, 12, 24, and 49 kg N ha⁻¹ and at P rates of 0, 5, 11, and 21 kg ha⁻¹ every other week for a total of 6 applications. Controlled-release N was from NH₄ and urea and the soluble source N was from KNO₃, urea, and (NH₄)PO₄. Irrigation rate was 0.63 cm per day initially and increased to 1.25 cm per day at week 7. Weeklyleachate collections for 23 weeks were analyzed for P andNO₃-N. Concentrations of N and P were lower in the leachatefor the controlled-release source than for the soluble source. Leaching of P continued for the entire 23 weeks of theexperiment, whereas N was essentially exhausted by week 15indicating that P leaches at a slower rate than N. For the low Prate (5 kg ha⁻¹) for the controlled-release source there was no increase in P concentration in the leachate compared to control. Thus, low P rates will not result in degradation of water quality due to increased P. For the controlled-release source at the low rate <10% of the P added leached, whereasthe values for N were in the range of 20 to 45% for all ratesand sources. Control treatments resulted in N concentrations in the leachate as high as 26 mg L⁻¹. Results show thatP leaching is a potential problem only at high rates of solublesources and high irrigation, whereas N is more readily leached.

An elaborate cloud chemistry box model hasdeveloped in which gaseous-phase photochemistry iscoupled with aqueous-phase chemistry to investigate thevariation of ozone concentration and its distributionfeatures above and below cloud, and in its upper andlower part, with results compared to observations. Thecloud chemistry model is composed of three parts:gaseous-phase chemistry, aqueous-phase chemistry, andscavenging of soluble gases. The cloud influence on theozone concentration can be separated into three portions:1) the change of solar radiation flux by cloud which isresponsible for decreasing or increasing of photochemicalreaction in the troposphere and thus reducing orenhancing the concentration; 2) direct absorption ofozone and its precursors (NO ₓ, NMHC,free radicals, etc.) by in-cloud liquid water; 3)aqueous-phase chemical reaction happening to speciesabsorbed by cloud, responsible for the change in gaseous-phase ozone concentration. Numerical simulations showsubstantial difference in the importance regarding theeffect of these factors on ozone between these levels anda close relation of cloud physical structure to thefactors. The results agree well with the observations.

This study is focussed on evaluation of temperature effectduring frozen storage on movement of trace elements in differenttissues (exoskeleton, carapace and abdominal muscle) of twocommercially important shrimp species (Penaeusmerguiensis and Metapenaues affinis). Moreoverrelationships between total length and sex of specimens with concentration of trace elements in selected tissues were assessed. Concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Znin samples were determined by ICP-AES. Only in the case of Niand Zn sex related differences could be observed. With theexception of Cu, the trace metals distributed significantlydifferent between the tissues. The only significant differencesbetween species were found in bioaccumulation of Mn. Sizedependent relationship was observed only for Ni. Associationsbetween Mn and Fe were positively and highly significant in allthe cases. The levels of all the metals in muscle of the shrimpsfrom the studied region were comparable to other world areas. MeanCu and Zn levels in edible parts of M. affinis stored at–10 °C exceeded some existing guidelines, while the concentrations at –30 °C were somewhat lower than them.

