BACKGROUND, AIMS AND SCOPE: The global problem concerning contamination of the environment as a consequence of human activities is increasing. Most of the environmental contaminants are chemical by-products and heavy metals such as lead (Pb). Lead released into the environment makes its way into the air, soil and water. Lead contributes to a variety of health effects such as decline in mental, cognitive and physical health of the individual. An alternative way of reducing Pb concentration from the soil is through phytoremediation. Phytoremediation is an alternative method that uses plants to clean up a contaminated area. The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the survival rate and vegetative characteristics of three grass species such as vetivergrass, cogongrass and carabaograss grown in soils with different Pb levels; and (2) to determine and compare the ability of the three grass species as potential phytoremediators in terms of Pb accumulation by plants. METHODS: The three test plants: vetivergrass (Vetiveria zizanioides L.); cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica L.); and carabaograss (Paspalum conjugatum L.) were grown in individual plastic bags containing soils with 75 mg kg⁻¹ (37.5 kg ha⁻¹) and 150 mg kg⁻¹ (75 kg ha⁻¹) of Pb, respectively. The Pb contents of the test plants and the soil were analyzed before and after experimental treatments using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. This study was laid out following a 3 × 2 factorial experiment in a completely randomized design. RESULTS: On the vegetative characteristics of the test plants, vetivergrass registered the highest whole plant dry matter weight (33.85–39.39 Mg ha⁻¹). Carabaograss had the lowest herbage mass production of 4.12 Mg ha⁻¹ and 5.72 Mg ha⁻¹ from soils added with 75 and 150 mg Pb kg⁻¹, respectively. Vetivergrass also had the highest percent plant survival which meant it best tolerated the Pb contamination in soils. Vetivergrass registered the highest rate of Pb absorption (10.16 ± 2.81 mg kg⁻¹). This was followed by cogongrass (2.34 ± 0.52 mg kg⁻¹) and carabaograss with a mean Pb level of 0.49 ± 0.56 mg kg⁻¹. Levels of Pb among the three grasses (shoots + roots) did not vary significantly with the amount of Pb added (75 and 150 mg kg⁻¹) to the soil. DISCUSSION: Vetivergrass yielded the highest biomass; it also has the greatest amount of Pb absorbed (roots + shoots). This can be attributed to the highly extensive root system of vetivergrass with the presence of an enormous amount of root hairs. Extensive root system denotes more contact to nutrients in soils, therefore more likelihood of nutrient absorption and Pb uptake. The efficiency of plants as phytoremediators could be correlated with the plants’ total biomass. This implies that the higher the biomass, the greater the Pb uptake. Plants characteristically exhibit remarkable capacity to absorb what they need and exclude what they do not need. Some plants utilize exclusion mechanisms, where there is a reduced uptake by the roots or a restricted transport of the metals from root to shoots. Combination of high metal accumulation and high biomass production results in the most metal removal from the soil. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicated that vetivergrass possessed many beneficial characteristics to uptake Pb from contaminated soil. It was the most tolerant and could grow in soil contaminated with high Pb concentration. Cogongrass and carabaograss are also potential phytoremediators since they can absorb small amount of Pb in soils, although cogongrass is more tolerant to Pb-contaminated soil compared with carabaograss. The important implication of our findings is that vetivergrass can be used for phytoextraction on sites contaminated with high levels of heavy metals; particularly Pb. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: High levels of Pb in localized areas are still a concern especially in urban areas with high levels of traffic, near Pb smelters, battery plants, or industrial facilities that burn fuel ending up in water and soils. The grasses used in the study, and particularly vetivergrass, can be used to phytoremediate urban soil with various contaminations by planting these grasses in lawns and public parks.

