The ionic composition of total suspended particulate (TSP) and fine (PM₂.₅) fractions was investigated from an 1,100 site in the middle of Mt. Halla in Jeju Island, Korea from March to November 2006. The sum concentrations of cation and anion species in TSP fraction were 205 ± 170 and 183 ± 164 neq m⁻³, respectively, while those for PM₂.₅ as 118 ± 129 and 88.5 ± 89.3 neq m⁻³, respectively. In TSP, the concentration of the major ions changed in the order of SO₄ ²⁻ > NH₄ ⁺ > Ca²⁺ > Na⁺ > NO₃ ⁻ > Mg²⁺ > K⁺ > Cl⁻, while its PM₂.₅ counterpart as NH₄ ⁺ > SO₄ ²⁻ > Ca²⁺ > NO₃ ⁻ > Na⁺ > Mg²⁺ > K⁺ > Cl⁻. Inspection of the temporal variabilities of ionic components indicated that most ions peaked in spring or fall months. The back trajectory analysis showed that the atmospheric composition of the major ionic species was affected fairly sensitively by long-range transport from China under the favorable meteorological conditions. In contrast, the lowest ionic concentration levels were seen most abundantly, when air masses passed from South Sea. Hence, the analysis of ionic concentration data suggests that their distributions are controlled by the combined effects of various source processes including the most prominent Chinese origin and the meteorological condition favorable for such transport.

The paper summarizes results of chemical analyses of fog and rime water samples. The samples were collected at Milesovka, the Czech meteorological observatory. The input data set contains the samples acquired during 234 fogs and 14 rime events. The fog and rime samples were collected in the period of 2000-2004. Methods employed for sampling fog and rime water and differences in the pollutant concentrations are described. The following components were analyzed: conductivity, acidity (pH), cations Na⁺, K⁺, NH₄ ⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, and anions F⁻, Cl⁻, NO₃ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻. The attention was exclusively devoted to the precipitation originating in fogs (no falling precipitation particles were considered). Differences in the relative content of selected ions in the annual average samples of rime and fog are presented together with their absolute values. The importance of rime contributions to total precipitation amounts is demonstrated by maximum values of the rime weight detected at the Milesovka Observatory. The absolute maximum of 52.3 kg m⁻² was registered at Milesovka Mt. on December 28, 2002.

As global water resources decline, reuse of domestic greywater for the irrigation of home gardens is quickly becoming widespread in many parts of the world. However, the sanitary implications of reusing greywater to water edible crops remain uncertain. This study examined the benefits and risks associated with domestic greywater reuse for the purposes of vegetable garden irrigation. Untreated (settled only) and treated (settling and slow sand filtration) greywater collected from a family home was analyzed for basic water quality parameters over a period of 8 weeks. During that time, both greywaters were used to irrigate individually potted plots of lettuce, carrots, and peppers in a greenhouse. Tap water was used as control. Upon maturity, plants were harvested and the edible portions tested for fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci, common indicators for the presence of pathogenic microorganisms. Heavy metals were not detected in the greywater, but both fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci were present in high levels, averaging 4 x 10⁵/100 mL and 2,000/100 mL of greywater, respectively. Despite these high counts, no significant difference in contamination levels was observed between crops irrigated with tap water, untreated greywater, and treated greywater. Fecal coliform levels were highest in carrots and fecal streptococcus levels were highest on lettuce leaves. However, contamination levels for all crops were low and do not represent a significant health risk. Plant growth and productivity were unaffected by water quality, owing to the low N, P, and K levels of the greywater. These results reinforce the potential of domestic greywater as an alternative irrigation source.

Effluents from petroleum refineries contain a diverse range of pollutants including heavy metals. They also contain oil and grease, phenols, sulphides, dissolved solids, suspended solids and BOD-bearing materials. An overview of heavy metal removal from industrial effluents with emphasis on biological methods is given. Results of studies to remove heavy metals in effluents from a petroleum refinery by water hyacinth were presented. Limited success has been demonstrated for the case of iron and zinc, but further work needs to be done. There is a need to strike the right balance between the possible amount of uptake of heavy metal ions and the tendency to suffocate the ecosystem through the depletion and reduction of light and dissolved oxygen. Similarly there is a need for better understanding of the process of enhancement of the capability the water hyacinth to uptake heavy metal ions before the on-set of toxic accumulation.

Air pollution associated with particulate matters is a serious problem in the mineral products industrial area (MPIA) in Saraburi, central Thailand. PM₁₀ concentrations monitored at Nah Phra Laan station located in the MPIA show that PM₁₀ levels exhibit strong seasonal variations; the number of days in 2005 that PM₁₀ concentrations exceeded the daily National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 120 μg/m³ were 58%, 29%, and 12% in the winter, rainy, and summer seasons, respectively. In this paper, the Hybrid Particle And Concentration Transport (HYPACT) model with meteorological fields from the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) was applied to Saraburi to investigate the impacts of meteorological parameters upon seasonal variations in PM₁₀ concentration. Analysis of model results shows that daily average PM₁₀ concentrations exceeding 200 μg/m³ are found in the downwind direction of emission sources and their horizontal gradients are strong. Hourly PM₁₀ concentrations exhibit obvious diurnal variation with maximum values in wintertime at around 2000-2100 local standard time in association with low ventilation with light wind speed and weak vertical mixing, while in the rainy season, they are generally higher in the daytime than in the nighttime, as that mixing height in cloudy days is low in daytime whereas emission rates are high during working time.

