This study’s purpose is to examine the potential relationships between MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and environmental outdoor air pollutants in GA (Georgia). We used secondary, cross-sectional data received from the member’s list of the National Multiples Sclerosis Society’s GA chapter (NMSS-GA), the U.S. census, and scorecard.org, a database based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory (to 2002) and National Emissions Inventory (1999) data. The study population was 9,072,576 including 6,247 self-reported MS cases from NMSS-GA. Using stepwise multivariate linear regression of census and EPA data, the best predictive model in GA for female or total prevalence rates used per capita income and coarse particles (PM-10); male prevalence rates included only per capita income. The relationship between MS and PM-10 could be facilitated by influences of PM-10 on the systemic immune response and inflammation. More exposure and basic and clinical research are needed to understand environmental influences on MS.

Sąvartynai – pasaulinė problema. Daugelyje Vakarų Europos šalių sąvartynų tyrimai atliekami jau ne vieną dešimtmetį, kai Lietuvoje juos pradėta tirti tiktai atkūrus nepriklausomybę, todėl duomenys apie sąvartynus nėra gausūs, tačiau Lietuvoje yra pakankama teisinė bazė atliekų tvarkymo srityje. Teisės aktais nurodyti reikalavimai sąvartynų įrengimui, eksploatacijai ir uždarymui. Analizei atlikti surinkta informacija apie buitinių atliekų sąvartyną, kuris yra Kauno rajone Lapių seniūnijoje. Gruntinio ir paviršinio upelių vandens cheminę sudėtį ir atskirų komponentų koncentraciją sąvartyno aplinkoje lemia filtrato ir pramoninių tirpalų patekimas į gruntą ir jų pernešimas požeminėmis tėkmėmis. Šiame darbe yra analizuojami 1994 – 2007 metų hidromonitoringo duomenys. Lapių sąvartynas daro didelę neigiamą žalą gruntiniam, požeminiam vandeniui, bei Marilės upeliui. Darbe analizuojami pagrindiniai vandens taršos rodikliai: BDS7, bendras azotas, bendras fosforas, chloridai, nitritai. Drenažu surenkama tik dalis filtrato, kita dalis infiltruojasi į gruntinius vandenis. Sąvartynuose susidarantis filtratas – viena aktualiausių su sąvartynais susijusių apsaugos problemų. Todėl šiame darbe atlikti Lapių sąvartyno pirmojo kaupimo lauko filtrato kiekio skaičiavimai, per metus susidaro 74645m3. Nustatyta, kad praėjus dešimčiai metų po sąvartyno uždengimo pirmojo kaupimo lauko filtrato kiekis sumažėtų iki 786 m3 per metus. Gruntinio vandens, kurį tiesiogiai veikia filtrato sklaida, cheminę... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Landfills are a world wide problem. In most of Western European countries landfills have been investigated for many years, whereas in Lithuania the investigations of the landfills started only after restoring the Independence. That is why the facts about landfills are not numerous, but Lithuania has a rather good juristical base in the sphere of waste treatment.The acts/documents of law indicate the requirements for the dump equipment, maintenance and closing. In order to evaluate the situation, the information about the landfill of waste which is in Kaunas region, in Lapės, was collected. The chemical composition of the stream groundwater and surface-water and the concentration of separate components in the surroundings of the landfill are conditioned by leachate and industrial leach which gets/falls into the ground and is carried with the help of underwater. The data of hidromonitoring of the year 1994 – 2007 are analysed in this paper. The landfill of Lapės pollute the groundwater and the Marilės stream. The main indicators of the water pollution are analysed in the paper biochemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chlorides, nitrites. Drainage collects only one part of the leachate, and the other part is infiltrated into groundwater. The leachate which is formed in the landfill is one of the most relevant and connected with landfills environmental problems. That is why the calculations of the leachate amount in the first storage field of Lapės landfill... [to full text]

