Environmental contamination sources

In this equation, daugv is the concentration of SVOC j in sample i in the augmented experimental data matrix IP1 8. The variable um im (the score of component n on row i) is the contribution of contamination source n in sample i. The variable vjn (the loading of variable j on component n) is the contribution of SVOC j in contamination source n. The residual, eip is the variance in sample i and variable j of not modeled by the N environmental contamination sources. The same equation can be written in matrix form as ... 

Tauler, R., Lacorte, S., Guillamon, M., Cespedes, R., Viana, P., and Barcelo, D., Resolution of main environmental contamination sources of semivolatile organic compounds in surface waters of Portugal using chemometric compounds, Environ. Toxicol. Chem., 23, 565-575, 2004. 

Monitoring of changes in the radioecological situation around each radiation-hazardous enterprise is the main methodic principle of information survey. Measurements, which frequency and scope depend on location and specific condition of every environmental contamination source, are conducted as follows monitoring of seawater, aerosols - every day dry land, atmospheric depositions - every week drinking water - every month coastal and marine vegetation, fish, benthos - once a year. 

W. M. Meylan and P. H. Howard, Chemical Market Input] Ouput Analysis of Selected Chemical Substances to Assess Sources of Environmental Contamination ... 

Figure 1. Conceptual model illustrating examples of major anthropogenic contaminant sources and contaminants, their distribution within the abiotic environmental media, their movement into biota with potential food chain contamination, and potential effects at the organismal, population, conmiunity and ecosystem level of organization.

The use of aromatic brominated compounds as flame retardants has been a potential source of environmental contamination. Incomplete incineration of these compounds and wastes (plastics, textiles, oils etc...) containing brominated flame retardants caused formation of brominated/chlorinated dibenzodioxines (PBDDs/ PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs/PBDFs) (refs. 1 - 4). 

When DDT was widely used, it was released into the environment in a number of different ways. The spraying of crops, and the spraying of water surfaces and land to control insect vectors of diseases, were major sources of environmental contamination. Waterways were sometimes contaminated with effluents from factories where DDT was used. Sheep-dips containing DDT were discharged into water courses. Thus, it is not surprising that DDT residues became so widespread in the years after the war. It should also be remembered that, because of their stability, DDT residues can be circulated by air masses and ocean currents to reach remote parts of the globe. Very low levels have been detected even in Antarctic snow ... 

Yunker, M.B. and Cretney, W.J. (1996). Dioxins and furans in crab hepatopancreas uses of principle component analysis to classify congener patterns and determine linkages to contamination sources. In M. Servos, K.R. Munkittrick J H. Carey, and G.J. van der Kraak (Eds.) Environmental Fate and Effects of Pulp and Paper Mill Effluents. Delray Beach, FL St. Lucie Press, pp. 315-325. 

The nuclear power plant accident at Chernobyl in April 1986 (IAEA Technical Report 1991) proved to be a much more potent source of environmental contamination in many surrounding countries, over distances up to several thousands of kilometers, and was a cause of worldwide problems in international trade in food products contaminated (or possibly contaminated) with radionuclides. The resulting requirement by many countries to establish systems for monitoring radionuclides in foodstuffs and in the environment led to a large worldwide increase in the demand for suitable reference materials. 

Pesticides, including insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides, are widely used in agriculture, and the potential for these residues to accumulate in food has led to concern for human safety. Pesticide residues may enter food animals from environmental sources or from treated or contaminated feeds. Immunoassay development for pesticides has had major impacts for pesticide registrations, analysis of residues in foods, monitoring environmental contamination, determination of occupational exposure, and integration of pest management. 

Dust created by mining and milling activities blown by the wind from ore stockpiles is a potential source of environmental contamination. The watering of stockpiles or erection of enclosures is resorted to when necessary in order to prevent the spread of dust. Where ventilation systems collect significant amounts of uranium dust in mills, scrubbers are used to remove the dust from the air before it is discharged to the environment. 

Environmental contamination, either from diffuse or point sources, may compromise the ability of ecosystems to provide society with those goods and services that we require. Contamination is also linked to other widely recognised anthropogenic threats to sustainable functioning of our planet, such as the loss of biodiversity. As many soil properties and processes are conferred by soil biota, it is currently widely agreed that biological characteristics should be taken into account when evaluating the quality, or health, of soil [13, 16]. 

Similar to other POPs, BFRs (except TBBPA) appear to be lipophilic and bioaccumulate in biota and humans [5], A considerable number of studies of PBDEs in wildlife have been undertaken since the mid-1980s, when Jansson et al. [6] first indicated that these compounds were present in samples collected remote from local sources and so may have become ubiquitous environmental contaminants [7, 8]. 

PAHs are widespread environmental contaminants resulting from combustion, discharge of fossil fuels, and automobile exhausts [29]. As they are hydrophobic substances, they are strongly adsorbed to the organic fraction of SEs and soils. A different spatial distribution of PAHs was obtained for each of the three analyzed years. However, the upper course of the Ebro River was the most affected area by this contamination during the whole period of study. In Fig. 10, larger dots represent higher contributions of this PAHs contamination pattern than smaller dots. In the year 2004 (upper map on the left of Fig. 10), samples R0 (the closest to the river source) and T8 (an industrial place located in Navarra) were the most affected sites by PAHs contamination. As a result of its location, R0 was not... 

Primary sources of environmental contamination with PCDD/PCDFs in the past were the production and use of organic chemicals containing chlorine. PCDFs were formed as inadvertent by-products in the production and use of PCBs and, in combination with PCDDs, in such high-temperature processes as waste incineration, the metal industry, home heating and other energy production processes. 

Lee and Chau [66] have discussed the development and certification of a sediment reference material for total polychlorobiphenyls. Alford Stevens et al. [49] in an inter-laboratory study on the determination of polychlorobiphenyls in environmentally contaminated sediments showed the mean relative standard deviation of measured polychlorobiphenyl concentrations was 34%, despite efforts to eliminate procedural variations. Eganhouse and Gosset [67] have discussed the sources and magnitude of bias associated with the determination of polychlorobiphenyls in environmental sediments. Heilman [30] studied the adsorption and desorption of polychlorobiphenyl on sediments. 

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been used in various industrial processes during the past 40 years but were not recognized as major environmental contaminants until 1966 (1). Fish as a major food source have attained the dubious honor of being the most frequently cited PCB contamination problem (2). In the following presentation disposition of PCBs in fish will be discussed from four points of view accumulation, metabolism, distribution and elimination. No attempt will be made to cover PCB residue levels found in fish in nature (3) or acute or chronic toxicity of PCBs in fish (4-20). 

Petroleum products themselves are the source of the many components but do not adequately define total petroleum hydrocarbons. However, the composition of petroleum products assist in understanding the hydrocarbons that become environmental contaminants, but any ultimate exposure is also determined by how the product changes with use, by the nature of the release, and by the hydrocarbon s environmental fate. When petroleum products are released into the environment, changes occur that affect their potential effects significantly. Physical, chemical, and biological processes change the location and concentration of hydrocarbons at any particular site. 

Perhaps, the most ubiquitous of all environmental contaminants are the plasticizers (no. 72-84). These compounds can be found in the wastewater from a large number of industrial sources. The most common plasticizers (phthalates and adipates) show no... 

---