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PubMed2005

Investigations of the potential influence of environmental contaminants on the thymus and spleen of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena).

Harbor porpoises from the German North and Baltic Seas exhibit a higher incidence of bacterial infections compared to whales from less polluted arctic waters. The potential adverse effect of environmental contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals on the immune system and the health status of marine mammals is still discussed controversially. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible influence of PCB, polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE), toxaphene, (p,p'-dichlorodiphenyl)trichlorethane (DDT), and (p,p'-dichlorodiphenyl)dichlorethene (DDE) on the immune system of harbor porpoises. Lymphoid organs are influenced by a variety of factors, and therefore special emphasis was given to separating the confounding effect of age, health status, nutritional state, geographical location, and sex from the effect of contaminant levels upon thymus and spleen. Contaminant analysis and detailed pathological examinations were conducted on 61 by-caught and stranded whales from the North and Baltic Seas and Icelandic and Norwegian waters. Stranded harbor porpoises were more severely diseased than by-caught animals. Thymic atrophy and splenic depletion were significantly correlated to increased PCB and PBDE levels. However, lymphoid depletion was also associated with emaciation and an impaired health status. The present report supports the hypothesis of a contaminant-induced immunosuppression, possibly contributing to disease susceptibility in harbor porpoises. However, further studies are needed to determine if lymphoid depletion is primarily contaminant-induced or secondary to disease and emaciation in this cetacean species.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Balancing measurement uncertainty against financial benefits: comparison of in situ and ex situ analysis of contaminated land.

The uncertainty of measurements taken for the purpose of characterizing contaminated land can subsequently cause decision errors, which can produce significant, financial consequences. Given the site-specific costs, such as those associated with the measurements or with site misclassification, the important question addressed is "Are the measurements of acceptable quality for that given objective or fit-for-purpose"? It is often considered by investigators that using a standard operating procedure (SOP) with an approved analytical method will give an acceptable level of uncertainty. This is despite evidence that sampling is usually the predominant source of uncertainty, not the chemical analyses, mainly as a result of the contaminant heterogeneity within sampling locations at a site. One in situ and one ex situ measurement technique were used to represent these two contrasting approaches to characterizing a site contaminated with lead in topsoil. The measurement uncertainty, from both sampling and analyses, was estimated for the two techniques, and its fitness-for-purpose was assessed using the innovative optimized contaminated land investigation (OCLI) method. It is objectively demonstrated by the OCLI method that the in situ method (portable X-ray fluorescence) was three times more cost-effective than the ex situ (AAS) method at characterizing a contaminated site, despite generating higher uncertainty on individual measurements.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗

PubMed2005

Colloid facilitated transport of strongly sorbing contaminants in natural porous media: mathematical modeling and laboratory column experiments.

Mobile colloidal particles may act as carriers of strongly sorbing contaminants in subsurface materials. Such colloid-facilitated transport can be induced by changes in salinity, similar to freshwater intrusion to a contaminated aquifer saturated with saltwater, or groundwater penetration into a contaminated site saturated with a dumpsite leachate. This process is studied for noncalcareous soil material with laboratory column experiments with sodium and calcium as major cations and with lead as a strongly sorbing model contaminant. The measured breakthrough curves of these elements were described with a mathematical transport model, which invokes release and deposition kinetics of the colloids, together with adsorption and desorption of the relevant ions to the solid matrix as well as to the suspended colloids. In particular, the specific coupling between colloid and solute transport is considered. The crux of a successful description of such colloidal transport processes is to capture the inhibition of the particle release by adsorbed divalent ions properly and explicitly to considerthe dependence of colloid release on the solution chemistry and the chemical conditions at the solid-liquid interface. Experiments and modeling address colloid-facilitated transport of lead out of a contaminated zone and through a noncontaminated zone, including effects of flow velocity and length of the noncontaminated zone. We finally show that colloid-facilitated transport can be suppressed by the injection of a suitably chosen solution of a calcium salt.

Adsorption↗

PubMed2005

A multivariate statistical approach to spatial representation of groundwater contamination using hydrochemistry and microbial community profiles.