This thesis examines the air-soil and air-water gas exchange of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) with emphasis on organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). The current status of net exchange, factors which influence the exchange process, and different approaches used to estimate the surface exchange were explored. The net exchange of chemicals was evaluated using the fugacity approach, with the aid of chemical tracers (congener profiles of complex mixtures and enantiomer proportions of chiral chemicals) to infer current use vs. legacy sources to the atmosphere. DDT in southern Mexico was undergoing net deposition from air to soil. Occurrence of fresher DDT residues in the south was indicated by a higher proportion of p,p’-DDT relative to p,p’-DDE and racemic o,p’-DDT in air and soils. Congener profiles of toxaphene suggested soil emissions as the source to air. The influence of chemical aging on soil-air exchange and bioaccessibility was studied in a high organic soil. The use of nonexhaustive extraction with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD) to predict bioaccessibility was optimized for OCPs and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Reduced volatility of spiked chemicals correlated with reduced HPCD extractability for soil that had been aged under indoor and outdoor conditions for 730 d and infers volatility could be used as a surrogate for bioaccessibility. Measured soil-air partition coefficients (Ksa) were lower than those predicted from the Karickhoff relationship, which considers octanol as a surrogate for soil organic matter. The role of soil moisture, organic carbon, temperature, depth of soil surface horizon and dissolved organic carbon in the fate of organic contaminants in soil were assessed using chemical partitioning space maps. These maps allow instant visual prediction of the phase distribution and transport process of a chemical among the three major phases in soil; i.e., air, water and solid. Net volatilization of alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane from water to air was found in the southern Beaufort Sea using fugacity calculations and flux measurements. The influence of ice cover on volatilization was indicated by a winter-summer shift from racemic to nonracemic alpha-HCH in boundary layer air.

This thesis examines the air-soil and air-water gas exchange of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) with emphasis on organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). The current status of net exchange, factors which influence the exchange process, and different approaches used to estimate the surface exchange were explored. The net exchange of chemicals was evaluated using the fugacity approach, with the aid of chemical tracers (congener profiles of complex mixtures and enantiomer proportions of chiral chemicals) to infer current use vs. legacy sources to the atmosphere. DDT in southern Mexico was undergoing net deposition from air to soil. Occurrence of fresher DDT residues in the south was indicated by a higher proportion of p,p’-DDT relative to p,p’-DDE and racemic o,p’-DDT in air and soils. Congener profiles of toxaphene suggested soil emissions as the source to air. The influence of chemical aging on soil-air exchange and bioaccessibility was studied in a high organic soil. The use of nonexhaustive extraction with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD) to predict bioaccessibility was optimized for OCPs and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Reduced volatility of spiked chemicals correlated with reduced HPCD extractability for soil that had been aged under indoor and outdoor conditions for 730 d and infers volatility could be used as a surrogate for bioaccessibility. Measured soil-air partition coefficients (Ksa) were lower than those predicted from the Karickhoff relationship, which considers octanol as a surrogate for soil organic matter. The role of soil moisture, organic carbon, temperature, depth of soil surface horizon and dissolved organic carbon in the fate of organic contaminants in soil were assessed using chemical partitioning space maps. These maps allow instant visual prediction of the phase distribution and transport process of a chemical among the three major phases in soil; i.e., air, water and solid. Net volatilization of alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane from water to air was found in the southern Beaufort Sea using fugacity calculations and flux measurements. The influence of ice cover on volatilization was indicated by a winter-summer shift from racemic to nonracemic alpha-HCH in boundary layer air.

Pollution from industrial sources, such as leather tanneries, jewelry factories, car batteries, and construction refuse, has been linked to increased concentrations of toxic heavy metals in rivers in Costa Rica. This study focused on the concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, and lead in sediment and water in Rio Baru, Costa Rica, which has not been previously studied. The concentrations in Rio Baru were compared to two controls and the Environmental Protection Agency toxicity limits to determine pollution levels. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was utilized to determine the concentrations of heavy metals in water and sediment samples from Rio Baru, Terciopelo, and Rio Tarcoles. Watershed analysis for Rio Baru was expected to reveal mostly agricultural sources of contaminants. Rio Baru was predicted to have levels of inorganic heavy metals between Rio Tarcoles and Terciopelo, with Tarcoles containing the highest levels. As, Cr, and Ni in Rio Baru were between unpolluted levels in Terciopelo and polluted levels in Rio Tarcoles, but Rio Baru had lower concentrations of Cu and Pb than both Rio Tarcoles and Terciopelo. Analysis of watersheds determined that Rio Baru’s watershed contained intermediate ratios of human development and agricultural sources of pollution. Further comparisons of watershed size with total dissolved sediment levels found a positive linear relationship, indicating a portion of differences in heavy metal concentrations were due to watershed sizes. Concentrations of heavy metals in Rio Baru’s water were below toxic limits for drinking water and placed Rio Baru within “good” sediment levels for As, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb. As geochemistry and proximity to industrial sources was not accounted for in methodology, further research would be necessary for determination of natural concentrations of heavy metals in Rio Baru.

