Impact assessments contamination

Rao, S. (1999) Impact Assessment of Hazardous Aquatic Contaminants, CRC Press. 

Parsons J, Belzunce MJ, Segarra G et al (2007) Characterisation of contaminants in sediments - effects of bioavailability on impact. In Barcelo D, Petrovic M (eds) Sustainable management of sediment resources. Sediment quality and impact assessment of pollutants. Elsevier, Amsterdam... 

Mostaghimi S, McClellan PW, Cooke RA. 1993. Pesticide contamination of groundwater in Virginia BMP impact assessment. Water Sci Technol 28(3) 379-387. 

Aboul-Kassim [1] studied the characterization, chemodynamics, and environmental impact assessment of organic leachates from complex mixtures. He reported that an important factor in controlling the rate of solid phase adsorption reactions is the type and quantity of solid phase components as well as the time period (i. e., short vs long) over which the organic contaminant has been in contact with the solid phase. 

Daughton CG (2004) Non-regulated water contaminants Emerging research. Environ Impact Assess Rev 24 711-732... 

Kusui, T. Blaise, C. Ecotoxicological assessment of Japanese industrial effluents using a battery of small-scale toxicity tests. In Impact Assessment of Hazardous Aquatic Contaminants Concept and Approaches, Salem, R., Ed. Ann Arbor Press Michigan, USA, 1998 161-181. 

This thesis focuses on the applicability of in vitro, in vivo bioassays and bioindicators as tools for evaluating the effects of complex chemical mixtures in the process of deciding whether dredged harbour sediments can be disposed of at sea without serious adverse effects on marine ecosystem and human health. It considers the North Sea delta area in order to determine a comprehensive approach for the application of both in vitro and in vivo bioassays for hazard assessment, advanced risk assessment, and location-specific ecological impact assessment for dredged harbour sediments. To aid in the selection of appropriate, robust and reliable in vitro and in vivo bioassay and bioindication methods for these specific purposes, the uneertainty, predictability and specificity of the bioassays have been explored and the applieability in eombination with other analyses is discussed. The focus of the chosen examples is on bioassays and bioindicators for the relatively well studied dioxin-like contaminants and TBT. 

Once the public had their attention drawn to the chemicals to which they were being exposed, it is hardly surprising that they formd plenty to worry about. There are 75,000-90,000 synthetic chemicals in use, many of which have never been a subject of intensive toxicological testing. Even fewer have been subject to thorough enviromnental impact assessments. These facts were emphasised to the public, especially by some of the NGOs. Virtually, the only time members of the public heard or read about individual chemicals in the media was when they were mentioned as part of scare stories— pesticides in food, contaminants in tap and botded water, side effects of drugs and so... 

Parrott JL, Chong-Kit R, Rokosh DA. 1999. EROD induction in fish a tool to measure environmental exposure in impact assessment of hazardous aquatic contaminants. In Rao SS, editor. Impact assessment of hazardous aquatic contaminants concepts and approaches. Boca Raton (FL) Lewis Publishers, p 99-117. 

One answer to these problems lies in the ability of industrialized society to develop beneficial uses for these wastes as by-products. The reuse of waste by-products in lieu of virgin materials can relieve some of the burdens associated with disposal and may provide inexpensive and environmentally sustainable products. Current research has identified several promising uses for these materials. However, research projects concerning Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of various organic and inorganic contaminates in recycled complex mixtures and their leachates on surface and ground waters are still needed to insure that adverse environmental impacts do not result. 

From new data and from evaluation of published information, it appears that the magnitudes of uptake of actinide elements by plants from contaminated soil generally are less than the value used in the assessment of radiological impact for the LMFBR environmental assessment. The CR value of approximately 10-1 used in the impact assessment exceeds most observed values for Pu (Fig. 3), and appears conservative for incorporation into foods by the root pathway. Even after 30 years of residence time in the biologically active environment of the Oak Ridge floodplain, greater than 99% of the Pu in this ecosystem remains associated with the soil. The observed CR value is 10-3. For this time frame, there is no evidence that ecological or soil processes will cause the soil-to-plant transfer of Pu to approach the 10-1 value used in the LMFBR... 

The fate of organic contaminants in soils and sediments is of primary concern in environmental science. The capacity to which soil constituents can potentially react with organic contaminants may profoundly impact assessments of risks associated with specific contaminants and their degradation products. In particular, clay mineral surfaces are known to facilitate oxidation/reduction, acid/base, polymerization, and hydrolysis reactions at the mineral-aqueous interface (1, 2). Since these reactions are occurring on or at a hydrated mineral surface, non-invasive spectroscopic analytical methods are the preferred choice to accurately ascertain the reactant products and to monitor reactions in real time, in order to determine the role of the mineral surface in the reaction. Additionally, the in situ methods employed allow us to monitor the ultimate changes in the physico-chemical properties of the minerals. 

Increasingly since the mid-1970s, with the advent of high-speed digital computers, process-based mathematical models of coupled subsurface fluid flow, solute transport, and geochemistry have been used to assess subsurface water contamination impacts. 

Once the life-cycle inventory has been quantified, we can attempt to characterize and assess the eflfects of the environmental emissions in a life-cycle impact analysis. While the life-cycle inventory can, in principle at least, be readily assessed, the resulting impact is far from straightforward to assess. Environmental impacts are usually not directly comparable. For example, how do we compare the production of a kilogram of heavy metal sludge waste with the production of a ton of contaminated aqueous waste A comparision of two life cycles is required to pick the preferred life cycle. 

Air, soil, and water are vital to life on this planet. We mnst protect these resonrces and nse them wisely— onr snrvival as a species depends on them. Despite recent impressive strides in improving the environment, evidence is overwhelming that more effective action mnst be taken to address snch critical issnes as acid rain, hazardons waste disposal, hazardous waste landfills, and groundwater contamination. It is also vital that we assess realistically the potential health and enviromnental impacts of emerging chemical products and technologies. The problems are clearly complex and demand a broad array of new research initiatives. 

TAetection of the highly potent impurity, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in the herbicide 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), necessitated an environmental assessment of the impact of this contaminate. Information was rapidly needed on movement, persistence, and plant uptake to determine whether low concentrations reaching plants, soils, and water posed any threat to man and his environment. Because of the extreme toxicity of TCDD, utmost precautions were taken to reduce or minimize the risk of exposure to laboratory personnel. Synthesis of uniformly labeled C-TCDD by Muelder and Shadoff (I) greatly facilitated TCDD detection in soil and plant experiments. For unlabeled experiments it seemed wise to use only small quantities of diluted solutions in situations where decontamination was feasible and to rely on the sensitivity afforded by electron capture gas chromatography... 

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