The levels and chemical composition of the particulate matter (PM) are linked to the effects of this atmospheric pollutant on human health. An assessment of the PM levels and its constituents present in the atmosphere is an important requirement of the air quality management and air pollution abatement. Taking into account that (i) EC Directives allow the Regional Government to assess the air quality by objective estimation and modelling techniques and (ii) the experimental effort required in the analysis of heavy metals in air, the present work aims to estimate the annual levels of the heavy metals regulated by the EC Directives (Pb in 1999/30/EC, and As, Ni and Cd in 2004/107/EC) in PM10 by means of multivariate linear regression (MLR). The main results show that although important deviations are found for individual measurements, the 2008 annual average metal concentrations are well estimated by the MLR technique at the studied areas. So, these estimations may be used by Regional Governments for the level assessment of regulated metals when their concentrations are below the lower assessment threshold | The authors would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (CTM2006-00317) and the Government of Cantabria (“Actions for improving the air quality and its diagnosis in Cantabria”) for their funding.

The gamma spectrometric analysis of soil and essential foodstuffs, e.g., wheat, millet, potato, lentils and cauliflower, which form the main component of the daily diet of the local public, was carried out using high purity germanium (HpGe) detector coupled with a computer based high-resolution multi-channel analyzer. The activity concentration in soil samples for ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K ranged from 30.0 Bq kg⁻¹ to 81.2 Bq kg⁻¹, 31.4 Bq kg⁻¹ to 78.25 Bq kg⁻¹ and 308.8 Bq kg⁻¹ to 2177.6 Bq kg⁻¹, with mean values of 56.2, 58.5 and 851.9 Bq kg⁻¹, respectively. The average activity measured for ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in soil samples was found higher than the world average. The major radionuclide found in the food items studied was ⁴⁰K, while ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ¹³⁷Cs were detected in very nominal amounts. The results clearly indicate that these radionuclides have no health hazard to human beings, as they are well below the annual limit of intake (ALI) for these radionuclides. The transfer factors of these radionuclides from soil to food were also studied. The mean transfer factors of ⁴⁰K, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ¹³⁷Cs from soil to food were estimated to be about 0.17, 0.07, 0.16 and 0.23, respectively. An artificial radionuclide, ¹³⁷Cs, was also present in detectable amount in all samples. The internal and external hazard indices were measured and had mean values of 0.70 and 0.55, respectively. Absorbed dose rates and effective dose have been determined in the present study. Concentration of trace metals, such as Cr, Pb, Ni and Zn, was also determined in the soil samples. The concentrations of radionuclides and trace metals found in these samples during the present study were nominal and do not pose any potential health hazard to the general public.

The aim of this study was to compare the capacity of two morphologically different moss species to accumulate elements when exposed to three different types of air pollution (rural, urban and industrial). Transplants of Pseudoscleropodium purum and Ceratodon purpureus were exposed for 6 months, and the concentrations of 18 elements (Al, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, As, Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, Ba, La, Pb and Bi) in the mosses samples were analysed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. On the whole, the metals were accumulated by mosses, and this accumulation was correlated with concentrations in the atmospheric particles. Whereas P. purum is to be preferred for Al, Cu, Zn and Fe monitoring, C. purpureus was most efficient at accumulating Mo, Ti, V, As, Sn, La and Pb. In both species, a phenomenon of saturation was observed during the exposure at the most contaminated site (industrial).