GOAL, SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: Marine cage aquaculture produces a large amount of waste that is released directly into the environment. To effectively manage the mariculture environment, it is important to determine the carrying capacity of an aquaculture area. In many Asian countries trash fish is dominantly used in marine cage aquaculture, which contains more water than pellet feed. The traditional nutrient loading analysis is for pellet feed not for trash fish feed. So, a more critical analysis is necessary in trash fish feed culturing areas. METHODS: Corresponding to FCR (feed conversion rate), dry feed conversion rate (DFCR) was used to analyze the nutrient loadings from marine cage aquaculture where trash fish is used. Based on the hydrodynamic model and the mass transport model in Xiangshan Harbor, the relationship between the water quality and the waste discharged from cage aquaculture has been determined. The environmental carrying capacity of the aquaculture sea area was calculated by applying the models noted above. RESULTS: Nitrogen and phosphorus are the water quality parameters considered in this study. The simulated results show that the maximum nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were 0.216 mg/L and 0.039 mg/L, respectively. In most of the sea area, the nutrient concentrations were higher than the water quality standard. The calculated environmental carrying capacity of nitrogen and phosphorus in Xiangshan Harbor were 1,107.37 t/yr and 134.35 t/yr, respectively. The waste generated from cage culturing in 2000 has already exceeded the environmental carrying capacity. DISCUSSION: Unconsumed feed has been identified as the most important origin of all pollutants in cage culturing systems. It suggests the importance of increasing the feed utilization and improving the feed composition on the basis of nutrient requirement. For the sustainable development of the aquaculture industry, it is an effective management measure to keep the stocking density and pollution loadings below the environmental carrying capacity. CONCLUSIONS: The DFCR-based nutrient loadings analysis indicates, in trash fish feed culturing areas, that it is more critical and has been proved to be a valuable loading calculation method. The modeling approach for Xiangshan Harbor presented in this paper is a cost-effective method for assessing the environmental impact and determining the capacity. Carrying capacity information can give scientific suggestions for the sustainable management of aquaculture environments. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: It has been proved that numerical models were convenient tools to predict the environmental carrying capacity. The development of models coupled with dynamic and aquaculture ecology is a requirement of further research. Such models can also be useful in monitoring the ecological impacts caused by mariculture activities.

BACKGROUND, AIM AND SCOPE: Air quality is an field of major concern in large cities. This problem has led administrations to introduce plans and regulations to reduce pollutant emissions. The analysis of variations in the concentration of pollutants is useful when evaluating the effectiveness of these plans. However, such an analysis cannot be undertaken using standard statistical techniques, due to the fact that concentrations of atmospheric pollutants often exhibit a lack of normality and are autocorrelated. On the other hand, if long-term trends of any pollutant's emissions are to be detected, meteorological effects must be removed from the time series analysed, due to their strong masking effects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The application of statistical methods to analyse temporal variations is illustrated using monthly carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations observed at an urban site. The sampling site is located at a street intersection in central Valencia (Spain) with a high traffic density. Valencia is the third largest city in Spain. It is a typical Mediterranean city in terms of its urban structure and climatology. The sampling site started operation in January 1994 and monitored CO ground level concentrations until February 2002. Its geographic coordinates are W0º22'52\ N39º28'05\ and its altitude is 11 m. Two nonparametric trend tests are applied. One of these is robust against serial correlation with regards to the false rejection rate, when observations have a strong persistence or when the sample size per month is small. A nonparametric analysis of the homogeneity of trends between seasons is also discussed. A multiple linear regression model is used with the transformed data, including the effect of meteorological variables. The method of generalized least squares is applied to estimate the model parameters to take into account the serial dependence of the residuals of this model. This study also assesses temporal changes using the Kolmogorov-Zurbenko (KZ) filter. The KZ filter has been shown to be an effective way to remove the influence of meteorological conditions on O3 and PM to examine underlying trends. RESULTS: The nonparametric tests indicate a decreasing, significant trend in the sampled site. The application of the linear model yields a significant decrease every twelve months of 15.8% for the average monthly CO concentration. The 95% confidence interval for the trend ranges from 13.9% to 17.7%. The seasonal cycle also provides significant results. There are no differences in trends throughout the months. The percentage of CO variance explained by the linear model is 90.3%. The KZ filter separates out long, short-term and seasonal variations in the CO series. The estimated, significant, long-term trend every year results in 10.3% with this method. The 95% confidence interval ranges from 8.8% to 11.9%. This approach explains 89.9% of the CO temporal variations. DISCUSSION: The differences between the linear model and KZ filter trend estimations are due to the fact that the KZ filter performs the analysis on the smoothed data rather than the original data. In the KZ filter trend estimation, the effect of meteorological conditions has been removed. The CO short-term component is attributable to weather and short-term fluctuations in emissions. There is a significant seasonal cycle. This component is a result of changes in the traffic, the yearly meteorological cycle and the interactions between these two factors. There are peaks during the autumn and winter months, which have more traffic density in the sampled site. There is a minimum during the month of August, reflecting the very low level of vehicle emissions which is a direct consequence of the holiday period. CONCLUSIONS: The significant, decreasing trend implies to a certain extent that the urban environment in the area is improving. This trend results from changes in overall emissions, pollutant transport, climate, policy and economics. It is also due to the effect of introducing reformulated gasoline. The additives enable vehicles to burn fuel with a higher air/fuel ratio, thereby lowering the emission of CO. The KZ filter has been the most effective method to separate the CO series components and to obtain an estimate of the long-term trend due to changes in emissions, removing the effect of meteorological conditions. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVE: Air quality managers and policy-makers must understand the link between climate and pollutants to select optimal pollutant reduction strategies and avoid exceeding emission directives. This paper analyses eight years of ambient CO data at a site with a high traffic density, and provides results that are useful for decision-making. The assessment of long-term changes in air pollutants to evaluate reduction strategies has to be done while taking into account meteorological variability.