Managers of landfill sites are faced with enormous challenges when attempting to detect and delineate leachate plumes with a limited number of monitoring wells, assess spatial and temporal trends for hundreds of contaminants, and design long-term monitoring (LTM) strategies. Subsurface microbial ecology is a unique source of data that has been historically underutilized in LTM groundwater designs. This paper provides a methodology for utilizing qualitative and quantitative information (specifically, multiple water quality measurements and genome-based data) from a landfill leachate contaminated aquifer in Banisveld, The Netherlands, to improve the estimation of parameters of concern. We used a principal component analysis (PCA) to reduce nonindependent hydrochemistry data, Bacteria and Archaea community profiles from 16S rDNA denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), into six statistically independent variables, representing the majority of the original dataset variances. The PCA scores grouped samples based on the degree or class of contamination and were similar over considerable horizontal distances. Incorporation of the principal component scores with traditional subsurface information using cokriging improved the understanding of the contaminated area by reducing error variances and increasing detection efficiency. Combining these multiple types of data (e.g., genome-based information, hydrochemistry, borings) may be extremely useful at landfill or other LTM sites for designing cost-effective strategies to detect and monitor contaminants.

Archaea↗

PubMed2005

Remediation and recovery of uranium from contaminated subsurface environments with electrodes.

Previous studies have demonstrated that Geobacter species can effectively remove uranium from contaminated groundwater by reducing soluble U(VI) to the relatively insoluble U(IV) with organic compounds serving as the electron donor. Studies were conducted to determine whether electrodes might serve as an alternative electron donor for U(VI) reduction by a pure culture of Geobacter sulfurreducens and microorganisms in uranium-contaminated sediments. Electrodes poised at -500 mV (vs a Ag/AgCl reference) rapidly removed U(VI) from solution in the absence of cells. However, when the poise at the electrode was removed, all of the U(VI) returned to solution, demonstrating that the electrode did not reduce U(VI). If G. sulfurreducens was present on the electrode, U(VI) did not return to solution until the electrode was exposed to dissolved oxygen. This suggeststhat G. sulfurreducens on the electrode reduced U(VI) to U(IV) which was stably precipitated until reoxidized in the presence of oxygen. When an electrode was placed in uranium-contaminated subsurface sediments, U(VI) was removed and recovered from groundwater using poised electrodes. Electrodes emplaced in flow-through columns of uranium-contaminated sediments readily removed U(VI) from the groundwater, and 87% of the uranium that had been removed was recovered from the electrode surface after the electrode was pulled from the sediments. These results suggest that microorganisms can use electrons derived from electrodes to reduce U(VI) and that it may be possible to remove and recover uranium from contaminated groundwater with poised electrodes.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗

PubMed2006

Kinetics of contaminant degradation by permanganate.

To provide a more complete understanding of the kinetics of in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) with permanganate (MnO4-), we measured the kinetics of oxidation of 24 contaminants-many for which data were not previously available. The new data reported here were determined using an efficient method based on continuous measurement of the MnO4- concentration by absorbance spectrometry. Under these conditions, the kinetics were found to be first-order with respect to both contaminant and MnO4- concentrations, from which second-order rate constants (k") were readily obtained. Emerging contaminants forwhich k" was determined (at 25 degrees C and pH 7) include 1,4-dioxane (4.2 x 10(-5) M(-1) s(-1)), methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE) (1.0 x 10(-4) M(-1) s(-1)), and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) (9.1 x 10(-5) M(-1) s(-1)). Contaminants such as 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), the pesticides aldicarb and dichlorvos, and many substituted phenols are oxidized with rate constants comparable to tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) (i.e., 0.03-1 M(-1) s(-1)) and therefore are good candidates for remediation with MnO4- in the field. There are several--sometimes competing--mechanisms by which MnO4- oxidizes contaminants, including addition to double bonds, abstraction of hydrogen or hydride, and electron transfer.

Environmental Pollutants↗

PubMed2006

Ink dependence of poly(dimethylsiloxane) contamination in microcontact printing.

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) is the most widely used stamp material in microcontact printing. It has excellent properties with respect to versatility, chemical inertness, and mechanical stability. However, it has an inclination to contaminate printed substrates with low molecular weight siloxane fragments. In this study, it is shown, by a combination of lateral force microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, that the extent of the PDMS-induced contamination is dependent on the nature of the ink used. The highest degree of contamination was found for relatively polar inks, whereas apolar alkanethiol inks were found to shield the substrate from contamination. This is interpreted in terms of the contaminating species being polar in nature.

Journal Article↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Chemical contamination and the annual summer die-off of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

In 1987, striped bass (Morone saxatilis) that were nearly dead (moribund) were captured by hand net, and apparently healthy striped bass were caught by hook and line from adjacent waters in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta or, alternatively, caught by hook and line from the Pacific Ocean. The livers of these three groups of striped bass were examined for chemical contamination by gas chromatography, by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and by immunoassay. Moribund striped bass livers were greatly contaminated by chemicals compared to healthy fish caught in the Delta and the Pacific Ocean. The types of contaminant encountered suggested that industrial, agricultural, and urban pollutants were present in the livers of moribund fish. Although the variability in the amount of hepatic contaminants observed among the groups of fish does not provide direct proof of causation, the large amount of pollutants suggests that chemical contamination (possibly acting as multiple stressors) contributes to the hepatotoxic condition of the moribund striped bass and may lead to an explanation of the die-off in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region.