Nutrition interventions are an effective way to improve the dietary habits and lifestyle choices and reduce the risk of chronic disease. The Researchers in the UK-SRP Community Engagement Core develop nutrition programs for communities affected by environmental pollutants. Risk communication is a discipline that can be used to develop targeted nutrition interventions that will yield positive behavior change. The purpose of this study was to examine knowledge, risk perception, and actions concerning environmental pollutants and nutrition behavior. Data was collected using a modified survey instrument based on the validated Environmental Health Engagement Profile (EHEP). Survey participants from diverse regions of the state included 1) health educators; 2) residents from a nonmetropolitan-non-Appalachian area; 3) a nonmetropolitan-Appalachian area; and 4) a metropolitan area. Results indicated a significant, positive correlation in all four groups between perception of environmental pollutants in a person’s surroundings and the extent of concern that pollutants cause adverse health effects (p < 0.01). Recognizing that participants see a link between environmental pollutants and their health allows nutrition researchers to develop targeted, effective nutrition interventions. This information will be useful in the development of future nutrition programs to improve the health of Superfund communities.

Water resources in South Africa are scarce, and should therefore be protected against pollutants, also from persistent organic pollutants (POPs). POPs are a global concern due to their ubiquitous presence, persistence and toxicity. This is emphasised by the Stockholm Convention on POPs, which aims at reducing and ultimately eliminating them. South Africa signed and ratified the treaty, and it became international law on 17 May 2004, but there is still a lack of information regarding POPs in South Africa. This study focussed on establishing the levels of POPs and other organic pollutants, which included various organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxin-like compounds (DLCs), non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE). Sampling regions included the industrial cities – Cape Town, Richards Bay, Durban and Bloemfontein, and low-income, high density residential areas surrounding a wetland in Soweto/Lenasia and Botshabelo. Additionally, rivers flowing into neighbouring countries, rivers in the vicinity of paper and pulp producers and high altitude rivers were included. Sediment samples were firstly screened for the presence of DLCs by the H4IIE-luc bio-assay, whereafter sites eliciting quantifiable responses were selected for further chemical analysis by high resolution gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). Of the 96 sites, only 23 had quantifiable levels of DLCs. These sites were mainly of industrial, semi-industrial or low-income residential nature. PAHs were the predominant class of compounds at most of the sites, while OCPs and PCBs were present in moderate concentrations and PBDEs in minor concentrations. The concentration of pollutants measured in South African soils and sediments were intermediate when compared to the levels measured in some European, Asian and Scandinavian countries, with the exception of a few sites where exceptionally high levels of compounds were measured. The carbon content normalized concentrations of certain compounds at some of the sites exceeded the Canadian sediment quality guidelines. The estimated cancer risk associated with dermal absorption of OCPs measured in this study was negligible when compared to the background cancer risk expected for South Africans due to life style factors. However, it was estimated that dermal exposure to PCBs, DLCs and PAHs may lead to severe increases in cancer cases, and may seriously impact on human health. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Environmental Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Water resources in South Africa are scarce, and should therefore be protected against pollutants, also from persistent organic pollutants (POPs). POPs are a global concern due to their ubiquitous presence, persistence and toxicity. This is emphasised by the Stockholm Convention on POPs, which aims at reducing and ultimately eliminating them. South Africa signed and ratified the treaty, and it became international law on 17 May 2004, but there is still a lack of information regarding POPs in South Africa. This study focussed on establishing the levels of POPs and other organic pollutants, which included various organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxin-like compounds (DLCs), non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE). Sampling regions included the industrial cities – Cape Town, Richards Bay, Durban and Bloemfontein, and low-income, high density residential areas surrounding a wetland in Soweto/Lenasia and Botshabelo. Additionally, rivers flowing into neighbouring countries, rivers in the vicinity of paper and pulp producers and high altitude rivers were included. Sediment samples were firstly screened for the presence of DLCs by the H4IIE-luc bio-assay, whereafter sites eliciting quantifiable responses were