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
THE JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY covering the
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at ambient environmental conditions and that this PCB volatilization may be enhanced by microbial reductive dechlorination. (Bushart, S. P.; Bush, B.; Barnard, E. L.; Bott, A. "Volatilization of Extensively Dechlorinated Polychlorinated Biphenyls From Historically Contaminated Sediments," Environ. Toxicoll Chem. 1998, 17(10), 1927-1933)
Toxicology Chemical mixtures. A combined approach using physiology-based dosimetry models and strategic experimentation is effective in assessing the potential interactive effects of components in chemical mixtures. (Bond, J. A.; Leavens, T. L.; Seaton, M. I.; Medinsky, M. A. "Predicting the Toxicity of Chemical Mixtures," CHEMTECH July 1998, 16-23)
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Biofilm reactor. A combination moving-bed biofilm reactor-solids contact reaeration process, which is more compact and significantly cheaper than a conventional trickling filter-solids contact process, produces required effluent quality at higher loads. (Rusten, B.; McCoy, M.; Proctor, R. Siljudalen, J. G. "The Innovative Moving-Bed Biofilm Reactor/Solids Contact Reaeration Process for Secondary Treatment of Municipal Wastewater," Water EnviTCiYt Res. 1998 70(5), 1083-1089) High-solids digestion. Methane production in high-solids digestion processes is more significantly affected by ammonium-nitrogen concentration than by free ammonia, whereas the lag-phase time depends more strongly on the ammonia level, not the ammonium. (Lay, J-J.; Li, Y-Y.; Noike, T "The Influence of pH and Ammonia Concentration on the Methane Production in High-Solids Digestion Processes," Water Environ. Res. 1998 70(5) 1075-1082)
Water Lipophilic toxicants. Theoretical and experimental analysis shows that the accumulation by fish of nonmetabolized, and, therefore, persistent lipophilic compounds are determined by exchange across the gills, not through the food chain. (Randall, D. J.; Connell, D. W.; Yang,
3 6 A • JAN. 1, 1999 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS
Hydrophobic pollutant partitioning Partitioning of organic pollutants, such as pyrene, to natural refractory organic matter alters their mobility and bioavailability. E. A. Guthrie and colleagues found that ,3C-labeled pyrene was sequestered by sedimentary humic acid and humin and the associated pollutant was not extractable by organic solvents. No evidence for covalent binding was found, and the pyrene structure was not altered. Biological activity enhanced the extent of sequestration, presumably by alteration of the humic structure Over time increasing amounts of pyrene became associated with the humic materials The results have implications for the structure and properties of humic substances as W P I I as for an understanding of nnllutant hphavior anri aging [Envirnn
Scl Tprhnol
this
issue pp 119-125)
R.; Wu, S. S. "Concentrations of Persistent Lipophilic Compounds in Fish Are Determined by Exchange Across the Gills, Not Through the Food Chain," Chemosphere 1998, 37(7), 1263-1270) Effluent testing. Results suggest the importance of using invertebrates and algae as test species in evaluating the hazard of effluents, which are frequently nutrient-affected, which are discharged to near-coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico. (Lewis, M. A.; Weber, D. E.; Stanley, R. S. "Comparative Animal and Plant Toxicities of 10 Treated Effluents Discharged to Near-Coastal Areas of the Gulf of Mexico," Water Environ. Res. 1998, 70(6), 1108-1117) Contributors: Michael Brauer, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Brian Eitzer, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Conn.; Stephen Geiger, Remediation Technologies, Inc., King of Prussia, Pa.; Vincent Hand, Miami University, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Oxford, Ohio; Louis Kovach, Ecolife Associates, Wilmington, Del.; and Raewyn Town, Queen's UniversityofBelfast, Northern Ireland.