Agrochemicals↗

PubMed2000

Ten commandments for preventing contamination of primary cell cultures.

Procedures for preventing contamination in primary cell cultures must be carefully defined and strictly followed in order to obtain healthy cells. Protocols have been developed and refined in our laboratory for establishing primary cultures of muscle and fat stem cells without contamination from a variety of animals. Contamination of cell cultures is not only frustrating, but is also very expensive both in time and loss of materials. Through the consistent use of proper aseptic techniques, most instances of contamination may be avoided. We suggest that the basic principles detailed here will find wide applicability in the culturing of primary cells without contamination from many different types of animals and tissues.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMed2002

Trace element contamination in benthic macroinvertebrates from a small stream near a uranium mill tailings site.

Direct measurement of the accumulation of non-radioactive trace elements in aquatic biota near uranium mining or processing sites has been relatively rare, with greater focus on the radiological activity in the adjacent soils and groundwater. To evaluate the potential ecological concern associated with trace elements at a former uranium mill site in southeastern Utah, benthic macroinvertebrates were collected and analyzed for 17 trace elements from multiple locations within a small on-site stream, Montezuma Creek, and a nearby reference stream. Key questions of this study relate to the spatial and temporal extent of contamination in aquatic biota, the potential ecological risks associated with that contamination, and the usefulness of benthic macroinvertebrates as a monitoring tool at this site. Composite samples of similar macroinvertebrate taxa and functional feeding groups were collected from each site over a two year period that was representative of normal and dry-year conditions. In both years, mean concentrations of arsenic, molybdenum, selenium, and vanadium were significantly higher (a factor of 2-4 times: P < 0.05) in macroinvertebrates collected from one or both of the two Montezuma Creek sites immediately downstream of the mill tailing site in comparison to concentrations from reference locations. Mean uranium concentrations in invertebrates immediately downstream of the mill site were more than 10 times higher than at reference sites. The site-to-site pattern of contamination in Montezuma Creek invertebrates was similar in 1995 and 1996, with mill-related trace elements showing a downstream decreasing trend. However, nine of seventeen contaminant concentrations were higher in the second year of the study, possibly due to a higher influx of deep groundwater during the drier second year of the study. A preliminary assessment of ecological risks, based on the benthic macroinvertebrate bioaccumulation data, suggests that aquatic and terrestrial population risks are low. Benthic macroinvertebrates appeared to be sensitive integrators of trace element inputs to the aquatic environment from a former uranium mill tailing site, and provided useful spatial and temporal patterns of contamination not easily obtained using conventional surface water or groundwater measures.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Complete nose coverage to prevent airborne contamination via nostrils is unnecessary.

Besides an atraumatic procedure, aseptic techniques during surgery have been suggested to have a positive impact on the predictability of osseointegration. To avoid an infection of the surgical field, coverage of the face of the patient (drapes) and nose (surgical mask, drape and plastic film) were advocated in order to reduce airborne infections and to prevent a contact contamination of instruments and gloves. Such a coverage, however, increases the feeling of claustrophobia when local anaesthesia is used and can lead to hypoxemia. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the expired air via the nostrils could contribute to the contamination of the oral surgical field. Test blood agar plates were installed for 30 min under the nose of volunteers lying on a surgical table; once with full coverage of their nostrils, as indicated above, and once without. Simultaneously, control plates were installed on a table besides the patient to measure the basic contamination from the environment. All plates were incubated both aerobically and anaerobically. The number of colony forming units (c.f.u.) recorded on test plates after aerobic and anaerobic incubation were surprisingly low, with a mean score of 2.7 and 5.0 c.f.u. for the uncovered situation, and 2.5 and 3.3 c.f.u. for the covered situation, respectively. The control plates were infected by a nearly comparable number of bacteria (means ranging from 2.2 to 3.2). These findings indicate that covering nostrils by a mask and sterile adhesive plastic film is not essential in avoiding airborne microbial contamination. However, the use of a meshed nose guard to prevent contact with the highly contaminated nasal skin is highly recommended.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Fractal stream chemistry and its implications for contaminant transport in catchments