A monitoring program of particulate matter was conducted at eight sampling sites in four highly industrialized cities (Shenyang, Anshan, Fushun, and Jinzhou) of Liaoning Province in Northeast China to identify the major potential sources of ambient PM₂.₅. A total of 814 PM₂.₅ and PM₂.₅₋₁₀ samples were collected between 2004 and 2005. All PM samples were collected simultaneously in four cities and analyzed gravimetrically for mass concentrations. A sum of 16 elemental species concentrations in the PM samples were determined using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. Annual means of PM₂.₅ concentrations ranged from 65.0 to 222.0 μg m⁻³ in all the eight sampling sites, and the spatial and seasonal variations were discussed. Enrichment factors were calculated, and Cr, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb will be pollution-derived elements. Site-to-site comparisons of PM₂.₅ species in each city were examined using coefficient of divergence, revealing that the two sites in each city are similar in elemental species. Principle component analysis was used for preliminary source analysis of PM₂.₅. Three or four factors in each city were isolated, and similar sources (crustal source, coal combustion, vehicle exhaust, iron making, or some other metallurgical activities) were identified at four cities.

The elevated water table (EWT) technique for preventing acid mine drainage (AMD) was tested using instrumented laboratory columns containing reactive tailings from the Louvicourt and Sigma mines, Abitibi, Quebec. The tests were performed in short (0.4 m) and long (1.4-1.7 m) columns over 400-500 days and included periodic surface recharge and subsequent monitoring of the leached drainage water. In each column, the water table depth was adjusted relative to the air entry value (AEV or ψa) of the tailings. The influence of different water table elevations was evaluated by measuring the effluent pH, as well as the concentrations of major ions including sulphate, iron, zinc, copper and lead. Provided the water table depth below the tailings surface remained less than one half of the tailings' AEV, the observed data showed that an EWT can be very effective in reducing acid mine drainage. The principal factors controlling drainage quality were the saturated hydraulic conductivity (k sat) and the air entry value (ψa) of the tailings. A lower k sat and a higher ψa in the tailings tend to increase the performance of an elevated water table by limiting drainage-induced desaturation. Mineralogical composition had relatively little effect on the hydrogeochemical evolution provided the tailings remained highly saturated (S r ≥ 90%). The results presented here indicate that an elevated water table can be an effective means for controlling the production of AMD when the design conditions are properly selected and applied.

For a half century, total suspended solids (TSS) has been the most commonly utilized particulate matter (PM) gravimetric index for wastewater. While TSS has been extended to urban runoff, runoff phenomena are unique. Runoff is unsteady and transports heterodisperse inorganic granulometry, giving rise to the PM index, suspended sediment concentration (SSC). With respect to PM-associated chemical oxygen demand (CODp) in runoff, it is hypothesized that, while the TSS method can represent effluent CODp, the SSC method is required to represent influent CODp. CODp and PM indices (TSS and SSC) for runoff events with mass balances and manual sampling are analyzed to investigate this hypothesis. This study examined a series of rainfall-runoff events captured from an instrumented fully paved urban catchment subject to traffic loadings in Baton Rouge, LA. Results indicate TSS generated substantial event-based mass balance errors for CODp and Δm p (mg/g) across a hydrodynamic separator (HS) as compared to SSC. TSS underestimates sediment-bound COD (>75 µm), a significant portion (maximum of 63% and median of 50%) of influent load. Negative bias by the TSS method for influent CODp load increases as the heterodisperse particle size distribution becomes coarser. Above a PM of 250 mg/L, underestimation of CODp by the TSS method is statistically significant. Utilizing the SSC method, CODp reduction by a HS upstream of a batch clarifier (BC) indicates that a HS does not provide CODp reduction, compared to a BC with 60 min of residence time. Representative PM and CODP assessment suggests frequent BMP and drainage system maintenance to ensure proper operation and reduce pollutant elution.