selected for further chemical analysis by high resolution gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). Of the 96 sites, only 23 had quantifiable levels of DLCs. These sites were mainly of industrial, semi-industrial or low-income residential nature. PAHs were the predominant class of compounds at most of the sites, while OCPs and PCBs were present in moderate concentrations and PBDEs in minor concentrations. The concentration of pollutants measured in South African soils and sediments were intermediate when compared to the levels measured in some European, Asian and Scandinavian countries, with the exception of a few sites where exceptionally high levels of compounds were measured. The carbon content normalized concentrations of certain compounds at some of the sites exceeded the Canadian sediment quality guidelines. The estimated cancer risk associated with dermal absorption of OCPs measured in this study was negligible when compared to the background cancer risk expected for South Africans due to life style factors. However, it was estimated that dermal exposure to PCBs, DLCs and PAHs may lead to severe increases in cancer cases, and may seriously impact on human health. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Environmental Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Elevated polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations have been detected in marine mammals inhabiting the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia (Canada) and Puget Sound, Washington State (USA). This raises concerns about adverse health effects and underscores the importance of documenting source, transport, and fate of contaminants. This marine mammal-oriented study- (1) examines dietary exposure to complex mixtures of persistent organic pollutants (POPs); (2) characterizes POP accumulations using congener-specific contaminant analyses, stable isotope ratios, and multivariate statistical methods; and (3) explores some of the influencing factors for POP bioaccumulation in marine mammals. A first application of a food basket approach to assessing real-world dietary exposure to mixtures of chemicals in marine mammals has revealed Puget Sound as a regional “hotspot” for PCB contamination. The consistency between PCB concentrations in Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and their food baskets validates the use of this method as a basis for exploring dietary exposure, metabolism, biomagnification, and health risks in marine mammals. Concentration rankings of POPs and estimated daily intakes based on our food baskets suggests that both legacy (e.g., PCB, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane [DDT]) and new (polybrominated diphenyl ethers [PBDEs]) POPs may pose potential health risks to seals. Accumulations of PCBs in the Strait of Georgia seal food web demonstrate the bioaccumulative nature and persistence of PCBs. Correlations of PCB concentrations with physicochemical properties and trophic level revealed the important role that metabolism plays in biomagnification in seals, alongside trophic level and log Kow. We estimate a PCB load of 77 kg within the Strait of Georgia biomass, with the largest proportion (36 %) detected in marine mammals. Dietary exposure of POPs to resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) was assessed by measuring POPs in four stocks of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), their primary prey. Differences in POP concentrations between chinook smolts and returning adults suggest that the majority of POPs are acquired at sea during the major growth period in their life cycle. Higher POP concentrations and low lipid content were observed among the more southerly stocks suggesting a migration-associated metabolism and loss of lighter congeners, thereby exposing southern residents to more highly contaminated chinook salmon. Consumption on a lipid-weight basis, (higher consumption on a wet weight basis), as well as consuming prey from a more contaminated region, likely increases killer whale exposure to POPs, offering an explanation for higher contaminant burdens in southern residents. While previous research has examined species inhabiting different trophic levels or food chains in other regions, this study has provided an assessment of POP dietary exposure, biomagnification, and influencing factors on trophic accumulations in a North-eastern Pacific marine mammal food web. These results have provided further insight into the influence of such factors as age, sex, lipid content, diet, migration-related metabolism, physicochemical properties (degree of chlorination, log Kow), and chemical structure on POP accumulation in marine mammals. We have identified the largely unregulated PBDEs as posing potential health risks to marine mammals and offered a means to update existing tissue residue guidelines for the protection of wildlife.

Lietuvos žaliavinio pieno užterštumo B grupės teršalais analizė 2005-2010 metais. Tyrimo metu gautų rodiklių palyginimas su Europos Sąjungos šalių narių rodiklių palyginimas. / Lithuania milk contamination Group B contamination analysis in 2005-2010 years. The study of performance comparison with the European Union member states are shown.