The time it takes for rainfall to travel through a catchment and reach the stream is a fundamental hydraulic parameter that controls the retention of soluble contaminants and thus the downstream consequences of pollution episodes. Catchments with short flushing times will deliver brief, intense contaminant pulses to downstream waters, whereas catchments with longer flushing times will deliver less intense but more sustained contaminant fluxes. Here we analyse detailed time series of chloride, a natural tracer, in both rainfall and runoff from headwater catchments at Plynlimon, Wales. We show that, although the chloride concentrations in rainfall have a white noise spectrum, the chloride concentrations in streamflow exhibit fractal 1/f scaling over three orders of magnitude. The fractal fluctuations in tracer concentrations indicate that these catchments do not have characteristic flushing times. Instead, their travel times follow an approximate power-law distribution implying that they will retain a long chemical memory of past inputs. Contaminants will initially be flushed rapidly, but then low-level contamination will be delivered to streams for a surprisingly long time.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1998

An integrated microbial process for the bioremediation of soil contaminated with toxic metals.

Microbially catalyzed reactions, which occur in the natural sulfur cycle, have been integrated in a microbiological process to remove toxic metals from contaminated soils. Bioleaching using sulfuric acid produced by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria was followed by precipitation of the leachate metals as insoluble sulfides by sulfate-reducing bacteria. Metal contaminants including Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, and Zn were efficiently leached from an artificially contaminated soil. Mn, Ni, and Zn were the only target elements that were significantly leached from soil minerals. Pb leaching was slow and remained incomplete over a period of 180 days. Mineral components such as Fe, Ca and Mg were also leached but the eventual reduction in soil mass was only approximately 10%. An industrially contaminated soil was also efficiently leached and approximately 69% of the main toxic metals present, Cu, Ni, and Mn, were removed after 175 days. The leachate that resulted from the action of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria on contaminated soil was stripped of metals using an anaerobic bioreactor containing a mixed culture of sulfate-reducing bacteria which precipitated soluble metal species as solid metal sulfides. More than 98% of the metals were removed from solution with the exception of Mn, Ni, and Pb, where 80-90% were removed. The metal content of the resultant effluent liquor was low enough to meet European criteria for discharge into the environment.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗

PubMed1998

Autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation in acute myeloblastic leukaemia and myelodysplastic syndrome patients: evaluation of tumour cell contamination of leukaphereses by cytogenetic and molecular methods.

We evaluated 18 acute myeloblastic leukaemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients with abnormal karyotype at diagnosis who underwent peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplantation. To evaluate the presence of residual tumour cells, bone marrow (BM) samples and PBSC collections were analysed by cytogenetics and in selected cases also by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) and molecular studies. All patients were considered to be in morphologic and cytogenetic complete remission (CR) at the time of mobilisation. Seven patients showed neoplastic cells in PBSC harvest and/or BM specimen before reinfusion. Cytogenetic studies revealed contamination in apheretic collections in one patient only, while three patients had BM but not PBSC contamination. Three more patients had leukaemic cells both in the BM and PBSC. All but one (with only BM contamination) of these patients relapsed within 9 months. However, five more patients relapsed after transplantation: in four cases there was no cytogenetic sign of contamination either in PBSC or BM cells and in one case no molecular evidence was revealed either. This study suggests that, whereas the presence of leukaemic cells in autologous grafts correlates with a poor prognosis, the lack of detection of tumour cells is not always predictive of long-term disease-free survival. More importantly, PBSC collections from AML patients are not contaminated by leukaemic cells if the BM is disease-free.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Identification of drinking water contaminants in the course of a childhood cancer investigation in Toms River, New Jersey.

Using a combination of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and gas chromatography/infrared spectroscopy (GC/IR) spectroscopic techniques, chemical contaminants and their hydrolysis products were identified in well water sampled in connection with a suspected childhood cancer cluster located in Dover Township, Ocean County, New Jersey. The drinking water contamination resulted from the leaching of industrial waste chemicals from drums that were disposed of at the site known as Reich Farm. Contaminants identified include dinitrile-tetralin compounds, known as 'trimers,' that are by-products of a polymerization process widely used by several polymer manufactures during the 1970s and 1980s (and still used today). Also identified were 'trimer' hydrolysis products, formed by the hydrolysis of their nitrile groups to amides. These industrial contaminants were not present in any of the mass or IR spectral library databases, and their identification required unconventional spectroscopic methods (including high resolution mass spectrometry, chemical ionization mass spectrometry, and IR spectroscopy), along with scientific reasoning and interpretation. It is currently not known whether these chemical contaminants are responsible for the childhood cancers observed in this area.