We studied nutrient removal by Phragmites australis in the Albujón rambla, the main drainage system that discharges into the Mar Menor, a Mediterranean coastal lagoon of high conservation interest, but highly threatened by point and nonpoint pollution derived from tourism and agricultural activities. We measured aerial biomass and N and P concentrations in both aboveground and belowground tissues of common reed during an annual cycle that included two cutting events and two periods of reed growth (one at the end of summer after cutting and another at the beginning of spring, following their natural cycle). The temporal variation of N and P concentrations was related to the phenology of the plant and cutting events. The maximum nutrient concentrations were recorded in young stems in the initial stages of the autumn growing season (35.86 mg N g⁻¹ and 2.38 mg P g⁻¹). The phosphorus dynamics showed evidence of translocation processes related with growth activity, although no evidence of N translocation was found. In November and in summer, when aerial growth ceases because of the hard conditions, the P concentration in rhizomes was higher than in stems, while in spring and in September, the period of maximal growth, the reverse relation was found. The highest total amounts of the two elements in the aboveground biomass (0.54 Tm N ha⁻¹ and 0.25 Tm P ha⁻¹) were reached in July, coinciding with the highest biomass (3.72 kg DW m⁻²), which then decreased to approximately half in August. Nutrient content in the aboveground tissues was highly dependent on the ammonium and nitrate water concentrations. In addition, the N content was inversely related to the Corg/N of sediments, while the P content was influenced positively by the phosphorous concentration of the water. Common reed of the Albujón rambla corresponds to the assimilation type, adapted to nutrient-rich habitats, which is characterized by a pronounced external N cycle and P internal reserves. Based on the results obtained, we propose a management plan for common reed to help control eutrophication of the Mar Menor lagoon. This would bring forward reed cutting to the beginning of summer, instead of August, coinciding with the time of maximum aerial biomass, greater nutrient retention, and lower risk of strong precipitation.

The loads and sources of heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn) in the midstream of Tama River were evaluated on the basis of their chemical analyses in ordinary and stormwater runoff from July 2007 to November 2008. Tama River is one of the three major rivers flowing into Tokyo Bay. The total annual water discharges differed largely for 2007 and 2008, depending on the scales of typhoon rainfalls and other heavy rainfalls in each year. The concentrations of the metals other than Mo in the river did not change markedly at a flow rate of less than approximately 200 m³ s⁻¹, but at higher flow rates, the concentrations of all the metals increased linearly with the increase in the log of flow rate (r ² = 0.94-0.99). The annual loads of heavy metals for 2007 and 2008 were estimated using regression equations between the above parameters and the hourly flow rate data for each year. For the metals other than Mo, the contribution of the loads at higher flow rates (>200 m³ s⁻¹) was much larger than that at lower flow rates (<200 m³ s⁻¹), showing the importance of the particulate loads (primarily crustal materials) during storm runoff following typhoon rainfalls and other heavy rainfalls. In contrast, the loads of Mo at lower flow rates accounted for major portions (56-78%) of the total loads, because of a relatively small contribution of particulate load during storm runoff. The contribution of the loads of Mo, Zn, Cd, Cu, and Ni at lower flow rates to the annual loads was larger than that of other metals. It was found that the concentrations of these metals in ordinary runoff are strongly affected by the discharge of treated water from sewage treatment plants which are located along the catchment. Thus, treated water from sewage treatment plants may be the primary source contributing to the present pollution of Mo, Zn, Cd, Cu, and Ni in Tokyo Bay.

After elevated concentrations of perfluorooctanoate (PFO) were found in river and groundwater in the vicinity of a fluoropolymer manufacturing facility, numerous soils at adjacent sites were sampled in 2007. Within a 5-km northeast-oriented sector around a probable point source, 20 forest sites were investigated and compared to deposition and groundwater data. PFO concentrations up to 600 µg/kg were detected in the soils, and PFO concentrations typically decreased toward deeper soil depths. In mixed or deciduous forests, maximum concentrations of PFO occurred in the topsoil, pointing to the favorable decomposition and incorporation of deciduous litter. PFO concentrations of the organic layer over the 20 sampling sites were interpolated using ordinary kriging. Highest PFO content in the organic layer was located about 500 m away from the point source in the regional wind direction, decreasing asymptotically outwards. Long-term monitoring data pointed to an accumulation of PFO over time in the organic layer. The data suggest that PFO might be released in the course of litter decomposition and transported toward deeper soil regions only gradually. The soils' PFO concentrations reflect the deposition data. The transport link toward groundwater is currently established in lysimeter studies.