published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Master / Master of Science

The persistance of industrially derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the subsurface may be significantly affected by the metabolism of soil bacteria. This study was conducted to determine the ability of indigenous soil bacteria to decrease the concentration of four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (naphthalene, fluorene, anthracene, and pyrene) and to utilize the compounds as a substrate for growth. Soil cores from petroleum contaminated and non-contaminated sites contained 10⁵ - 10⁷ viable microorganisms per gram dry weight of soil. Gram negative rod-shaped bacteria predominated. Decreases in the concentration of the four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were observed during incubation with bacterial isolates in aqueous suspension by the use of high performance liquid chromatography. Corresponding increases in bacterial numbers indicated utilization of the compounds as a carbon source. Soil samples from the contaminated sites contained greater numbers of bacteria utilizing anthracene and pyrene than soil samples from non-contaminated sites. Degradation rates of the four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were related to the compound, its concentration, and the bacterium. Biodegradation of pyrene was positively correlated with the presence of oxygen. Pyrene was biodegraded by an Acinetobacter sp. under aerobic conditions but not under anaerobic or microaerophilic conditions. Studies with radiolabeled ¹⁴C-anthracene demonstrated utilization of the labeled carbon as a source of carbon by viable bacterial cells in aqueous suspension. Incorporation of ¹⁴C into cellular biomass however was not observed during incubation of ¹⁴C-anthracene in soil.

All major pollution incidents in contemporary Japan have spawned victims' protest movements. This dissertation is a case study of one such movement which emerged in the late 1960s among thousands of persons poisoned by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that had accidentally leaked into their cooking oil. The study describes the evolution of victims' response to the disaster, beginning with the initial outbreak of symptoms, their efforts to uncover the cause of these symptoms and to receive appropriate medical treatment, and their organization of a movement to seek redress in the form of an apology from the manufacturer of the oil, reform by industry and government, and compensation. Victims utilized a variety of tactics before finally resorting to litigation in attempts to achieve their goals. Theirs was the largest pollution case ever tried in Japan. The final section of the study focuses on a major leader of the victims' movement, Kamino Ryuzo. A spokesman for the victims, Kamino, a retired miner and Christian convert, became a kind of anti-pollution ideologue. An account of his intellectual and religious odyssey and of the unique tactics forged by his family to cope with their predicament provides a perspective on victims' movements not found elsewhere. The study concludes that victims became their own advocates only after the government and industry failed to accept responsibility for pollution; that the victims went to court only reluctantly after all other avenues for redress were closed to them; and that, although they won their case, they felt it was a Pyrrhic victory, because they failed to attain all their goals, such as reform of industrial policy. Research is based on participation-observation, interviews, written materials produced by pollution victims and their supporters, and published newspaper accounts.

The research reported in this thesis describes: the prevalence of respiratory symptoms, COPD and cardiovascular problems in rural and urban adults taking account of all major confounding factors; and estimates of exposures, both indoor and outdoor, and assessment of the relationships between measured exposure and health outcomes. A cross-sectional study was conducted in an adult population (16+ years) in Nepal to compare the respiratory and cardiovascular risk of indoor air pollution in a rural population exposed to biomass smoke compared to an urban population using liquefied petroleum gas using an investigator-delivered questionnaire, lung function and blood pressure measurements.  Direct measures of indoor particular exposure (PM_2.5 and CO) and outdoor PM_2.5 were made with other relevant factors obtained by questionnaire. Direct measures of 24-hour indoor PM_2.5were carried out in 245 rural and equal numbers of urban homes. Health outcomes were assessed in 846 rural and 802 urban dwellers.  The main risk factors studied were socio-economic status, smoking, fuel types, stove types, ventilation, BMI, income, ETS and cooking. The result suggests that cooking with biomass is associated with reduced lung function and thus a higher prevalence of COPD in the rural dwellers compared to the non-exposed urban dwellers.  No clear relationship between biomass smoke exposure and cardiovascular endpoints was found although reported cooking with biomass fuel was associated with higher blood pressure and chest pain.  Methodological issues including more invasive assessment of cardiovascular disease will in future studies be important in interpretation of this relationship.

This study is an investigation into the biodegradation potential of a TCE contaminated aquifer located at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in the UK, and the remediation prospects by employing biological and biotechnological processes such as bacterial community structure and diversity assessment, toxicity and isotopic fractionation.  Quarterly monitoring of boreholes from the former military site suggested that the plume is predominantly aerobic and therefore reliance cannot be placed only on natural attenuation.  In addition the contaminated plume contains a variety of volatile organic chemicals, petroleum, diesel and metals, which introduces potential co-metabolites as well as additional toxicity.  Assessment of the natural bacterial community of the site revealed sufficient bacterial counts to support intrinsic bioremediation and the presence of multiple additional contaminants.  Variable toxicity responses not solely explainable by TCE were observed with a broad functional bacterial diversity, which could be bio-stimulated (with substrates such as the terpenes carvone, pulegone and linalool as well as the aromatic compound cumene) or bio-augmented (with <i>Dehalosporillium multivorans</i>) to increase rates of TCE degradation.  Other additional agents such as iron filings were able to stimulate rapid rates of TCE degradation.  There is also evidence of potential TCE degraders within the more heavily contaminated boreholes (the finding of <i>Pseudomonas putida</i>).  Lastly isotopic fractionation suggests that degradation of TCE is occurring on site.