Child↗

PubMed1998

Bioavailability and speciation of arsenic in carrots grown in contaminated soil.

Carrots were grown in seven experimental plots (A-G) containing mixtures of arsenic-contaminated and uncontaminated soil at concentrations ranging from 6.5 to 917 microgram g(-1) (dry mass). The carrots harvested from plots A-D (6.5-338 microgram g(-1) arsenic in the soil mixtures) showed a gradually increasing depression of growth with increasing level of contamination. At the experimental plots E-G with soil arsenic concentrations above 400 microgram g(-1) no carrots developed. Whether this effect was caused by arsenic or the concomitant copper content which ranged from 11 to 810 microgram g(-1) in the soil mixtures is unknown. The arsenic species extracted from the soils and carrots were separated and detected using anion-exchange HPLC coupled with ICP-MS. In the less contaminated soils from plots A and B arsenite (AsIII) was more abundant than arsenate (Asv) in the soil using 1 mmole 1-1 calcium nitrate as extractant. In the soils from plots C and D however, Asv dominated over AsIII whereas in the corresponding carrots Asv and AsIII were found at similar concentrations. Methylated arsenic species were sought after but not detected in any of the samples. The soil-to-carrot uptake rate (bioavailability) of arsenic was 0.47 +/- 0.06% (average +/- one standard deviation) of the arsenic content in the soils from plots A-D. In contrast to arsenic, the increasing copper content in the soils from plot A through D was not available to the carrots as the concentration of this element did not increase with increasing soil copper content. The ingestion of the potentially toxic inorganic arsenic via consumption of carrots grown in soil contaminated at 30 microgram g(-1) in arsenic (plot B) was conservatively estimated at 37 microgram week (-1). This was equivalent to only 4% of the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) for inorganic arsenic as suggested by the WHO and was therefore toxicologically safe. Consumption of carrots grown in more intensely arsenic-contaminated soils, however, would lead to a higher intake of inorganic arsenic and is therefore not recommended.

Arsenates↗

PubMed2002

A comparison between broiler chicken carcasses with and without visible faecal contamination during the slaughtering process on hazard identification of Salmonella spp.

AIMS: A comparison of the prevalence of Salmonella in chicken carcasses with and without visible faecal contamination during commercial slaughter practice was made. The relationship between Enterobacteriaceae, coliform and Escherichia coli counts and Salmonella status was also evaluated to establish the likelihood of using these groups as 'index' organisms to predict the presence of pathogen. METHODS AND RESULTS: Samples were removed immediately after evisceration, after the inside-outside shower and after chilling from the processing line for microbiological analysis. Of the carcasses visibly uncontaminated with faeces after the evisceration step 20% harboured salmonellas and 20.8% of the visibly contaminated carcasses were positive for the pathogen. When E. coli, coliforms and Enterobacteriaceae were used as predictor variables the error rates ranged from 33.3 to 60% for both sample types. CONCLUSIONS: There was no indication that any of the groups of organisms analysed could predict the incidence of salmonellas on the samples studied. Positive results for the pathogen were obtained at every tested step of the slaughtering process regardless of whether or not faecal contamination was present. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The present study demonstrated that carcasses not visibly contaminated with faeces carried Salmonella as well as the visibly contaminated carcasses.

Abattoirs↗

PubMed2003

Determination of aerial microbiological contamination in scholastic sports environments.

AIMS: To assess the microbiological indoor air quality (IAQ) of high school and college gyms during physical training lessons and to evaluate the effective microbiological exposure of students. METHODS AND RESULTS: Air samples from 11 high school and college gyms of Pavia, Italy were collected. Total bacterial counts, total fungal counts and characterization of fungal taxa were determined. Air quality was evaluated using three microbiological contamination indices: the global index of microbiological contamination per m3 (GIMC per m3), the index of mesophilic bacterial contamination (IMC) and the amplification index (AI). CONCLUSIONS: This work testifies that air contamination in indoor gyms is always superior to that of the outdoor environment. Nevertheless, students are exposed to relatively low concentrations of airborne micro-organisms. The highest values of fungal counts and GIMC per m3 (>14,661) were observed between April and October when the central heating systems were switched off. The lowest fungal counts were detected in modern buildings equipped with forced ventilation systems. From qualitative aeromycological studies, 45 fungal taxa were identified, and different potentially allergenic species were isolated. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The standardization of air sampling methods and the correct evaluation of aeromicrobiological results allow the classification of indoor air healthiness. The proposed microbiological contamination indices together with the characterization of airborne fungal taxa are useful tools for detailed description of IAQ.

Air Microbiology↗