RESEARCH WATCH
Air Acid fog. Naturally occurring acid fog may have a weak bronchoconstrictive effect that appears to be more influential in nonatopic asthmatic subjects than in atopic subjects. (Tanaka, H.; Honma, S.; Nishi, M.; Igarashi, T.; Teramoto, S.; Nishio, E; Abe, S. "Acid Fog and Hospital Visits for Asthma: An Epidemiological Study," Eur. Respir. J. 1998,11, 1301-1306) Intrauterine mortality. A correlation was found between intrauterine mortality and air pollution, which was strongest for N0 2 and lesser for S0 2 and CO in a Sao Paulo (Brazil) study. (Pereira, L.A.A.; Loomis, D.; Conceicao, G.M.S.; Braga, A.L.E; Areas, R. M.; Kishi, H. S.; Singer, J. M.; Bohm, G. M.; Saldiva, P.H.N. "Association Between Air Pollution and Intrauterine Mortality in Sao Paulo, Brazil," Environ. Health Perspect. 1998 i06(6), 325-329)
Assessment Nickel phytoavailability. An isotopic exchange method was used to study the phytoavailability of nickel in soils, with results showing that the isotopic composition of nickel in a soil solution was identical to that taken up by plants during the same time period. (Echevarria, G.; Morel, J. L.; Fardeau, J. C; Leclerc-Cessac, E. "Assessment of Phytoavailability of Nickel in Soils," /. Environ. Quall.198,27, ,064-1070)
Biodegradation Tetryl cleanup. Complete removal of tetryl by native soil bacteria from soil within three months was observed under soil-slurry conditions witii molasses as cosubstrate. (Boopathy, R.; Manning, J. "Biodegradation of Tetryl (2,4,6-Trinitrophenylmethylnitramine) in a Soil-Slurry Reactor," Water Environ. Res. 1998, 70(5), 1049-1055)
Contaminants PCB analysis. The possibility of separating enantiomers of stable atropisomeric MeS02-CBs revealed enanti-
Radionuclide mobility The bioavailability and environmental mobility of radionuclides following nuclear accidents is of great concern. Following the Chernobyl incident, the distribution of 137 Cs was monitored in milk, vegetation, and surface waters. For all ecological systems, J. T. Smith and colleagues observed an effective half-life of about two years over a period of five years. In soils, '37Cs was selectively adsorbed onto illitic clays, then fixed by incorporation into the clay lattice. Rates of decline in ,37Cs levels in vegetation paralleled those in the soil exchangeable fraction. It is proposed that fixation into illitic clays controls the rates of change in l37Cs levels in terrestrial and aquatic systems in the period immediately following a nuclear incident. However, this fixation process is reversible and the rates of decline in ,37Cs levels observed over the short timescale of this study cannot be extrapolated to predict long-term contamination levels. {Environ. Sci. Technol., this issue, pp. 49-54)
oselective processes for MeS02-CB formation, uptake, transport, and/or clearance in an analysis of Arctic ringed seal blubber and polar bear adipose tissue. (Wiberg, K.; Letcher, R.; Sandau, C; Duffe, J.; Norstrom, R.; Haglund, P.; Bidleman, T. "Enantioselective Gas Chromatography/ Mass Spectrometry of Methylsulfonyl PCBs With Application to Arctic Marine Mammals," Anal. Chem. 1998, 70(18), 3845-3852)
Indoor Air Fungal contamination. Residential fungal contamination leads to chronic stimulation of children's lymphocytes. (Dales, R.; Miller, D.; White, J.; Dulberg, C; Lazarovits, A. I. "Influence of Residential Fungal Contamination on Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte Populations in Children," Arch. Environ. Heallh 1998, 53(3), 190-195)
Metals Mercury transport. The contribution of plants functioning as conduits for the interfacial transport of mercury from the geosphere to the atmosphere is the dominant pathway of mercury cycling in the Carson River Drainage Basin of Nevada. (Leonard, T. L.; Taylor Jr., G. E.; Gustin, M. S.; Fernandez, G.C.J. "Mercury and Plants in Contaminated Soils: 1. Uptake, Partitioning, and Emission to
the Atmosphere," Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 1998, 17(10), 2063-2071)
Pesticides Atmospheric transport. Atmospheric inputs of pesticides transported from California's Central Valley to the Sierra Nevada mountains were investigated, and comparisons of observed concentrations were made with reported aquatic toxicity and water criteria levels. (McConnell, L. L.; LeNoir, J. S.j Datta, S.; Seiber, J. N. "Wet Deposition of Current-Use Pesticides in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, California, USA," Environ. Toxicol. Chem. .998 i7(10), 1908-1916)
Remediation RDX contaminants. Treating RDXcontaminated soil with zero-valent iron (Fe°) results in increased recovery, supporting the use of Fe° for in situ remediation of RDX-contaminated soil. (Singh, J.; Comfort, S. D.; Shea, E J. "Remediating RDX-Contaminated Water and Soil Using ZeroValent Iron," /. Environ. Qual. 1198, 27, 1240-1245)
Sediments PCB volatilization. Results from a study of PCB-contaminated sediments strongly suggest that significant amounts of mono-, di-, and trichlorobiphenyls may be volatilized
JAN. 1, 1999/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE S TECHNOLOGY/NEWS • 3 5 A