GOAL, SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: One of the burning problems of our industrial society is the high consumption of water and the high demand for clean drinking water. Numerous approaches have been taken to reduce water consumption, but in the long run it seems only possible to recycle waste water into high quality water. It seems timely to discuss alternative water remediation technologies that are fit for industrial as well as less developed countries to ensure a high quality of drinking water throughout Europe. MAIN FEATURES: The present paper discusses a range of phytoremediation technologies to be applied in a modular approach to integrate and improve the performance of existing wastewater treatment, especially towards the emerging micro pollutants, i.e. organic chemicals and pharmaceuticals. This topic is of global relevance for the EU. RESULTS: Existing technologies for waste water treatment do not sufficiently address increasing pollution situation, especially with the growing use of organic pollutants in the private household and health sector. Although some crude chemical approaches exist, such as advanced oxidation steps, most waste water treatment plants will not be able to adopt them. The same is true for membrane technologies. DISCUSSION: Incredible progress has been made during recent years, thus providing us with membranes of longevity and stability and, at the same time, high filtration capacity. However, these systems are expensive and delicate in operation, so that the majority of communities will not be able to afford them. Combinations of different phytoremediation technologies seem to be most promising to solve this burning problem. CONCLUSIONS: To quantify the occurrence and the distribution of micropollutants, to evaluate their effects, and to prevent them from passing through wastewater collection and treatment systems into rivers, lakes and ground water bodies represents an urgent task for applied environmental sciences in the coming years. RECOMMENDATIONS: Public acceptance of green technologies is generally higher than that of industrial processes. The EU should stimulate research to upgrade existing waste water treatment by implementing phytoremediation modules and demonstrating their reliability to the public.