A thorough biological survey and evaluation is a lengthy and expensive project. The number of technically trained persons required prevent its use by most public agencies. Since public health departments are the groups most frequently concerned with measuring the effects of pollution in streams, a need exists for a simplified method of sanitary survey. Recognizing this need, the Texas Health Department assigned the writer the problem of devising a method of survey which would require a field party of two and could be conducted entirely from a mobile field laboratory.

The objective of this research is to determine the degree to which the recent antipollution laws will affect the location of industrial plants.

Fens are increasingly recognised as important habitats in terms of biodiversity, and this has been formalised in recent legislation (EC Habitats Directive, 92/43/EEC). The influence of groundwater and surface water inputs on the fen habitat increases its vulnerability to water pollution, particularly from nutrients. Despite the conservation importance and potential vulnerability of the habitat, fens have not been widely studied in Scotland, in terms of extent, location, sensitivity to increased nutrient inputs, or in comparison to similar European sites. This study found that fens were widespread throughout mainland Scotland, and that basin fens were the most commonly occurring fen type, representing 43% of the 355 sites assessed. A survey of 18 basin fens found that 72% were potentially vulnerable to elevated nutrient inputs, being surrounded by improved/modified land. Despite this, only four sites showed greater nutrient concentrations in sub-surface water samples or water inputs. There was, however, a significant amount of variation in hydrochemistry between the sites. Detailed studies further assessed spatial and temporal variations in hydrochemistry, and associated hydrologic regimes on two similar basin fens, one in an agricultural catchment, the other surrounded by unimproved grassland. Spatial patterning of vegetation was associated with both base-richness and nutrient concentrations of subsurface water, and the frequency of water inundation. General relationships between the six fen vegetation types and the observed hydrological and hydrochemical variation were presented.

Although a vast number of air quality investigations have been conducted on the Mpumalanga Highveld previously, there has been limited attempt to integrate available datasets from the different methods of air quality monitoring (satellite, insitu and ground-based observations) and modelling. This study compares modelled, satellite and measured data to determine the most accurate estimate of ground level sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) concentrations. The main value of the project comes from the ‘improvement’ of modelled concentration fields using measurements. Measurements only provide information on air quality at isolated places (for example monitoring stations) or at isolated times (aircraft measurements and satellite observations). Dispersion models predict concentrations continually over a wide area. However, models have inherent inaccuracies based on the assumptions made in developing the model and the variability in the input parameters supplied. These can be accounted for or are part of the inherent variability of the model results. This study assists in the refinement of modelled outputs as well as the verification of satellite data using ground-based measured data as a point of reference. In the wake of increasing governance on air pollution, industry has been compelled to account for their impacts on the environment. This study aids industry by proposing a method to quantify their impacts on the environment and possibly on human health. Three datasets from 2003 (modelled, measured and satellite) were integrated using a geographic information system in order to analyse and interrogate the data and produce an integrated set of data, maps of potentially sensitive ecosystems and maps of potential exposure to poor air quality of sensitive population groupings. The results of the study have shown that although the concentration value for the NO2 iv tropospheric column is greater than the values observed on the ground there is a good correlation between measured observations and SCIAMACHY retrievals. The sample size was too small to indicate a statistically significant bias. The results from the validation of the CALPUFF model indicate with respect to SO2 predictions that themodel is only reliable for 62% of the time within the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s model performance guideline of acceptance i.e. predictions within a factor of 2, and for NO2 the predictions are reliable for only 50% of the time. There is also no constant value by which the model under or over predicts. The cumulative distribution function graphs illustrate that the CALPUFF model predicts the highest values from the bulk of the distribution rather that the tail of the distribution where the extremes lie. This could possibly account for the large variance between measured and modelled outputs. The results of identifying areas of potential harm from SO2 emissions reveal that hotspots for high to very high risk to human health occur around all power stations. Generally the category of high risk around power stations seems to be located in areas with population agglomerations between 0-1 000 per km2 and 2001- 5000 per km2. Several high risk areas for potential harm to ecosystems from SO2 emissions can be seen on the Highveld with a large spatial extent around Kendal, Matla and Kriel power station. Approximately 871 wetlands fall within the high risk areas. The vegetation risk map indicates a high risk to several grassland and bushveld types. Model results for this study indicate no potential risk to human health from emissions of NO and subsequent conversion to NO2 in the atmosphere.