The purpose of this study was to gather information on the spatial and temporal variation of stream water total mercury concentrations ([THg]) and to test the hypothesis that stream water [THg] increases as stream pH decreases in the Shenandoah National Park (SNP). We based our hypothesis on studies in lakes that found mercury methylation increases with decreasing pH, and studies in streams that found total mercury and other trace metal concentrations increase with decreasing pH. Stream water was collected at baseflow in SNP in April, July, and October 2005 and February 2006. Contrary to our hypothesis, stream water [THg] decreased with decreasing pH and acid neutralizing capacity. In SNP, stream pH and acid neutralizing capacity are strongly influenced by bedrock geology. We found that bedrock also influences stream water [THg]. Streams on basaltic bedrock had higher [THg] (0.648 ng L⁻¹ ± 0.39) than streams on siliciclastic bedrock (0.301 ng L⁻¹ ± 0.10) and streams on granitic bedrock (0.522 ng L⁻¹ ± 0.06). The higher pH streams on basaltic bedrock had the highest [THg]. The variation in stream water [THg] occurred despite no known variation in wet deposition of mercury across the SNP. The findings of this study indicate that the SNP can be an important area for mercury research with significant variations in mercury concentrations across the park.

The contents of ten elements [Cd, Pb, W, Zn, Mn, As, Se, Cr, Cu, and organic carbon (Corg)] have been determined in the surficial sediments of Keratsini harbor, Saronikos Gulf, Greece. The contamination of the sediments was assessed on the basis of geoaccumulation index and to corresponding sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) effects range low/effects range median. The results revealed highly elevated Cd, Pb, W, Zn, As, Se, Cr, Cu, and Corg values (Cd, 190-1,763 mg kg⁻¹; Pb, 521-1,263 mg kg⁻¹; W, 38-100 mg kg⁻¹; Zn, 409-6,725 mg kg⁻¹; Mn, 95-1,101 mg kg⁻¹; As, not detectable-1,813 mg kg⁻¹; Se, not detectable-58 mg kg⁻¹; Cr, 264-860 mg kg⁻¹; Cu, 195-518 mg kg⁻¹; and Corg, 0.69-4.41%). The enrichment of metals in the sediments results from the contribution of the central Athens sewage outfall through which the waste of the Attica basin ends up in Keratsini harbor as well as from industrial and ship contaminants.

Hydrophobic modified vermiculite mixed with soil was investigated in biodegradation experiments of naphthalene and anthracene. The experiments had been carried out on mixtures of soil and vermiculite at a proportion of 2%, 10%, and 15% and also in the absence of clay used for control. Biodegradation of the pollutants was followed by the decline of naphthalene and anthracene concentration, measured by CG. Compound mineralization was also proved by the evolution of CO₂. The results showed that in the mixture with a higher proportion of vermiculite biodegradation is enhanced compared to that performed in the absence of vermiculite. In general, when vermiculite proportions are increased, the rate of degradation increases, which may account for the bioavailability of compounds. Bioavailability is an important factor for the degradation of compounds with low solubility. Comparison of biodegradation rates shows that naphthalene is degraded faster than anthracene. The chemical structure could be responsible for this observation. However, although we did not identify the microorganism that was in the soil, we can conclude that vermiculite could be an alternative for the bioavailability of such compounds. Vermiculite in the modified form could also be very useful as a barrier to retain organic pollutants in accidental spills.

The chemical characteristics of the Urauchi River water in Iriomote Island National park, Okinawa, Japan have been studied. Concentrations of PO₄ ³⁻, NO₂ ⁻, and NH₄ ⁺ were barely detectable. We compared the concentration ratios of Mg²⁺/Na⁺, HCO₃ ⁻/Na⁺, and Ca²⁺/Na⁺ in the Urauchi River to those of 60 large rivers in the world and indicated that the chemical composition of the river is most likely formed by the binary mixing of sea salt components and silicate rock weathering components. Although rock weathering in the catchments area is driven by both H₂CO₃ and H₂SO₄, the role of H₂CO₃ is dominant. The percentages of the concentration of each cation in the river water are almost the same as those of other rivers with drainage areas consisting of silicate rock and sandstone. Thus, the Urauchi River shows the typical chemical characteristics of a river in a silicate rock area that includes sandstone.

The effect of exogenously added sodium dodecylbenzenesulphonate (SDBS) surfactant on biodegradation of a mixture of straight-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons (dodecane and hexadecane) and resulting cell surface hydrophobicity changes of Candida maltosa EH 15 were investigated. Results indicated that up to 75 mg/L SDBS improves the biodegradation potential of examined yeast. A decrease in hydrophobicity was observed when SDBS was supplemented in higher concentrations, having strong impact on biodegradation rates. Phase distribution of surfactant molecules was investigated using methylene blue active substances method (MBAS), accompanied by surface and interfacial tension measurements. Studies showed that portion of SDBS molecules adsorbed on cell surface may play significant role in interaction between anionic surfactant and yeast cells, having influence on biodegradation rates.