Background, Aim and Scope Numerous herbicides and xenobiotic organic pollutants are detoxified in plants to glutathione conjugates. Following this enzyme catalyzed reaction, xenobiotic GS-conjugates are thought to be compartmentalized in the vacuole of plant cells. In the present study, evidence is presented for long range transport of these conjugates in plants, rather than storage in the vacuole. To our knowledge this is the first report about the unidirectional long range transport of xenobiotic conjugates in plants and the exudation of a glutathione conjugate from the root tips. This could mean that plants possess an excretion system for unwanted compounds which give them similar advantages as animals. Materials and Methods: Barley plants (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Cherie) were grown in Petri dishes soaked with tap water in the greenhouse. - Fluorescence Microscopy. Monobromo- and Monochlorobimane, two model xenobiotics that are conjugated rapidly in plant cells with glutathione, hereby forming fluorescent metabolites, were used as markers for our experiments. Their transport in the root could be followed sensitively with very good temporal and spatial resolution. Roots of barley seedlings were cut under water and the end at which xenobiotics were applied was fixed in an aperture with a thin latex foil and transferred into a drop of water on a cover slide. The cover slide was fixed in a measuring chamber on the stage of an inverse fluorescence microscope (Zeiss Axiovert 100). - Spectrometric enzyme assay. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity was determined in the protein extracts following established methods. Aliquots of the enzyme extract were incubated with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB), or monochlorobimane. Controls lacking enzyme or GSH were measured. - Pitman chamber experiments. Ten days old barley plants or detached roots were inserted into special incubation chambers, either complete with tips or decapitated, as well as 10 days old barley plants without root tips. Compartment A was filled with a transport medium and GSH conjugate or L-cysteine conjugate. Compartments B and C contained sugar free media. Samples were taken from the root tip containing compartment C and the amount of conjugate transported was determined spectro-photometrically. Results: The transport in roots is unidirectional towards the root tips and leads to exsudation of the conjugates at rates between 20 and 200 nmol min-1. The microscopic studies have been complemented by transport studies in small root chambers and spectroscopic quantification of dinitrobenzene-conjugates. The latter experiments confirm the microscopic studies. Furthermore it was shown that glutathione conjugates are transported at higher rates than cysteine conjugates, despite of their higher molecular weights. This observation points to the existence of glutathione specific carriers and a specific role of glutathione in the root. Discussion: It can be assumed that long distance transport of glutathione conjugates within the plant proceeds like GSH or amino acid transport in both, phloem and xylem. The high velocity of this translocation of the GS-X is indicative of an active transport. For free glutathione, a rapid transport-system is essential because an accumulation of GSH in the root tip inhibits further uptake of sulfur. Taking into account that all described MRP transporters and also the GSH plasmalemma ATPases have side activities for glutathione derivatives and conjugates, co-transport of these xenobiotic metabolites seems credible. - On the other hand, when GS-B was applied to the root tips from the outside, no significant uptake was observed. Thus it can be concluded that only those conjugates can be transported in the xylem which are formed inside the root apex. Having left the root once, there seems to be no return into the root vessels, probably because of a lack of inward directed transporters. Conclusions: Plants seem to possess the capability to store glutathione conjugates in the vacuole, but under certain conditions, these metabolites might also undergo long range transport, predominantly into the plant root. The transport seems dependent on specific carriers and is unidirectional, this means that xenobiotic conjugates from the rhizosphere are not taken up again. The exudation of xenobiotic metabolites offers an opportunity to avoid the accumulation of such compounds in the plant. Recommendations and Perspectives: The role of glutathione and glutathione related metabolites in the rhizosphere has not been studied in any detail, and only scattered data are available on interactions between the plant root and rhizosphere bacteria that encounter such conjugates. The final fate of these compounds in the root zone has also not been addressed so far. It will be interesting to study effects of the exuded metabolites on the biology of rhizosphere bacteria and fungi.

Working group on effects of the convention on long-rangr transboundary air pollution

Industrial disposal of effluents on land and the subsequent pollution of groundwater and soil of surrounding farmlands ? is a relatively new area of research. The environmental and socioeconomic aspects of industrial effluent irrigation have not been studied as extensively as domestic sewage based irrigation practices, at least for a developing country like India. The disposal of effluents on land has become a regular practice for some industries. Industries located in Mettupalayam Taluk, Tamil Nadu, dispose their effluents on land, and the farmers of the adjacent farmlands have complained that their shallow open wells get polluted and also the salt content of the soil has started building up slowly. This study attempts to capture the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of industrial effluent irrigation in different industrial locations at Mettupalayam Taluk, Tamil Nadu, through primary surveys and secondary information. This study found that the continuous disposal of industrial effluents on land, which has limited capacity to assimilate the pollution load, has led to groundwater pollution. The quality of groundwater in shallow open wells surrounding the industrial locations has deteriorated, and the application of polluted groundwater for irrigation has resulted in increased salt content of soils. In some locations drinking water wells (deep bore wells) also have a high concentration of salts. Since the farmers had already shifted their cropping pattern to salt-tolerant crops (like jasmine, curry leaf, tobacco, etc.) and substituted their irrigation source from shallow open wells to deep bore wells and/or river water, the impact of pollution on livelihoods was minimized. Since the local administration is supplying drinking water to households, the impact in the domestic sector has been minimized. It has also been noticed that in some locations industries are supplying drinking water to the affected households. However, if the pollution continues unabated it could pose serious problems in the future.

This project is funded by the European Commission under its Asia Pro Eco II Program. It is undertaken by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Sri Lanka; COSI, Sri Lanka; the International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC), the Netherlands; NGO Forum for Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation, Bangladesh; and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Sweden. The project pilot cities are Rajshahi City in Bangladesh and Kurunegala City in Sri Lanka.