Eroded soil material may be an important transporting agent for pesticides that are strongly sorbed to soil. The abilityof the fungicide propiconazole to interact with colloidal andparticulate materials has been studied by means of sorptionand desorption experiments. Size separation of silty clay soilfrom Mørdre, Norway and subsequent characterization showedthat different size fractions of soil possessed different physical and chemical properties and, therefore, different capacity to associate with propiconazole. A large part of the soil organic carbon was associated with coarser material (2–0.02 mm), which also showed higher affinity towards propiconazole than for smaller size fractions (<20 and <2 μm). Similar K ₒc values (2306 and 2244) for the size fractions <2 and <20 μm indicate that organic carbon played a dominant role in the sorption of propiconazole. Furthermore, organic carbon associated with these size fractions seemed to have similar properties withrespect to binding of propiconazole. Although, poor in organiccarbon (0.4%), the smallest size fraction (<2 μm) had higher sorption capacity for propiconazole compared to the medium size fraction (<20 μm). Higher sorption for the smallest size fraction (<2 μm) is probably due to higherspecific surface area, cation exchange capacity and content of Fe/Al oxides (free, organically bound and amorphous oxides) than the other size fractions. Results from the desorption experiments indicate that a part of propiconazole associates with sites in the soil material that resist desorption. Fluvialsediments originating from propiconazole treated fields may, therefore, represent potential reservoirs of propiconazole.Treatment with H₂O₂ modified the sorption/desorptioncharacteristics of the soil beyond that which could be expectedsimply by the removal of organic material. The pH values for all the size fractions decreased, and the specific surface areaof the medium sized fraction (<20 μm) increased from 14 to 19 m² g⁻¹ after the treatment with H₂O₂,probably due to disruption of the aggregate structure. Carrying out fractionation and separation procedures, it is important to be aware of physical and chemical changes that areintroduced during the different steps. An effort should be made to develop fractionation methods that keep the original characteristics of the soil material as intact as possible.

The starch manufacturing industrial units, such as sago mills,both in medium and large scale, suffer from inadequate treatment and disposal problems due to high concentration of suspended solids present in the sludge. A laboratory scale study was conducted to investigate the viability of anaerobic treatment of sago waste sludge, enriched in particulate organicmatter, using a fluidized bed reactor. The start-up of the reactor was carried out using a mixture of digested supernatantsewage sludge and cow dung slurry in different proportions. The effect of operating variables such as COD of the effluent, bed expansion, minimum fluidization velocity on efficiency oftreatment and recovery of biogas was investigated. The maximum efficiency of treatment was found to be 82% and the nitrogen enriched digested sludge was recommended for agricultural use. A kinetic model was developed for the degradation of particulate organic matter using the general kinetic equation [dS/dt = K HC SXC] which allowed for a more accurate mathematical representation of the hydrolysis process. Analysing data from a series of batch tests, the best fit value of C was found to be in the range 0.43 to 0.62.

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.

Some biological effects of soilfertilisation with sewage sludge were investigated aftersoil reclamation in an opencast mining area. Two earthwormspecies (Allolobophora chlorotica chloroticaand Nicodrilus caliginosus meridionalis) inhabitingthe reclaimed soil were tested for their response to twohigh doses of sludge (75 and 150 g kg⁻¹ of dry sludgein dry sieved soil). The metal concentrations in thesludge amended soils were below that which worm mortalitywould be expected. Mean annual density of the earthwormswas higher in the plots where the sludge was applied (435and 335 ind. m⁻²) than in control (115 ind. m⁻²).We verified the accumulation of Cd and Zn by the twoearthworm species at any dose of sludge, and metalaccumulation was higher in N. caliginosus than inA. chlorotica. Zn, Pb, Cr, Cu and Ni were moreconcentrated in the earthworm egesta than in the bulk soil.

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.

Migration and chemical availability of ¹³⁷Cs and⁹⁰Sr in the long-term was studied on a36-yr-old deposition experiment on pastureconsisting of a sandy soil and a clay soil,contaminated in 1961 with radionuclides in aqueoussolution. Comparisons were made with a study of thesame soils in 1967. Soil samples to 55 cm depth wereanalysed for ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr to establish thevertical distribution. Chemical availability wasstudied using sequential extractions with H₂O,NH₄Ac, NH₂OH·HCl, H₂O₂ andHNO₃. Both ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr were found atall depths in both soil types. Cs-137 waspredominantly retained within the upper 10 cm (70%)in both soils. For ⁹⁰Sr, the soils differedsignificantly, retention within the upper 10 cm was27% in sandy soil and 47% in clay soil. Migrationsince 1967 was faster in the sandy soil for bothnuclides. More than 95% of ¹³⁷Cs was bound inthe acid-digestible and residual fractions in bothsoils. The residual fraction was larger in clay soil.⁹⁰Sr was highly available in both soils. Noresidual fraction was found, and the easilyexchangeable fraction was 63–75%.

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.